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The Huron Expositor, 1997-09-03, Page 44.N011111111n.=-:81t1t1 ,*u 0.81N ra.8 Yew Cir11ww1ilyOlawllpaper Since MO tl•LW1 I1M • GMtwai *wogs( & Advertising Matoga LARRY DALRYMPLE - Sales PAT ARMES - Olfice Manager DIANNE MsG&ANH - Subscriptions & Classifieds DAVE SCOTT • Editor faBiKOLCAMBELL • Reporter BARB STOREY - distribution A Bowes Publishers Community Newspaper SUBSCRIPTION RATE4: LOCAL - 32.50 a year, in advance, plus 2.28 G.S.T JENIORS - 30.00 o year, in ockencs, plus 2.10 G.S.T. USA 6 ioraian: 28.94 o year in advance, plw $7 9.00 pottage, G.S.T. wmpt SUBSCRIPTION RATES. Published weekly by Signal -Star 1666hing at 100 Main St., Seofarth. Publication moil registration No. 0696 field at Seaforth. Ontario. Advertising is aaaputd a' condition that in the ward of o typographical error; the adoresieg space 000rpied by the erroneous item, together with o reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at len applicable rhe. In lis went of a typographical .nor, odwersising goods or services at • wrong price, goods or services may not be Ofd. Advertising is merely on *Her to sell and may be withdrawn at ony time. The Huron Eepasisor is not responsible for the loss or damage d unsolicited manuscripts, photos or Ober materials wed for reproduction purposes. Charges of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliv- erable copies are to be sent to The Huron Esiposior Wedneedev, Septennber 3, 1907 Editorial and S aines& Offices • 100 Main Seeet,Sed0At Telephone (5191 527.0240 Fax 451 91 527-201 8 Magog Address - P.O. lox 69, Sealer*. Ontario, NOK IWO Member of the Canadian Community Notepaper Association, Ontorio Community Newspapers Association and the Ontario Prose Council Views expressed on our opinion page(s) don't necessarily represent those of The Huron Expositor or Bowes Publishers. The Huron Expositor reserves the right to edit letters to the editor or to refuse publication. Gypsies, tramps and thieves? A trey in Seaforth changed many lives 1 Wonder bow many remember Hesky Flax...And Mr. &Lasky and his big gmen Cadillac? I remember him, but not well. Out 1 do remem- ber rho small brick office on Church Street, just north of the mill. And especially the manager's secretary, ken Swale, later to become Mrs. Albert Hildebrand. For one day in 1943 she introduced me to a young lady who was • a boarder across the street at the home of Mrs. Farquar - an Irish girl of 17 from Stratford who can to Seaforth to be the bookkeep- er at Scott Memorial Hospital. Her name was McNamara then...but now, 54 years tater she is Virginia Westcott, mother of nine and grandmother to 10...(Sonte Jairoductionu). But that's not really what this story is about...The Hesky family came to Canada from Europe a short time before the war began. (Son Peter, 30 years later was a reporter with the Toronto Sun). Hesky rebuilt what was the old Broadfoot and Box Furniture Factory at the cor- ner of Church and Market Street. The plan was to con- tract with area farmers to grow flax and to process the tow in the local mill. A later mill was established in Mitchell on the bank of the river on the highway a bit west of the bridge near the main street. The tow, a name given to the straw from flax, was pulled from the ground, not cut like other„grains. It's long fibrous root was for centuries made into linen. It was now vital to the war effort for the manufacture of parachutes. So vital was the need for processed tow that the mill ran 24 -hours -a -day, seven days a week. This is really a story about a tree. A tree that influenced and changed the lives of many hundreds of people in North America. A large tree growing close to the sidewalk a few feet from the side door Editor's notes Gypsies are in the national news these days. The Roseany people are not new to Canada, or unknown in this area. The following piece is an absolute gem of writing, front the pen of the since deceased 5g wadriMe historian Bill Hart. 11 is excerpted from a larger article by kat that appeared more than two decades ago in the Centennial supplement to The Huron Expositor, published June 26, 1975. 1c,,c• by BIll Hart The Egmondville dam fits in very well with Seaforth's Centennial celebration. The dam picnics were attractions that few could resist. Families dressed in Summer finery could be seen sauntering down through the village heavily laden with baskets of goodies. Peanut scrambles, foot races, tug-of-wars-, swimming, splashing. eating and gossiping were the order of the day. Gypsies used.the darn grounds for camping each season. They came by Tright and almost without warning. When the sun arose it shone on a circle of rigs, wagons and a collection of nondescript horses, an odd assortment of men, women, children, yapping dogs, ratty -Looking game cocks, and without fail, a goat. The gossip of Seaforth and Egmondville took on new dimension with the coming of the gypsies. Patriarchs, and .preachers drummed up fist -thumping sermons to counteract their iniquity and sin. Wickedness and unrighteousness were said to be lurking in all the minds and bodies of these people. The lectures and sermons on hell and damnation fell on deaf ears as the youth of the community allowed themselves to be lured to the excitement and stimulation of the encampment. The men were olive skinned and swarthy with flashing eyes and furtive glances while the women, with their willowy and sexy bodies, enticed liberties of thought and action. Their seductive and come -hither looks swept languishing lovers off their feet. All were attractively dressed in colourful native costumes. Their strange music had a haunting melody and their Spanish -type dancing was appealing. Ladies went to have their fortunes told, young men and maidens were given love lessons and boys became flabbergasted with tales of far away places. Farmers awaited their visits with eagemess and anticipation for it afforded them an opportunity to buy, to trade or to sell horses. At best these nomads and vagabonds were crafty hawkers and peddlers, slick with tongues and deft with fingers. They stayed invariably, until the village and town fathers, at the request and urging of irate citizens, invited them to clear out and be gone. When they vanished they left behind empty hearts, empty pocket books, and in some cases empty garden patches. McKillop FROM THE PAGES OF THE HURON EXPOSITOR SEPTEMBER 10, 1S97 THE BICYCLE RACE - The final race for the Victoria bicycle club cup was held on Friday evening last. The rid- ers finished in the following order: Chesney, Baldwin, Crich, Bell and Aberhart. There was considerable inter- est in the race, and the friends of the riders were looking for their favorite to win. The winner of the cup was the rider who had made the most points in the several races during the season, and George Bell, having made the largest score, will hold the coveted trophy for this sea- son. Bell is a plucky little of the house once owned by the Rankin family. (and home to the scoundrel nib, Huggard). A house became the home of the lov- able fruit merchants, Tom and Mary Philips when they moved from above their store on Main Street, and later the home of their son Tony and his wife Katie. And the tree is still stand- ing. The 2,200 -volt power line that provided the mill with electricity came down the south side of Market Street on rather high poles. It ran past the Philips' house close by the huge maple on their lawn. It was determined that a limb had to be cut that had grown dangerously close to the wires. The limb was mas- sive, even larger in width than the hydro pole nearby. It was high in the tree and if simply cut off would no doubt fall on the wires. As the power had to be cut, a Sunday morning was picked as the most convenient time to close down the mill for a few hours. A rope was tied around the limb and pulled through a 'Y' -shaped crotch high in the tree and then down to•the ground. Once it was cut free a group of men on the lawn below were to hold the rope taut and lower the heavy limb slowly to the ground. Blank Klieg was put in charge of the Ii -orating by the PUC and he and a hydro employee manned each end of the long cross -cut saw from the top of two **at , ladders extended Mama on the north and south sides of the tree. After seeming endless sweaty minutes of sawing, it looked like the 10 -inch thick limb was cut through - but it didn't budge. Frank Kling climbed down his ladder to look at it from the ground and determine what to do next. For some reason, likely just to have a look for him- self, the manager of the flax mill climbed to the top of Kling's ladder. As he reached the top the massive limb began t ' uiver and break away f . the tree. The plan was for the men on the ground to lower it straight down by slowly let- ting the rope slip through the crotch high in the tree. But...the rope somehow stuck, and instead the giant limb swung around the tree knocking the two 40 -foot lad- ders from under the mill manager, Harvey Beaty, and the PUC employee. Mr Beaty landed on the grass. He could not move and it was obvious he was in great pain. The other man fell straight down • as the ladder went out from under him and he landed on the cement sidewalk below. Both were taken to the hospi- tal. A day later in London hos- pital it was confirmed that Harvey Beaty would never again walk - for his back was broken and his spinal cord was severed. The other man was released from Scott Memorial the day of the acci- dent with two very swollen feet and two sprained ankles...nothing more. Not long ago, the same Harvey Beaty died - he was 79, He was a truly remark- able man. At his death the company he founded had annual tales well m excess of $100 million—and it all hap- pened because he fell out of a tree in Seaforth in 1943. In 1944, from a r, he started a wtsttll sued business Covent in downtown ve years later he 100 acres near sford and in the years t followed, his company. Cold Springs Farme became the nucleus of a billion -dollar fully integrated agri-food enterprise with operations in Ontario, Michigan and lotida. The turkey division is one of the largest in the world. It grew from a small turkey farm to employing close to 1,000 people. Holdings includgQ,000 acres in Ontano,ia 5,000 -acre farm in Michigan and a 5,000 -acre home development site in Florida. He raised and sold close to two million turkeys each year and sent 4.000 hogs a week to market. Cold Springs operates one of largest privately owned inland grain elevator systems in Ontario. a farm equipment dealership and an agriculture parts supply orga- nization. Millions of pounds of live and dressed turkeys and hogs and cattle move all over North America in the big semi -trailers of the Cold Springs Transport Company. ...And Harvey Beaty has given millions to various charities. In an interview not long before his death he pondered the future and told a London Free Press reporter. "I have literally distributed my estate...I can't take it with me. At least they tell rete 1 can't." And it all came about •because a young 27 -year-old flax mill manager fell out of a tree. Oh, yes...in case you are wondering who the other fel- low was who fell with Harvey that day in 1943 - and sprained his ankles landing on the sidewalk...it was me. residents vote on sale of liquor In the Years Agone rider, and in the last couple of races, he made a splendid showing, mounted on a Stearns' racer. With a little more experience he will hus- tle most of the fellows. FARM SOLD - Messrs. Lockhart & Co. have sold to Mr. John Beattie, of Hullett, lot number 33, concession 10, McKiliop. The price paid was nearly $4,000 in cash. The purchaser gets posses- sion on the 1st of October. This enterprising firm have disposed of some 736 acres ing business some eighteen months ago, besides manu- facturing and disporting of nearly a million and a half feet of lumber, which speaks well for the business push of the firm these hard times. SEPTEMBER 1,1922 Represented at Exhibition - Seaforth is represented in the exhibit of books by Canadian women writers, which is a new and unusually interest- ing feature of the Women's Building at the Canadian National Exhibition, being of their land since commenc- held this week in Toronto, by a copy of Miss H. Isabel Graham's poems, which were contributed at the request of the Superintendent of the Women's Building, Mrs. W.H. Purser. Another Successful Student - Charles Wilson, ' the youngest son of the late David J. and Mrs. Aitcheson, formerly of Seaforth, now of Lougheed, Alberta, who has been attending Queens University for the last four years. passed his final exami- nations with first class hon- ors, and got his degrees M.D., C.M. He also success- fully passed his Dominion and Ontario Counsils, the Only boy from the Province CONTINUED on Page 3. SUMITTEP PHOTO SEAFORTH HIGH SCHOOL 1927-28 - With school back in session as of yesterday, what better time could there be to run this photograph from the Jack Dorrance estate of students at the local high school 70 years ago, when W.G. Spencer was the principal there. The shot was taken by a Hamilton photographer with a panoramic camera, popular for large group shots back in those days. The names are as written (end spelt) in ink on the back of the photo. back row from lett, Gordon Wright, John MacDonald, Lorne Pinkney, Peterson, Edmunds, Frost, Burrows, McLean Brow, B. Grieve, M. Armstrong, McMillan, M. Turnbull, A. Archibald, I. Ryan, C. Strong, A. Wheatly, B. Simpson, N. Stewart, M. Sills, L. McMillan, K. Gelder, D. Hudson, M. Hoggart, E. Scott, E. McLean, D. Farquer, M. Ferguson, H. McKercher, M. Purcell, J. H(?)udson, M. Doig, ? Mason, H. Lane, E. Burrows, M. Patrick, G. Scott, M. Rolph, S. Sheffer, E. Walsh, V. Gardner, L. Nigh, A. McNaughton, A. Hanna, R. Patrick, M. Shiner. .Second row: J. Purcell, N. Cardno, C. Stewart, G. Black, J. Pinder, F. Oliver, J. Ferguson, McGonigle Lowery, M. Reid, A. Edmunds, G. Matthews, B. Aberbart, I. Forest. A. Bolton, M. DroVer, M. Wright, J. Archibald, N. Habkirk, E. Workman, M. Bateman, N. Bolton, M. McKeller, H. Ament, M. Beattie, M. Archebald, M. Macdonald, M. Hotham, F. Ryan, M. Cardno,l. Wankell, B. Cluff, I. Nott, M. Crich, H. Thompson, G. Mason, D. Wilson, B. Rice, E. Jameson, M. Watson, J. Frost, E. Golding, M. Strong, M. Broadfoot, Jackson Hogg, Nolan, Duncan, Jefferson, Macdonald. Thirdlow; Gemmell, Arnold, Parkes, Cluff, Trott, Govenlock, Waye, Tyndall, Brintnell, V. McGregor, H. Dixon, V. Wan, B. Dorrance, M. McLennan, K. Webster, M. Thompson, M. Ross, A. Wallace, E. Hiller, M. Cudmore, E. Roiph, B. Stephenson,Misses Gillespie, Grieve, Helper, Mr. Bissonette, Mr. Spencer, Misses Hicks and Gorman, M. Hai(?)gh, E. Evans, 0. (?) G. Stewart, M. Barber, O. Nichols, B. McGowan, D. Driscoll, M. K(?)err, J. Gemmell, J. McGlaughlin, G. Butson, W. Kruse, G. Broadfoot, E. Rice. Frontlow: E. Kerslake, G. Rennie, E. Duncan,F. Devereaux, A. Crich, C. McDonald, F. Kling, D. Sills, T. Nash, R. Allan, Hyde, Finison, 8. McDonald, L. Hagen. L. Purcell, L. Macdonald, Lane, A. Calder, E. McLean, G. Hayes, Lane, F. Case, B. Aberbart, A. Ferguson, E. Gillespie, M. Keyes, C. Dixon, J. Mackenzie, C. Archibald, O. Holmes, R. Nott, F. Dundas, C. McNay.