Loading...
The Huron Expositor, 1978-11-30, Page 39One-of the world's oldest professions • umne e0p 'SPS Kindergarten class watches sweep on top of principal Paul Carroll's chimney. Hensall chimney'sweep, Trevor J. Alley ATTENTION! CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS We Are A New Store In Your Area With The Lowest Poss'ible Prices On CANADIAN MADE Clothing Just in time for Christmas buying Ladies Wear Ladies 2 Piece SNOW SUITS Size 5 to.18 Our Price 39.95 Thermo-King MEN'S DRESS SOX JACK SHIRTS,1, ,,,, pr. S-M-L-XL Dome Front Sold Elsewhere 22.95 Our Price 13.95 MEN'S SWEATERS V Neck - Crew Neck CARDIGANS Seaforth-Parkhurst7 ,-8t.-..1411erf 6.95 to 17.95 Sweet Baby Ja'r BLOUSES. SizeS 5 to 15 9.95 to 14.95 Crazy 8 Sweaters S-M-L Sold Elsewhere'18.00 23.00 Our Price 11.95 to 13.95 'H.I.M. Ladies Dress SLACKS Popular shades in all . sizes Sold Elsewhere 24.95 Our Price 12.95 HUNTER COATS WORK COATS BOMBER JACKETS 17.95 to 37.95 SCRUBBIE'S GWG JEANS Flares . . . .18.75 Femme Fit . 19.95 Femme Fit Cords 18.95 Boot Cut . . 19.50 LEE PAINTER PANTS or PAINTER CORDS 19.95 ITS CLOTHING MITCHELL • '& LISTOWEL 41 ONTARIO'REY. 185 MAIN ST. • AT HUGE SAVINGS WOiton gets. re C.yrespondent Mrs. Allan Mecall 807-6677 Euchre Held There were 10 tables of euchre in play at the Tuesday night euchre held in the Walton Community Hail. ' Prize winners were High Lady - Mrs. John Simpson, Brussels, low lady - Mrs. Harvey Craig; High M Lawrence Ryan; Low ma Joe Holmes, Blyth; Luck man - Jim McTaggart, Brus- sels. Lunch was served by hostesses, Mrs. Alvin McDonald; Mrs, Harold Bol. gar; Mrs. Ken McDonald and Mrs. Allan McCall. There will be another euchre on Tuesday December 5. Everyone is welcome. There is much commotion . in the hall this past few weeks in preparation for the COMMOnity Christmas Con- vert this Friday Night. Personal Mr. and Mrs. Ken Short- reed held . a Pre-Christmas dinner on Sunday ,evening at their home, Roolatives pre- sent were: Mr.' Jim Shortreed from the Manor, Seaforth, Mrs. Jim Short- reed, Walton; Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Shortreed, London; Mr.' Wilfred Shortreed and• ar ret, Walton; , Mr. and Mrs. Bill Smith, Mitchell; ' Mr. and Mrs, sill Shortreed and Jason, Walton; Mrs- Joan Beuerman, Michelle; Michael, Scott and Randy, Stratford; Mr. and Mrs. Mack Webster, Mary Ellen and Mark, Varna and Miss Emma Shortreed, Sarnia. Miss' Michelle Beuerman of Stratford spent the week- end with her grandmother Mrs l :9beSirree4 anti viiCdh::rardf:the!'j Slortreedat the Manor in eaforh on Saturday. Monk ast ewimrsvoa K irkby. Miss Janice Houston, R.N. left on Friday for Char lotte, North Carolina where she will commence her duties on Monday at the Memorial Hospital. Visiting a week ago Sun- day at the home of Mr. and Mrs. R ae Houston and Murray prior to Janice leaving for North Carolina were the family, Miss Glenna Houston, Windsor; Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Mathers, Steven and Jeff, Grand Bend and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Houston, Sara and Beth of Kitchener.- mploymen mance now more responsive conditions in Dario. Clifford • • • Wingham Mount Forest illsburgh BelwoodAr 41. Fergus. Erin Eden Mills Waterloo-Kitchener Guelph.. • • Arkell •New Hamburg Fuslinch • • Cambridge New Dundee Ayr • Branchton Woodstock • Ke •rwood • London • • Newbury Rodney • Stratford. To make your Uneniployment Insurance Program more responsive to the special needs of different areas of Canada, there are now 48 economic regions for UI. (Up to now,, there were 16 regions.) With this change, UI benefits will more accurately reflect your local empldyrnent conditions. It's all part of a plan announced over 'a year ago. • Each of these new 48 regions will have its own unernployment rate. This will set the length-of time a claimant must have worked to become eligible for Un- , employment Insurance benefits. And it will govern the length of benefits as well. There's nothing new about the system itself-it's justbeing measured The Canada Employment and Im more finely in 48' regions, rather than 16. The length of time a claimant must work to get UI remains the same. 11 varies from 10 to 14 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate where the claithanflives. And regionally'based , benefits have the same maximum. The changevill only affect those whose UI claims start after November 12. This map and the information with it will show you the new economic boundaries in your area. Clip the =Rand save it for reference, if you like. Note: Further changes to the Unemploy- ment Insurance Prograln have been proposed by the Gdvernment. They will come into effect only when they have been enacted by Parliament. Canada's Unemployment Insurance Program 'Working with people Who Want to work. I 4, Egle:t Immigration tl on Canada Bud tuilen, Minister Bud Cullen, Ministre REGION E London, consisting of the counties of Elgin;.Oxford, and Middlesex, and the former County of Norfolk. REGION F Windsor-Sarnia, consisting of the counties of Lambton, Kent and Essex, REGION G Kitchener; consisting of the counties-o Huron, Perth, and Wellington, and the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. (Map and description of economic regions: ira question arises, the Unemployment Insurance Regulations must govern.) gration Commission was-created by combining the Unemployment Insurance Commission and the Department of Manpower and Immigration. In addition, our local offices are. being merged to spine you better as Canada Employment Centres. • Mr. Alley said as more and more people North America, there aren't yet any stand- burn wood again, he's afraid there will, be an ards to, govern °the job. At a recent increase in chimney fires, once a common convention of chimney sweeps 'in Lcindon, a hazard in homes: . committee, was named to help establish The sweep said the first visible warning of standards -of' practice. Mr. Alley said he thinks because chimney sweeping is a new game, there is, a danger people will pass themselves off as qualified sweeps when they actually aren't. He said a master sweep in Europe would have spent the equivalent of five years in apprenticeship with a qualified sweep and would be trained to'build a fireplactliChirthe ground 'up. Mr. Alley said there is a possibility the trade will be regulated in the future since chimney sweeping is a service . and most services must have a standard to go. by , , In -the Lkantinie,...Mr., Alley plans to keep plying his trade in the Hensall area. And if your luck hasn't been too good lately, you just might try giving Mr. Alley a call. Maybe" all you need is a bit of soot.on your nose. by Alice Gibb • Trevor J. Alley of Hensall is a member of one of the world's oldest professions. No, Mr. Alley doesn't ply his trade at night, and although he often ends the -day with black hat s and face, he's a member of a thoroUghly espectable trade. • Mr. Alley, ho calls his business Black Hat Services, is a chimney sweep and with his top hat, white scarf and borrowed tails, he cuts a dashing figure. Although chimney sweeps were a tradition in •Europe and parts of Britain, it'?.:;ortly . recently, as people turn to wood burning • stoves and fireplaces to save on energy costs; that the chimney swep has staged a ', comeback in North America. Mr, Alley said as far as he knows, he's the pnly•' sweep working in Huron County, although there are three chimney sweeping services in London, all'fairly recent in origin. The rekindling of interest in the trade of sweeping started in the eastern and central United States, particularly in states like Maine and Vermont where wood is still common and popular fuel. . " Ironically' today there are likely fewer sweeps in Europe than there ever were, since the countries have depleted their forests and woodlots as they became more popu- lated and ,industrialized. expenses are minimal. Mr. Alley said he wanted to do something ' he liked, that he could afford to do, and not necessarily work for anyone else. Although he certainly doesn't expectlo get rich quick, the sweep is satisfied with his choice'of a Sweeps are again -beComing a common phenomenon as people use wood to sup- • plement the heat from more expensive• energy sources. Mr. Alley recornmends that anyone burning wood Should have their chimney inspected and probably cleaned at least once a year. He pointed out 'a chimney can be fouled within three months depend- ing on the kind' of wood the homeowner burns and how they manage their fire. The chimney sweep advises people to use good hard wood in their fires and to open their fireplace damper every few hours to keep the chimney warm and prevent as much of a soot buildup. He also reconimenda that people new to the art of woodburning should study some of the books on the market telling how to use a stove or fireplace to get the best out of them. The sweep said he was called to a home recently by a couple who had just moved in to the house. The former owner had told them the fireplace was in working order, but when they started their first fire, the room filled with smoke. Mt. Alley said when he cleaned the chime* he pulled out 10 gallons of soot and piles of sttaw„ sticks and bricks. Bird nests, bags of dirt, and sometimes even dead birds or squirrels are often retrieved from chimneys which haven't been used for some tittle. Becoming Mr. Alley himself only came to the trade recently. In the past he had worked at various construction 'jobs, and moved to Hensall from London to work on renovating a house. 'When that job finished; he decided he wanted to stay on in the town, and after a stint at an Exeter furniture factory, he decided to try being his own boss. One advantage of the trade is that "the amount 'of money you spend to go into the business islet great and once the initial ca ital outlay is made for the e ui ment 1:1 1) chimneys was left to the little children they 'hired for a 'Pittance to work as their assistants. , Another story is that sweeps' outfits were made up of used and castoffelothing. given to them by the owners of homes where they were cleaning chimneys. Whatever the origin of the unique costume, today the outlets which sell steel bristle brushes and the vacuums used in the trade also stock top hats and tails: • 4 4: . • Borrowed But the Hensall sweep' is plying his trade in a pair 'of borrowed tails until he can find his own set in a secondhand store. The sweep said since the chimney sweep's trade became popular again, trails have dis: appeared from antique and used clothing stores in the area. • - To buy the other, tools of the trade, Mr.' Alley had to travel to' the United States Today sweeps use flexible connecting rods, now made of figerglass instead of bamboo and steel bristle, • rather than -pig bristle brushes, to clean creosote and soot out of chimneys and pipes.' After buying the bask tools of the trade, and picking up instructions in using the, equipment, Mr. Alley practised sweeping on his own chimney and those of 'his neigh- boars. . The sweep, who grew up in England's west country,, where wood burning stoves and fireplaces were a' major source of heat, said he, doesn't, remember seeing many chimney sweeps in his neighboilrhood since most 'people cleaned th'rk own chimneys. ily Also, as people gradua switched- to burning cal, there weren't quite the same problems\ with 'the build-up of creosote in pipes and chimneys. Still, at one time Mr. Alley said, "There Used to be a town sweep just like there's a town drunk." • Pointers trade. Like most sweeps, Mr. Alley "comes specially attired for the job in top hat, scarf and tails. The costume is as important a part Of the sweep's mystique as his brooms and bristles, Costume • Mi. Alley said most people would be. disappointed if he didn't show up in costume. For one thing, the costumed sweep has traditionally been associated with good luck, and in some countries, sweeps are- asked for a kiss or a smudge of their soot as a sign of luck. Mr. Alley said he doesn't know exactly how the tradition of the sweep'S costume began. lie speculates one reason for the costume is that when the sweep gets covered in dirty, blick soot, the outfit is the only thing which gives him some acceptability. However, there are ninnberous stories associated with the teason sweeps dress as formally as: they do. Mr. Alley said another le is that sweeps Were Well to do in the tithe of Dickens and wanted to drcssthe part. The actual 'ditty WOrk of climbing down the a chimney on fire are clouds of thick, black smoke pouring from the chimney. Some- times the fire will' smolder for hours but sometimes a chimney fire will roar like a blize that is going wide open. Mr. Alley said the fires can get hot enough to melt, the mortar between bricks in the structure: The best \way to control a-chimney fire is-,to, smother it by putting rock salt on the fire and trying to seal off any place where air enters !the fireplIce. Regulations Since sweeping is a relatively new trade in