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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1989-11-08, Page 3THE HURON EXPOSITOR, NOVEMBER 8, 1989 - 3A THE WATCHER AT THE GATE to the Martin family yard, this gruesome witch welcomed visitors to the Hallowe'en display with a bone -chilling cackle and a' flash of red eyes. Elliott .photo. MORBID FASCINATION - A crowd of spook -seekers, including (second from left) Ginette Nash, Tammy Nash, Audrey Schenk, Gary Schenk and Joel Schenk, along with others, admire the Hallowe'en handiwork of Gerry Martin (far left), at his home on Tuesday night. Elliott photo. Local man scares up halloween The brave and the crazy who ventured out to Gerry Martin's house on Conces- sion 20 last Tuesday night were treated to a Halloween extravanganza that would make your hair stand on end. • Garishly illuminated, the Martin yard was filled with such eerie spectres as a seven foot tall witch with glowing eyes toiling over a cauldron, a graveyard com- plete with moving heads protruding from the earth and a coffin whose restless in- habitant occasionally opened the lid and stuck out a gnarled, gfoping hand. This is the fourth year that Mr. Mar- tin has put on his Halloween show for the locals, and he adds a little something to it every season. The coffin was a new touch this year. no ' inal spook, a ghost that runs ho* t ee kb tree • powered 'by -an eleetrie•m tor, -fell -victim to Tuesday night's high winds and blew down after two hours. Mr. Martin admits that his creations are getting more and more out of hand as time goes on. He points out that he was wiser this year and put the creaking coffin door on an automatic power system. The rest of the menagerie, THE LATEST ADDITION to Gerry Martin's macabre display this Hallowe'en was this coffin, whose inhabitant occasionally creaked open the lid and groped out with a skeletal hand. He was feeling restful at the moment. 'Elliott photo. Legion archive continues to vrow Fnr mail generat R; ti forts at we• as nei .,ers of the younger •nemhran-o ')ay is mainly a in. ;;a:rn'ies. However, ,tort beg= and the ef- li , a fust -hand glance : abilia and memories is :., end of Main St. For ti. Nast 25 years Mr. Philips, along with Legion members and families, has been piecing toether one of th Inst ar- chives of Firs' ' Second World and Korean War nr+' •tu in Southwestern Ontar,,, It has been a labour of love. Admitted- ly a bit of a packrat himself - "I save anything and everything" = starting up a museum at the Legion was a natural ex- tension of his efforts. The collection has multiplied so much in the past two decades that it now occupies the walls of two rooms and the foyer. Unfortunately, a fair amount of it still occupies boxes in storage. Such a large amount has been col- lected that lack of space prohibits it from being on exhibit, even in the spacious Legion hall. 'RELIVING THE MEMORIES - Seaforth Legion President Mel Melanson and Frank Philips take a trip down memory lane in the Legion's archives of wartime memorabilia. The collection, gO years worth of work, is open for public viewing at any time. Elliott photo. Still, Mr. Philips concedes that he would rather see the memorabilia, uniforms and photographs in storage, with the possibili- ty of it being displayed in the future, than see it lost forever. One such priceless item is a C.W.A.C. uniform from 1940, complete with shoes and leather purse, which belongs to Elma Keats of Stratford: After keeping it in a box for all of these years, she donated it to Frank Philips and the Legion, saying, "I know you'll look after it." Visitors to the display have included members of other Legion branches, school classes and Scout and Guide organizations. Of particular interest to local visitors • is the fact that all of the items in the museum belonged to Legion members or their relatives from the immediate area. One priceless addition to the collection was a uniform belonging to Paul Doig, who served in the Army in World War I and the Air Force in World War II. Mr. Philips notes that it took a certain amount of friendly persuasion for the Legion to get a hold of it. But once the uniform, which had been .found stuffed in a tool box in the barn, was restored and displayed, Mr. Doig couldn't have been prouder or more pleased. Following the Legion's fiftieth anniver- sary celebration in 1979, items for the ex- hibit "started coming in out of the wood- work," Mr. Philips. reports. Some of the more fascinating artifacts on display in- clude a complete set of rations from a World War II three-day survival kit, a bayonet, cooking utensils fashioned from bobmbshells, a books of poems written by a Canadian serviceman in the trenches, and a silk flyer's scarf with an escape map printed directly into the pattern. Oc- cupying a place of honour is the bugle played every Armistice Day by Henry Swan and retired to the Legion upon his death in 1971. Mr. Philips has also managed to collect and alphabetically arrange old photographs of almost every Legion member in uniform. He points out that there are still a few World War II photos missing from the roster, but he hopes to eventually make the collection complete. The Legion archives are open for any member of the pyblic to come down and enjoy, and this is one of the more ap- propriate times of year to do so. "I've had a lot of fun doing it," Mr. Philips says of the collection. So much so, in fact, that he spent three days at the Elmira Legion a couple of years ago, help- ing them set up a display of their own. But the effort, he stresses, is manifold. "Without the Legion members, this never could have come about. A GRAVE SITUATION - Gerry Martin poses with two of his Hallowe'en creations, who look like they've seen better days, and a snake in his backyard, Elliott photo. however, is run by himself and a friend through a complicated combination of batteries and house current. "It gets to be a bit of a migraine," he confesses, describing some of the dif- ficulties that he experienced in setting up the display what with the high winds and wet equipment. Moans, groans and the witch's grating cackle that are projected over the yard, for instance, emanate from three separate tape decks that run on both a battery and AC current. "If you think that cackle sounds great, wait until you've listened to it for about five or six hours", Mr. Martin grimaces. In spite of the bitterly cold weather on Ha..ioween, Mr. Martin estimates that he had about 300 visitors to his home over the Monday and Tuesday night. A couple of carloads of visitors even drove in after he had packed everything up and retired for the night. A self described "jack of all trades and master of none", Mr. Martin says that he likes to potter around with such projects and has a lot of fun setting up his Hallo- ween display. The popularity of it, though, has taken him somewhat by surprise. Somehow, Halloween has gotten to be a big event here, he notes. "I don't real- ly know how it happened." Wed., Nov. 8 Sun, Nov. 12 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. — Parents and Tots Skating 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. — Novice practice 6:15 p.m. — Seaforth Horticultural Society potluck supper and annual meeting, Seaforth Public School -6:30 - 8:00 p.m. — Minor Broomball' 8:00 - 10:30 p.m. — Ladies Broomball 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. — Recreation Volleyball at SDHS 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. — Fitness Is Fun at Arena 9:00 4:30 5:30 6:30 8:00 7:30 12- 1:00 p.m. Ringette 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. — 1:30 - 8:00 p.m S.D.C.C. 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. 5:00 - 6:00 p.m Ringette 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Ringette 7:00 - 8:00 p.m — St. Marys vs Novice I Wellesley vs. Centeneires . — Fiddler Jamboree at — Pee Wee "CC" practice — St. Marys vs Petite — St. Mary's vs Tween — St. Marys vs Belles Thurs., Nov. 9 Ringette - 10:00 a.m. — Fitness Is Fun et Arena - 5:30 p.m. — Figure Skating - 6:30 p.m. — Atom Hockey practice - 8:00 p.m. — Minor Broomball - 11:30 p.m. — Men's Broomball - 9:30 p.m. — Men's Basketball at SDHS Fri., Nov. 10 4:15 - 5:15 p.m. — Petite & Tween Ringette practice 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. — Junior Houseleague practice 6:15 - 7:15 p.m. — Senior Houseleague practice 7:16 - 8:15 p.m. — Junior Ringette vs. Goderlch 8:30 p.m. — Mitchell vs. Centenaires Sat., Nov. 11 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. — North Stars vs. Canadians 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. — Oilers vs. Kings 10;30 - 11:30 a.m. — Penguins vs. Leafs 11:30 - 12:30 p.m. — Whalers vs. Flames 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. — Mites 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. — Novice Ringette 1:30 - 2:30 — Seatorth Library Closed 2:30 - 4;00 p.m. — Public Skating 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. — Brussels vs. Novice Hockey 6:00 - 6:15 p.m. — Blyth vs. Pee Wee "DD" 6:15 - 8:00 p.m. — Listowel vs. Pee Wee "CC" 8:00 - 11:00 p.m. Mon., 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. — 8:00- 10:00 p.m. SONS 10:00-11:00— — I.H.L. Nov. 13 — Figure Skating Wood Refinishing at SDHS — Competitive Volleyball at Midget Hockey practice , Nov. 14 — Fitness Is Fun at Arena Tues. 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. 10:00 - 12:00 p.m. — Moms & Tots Skating at Arena 2:00 p.m. — Seatorth Woman's Institute will meet at the home of Thelma Dale. 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. — Pee Wee "DD" practice 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. — Milverton vs Bantams 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. — Milverton vs Midgets 8:00 p.m. — Seatorth Hospital Auxiliary Meeting In Hospital Board Room. Bring Item for grocery basket. Wed., Nov. 15 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. — Parents & Tots Skating 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. — Senior Shuffleboard 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. — Junior and Belle Ringette 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. — Pee Wee "CC" practice 6:30 - 0:00 p.m. — Minor Broomball 8:00 - 10:30 p.m. — Ladies Broomball 8:00 - 10:90 p.m. — Rec. Volleyball at SONS 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. — Fitness Is Fun i