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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-07-11, Page 3THE HURON EXPOSITOR. JULY 11 990 Areas of interest viewed during ABCA Conservation Tour BY SUSAN OXHxci) A Coaaarvauun Tour of the north side of cher Ausabie-Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) watershed tools place July 5 and U was an opportunity for people to see and lona mace of the wcxic done by the ABCA. The bus tour, which took in tie area north of highway 83 and was mostly through beck roads, included a stop at the Seaforth FPolicy area and the Seaforth Reduction Project. Kathy Monk, communications manager for ABCA and tour guide for the Conservation Tour, said of the 1 million trees planted in the watershed 450,000 were planted by the ABCA and the rest by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). The MNR recommends a municipality have 10 per cent tree coverage for water quality and soil retention. Tuckaosmith tohas 5.9 per cern, Usborne 2.9, McKillop 6.1 and Hulka 10.9. Hullea's per centage of tree coverage is high due to the presence of the Hullett Wildlife Preserve. Between Hensall and Seaforth the tour passed an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) that consists of original woodlots along the ends of farms. In 1984 the ABCA iden- tified major wetlands and forested areas in the watershed and because of their importance as wildlife habitat, aquifers or significant landforms, were classed ESA. Some municipalities have identified ESA's as special concern areas in their official plans. If development is to occur on the area the conser- vation authority will comment on it to see the natural integrity main- tained. The tour stopped in Hensall, a member community in the ABCA since the beginning of the ABCA in 1946. Hensall, surrounded by agricultural land and with three mills in town, has very little problems with major soil erosion and only a small corner of the town lies in a floodplain. Hensall's water supply is from wells and their con- cern is with water quality, aquifers and drainage. The town depends on good landuse inside and outside of its borders. Although there are few problems of interest to ABCA, Hensall residents benefit from the ABCA by being close to four conservation areas, two wildlife prese'vca, and scone Heiman readcru.% tam ve beset employed by the ABCA Between Hassall and Scaforth the tour shopped by a private law downrr's tree *nuns spot on a carrier of progeny . A variety of trots bad been planted to attract different species and blue bird nesting boxes were placed throughout the liule forest. Trees can be ptuchased from the ABCA for as tulle as seven casts apiece and blue bird nesting box kits can be purchased for S3. Elgin Dearing, 1989 winner of the ABCA Conservation Award, has been working at conservation far- ming for a number of years and his Stafa area farm was looked at by the tour. Some of the features at his farm are chisel ploughing, grassed waterways, liquid manure storage tanks instead of manure piled out- side contaminating ground water, a two acre tree plantation, roadside windbreaks and blue bird nesting boxes. Mr. Dearing recycles his garbage at the Hibbert Landfill site. Two Dublin area farms were looked at on the tour, Garry and Mike Van Loon properties and Tom Schoonderwoerd's farm. The Van Loon properties have received help from the ABCA in the form of trees and tree maintenance. When Garry Van Loon's farm was purchased it had very little tree cover expect for some woodlots and 10 years ago, with the ABCA, trees as windbreaks were planted. Now the property has about 19,000 trees planted as windbreaks, plantations and along drainage ditches to shade and cool the water and promote the growth of natural water vegetation. The ABCA helped the Van Loons with maintenance, spraying and replanting over the years, but now the responsibility has been mostly taken over by the Van Loons. Tom Schoonderwoerd's farm has 50,000 trees now and he spends about a month every year main- taining and pruning them. Some of the trees have come from ABCA and others from MNR. Mr. Schoonderwoerd does not plant crops along the river bank (the Bayfield River flows through his property) and this practice helps keep pollution out of the river. By planting trees along the riverbank a shaded and cooled river with natural water vegotalYon as ucatod and is a guud habitat for fish. The tour then went into Seaforth to bolt at the ABCA's wont in the town. Much of the town lies in the flood plain of Silva Creek, a tributary of the Bayfield Riva. There has not been a major flood in recent years but the ABCA is working to ensure there will not be major damage to the event of a flood. Based on an engineering study a Special Policy area was established to allow development in the flood fringe provided flood proofing measures are included. Some flood proofing measures for buildings in the flood fringe are the location of openings and hydro outlets above the flood level and properly grading the level of the lot. These measures apply to new buildings and ad- ditions on existing structures. At the CNR culverts the tour saw the Seaforth Flood Reduction project on Silver Creek. The bridge was built on a large concrete stand beside a small culvert (opening) for the river to tluw through. The main set uccurt was at; rug like a dam and caused flooding when the volume of water was too great for the small culvert. Preliminary studies had shown that to reduce backwater flooding upstream of the culvert, the enlarging of the existing culvert would be a positive benefit -cost. This was achieved by installing twin precast coK;rcic box culverts beside the existing culvert structure. Once the planning was completed the actual construction was carried out during the 1989 Labour Day weekend. By increasing the flow capacity of the culvert, regulatory flood levels in the area upstream of the tracks are lowered by up to one metre. Approximately 30 structures are removed from the flood plain area and flood proofing costs for proposed development in the exis- ting Special Policy area are reduced guy. Within recent years there hasn't been a major flood in Seaforth and this is partly due to the milder wmlcrs and below normal mat of late. In 1989 ser streauiflows were below afire even though precipitation amounts were higher than those experienced during than drought year of 1988. The tour trade a walk about stop at Clinton conservation ars (CA) for opening carmscxsies for the first memorial woods in the ABCA and a new bwflow crossing ova the Bayfield River. The Clinton CA, 73.5 acres, was purchased by the ABCA from 1973 to 1976 to protect the Bayfield River flood plain from the eacroactunent of Clinton and to provide parkland. The purpose of the memorial woods is to allow people to commemoratively plant a tree in memory of someone or an occasion, and to help with the regeneration of a forest,. Tose fust tree planting was done by Mrs. Jessie Cunningham in memory of her husband George. Following the tree planting ceremony a Clinton United Church minister dedicated the memorial woods. SEAFORTH FLOOD REDUCTION PROJECT - The CNR culvert was enlarged to allow better flow of Silver Creek during the 1989 Labour Day weekend. The ABCA helped with this project that removed about 30 buildings from the flood plain. Robinet photo. 3 ikP A lowflow footbridge was constructed over the Bayfield River at Clinton CA to provide a bridge and an accessway for equipment. An opening ceremony took place with local dignitaries performing a ribbon cutting while members of the tour looked on. At the farm of Don Lobb, Clinton, the tour made another walk about stop. Mr. Lobb, whose cash crop farm is actually in the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) watershed, has been working with the ABCA for about 10 years. ABCA, under the leader- ship of general manager Tom Prout, has had an influence on Ontario in soil conservation and Mr. Lobb has worked with the ABCA in the setting up and running of his conservation farm. Mr. Lobb prac- tices no -till on his land, has windbreaks and plantations, plants trees along the municipal ditch that runs through his property and prac- tices many other conservation prac- tices on his farm. The day long tour was attended by about 80 people and all of them had an interest in learning more about the ABCA and the work done in their communities. Two years from now the ABCA will have another conservation tour that will concentrate on the south side of the watershed. General mmthets know exadly wheie they'n «ining fmm BY SUSAN OXFORD There are many people in Huron County who know exactly where they come from and can prove it with scads of information they've collected over the years. Many of them belong to a group called the Huron County Branch of the On- tario Genealogical Society (HCGS). It is a non-profit group of people who share an interest in genealogy and family history. The emphasis of the Huron group is on families from Huron County and has been in operation for the past ten years. Before the group came into being local historian Isabelle (Belle) Campbell wrote books on family histories using the methods now used by the HCGS. Belle had en- couragement from her grandmother Mrs. Peter Campbell to write down family histories through information collected in research and stories. Belle began with stories about her own family and where they came from in Scotland. That was back in the 1920's and there was no HCGS to help Belle collect her information. As a hobby she did historical research on her own family and others related to her. She visited churches, schools and cemeteries to collect infor- mation on the people she learned about. Her interests branched out to writing books about the different townships in Huron County and the histories of families that settled in them. These books are divided into lots and concessions and she traced the histories of people who bought and lived on them. The research is extensive and mostly complete. It was an incredible task for anyone to do on their own. Through the years Belle received letters and visitors from across Canada and the United States. Most letters requested assistance in sear- ching their family roots in Huron County. When the HCGS was formed Belle became a member, and she was a member of the Huron County Historical Society. Today there is help for anyone searching and a search will often involve many of the same techni- ques Belle used in her research. In the Seaforth arca Mrs. Helen Dale works as the HCGS research coor- dinator from her farm house. She receives many letters, 75 to 100 a year and some from as far away as Australia, from people looking for help to get started with their search in Haman County. Some letters contain information the person has collected so far, but maybe they have come to a dead end and need help. Mrs. Dale does a preliminary search for them using a variety of sources made available to her through the HCGS. Using the most complete earliest Huron County Census that is indexed, 1871, she can find some information to start from. Also available to her in her work is the Curries County of Huron Directory 1876-77, the Sutherland's Gazetteer Directory of Huron County, and the County Marriage Registers 1858-1869. She also has listings of cemeteries (a major undertaking being done by the HCGS), Crown Land Papers and Canada Company Papers. From these books Mrs. Dale can glean enough information about who first property owners were, where they bought and who their spouse was. It's enough information to help someone get started with their search. After her preliminary search she writes back, in duplicate, with the information she found and sugges- tions on how the person can con- tinue their search. Sometimes a query will send back a thank you letter with a donation made to the HCGS. Mrs. Dale joined the HCGS eight years ago and has been research coordinator for three years. On how she became interested in genealogy Mrs. Dale said, "I was interested in my own family and researched my family history. On my own, 17 years ago, I began by speaking with my relatives and gathered infor- mation and pictures for my family scrapbook." Her family scrapbook consists of several albums full of family trees, facts, pictures, newspaper clippings and beef stories. When she finds a new line in the family she traces it too and has often found histories that date back to when the family emigrated from Europe. "I have found some relatives I didn't know 1 had and I've written to some," said Mrs. Dale. "I've written to a lady in Iiawai whose connected with the Dales_ She's been searching too and has become a member of the IICGS. She wrote to me first." "I think more people are becoming interrsted in genealogy. LllflErk, MKtI ,ten RAMIE 11{En Fit 8,481 RECORDING HISTORY - Mrs. Helen Dale, research coordinator for the Huron County Branch of the Ontario genealogical Society, records information from a gravestone at the Maitland Cemetery, Gdderich. Oxford photo. As you search you can fit the infor- mation in with history and that I find interesting. You can actually see how history happened." She has managed to find most of her father's, Hamilton, history. They came from Lanarkshire, Scot- land and settled in Hullett township in 1857 on land purchased from the Canada Company. Her mother's family, Moon, came from York County, England, and settled in Peel County in 1835 before buying land from the Canada Company in Hullett township in 1854. Her hus- band's family came from Yorkshire, England about 1847 and first came to Oxford County. In 1856 the Daks seuled in Hullett township on land purchased from the Canada Company. Mrs. Dale is now working on her father's mother. Watt, and checking into everything she can find there. She's a bit secretive about her family and said, "I just don't tell anyone if there were radicals in my family or nor." Many libraries have put their local newspapers on microfilm ancl from these Mrs. Dale can find information . The obituary for the first Dale man in Huron County told how he owned almost 2,000 acres and how 'this part of the country was almost wilderness. Mr. Dale braved and surmounted all the hardships and privations of pioneer life.' Getting information about a family while they still lived in Europe is difficult and Mrs. Dale has tried it a few times. From Scot- land she has received extracts of entries in a marriage registry and has gathered some information from these. She found names, dates and place of marriage and occupations of the couple. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the extract will contain names of parents and birthdates. "1 found that one of the men was a surfaceman, whatever that was." "Iiamilton is a common name in Scotland. Maybe if 1 went back to Scotland I could find more infor- mation," said Mrs. Dale. "I'd like to go sometime, before 1 die." It's slow and expensive to get information from other countries. Mrs. Dale has a copy of a hook thlt contains names and addresses of people from around the world sea ching for their family roots. Her name is in the book. Maybe someone in Scotland will write to her with their family history almost complete up to the Canadian link. Recently the HCGS had a guest speaker from Ulster, Ireland, Dr. Brian Trainor, and he spoke of how people do genealogical research in Ireland. The work is done by the government and Ireland has two governments, one North with Bel- fast as its capital, and the other South with Dublin as its capital. He said there is a problem coordinating the information in Ireland with the country, and records, split. The Irish governments have realized there is great public relations potential in genealogy for tourists tracing their roots in Ireland. Now some registries are not available to the public anymore. Mr. Trainor suggested to anyone going to research their family his- tory in Ireland to do as much research as they can before check- ing overseas. He was impressed with the successful volunteer operation in Ontario and the desire of its members to help other people with their searches. There are about 300 current mem- bers of the HCGS and of these 50 actually live in Huron County. The rest live outside of the county with about 75 per cent in Ontario and the others in Michigan, British Columbia and California. In Huron County the members are currently working to transcribe all graves- tones of all cemeteries. The records are typed, indexed and copied and made available for sale. Cemetery reports are also donated to the Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto, the Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa, and the Ontario Archives, Toronto. The aims of the HCGS are to promote, encourage and foster the study of genealogy in the area; to provide a forum for ideas and tech- niques and to provide gatherings for the exchange of ideas and infor- mation. To join members pay a membership fee of $7 and receive a bulletin, Rooting Around Huron, three times yearly. Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wed- nesday of each month, excluding December through February, at the Board Room of the Assessment Office Building, Goderich. COMMUNITY CALENDAR N newton organising a meows* roost M Irestoot beststo other Seaforth area rosi1sMit, phone Ota ,,ossAlon *Moe S1174 or llas Expositor at *27.0340, or me fibs irtiormollso 1e Cosnoturity CMendor, The Huron Expositor, Sox N. ladurlh, Orders*, NM IWO soil to edvafi s of Ike sotteduaad dab. bras Mean. lissiodss Brok oleos, moans sf *vont and leash n way. Specs for the Cooloiwutlty Calswalr► r MwNorA by TM Norse mer. • Wed., July 11 12:10-12:50 p.m. — Aqua Fit at Lions Pool 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. — Senior Shuffleboard at the Arena 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. — Skateboarding at the Arena 7:00 p.m. — St. Columban Mosquito Soccer vs. Coldstream at St. Columben 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. — FitnessisFunat Arena Thurs. , July 12 7:00 p.m. — St. Columban Squirt 1 Soccer vs. Lucan 1 at Dublin Field 0.00 - 10:00 p.m. — Mens Sall Hockey at SDCC 6:00 p m — Topnotch vs. Beachwood 0:00 p . m -- Hogs vs. Solleramlth Fri., July 13 1:00 p.m Story Hour at Seeforth Library Mon., July 16 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. — Aqua Fit at Lions Pool 7:00 p.m. — St. Columban Atom 1 Soccer vs. Coldstream at Dublin Field 7:00 p.m. — St. Columban 17 8 under Soccer vs. Lucan at St. Columban Field Tues., July 17 6:30 p.m. Exeter vs. Merchants at the High School 7:00 p.m. — Soccer - St. Columban Pee Wee 2 vs. Grand Send at St. Columben Wed., July 18 12 10- 12:60 p.m Aqua Flt et Lion* Pool 1:30 - 4:00 p.m — Shuffleboard at $OCC 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. — Skateboarding at the Arms 6:30 - 7:30 p m Minor Soccer at the optimist Pak 7:30 p.m. — Minor the Arena Hockey Meeting at