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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1954-07-28, Page 39Scholarship and Field Day Winners, 1934 Scholarship winners: Isabel McKinnon, June Bu­ chanan, Jean Webster, Millan Moore, Tom Wilson, John Campbell. Field '’day winners: Jim Thomp­ son, John Preston, Gerald Edmunds, Audrey McMichael, Hazel Armstrong, Isabel Habkirk. Wingham H. S. Prophet Foretold Many Careers “Alton Adams nigh two Score years Was-twisted with an awful pain; His head affected, his bones were sore; ' He hobbled on a basswood cane. (Below is reprinted the prophet’s address, delivered by Frances Currie in 1934. The writer is now’ Senora de Hedderich, of Caracas, Venezuela.) I sat beside the smould’ring, flames, My Latin in my hand, Looking its pages.o’er and o’er, For tomorrow there was an exam. Instead I gazed into the fire, Seeing pictures there, Of many, many years from now— Most comical and rare. Wingham— It was so different then; Everything was changed; The people, stores, and even streets Were differently arranged. The first I spied was Bill Cruick- shank; He didn’t “look so neat, Standing in front of his barber shop Trying to hide his feet. They’d street car tracks and as I gazed, r I saw someone fat and familiar, too, Climbing aboard with parcels laden— Catherine Nortrop, or I’ll eat my shoe! 1 The stores had different names all through; The people and the streets were strange; I hardly knew a single soul, And all was nought but change. The next, in front of his hardware store, Stood a wretched Murray Rae, Hands in his pockets and eyes down­ cast; I approached and hailed him; ‘Say, i How’s business?’’ which I noticed Murray was just forming. “It’s terrible this afternoon, And it slacks right off in the morn­ ing”. asked all about the gang, And dear old Wingham High; He said it was much larger now, And was teaching the pupils to fly. “And where are all the teachers now, Helen R., M. E., Muriel and Kate, Brack, P. J., and last of all, Mr. Bowers who was never late?” ***.“Oh! Miss McGregor of Latin fame, Who1 could the papers fix, Is conducting a column in The Globe, Under the name of Dorothy Dix. “Miss Carson still is running ’round In the same old little Ford, I’ve often wondered to* myself— Did she never get terribly bored? “And Miss McDonald, the math ex­ pert, On a ranch had nearly died; They had held no hope for the cow­ boy girl, When her bucking broncho had shied. “Iferack, poor man, that science wizard, From whom we all could learn, Is now enjoying a well-earned rest, In a home for the aged and infirm. “P. J. Bigelow, of militia fame, • Has won a coveted pennant, He’s starring, now for M.G.M., In the show, “Smilin’ Lieutenant.” “Tom Wilson who was so nice and mild, Is courting Donalda Fixture; They announced the engagement the other night, Isn’t that a funny mixture?” I thanked old Murray for the news, And went upon my way, To meet perhaps another pal, Friend of my childhood days. I met Jim Weir, the poor old soul, Sad, sad look his face did mar; He said he had been to a salesman About the selling of his car. “This is the day of youth,” the sales­ man said, “Of changing line in all design; Your crate was made in ’23; I will not bid a single dime.” “He called my car an ancient can, He said it was an awful thing, And yet,” sobbed Jim, “I like my Ford Bound up with wires and every­ thing. I asked Jim ’bout the Thompson two. “Are they as fine as folks can be?” “I’ve known them twenty years,” said Weir, 1 “They live not far away from me. “The Mrs. fears that Jim will perish; A thing like that would break their home; She’s always sure that he will die And leave her pegging on alone. “Jack Pollock is a thrifty man Who likes to salt his scads away; He puts them in a mustard can And keeps them for a rainy day. “He got some tonic at Tena’s Drug Store; He rubbed it on his legs and brow; And now most six times every day He runs to milk the brindle cow. “Pearl Jones ’one day went all to pieces— Yes, she got in a hustle; Now all the kids around the town Use her for a jig-saw puzzle. “Well!” said Jim, “I must be going, As I have heavy chores to do, But I hope if you’re around again We may see more of you.” I left him and turned to a small news­ stand, Which was on the opposite street; John Norman was in charge of it, Crack shot, of honour’ seat. I bought a copy of “Advanced Times”, While listening to his chatter; I turned and said as I read the news, “Why, John, you’re getting fatter!” So then I walked on down the street, Reading the Wingham news; The bits that did surprise me most ’ I will repeat to you? Vera Fry, Bernice and Hilda Miller Donalda and Mary Wright, Were starring in first class chorus At the Lyceum" every night. o And here’s an ad—why bless my soul! It’s from Florence Hodgin's of’ re­ nown; She’s a prima donna now, and has A class in Lower Town. And Rae Thompson had just begun A little Glee Club of his own; On 42nd Street it stands— Thompson’s Home of Tinny Tone. Now he has many pupils going To his school upon the hill, Among his tried and lusty singers, Are Creighton Reid and Jim McGill. What’s this that mars the Wingham news? Manslaughter, Charge over Love Af­ fair— Noted Runner Nearly Kills a Man— Nor Does His Own Love’s Sorrow Share. Jack Herd declared that a job in Wingham Was too lowering to his class; He set out for a larger place— But Belmore he could not pass. LIONS CLUB HAS LONG HISTORY OF SERVICE The first Lions Club in Wingham was organized in August, 1922, and the charter night was held in the Wingr ham Armouries on January 26, 1923. The charter executive included Presi­ dent George Ross, Secretary Wm, G. Colgate and other officers who were J. Walton McKibben, T. C. King, How­ ard Sherbondy, W. A, Galbraith, Dr, J. A. Fox, ,L. C, Young, Jos. Hirst, C. R. Wilkinson, J. A. Wallace, R. H. King. Charter members who are still active in club WQrk are W. A. Gal­ braith, H. L. Sherbondy, H. C. Mac- Lean, John W. Hanna, Dr. George Ross, Dr, J, A. Fox and W, R. Hamil­ ton. Activities of the organization were suspended in 1930, but were resumed again in 1938 with Ronald Rae as the president. Among the various public services which have been sponsored by the Lions are the following: Back­ ing of a Boy Scout troop in 1939; or­ ganization of blood donor clinics' in co-operation with the Red Cross dur­ ing the war years; sponsoring of a Navy League in the town which sup­ plied needed articles to men of the Canadian Navy during the war; sent cigarettes and other gifts to person­ nel of the armed forces during the war years; provided flood lights for the ball park in 1948; donated a $25 annual scholarship for outstanding pupil in Grade 12; donated $500 to the hospital extention fund when the new wing was erected in 19'46;* donated $400 to furnish a room in the new wing; provided’ $5000 for the artificial ice fund; encouraged minor sport by providing ice for the children’s teams before the installation of artificial ice and consistently^ sponsored minor hockey teams; provided financial as­ sistance to the Recreation Council each year; donated $500 to the town band; in 1948 raised $2000 for flood relief locally; sponsored the annual Christmas Seal campaigns for the benefit of TB sufferers and the Chest X-ray clinics; organized a blood donor service for the Wingham General Hos­ pital and compiled a list of 200 donors who can .be called by the hospital when needed; donated toward the erection of the Belgrave community centre; placed trash cans along the main street of Wingham; annually supplies baskets^ for sick and needy families; sponsors Easter Seal cam­ paign for crippled children. Perhaps the greatest single under- Packing Plant C. A, Scott owned a pork pack­ ing establishment in Wingham as early as 1883. His brother Samuel joined him at a later date* and they Operated in a stone building on the northeast corner of Edward and Vic­ toria Streets. The building is now oc­ cupied as a residence by Mrs, Wm. Lott. The two-storey basemept and ice house had a capacity of 60 hogs daily, The pork was sold mostly to local dealers. Hogs were purchased alive, with a few dressed when, bought. It is believed that the first bridge Was erected- where the present Mc­ Kenzie bridge is now located, on the north end of the town. A bridge oh McIntosh Street was built before or during the year 1863 and was rebuilt twice before 1879. Graeme’s bridge on Arthur Street, over the south branch of the Maitland to Victoria Street, was erected after the McIntosh Street bridge and whenever the Fisher bridge (near the power house) was out of commission by flood, the Graeme bridge carried the traffic from the west. Fisher’s bridge at the mill, was built in 1866 and met with disaster on sev­ eral occasions. Dress and mantle making done to order by the Misses Baxter at their home on Victoria Street opposite old post office.—Ad J.890.* ♦ ♦ Miss B. Reynold went to Guelph on Monday to attend the high school there. —News item 1887. ♦ * * Seasonable advice: Keep out of draughts, keep the feet dry and stick to your flannels. —News item 1888. taking of the Lions Club has been its program of assistance for crippled and under-privileged children. Many pairs ,of spectacles have been provided, treatment has been made possible in many cases, and a tremendous amount of suffering has been prevented. On many occasions in the past 31 years the Lions Club of Wingham has played host to visiting dignitaries and public officials; its special meetings and activities have been highlights in tile community. R. S. Hetherington assumed office a few weeks ago as president of the organization for the coming year. . Neighbors Helped to Build Homes of Pioneer Families Most of us today fail to realize the tremendous effort that went into the erection of the pioneer homes. Neigh­ bors could be depended on to lend a hand with the actual house-raising. Mrs. Plaxton, mentioned before- in this issue, described in her letters to The Advance-Times, the building of her father’s house and store in* Lower Wingham in the early 60’s as quoted from a letter written by her father, T. G. Jackson, to his sister in Eng­ land. The following is the informa­ tion that was enclosed in his letter: High ScKool Athletic^Executive, 1924 And here’s Grandpa. Scott of old Form IX, Several wives he married;' And due to his loud and wicked roar With him none long has tarried. Now Carl McKay, that lanky Scott, •Has taken to kite flying, In a contest late he beat the lot; Surely' the “Advanced” could not be lying. Audrey McMichael, our basketball star,— Has worked her way to fame; Her motto is,-Run around and score, f Play up, play up, and play the game.” Eric Bibby, the last on the list, His native country called him home, His girl, too tall to suit him well— He embarked on the “Winniepeg” all alone. “We have been very busy having the frame of our building put together. It is 40 feet wide by 54 feet long, hav­ ing a stone cellar the size of the whole building, divided in the centre by a stone wall about two feet thick. It is a two-storey building, from the ground to the eaves being 28 feet and to the peak 40 feet. The cellar walls are of stone, two feet thick and three feet above the ground. Above that it will be of wood and stucco. There are 1125 pieces of timber in the frame. It is quite exciting to watch a house­ raising in this country. As no mach­ inery is available the whole is put to­ gether by hand. The timbers all hav­ ing been framed ready to put together, one goes around and invites one’s neighbours to come and help. They are always very willing to do so, in­ deed, feel hurt if one passes them by. "The day of our raising we had over 60 men so you may imagine the women folk were* busy providing meals for them all. “As soon as the frame is put to­ gether, sides are chosen and the men being equally divided, each side under the command of a captain, there is a race to see which side can put on their rafters first. You may be sure there is some heavy lifting when the plates, that is the timbers on which the low end of the,-rafters rest, haye to be lifted 28 feet high without the aid of machinery and being as ours were, about a foot square and fifty- four feet long”. * The Wingham Advance-Times. Wednesday, July 28, 1954 Page Thirty-nine * Wingham Citizens' Band, 1910 Front row: F. Johnson, J. W. Hewer, Fred Hinckley (leader), R. Dunlap, A. J. Pilon, J. H. Carrewth; second row: W. Reid, Nelson Schaiffei', H. Hens- cliffe, N. Fry, R. Stone, J. Madigan, Rpbert Currie, Ed. Foiler; third row: J. A. Kingston, J, Leslie, Fred Hudson, A. G-reen, J. Murray, A. L, Hingston, R. Brooks. Oldest Ex-Employee of Advance 89, Still Alert Newspaperman Champion Quoiter Came fromi Wingham Pitching quoits yas a popular sport in the early days. A noted Wingham quoiter was Charlie Walkinshaw, who was the champion of America. Mr. Walkinshaw left Wingham about 1880 and took up farming in Saskatchewan. Following a lapse, quoiting was re­ vived in Wingham in 1890 with a membership of nineteen. The officers at that time were Matthew Brown, Frank'? Paterson, John Inglis, Wm. McClymont and J. McAlpine, the lat­ ter having coached Charlie Walkin­ shaw. Matthew Brown became champion of Canada and later L. H. Beninger held the same honor. 0-0-0 The Athletics was the name of the first baseball team in Wingham. The ball paik was the field where the pub­ lic school now stands. Some of the early ball players were A. H. Mus­ grove, W. E. Groves, Frank Hodgins, Dan Arbuckle, Billy Risdon, William Broadfoot and Bill Armstrong. A curved ball was unknown in those days, about the time of incorporation. - 0 - 0 - 0 - In 1885 Wingham had a ladies’ base­ ball team that was said to be pretty good. They played on the commons adjoining the school grounds and were reported to be able to throw a ball, jump a fence, and do the whole busi­ ness almost as well as the men, ex­ cepting perhaps, the swearing and to­ bacco juice squirting act. 0-0-0 One of Wingham’s early lacrosse teams was known by the name of Waubunauhkee. A couple of years later it was discovered that the spell­ ing should have been Wahbanahkee, after the famous Six Nations Indian chief of the Brantford Reserve. The boys played on the same field as the ball team, but later on the prairie be­ tween the highway and the river. Still later, after the new cemetery was purchased and the graves removed from the present park, the town team and the Lucknow Sepoys put forth some great battles. It was said that it wasn’t a good game unless some­ one received a split in the head. • The man with the most prodigious memory in Wingham is probably Bill Fleuty, who at the age of 89 is quite a bit spryer than a lot of citizens age 45. A native of Wingham, Bill can remember back to the days of old Ed. Farley, the first settler in the Wing­ ham district, who came down the Maitland on a raft and built the first house. Bill has travelled a long way since then. Before the turn of the century he had got the Western fever, in com­ mon’ with a lot of other Winghamites. A printer by trade, with a knowledge of typesetting dating back to his ninth year, BH1 struck out for Vancouver, working for three years there with the Vancouver Province. Coming back east he worked on the Blyth Stand­ ard, the Clinton News-Record, the Brigden Progress. For seven years he was editor of the Southampton Bea­ con. Finally he bought the Oakville Record, at a time when there were three newspapers in the town, and de­ spite ferocious competition, stayed there and prospered for sixteen years. 0-0-0 Wingham also had a good cricket team about the time of incorporation and a good crease was made on prairie. Eventually he sold the paper and retired, but what a retirement. He took a job as correspondent for the Hamilton Spectator, which he carried on for 17 years. And even after seven­ teen years of “retirement” he wasn’t through. Before finally leaving the newspaper business, he covered the Oakville district for the Toronto Globe and Mail for a couple of years. Coming back to Wingham after an absence of 50 years, Bill noticed a few changes, as you might imagine. But there are still old-timers who stop him on the street and say “Aren’t the Dr. Chisholm has purchased the you the Bill Fleuty I used to know?” Ten to one Bill remembers them, too. One of the oldest links with Wing­ ham’s past, Bill Fleuty has also a sentimental connection with the staff of this paper. For it was as the nine-year-old son of the editor of the Wingham Advance, farm of William Baird on the town. gm first iearne(j his trade. And line west of Wingham for^$3600.— that must make him the oldest ex-em- News item 1896. ' ployee of this paper. Back Row: Marjory Guraey, Aitor""S’avs>IS>0rtSoT Wnd Soblteon, wjffa4* MaeDote“1' pett!- grew’, Bariey Browne, Dorothy onein. It was getting cold— I felt so queer— The wind blew a strong, cold blast That whipped the copy of “Advanced Times” pown the street and away from my grasp. I opened my eyes and blinked them thrice, My surrounding, they all were gone; Instead of being in ’53 I was in my chair at home. / The fire had died, the coals were black, And I was all alone; My dream — it must have lasted long; It was nearly half past one. And just in case that never again Such dream may come to me, I have related it to you. Do you think it’s what might be? And how that I have prophesied each in turn, All but one as you can see, I’ll leave you just to figure but, My place ip history. High School Basketball Team, 1923-24 fda LUttOli, Ena Currie, Agnes McKague, Mari on Mitchell, May Perdue, Alberta Walker, Aljce Williamson