HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-08-29, Page 44 THE HURON EXPOSITOR AUGUST 29. I WO
enter rebuilds the past
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FORD
HIGHWAY 8 WEST
SEAFORTH
827-1010
BY PAULA ELLIOTT
Wasp may aaentb and com-
puter experts worlung un tech-
nology to lake cls IMO the nem
c onttry, it's a change to
see someone like coach's Lyle
Furrey wading lu mime the cen-
turies
oo-turies gone by.
Lyle, a carpenter, has fallen into
the positiioa of 'wagon reastNu
exmaordinaire' , almost unwittingly.
A partnership with a Mood led so a
job rumoring a nh>tetleenth-century
buckboard -style wagon, and clings
have blossomed from there. In a
Scaforth garage, Mr. Fumy is hard
at work on his latest pet project, a
century -old basic buckboard which
was delivered to him by a Mend in
the Cambridge area.
"Lately, I've been pig in my
eight hours a day on this," he says,
lightly sanding the oak sides that he
has reconstructed on the wagon.
"I've soon this thing sitting in a
patch of weeds for five years. We
took it right out of the weed patch.
and here it sits."
There it sits indeed, in Us
renewed glory. Good for little more
than parts when it was shipped to
Seaforth - "you'd swear it was
going to the dump," he laughs -
the wagon was totally disassembled
in Lyle's workshop. The chassis, he
points out, was still in remarkable
shape for its age.
"I was amazed at how many bolts
I took apart that just screwed right
out," he says, demonstrating a
spring from the harness and traces
that hasn't lost any of its sproing
since the day it was made, some
100 -plus years ago. "Everything
was reusable."
Once the painstaking work of
sandblasting, repainting and refitting
all of the iron chassis components
was completed, the real fun began.
Faced with a buckboard whose
original wooden body was rotted
into dust in places, Lyle was pitted
with the task of rebuilding the
wagon by guess and by golly, for
the most part. The side pieces, he
points out, were intact but "..other
than that, I'm just guessing." ,
"This is the fust one that I've
totally rebuilt," Mr. Furrey says.
"I'm just taking a wild guess on
how it would look."
If it's a wild guess, then it looks
like it's pretty much on the mark. A
lot of hard work and patience has
gone into the buckboard's han-
diwork, including the hand -carved
and sanded bowed oak sections
attached to the chassis. The wheels
SATIN FINISH - Lyle Furrey sands down the oak sides of the 19th century buckboard which he
been restoring in his Seatorth workshop for the past couple of weeks. Elliott photo
nave been finished tor a couple of
years now, as the owner always
anticipated having the wagon rebuilt
and commissioned a Mennonite
wheelwright to fashion them. Terry
Beavers, a friend of Lyle's from the
Hamilton area where he worked as
a carpenter for seven years, was
apprenticed by a Mennonite
wheelwright a number of years ago
and has teamed up with Mr. Furrey
on two other wagons. The exposure
to their time-honoured wagon buil-
ding methods was a unique oppor-
tunity, Mr. Furrey adds, and a real
boon to the business.
"It's very rare for a Mennonite to
take on an apprentice," he says,
adding that they still carry
catalogues for ordering the cen-
turies-old wagon parts. Masters at
bending the steel bands for the
wagon wheels by forcing steam into
the iron, the Mennonites are a
close-knit community who reveal
themselves and their methods to
few outsiders. Lyle Furrey admits
that his work would be going much
faster if he knew their own techni-
ques.
"If you were totally set up with
all of the stuff that the old-timers
had, you'd cut the time down."
But for now, the time that he
has
CRAFTED TO PERFECTION - Detail of the hand -carved wooden
sections and sandblasted iron chassis of Lyle Furrey's restored
buckboard show the time and caring craftsmanship that has gone
into his work. Elliott photo.
spends in the shop lovingly res-
toring the ancient wagon is time
willingly spent. The buckboard is
taking shape, and Mr. Furrey adds
that he has found enough paint
chips on the wood to indicate that
the original wagon was green with
a red chassis. Adding the colour
will be the fmal step in restoring
the wagon to its glory, readied
perhaps tor some fall fair exposure
behind a smartly turned -out team.
And maybe by that time, another
wagon will have found its way into
Lyle Furrey's capable hands.
"Someday I'd like to do more, but
for now I'll just do what I can
find," he says. "It's amazing what's
around the countryside."
Four bidding for possession of CN rail line
BY NEIL CORBETT
The sale of the CN rail line from
Goderich to Stratford, which
brought inquiries from 40 possible
buyers, is down to four bidders who
are now being considered by CN.
Ken White, CN regional manager
of business planning, says the rail-
way company is looking for a
professional, well-financed manager
for the line, which primarily hauls
Cook's people have
a world of marketing
experience to offer you
Pan of the Cook's Crop Marketing Team
(tirmm lett to right):
Dave wheeler - Atwood Branch
Manager. Second year with Cook's
Pauline Insley Grain Merchandiser,
Hensall, 7 years with Cook's
Bruce Lamont - Centralia Branch
Manager. 16 years with Cook's
In today's complex world markets you
need a competitive edge. That's where Cook's
can help. The marketing experts at Cook's
can help you make informed decisions about
your crop. We'll keep you in touch with
commodity prices and world-wide supply
and demand situations so you can make the
right cropping choices to get the profits you
want. Before you decide, call the people
at Cook's. Our experience can give you
the edge.
Branches: Hensall k5t9) 262-2410
Centralia (519) 225.6661
Kirktaon (519) 229 8986
Nikon (519) 527 1540
' mherley (519) 395-3601
Atwood (519) 356-2292
iltvtgon
renrich ti 14e,mtr. leer
I ,mnn1
salt out of Godench, and fertilizer
into the Hensall District Co-op.
White says the sale is part of
CN's plan to condense its overall
operation to a high-density mainline
system, fed by a small locally -
operated short -line system.
White says having short -line
railroads owned and managed by
local operators has made for a more
efficient system in the United
States, and is a system CN is
implementing.
The four remaining bidders are
Ann Arbor Acquisition Corporation,
Essex Morterm Holdings Limited,
Huron Transportation Group, and
Rail Tex Inc.
These companies will be judged
on their credibility, how much they
will charge to ship cars from
Goderich to Stratford and back, and
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the purchase price they offer. Their
bids were made Aug. 15, but are
not yet a matter of public record.
White says a local operator of the
line should result in better service
for its users, adding "we believe
this will be a successful sale."
His words offer reassurance to
Huron County Council members
who have voiced fears that if no
buyer is found CN could phase out
rail; service.
McLaughlin
Chev-Olds Ltd.
13 Main St. Seaforth 527-1140
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EDUCATION
•A lifetime investment
•Be involved vote
Ask the provincial candidates
these questions
1 Will the provincial share of
education costs be increased.
decreased or remain the same
2 Will the gap between elemen
tary and secondary funding be
eliminated?
3 What priority will be given
education?
SUPPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION
VOTE SEPTEMBER 6
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