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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1957-11-22, Page 1r i x• is vac:,.};.;^r, .; SEAFORTH'S'TOWN HALL,erected in 1894 for approximate- ly $10,000, is shownsas it has appeared for many years. Cou".t- less thousands of district residents have climbed the wooden stairs to attend gatherings in the now rarely used third floor auditorium. 44,44444x ti,.tr . . Half Quilt in 1894 CostTown$10,000 Seaforth's present Town Hall was brbught into use in May. 1894, after a series of meetings and dis- cussions which, at times, became quite acrimonious and threatened to disrupt- the peaceful existence of what then was the recently in. corporated Town of Seaforth. The new structure cost approximately $10,000. Necessity for a new town build- ing arose following the fire early one Sunday morning, August 23, 1891, when the frame building, which had served the town for many years, was destroyed. Located in the town square at what is now the intersection 'of Market and Jarvis Streets, the early town hall contained the fire equipment which, . together with the Band. instruments, was a complete loss. Following the fire, proposals to rebuild the town hall in the same location were advanc- ed, but were countered by sug- gestions that a new location should be sought. It was not until two years later that a decision to er- ect a brick fireproof town build- ing on 'Main Street was arrived at by the citizens. Even when the decision to move to Main St. bad been taken, the discussions and disagreements by no means were ended. Most of the difficulty arose -be- cause the amounted voted for the project preyed to .be insufficient when tenders were called. The Huron Expositor of. that year re- counts the difficulties that were experienced by the council of the day in having the work•proceeded with. Extracts from the issues ' published while the proposal was being debated and during construe, tion follow. January 6, 1893 At a meeting of the Town Coun- cil on Tuesday evening, four ten- ders for the' erection of the new town building were laid on the table. but .it was decided to defer opening them until the next coun- ell' meetingr and tb receive addi- tional tenders until Monday next. January 13, 1893 The mayor reported the sale of the market house debentures at a premium of about 51 per cent, which announcement was received . with demonstrations of ' satisfac- tion by the council. The treasurer also announced that the amount, --$14,750—had been. placed to the credit of the town in the Canadian Bank of Commerce. The treasur- er was instructed to pay the pur- chase money for the town market site upon receiving the proper con- veyance therefore and to have the deed registered and filed. There were four tenders for the erection of the new market build- ing, as follows: G. W. Sperling & Co., $9,700; Cluff & Bennett, $9,675; J. H. Br'oadfoot, $9,575;' William Sleeth, $9,550.. As even the lowest of these tenders amount to con- siderably more than the, council have to devote to the building, a resolution was passed not to . ac- cept any of the tenders but to leave the matter .over to be dealt with by the incoming council, when HAROLD MALON'EY, Seas forth street superintendent, has a multitude of duties.. In addi- tion to being relponsible maitttenatt sof streets and 1"` lt.:;.4.�y�1�.�?�PIK�uSS�i.FCtt�. it is likely modified plans will have to be prepared. The building as provided for by the present plans and tendered for, would be a most handsome and commodious edifice and perhaps is not more imposing than an enter- prising town such ,as Seaforth should have. But we do not think the council would be justified in expending an amount outside of the by-law with- out receiving the assent of the ratepayers. It is not likely, how- ever, that this will be necessary as, no doubt, a building that will not be discreditable to the town can be built for the amount at the disposal of the council for that purpose. January 27, 1893 With respect to the new market building a motion to reduce the present plans so that the building would come within an estimated cost of $8:060 and an amendmenx referring the whole matter to- a committee were voted down; a motion, also, to accept Mr. Broad - foot's tender for the erectionof the building providing he will re- duce it by $250 was defeated by an amendment to leave the matter over for two weeks to give the new members of the council an opportunity to think the matter up. February 10, 1893 The following motions respecting the new town building were sub- mitted, viz.: Moved by J. H. Lyon and seconded by John Darwin, that the tender of Mr. J. H. Broad - foot be accepted, providing he de- duct the sum of $250, from the amount of his tender. Moved in amendment by M. Y. McLean and seconded by James Watson, that the matter of the new town build- ing be referred to a public meet- ing for the consideration of this question. Moved in amendment to the amendment by Mr. Beattie and seconded by Mr. Gunn, that the plans before the council for the new town building be reduced to a two-storey building, and that the tenders be re -taken for the erection of the reduced building, Both ameedments were voted down by large majorities, and the main motion was lost only by the casting vote of the Mayor. The Matter was then left over until the next. . regular meeting of .the council. February 17, .1893 • A motion to accept the tender of Mr. John H. Broadfoot on the present plans, provided he deduct $250, was lost on a' tie. An amend- ment to this motion, that the plans be amended—by leaving out the second 'flat and excavating the whole of the foundation, was also lost on a tie. Aesolution was then passed, providing that a vote by ballot•of the freeholders of the town be taken as to whether the building shall be completed accord- ing to the present plans, or in ac- cordance with the proposition to reduce it by leaving out the sec- ond flat, Friday, Feb. 24, was set apart as. -the day on which the vote should be taken on the Mar- ket building, and the Mayor was authorized to call a public meeting of the ratepayers -on Friday eve- ning, Feb, 17, for the purpose of discussing the question. • 'March 3, 1.892 The vote on Friday last on the question of the town building, as to whether the council should pro- ceed with the erection of the three-storey building, as proposed by the present plans, or procure modified plans for a two-storey building, so as to bring the entire cost within the sum provided for by the by-law, resulted in favor of the three-storey building by a ma- jority of 66 votes cast: For 3 -storey For 2 -storey building building, 51 24 33 22 44 16 Ninety -Eighth Year Whole Number 46$6 aforth SE4.FORT , ONTARIO, FRIDAY, N ow rov Estctblished in 1912 PUC Grows With Town Seaforth Public Utility Commis. sion this year is marking the 45th year of its existence in Seaforth. The Commission came into being on January 1. 1912, as ratepayers approved t':e formation of• the commission. The by-law establish- ing the commission was approved by ratepayers with a majority of 26. There were 163 vbtes favoring the proposal, and 137 votes against it. In addition to approving the formation. of a commission, the electors agreed on the personnel of the first commission, and chose D. J. McCallum, who had been mayor in 1911, and who played in previous years a prominent role in bringing hydro to Seaforth. and William 'Kerslake and J. C. Greig, who was the mayor -elect in 1912. While the by-law estab'-'shing the coinritivion placed within its charge the waterworks system and sewage, as well as the electric Iight•system, in the early years the commission concerned itself primarily with the operation of the. hydro system. Waterworks, which_ previously had been in charge of a committee of council, continued much as before for a number of years. Decis'on.: to use hydro power in Seaforth was taken by council in May of1910, but prior to this nego- tiations had been under way for some months. A public meeting, held early in April, indicated that there appeared to be a majority of the ratepayers in favor of changing to hydro power from power supplied by a privately own- ed system. It was not until August 7, 1910. however, that the matter was fin- ally resolved. At that time a vote of the ratepayers indicated that a substantial majority preferred the changeover to hydro, 370 voting for, with 42 against. There were 23 ballots rejected, At the same time, electors indicated that they favored the i's•:ing of $25,000 in debentures to provide for hydro costs. The vote for the debenture was 354 in favor, and 53 against, with 28 rejected ballots. In the weeks preceeding the vote interest reached a high peak in the community, and issues of The Expositor at that time indicate that leading citizens took sides one way or the other. The letters to North East South 128 62 Majority for large building -66. March 17, 1893 It was decided that the Mayor, Reeve, Deputy -Reeve and Council- lors' Tyerman, Gunn and Lyon be appointed a committee to pass on • e advisability of making the tlh .tfol- e: ans, or f X >�3v xg ;'�� itESPONa,_a.i, for the oper- ations of the PUC is Manager R. B. Holmes, who carries out the policy laid down by the Commission. �i the editor column was filled with comments, either for or against the proposal. Public opinion in favor of the change to hydro re- ceived impetus at a public meet- ing, which was held on August 1, when Adam Beck addressed a crowded Cardno's Hall and ex- plained the proposal. Mr. Beck, who later became Sir Adam Beck, and who is regarded as being the father of hydro, had little diffi- culty in indicating to Seaforth ratepayers the benefits that ex- isted in a hydro association. As soon as format approval to the changeover had been given, work commenced to erect a pole line from Stratford to Seaforth, and construction' of a sub -station be- hind the Town Hall was put in hand. The first 'hydro power dis- tributed in. Seaforth was on De- cember 1, 1911. ,Introduction of hydro power re- sulted in interested comment, and met with great favor among the Seaforth users, a story in The Ex- positor describing the Light being furnis''ed as "a nice, clear and steady". What particularly in- terested those concerned was the fact that energy, which originated over a hundred miles away, had been transported on a thin copper wire. The story went on to say: "Next to the' telephone and the • gramophone, it is one of the most wonderful achievements of mods ern skill and ingentrity.". It is interesting at this time to reelize the order in which these marvels were listed. The gramophone was placed first. Early Plants Seaforth had had the benefit of e'.ectric power for a good many ears• prior to the introduction of hydro. Fc1• a number of years power was furnished from a plant located in what is now known as the old waterworks building' on, Coleman Street, and which also. housed the waterworks system in use at that time. Difficulties in operating the plant and the obvious necessity of pro- viding substantial additions and improvements to the system. led to discussions in 1893 as to the merits of continuing the operation as a publicly -owned utility, as op- posed to selling or leasing the plant to private interest. The coun- cil of that year gave considera- tion to the matter as early as its first meeting in 1894, and by March of 1894 had entered into a tentative agreement with Messrs, Scott Bros., of Seaforth, to sell the existing system. for $5.000. It was indicated that the alternative was the provision of extensions which 1would cost the municipality $10,- 000. At a meeting on. April 9. rate- payers were asked for their opin- ion and there was a.majority of 18 favoring the sale of the system to Scott Bros. Council, in the face of this opinion, took steps to trans- fer the property, the effective date being arranged for September 1. Scott Bros. immediately arrang- ed for the construction of new ac- commodation and erected the building which now houses Sea - forth Creamery. The latest in elec- trical generating equipment was introduced and installed, and by the agreed date ih September the plant was advanced to a point whereit was possible to assume responsibility{ for the distribution of power in Seaforth, A few weeks later the new plant had a narrow escape from fire, when on November 23 of the same year, r r'nntinued nn Page 41 AS IT APPEARS TODAY, the modernized Seaforth Town Hall has an attractive entrance leading to a ground floor lobby. This, in turn, provides' access to accommodation for the Pub- lic Utility Commission and the Town Clerk's office. The PUC is located at the north side of the building to the left. and the town clerk on the south side. Rearrangement of Interior Brings Added Efficiency With the completion of the -first phase of the remodelling and mod- ernization program of the town building. Seaforth citizens have a Town Hall which provides facili- ties.• comparable to that available in centres many times the size. Estimated to cost about $10.000, the alterations have made possible a complete rearrangement of the accommodation in the building. Alterations were financed out of 1the town's surplus accoun.t and did SEA;F'ORTH F ie: b'fre tt11 ��1 etdb � {� 8 � r E B1tIt th has modern accozitmodation fo ,i'ts t ed thter the TeWn Hall. Back of the, �te•ha 'Y*Sk is � N v` V:WV o large trucks in the .extension; }s the addi- not affect the tax rate. Insofar as the public is con- cerned, the major change has been in the treatment of the front ele- vation of the building by the re- moval of a large frame stairway structure which has provided en- trance to the second floor for many years. Under the new ar- rangement. entrance is provided on the ground floor and provides access to accommodation for the town clerk's office and for the Public Utility Commission. The Public Utility Commission has offices in the north wing of the building which includes a pub- lic office, a private office for the manager, and a board room for commission meetings and confer- ' n.ces. Leading from here is a warehouse for meters and similar material, and access is provided to a large garage building where the commission vehicles are hous- ed. Accommodation for the gar- age was created by the construc- tion an addition 40 feet by 35 feet to the rear of the present town building. The commission quarters are self-contained and are rented from the municipality, On the south side of the building has been accommodated a new office for the Clerk, and abutting this is a private office for the use of the Clerk o'r the Mayor. The council chamber is to the rear of the clerk's office. which means there is ready access for records or other information needed dur- ing council meetings. Offices in the Public,Utility sec- tion and in the town section are fnished in richly glowing panel- ling, which is particularly effec- tive, A different type of panelling is employed in the council cham- ber. The entrance to the main lobby is through a well -lit area, created by large glass panelling in thespace whiich formerly was re- quired for this original stairs lead- ingto the second floor. uipme Lost is 91 Fire (By ROLY HARMON) When the old Seaforth Town Hall •, burned down, early one Sunday morning, Augustm23, 1891, the loc.01 volunteer fire brigade literally was caught with its hoses down. All fire equipment was kept, as it is now, in the Town Hall., By the time the fire was discovered, hon es, hook and ladder carriage a& all were roasted beyond rec ogni-: tion. Unfortunately, the' fire bri- gade's gold.braided uniforms went up in smoke as well. Not all was lost. A brass con- denser from a hose nozzle surviv- ed the catastrophe because it was in George Henderson's saddler shop being fitted with a new lea- ther washer. The same George Henderson lost $25. for which he was later reim- bursed, when the old hall burned. The local constable was a little chagrined too. It seems a thief .had been caught red-handed with some of Mr. Hen- derson's property. •' The unfortun- ate individual was deposited in jail and his would-be loot was impound- ed in the town hall, for evidence at the trial. When the evidence was destroy- ed, the constable had no case. Mr. Henderson, worse than that, mourned the loss of his property. The alleged thief didn't complain. He was released. Although there certainly was a "hot time in the old town" that night, the local Band members didn't feel much like whooping it up. They couldn't because many of their instruments were in the town hall. The "hot licks" which had once issued from the trumpets and tubas were nothing to the flames which reduced them to molten metal. A young man named Edmunds first noticed the fire at 3 a.m. He lived on the west side of the town hall. and saw the flickering flames through his bedroom window, He rushed to give the alarm. The steam whistle at the water- works, on Silver Creek, shrieked • out its warning. Workers heaped cords of wood into the boilers to increase water pressure in the mains. Their efforts were in vain. The firemen could not reach the hoses in the burning building. They were forced to combat the blaze with buckets of water. The old, structure was complete- ly wooden. The fire burned fur- iously and cinders flew in all di- rections. Townspeople afterward considered themselves lucky that the fire had been confined to the town building: Had a wind ruf- fled the calm night air• much of Seaforth might have been consum- ed. as the fire brigade was com- pletely helpless. Particularly endangered was the Broadfoot & Box funiture factory, which adjoined the market square where the old hall stood. Mr. Broadfoot lost no time in dragging out an old hose he kept in the fac - tory, and wetted down his lumber pile and factory walls. But with close watching on ev- eryotle's part. flying embers were put out as they landed, and near- by buildings escaped with a scorching. Estimated loss to the town was $4900. Contents of building were hall• adjoining the PUC addition. provides modern accommodation for the Fire Brigade and the two units which it operates. Rather than having access to Main Street as previously was the case. fire- men now proceed to fires from the rear of the building onto side streets. thus eliminating a traffic hazard that has existed for some time. Adjoining the fire hall gar- age is a large room that has been converted for the use of firemen and replaces accommodation which they had occupied on the second floor for some years. Toilet ac- commodation for the public is in- cluded in the arrangements on the ground floor. The removal of the council chamber to the ground floor, ad- jacent to the clerk's office, makes a most convenient arrangement. For many years the ceuncil cham- ber was located on the second floor. About 35 years ago the clerk's office was removed to the ground floor at the northwest cor- (Continued on Page 4) Seaforth Among Early Hydro Towns The original pioneer group of 14 municipalities that banded togeth- er in 1906 under the Hydro ban- ner has increased in number and influence until today there are 343 municipal systems united in an active partnership right across the Province. During 1911. the year Seaforth became a hydro munici- pality, there were 293 customers and the total load was some 180 kilowatts. Progress in the inter- vening years is best indicated by a comparison with today's figures. At the present time the commis- sion is serving some 800 custom- A . e a bein s ted is �'s to d l _iii g p insured for $1,500. No one was particularly grieved because the town hall itself was' gone. The consensus was that the old building was really an eyesore, and not very suited to the dignity of its station, It didn't even have a tower. The mysterious firebug was pub- licly denounced: Mayor F. Holme- ste'd was authorized by council to offer $300 for his detection and conviction. The reward went,. un- claimed. Ousted from their former meet- ing place, council took up tempor- ary• quarters in the Kidd block, renting a hall there for $100 a year. The fire brigade received new equipment. It was stationed in several different locations, the fire- men having learned that hosts and fire carriages. as well as eggss should not be kept in one basket, They were also given $275 to btiy some new uniforms. Members of the Town Band peti- tioned the council for aid, becauee of the instruments and other pros perty of theirs which had perish- ed in the fire, Their clamorings were almost unheeded. The Scott Bros, music Store did, however, present them with , handsome new brass drun'A, Taking the loss philos0 The Huron Expositor oh its first issuefb owing' "Now that the 61d�,,j te• removed a s "leildid 'NU '1114 tz