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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1966-06-09, Page 6Cls OPERATOES INSTMANC 41 ASSOCIATION HOME A LIFE • AUTO 1965 AMBASSADOR 1965 ACAI.IAN 1965 CLASSIC SEDAN 1962 RAMBLED •2 -DOOR 1961 CHEV, i3ISCAYNE---6 Cylinder 1959 FORD r See the New 1966 Models Now on Display MIL I,ER MOTORS Phone '527-1410 : SeaW th •i5 1-11(001 EXPOSITOR, SRAFORTII, AIM 9, 1966 a History by .Isabelle Campbelt (Continued from last week) S°and the our. As thel stores ht hmproved, so did the appear ante o On the corner was Houghton's Hotel and stable, the road the sidewalks and the street lighting. which was.:bought in November, 1884 by Peter Mc- ' Gregor of Brucefield. McGregor used the stable on the In the 1860's and 70's, when there was only rand' Bad part for a horse sales stable. In 1885, on the other and gravel with egrduroy in swampy spots,en the Part, a roller skating rink was opened, and from Dec- main drag, wagons laden with grain and produce ember, 1886, till 1906, this became the Seaforth Curl- sank in ruts almost to the axle during wet periods. Nett big and Skating Rink. The Willis "Shoe Co. opened came the macadamized, then the brick and later the here in 1906, with Harry Willis, manager. In Septem- asphalt road. In May, 1889, the contract for supplying bar,. 1907, he had a large frame building moved to this the stones for the macadamizing of Main Street was property from back of his store on the West side of let to Richard Comm_ on at a cost of $4.50 per cord. Main Street, where he formerly had made leggings. On July 4, 1906, at one o'clock, the first brick was Here children's shoes were made in addition to the laid for the new pavement. Each wooden brick weigh - leggings. In March, 1909, Anderson, Taylor Company ed sixteen and a half pounds and was two and one opened a clothing factory with W. E. Southgate over- half inches long, three inches thick and five inches wide. seeing the work. In November, 1930, it was changed When the brick pavement became as roygh as an old over to a furniture factory. George Hanley of Strat- corduroy road, it. .was replaced with asphalt. When ford, was the manager. This Avon Chest Factory made completed it was dfficially opened with a street dance cedar chests here for four years. Since December, 1934, on June 3, 1924. a different line of furniture, bookcases, dining room Dust from the mud and gravel road became.. a. and bedroom suites has been made by John Boshart problem. To relieve this condition, a water tank was and Sons Limited. After a fire on November 17, 1945, Installed in 1881, back of Morrison's store, where the the white brick building was repaired and enlarged. town hall stands today. It remained there for street Wages paid at the start by Boshart was 15 to 20 cents and coal watering purposes' till it was dismantled per hour. when the new water system came into use in 1923. Sharp's Hotel beside the railway track, in the early The water pipe was laid to the tank in July 1881, :and 1860's, was a frame building, but by the early 1900's, in 'September the new watering cart, manufactured the owner, Mrs. John Lynch, had it veneered with by Alex Stewart and John Smith, made its first ap- white brick. From 1883, it was well known as the Ken- nedy Hotel, and from 1892, The Grip House. Among. the proprietors in the early 1900's was Jonathan Mil, ler, a man of unusal size, who weighed 463 pounds. When he died in Carlow, Ontario, in 1909, the door frame had to be removed in order that the twelve . pallbearers could remove the casket from the house. It was taken to Maitland" Cemetery, at Goderich, on a one-horse dray. In 1913, The Grip House became the W. J. Duncan Legging and Shoe Factory. Since Seaforth Shoes Ltd. left in December, 1958; the building has been used by several for short periods. Topnotch Feeds Ltd. bought it from ,the Aown in September, 1965, for $1,000.00. The old part has been wrecked, and the newer part remodelled, and " made "pinto a modern head office for the company. The first hotel stable here was burned in 1908, but by December, that same year, it was replaced by the present steel -covered building. .When the hotel 'ceased to function in 1912, the stable was sold to Frank Allen, Goderich horse buyer. William Cudmore had it till 1944, when Bosharts' took it over for storage. Other well-known men, engaged in business on Main Street for twenty-five years or more were: Wil- liam A. Gila; restaurant and bakeshop; Thomas G. Scott, paint and paper shop; J. Wesley Beattie, but- cher shop ; Henry Livens, grocery store ;' George Seip, shoe repair shop; Charles Aberhart, drug store; Clin- ton E. Smith, shoe store; J. M. McMillan, Provincial bank manager ; Will and Mabel Thompson, bookstore; William Pickard, dry goods store; Michael Broderick, pearance on •the street. The sidewalks were -first wooden, then cement. Joseph Brown of Harpurhey built the first plank sidewalk. Later this work was done by the town work- men. It was not till the early 1900's, that these board sidewalks were replaced gradually by cement. Harry Edge, in 1912, had a contract to do some of this work. From Shinen's present store, to Goderich Street, in the 1880's, the board sidewalk was elevated. It was built on a slant and gradually raised to a height of four feet, making it convenient for horseback riders to alight and for others to step out of their carriages and phaetons. Steps spaced at short distances apart at the level of the road made access to the sidewalk possible for pedestrians. At this point,. horses were tied to large rings fastened to the outer edge of the walk. • Other places along the street, the horseswere tied to hitching posts. The parking was free. In 1962; similar contraptions, ear parking meters, were install- ed The difference, now you pay your pennies or you pay the fine. From the early 1900's, motor cars brought about other changes in the appearance of the street. The model N Ford, bought jointly by Alex Winter and Jack Daly, around 1907, ' was an object of curi- osity, but also the ,pride of the town. In July, 1909, motor cars were still so scarce on Main Street -that When two -more arrived in the town, this news item appeared in the local paper, "Seaforth can now boast of two handsome' automobiles. W. T. Box and Timothy Carbert journeyed to Detroit to, purchase, and .bring home their cars. Mr. Box arrived back safely, but Mr. Carbert was not so fortunate. Some part broke and harness shop; II. E. Smith, insurance. agent; Charles, he had to leave his in London for repairs." Other news - W. Papst, bookstore; Merton A. Reid, insurance office; paper items, followed, April, 1910: "The Automobiles A. C. Routledge, grocery store; E. H. Close, barber are again on the roads and this means one will not shop Isaac Hudson, produce store; R. H. Peck, music know an easy moment." August, 1910: "Mr. and Mrs. store; Alfred R. Box, restaurant; Leonard Bolton, bar- John Dodds,. Harpurhey, had some visitors recently ber shop; Arnold Westcott, jewellery store; W. D. from Flint, Michigan, They came all. -the way in their Bright and Sons, tailor shop ; William Somerville, tele- automobile." October, 1912: Oscar Neil is the owner graph and ticket agent; R. S,,,. Hays, law office; and now of the 25th car in the town:" June; 1913, adver- George D. Ferguson, hardware store. tisement: "For the sum of $1.50, one can • hire Robert South of the track, by the early 1900's, were coal Dyball, of Seaforth, to be taken to Bayfield and back, sheds owned by ,George M. Chesney . and Andrew S. at any . hour, in his new automobile, " with perfected Archibald, hardware merchants. These early dealers springs, soft cushions and complete electric wiring." also sold wood, Several others sold coal from here be- On a Wednesday afternoon' in August, 1913, eight fore Willis Dundas took over in 1964. automobiles passed along Goderich Street, in less than In the 1860's, Matthew Robertson was using two fifteen minutes, and in September, on Fair Day, that buildings over the track. In one he made furniture same year there were thirty cars in and around the and coffins, and the one nearest the track was his fair grounds. storehouse. Robertson -was the first undertaker in As these horseless vehicles became more plenti- Seaforth, and it was George Soole who made the cof- ful, they brought about._ changes in theparking rules. 'fins, while Robertson did business here. By 1872, James Till 1936; centre parking was the rule,but from then, . Ross had taken • over and he used the white . painted angle parking on both sides became the law. As ears frame building as a hotel.. Edward Dawson followed grew longer and longer, the town fathers againchang- Ross; by 1875. From the late 1880's till 1901, it was ed the ruling to parallel parking as it is today. T. T., Coleman's office for the stave factory, sawmill,R Speeding 'motorists. in " 1935, were cautioned. by foundry and salt wells: Upstairs in the living quarters,..police to slow • down to ten miles an hour at 'Main and Mrs. Donald McKenzie and family were the last ten- Goderich Street intersection, unless they wanted to ants while Coleman owned it. After Coleman, several pay the usual $7.00 fine for speeding. "U" `turns, from junk dealers used the storehouse till 1918, when it was 1938, were prohibited at this same intersection. Traf- bought by R. Bell Engine and Thresher Co. In the late fic lights were installed here in March, 1964 and Radar 1940's, it was wrecked: The Jews, who had the store- is now regularly in operation on the main roads through house, lived in the other building, which was also tak- the town. en down, but much earlier than the storehouse. OnThe first little twinkling, are lights, sparsely these lots in 1954, The Graham Oil Ce., built a gas scattered on a few streets had the; current turned off station, with Clarence Walden and Clifford Broad- at the stroke of midnight, but by November, 1910, the . foot in charge, with delivery for wholesale only. The time was extended to 1 a.m. All night lighting did not Fina Gas and Oil Co., took over. in 1957, with Don come into effect till December 3, 1911, the third night Brightrall in charge of the retail trade of gasoline, and after Hydro power was first turned oil: From the sum - fuel oil. mer of 1961, flourescent units atop steel poles have The next building was a hotel, moved down by adorned Main Street and replaced the incandescent 1863, from "Harpurhey, by -McBride Brothers, James •li hts on heavy cast iron standards, which had been in and John. James later had it alone till the late 1890's. use from 1938. Without the waterworks system and the Scott Bros. of the Seaforth Electric Light and Power hydro, many of the improvements along Main Street Co. were the next owners. Froin T902, Town and Case would.have been impossible. were using it as an apple evaporator. Charles . Barber . bought this old landmark and moved it across the (To be continued) ' "street, West of his creamery. Here it was used to stable Barber's milk delivery horses. There it collapsed from an overweight of snow and was taken down in 1961. The land, where it formerly stood for many years, was bought in 1918, by the R. Bell Engine •and Thresher Co. It is still vacant. Robert Bell ,Industries Ltd. are the present owners. •ERYONE SHOULD RINK AT LEAST 3 lasses a Day EINLAYSON -- $OWE Carol Ann Howe, ,daugh- ter of Mr. and. 1r,!1'rs krOlson Howe, Crornaity, exchanged wedding vows with Murray James Finlayson, Staffa, Son of Mr. and Mrs. Lorne Fin- layson, Crornarty, in Crom- arty Presbyterian Church. Rev. John Boyne perform- ed the double -ring ceremony before a setting of pale -pink g 1 a •d i o 1 i, with chrysanthe- mums and candlebra. Miss Denise Kuslake sang "0 Per- fect Love" accompanied by organist Miss Carol Ann Dow. The bride was given in- marriage nmarriage by her father. She chose a floor -length gown of French peau de soie. The bodice featured a shallow scooped neckline touched with appliquis of , the most delicate chantilly lace and longi lily point sheath sleeves. Elegance was portrayed in the genly controlled sheath skirt also enhanced by the same chantilly lace. The main centre of attention was focus- ed on the detachable chapel train caught up at the waist by two tiny bows. To com- plete the outfit, the bride wore a French pure -Silk. il- lusion fingertip veil caught up by a matching rosette headpiece. S h e carried a white bible crested with a orchid. The bride was attended by Mrs. 'Robert • Wilds, London,. as matron of honor, and bridesmaids.. M r•s. Gary Tuance and Miss Sandra Bar- bour, both of Staffa. They wore identical floor -length dresses of gold .French peau de soie: The three-quarter length sleeves, empire waist and floor -length train were trimmed with gold French chantilly face. Golddouble BRUCEFIELD wedding bands held the cock, tail length veil. They carried. gold roses and yellow chry- santhemy p s....._ Groomsman was Mr, Gary Finlayson, Kipped, and the guests were ushered by Bryan Finlayson and Larry Gardiner, both Cromarty. Miss Sharon Finlayson was flower .girl and ringbearer was Mr. Kevin Wilds. For the wedding trip to Western Canada the bride wore an off-white terelene suit, navy and, red accessories and orchid corsage. Guests attended from God erich, Varna, Staffa, London, Stratford, Mitchells Cromar- ty, Kippen, Exeter, Oakville and Flint, Michigan. f Mrs. John A. McEwen is visiting for 'a few days with her daughter, Mrs. Russell Zur- brigg, Wingham. Mr. and Mrs. William Pepper spent the weekend with' friends in Harriston and with their son Bert of Newstead. Mrs. Max Tully, Peterborough is visiting with her sister, Mrs. G. McGregor and attended the funeral of her sister, the late Mrs. 'Charles Lane: Mrs, Charles Clifton rec• eived word this week that her sis- ter-in-law, Miss Martha Clifton, Lucknow, •had passed ,away.. MAIN STREET CHANGES Just as the buildings have changed on Main Street, so have the merchants. The ones mentioned ale only a few of the many who traded their wares here during the last century. With no display windows, curb ser- vice became popular. It was not till the early 1880's, that there whre large windows in the stores. A. G. Mc- Dougall had small -plate glass lights placed in his win- dow in 1880, but it was Thomas Kidd who .was the first to have a full size plate glass placed in his front window inNovember, 1882. Many of, the wares earl- ier Were displayed outside the stores and such signs as the "Circular Saw", "Golden Collar", ete., described very well the goods sold indoors. Another change carne in July, 1886.• At that time, the constable was instruc- ted by council, to have all Signs across or parallel with the.Sidewalk on Main • Street removed at 'bice, and the awning raised to a height of - siren feet. Trading hours were Dong in the earlydays. Thee first the 'summer of 1880. was in h mention of early`,dlb>� >fxt�, fie` closing? hour : during the months of . May, June, till , August ,and 'September, was to be 7 p.ni., every evening, except -Saturday. The doors, remained opeti ' that.;night till the last straggling customer's were ser- a.' service which frequentlylasted .°till' neat -or be. PROMPT WATCH REPAIR SERVICE SAVAUGE JEWELLERS Certified Watchmakers OPPOSITE POST OFFICE Remember! It takes but a moment to place an Expositor Want Ad and be money, in pocket. To advertise, just Dial Seaforth 527-0240. ASK MR ofeset INA e INVITATIONS cal ANNOUNCEMENTS • ACCESSORIES COME IN AND ASK FOR YOUR FREE BRIDAL GIFT REGISTER TILE ON • EIPOSITOYt PhOhe 527,0240 For Complete INSURANCE on your HOME, BUSINESS;" FARM, CAR, ACCIDENT, • LIABILITY OR LIFE t SEE JOHN A. CARDNO Insurance Agency Phone 527-0490 Seaforth Office Directly Opposite Seaforth Motors MAPL'E LEAF D -AIRY Phone 527-0810 .Seaforth 0• BROWN'S SUPERTEST STATION Sundays, Holidays, Everyday -- Maple Leaf Dairy Products are available at Read the Advertisements -- It's a Profitable Pastime! NOTICE! To Public Utility Commission Customers CHANGES IN 6 ,BILLINGHDISCO UkNT DATES To facilitate accounting procedures and to conform with accepted monthly billing dates and a new Billing practise introduced by the IIEPC All. Hyr. bio, Water and Sewer bills will go otit on -'he first of the month, , rather than the 10th, as previously, and will be due on or before the 15th, rather than the 23rd, as has .f. been the case. discount date will- be th of each month SEA.FORTH PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION R. S. Box, Chairman R. .1. BOUSSEY, Manager LOVED : BY NE FAMILY *WHICH HE WAS HEAD NED'S ONLY FAULT WAS SMOKING IN BED Don't light up after "lights out" Careless smoking caused more than two out of three home fires in Ontario last year - 6,822 fires in all. Many of the smokers, some men,•some women, lost their lives. Don't be a careless smoker. Above ail never smoke in bed -or on a chesterfield when you are likely to fall asleep DON'T GIVE FIRE A .CHANCE TO START