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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1968-10-31, Page 7ectoll famous teams (by C, Joe Sills) Seaforths party the week end • of Dominion Day this year, in my opinion was the best it has ever put on, since the first one I can remember which was in 1914. I am mindful that t h e Town has never put on a bad • show , its just that it seems that they grow better each time, I read the pregram announce- ments wrong when I received me. , I thought it read thai they w er e putting on a dance Sunday night on the street. I told my wife t, ome - -• that some.pne must be off their rocker, because I felt sure the old "Lord's Pay Alliance" was still in effect at home, a n d dancing anywhere in public 'would gel everyone pinched, also a hunch o you old citizens would show up from the Math, land Cemetery and really p t everyone to route. The wife asked me to let her read this startling announcement, and when she did she quickly point- ed out my error in reading. The dance wasn't lo start until after Midnite Sunday, and from all reports' everyone had agood time. While I enjoyed the whole celebration, I had two or three incidents that touched me deep- ly, as well as I guess flattered me because I was not forgotten; and though I had probably raised a lot of cain in my day, yet these voiced praises made m feel that I also had left some pleasant memories. The first of these occurred in what I always call Our Store, Featuring Brand Name SHOES-FZJI.'FAMILY. McBR1NE LUGGAGE BAUER SKATES READ'S' SHOES and LUGGAGE, "Where SatisfactiOn is Guaranteed" MAIN STREET SEAFORTII VfiB, %/di ft i 11198 now run by my nephews. A ninety-one year eld retired farmer who lives retired on his farm about 2i miles on Huron Road West, came to the store to see me Ind as soon as I saw him and heard his hearty laugh it had to be John Dale. What a wonder- ful man he is, and he told m e that hehegaedealing in t h e store with my Dad when h e started fer himself 71 years ago and still was a customer. I t was enough satisfaction for me to know Jack had come to see me, but he further flattered me by telling me how he enjoyed watching me play heCkey. Until perhaps a year ago he cared for a number of trotting horses at his farm for a man from ,Goder- ich. What a than: My next Pleasant surprise happened as I carne out o f Church -Sunday. A strange -well dressed man ef about my own age siepped up to me and asked me if I would step over a n d meethis wife. I said sure and when he cameup to his wife, she flung, her arms around me and kissed me. Rallying from this outburst of affection I finally gdt a good look at the lady, and darned if it wasn't the former Marg Stewart, sister of Cyril Stewart, one of m y dearest old friends. They were children of one of the Stewarts wh9 operated what in my time was known as the Big Mill, your 'flour mill of today. Her hushand is a Doctor in Toronto. , They had to rush back to Toronto but she took the trouble to find. me, Her brother Cyril'died a year ago. He was one of the best rnining engineers -in Canada. The third surprise was flatter- ing and somewhat nostalgic. It “. occurred as we met many o 1 d friends at the High School Mon- day morning.. We had aget • together of a ,number of our own class but this overflowed to cov- er perhaps a class below us as well. Talking to one of our girls who was behind me perhaps by a year or so she asked nie if I ever sang anymore. I regretfully admitted'that I didn't. She then surprised me when she told me she heard me.,years ago and asked me if "I remembered sing- - ing ,!'Memories".. :Before I had a„ LOCATED IN SEAFORTH FOR Servingthe Seaforth Community for over 25Years With a complete line of Crown SALES rnoiqt 527-0290 1 YEARS • FURNITU APPLIANC and SMALL APPLIANCES Diamond Name Brand Products Paints I -S SERVICE SEAPORTE ,k fl chance to aniWer several tished up to greet boa), of us and I never saw her again. If shetad this I hope she will tell me wixte she heard me sing "Memories", because I never remember sing- ing it in public and any private :recitals I ever took part in were usually as part of a private gnat - tette, Incidentally the history of Seaforth must record that the town had some fine singers who individually made pp local church choirs, but joined to in putting on shows f or the town. There were Whole families of gifted singers like the 'Willis', the 'Brights', the 'Dalys' and the 'Scetts', t name but a few and. 'BillyHays, son of Tommy Hays, and form - &fly a ditiggist in Seaforth, was the finest ten& ballad singer I have ever heard anywhere. My last big thrill was meet- ing Flora Wkitely Livingstone, 93. She was our neighbour en John Street for years. Her dau- ghter Gilchrisfbroughtjter just fOr the day from a nursing home in Detroit. She had to go back the same day because of med- ical care she took. While deaf, she was otherwise as brigheas a dollar. I have written her for -years but.hatin't seen her„Aince 1955. She was wonderful. Gil - Christ hetself was no stranger, because as a kid she was parked at or table about as often as • she could °get there. My Dad loved, all children and Gilchrist was special. When I was inth hospital in Detroit a year ago Sept. with pneumonia, Gilchrist was a constant visitor. I must— mention my stay in,St. Johns hospital in Detroit because af- ter I was there a week or t e p days the sister • in charge of my floor one day said to me -You are registered from Baltimore, MD. -..but I have never seen a. person who lives so far from Detroit have so many visitors. I had to explain that I was from Seaforth, Ontario, My folks knew of my illness and the peo- ple from there wrote or called their relatives in Detroit and Many came to see me and many also called. I again was flattered so is it any wonder I love my home town so much „As rite Sister said "Nn e else has Wad sib many visitoM. These occurrenCe.Twhich were such thrills to me, left me „happy in the thought that i n spite of my many shortcomings, th# kind friends of ' my-- child- hood and youth remembered only some of the things God gave me the ability to entertain them with. Hockey of course became something I was really active •in at home but I remember some of the earlier teams Sea - forth had not only in hockey, but in those earlier days more successfully in soccer, football and lacrosse. You know one of many advantages being raised in a small town, was that with any ability at all one took part in everything from the artistic, such as choirs, plays and con- certs to sports such as I have, mentioned. Many people don't know I am sure.that.in the early nine- teen hundreds, Seaforth had champion lactosseand soccer football clubs. My brothers •Frank and Chas. were on such teams, though neither played la- crosse. This was taken care of by the Jacksons'anj McDougals of Egmondville plus Mulcahy - Polly Freemen - Dick Johnson and others and in both sports we were champions of Canada and in Volunteer Fire Brigades, Seaf- orth won National and Internat- ional Championships. running at,.. Port Huron, Mich, and Kincard- ine, Ontario. One of my most precious possessions is a Gold Medal, representing an individ- ual running of fifty yards and coupling a hose. My Dad made a World recotd which to my knowledge was never beaten be- fore these games went into ob- livion. He gave it to le, The best hockey clubs I think we had in town up until twenty-five years ago when the Seaforth Intermediates won a championship which they won again three times, two and three years ago - was the Junior team of 1912 which I practised with but never played on b - cause my Mother - God test I er , soul - wouldn't le/Arne plar away from home - I wast' allowed to -play at home eithe I was sixteen then.. This team was,beaten by Berlin ( now Kitchener) only by the wonder- ful goalkekping of a youngster my age, whb,later became one of Canada's outstanding goalies - namely George Hainsworth. The bett teams I played of the THE HURON XPOSITOR SEAfRTh,9NTN, OCT. • 1940-4 1 Hockey teams of -the past In the upper picture are members of the Seaforth Intermediate Hockey Team of 1906 and 1907. (Rear left) John C. MacKenzie, Arthur. Broadfoot, (frent) Bill Munroe, Dave Stoddart, Alva Westeott.,- Geo. Reeves and Ed. Munroe. In'the lower picture is the 1919-1920 hockey team including Dave, Dalton and Reg. Reid, the Hoffman twins from Zurich, Gordon Dick, Joe Sills and Roy McGeoch. Seated in front is Fred Willis, who was the team mascot, ,intermediate of 1•915 and 1919. We made the semi finals both years - beaten by Wiarton the first time and by Collingwood the last. 1919 was My last Winter at home, and it wasn't until the last year I played _in the winter of 1925 - 1926 that I was on the team from Minn- eapolis that won the U.S. Championship. On this team was a boy I launched on his hockey career in Minneapolis the year before, namely "Cooney" Weiland from Egmon- dville who played later several years with Boston and is now 'coaching Harvard University hockey and golf teams. While I didn't make a championship team at home, my nephew Frank was on the champ team in the forties and his son was on the team that ' won the last three champion- ships. So you see in sports as well as all other town activit- ies my family was involved. Speaking of the town's birth- day, I am reminded of the story the late wonderful "Will Rogers" told about one of the first settlers in the U. S. A. • He said that when the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock his own ancestors, the Indians, Were there to meet them. The same applies to the year C4th became incorporated in 1868 - a Sills already was in Seaforth when it happened, my Dad hav- ing come here as a boy in Aug. 1867. He was 12 years old. The family has a right to be proud that it had representation at Seaforths incorporation. ' This same applies even more so to The Huron Expositor. Its predecessor paper the Express was started 108 years ago. Being only 72 I can only remember the paper back a little better than 60 -years, and strange as it may seem I remember the paper of those days, not as a newspaper but because one of its employees was John Darwin, and his son Austin was one of my best friends, and Mr. Darwin's fath- er was the first man 1 ever knew to speak to, who lived past one hundred years old. As a young rnan at home we read the paper consistently but it was after I left home in 1920 that it be- came More important tome and it has become part of:MY life as it has followed me whereer.. I have lived and I have always en- joyed it, though time has made the 75 - 50 - 25 year columns most important, together with the always shocking news from the obituary column. You have kept the paper bright and cheery and have flat- tered me by printing letters I have sent you from time to time. You know my Dad was primarily a Conservative but as he said - "Not a 'Tory who was too hide bound!" However he voted Con- servative always except for the tiroes M. Y. McLean ran for and ,was elected to Parlianient i n Ottawa. Dad always said he also informed his own Conservative party of his intention to vote for • Mr. McLean, and, knowing Dad I'm sure he would do just what he said. My sincere hope for the paper is that it will continue to observe centuries of service to the o 1 d home town, and my congratulat- ions to the paper and the McLeans for Having served the citizens of Seaforth both home and away, so faithfully, also my congratulations though late, to everyone who helped make the Dominion Day Welk end such a success. P. S. You know its tough to be the only remaining member of a once very affectiahate and happy family. ENTERTAINMENT NIGHTLY at the Seafort Carnor o Main arid Gischwith Omit ON.0 °Matto