HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-11-08, Page 10% o. Fr,XPPSITOR*.. 'NGVg...BE:R 8:r
s
;by Mice�
in 1913,; the keel of the Noronie,..one of the Great Lakes,
>;dllat palatiall passenger steamers, Slid down from the Port
Arthur dry dock ,and splashed into the Water, tet, join her
sister ships, the flamonic and Huronic, as the local rivals
to elegant ocean liners.
The Noronic was fitted out with a beautiful interior made
from maple; Ph, white pine, and birch, all cut fretm forests:
'arounct'Tort Arthur and seasonedin local lumber yards.
The ship was named to commemorate the; amalgamation of
two of the ,larger shipping companies on the lakes -North-
ern. Navigation Company, which provided the "no" and'.
the Richelieu and Ontario. Line, which contributed the
"'ro", added to the "nic", already part of an established.
pattern. The new company was Canada Steamship Lines,
;tl
familiar name to anyone who's spent ,their .free flours.
around docks on the Great Lakes.
Now sailors who were superstitious (and sailors tend,.
not supri.singly, to be a superstitious lot), might have read
portents of ill fortune in the early days of the passenger,
steamer, The Noronic was launched in November, and had
she set sail from Port Arthur to her home port of Sarnia ;a
few days earlier, the ship would have been caught in the
disastrous 9th of November storm, which claimed: soo many
ships and sailors. If she had sailed then, the Noronic might
have had one of the shortest sailing careers in nautical
history.
Instead the ship didn't leave port until the full fury Of
the storm had past, and she was conveyed down the lakes
by the tug Pl
iladel hia. In Pport over the winter, carpenters
-and other skilled craftsmen cbmpleted the beautiful dining;
salons and cabins, so the Noronic would rival any other
passenger liner afloat,
The Noronic sailed on her maiden voyage on a
bright
inmid-May,1914andoccasion.
morningit was a galaccs
o n
Hundreds: of friends and relatives of the crew clustered
around the harbour to watch the ship as she slipped out'
into Lake Hutton. On board were a host of notables from
members of parliament to company officials and other
dignitaries. The ship's .362 -foot, five -deck length was
'nothing short of a marvel, and seemed to combine the
latest technology to ensure shipboard safety.
iOMMERCIAI,
HOTEL.
SF AF OR T H
• Thus week and Sat. Matinee
Rick
Travis
Next week 8 Sot. Matinee
Keith .Jallagher
8 Sugor Mountain
Smorgasbord
5 DAYS A WEEK
BETWEEN 12:00 -1:30
FINE FOOD
H Iti1'. I-.\"i'I':w 11\MN:ti`i'
d of
THE FIRST Fi1AW
Less than a month later, the ship was taking on coal at
the Point Edward docks, only a short time away front
taking on, her Hirst paying passengers, many, of therrt
vacationing Americans, for a trip up the lakes.Suddenly
the ship listed against the peer, and many of her mooring
lines snapped. The decks slanted and water poured :in,.
flooding much of "Dr' deck and causing extensive damage
to her lavish fittings. The beautiful new carpets, ended, ;op
drying out in a storehouse hear the dock.
Now the more superstitious crew members took this as a
sign to pack their belongings and find another ship to call
home. But pumpswere brought in to bail put the water,
and the Noronic was righted, and after a visit by .officials,
she was allowedto proceed. The incident was explained
away bylthe fact adding a fifth deck to the ship simply
made her top heavy,. Inlater years, evidence surfaced that;
pig iron was loaded into the boat's, bottom to make her •
more stable and at the end of the season, the Noronic was
back in dry dock for some major surgery.
The surgery involved adding, false sides to the ship:,
i her .maximum width from 52 to 59,6 feet, She.
utcreasng _., . .. f
wasn't quite as elegeant now, and it was a tight fit getting
through locks at the Son and Wetland canals, but at least
passengers were guaranteed they'd stay upright on their
cruise up the lakes,
QUEEN OF THE INLAND SEAS
Now by 1949, the S,S..Neronic had earned the nickname
the "Queenof the Inland Seas," Her sister ship, the
; Iamonic, had already burned in a: fire at the Point Edward
dock four years before. Noµ, in mid-September, the
Noronic was midway through a special; cruise, an annual
'affair scheduled after thecompletion
of her
aa
r
'
summer tuns from Detroit to Sault Ste. via✓ie . This cruise
started in Detroit, crossed Lake Erie to Cleveland, and
then came through the canal into Lake Ontario, Most of the
524 passengers were Americans from Michigan and Ohio,.
Some of them were longtime ' `Norey" lovers, on board for
their fifth. tenth, even twentieth, cruise on the ship. The
layover in Toronto, not far from the CNE grounds, meant
both the crew and passengers had a chance to relax on the .. ,
shore or party in the ship's saloon.
The man in charge of. the Noronic was Captain William
Taylor of Sarnia, who was 65 -years of age, . and looking
forward tohis final two years of sailing before: hanging up
his hat ' to meet Canada Steamship Line retirement
guidelines. His posting to the Noronic was evidence he had
served hisemployers well; in the past.
't Captain: Taylor had started sailing on the lakes an an•
apprentice seamon in 1913, the same year the 'Morey"
was launched, and he earned his Masters papers in 1932.
'1t was a matter of prideto the captain that after all his
years on the.bridge, he hadn't lost a passenger yet. With.
the last trip of the season well underway, he had little
reason todoubt this season wouldbe as successful as his
other' ones on the lakes.
The passengers on board the ship were a mixture of
young and old. The most elderly passenger was. Mrs.
Bertha.Williams,486, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio who certainly
fell into the category• of a' "Norey" lover. She boasted.
proudly she knew "everybody from bridge to stokehole
,and.it wasn't uncommon for her to make two or three trips
on the ship a year.
Another name on the passenger list was Miss Josephine
Kerr of Onsted: Michigan, a :middle-aged lady travelling
.with her brother, his wife and three children. She was one
of many passengers who left the ship • to visit friends in
Toronto. returning just shortly before the tragedy which .
would guarantee the 'Noronic' an .infamous . place . in
Canadian history.
'Other passengers i,ic:uded Mr. and'Mrs David Wilder,
a retired farm couple from Berea,. Ohio, 'who also visited in
the city,complaining to their friends .that there was just
too much drinking and partying on board the•Noronic. The
ample wished they'd never decided .to.take .the cruise.
One other person on board was Sam Graham, of the
Sarnia area. It was Mr. Graham's jobb to truck fresh fruits
Seaforth
„Appearing Wednesday - Saturday
Seaforth
native
promoted •
Douglas Wright formerly
of Seaforth has lived in
Brockville for thepast three
years and was assistant,
manager of the main branch
of the Toronto Dominion
Bank in that city, He has
been transferred to Kanata
south of Ottawa and promo-
ted to manager of the
Toronto Dominion Bank ' in
that city. Douglas took over
his new position November
1. He, is the son of Mr. and.
Mrs. Art Wright of 104; John,
St. Donald Wright, Clinton, "
is a brother.
STUDIO 12
PRESENTS
Nov 11 19/9
4:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m..
8:30 p.m:
"I WAS THERE"'
Host - Jack Ward
Guest: Edmund Daly [Part' Ill
"TV NEWS"
Host John McCarroll
Guests 1 Stephen Chandler
Perth County Children's Aid Society
2 Lorne.Bolton'
About His ElectricCar
3 Brian Peters
Seaforth's Recreation Director
4 Tape of the:Montreal Oldtimers
"LIONS TV BINGO"
•" TV' cBOWLING"`
Contestants Bert Milne'
vs
Brian Eickmeyer
CABLE T.V. 345-2341
�r.
and vegetables from the Canada 'Steanstup cocks to t otnt
Edward, to the Toronto docksso the :Noronic passengers
could enjoy the elegant :dining they'd come to expect. On,
the nigfit of Sept. 16, Mr. Graham decided to spend at.
ileast part of the night on board, the ship since no crew was.
available to help unload the fresh produce. One fellow
employee he likely drop ped. in to chat with was Miss
Louise Dustin, a CSL paymistress who decided. to come on
the cruise so she could get a few extra hours in. on her own
time to bring the payroll up toy date.
By p,m., the boat had; quietened down and most:
passengers retired to their cabins.
Don Church, another passenger, and fire insurance
specialist in his hometown, was walking along a starboard..
corridor in "C" deck when he saw the haze of smoke in the
.corridor. lie moven (petty to discover the source and
foiind the smoke pouring from the sides of the door leading:.
:intoa linen, locker.
the an
hear sounds from e• inside ,,. .
He thought he could n
ominous crackling, Don Church had; just discovered the
villain most feared by sailors -a shipboard fire. The fire
would spell an end to the "Queen."
Editor's Note: The story of the fateful Noronic fire and the
inquiry following it will be continued in next week's
column. Constance peep . Ivisit newgra„
e
-old Peruvian boy, lives' high: in the
A STAR. — Oscar (far .left) a 12 year P ..ru I
Andes and is the srniling, ''`star" of With, Oscar in Peru which will be
Puppet shown in conjunction with.the Pu et Show at Blyth Memorial' Hall on
,.......
Saturday afternoon November 10 at 2:00 a.m., (Standard Photo)
James Murphy
James Murphy, former
artistic director and founder
of the Huron Country Play-
house, has left the playhouse
after eight seasons with -the
theatre.
Mr. Murphy said he hopes
to freelance as a director in
the future and enjoy theatre
without the burdens of
administration,
The former artistic director
and his wife Barbara were
honoured at.a meeting of the
board of directors for the
playhouse at the "Dashwood
Community Centre recently.
Mr. Murphy and his wife
were presented e'ed with a ' paint-
ing titled "The Prisoner" by
London artist Gilbert Moll,
depicting a• pigeon tiedto a
• brick. Board member Jill
Waters said the painting
symbolized the way Mr.
Murphy has been imprisoned
by the playhouse,
Ldn Evans of Sarnia,
immediate: pasta chairman' of
the board'; said "We've seen
Janes •grow from a gay-
blades bachelor to a serious
father. When he married
Barbara,they became a
team. The team has 'grown to
include Nevin and I gather
it's not through growing
yet." Mr. Evans said the
board was; sorry to see Mr.
Murphy.: leave:
The new artistic director,
Aileen Taylor -Smith and .the , 'y
theatre's general manager,
Marc Quinn, .,presented a
number of ideas to the board
for. the 1980 season.
Ms. Taylor -Smith said she
would like to see the opening,
nights moved . to Thursday '
nights with the preview
performances Tuesday
rre
P
-o s ondent
C
MRS, MARY MERNER
-74
Congratula482tio1ns3 are ex -
'tended: to Leo and Corry
me
of
Sanders
onoureh: nee Wam s
i
V boaronbirth
. Brussels the
y R.R.4,
of a daughter Julie on
afternoons and nights. This
would enable the actors to try
the play before an audience
prior to opening night.
Although the e
g tiew
.artistic
director hasn't released the
names of next; year's plays,
she said she hopes to have a
big musical, a smaller musi-
cal a comedy -thriller, an
English comedy and an
American comedy.
At the end of the meeting,
the board was told while
attendance, was higher than.
ever at. the :theatre last
season,the larger numbers
have played havoc with the.
septic tank system. An entire
t
new system will be needed
next year, estimated to cost
about 510,000. .'
nights, • and:. -.Wednesday
November lat. A grand-
daughter for. Mr. and Musa
John Wammes.
Mr. andrs. Ron' Brady Yof
Eg mondville' visited on.
Saturday evening with M.
and Mrs. Dave Preszeator,.
to
Christine,. Lisa, Chns � pher
and Gregory.
Mr. and Mrs. Terence.
Hunter of Colborne
Townshipaccompanied Mr.
P
and Mrs, John Thompson
when they spend the week
end with their son, daughter-
in-law and hew grandson Mr.
and Mrs. Andy Thompson
and Jeffrey of Oakyille.
. Mr.: and Mrs.' Cam Patter
-
kin of London visited on
Advanced
DISCO INSTRUCTION
Monday evenings
November 12 to December 16
8:30 to 10:30 p,m.
At Vanastra Recreation Centre`
REGISTRATION .LIMITED
482-3544
evening n8
,will Mr.
and Mrs, Frank Riley.
An Expositor, Classified
a
dividends. •
will youHave
pay
you tried one? Dial 527-0240,
Benefit,
Dafl�e
Roy and Joan.
BEUERMAN
Fit Nov. 9
Brodhagea Community,
Centre
-9-1
Lunch Provided
For al
�ersmth
(not just Vanastra.)
Vanastra Recreation Centre 8
on'ts of hea
How to heat your home safely with wood fuels.
With energy costs rising, many,
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Used improperly, however, wood
burning can be dangerous..
Whether your stove is of ornate
design -or a more modern stove,
they :both have one
thing in common; they
each need proper
installation. Here are
Some of the do's and
don'ts on heating
with wood:
DO =- BUY only
units which have
been certified. for
wood use, by the
or. the Underwriter's Laboratories
of .Canada (.ULC)
❑' .DO '— HIRE an expert to
certify that your flue pipe
and chimney are in good
condition to handle the higher
temperatures.
O DO CONTACT your
insurance agent before
installing the. system. Be sure
you're covered in case of fire.
❑ DO — CHECK with your
.municipality before any work
begins. You'll probably need
a building permit.
O DO = ENSURE adequate
clearances are provided as
listed in the Ontario Building
Code and other guides -
Canadian Standards available at your local library.
Association (CSA), ❑; DON'T --- USE flammable
liquids when lighting the fire
..like gasoline, kerosene or
charcoal lighter fluids. Wood
Ontario
chips, kindling, shavings' or
newspapers are the'safest
startup materials.
• DON'T— KEEP any
flammable materials near
your wood burner.
• DON'T - FORGET to clean.
your stovepipes and flues
}regularly to avoid dangerous'
flammable build-up.
❑ DON'T '-- TAKE CHANCES
WITH FIRE. Teach your
children about fire safety too.
If you have any further '
questions about heating with
wood fuels, contact your locals
Fire Department, or write
for the free guide titled:
"Heating with. Wood Fuels"
Ministry of Consumer and
Commercial Relations
555 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario,
M7A2H
HG
, Frank Drea,
Minister of Consumer and
Commercial Relations
William Davis,' Premier