Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1966-06-23, Page 8ti • The Story 8. -..THE • 4McioN EXPOSITOR, WARMTH, QNT„ 411NE 23, 1966 (Contintfe41 from last week) . CUSTOM OFFICE It was not till June 1, 1894, that Seaforth` was established as an Outpost and Ware easing Port un- der the survey of the Port of Goderich; From August 1, 1894, until his retirement on July 1, 192 ,6, F. G. Neelin was in charge of the Seaforth Custom Office. From then till the office was- officially closed on De- cember 1, 1935, various changes ,were made and these were in charge: P. L. W. Farnsworth, Dawson Reid, 'C. P. Sills, Malcolm McKellar and -W. A. Pennylegion. Business was done in the Sun Printing Office, the northwest corner of the Commercial Hotel, the south part of John Bach's store, and a room on the second fleor of the Post Office till the office was closed in 1935. INFANTRY COMPANY By -November, 1862, Seaforth had a Volunteer Infantry Company of 55, commanded by Captain T. T. Coleman, with Samuel , Hannah as first lieutenant. It was lasted as• No. three Company, 33rd Battalion. Drill practice was continued till at least 1908. The Company had its own band, and the members wore military uniforms. BANDS From 1871, Seaforth could beast of having mere than one band. In February, 1875, Council passed' a resolution to give No. one band a .grant of $20.00, but word came, back to couneii by letter a few days later stating that the band refused to accept a $2Q.00 grant under the conditions imposed. The town fathers then retaliatedby passine. another resolution declaring to take no further action with regard to either of the bands. The Seaforth Brass 'Rand was organized in May, 1884, under the auspices of the Ancient Order of Forresters, with Mr. Chisholm leader and instructor. In January, 1886, the town band members arrang- ed to put on a concert to raise money to procure suit- able uniforms. They achieved their objective as in March that year, J. L. Smith was awarded the' con- tract to make the new uniforms. This town band suf- fered a great loss in the 1891 Market building --fire. The band instruments ..were all reduced to molten metal, and other property of theirs also perished in the fire. Later they petitioned council for aid, but received noth- ing. However, Scott Bros. Music Store did present them with a handsome new brass drum. This band tookto the. wearing of the kilts from 1922, till it dis- banded in the early 1960's. At this time it was known as Seaforth Highlander's Band. These uniforms were purchased from war assets and the tunics were re- placed again in 1946, with discarded jackets from the army. In 1902, E. H. Close of Stratford, was invited to join the Seaforth Band, which he did, and was lead- idr over thirty years. Will Truman was another faith- ful leader. The popular Seaforth District High School Trum- pet Band had its beginning in September, 1948, with E. 'H: Close, the first bandmaster. At this time it was a boys' band, but gradually the boys have been replac- ed by girls, More instruments and more members were added each year. Smart -new uniforms were purchased in 1957, the year George Hildebrand becafne the wield- er of the baton. When first organized to be granted the privilege to play in the band and for the band to accept out-of-town engagements, a high academic standard had to be maintained by these students. Miss Nancy Berger, leader of the school glee club, in Sep- tember, 1965, also took over the leadership of the school trumpet band. NEWSPAPERS The record. of Seaforth's first weekly, newspaper before 1863, is very vague. The generalidea seems to be that C. H. Cull, in 1860, started the "Express". An item in Belden's. Perth Atlas states that Alexander Campbell, son of Rev. James Campbell, Baptist minis- ter of Logan Township, in 1862, commenced issue of a newspaper in . Seaforth; called, the "Huron Express', but died soon after. The 1863 Gazetteer showed C. H. Cull publisher of the Huron Express and J. W. •Gra- ham, foreman in the Huron Express office. Six years later the 1869 Gazetteer shows Penton and Colbourne, editors and proprietors of the Seaforth Expositor. Later in 1869, William F. Luxton and George W. Ross published this paper for a short time. Ross later be- came Sir George W. Ross, premier of Ontario, and Luxton became the founder of the Winnipeg Free Press. It was in December, 1869, that Murdo Y. Mc- Lean and his brother, Alan McLean, purchased the paper_ from Ross and Luxton. Very soon the McLeans changed the name to 'The Huron Expositor. In two years, because of ill -health, Alan was forced to re- sign. M. Y. 1VjcLean continued as editor till his death in 1916. He was succeeded by his son Keith McLean, who passed away in 1948. Since then his son, Andrew Y. McLean, of the third generation, has carried on the management of the business: C. H. Cull, in 1863, had his printing office where the Eve -Mar Store is • today. By 1869; Penton and Col- borne were printing their paper on the third floor• of what is now William R. Smith's Grocery Store. I.t was also here Charles Penton lived. In February, 1869, he had an auction sale of his household effects on this floor. The McLeans remained in this building till 1872, then moved to what is now Gordon Wright's Cabinet Shop on John St. They remained here till 1881. Singe .then business has been carried on in their present lo- cation on Main St. The editor of the Seaforth Sun, the rival news- paper, with opposite political views, in the issue of February 11, 1881, made mention of this move and ended with this bluff remark : "Won't Mac be high toned when he gets into his new office on Main St." While there was journalistic rivalry between them, they were in person always friendly rivals. The second Sdaforth Weekly newspaper, The Sea - forth Sun, was founded by 1876. S. Clark and another whose name is not known, were in charge before F. G. Neelin took it over in 1879. Others from 1.902, when Neelin devoted all his time to custom work, were W. J. Westcott,� L. M. Appleford and J. W. Duncan. In February, 1906, Duncan sold his interest to Apple- ford, who carried. on alone. These_ followed: William 1 . Veale, Mr. Willoughby and- Robert D. Croft. The paper, 'frond fron 1917, was published by Rev. James F. Snowden and his three sons . Cyrilt Oswald 'and Ger- ald. Xn 1.904, the naive was a tan ed 'to Seafgrth News, and the fast 1,01te. was: published November 15, 1962. Since then the fac4ities hf the Snowden plant have teen devoted 10 col lnie> eial printing, • After $'. G. Neelin tobk.ovet the Seaforth: Sun, the tea Wag : Idtraaed irk a building on the present post dike Site. *din 189'i, it was in the Case bioek, in part e 'what is tlow *Connell and Stewart's Law Off foe. Early z>�i , SnoWilkis erea ed -t e'lr 'a'r ew office "gat is Blstory by Isabelle Campbell their present ioeatioo, and in June, they Printed the first issue of their paper in the new building. • JJ1BRARY In 1869, the Seaforth Mechanics Institute was in corporated, and was situated above Thomas Kidd's south store at the corner of Main and Market St. That year Seaforth received a government grant, but there is no record of the amount. This grant was bas- ed can the amount raised locally. The government matched dollar for dollar with the local group up to the amount of $200.00 a year. The Mechanics Institute and Library_ Association in 1869, had a membership of 200, and the officers were President, John Gray;. Secretary, William Campbell; Treasurer, M. P. Hayes, and Librarian, W. F. Luxton, From 1878, besides the books and reading room at the front, there were games and billiard tables at the back of the room. In July, 1881, the billiard tables were offered for sale. After the Free Libraries.' Act was passed in 1882, the name was changed from Mech- anics Institute to Seaforth Public Library. After the new town hall was completed in 1894, the library was moVed to a room on the second floor, where band practice was held in later years.' In April, 1912, the promise of a grant of $10,000 came from Andrew Carnegie for a new library. It was through the influence of his priyate secretary, James Bertram, that the money came through. The grant was given on account of Bertram's wife, Janet Ewing, being a native of the town. At once the coun- cil granted the library board $.3Q0.00 to buy. the' Allen property on the corner of Main and George. St., as a site on which to build, and by September, Harry Edge had commenced to build the present red brick build- ing of Victorian Palladium style of architecture. The building was completed in 1913. . The cost . was $10,466.67. In addition, the cost of preparing the plans and superintending the work was ' $500.00, but this was donated to the board by John Finlayson, the architect. Since 1913, it has been known as Carnegie Library. In 1924, Allen sold the east part of the lot to the board and for a number of years there was a tennis courthere, till another was opened in the 1940's, on the Case farm, almost across from the Lions Pond. The first court is now part of the library lawn, and the other court, because it is used so little, has through lack of care become an unsightly spot. The.librarian in 1869 was W. F. Luxton. William Moore followed Luxton and held the office for many years. John Thompson was next, and had served sev- eral years when he contracted typhoid fever and died at the age of thirty. His sister Greta, who had assisted him after school, took his place on September 17, 1907, and continued for 50 years. She resigned because of ill health in. 1957. Mrs. Gordon. A. Wright held the go on permanently from 1958, till she passed away in 1Iarch, 1964. Mrs. Mary Van Rengen carried on till September, 1965. The present librarian is' Mrs. Leslie Beattie. The circulation has increased with the years. In 1962, it reached 27,635, and each year more area residents enjoy the facilities the library provides, TELEPHONE It was not till late in 1884 that the "talking box" made its first appearance in the town. The switch- board, batteries and other equipment at this time was of a rudimentary type. C. W. Papst was the first man- ager, and the exchange was in his book and stationery store in the Cardno Block. Fifteen •telephones were in use when the exchange opened, but the number of subscribers had dropped to twelve when the first tele- phone directory containing Seaforth listings was is- sued in January, 1885. The office hours listed were 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., week days : 2 to 4 p.m., Sundays ; 10 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., •holidays. It was not till April 1, 1910, that an all -round-the-clock service was inaugurated. Soon after the central office opened. in 1884, a -long distance service was introduced between Seaforth,' Clinton, Goderich, Mitchell and Stratford. M. Y. McLean made the first call from Seaforth to friends of his in Clinton. This- was a memorable ex= perience, The first year, as might be expected, the company operated at a loss, Up till 1894, subscribers were assigned no num- bers. You simply asked to speak to a certain person, and the operator made the connection. On Septem- ber 20, 1939, the magneto system was retdaced by the new common battery system, which ended the. old crank style telephone. The mayor, J. J: Cluff, made the first call after the cut -over. Now even the opera- tors are gone. The change over to the dial systen>, was made on November 15, 1964. Mrs. Foster (Minnie Habkirk) Fowler put through the first call to a cousin in Edmonton, Alberta. The brick building on Chalk St., which houses the new dial system, was part- ly built late in 1963, and completed in 1964. C. W. Papst, the' first manager, served till 1902, when I. V. Fear took over. At this time the exchange was moved to Pear's Drug Store. During his term the office, from 1907 till 1911, was across the street where the post office now stands, with Mr. Fear still in charge till he retired in 1909. Miss Belle McKay, chief operator, took over for a few months till E. Den- roche was named .manager, with headquarters in Strat- ford. In 1911, while he was still manager, the office was moved again to a location in Cardno's Block, near the site of the first telephone exchange. Here it re- mained till late in 1964. ' The other managers after E. Denroche, 'had their headquarters in Stratford or Goderich, The present one is W. W. Haysom. During these years the Seaforth local representatives have been Miss Minnie Habkirk, Miss Loretta M. McCormack, MVliss. E M. Cluff, who was later, Mrs. Lloyd Hoggarth, Miss Jean Armstrong, Miss Willa Hunter, Mrs. Lloyd Hoggarth and Miss M. Hudson, who became Mrs. T. B. Marshall a short time before all the "call" girls were discharged in November, 1964, (To be continued) DID you KNOW ui q f�/l %i , s.� ...theft glut Ufa of Comae is too of the world'it a `ioote rsi. companies, with', SO bits** a tar throughopt Ma Aa r? Ar Soo Life tarn river• &kr is *Mar roomornik, wart brolarrogoet HN J. WALSH Phot a 2y1 -1O00 40 Rlrlterc.l Sf., S'rRATFORD gull LIEU M► t O Company' pany' of d ,rntda church, romp First church, 1I MS MIS of 1@'ix t cli00 , •`Seat forth met at the home of Mrs; Jaraes Keys. - President wt's„ li'raneis -COO- man opened with a Wert pry er. The minutes, Were read{ kr Mrs. Robert lvlciillau 1VI>•s, Keys took up the collection; After the business session, the meeting was taken over by Mrs. Harold Agar's group, The scripture was read by Mrs. Coleman and a .prayer offered by Mrs. Butt. Reports were given on. the hospital work in Formosa, In- dia, Nigeria and Canada. The reports were read by Mrs. Cole. man, Mrs. Cairns, Mrs. R, Mc- Millan and Mrs. Fry. Miss Fras- er read an article on gardens in Canada and the United States. Mrs. Agar thanked,the ladies for taking part in the, program and Mrs. Coleman thanked' Mrs. Keys. CHEMICALS From Your • Atrazine $2.10 lb. 1,000 lbs. In stock 2 4 D Amine 80 100 gal. in stock $16.50 per 5 -gal. can MCPA 64 24D Ester 64 SEVIN Bin treat • Bin Fume SEAFORTH FARMERS, Phone 527-0770 R COPIES OF THE • • Are AJW�YS on Silo at the F0100.4g g Places 11 t- SEAFORTH and :Wit -War SR4FORTFI Brown's Supei test Station C?ch;s Bakery Elliott's Quick Lunch Groeery Keating's Pharmacy M,%Gooiigle's Grocery McKinc4sey's Drug Store Seaforth Community Hospital Seaforth Foodland Smith's Superior Food Market EGMONDVI LLE Eickmeyer's Grocery Store BRODHAGEN Sholdice's General Store ., BRUCEFIELD .Patterson's Grocery CLINTON McEwen's Book Store CCNSTANC Borden Brown's General Store DWAIN Goettler's Bed • & White Market HENSALL Wilson's Drug' Store KIPPEN Dickert's General Store ST. COLUMBAN Ryan's General Store WALTON Marshall's General Store WINTHROP McCluskie's General Store ORDERS TAKEN AT BEST MARKET PRICES. STRAWBERRIES ARE LATE THIS YEAR AND IT LOOKS LIKE A SHORT SEWN!! ORDER, No=w 'FOR MT QUALITY STRAWBERRIES KAM i.wichon Meat Ib. ,can 53c STRAWBERRY -With Pectin JAM , 24oz. jar E. D. SMI• 4.-20 oi. bottle KETCHUP 3 39c for, $1.00. LIBBY'S FANCY QUALITY --48 oz. tin TOMATO JUICE 29 DEVON VAC PACKED, SLICED BACON - Ib. 89 AYLMER 20 oz. Y Pork and - Beans .5 s 1 BOTTLES 37c CERTO P CRYSTALS 2 s 37c Get Ready for Summer Preserving With This. SUGAR SPECIAL 100 Ib. B A !' es w 7 19 SOlb. BAG .. - - $3.78 lima 100 powuis to a customer) • • k • v • e • • M • • • 14 fle S Dublin 1 •