HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1937-02-04, Page 2PAGE TWO.
THE SEAFORTH NEWS
Where Edward 'Aowelll Was Kilted and Frairoik Sproat injured
The pictures show' the scene of the accident at the
level crossing -of the C.N. Railway and Provincial
Highway No. 8, just outside Goderich, last Thurs-
day, when Edward Powell. 56, was instantly
.killed and Frank Sproat, 28, was critically in-
jured, The two Tuckerslnith township men were
in the W, M. Sproat tile yard truck on the way to
Goderich for a load cif salt, when the truck was -
hit by the Diesel C.N.R. passenger train also en -
route to Goderich, about noon. At the left is the
fr'unt end of the truck, beside the track, showing'
the broken windshield and other damage. At the
right is a general view looking towards Clinton;
the platform and rack are in the foregrround; the
rear of the chassis was apparently thrown back to
the fence; the truck was pi'nceeding towards the
right haul sidle -of the picture and therefore must
have been turned around by the impact.
HURON NEWS
Hotel Properties Change 'Hands—
Two hotel properties in !Goderich
have changed (hands, The property of
the Bedford ,Estate, ,including the
Bedford /Noted, the Bedford !Mock
and the former ,Bedford residence,
was sold by public auction Ito Mrs.
Ethel ,M, Litt for X17,000.
Mrs. M. 'Kelly, Ngo for a number
of years has operated a Hotel at
tMatckdaie, bas ,bought the iRoyat Ho-
tel at tGoderidh front !Donald 'Murray
and took it over imntectiately. The.
hotel is 'being ,modernized in every
way. Mrs. Kelly has been accompan-
ied ito 'Goderich by her two sons,
Messrs. Leo and !Philip Kelly. and
'her daughter, Miss L. !Kelly, who will
be ,connected with the business.
In Flood Zone—
Mrs. (John 'Clark of IGorierich, who
had just gone to 'spend the winter
with her daughter. Mrs. D. \t Hunt,
at Louisville, !Kentucky, sent word
last week to her son 'Frank, at iGode-
rich, that they were safe. 'Frank had
just returned 'from going with his
mother to Louisville and. was very
uneasy until he received a message
that they bad :been forced to leave
their !home, hurt they themselves were
safe.
Ask For Radio Direction Finder—
As a result of demands for a radio
direction tfinding beacon at the 'harbor
here, the equipment has been applied
for and it is expected that it will be
in operation 'by spring.--eloderictt
Star.
Large Elm Felled—
Me, George Baird of Lower Wing-
bam, an experienced 'bushman, felled
one of the old monsters of the iorest
last week, a soft elm tvhidh measured
over over seven feet across at the
stump and over sixty feet to the first
limb. He estimated there would be
aver four thousand feet of (lumber in
the 'butt log. These old patriarch
trees of the forest will snow be all
gone.
Burned Hand—
Dr. Bruce !Fox horned his 'hand
with heated oil on 'Thursday. We are
pleased to state the 'injury was not
serious and is mending quickly—
Wingham (Advance -Times.
Late Mrs. Thomas Oke
The death took •place in Exeter of
!Elizabeth Roselle Shute. widow of
the'late Thomas'O'ke, in her With
year. Mrs. Oke had been ill ifor some
time suffering from the effects of a
stroke. 'S'he was born in 'Usiborrte
'Township and dor many 'years resid-
ed in London. Since the death of 'Mr,
Oke, Mrs, IOike resided in !Windsor
with her only surviving sister, .Mrs.
Kalman. (For the past three years
she has made her ,home 'with her
niece, Mrs, Garnet !Flynn.
Accidents—
Miss Margaret .Robinson was off
duty from her position at the 'tele-
phone 'office for a few days suffering
minor injuries when she fell on the
icy walk just north of the 'bridge on
Thursday evening of thtet week. Miss
Carrie IHingston also was indisposed
with a 'wrenched 'back after slipping
and falling on the ice on Tuesday
morning,-lJohtt Gibson was .unfort-
unate in being 'kicked by a horse at
hisblacksmith shop 'last week. --,Brus-
sels Post.
Stelck-Meyers—
High Park 'United 'Church, Toron-
to, was the scene of a .quiet mid-
winter wedding when Greer Allison,
of Toronto, oldest daughter of 'itIr.
and Mrs. Thomas Meyers of Zurich,
was united in marriage to ':\f r. Merv-
yn H., only son of \•Ir. and Mrs. 'Ed.
IStelck of .Zurich at seven ,o'clock. cit
Saturday evening. •January ,, 3rd. The
bride was given in marriage 'by Mr.
Samuel Ly ttle, who was also a wit-
ness, along 'with his wife, .Rev, Avi-
sou officiated, The bride was becom-
ingly dressed in a hagdad blue gown
with veil hat to match, silver slipper's
ami white gloves and 1illie.s.:Guests
of honor at the wedding were tate
\lig.>es 'Georgina McDonald, A•udrie
Bobbiy, Lucy Vigor, Mr. attd Mrs. T.
Lightfoot. all of Toronto. Also Mr,
and Mrs. T. 1.. Worm. Nesbitt
Woods. Mrs, tDe.t Clubine, ail form-
erly of Zurich. e\ liter the ceremony
\Irs. Wittig: served a delirious slipper
to the • ,bridal couple and invited
guests. 'rhe .fuiluwving day elle bridal
couple returned to the groom's 'home.
where a dainty chicken dinner was
served by the groom's parents, The
happy young couple will reside on the
Stehle homestead, 111.4tl1 Concession
n4 ;Hay 'Township- eiZurich 11erttld.
Obtains Position—
The friends of jack Sorenson of
\litchell are pleased to know that he
'has 'been successful in obtaining a po-
sition as city traveller for the firm of
lelkee itd\eil and Libby. his district
being .the city of Tot'onto. For the
past couple of years he has been eon-
o'cted with the Mitchell Produce Co,
Wilfred Rate Promoted --
Wilfred '12atz, a member of the Na-
tional Revenue at Niagara Falls since
i eee, has been promoted to the posi-
tion of \ssistant inspector in Toron-
to with 'ln-peetot' .\I: tR. Dickenson.
\4 r. 'Rate was horn in Mitchell and
educated there,
Fractures Arm—
Friends of .\\'silliatit itartytt. 'one of
Mitchell's well-known residents, re-
gret thtti he had the misfortune to
frill on the icy sideitaite while leaving
the 'Perth County courthouse on
Monday afternoon, fracturing his' arm
and breaking two ribs. 1')r. Martyn
had been at the Court House on busi-
mess, and the sidewalks were a glare
of ice at the time of the accident. He
returned to his itonte -text morning.—
Mitchell 'Advocate,
INSPECTOR'S REPORT.
Dr. I.1 M. Field !last week 'presented
the following report to the ''County
Councils
I was appointed in February, .7911i,
on the resigiation of Mr. Robb, In-
, specto' of 'Public t lchoots for East
Huron; so that .lacking otte month my
services have extended ower a period
of 36 years; the !time, has' passed swift-
ly—too 'swiftly, I nnty say, and pleas-
antly. 'The'appointment was aj that
time tirade 'by the. Counts- Council:
the county officials and members sof
the council have sail changed since
then.
Naturally, there 'have beet .many
changes sine.,' Neat time ane! -generally
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, yc337.
.•Incl gardens; almost all have flower
beds and well -kept grounds. The
schools are generally well lighted
with light colors for blinds wail's and
ceilings. There are really oily five
schools that need replacement and
these need it badly.
AN the urban schools are steam -
heated and are very 'comfortable; '49
ural schools have !basements and fur-
naces. At first \Vin'ghatn was the
first to have sanitary closets; all but
one urban school have 'them at pres-
ent. Of the rural schools 318 have in
the last few years 'installed inside
closets. This acids much Ito the ;health
anct comfort of the children.
After the war a health survey was
taken of the schools and the Inspec-
torate divided into units to be admin-
istered by school nurses: All the ur-
ban :school joined and many of the
rural schools, 'but after a few years
the movement was dropped 'because
of the lack of co-operation .of the rur-
al schools,
3'Iuc1i progress has been made in
the art of teaching. Arithmetic occu-
pied a quarter of a chi•ld's time, They
were kept busy with •prab:lents too
advanced for their age and s!leill; we
are still 'behind the .other provinces in
noting the futility of such a waste of
time and the necessity of rotsitvg such
time in other and •more vzeuable sub-
jects. the time for Grammar has. been
cut its two; we were slow in realizing
that 'correct speech is not acquired
by learning rules. The texts in Hist-
ory were so poorly written and unat-
tractive to children that teachers re-
belled and prevailed on the Depart -
meat to have no examination in the
subject and then ceased to teach it al-
most .altogether.
Text books now present more in.
tcreefing reading and are illustrated.
Geography meant ,little more than de-
finitions and a mass of names; now
the people of the different lands are
studied, their way of living, products,
climate. their relation to our empire
and other facts that are of vital in-
terest.
'''here was 'little or no music .lit the
school; if a song were attempted few
boys ripened their mouths; they con-
sidered singing as silly and girlish.
Now it is taught in ail the urian
schools and in many of the rural
schools under qualified instructors, es-
pecially in the Townships of IG.trey,
\icth.illop, Hullett and 'l'urkersntith;
in the others it has made little head-
way.
(Perhaps the ,greatest change in edu-
cational conditions has been in the
elimination of examinations; formerly
a child's life was beset by them from
the moment he entered school. There
were departmental examinations for
the Entrance tto 'High Schools, Low-
er School for two years, Middle and
)Upper School: The cost was enor-
mous; :besides their '60% share of the
fees, it cost the Government a quart-
er of a million dollars to pay the As-
sociate 'Examiners at 'Toronto. This
outlay could not of course continue
and was the real cause of their partial
discontinuance. ,1 real check can be
made .on the candidates at the En-
trance, but it is more difficult with the
higher examinations. II am not one
who would say that they are unnec-
essary. Few 'children are harmed by
the strain; those that cannot endure
it can hardly 'he lit Inc the prolonged
study necessary to get certificates;
brit they are ,useless and expensive to
those whose proficiency is apparent.
An effort was tirade after the war,
at consolidation; this In per torate
wag considered favorable 'ground to
work on and the Department sent me
to lowa 'to report an the schools
there, 'L''be state was well situated as,
except in the eastern part, the town-
ships were laid out as squares. About
290 consolidations were formed that
year; beautiful schools were built with
everything that the best city schools
,have. There was no response here,
however, as the ratepayers were
fiercely opposed to them. Some have,
though, 'been esttablished in other
parts of the (Province.
Some years ago the Attendance
Act was passed requiring the attend-
ance at school of all children ,between
the ages of 1114 and 1116 years, 'Attend -
ante officers for each 'township are
required and monthly reports of at-
tendance are cent by the teachers to
the inspector. The Act is strictly
carried out in the urban centres but,
if cause were shown, .the age 'limit
was reduced to 1164 on the protest of
the 'rural schools: The attendance in
this county is ,vory high, averaging
over 90 per cent,• its beneficial effects
are more observa'bl'e in ,cities and
parts where the attendance is poor.
There has been some decrease in
the tittntber of children :attentlitrg
school, Wingham has 'kept its own
hut other urban schools have lost; in
the 'country the losses or gains vary
from ,school to ;school, Some schools
have always been stroll, others Deily,
temporarily so. The :Education De-
partment is urging 'Illenectors to have
the smallest closed and the p;upp.s
sent to an adjoining school, Whether
this is a wise policy or not can only
be determined :by the circumstances;
a school may i have .a small attendance
3 iem,porarily• and the disuse c,
for the 'better. \\'e had (become so im-
bedded its the belief that the system
established by (Egerton 'Ryerson was
'the best on the cottinent; that it was
difficult to crake people 'believe tha
any change was necessary or desir-
able.
The teachers were •pooely certifica-
ted; of the 90 rural schools, there was
'only one that had a teadher with a let
class certificate, 711' teachers had Id
Class ,certificates, 312 lead (III Class
certificates, and 6 without any certifi
cares at all. The West was opening
up and was talking our qualified tea
chers as fast as the 'Normal ,School.
could produce them. This condition
led the ,tiovei•untent to require of tea
c•hers ,one year'; experience in 'Outer
io, which restriction is still on thei
ser ttaieates.
This condition gave dnspector
touch trouble and annoyance; the ens
ploynicnt of HI class teachers and
those with no training was illegal-
trustees
11
egaltrustees were required to advertise
for a teacher at is stated salary, We
could not leave the schools without
'teachers and while trustees might ad
vertise, it did not mean that they look
ed at .the advertisements, This pot
icy, however, diel not increase the sup
ply but made constant ,changes nee
essary.
After two years of successful ex
perieuce. on the recommendation o
the inspector, certificates were made
permanent; after :1930 numbers at
tending (Normal :Schools became so
,treat that the !Education 'Depat'uuen
required a second year's term al tit
Normal 'Schools. The • great 1isacd
vantage of this was the necessity o
leaving their positions for a year wit'
little prospect of securing one at eh
enol of that period. On this accaun
the present Government dbttttlowec
this regulation and substituted Inc i
the egttivtilent of the first year of. a
university course to be obtainer
extra-murally or by summer sessions
'I'ite salaries in elillll+ and for some
years after. were little different from
those at present, Inst with living and
other expenses much higher. the
teachers now are at a cnnsiclerabl
disadvantage; salaries began to rise
about 11130 and continued to be at a
high level until 199310; inspectors were
surged to induce trustees to pay ((l,010
or more as it would cost the :sectfot
less than if $!XIII) wore paid, Apparent
ly the it:ot'erntnent had un'limi'ted
funds en which to draw.
:\roiled 1911 the grants were ,soar
and the cost of education feli large
ly on the sections: in the speodthrif
year., the ordinary grants anrotrntec
to w,i,i,1Xi0': at present they are a'bou
a third of that amount.
:For years the highest grant Ito the
towns war $2100'; they averaged this
year $1:700. 'Generous ,grants are pair
ort what are as yet by-products of the
rural schools. such as tHousehotc
Science, Music, ;Manual Training. Ag-
riculture 'is stressed, however, and Uhe
trustees receive as a ;grant the amount
expencled.
The accommodations 'have 'been im-
proved considetab,ly. In 119111 -there
'vas a large 'number of schools that
were cold, in poor repair and tiesani-
tory, Since that time '311 new schools
have 'been ,built and .improvements
mark in Others. Some schools were
without !libraries; at ' presentall
schools have 'libraries ranging in val-
ue from $100' to $400. The other
equipment is generally in ,good condi-
tine. :\riditional care is taken of the
•tsr millings: there are... ttunterous
ii
lend
LADA
TEA...
a school for a few years would reduce
it to ruin,
I 'have thought it would be uvo:re
interesting for you to go over the
changes that have (taken place in the
past as years in our schools than to
review the past year, which is not in
any essential different from the •pre-
ceding. Improvements have I am sure,
been made; the rural sections view
any change wi'bh suspicion; they
would first be sure of their ground.
There is no dotsbt as to the intentions
of our leaders—if they fail, it will not
be because they are .lacking in, zeal
for better things.
its conclusion, I wish to thank the
County Council far their interest in
education and for the good 'feeling
they have evinced towards me, .I have
worked with good trustees, well 'be-
haved, attractive and iittelligent pu-
pils, and good loyal ttea'chers, and
4 thank them for their faithful ser-
vices. 1 leave them with regret.
FATAL CROSSINNG ACCIDENT
ICloderirh, IJ•,nt, 't.N---♦A'ttending phys-
icians reg'ar'ded the condition of 218-
yeat'-old Prank 'Sproat, Seaforah, as
critical today, as the young rout 'lay
in the Alexander Marine and tGeuer-
al Hospital here cuffe.rittg serious
skull ,fracture following a level cros-
sing crash one mile east of the town
Thursday at noon when his compan-
ion, Edward :Powell, 196, was 'killed.
The two ,men were riding in a truck
owned by W. M. .Sproat of Sea-
fordh and were enroute to ,Goderich
when the accident occurred. The
truck, believed to have been driven
iby Sprout, drove directly into the
path of alt approaching Diesel driven
Cele.dt, passenger train,
'Powell was dead before medico•( aid
reached 'tint and his companion teas
taken to the ,Goderich Hospital where
Iris condition was still critical next
clay. Dr. \\1. F. Galiaw, fluroti Coun-
ty coroner, announced that, an inquest
into the 'fatality would be opened in
IGttdt'rinh February 0 at two ,'cluck
in the afternoon. The accident occur-
red (lustoneutile east of (Goderich,
where (Highway No, S crosses the C.
N.R. tracks. 1'he. diesel -driven C.N.R.
train from 'Stratford to 'Goclericit was
making its scheduled run when 'the
truck, approaching 'from the east.
drove immediately in front of the en-
gine on to the tracks.
'rhe truck was carried about fifty
feet down tire 'trat9c before the train
was brought to a 'halt, and the engine
itse'l'f was to badly damaged that the
train had to be hauled into Goderich
station by as auxiliary engine sent
out for the purpose. :Engineer W. H.
'I'ayilttr and Conductor F. Boylan,
'both of Sarnia, were in charge of the
train, According to witnesses—driv-
ers of cars behind .the death truck-
the vehicle drove right in front of the
train without even an apparent at-
tempt on the part of the driver to
come Ito a halt. Drivers of the other
vehicles saw the approaching train
and slowed clown to let it pass. The
truck driver, however, appeared not
to have noticed the traits. It was not
determined which of the .men was
driving the truck, tDr, 'J. if, Graham
of 'Goderich and 'Coroner Dr, W. F.
Callow were called to the scene and
attended ehe injured rnen,
Witnesses to the accident were \V.
R. Fells of Staffa, whose city was im-
mediately behind elle truck. Riding in
the next ,machine were Provincial
'Officer P. .E. McCoy of 'Goderich and
Magistrate J. A. _Malcins of 'St'atford,
coming to lGtiderich, where the 'latter
condi c ted .police court Thursday af-
'ternoon.
The C. N. d2. track crosses No, S
'Highway at an angle of about 05 de-
grees at this particular crossing,
Botit lite train and the track were
going toward •Goderich,
l'br, Powell heel lived in 'Clic Sea -
forth district for the past ten years,
coining front ,Us'bo'ne,'He worked for
H. 'ryadeill, operating a threshing
outfit and 'later went to work 'for the
W. \'i, 'Sproat tile yard. Little is
kttotvn of 'his family connections; al-
though 'he has a 'brother, :Frantic 'Pow-
ell. believed to the somewhere in Cali-
fornia, and.a sister, (Jessie, in the Un-
ited States. The funeral inns ltelrl on
Sat t.0 cla y,
Scholaray Caller: "And have you
any particular preference iii the ..way
of hooks?"
'D'augh'ter of the House: "Well, I
prefer the blue ones, but 1 ,$ost't mind
A NAUGHTY BOY
I shall never ,forget my bitter d'is•-
appoinitntent the 'first time I was tak-
en, at an early age, to see 'Queen 'Vic••
Moria, says Lord Frederick 'Hamilton
in "The Days ,Before Yesterday." I
had pictured myself a dazzling appari-
tion arrayed in sumptuous robes, seat-
ed on a golden throne; a glittering .
crown on ,her 'head, a sceptre in one
hated, an orb grasped in the other.
I had 'fancied Her Majesty seated.
thus, nnotiondess during the greater
part .of the twenty -'four hours, simply
"reigning." 'I could have tcried 'with
disa'pp'ointmen't When a iniddie'aged
lady, simply dressed in widow's
"weeds" and 'wearing a widow's cap,
rose from an ordinary arm -chair to
receive us. I duly 'made my bow,' but
fiaving a sort of an idea !th'a•t it had.
to be indefinitely repeated, went on
nodding like a porcelain Chinese man-
darin, until ordered to stop.
Between ourselves, 'I behaved far
better than a brother of mine once
did under similar circumstances.
t;\tany years !before I rias 'born. my
father terns Itis (Scotch house to Queen
Victoria and the !Prince Consort for
ten days. This entailed nay two eldest
sisters and two eldest brothers vacat-
ing their nurseries in 'favor of the
!Royal children and their being trans
ferred to the farm,witere they ,had
very cramped quarters indeed.
My second brother deeply resented
thus being turned out of hie comfort•
able nursery, and refused to be ,plac-
ated, On the clay after the Queen's
arrival, my mother took her four eld-
est children to present them. to Her
Majesty, my sisters dressed in their
best clothes, my hrnthers being .its
kilts.
They were duly instructed as to
how :they were to behave, and upon
being presented my two sisters 'made
their curtsies, and my eldest brother
made his best bow. "Ani this, your
ltttje.,'ty, is my second boy. :brake
yen! 'bow-, dear," said my mother;
,but my brother, his heart still loot
within hili at being expelled from his
nursery, instead of bowing, stood on
his head in Itis kilt, and remained like
that, an accomplishment of nittich he
was very prond•.Later in the day un -
on my brother professing deep peni-
tence, he was taken back to 'make his
apologies, when he did precisely the
xoom thing over again, and was con-
sequently in disgrace during the
whole of the Royal visit.
HOUSE PLANTS PREFER
CERTAIN WINDOWS
Lr the management of house plants,
the location of windows is a ,natter of
some importance. ,For most house
plants as a Tule, windows facing south
are'preferalble to the ones with_a west-
ern outlook, because during the short
winter days the western windrows will
receive little sun and what they do
receive is too'horizcrntal to be of much
service. On the other handl, for shade -
loving plants like palms and ferns,
windows, ,facing east are most suitable.
(Dwelling house air is usually dry,
particularly during the winternnonths
and creates a condition especially in-
viting to the red spider which plays
havoc with foliage, 'Dryness its the air
may be decreased by evaporating
water in the room and by syringing
foliage on bright days. Thick leaved
plants may be sponged with water
containing whale oil soap. Ventila-
tion on pleasant days is beneficial to
house'p'lants,
tin choosing plants for the house,
their fitness for titin purpose may be
determined largely from structure and
general appearance. (Plants with ,thick
leaves with a small glossy surface are
but little affected by a dry tempera-
ture, while plants with :small thin
leaves dry op quickly, Deciduous
plants wthiIh show bare stems in win-
ter are The le'as't decorative.
'At night plants do best in a tem-
perature ten or fifteen degrees lower
than they need during the 'day, 'Most
species used as house plants require
no more than ,tufty or 'fietyafive de-
grees 'Fahrenheit at night, and they
wild snot 'suffer if the thermometer falls
to forty al'fhougth such a temperature
maintained for some time would check
growth. Frozen plats should be
thawed oat slowly, 'T'hey should be
be moved front the direct rays of the
sun and kept at a tem;penabure of
from thirty-+five,•po ,forty degrees un-
til thawed. If road water is used. for
thawing, the temperature must not
1r• rise above forty degrees, 'Water at
nifty or sixty degrees will probably
Notice to ireu,turs J wks. for $2,50tacut totthaw
nithetttelves out.ermiUMng