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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1967-06-29, Page 3Since 1886 a furniture fac- tory has stood -on the corner of Victoria Street and Diagonal Oliver Gilchrist, father of Mrs. Norman Fry of Wing- ham, was the founder of what was later known as the Union Factory, now Fry & Blackhall. He is pictured in the regalia of the 1.0.0.F. Encampment. Road, although there was a • period when it was not in Opera. tion, Oliver Gilchrist and Walter Green were the active partners in the firm of Gilchrist, Green & Company formed in 16E6, Which that year erected, a two- storey frame building on the present Fry 4 Blackball site. .There were seven employees when the firm began operation which by 1889 had increased to 70 with the men working over- time, and another storey was added to the building. Sturdy but low priced bedroom suites, sideboards, tables, etc., were manufactured, designed for the settlers of Western Canada. By 1891 there were about 150 employees. That year fire wiped out the factory. A joint stock company was formed and a new and larger brick building put up, to be known as Union Factory. At this time Charles Reading of Bluevale became a Stockholder and for some time was an active member of the firm. The Union Factory and sev- eral other furniture manufactur- ing concerns were bought by Canada Furniture Manufactur- ers in 1901. Within a few years business dwindled and the staff WAS greatly decreased, For a few years the factory closed down during summer months and eventually in 4917 opera- tions ceased. Norman Fry and Charles Blackball, foremen, and Wal- ter VanWyck, expert upholster- er for Walker & Clegg, and Samuel Bennett who had operat , ed a planing mill, formed a company after the Walker & Clegg manufacturers closed in 1918. They were in part of the old factory now owned by Moses Brown on Alfred Street. A couple of years later a joint stock company known as Fry & Blackhall Ltd, was form- ed with Sam Bennett as the first president, E. S. Copeland, secretary-treasurer and Mr. Fry and Mr. Blackball as joint managers. In 1927 the firm was forced to move and pur- chased the Union Factory. The building was later enlarged, Fry & Blackhall livingroom furniture, in period and con- temporary design, has always had the reputation of fine qual- ity. Many of the workers as well as management had long association with the company. E. S. Copeland, who retired last year had been general manager for 27 years and had a total of 46 years with the firm, In August, 1965 Fry &Black- ball was purchased by the Tor- onto-based firm of MO, Kirk" ham and company Limited, with the Fry & filackhall name retained for the Wingham branch, K. D. Kirkham is president and W, I. Nevery, vice-president and general manager. C. R, Dho is a dir- ector, Since the new company has taken over Fry & Blackhall has continued to produce furniture marketed to middle and upper- income families, Approxime ately 70 new styles have been introduced in the past two years, mainly in traditional showwood chairs and soft, comfortable so- fas and chairs. The 1967 Can- adian Furniture Manufacturer's Award for traditional styling was won by Fry & Blackhall. The 28 employees include the manager, Mr, Nevery; de- signer, D. M. Wollin; office and plant staff. The three fore- men have been with the firm for many years: Morris Swanson, upholstering, 44 years; Harold Wild, carving and assembly, 44 years and Harold Brooks, new product development, 2'7 years. Other long-term employees are Jack Sturdy,. 38 years; Ger- ry Smith, 21 yvirs; Alex Baird, 17 years and Bessie Sanderson, 16 years. This picture of Hartley Ait- ken, son of Tom Aitken, and Jack Mitchell, son of Andy Mitchell, was taken over 50 years ago. Both men, now de- ceased, lived on Con. 10, Turnberry. SINCE 1918 SERVING WINGHAM AND DISTRICT • DRY CLEANING • TAILORING • MEN'S CLOTHING ARMITAGE'S JOIN IN SALUTING CANADA'S 100TH BIRTHDAY STAN LEY GARAGE DOORS AND OPERATORS ry We are proud to have played a part in the development of Canada and the Wingham area, since the establishment of our Wingham plant in 1956. BUT WE LIKE to think of it as something more, something new and exciting — representing the newest designs coupled with quality and elegance to bring Canadians up-to-date furnish- ings and helping to make CANADA A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE Fry Blackhall Limited FINE UPHOLSTERED. FURNITURE SINCE 1895 First factory on 'the site., of Fry & Blackhall in 1886 Stanley-Berry has been important firm A picture of the employees of Gilchrist, Green & Co., taken about 75 years ago, shows the original frame building in the background which was burned to the ground and later replaced by Mr. Gilchrist with the present brick structure known as Fry & Blackhall. Wieshain eee,Titnes. Tharsdar. June 20, 1067 Page 3 CONGRATULATIONS CANADA When the Steel Door Corpor- ation, of Birmingham, Michi- gan, announced on February 22, 1956, that the firm was going to establish a factory in Wing- ham, people in this commun- ity were highly pleased to hear a new industry was coming to town. Little did they realize the importance of the announce- ment at the time and how the firm would expand and become a major institution in the com- munity. The company proved that there is a big demand for steel garage doors in Canada and that they could be produced econ- omically in a small centre. The Berry Door Co. Ltd. , as it was known when establish- ed, came to Wingham at the urging of officials of the then C. Lloyd & Son Company, of Wingham, which had been act- ing as Canadian distributor for the American firm. Herbert A. Fuller, who this spring resigned as plant manager of the Canad- ian firm, was the first Canad- ian employee named and was largely responsible for setting up the plant and getting it roll- ing. The first doors started coming from the production lines sometime in April of 1956. In the interval the company has seen a major change of ownership when, in 1965, the Steel Door Corporation sold the facilities to The Stanley Works of New Britain, Conn. The name of the Canadian company was then changed to Stanley- Berry Limited. Since the factory first start- ed operations in the old Aero Cushion plant, which had been part of the Western Foundry complex, several additions to the plant have been made. The main plant was enlarged on two occasions with the result that the floor space has been more than doubled in the factory proper. A small cement block build- ing was added to the south side of the building several years ago where the manufacture of a radio controlled garage door operator has been conducted. Last year a new warehouse and loading dock was built on the east side of the building. This facility is serviced with convey- or line from the plant which al- so feeds outside to a storage , yard. Office space has twice been expanded. Basic production at the plant has been a one-piece steel garage door backed up by a more expensive line of section- al steel garage doors. Both have been manufactured in a broad array of sizes. In the past year a fibreglass door has been developed and currently the firm is starting to produce a line of wooden garage doors. Several years ago a general office was established at Tor- onto where the general manag- er, H. E. Burgess is located along with the sales and engin- eering staff. Alton B. Adams, who joined the firm in 1956, as purchasing agent, took over as plant manager in Wingham, when Mr. Fuller left the busi- ness. The plant, when it was es- tablished, employed about 35 men, today its maximum at peak production is about '70 in the plant. In the interval the accounting section has been in- creased from two men to a staff of five and is now equipped with the latest bookkeeping ma- chines. Production facilities in the plant have also seen major im- provements over the years. Door hardware is manufactured on a continuous production line which was set up a few years ago. Modern paint-booth meth- ods have been installed along' with added punch presses, press breaks, and heavy-duty weld- ers. Three generations on .Mertis council. ChatlPs PTonter and his wife Were natives of TCOshfre, Ens- land, They were married in 1850 and sailed for Canada the same year, The crossing took six weeks, They landed at New York and then moved on to Halton County, In 1852 they settled in Mor- ris Township, Ni Lot 7, Con. 5. Charles Procter's brother Abram came to Morris at the same time and settled on the Si Lot 7, Con. 4, now owned by Mrs. Richard Procter. In 1867 Charles Procter was elected councillor of Morris Township. He was a council member for eleven years and was deputy-reeve in 1873. Charles Procter had six sons, Richard, who was tax collector in Morris for many years inthe 1940's; James who was a town- ship councillor during the 1890s; John; George; Charles; and the youngest son Abram was in Morris Council i 1919- 1922. All six farmed n the township. The present reeve of Morris, Stewart Procter, is a son of Ab- ram and a grandson of Charles. Stewart was first elected to council in 1954. He served seven years as a councillor and is now in his seventh year as reeve. The Procters have de- voted in total quite a number of years to municipal affairs. Stewart Procter has lived on Ni Lot 10, Con. 4, Morris since his marriage to Alice Im- lay of Wingham in 1922 and his brother, Harold Procter liv- ed on the Ni Lot 9, Con. 4 un- til he retired to Belgrave. The crown dues on these two farms were paid by Charles Procter on Lot 9 and his nephew, George Procter on Lot 10, about 90 years ago and the deeds have remained in the Procter name. Stewart is not actively en- gaged in farming now. His three sons, Charles, Ross and George now own or rent several of the farms which were in the Procter name and operate an incorporated family farm call- ed Bodmin Ltd. Their farming operation comprises Ni and S.E Lot 9, Con. 4; Si Lot 10, Con. 4; Si Lot 6, Con. 4; Si Lot 11, Con. 4; and Ni Lot 10, Con.5, a total of 1000 acres. They, carry out mixed farming, raise purebred cattle and S.P.F. hogs, have a chicken broiler industry and raise turkeys. What does it mean? A Modern Symbol. SOME PEOPLE will think of it as only a modern impression of the firm's initials. That, in itself, is something to be proud of since we've gone under that name since 1919.