The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1952-08-22, Page 2• ..„ • •`' .; . 44. • • t • a tete, ;tili t''..t7,•:;;e',"tt,t,:'.•';:.;:*:..-.17,...1,:;,,,,I,;i,•..,,,:,,-.'.,.:01-;,.. ,fe k : THE HURON EXPOSITOR ;77744,77,7ttifi; efeee7,7e7 ,7777,TITN:11?,,,7 AUGUST 22, lin URON EXPOSITOR Established, 1,8,60 A. Y. McLean, Editor Published at Seaforth, Ontario, ev- vry Thursday afternoon by McLean roe. Member of Canadian Vie ekly Newspapers Association. Subscription rates, $2.50 a year in advance; foreign $3.50 A year. Single copies, 5 cents each. Advertising rates on application.. PHONE 41 Authorized as Second Class Mail Post Office Dep•a, onent, Ottawa. SEAFORTH, Friday, August 22 Foot and Mouth Disease Ends Canada's six-month fight against foot and mouth disease ended official- br this week. While the economic JOSS to Canada resulting from the outbreak of the disease may well run into millions, the fact that it has been stamped out in so short a time is a credit to the efficiency with which officials of the Federal Department of Agriculture attacked the problem. In having rid Canada of the disease in about six months, officials of the Department are believed to ,have established a world record. The fact that Canada' is declared free of foot and mouth disease does mot mean that the American market will be restored „automatically. Just when the American market -will be reopened is a question which no Canadian official appears able to Answer. Earlier this year, as the fight against the disease progressed, Canadian officials had hoped the U.S. Agriculture Department would drop the embargo about sixty days after Canada officially declared itself free of the disease. But Charles Brannan, U.S: secre- tary of agriculture, said recently in Washington, that his department would be "very, very careful" before reaching a decision on the embargo. Some American officials had stated it might be a year before the embargo would be removed, but Mr. Brannan said he was sure it would not be that long. He did not pin himself down to any specific date. in any event the Canadian Government will not per- mit the importation of meat and live- stock as long as the embargo is in existence, and will thus preserve the Canadian market for Canadian pro- ducers. Great as the cost of eradicating the disease has been, it is small com- pared to the loss that would have re- sulted had its spread not been cur- tailed. The insidious feature of the disease is that while mortality is not high, the animals affected become un- economic to rear, fail to put on weight, and give a reduced flow of milk It is to be hoped that Canada's first experience with foot and mouth dis- ease will be its last. • On Making Soil Scientists have been the means, through the years of improving man's enjoyment of life. 'They have discovered pills that kill disease, in- vented mechanical means of elimin- ating much everyday toil, land pro- vided entertainment that a few years ago was not even imagined. Now we are told that one of the great secrets, how Nature makes vir- gin soil, has been discovered, imitat- ed and improved by a team of scien- tific farmers. Nature does it with a substance known by the vague name of humus, made by decaying vegetation of for- csts and plains. Nature takes thou - *ands of years. The scientific fann- ers do it ;la 'few hours, with syn- thetie ehera*.try. this man/nade humus—a yellow Wder—biopfs eheap enough,, it be oiie of the great agricultural acbi0" , ranking vVith the plow, barete Ortili2ers,, insecticides glut!'" 'Preeding er krilium is a resin tal gas, ammonia and 1 humus, this resin •4` A 1 artitles of clay to 1Udtth like Lace, whoSe 'ne to be SMI In 2,4 hours this Ogee worpotit 14ite the strati* et•‘•Vte.a. The protedure necessary to remake twill is said to be simple. Choose a dry day and dry ground and scatter the powder by hand. ' The powder has to be worked into the ground at a chosen depth, which usually is about three inches. Plow depth is possible, but takes more powder, The next and final step is to wet the earth, or wait for rain. Water dissolves the resin, which thereupon reaches out with its electrical attrac- tion to bind molecules of clay. After this union, water no longer has any effect. Nature's humus is eaten by bac- teria and germs in the soil. It does not last indefinitely. Bugs and bac- teria do not eat the man-made humus. The remade soil holds about thirty per cent more water than the same soil before the magic powder. Save That Tree We have often advocated a more positive -attitude on the part of mun- icipalities to the end that the hun- dreds of trees which grace so many streets and roads might be protected ancrsaved for future generations. But we never went as far as did housewives in a Michigan town, who in an organized drive, prevented the Cutting down of trees in a highway building program. Workmen had levelled twenty-eight trees before the women dropped their knitting and descended on them in an angry swarm. Same brandished saws and hatch- ets. Others kicked ladders out from under the workmen, leaving them stranded. Mrs. M. L. Miller organ- ized a picket line that paraded up and down the sidewalk. Workmen said some of the house- wives, in the manner of the suffra- gettes who demanded votes for wo- men a generation ago by chaining themselves to iron fences, embraced their beloved maples and dared the workmen to apply the buzz saw. The matter has been referred to the courts for decision. W What Other Papers Say: "Big Ben" Off Duty (From The Times of London) Other great timepieces are older or more weighty than Big Ben, but none of them compares with him for world fame, and the news that he is about to be silent for some hours, while his hammer work is overhaul- ed, will spread far and wide. When members of Parliament were hover- ing, like anxious fairies, over his birth, they were reassured by the Chief Lord of the Woods and Forests (now called, prosaically, Minister of Works) that this child of the crafts- man's art would grow up to be "a Noble Clock, indeed a King of Clocks, the biggest and best in the world, within sight and sound of the heart of London." Seldom has an official prophecy come more nearly true. Great Paul is heavier by a few tons, Great Peter of York is nearly as heavy and com- parative lightweights—such as the Great Toms of Oxford and Lincoln —have historic claims that they may be unprepared to waive for any metropolitan rival. Big Ben, silent or sounding, shining in the dark or unlit (as he briefly was in a recent fuel crisis), remains in prestige the great grandfather of all clocks. Al- ways ' keeping a keen eye 'on the march of time, he was quick to see the importance of the wireless to a public figure and, as early as 1923, he had his first broadcast. Althotgh he is a Victorian, he in- herited an older tradition. The Clock Tower is said to have risen after a medieval Lord Chief Justice, who falsified a court record, had been fin- ed and the money used to erect a bell striking the hours and reminding the judges in Westminster Hall in- differently to administer justice. A more scientific duty was, from the first, assigned to the unborn Big Ben. Be must, demanded the then Astronomer Royal of startled clock - makers, register the time correct to one second a day by the first stroke of the hour,boll and the record of his perfotiti4nce S b.ptild be tOlegraphed twice daily ta: Observa- Seen in the County Papers Fractures 'Finger Seven-year-old Brian Cameron, son of Mr. and Mrs. N. D. Camer- on, had the misfortune to fracture and lacerate bis right index finger three weeks ago at Port Elgin.— Wirigham Advance -Times. 'Hardware Opens Glen Fisher has purchased the George Hawkins Hardware, it was announced last week. Possession was, taken at the first of August. Mr. Fisher was formerly employed at Exeter Motor Sales. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. ,Clark Fisher, Laborite Township.—Exeter Times Advocate. Accepts Manitoba Post Dr. j. IL Weir, Professor of Field Husbandry at the Ontario Agrieue tune College, has accepted the posi- tion of Dean of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba. A native of Wingham, Out., Dr. Weir is a graduate of the 0.A.C., the Uni- versity of Alberta, and the Uni- versity of Minnesota, Prom which he obtained his doctor's degree in plant genetics. — Wingham Ad- vance -Times. evening in the Waltpn park to de- cide the winner of the South Hur- on group for the right to meet Walton next week in a best -of - three -games series.—Brussels Post. Youths Knock Over Mail Boxes Four Ashfield Township farm youths each &ad sentence 'suspend- ed for six months by 'Magistrate D. E. Hplmes, Q.C., last week when they pleaded guilty to charges of wilfully damaging a number of mail. boxes and a farm binder. Crown Attorney H. Glenn Haye, Q.C., said that the four youths, Harvey Hage- dorn, Donald MacLennan, Lloyd Gollan and Finlay MaeLennati, af- ter drinking some beer, had gotten into Hagedorn's car and driven ov- er the area in question, knocking over mail boxes. Be saidthey had also hooked a binder onto the car and smashed it completely. He said that restitution had been made. Hagedorn said that they thought the binder was out of commission. Payment of court cost and .$1.011 bail were oedered. Goderich Signal - Star. Former Reeve Passes Exeter and surrounding district Tattoo Attracts 10 Bands mournthe loss of one of its best At least ten ,barids took part lit known citizens in the person of William D. •Sanders, in his 89th the tattoo at Dashwood Tuesday, year. He was born in Stephen township and farmed there until coming to Exeter 30Years ago. Dur- ing his entire life he was vitally interested in municipal affairs and served as councillor and reeve dur- ing his residence in Stephen, and he was reeve of Exeter for eight years. During the year 1907 ate was given the appointment of Justice of the Peace for the County of Hur- on, a position he held until death. In all associations in public affairs the welfare of the people whom he served was always his first consid- eration. His familiar' and .eharac- teristic handshake will be missed by old and young alike. — Exeter Times -Advocate. Featured were the London Girls' and Boys' Band under the direction of A. C. Robinson and the Sarnia Garrison Trumpet Band who were second place winners at Waterloo Festival. Other bands attending were from Exeter, Seaforth, St. Marys, Forest, Thedford, Centralia, R.C.A.F., Zurich and Dashwood junior bands, and Dashwood senior band—Exeter Times -Advocate. Will Teaoh At Lions Head Misses Donna Richmond and Jean McVittie have successfully completee a summer sohool teach- ers' course at Toronto and each has secured a teaching position for the coming year. Miss Richmond will have charge of the junior room at the Lions Head public school, and Miss McVittie has a position at Barrow Bay, seven miles south of Lions Head. Both were fourth form students at ClintontDistrict Collegiate Inst'tute during the past term.—Blyth Standard. Wins Second in Water Ski Meet David Camerae, 13 -year-old son of Mr, and Mrs. N. D, Cameron, Wingham, won second place in the junior jumping division at the East- ern Canada water skiing meet theld at -Southampton on August 9 and 10. This is only the second summer at the sport for David, who took it up last year. His skiing has been confined to the choppy waters of Lake Huron, where skiing is much more difficult that on the quiet in- land lakes. At Southampton he was in competition with older (up to 17 years) and more experienced boys.—Wingham Advance -Times. Brussels 'Holds Winthrop 1-1 Bayfield Church Celebrates The fiftieth anniversary of the building of St. Andrew's ,Church, Bayfield, was celebrated Sunday, August 10. The records show that on Sunday, August 24, 1962, the church was opened and dedicated to the public worship of God. Be- fore that time the Presbyterian congregation had worshipped in the brick building behind the pre- sent furniture factory and overlook- ing the river. When the Front Road Presbyterian Church was dis- mantled in 1900 and rebuilt in Van: na, about 'half the congregation joined the Bayfield ohurch, because it was nearer than the Varna church. This sudden influx Ailed the Bayfield church almost to over- flowing and it became necessary to make some new arrangement. At first it was planned to enlarge the existing building. Some collecting was' done for this purpose, but at a congregational meeting held on September 30, 1901, It w,as decided to build a new church. During the A fast and close game of foot- following winter many "bees" were ball between Brussels and Whel held, getting the material in readi- throp in a semi-final game was•ness for the work of building; played in Walton park August 12, stones for the fonnelation were Winthrop scored in the first period. brought from tthe Bayfield river and In the second period Brussels, put- trick for the walls from St. Joseph ting on considerable steam, 'scored and in February the contract was one goal just before time was call- let to Buchanan & Lawson, Gode- ed, making it a tie, 1-1. A sudden- rich. for $1,923. — 'Clinton News - death game was scheduled Monday Record. eeeeireeeroefteoeeeeteereerreeaoierreeseeeaeurereeeerovereaftereeereeer orego~rerr...o0V0.../.........reetwftemot.•••••••0"*.eao.nrminLiva Crop Report For Huron Fine weather prevailed for the greater part of this week, aiding considerably in the threshing and combining of spring grain, How- ever, there still is a considerable acreage of stooked grain yet to be harvested. Red clover and alfalfa fields are heavy in bloom. Good aftermath is helping to maintain a fair fleet of milk. * * * careless youltry Feeding is Costly The amount of feed wasted by Canadian poultrymen probably runs into many thousands of dollars an- nually. It arises no doubt from a lack of appreciation of how rapidly feed wastage builds up until it re- presents a serious loss in an other- wise efficiently operated industry. Careless feeding Is possibly the greatest cause of feed wastage, and one way to avoid it is to use feed hoppers of proper size and type, says T.M-MacIntyre of the Experi- mental Farm, Nappan, N.S. Often feed hoppers are used which are too small—partIcularly for growing stock. In order to avoid frequent feeding there is a tendency to ov- erfill these hoppers, with the result that the birds often "bill out" as much as a quarter to a half of the feed. With feed at five cents a pound this represent& a real loss to the producer and in the final an- alysis to the poultry industry as a whole. If the estimated 70 million domestic fowl on 'Canadians farms each wastes a quarter of a pound of feed in its lifetime, the feed loss would run to 8,750 tons. At tb- day's cost of feed this is. a con- siderable overall loss to the Indus- try. Mich of this loss can be avoided by using hoppers of proper size and designed so that they need not be overfilled. They should be placed so that they are level with the bird's backs. Crossareeding--A Blessing Or a Curse? Among the breeding methors us- ed with livestock none bas given rise to as mach controversy as cross4weeding. This is not !Bur - prising, singe animal and Plant breeding research has ShoWn. that the results obtained in a crags - breeding program are dependent upon many factors, says F. K. Kristjanson, Animal Husbandry Di- vision, Central Experiment -al Farm, Oetewa. Certain 'breeds and certain tines Within breeds combine better than others in a cross -breeding program. The .breeder cannot expect equally good results from all crosses, nor can he expect to t satisfactory results by cross-breeffing good qual- ity stock. Above all, the cross- breeding program should be sys- tematic and not merely a "mon- grelizing" of stock. It would be premature to make any blanket recommendation on cross -breeding at the present time, but many livestock men have made up bheir minds to try ite To these breeders the following advice is of- fered: 1. Obtain information on the crosses most likely to 'be success- ftil within the class of stock con- cerned. 2. Obtain advice on a systematic program to follow. 3. Use the best purebred sire available. 4. Where possible, utilize cross - hied females in the • program, in order to take advantage of the hy- brid vigor which they express, 5. Cross -breed on a limited scale for the first three or four years, to determine if better results are be- ing ,achieved than through conven- tional breeding methods. Aveilaele experimental evidence shows that tross-breeding can be a blessing' if 'appropriate breeds are used and If the cross -breeding is systematic. It' also shows that cross -breeding conducted in a hap- hazard manner with inferior stock can be a curse, * * * Feeding and Management of Sows Sows must farrow large litters if •the swine enterprise is to be pro- fitable, Those not properly condi- tioned for farrowing produce Utters which are handicapped from birth as they cannot make the growth and profit they vhottid. Satisfac- tory litters ere the" result of lautity' table rations and zroper care, eitys A. R. roues, Ardroal himbandry at bhe Experitafintal Station, Beaver - lodge, Alta. Satable feed and ample Isorcise octitatgapa tin Page 6) , , • • .• . .4;4 • • ; • • , 11111:1MWS IMEALT,11„ Reply ambito by x-ray Are a safe and painless wag To find early cases ofT$. Ther .cures are made more easily. Dept. of National Neallf, and Welfare Years Agone Interesting Items Picked From The Huron Expositor of Twen- ty -tale and Fifty Years Ago From The Huron Expositor August 19, 1927 Fire from' an unkdown cause de- stroyed the aid Colbert Brewery in Egmondville early Monday. The Prompt response of 'the fire brigade and neighbors saved bite residence of Mr. H. Worden, who now owns the property. The original brew- ery was built about 75 years ago by George Weiland and was later purchased by Henry Colbert, Mr. W. A. Crich and son, Dr. Aubrey Crich, left Tuesday on a fishing trip to North Bay. Miss Margaret E. Grieve has been engaged to teach at S.S. No. 4, Huflett. On Thursday the ladies held an interesting flag competition on the local golf course, the prizes which were donated by Mrs, Thos. Smith and won by Elizabeth McLean and Eleanor Burrows. On Wednesday the Clinton ladies entertained the club to a delightful tea; also eleven ladies played in Listowel. They were Miss 0. MacKay, Mrs. T. S. Smith, Mrs. J. C. Oreig, Mrs. R. E. McKenzie, M4ss E. McLean, IVIIss Grieve, Mrs. McLaughlin, Mrs. J. A. Munn, 'Miss 0. Laidlaw, Mrs. F. J. Burrows and Mrs. C. Stewart. On Tuesday evening an unfor- tunate accident accurred to Mr. Fred Dowson, who lives a few miles east of Hensel]. While working with a tractor, and leaning over the large driving wheel, he was thrown off and had three ribs brok- en, He thinks he must have touch- ed the starting lever. Although bad- ly injured, he was able to make for bee home a short distance away, and medical aid was s.ummoned. The well drillers at Zurich have reached a depth of 200 feet. About 20 feet of water is now available, and the supply is said to be inex- haustible. Tuesday evening a real live game of baseball was played ' on the diamond at Hensall lbetween that village and Crediton, resulting in a score of 4-2 for Hensel]. Hen -I line-up was as follows: Catch- er, Vern Hedden; pitcher, W. Brine nell; first base, Laird Mickle; sec- ond base, Dr. Knapp; short -stole, Ferris Cantelon; third base, Sam Rennie; right field, Lloyd Venner; centre, Harold Scruton; left field, M. Farquhar and W. Venner. • From The Huron Expositor August 23, 1902 Mr. Wm. Caldwell, Hensall, has recently been improving the ap- pearance of his dwelling by a coat of paint. SS. No. 5, Meleillop, was open- ed with a large attendance of pupile. Miss Margaret Devereaux, Seaforth, is the teacher." Civic holiday was a big day for the local bowlers and all day and well on into the night, the green was the scene of strife, The occa- sion was a tournament between rinks chosen from the club mem- bers and 'the games were keenly contested. First prize was won by bhe rink skipped by W. Pickard and composed of S. Johns, A. J. Bright, T. P. Coleman and W. Pickard, skip. Second prize was won by D. T. Ilephurn's rink, com- posed of J. McMichael, H. Jeffery, Wm. Ament and D, T. Hepburn, skip. About 75 persons left Seaforth station Thursday morning on the harvesters' excursion to. the West. The following were ticketed' by W. Somerville: James Ryan, Crawford Simpson, W. J. Murdoch, Bruce - field„ Miss R. Harris, Jacob Mor- den, Miss •Nellie McGonigle, Sea - forth; James Cook, Mrs, Sander- son, Miss McCully, W. L Jamieson, W. Dunlop, Constance; E. Driscoll, Miss May Morrison, Albert Con- stable, George iPlumtree Alexander Stitt, John Dodds, Mrs. Hunter, Robert Grieve and wife; W. Bol- ton, MoKillop; Wm. Carter, Arthur 111. Johne, George a Sproat, Tucker - smith; AVM. Becker, J. K. Eller and Wayne, Hay Twp. Miss Jessie Bethune has been en, gaged as teacher for the fourth do- partment ,Seafortb Public School. Miss Annie Murray, Moneta, left. Friday morning for Pinkerton, Bruce 'County, where she goes to take charge of a school. Mr. Walter Baird, Brucelield, who has been assistant baggagentan Clinton station, thas resigned suit win attend Me0.111,13netteraite,31VIOn- treal, to study inedichtek. Last week.Mr, johno4YKeefe,;04- tle dealer of. town, paid OUt4/.0t76ett for cattle 'which he shipped. ,There Were SeVen earleada aa 443 110.41, Wird (MOO is a large shipper,,and well as Robert Whittle, *he :elite Caratitel, ery We 0 Article NO. 23 In the Series Hibbert Township:This-That (By Mise Belle Campbell) (Continued from last week) ' Telephone That the MeKillop, Logan and Hibbert Telephone Company Limit- ed is privately owned by certaia subsceibers? This 'Company had telephone lines built through these townships early in 1900. By 1910 telephones were coming into gen- eral use throughout Hibbert Town- ship,- Staffa Fair That the first'Staa Fall fair, sponsored by the •Hibbert Branch of the Agricultural SocietY, washeld, held, in 1870 on the southwest cor- ner of Hotham's farm, and the next, in 1871, on Lot 15, east side of the Centre Road, across from where the fairs were held in later years. The date was always early in October. Oa March 21, 1872, two acres were bought from Richard Hotham for $140, and bhe fairs were then held on the west side of the Centre Road, half way back to Hotham's bush.. At the Society's •annual meeting on January 11, 1873, the president, George Hamilton, and Director Robert SerVice, proposed to unite with Fullarton,•Logan and Mitchell Agricultural Societies and hold a union exhibition at Mitchell. This proposal wee turned down, as the majority felt the Staffa Fair was started for thee benefit of residepta of Hibbert Township, and that it should be continued. In May, 1877, the Board decided to enclose the show, grounds with a high board fence. A contract was let to William Pethick to build a new hall on the grounds, the cost of both to be around' $300, and the Work to be completed in time for the '1877 fall fair. Fairs were held tore regularly till the fall of 1904 On October 2, 1905, the land and buildings were sold to Joseph Nor- ris, who very soon had them sil removed except the Crystal Palace. It was sold to Joe Worden in 1910 and moved to his farm, Lot 17, Con ceseion 8, where it stood till the spring of 1950, when it, too, was torn down.. That Fair Day the women wore their best dresses of silk, satin, alpaca, muslin and organdy with puffed sleeves and long full skirts, regardless of whether the grounds were muddy or dusty? Usually i it wasn't one, it was the other, and they were' a sorry -looking, bedrag gled bunch when the day was over. That each child was given no more than 25 cents for the day's outing? It cost fifteen cents for admission, if one went through the gate, and who would say it didnt take good management and some scheming to get a throw at the doll, a glass of pink lemonade, a ball of popcorn, and a cornocopia of blue or green grapes, out o the other ten cents. That Pain Boa was the strongest ana skilfulest man in wending the mallet to' force the weight up the high pole, measured off in feet and inchee? That on Spring Fair, or as it was more commonly spoken of as Horse Fair Day, each horse -lover, both old and young, proudly pared ed :before the crowd with his sleek welegroomed horses in the yard not far from the hotel sign at the intersection in the village. Special Events That each Spring a sawing bee was held at the same place as the horse show, but on a different day? The sawing skill of the contestants was tested by sawing througb a piece ,of timber, usually 22 inches in diameter? That the outstanding sewers were Bill Dunlop, Ben Dunlop, An- gus McDonald, Charlie Worden and Paul Boa? That Paul Boa, and whoever he happened to choose for a partner, were usually the winners? That for the Thanksgiving Shoot- ing Match, sides were chosen? These teams spent the afternoon scouring the woods for game. Each team kept a score. At the end of the day they all gathered at 'Staffa Hotel and compared scores to de- cide the winners. The losing side paid the supper and all that went with it. That the Pigeon Shooting IVIatch was another fall event? It was held in Bell's field, just back of' the Town Hall. .Barns and stable lofts were searched by the light of lan- terns for miles around for bait to test their marksmanship the day of the match. The best shot got the turkey, and the hotel 'provided the program after the match was over. This event brought contestants and interested onlookers from the sur- rounding district. That the Ploughing Match was another event where the men ex- hibited their skill? These were held on different farms yearly in Hibbert till at least 1889, frorn as early as 1872? The matches were held under the direction of the Hibbert Ploughing Association. Af- ter the match was over the plough- men gathered at a hotel in one vil- lage and the directors, judges, etc., at another in the other village over the mountain, where hot dinners were served to all. That at one of these ploughing' matches John Fellow set up a small bar in the field where he sold liquor? One faithful customer, late in. the day, got down and after sev- eral futile attempts to rise on his own power decided to stay Put. Anobber, some distsice away, feel- ing in good spirits Motif, shouted across to 'Fellow: "Hey, Mr. Fel- low! Mr. Fellolv, your sign is down!" Fire Insurance Company That the first tneeting was held t Farquhar on May 20, 1876, to tablish a Parmers' IVRItUal Fire imitate Colnpany. At thiS Meet - g Taibbert decided to unite Meth abtirne. IVIessrs, Alex Ininean, ames hails and James GflIeie ere appainted agents to secure o neeessar3r amount of stook, Vito 40,1100., i‘tettty $86;000 wag etib, aIt :9r 13 e spot. It was at a eje lzt TJ a,* th $1 meeting held on June 23, 1876, that, the "name, Usborne and Hubbert Mutual Fere Insurance Company,. was chosen. The head offiee was to be at Farquhar. The test meet- ings were held in the 'Cheese Fac- tory on Lot 19, North Thames Road,... in Ufiborne Township, just east of' Parqahar. The first officers were: President, Robert Gardiner; victi- president, Alex Duncan; secretary - treasurer, N. J. Clark. Seven direc- tors were also appointed, namely: Alex Duncan, Robert Gardiner, Fin- lay McCormick, James Halls, Rob- ert Creery, Thomas Kay add Wil- liam Warden. The first agent for Hibbert was John Carmichael. The, company began business on June 28, 1876. They had 206 policies thee first year, and the amount of in- surance was $227,725. The expens- es were $93.10. There was a gain. of 40 policies the second year. The - first year there were no losses. The - first claim peen was $850 to Jarrese, Hibbert, after his stable and granary burned on September 27, 1877. At -tbe end of 1949 the! company had 3,964 policies in force, and the amount of insurance wase $23,599,410. e Good Templars That as early as 1861 there *as. a good following in the Temper- ance Society in Staffa, known as. the Good Templars? Menakeret pledged themselves to refrain fro drinking hard liqttor, but cider, not mentioning the age of it, was per- mitted. These temperance meet- ings were held in later years in the Township Hall, at 'which they' bad a program and a social time. That the lodge meetings of the. Sons of Scotland' and the Inde- pendent Order of: Foresters were) also held in the ,hall from the 81)!s• till the early 190,0's? In time the• membership in these became so, small they disbanded. Beef Ring That the first beef. ring in Hib- bert was started by William Rivers at Chiselhurst in"1904? The small house on William Wren's farm, West 50, Lot 29; Concession 12, was: used for the slaughter house. Jim Rivers, a brother of William's, took over in 1906. From then on more - were organized. The !first heifer - cost $28. The, cost in 1951 was. from $280 to $300. Farmer's Institute That from the early 1900's thee men had their Farmer's Institute' meetings when therhad represent, - eaves from. Guelph Agricultural' College speak in the TowashietHalr at Staffa. William White was the. president. After a number: of' years these meetings were discone tinued, at least under the name: of the Farmer's Institute. In the - 1940's Farm Forum, which were held first in the homes, and later - in the Township Hall and the. schools, became quite common. At: these meetings farm and farmersa problems are discussed by both the men and the women. The; also) provided an evening al entertain, went during the winter nentbh‘s.. Women's Institute - That the Staffa Branch of thee Women's Institute was organized early in the 1900's. This organiza- tion meeting was held at the Hilt! home on Concession 8. Mrs. Jim. Hill, who now lives in Seaforth, is-- the only charter member still liv- ing. The projects carried out by _this organization have increased during the years. The renovation of the Township Hall, built in the! early 70's, north of the hotel, was, a project they had long in mind.. The treasurer, Jessie Gillespie, in 1913, deposited the first money, one hundred dollars, for the im- provement of the hall. Because of' the war of 1914-1918, nothing waee done till 1929, At that time thee township had it moved to its pre- sent site and had improvements made on it. The Institute assisted, in the work, • Special Davie Teat the 24th of Mey, thee Queen's Birthday, was militery- training day for all able-bodied men from 21 to 60, in the early days?': They mustered their guns, met at; an appointed, place and practicedt for the day. This was discontinued in later years. It was also fishing dey for the younger fry. A well- known school rhyme runs like. this: "The Twenty-fourth of May7 is the Queen's Birthday, and if. you t don't give us a holiday, we will alf run away!" This year, 1.952„ the 24th of May celebratlense. That for the Orangemen, notleittg could compete with the "Orange ! Walk" on the 12th of July. Charlie often said he would rather have one 121h of July than twenty-four • 24tits of May! That at Christmas there was ala - ways a concert and 'Christmas tree-, in the 'Staffa Metliodict Church? They •also had an open-air service each year, the last Sunday in June,.. usually in Burns' bush, a miler north of the village, and a picnic was held in the same place on Truly 1. The Presbyterians held theirs bite same day at the efoune • tain. That Christmas Day, with many - of the Scotch in the community,... was `pig -killing', or tbutchering day? New Ye..ar's Day was the •Scotche mane day for celebrating. That a servied 'was held in' Cromarty Presbyterian Church eve. ery Thanksgiving Day, and some, walked long dist/tures to' it? Many would rather work on Sunday -e - something that wasn't sione-thane on that particular day. Only, the works of necessity were done on a Sunday. The daily newspaper,. which was passed from home to'laime, was laid aside on Saturday tight, to be read no more till Mon- day. Saturday was boot -blacking night. When the job was finished in every hottie, a row of shining bdota Vim Heed up ready for the (Co)Itilxiteit 011 ,Pago •• ',•••:•••". t- ti;(;;;;' It',1;t4.1;ti'• ;;;;; ; ,t7;Itt,',;;;:t'. 1.;' tt ••:tt 4.4 "4" t. r tt`t tt, '••• '4••; ItItttlt „t44; . .1 •