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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1980-07-17, Page 187,F • T,11.0.:.*.prN.E0997.9.0 :COMING: "DOWW4Although,,the 0.40 addition to the',ferrner Whitman • .i.13810.01"ico? was originally the Only part to be torn down, the new owner, John.Malpney,',119W says he Will demolish the entire structure. ' (Photo ,by SOON TO BE GONE—Since this photo was taken of the second floor from below, the back section of the former Whitman residence on Goderich St. has been torn down, with the rest of the house expected to be levelled by the new owner within two weeks. ' (Photo by Ellis) Historic horn! is demolished Continued from page 1 "The lots it's sitting on is worth more than the house." "The day I bought it I'd figured I'd tear it down." Mr Maloney, who took possesison of the house July 1, has been working the last week In the evenings taking down part the back piartion of the house by himself, salvaging as much as he can. With that completed, he now ia'411 begin demolishing the main house but, according to Herman Van Wieren, local building inspector, a demolition permit, (necessary to demolish a house in Seaforth) had not yet been issued. Mr. 'Maloney said it will take about two weeks for him to take down the main structuretworking during the eveningstand during that time he will be selling most of the material being salvaged. In its attempts to preserve homes like the one still standing at 88 Goderich, L.A.C.A.C., the local architectural con- servation committee earlier had taken measures to recognized the historical significance of the house and to preserve it. According to L.A.C.A.C. chairman Winrdfred McLean, the organization first approached the Whitmans in 1977 in an effort to have the house designated an historical structure and thus deferring any future demolition. However, the Whitmans decided against the designation and L.A.C.A.C. waited for another owner and another opportunity. "When we knew they had sold the house, we wrote to council to ask for designation at that time," said Mrs. McLean. According to a letter dated Nov. 30, 1979, sent to the mayor and council of Seaforth from the L.A.C.A.C., "the house Is an excellent example of the Georgian tradition with the front elevation featuring five second storey windows and two windows on either side of thd centrally placed front entrance on the ground floor." The letter added, "the Georgian style was one of the first major architectural trends in Upper CA1344111, being popular in the years between 1785-1812. Symmetry and simple massing were its basic design principles." "Council wouldn't designate it without permission from the owners," said Mrs. McLean and John Maloney the new owner also decided against designation. The house at 88 Goderich St. with 14 foot ceilings, beautiful brick work and design, will s000 only be a picture in the mind's eye of those who. grew up there and those who've lived in Seaforth. Within two weeks, the house will be levelled and construction will soon begin on two new homes that are more affordable, more fuel efficient, easier to maintain, smaller in size, and much less magnificent then the house that will have once stood at 88 Goderich St. •ok.— ADDITION FALLS—The addition to the original Whitman Structure built sometime • around 1884 was the first to go. STAIRWAY TO NOWHERE—,This elegant old staircase is soon to fall victim to the wreckers hammer, as the 115 year old former residence of Dr. Rodger Whitman and family is torn down to make way for two new houses. (Photo by Ellis) EMPTY—This was once the living room used by the Whitman family before they sold the house at 88 Goderich St. to John–Maloney of Seaforth, who plans to demolish the building and construct two new houses on the site. (Photo by Ellis) Manitoba farmers et Wroxeter ha Drought has been a real problem on . , farms in the prairie provinces this summer, but now those farmers are getting an assist from goVernment. Provincial governments, Ottawa and the railways have aid plans in which each, covers transportation andt most handling costs of shipping Ontario feed to Western 'cattle. But at least one family had itsown ideal solution to the problem when they decided to save on loading costs by corning to a relative's farm in Ontario and loading up the hay themselves. Ron and Bob Renwick of Coulter, Manitoba and John Harmon of tvfelita, a small farm community in the southwest corner of that province, will be busy for the next three weeks or so, leading bales onto CP boxcars at a small siding in the Huron County village of Wroxeter. Providing the hay for Mr. Harmon and the Renwicks is Mac Inglis of R.R. I. Clifford whose grandfather was a brother of the Renwick's grandfather. Mr. Harmon said he was here buying hay for himself, hb father and his brothers and was assisted in his efforts by a friend. Lloyd Bugg of Napinka, Manitoba. Ron, his son Reg and Bob Renwick were busy loading hay for their family, including another brother Orville at home. Mr. Harmon's father and Ron Renwick are on council together in the rural municipality of Arthur, Manitoba and according to John Harmon, "Ron's the fella that had all the contacts here. He was the guy that really got things organized." "There seem to be lots of hay available here," Mr. Harmon' -Said. adding that he was buying about 15,000 bales, while the Renwicks were buying about 20,000. He figured they would end up shipping about 70 cars which would contain about 500 bales each. Mr. Harmon said he had a very small hay crop of his own. ,"Our hay crop is pretty short, really. We're only getting 10 to 20 per cent of what we usually get." Ron Renwick said the transportation of the hay had been co-ordinated through the Manitoba government which set up a deal with the railroads and other farmers can then buy their hay through the govern- ment. "What we're saving by being down here Is the cost of loading it," Mr. Renwick said. While these families may have thought of this solution to their problem, at least two transport companies in Bruce County are doing a whopping business, by transporting hay out west. Jim Hutton, secretary of the Lloyd Hut -ton Transport Co. Ltd., in Paisley said the company had been buying hay within a 30 mile radius of Paisley, loading it onto trucks which take it out west and which return from the west with a load of cattle. - Thc transport company loads some of the Prairie Livestock trucks as well as their own and the trucks then take the loads of hay directly to the west. Asked how much the hay was selling for outwest, Mr. Hutton said there was a lot of difference, ranging anywhere from S2 to 34 a bale. In Ontario, the price is usually around SI a bale. The company gets 32 t� 32.50 a bale, depending on how far out west it has to be taken and the cost inCludes the price of hay plus transportation. Although some transport companies are working in co-operation with the govern- ment, as far as the Lloyd Hutton Transport in concerned, it's strictly a venture of their own. Carl Potheringham's Livestock Trans- port of Mildmay has a different Arrange- ment. The company loads trucks which have brought cattle into Toronto and which stop and get.a load of hay on their way back to the west, or other empty trucks that are LET'S GET TO WORK, MEN — John Harmon (on top) and Fred Bugg from Melita, Manitoba, Reg Renwick and Ron Renwick of Coulter, "Manitoba work to fill up -boxcars taking the hay out west to their farms. The men bought hay from an Ontario telatives of the Renwick. -Mac Inglis of R.R. 1 Clifford to solve the drought problems with their own hay crops. They loaded the boxcars up at the railway siding in WrOXeter. (Photo by Ranney) going out west to pick up cattle. In addition the Company's own trucks' and other trucks that Mr. Fotheringham has hired haul hay to the CN and CP rail stations in Walkerton. The Company has een employed by the government of Manitoba which sends purchase orders for so many thousand bales of hay. Carl buys the hay and arranges for railway cars which are then sent over to Walkerton for loading. Although they have _been "s-warnped with calls," (from people with hay to sell) Mrs. Fotheringham said when they buy hay they try to keep their purchases within the area. Build, promote beaut ful old Seaforth, winner says 100 WINNER Jerry Hetherington, left, chairman of Seaforth's BIA Study Group and Wormy Larone, secretary, present Rob Tetu with his $100 prize. He won a contest with his suggestions on improving Main St. (Photo by Heer) • This week Robert Tetra was given his 3100 prize by the Business Improvement Association (BIM study group for submit= ting the winning proposal for improving the appearance of downtown Seaforth. Mr. Tetu's plan was tgv2sive. and included a sketch to illustrate his ideas. His winning entny began with a suggest- ion that the parking meters on Main St be removed. He noted few people seem to—use the meters and they end up only being the target of vandals. Free parking, he suggests, would encourage more people to Shop in town. Mr. Teti felt the hanging plants downtown are too small to really be seen by shoppers on the street. He suggests larger hanging plants, or plants on or near the ground. He said • large planters, with ornamental trees or boshes, or perennial flowers, could be a welcome addition. The winner then turned his attention to the building on Main St. He notes the street contains some of "the most beautiful architecture in southwestern Ontario", and says it should be preserved. Most munici- palities, he said, have by-laws which require owners to keep up the appearance of their braidings, including painting and the care of woodwork. He said if Seaforth has the by-law, it should be enforced and if there is no law, then one should be passed. OW A sketch by Rob Tetu of what a portion of Seaforth's Main St. could look like. Mr. Tetu would lite to see a more consistent plan for Main St. storefronts, which could resemble the more traditional and old-fashioned displays already present in some stores. He suggests "ugly overharighag busi- ness signs should be banned", and replaced, perhaps, with small, shingle style signs. The smaller signs, he con- tinues, should be "strictly identical in shape and lettering." This could be done for each block of stores. Downtown streetlamps should be removed, said MT. Tetn. and replated with old-fashioned standards, which would give off a less cold light than the current florescent ones. • He proposed that wherever possible , small areas of , grass should be estab- lished, perhaps with benches, similar to the area adjacent to Sill's store. hi his summary he outlines several small towns which have carried out redevelop- ment successfully, and. suggests this should be the aim of Seaforth. "Seaforth boasts beautiful old architeo- ture," he concludes, "and the old- fashioned friendliness seldom met in other urban areas. That is your strong point! "Build a beautiful old Seaforth, work together on store design and sale prom- otions and you will build a strong local market."