The Huron Expositor, 1977-03-31, Page 3that four or five met in 1902. But
we all have to admit that • our
schools and our teachers are
doing a very good job at passing
on a universal echicatiun. The
schools are educating a much
different group; and for different
roles in life than they did 75 years
ago.
Maybe knowing that we would
have paid-for it at a rate of $100 a
month in 1902 will make students,
'parents and everybody appreciate
,the educational opportunitiei
here at S.D.H.S. a little bit more-
uron County, to get
snow removal* subsidy .
Huron County Engineer Jim
Britnell told County Council last
Thursday that Huron would
qualify for extra subsidy on' all
winter control • costs over
$283,448.93 in the first four
months of 1977.
"By adding to.the actual known
costs in January and February of
$302,961.62 our best estimate of
the costs of March of $50,000, we
get a total of $352,961.61, to
March 31 and qualify for
additional subsidy under the
formula announced by the
Ministry in the amount of
$51,467.79," he explairied.
Mr. Britnell did note however
that he ,felt "a fairer way to have
distributed the extra money
would. have been-to base the extra
subsidy on the average cost of the
four month period over the past
four years which in Huron's Case
as $165,448.93.",
Under the system laid down by
the Ministry, a municipality must
have exceeded 120 per cent of the
highest expenditure over January
1 to' April 1 (the period in
question) in the past four years.
Mr: Britnell also told the
councillors however that to
qualify for this extra money,"we
had to spend more than 20 per
cent more than we did in 1976 and
if this cost trend _continues
through the rest of 19/7, as it did
in 1976, our total expenditures, for
'snow plowing could reach
$600,000 or $140,000 over our
budget estimate of $460;000." •
In other business arising from
the Road Committee report
Council agreed 'that a new land
purchase 'policy', in connection
with road widenings, be
implemented.
Property owners will now
receive $500 per 'acre plus a new
fence or a cash allowance of $12.
per rod (the approximate cost of
the fence:)
The former Road committee
policy for compensation per acre
was set many years 'ago at $200
_pet' acre plus a new fence or a''
cash allowance if the owner did
not require a, fe'nce.„ That' fence
allowance was increased from
$-2.50 per rod to $5.00 per rod last
year.
Mr. Britnell told the meeting
however that each year it became
.more difficult to purchase land
under these terms and after a
recent meeting with some land
owners _effected by a road-
widening project on Ccitiifty 'Road
One the recommended increases
in rates was drawn' up.
County Council hears
Rates increased at Huronview
Huron County Council learned
through a report from the
Committee 'of Management of
Huronview last Thursday that
notice has been received from the
Ministry that effective February
1, 1977 the daily extended care
rate co-payments had changed.
The rate itself, the ,report
noted, remains at $21.00 per day
but the resident share, or co-
payment, has been increased by
20 cents to $7.60 pr day, thus
reducing the insured portion to
$13.40:
Council endorsed a committee
approved rate. of $6.05 per hour
for part time Registered Nurses,
effective January 1, 1977. This
represents a six per cent increase
over the 1976 rate of $5.70.
The service employees salaries
and 'benefits for the years 1976
You're
Invited
You are invited to attend The
Johnny Cash film, "The Gospel
Road'' at' First Presbyterian
Church, Seaforth, Sunday, April
3. 7:30 p.m.
and 1977 have been approved by
the Anti-inflation board it was
also noted.
Religious services at Huron-
--view will cost more as
First Baptist Church in Goder-
- ich reqitested an increase in the
fee paid the Church for service of
Rev. - IvIeWhinney; The fee has
remained at $800 per annum for
several years, it was pointed out.
Council agreed to increase the
minister's services fee $1,000 per
year.
It was also reported that
Warren Zinn had been appointed
ViCe ,Chairman of the Committee
of Management at Huronviewl
4
What did they get for their the Commercial Department So
that pupils may get plenty of
practice on the best office
• instrunients.' '
More than the mind was
. cultivated at SCI in 1902. The
fpatball.....and a tennis club, were
-available and "during the winter;
the. assembly__ room and the
,ymnasiun't are used ,for drill;
catisthertieR, basketball, etc. The
cadet Corps and bugle band are in
a flourishing condition."
Expensive
If" attendance at SCI ,was so
expensive that only a small
minority: of '.the area's young
people could hope to attend, most
Seaforth people could probably
afford •the.25 cent adillission to a
Patriotic Concert itraid of the Red
Croas Fund, in -Cardrui s s Hall on
Februa-rii-7, 1900. — • •
A playbill adVertising the
evening is another item Mr.
Kelly found .during his kitchen
renovations. The Red Cross Fund
would have been used to help
soldiers fighting the Boer War in
South. Africa.
money?
Well, in Form i students could
start- to study French and Latin.
"the regulation work in English
and Mathematics" and a
"thorough course of instruction in
elementary Drawing, Botany and,
Bookeeping." Form 2 offered
more academic work, as well '_as
commercial di:llamas, training in
"Bookkeeping,' stenography,
typewriting, banking. etc."
Leaving Certificate .
Forms 3 and 4 offered courses
leading to .the Junior and Senior
;School Leaving Certificates;
respectively.
Besides principal G.F. Rogers,
B.A., there were four teachers on
the SCI staff. . .G.F. Coiling,
Miss F.E. Kirkwood, H.W.
Brown and Miss L.M. Johnstone..
With those high fees, the Cl,S
brochure had to sell the schodl's
facilities to prospective students
and their parents. It cites well
equipped science labs and adds
that "two of the best modern
typewriters have been placed in Wiodifertanpan traditional Oak
Dining Room Suite hand rubbed in Dark Fortress finish. This beautiful suite will
add elegance to any home. Included is an Extension Table with 1 leaf, 4'Chairs with
gold velvet seats, Buffet and Hutch with -glass front panels and door.
$1595 .00 ' °
List $ 395 00 Only
•
Come in and see our Furniture beautifully displayed In room settings in our newly ,.
remodelled show rooms. "
Free Decorating Consultation & Service
Robert L. PlumsWd
Ifitetiors
MAIN STREET qOUTH, SEAPORTH, ONTARIO NOK IWO • RHONE • BUSINESS (519) 527.090.2 HOME (610) 527-0052
Formerly Whitney Forniture •
N
PiNrOURNITURE • CARPETS • PAINTS • WALLCOVERINGS 4' DRAPERIES
A
r.
MI HURON pxposiToR, MARCH 31, ir ,emethiog tO -Sely
by Susan White ,
a A
00 0- month for school?
Early stores wooden ,then brick
We take a lot for granted these
days, including the right of just
about anyone who wants to and
meets certain standards to attend
high school. That's why it was a
shock to read in a pamphlet that
Expositor reader Jim Kelly found
that in 1902. it cost from $60 to
$100 a month to attend Seaforth
Collegiate Institute, ---••
. „Now we all know that some-
where in the deep distant past our
forefathers had to fight hard in
order to get a public education
system.. .open to all and paid for
' by taxes on all, in Ontario.
Egerton Ryerson, we were taught
in school, spearheaded the fight.
But that was in the-dark ages,
we tend, to assume, not just in our
grandparents' time,. only one
generation'. removed from some-
one who's mow in their thirties.
It says an awful lot about the
. present education revolution. In
our parents' time only those who
were above average at passing
exams and could afford to delay
entry into the job market for a few
years could get, a secondary
education. •In their parents' time
only the very bright andohe fairly,
well off could hope to go past
elementary schoOl. •
A month's Collegiate fees or
$100 would probably buy a year's
groceries for an average family in o0
Now the Ihigh schools are
educating almost everyone. It's
•not for free as everyone who's
carefully partitioned their tax bills
knows, but the cost is'spread out
on the whole community, not just
„.„ on the families of those who
attend. The . principle- that
e.ducated children benefit the
whole community and therefore
the whole community should pay
was as, hotly contested in its day
as whether or not property taxes
should pay for education is today.
When you really think about, it,
how many paretitS could afford to
send a student to high school'
right now if it cost. $100 ,a month
in grade 12 or 13 and 560 or $80 a
month in the' lower grades?, We
educated an elite in 1902 and
we're 'educating just about
everybody now.
'No wonder there is so much
bellyaching about declining -
standards. It's hard to educate 40
"2--kids-"a"yetir to- the sante-standards-
(By Len Pizzey)
Though houses are the most numerous and obvious examples
of Canada's architecturalleritage, they are not the only places in
which_we can see evidence of the life and thought of our
ancestors. The same concern with • popular fashion and '
decoration that can be seen in nineteenth century homes, can be
seen in the 100 year old commercial buildings that still stand
along the main street of many Ontario towns, including Seaforth.
In the early days of small towns throughout Ontario, stores
and offices were generally constructed of wood, the cheapest and
most readily available building material. These buildings were
usually quite simple and practical, since struggling businesses
had neither the need nor the desire to present a fashionable
image to their customers. But as the century wore on, and
villages and towns grew more prosperous, commercial buildings
took on a new importance. Wooden buildings were torn down
and replaced with larger and more permanent structures.',feviir
wooden commercial buildings survived the century.
The last third of the nineteenth century saw a building boom_
-greater than ever 'before. The land throughout,most of southern
Ontario had been cleared and was producing Valuable crops,
most notably wheat, and was bringing a great deal of money to
rural communities. The coming of the railroads brought more
people and more money to towns like Seaforth. Businesses
prospered, and store owners could afford to replace their wooden
buildings with brick structures. These "scond generation
buildings were often very finely built, and have lasted well in
many small towns throughout Ontario. This is ,particularly so in.
Seaforth., which has one of the last essentially unchanged
nineteenth century main streets 'in the province.
The two buildings pictured~ here are. examples of ,first and
second generation , commercial buildings.
...r
-.IN AID 01 -
altWs) 4 ZZZ
Wednesday Evelling,
Feb. 7th, 1900.
CA RDNO'S HALL
ucation
A high school education isn.!t.,
free in 1977. We all pay for the
,right of our • children to be
educated, through our taxes.
But in 1902, payment was more
direct than that, according to a
small . pamphlet issued by
Seaforth • Collegiate Institute
before school opened for the
1,902-03 term: Jim Kelly of
George St. North 'found the little
orange folder when he was doing
renovation ,work-in his kitchen.
It wasn't cheap to attend SCI..75
years ago. , A high school educa-
tion really was a privilege, at a
whopping $611 a month for Form
1, $80 a month in Form 2 and $100
a month in Fornis 3 and 4. The
average wage in 1902- probably
wasn't $60. a month and the high
fees must have• meant quite a
heavy sacrifice for any family
sending a __teenager to
"'collegiate," For rural' kids,
there was the extra cost of
boarding in town so that they
could attend school during the
winter months.
Sadler's Store, in Staffa, is a fine example of 'the kind of
blinding which would have stood along the main street of
Seaforth in the 1860's. It is of simple frame and clapboard
construction, with two lar ge ground floor ,diSplay windows. The
date of construction of this store is unknown: It was probably
built in the 1870's, and was enlarged to its present size by John
Sadler.' in 1893.
• Living Space
The upper'floor is used for, living space. A particularly fine
feature of this building is the two storey porch, Stich* porches
were common on hotels of the period, and allowed the more
genteel patrons to enjoy fresh air without having to mix'with the
loafers who often milled about the ground floor entrance. On this
store, it was probably built simply for •the_enjoyment of those
who lived on the second floor.
The false front is also of particular interest. Many commercial
. buildings in the nineteenth century had fronts to hide, as in the
Sadler Store, a steeply sloping roof: When lined up along a main
Street. theSe - false' fronted stores would-present an 'imposing
picture 'and make the stores and offices look far larger than they:
were. It was not uncommon for a one storey store to have a three
storey false front in the .nineteenth century.
The second building pictured here: Sills Hardware in Seaforth
is a fine example of the kind of structure which replaced the early
wooden buildings in small towns throughout the province. It was
bitili by Thomas Kidd in 1869 to replace a frame building which.
had stood on the same site for a number of years. •
It is an imposing structure, with a. highly detaildd brick work.
The front "of the building is supported by Classic Revival
pillasters that end in a narrow entablattire. or ledge. The
windows in the Upper floor are rounded, in the halianate style
.They are detailed with semi-circular brick work known as
"keying". Above the keying is an, ornate moulding called a
"dritistotte,". In medieval buildings, such dripstones were added
t,o keep water off windows, but were usually just a decorative
feature on nineteenth century buildings. Nearly every building
on Main Street has window detailing similar to that on the Sills'
Hardware building.. •
The cornice; 'Or 'eayes and decoration, is also very fine on the
Sills building. The small, rounded sections of brick. imitate the ,
"dentils" or tooth like indentations foUnd. on ancient Greek
buiidingS. . .
'These two stores Show the. great contrast between the simple
wooden Stores of smalr towns' early days, and the ,large and
ornate design's that were built as .Ontario grew and prospered. •
The program of 15' numbers,
interrupted by an intermission,
featured the talents of many
Seaforth--- people. Miss Bessie
Young, fresh from elocution
studies at Emerson College in
Boston,. recited "The Little
Drummer Boy" and Miss Grace
McFaul, who had some fame as
an opera singer,,_.._ sang
"Volunteers." W.G. 'Willis sang
"Her Majesty" and Thomas
Murray played a trombone solo.
Miss-"Dais" Lewis recited "To
Canada and her Contingents", by
Egmondville poet H. Isabelle
Graham. Will McLeod Sing
comic number, S. Watson a solo
and Mrs.7.1.C. Greierecited "The
Absent Minded Beggar", by
Kipling. D: Campbell and W.
Brodie did a clarinet duet and an
unnamed band played several
numbers.
It must have memorable
evening. ..memorable enough for
someone to salt it away behind a
partition in a house on George St.
for future generations to find.
costly in 1