The Huron Expositor, 1968-10-31, Page 21•
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Celebrates Canada s Barthda
(by F. C. J. Sills)
As the chairman of the
Centennial Committee f o r
Seaford) during last years Cen-
tennial celebration, 1 have teen
asked to contribute a few thou-
ghts and reminiscences about
that tirne; how it af fe ct e d
Seaforth and c+that we m 1 g ht
gain from it.
First of all I would like to
say that, despite the misgivings
of a few., the whole opetation
in Canada was a huge success,.
and Seaforth and district share
in the glory.. 1 particularly
like to include this district be-
cause it contributed very much
to the success in this mttnieig-
ality and made such a v i v..fd
picture of what pan happen with
a little bit of co-operation. We
all have a common interest in
the heritage of Canada just as
we all have a coprnon interest
In the present and future o f
this great land. As individuals
or a municipality we can go
just so far but as a group o f
municipalities co-operating in
a common cause there is n o
limit to our achievements.
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The unveiling of the plaque to commemorate Seaforth
Community Centre front took place On September 4,• 196'7
at the official opening and dedication ceremonies. Partic-
ipating in the opening were Rev. D. O Fry, Minister of
First Presbyterian Church, Hon. Charles S. •MacNaughton,
Provincial Treasurer, MPP for Huron, Reeve Carl Dalton,
F. C. J. Sills, Centennial committee chairman, Mayor Frank
Kling, chairman for the occasion and Robert E. McKinley,
MP for Huron.
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Beards and the dress of. years ago werereatures of area
celebrations arranged to mark Canada's ,Centennial. Typ-
ical were these entrants in Seaforth's beard growing cort
• test which was judged at the Lions Summer Carnival. George
-Kruse (far right) was tops in the contest, Adrian DeCob,
(second kneeling) and Bob Baker (third kneeling) were second
and third. The others (standing from left) John Segeren,
Bruce Papple, Bob Reid, George Beer, Floyd Dale, Ken
Moore, Bill Taylor, Ivan Howatt, Angelo Andresse, George
Kruse, (kneeling) Frank Sills, Adrian DeCoo, Bob Baker,
Frank Reynolds, Art Devereaux, George Langlois, Gus Bous-
sey-and Jim Sills.
•We started the year with a
New Years ringing of bells ,then
a jOint demonstration of prayer,
dedicating the Centennial Bann-
er and invoking the helP", of God
in all our endeavours; gi ving
thanks for past efforts of o u
forefathers, whether they lived
in this country er in some other
place across the seas, be c ause
without their achievements We
are nothing. This is why tradi-
tion is so vital and cannot b e
thrown out the window indiscri-
minately. Ceitainly many
things in the past were wrong
and perhaps bad for us but the
good far out -weighs the evil.
During the ensuing mo n ths
of '67 we relived many t h ings
of the past by means of pictur-
es, antique displays, w e aring
ancLdisp_laying old time costum-
es and taking part in form er
styles of dancing and gam e s
and beards. Some of these were
amusing and. provided a lot of
pirth while Other things were
nostilgic and provideea great
deal of thought. They all blen-
ded together to give us a clear-
er picture of how we arrived at
our pres' ent destination and
made us think about what w e
are going to do for our futu r e
and that of-future•generations.
In June the Centennial Car-
xi/an came to the Lions Park and
set up theirKlisplays depicti n g
Canadian life. It wasahuge
success for anyone who r e ally
concentrated on its contents and
message but conveyed less t o
those who, skimmed through i t
expecting something to be
handed to them on a platt e r.
However, this is typical of so
many things and people. I t
ha S always been so and I
suppose will always continue .as
suchiintil we begin to realize
that one only gets as much out
of life as one is prepared tn put
• into it. Fortunately, the
majority of people did get the
message. .
The Lions Club and the
Township of Tuckersmith co-
• operated t� provide a very
ful and handsome set of mem-
orial entrance„gates.at the Lions
Park as their Centennial proj-
ect., Seaforth built a much
needed substantial front sec-
tion to the Community'Memor-
ial Arena while McKillop built
a neat municipal office in Win-
throp. •
Labour Day was a 'big day in
Seaforth witl-r one of the finest
parades ever seen in the town
followed by a•Dedication cere-
mony of the Seaforth Centenn-
ial project. Games for t h e
young followed along with a
Community Bar-B-Que, .display
of local talent singing ah d
dancing and finishing off with
a dance for all.. '
y• .
4 Or 7: :,',76'•;..•W' re•
.q
A
100th
Birthday
BEST WISHES
We take this opportunity to
congratulate the Town of Seaforth
. And the Huron Expositor on 190
years of Progress and Service.
We are proud of our long and
successful association with the com-
munity.
HURON
WHOLESALE
"S•r•In0 Ssaforth for Ova 20 Viers"
Phone 527-1280 Seaforth
Billed as the "Dutch Group" these ..ea Dutch people sang *and aanced to the delignt
of the spectators at a number of area Centennial programs in 1967.. They are (from, the
left) Martha Schoonderwoerd, Jean Schoonderwoerd, Martha Van Geffen, John Van Geffen,
Irlene Swartz, Harry Hak, Catherine Hak, Peter Vanburk, (kneeling) John Segeren, Corrie
Segeren and Henry Swartz.
Moran
Next came a night that
will long be remembered i n•
the annals of Seaforth. c u y
Lombardo and his Roy a 1
Canadians came to town and we
had a ball thatwas the gr and
daddy of them all. Former
residents and neighbours c a p e
from near and far full of the joie
de vive and combined with the
'local residents to make i t a
memorable night. Never have
1 seen so many smiling faces
thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The music was wonderful. w ith
everyone UP -dancing and G u y
Lombardo can rest assured that •
although he has been popul a r
for years he will be more than
ever popularin the hearts o f
Seaford). According to corres-
pondence received from h i m
after the dance the feeling
seems to be mutual.
Such an undertaking required
a lot of work but the co-oper-
ation was so great that t h e
• -Amount each one had to do was
relatively easy.
' Many churches had .special
events And the Presbyter i a n
Church in Seaforth was particul-
arly active as Canada's century
coincided with their century in
Seaforth, At the same time in
ictvember the Canadian Legion
made a special effort too result-
ing in Rernembeance Day being
one of the largest ever held here
.on that occasion. , •
Finally, we closed off t h e
year with another inter -faith get
together where we retired t h e
Centennial Banner and p 1 e dged
ourselves to carry the centennial
spirit on to future years. Let us
not forget that,.
. All in all.Centennial year was
a memorable one coinciding as
it did with Expo '67 in Montreal
which became the windoW of
Canada for the World. 'We- as,
a country, a municipality, a n
individual, proved that we were
capable of many things and i t
would be a shame not to c o n-
tinue it. The Seaforth Centenni-
al Committee of 1968 showed
that this spirit has been retained.
As an individual, interested
in Seaforth's past, it gives me a
great deal of pleasure to con-
gratulate the Hun Expositor on
its century of service this year
and4.1siCto, convey hearty felic-
itatibris to the c.ouncil and citiz-
ens of Seaforth on this their cen-
tenary .as an incorporated village,
THE: fikIRON .SEAFOR
THQT 31, 21
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We share *ith the •
people of Seaforth, pride
in their hundrQd 3rPgr bistOry
.71
1111101.41
r rr• ••• • •
.11111
"CUSTOM BUILT HOMES"
Contact
WINSTON G. POWELL
Licensed Carpenter"
SEAFORTH
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'CLINTON
Standards Were High
The strict ani upright Christ-
ian morality of the 1800,'s a s
revealed in old cotiles of The
Expositor perhaps seem a bit
curious to the present generation.
Under the heading 'Sabbath
Desecration' The Expositor i s
very critical of a grpup of young
men in Clinton who were seen
skating on a farm pond - - on
Sunday!
This strictness apparently
extended to local entertainment
--hi 1818 mai playeci.411 the
part in amateur dramatic pres-
entations.
Apparently a lot of occurenc-
es were regarded with more pub-
lic scrutiny in the old days than
.;
they are now.
On May 13,-1870 The Expos-
itor's rep'ort of the Assizes o f
court at Goderich Says that
judgement was passed on t w o
cases of seduetion and in each
case the wronged young lady
received $250,
•By. 1815 a farrilet who bought
to the assizes "action to recover
damages for the seduction of his
daughter", received only $245.
Another straightforward item
from ati-early paper which seems
a bit odd or even barbaric today •
Is thisc—nall advertisement in-
setted in* the Dec. 23; 1870
issue of The F.Npositor:
"Notice: Anyone desirous of
adopting a fint, healthy male
child of about 18 months may
apply kr further particulars to
PatWer 22, Seafotth Post Office".
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We extend
Congratulations
to the
Towrtle of Seaforth
and
The Huron Expositor
on their
• lbOth BIRTHDAYS
JACK THOMPSON'S,
FAMILY SHOES and REPAIR
8 MAIN STREET • '
Your Headquarters for
• WINTER RUBBER FOOTWEAR.
INSULATED RUBBER BOOTS
161/2" High with Steel Arches
Serving Seaforth Over 60 Years
For three generations SMITH'S GROCERY has been a lead-
ing Shopping centre in Seaforth. In 1905, Walter Richard 'Smith
,and his two sons, W. D. Small and lienderson Smith, took over
the business of the late Andrew Young.
v
Ulm the death of W. R. Smith in 1936, the business was tak-
en over by the two sons. W. D. Smith carried on alone after the
death of Renderson Smith in 1939.
,
In 1942, William Richard Smith entered the business with his
father, and upon his death in 1955, carried on alone until the
rreser4, day.
Smith's Superior Food Market
Phone 527-0990 •••Seaforth
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