Village Squire, 1973-09, Page 14it was still used because it was dusty,
and dingy.
The focal point then shifted to the
lower floor of the building. This por-
tion of the building was originally
the secondary part of the hall, used
for dances and community activities.
Soon, however, it was this portion
people thought of when the name
Memorial Hall was mentioned.
By the 1970's, however, interest
in live entertainment was reviving and
so was interest in the upper part of
the building. The Blyth Board of
Trade under the leadership of its
energetic president, Helen Gowing,
a local women's wear shop owner,
initiated a meeting with the local
recreation committee which had au-
thority over the building. The out-
come was a drive to paint up the hall
and put it back in shape for use.
And then the fun began!
Donations were called for to buy the
necessary paint and supplies to redec-
orate the building. Volunteers climbed
ladders and scrubbed woodwork. As
many as 40 persons at a time were busy
cleaning and painting. By early Sept-
ember, the building was respectable
again.
The Board of Trade sponsored a
fashion show and a variety night in
September last year. It was the first
event in the hall for some years. It
was also the last since.
Aware the building was going to be
put back into use, the local fire chief
Irvine Bowes realized the fire escapes
in the building were not up to modern
standards. He warned he would have
to forbid use of the auditorium until
proper fire escapes were installed.
It sounded easy. Just put in better
fire escapes and off you go and use the
building. But the wheels of govern-
ment do not grind so quickly. The
money raised to redecorate the buil-
ding was not sufficient to pay this new
expenditure. The recreation commi-
ttee which ran the building was virt-
ually just an admini native body with-
out funds to undertake capital expen-
ditures of this size (guess-timates put
the cost at anything up to $2000).
Supporters of the idea of revamping
the old building had to take their fight
to the town council. They agreed to
provide the money to the recreation
committee to proceed with the fire
escapes.
But it wasn't that simple. First
blueprints had to be drawn up. Then
they had to go to the Ministry of Lab-
our for approval. Once that came
the contractor still had to find time
in a year of hectic building activity
to install the escape. Anyone who
knows the red tape involved, knows
e slop
-V.res,uhUsu\
I h ci •i -Vi v c.- i ve.
ci e, c or a -E -o r a(c c e as o r
andIcrat+eci
W o r ks a►'+,
picilu re. 4r�ri
selrvices. i %i T U9 Al 41e.
.011^14m116 Coun}rj
F iv' Oc. 174.2., C>ArIoW
anc{
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RAINTREE IALLERT
a,. 46 -riav191e in CIinlar\
14 VILLAGE SQUIRE/SEPTEMBER 1973
action did not move quickly.
Meanwhile, after the renovation
project had given them hopes that they
would have a beautiful theatre to work
in, a group of local theatre buffs met
in October to organize the Blyth Little
Theatre and plan the coming season.
They first planned for a pre -Christmas
performance for their first effort, then
as the delays grew longer, pushed it
back until after Christmas.
By January it began to look as if the
fire escape could be in place very soon.
Spirits rose among those who wanted
to see the theatre used, only to tumble
again when the latest rumour spread
that the wiring in the building was so
poor that the building would not be
allowed to be used.
The rumour spread and work on the
fire escape was halted until it was
found out once and for all if the
wiring was adequate. Rumours said
as much as $2000 would be needed
for the project.
An Ontario Hydro wiring inspector
was clled in. Spirits rose again as
he toured the building and stated
only minor electrical repairs would
be needed, totaling about $200.
At last, the building was about to
be put into use.
Ah, but not so fast. A mysterious
sag in the roofline had been bother -
R
E
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Clinton
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