The Goderich Signal-Star, 1957-11-21, Page 1v
tr
e
110th Year—No. 48
.. r ... .w years . nave seen a widespread pro-
gram of "face lifting" of fronts of business
establishments on The Square. This is most
noticeable to former residents visiting here for
the first lime, in several years. The most recent
is that shown above. It is Campbell's new drug
store where McCreath's grocery store was located
a few years ago. With a modern front and also
interior, the store adds considerably to that
portion of The Square.—S.S. Photo by R.H.
Every em er Visitation Washday Blues,
Gas, Stock.. Pens
unciayByIwOLnurcnes..Pa •
Many homes in Goderich churches in the district,the
��� By Council
will be visited by laymen on area director this year eing
Sunday afternoon as North Rev. A. E. Enstace, of Gode-
Street United Church and rich. e
Goderich Baptist Church canry ,i':lais .is the iecond successive
<olat the secter plan of Every year for both North Street
Member Canvass. As the lay- United and the Goderich Bap -
men of these two churches tisk Church to use the sector
call on their fellow, members, plan. Knox Presbyterian
the plans of the , churches. and sa Church WM. also be using it
information .as to the work but visitation day will be same
they a -doing will be related. time in January. St. George's;- s
On ''the same Sunday, Nov- . Anglican Chureh...does nett plan
<ember 24, the .sector plan will to adopt it for this particular
be carried ortt by }maaaty other year.. -
Over 85TPercent
1957 loo1 Taxes
In, By Oct. 31
E. H. Jessop, assessor -and tax
collector, told Town Council Friday
that aver 85 percent of 1957 local
taxes had been collected as of
October 31.
During October, he said, $43,883.-
05 was collected, leaving $55,909.34
still to come. The final instalment
of taxes. was seue an car 'beome
October 31, and interest will be
charged on unpaid taxes from here
on in.
Two resolutions dealing with
water—one from Goderich Indus-
trial Commission and the other
from the Kinsmen Club—were re-
ceived by Council.
When a new water giant is con-
structed here, Council should make,
sure that it is large enough to
handle "a maximum of new in-
dustrial demands," suggested the
Industrial Commission.
Controlling Factor
"It is .believed that very soon
the water supply position will be-
come the <controlling factor in de-
termining location of new indus-
try," said the letter, signed by
William Anderson, chaiirman of the.
commission.
The suggestion was similar to a
resolution,passed at a recent meet-
ing of Goderich Junior Chamber
of Commerce. The town has been
thinking in terms of a new water
plant with capacity of 2,500,000'
gallons daily,o but this should be
doubled, said the Jaycees,
In the other letter received by
-Council, Goderich Kinsmen Club
urged fluoridation of the town
water supply "at the earliest con-
venience." The letter was signed
by Secretary Ken Miller on behalf
of the club.
The resolution from the Kins-
men Club was referred to com-
mittee of the whole Council for
discussion at a later date; the In-
dnstrial Commission's letter was
sent along to Council's own in-
dustrial committee.
Mr. Harvey Dawson, of Detroit,
spent the week -end with his aunts,
Mrs. Albert Wilkins and Mrs. Amos
Ball.
WJNTER FJLEET.
IS GMHERIN-G
There is a total of eight beats
and barges tied up at Goderich
Harbt r, forming the elieleus of the
-Winter fleet. How many- more
there will 'be can not be definitely
stated at this time, although more
are expected. - -
Those now tied up, are: Alex-
ander Holley, John Fritz, Barge
137, Parkdale, Altadoc, John
Roebling, Bryan barge and Col-
lingdoc.
Last Friday saw" the Brieoldoc
arrive from the Lakehead with
grain. On Sunday -four boats came
in—the Algorail, John Ericcson,
Edwin T. Douglass and Maunaloa
II. Yeast year at this time more
grain than usual -was coming into
Goderich but this year the volume
is about normal.
0 -
Bricoid-oc Aids
in Search For
Shipwrecked Men
The Bricoldoc, of which Charlie
Robinson, of (Goderich is the skip-
per, took part in the search on
Tuesday - for four shipwrecked
sailors on a little island 80 miles
east of Port Arthur. The tugboat
of the sailors went aground. about.
3 a.m., and the men were huddling
without food or shelter.
The Bricoldoc circled the island
mentioned , but could see no men
or no boat. Some time later an
airplane spotted the men but they
were on another island to:that first
reported. The blinding snow storm
and high wind made it difficult 'to
spot the lost men. After a circling
airplane finally did .find the men,
a tug came put from the mainland
and took them to Nipigon. One of
the four men is a resident of
Collingwood.
ATTEND ASSEMBLY
•The delegates from the Gode-
rich congregation of Jehovah's Wit-
nesses spent the week -end at their
semi-annual circuit assembly in the
Preston High School. Participat-
ing in the program were Mr. R.
Brodie and Mr. G. MacDonald from
the Goderich, area.
Housewives, who rose up in arms
recently when smoke from burn-
ing leaves gave their washing that
tattle -tale gray look, may just have
to resign themselves to rising up
in arms nekt year, toe.
After mulling over the eom
plaints ,and suggested remedies,
stet vn.:sCouncil's special committee
recommended ended "that no action be
taken en the matter of restricting
the burning of leaves within the
town." The recommendation was
adopted by Council Friday.
When the matter was brought to
Comacil's attention first about three
weeks ago, it was suggested, that
rhaps there should be Legislation
rohihiting anyone from burning
leaves until about 4 p.m., by which
time the ladies should have their
snow-white washes dry and off the
To Meet Re Gas
Council has authorized the town
clerk to arrange a meeting with
representatives from the Unlnn
Gas Co. of Canada Ltd. The com-
pany is seeking a franchise to dis-
tribtite gas in Goderich. Several
months ago, another company,
Blue Water Oil and Gas, was in
contact with Council and indicated
interest in bringing gas to Gode-
rich.
Councillor C. M. Robertson's sug-
gestions regarding the re-establish-
ment of • an agricultural fair in
Goderich and the matter of pro-
viding a sales barn were r`�ferred
to the 1958 Town Council for fur-
ther gonsideration-
Also referred to next year's
Council was the matter of fixing
the number of members on Gode-
rich Public Utilities Commission.
A letter from Goderich Abattoir
Co. was put over to a later meet-
ing for study. Discussions have
been underway for some time be-
tween Council and the abattoir's
owners regarding a proposal to
construct additional holding pens.
A district livestock shipper, who
normally ships out of Lucknow,
told Council that he wished to use
the yards on Monday as a base
from which to ship, hogs to the
Montreal market. BCouncil was
told that this would conflict to
some extent with the interests of
another shipper, who has been
using the yard on Mondays for a
long time now.
While the town owns the scale,
the meat inspector's office and the
holding pens, the land on which
they stand is owned by the abattoir
company.
TENDERS FOR CRUISER
Five tenders for a new police
cruiser were opened when Town
Council met Friday. It was decid-
ed to set the matter over for a
few days to allow Council members
an opportunity to investigate the
offers more fully before making
a decision.
PLANE FORCED DOWN HERE
Alleged International Car
Smugglers Drop Into Town
Engine trouble .forced an air-
plane to land at Sky Harbour Air-
port about 1.30 p.m., Monday which
contained three men, two of whom
have been named in criminal con-
spiracy charges in connection with
an international car smuggling
ring.
Raymond Lang and Louis Toth,
both of Isondon, were subsequently
arrested, bringing to seven the
total rounded up so far by Royal
Canadian (Mounted Police for ques-
tioning in connection with <the
smuggling ring. ,
The London trio were said to
be returning from hunting on
Manitoulin Island and were' be•
lieved to he heading for lieondou
when engine trouble forced their
plane down at Goderirh. After
J.
working on the plane for about
two hours, mechanics at Sky Har -
hour Airport said it would take
some time to make necessary re-
pairs. Apparently impatient to
get to London, the men arranged
for a car in Goderich to take them
on to London and left their plane
at Sky Harbour Airport to be fixed.
It is believed they stopped off at a
Goderieh restaurant for something
to eat but didn't remain' to do any
Christmas shopping or anything
before hurrying on to London.
In the meantime, the RCMP had
informed the 'Provincial Police at
G-oderieh about the two men who
were being sought and also that
their plane, travelling from the
north, might land at Kincardine
or Goderich or somewhere in the
Western Ontario area. A cheek
.6
' at Sky Harbour by police revealed
that a plane had landed there con-
taining the two men answering the
descriptions given to them by
police.
When police learned the men
were on their way to London by
car, the police commenced patrol-
ling the highways to London.
About 4.30 p.m., OPP Constable
Jack Parkinson, of Goderich, stop-
ped a car on No. 4 Ilijhway at
Brucefleld, heading for London,
and containing the two men want-
ed. Two other men in the ear
were allowed to proceed but Lang
and Toth were brought hack to
Goderich and eventually handed
over to the RCMP. They were
later transferred to a jail at Lon-
don pending arraignment in magis-
trate's court at London.
GODERICH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 21,1957
NEW I:NEUSTRYT
GODERICH BY MID-FEBRU
$ubSiZriptiqeoiyl nAMApA. 0$ .Ar0
C6AII
LMi. $4.Q0
>'Siia l i .opie$ e
The Goderich Organ Company
factory, idle since 1055, has been
sold to Scotsmith Furniture Limit-
ed,, of Landon, who will commence
moving in shortly and expects to
be in production by mid-February.
The company specialized in the
production of high grade church
furniture and is headed by L. J.
Scott, of London.
The Scotsmith Company was
burned out of their London loca-
tion on Central Avenue last spring
and since that time has been locat-
;bd in rented accommodation at
ondon.
Local custodian of the factory,
which was pdrehased in 1051 by
a tMontreal industrialist, has been
A. M. Harper,- chartered ° account-
ant. Mr. Harper stated that the
company expects to employ be-
tween e5 to 40 men. Some key
men will be brought in but the
majority of help will be local per-
sonnel, he stated.
A prime factor in bringing the
company to Goderich was the co-
operation shown by members of
the Goderich Town Council and
especially the efforts of Councillor
Peter Kee -Ewan whose splendid as-
sistance resulted inthe company
locating here, said Mr. Harper.
Several other municipalities in
Western Ontario have been negate
ating for the location of the ant
in those centres. •
Moving of machinery from Lon-
don to the plant here will be under
way in the near future.
The factory was built about 72
years ago and was started as an
organ factory. About 1890 the
late Alex Saunders took over the
managership and eventually bought
controlling interest in it. About
1895 he .added the production of
plumbers' woodwork to the list of
items manufactured there. After
the death of Alex Saunders, his
sons, Charles and Frank, took over
the operation of the plant. When
Charles Saunders died in 1950,
Frank Saunders carried on until
1951 when it was sold to R. C.
RY
Webster, multi -millionaire indus-
trialist from the Province of QUet.
bec. Following this, therewere
many rumors as to the nature or
the manufacturing that was to t*e
place but nothing ever developed
and the factory was on the "For
Sale" list for a considerable period
of time.
It has been stated that a. Gode>
rich merchant was the first Inn
to bring to the attention of the
London firm coming here that the
organ factory was available here.
Council HasFew Bids
For Doomed Buildings
A by-law authorizing conveyance
of 22 building lots to Central Mort-
gage and Housing Corp. for $12,000
was given final reading when Town
Council met Friday. The mayor
and the clerk were authorized to
sigrr the agreement on behalf of
the town.
It is expected that the town will
receive a further payment of
about $6,700 when municipal ser-
vices—such as sidewalks and sew-
ers—have been extended to the
lots. tA.s its part of the land as-
sembly plan, CISME will re -sell the
individual lots to persons wishing
to build theb,.own homes.
The lotsearg located in the vicin-
ity of GDCI, Part of the property
in the land assembly plan was
formerly owned by Mrs. Rose
•
Willis. Her property, including a
house, and barn, was bought by
Council for $10,000.
Council's call for tenders for
purchase and removal of the house
and barn brought only three bids,
and these were opened Friday
night. It was decided to accept
William C. Bannister's offer of
$200 for the house on the Willis
property. Highest bid for the barn
was $50 offered by a party living
at R.R. 8, Goderich, but Council
did not agree to sell it for this
.immediately. It was decided to
-check with Goderich Trotting and
Agricultural Society first to see if
the association wants the barn.
In calling for tenders, Council
had stipulated that buildings must
be cleared off the property within
30 days of acceptance of tender.
Visitors from Walkerton, Kirk-
land Lake, Goderich district and
other centres were present Tues-
day evening at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Peter Graf, Nelson street,
when they celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary.
They were married on November
19, 1907, at Sacred Heart Church,
Mildmay. She is the former
Blanche Schmidt, daughter of the
late Mr. and Mrs. John Schmidt,
of Walkerton, and Peter Graf is
the son of the late IMr. and Mrs.
LOCAL MACHINISTS HOLD
SOCIAL EVENING AT ARENA
A social evening was held at the
Arena auditorium Saturday night
by the International Association of
.Machinists, Bluewater Lodge, Local
1863. Lucky wir?ners in the spot
dance were .Mr. and Mrs. - Booth-
royd and Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Thompson. After the dance a
lovely buffet style lunch ,was
served.
u-- — o---,- o
ROWER BREAK
The power was off in Goderich
and district for close to an hour
and a half Tuesday morning when
a failing pine tree broke a 26;000 -
volt feeder line alongside the
Huron road, near the old Bissett
farm. The tree was flattened by
the high winds, it is reported.
—Photo by MacLarens
Michael Graf,. of Formosa.
They have one daughter, Mrs.
Ernie (Catherine) Crocock, of New
Westminster, B.C., and one song
John, of Goderich, and five grand-
children.
Mr. and Mrs. Graf lived at Tara,
Teeswater and Lucknow before
coming to Goderich where they
have resided for the past 35 years.
Mr. Graf was an agent for Buick
and then Durant cars when he
first came here. Later, for a ,
period of nine years, hu- was in
the butcher business.
COUNCIL MEMBERS ATTEND
FUNERAL OF W. J. MAKE
Seven members of Goderich
Town Council, accompanied by the
town assessor, went to Woodbridge
Friday to attend the funeral of
William J. Blake, father of S. H.
Blake, Goderich clerk -treasurer.
William Blake, who was in his
87th year, died Wednesday. The
funeral service was held in the
W. R. Scott funeral home, Wood-
bridge, followed by interment in
Pine Ridge cemetery.
Attending from Goderieh, be-
sides Mr. and Mrs. S. II. Blake,
were Reeve E. C. Fisher, Deputy -
Reeve James Donnelly, Councillors
James Bisset, Peter ,MacEwan, C.
M. Robertson, W. A. Tipple and
Joseph Allaire,. and Town Assessor
E. H. Jessop.
Seek Airport Ownership
To Pave Way For ndustry
The Department of Transport
will be asked to declare the build.
ings at Sky Harbor Airport surplus,
so Huron County Council will he
able to negotiate for their pure
chase.
Reeve Burton Stanley, of Clin
ton, reporting as chairman of the
airport committee, told County
Council here last week: "From
time to time, your committee has
dealt with requests from industrial
firms for locations at the airport.
Each time, the question of a long-
term lease or sale of a parcel of
land or building has come up.
Your committee is more or less
tied to approval of the Department
of Transport and no definite an-
swers can he given (to the pros
pective new industries)."
There are about 430 acres at
Sky Harbor and the county owns
the 200 acres fronting on highway
21. The buildings, -{on county
land) and the remaining' 200 -plus
acres are leased from the federal
government by the county. It has
been said in County Council on
previous occasions that. It would
be possible for an industry to oper-
ate in one or more of the existing
buildings without interfering with
airport operation.
If the Department of Transport
will declare the buildings surplus
and sell them to the county, the
county will be in a much better
position to deal with enquiries
from industries which might be
interested in tnoving to Sky
Harbor.
Staff Appointor ants
County staff appointments made
'at the November session included
those of Thomas Morris, jr., as as-
istant in the county cterk's office
and county engineer's office, and
Mrs, Mona Adams as stenographer
in the county assessor's office.
A new by-law making it an of-
fence to let animals run at large
-on county roads was passed at the
'session. A by-law with the same
intent was passed many years ago,
`but was found inadequate when
jested in court cases.
Gerry 'Ginn was re -appointed as
county representative on Go lerieh
]District Collegiate Institute Board.
Three May Enter TFight
For 1958 Mayoralty
With municipal nominations only
eight days away, a three-way fight
for the mayoralty is a possibility
here. And there will undoubtedly
be new faces on the 1958 Council
due to members moving up to con-
test higher positions.
At last Friday's Town Council
meeting, Mayor J. H. Graham, a
veteran with around 20 years of
experience in the municipal field,
stated: "Well, if I do anything,
I'll stay where I am—if I can."
This was his comment when it
was pointed out that it is custom-
ary for the mayor to make a de-
claration - of his intentions- at the
last regular Council meeting before
the annual nominations.
The mayor indicated that he
hasn't finally decided what he will
do in regard to next year. A few
weeks ago, he had indicated that
he might drop back and contest
the office of deputy -reeve.
Reeve E. C. Fisher told his fel-
low Council members: "As stated
previously, I'll be a candidate for
the mayoralty." The reeve is
Who's °`Craizie"?
C.N.R. freight driver, Earl
Williams, sat in the front seat
of his truck deep in bewilder-
ed thought. From the address
on a shipment he had to de-
liver he just couldn't figure
who were crazy brothers in
Goderich. Yet there it was
plainly typed on the mailing
Label—"CRAIZIE ,BROW,
(IODERIGH, CANADA." Sud-
denly he got an idea and dash-
ed into Craigie's Tobacco Store
saying it was the craziest place
he could think of. Mr. Arnold
McConnell, who has operated
the store for many years for
what used to be known as
"Craigie Brothers" found the
situation equally amusing.
Arnold informed Earl that the
shipment was for the tobacco
store all right and that it was
from a firm of importers in the
Province of Quebec, who, ap-
parently, are not immune to
making typographical errors.
chairman of the public works com-
mittee, one of the most important
Council committees.
After some hesitation, Councillor
C. 'M. Robertson announced: "I'm
either going to be running for
mayor or deputy -reeve." He added,
however, that this is not final and
he may possibly change his mind
before nomination night, which is
Friday, November 29.
Councillor W. A. Tipple, now
completing his first one-year term,
said that he will be a candidate
for Council again.
'Councillor Joseph Allaire stated:
"I'll go along with Mr. Tipple,' if I
may.
Councillor Frank Walltom an-
nounced that he will also be a
candidate for 'Council again.
Seeks To Move Up
Councillor Peter aVMacEwan, who
is completing his erst term, said
that he plans to seek nomination
for the office of deputy -reeve.
Councillor James Bisset, another
first-year man, said: "I have no
comment to make other than I'll
be on the floor on nomination
night."
Deputy -Reeve, James Donnelly
stated: "I have no comment."
Two members are to._ be elected
to the Public Utilities Commission
for two-year terms. The members
whose terms expire this year are
" OPTIONS ADDED' -
The new garbage truck was dis-
cussed at a special meeting of
Town Council on Wednesday of
last week. The dealer who sub-
mitted th successfuI tender was
present ad advised Council that
options would be added to bring
the truck up to a gross vehicle
weigf>t rating of 25,00.0 pounds,
as specified by Council in its orig-
inal order. The dealer stated that
.he would be prepared to make
delivery by November 20.
0 0 0
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barlow, of
Woodstock, were in Goderich last
week -end and attended the Drama
Festival Thursday and Friday
nights.
Commissioners George MacEwas
and W J. Mills. When contacted
by The Signal -Star, both- indicated
that they will be available for
nomination for afiother term.
Contest Seen
A contest for the PUC is indicat-
ed as J. E. Huckins, former mayor
of Goderich, has stated definitely
that he will seek election to the
commission.
John Spain . stated some ti>e
ago that he will be Nominated
"across the board," but he didn't
say which Council post he will like-
ly run for.
Three members must be elected
to Goderich Public School Board
for two-year terms bypublicschool
supporters. The members whose
terms expire this year are Trustees
Don Aberhart, Robert Rae and
Harold Shore.
Mr. Aberhart has stated that he
will probably be a candidate for
're-election to the board, but Mr.
Rae may not be a candidate and.
Mr. Share is undecided at present.
Prepare To Drift
Test Holes Here
Allan Clark, of Columbus, Olein
a geologist employed by the Ram-
ney Method Water Supplies organ-
ization, arrived in .Goderich yestee-
day to supervise drilling of test
holes at the waterfront.
Results of the drilling will assist
in determining whether construes
tion of a Ranney water system is
feasible here or not. Drilling of
the - four holes, estimated to cost
about $700, will be done at the
company's .own expense. The drill-
ing equipment belongs to Fred
Davidson, of Wingham. Test. holes
will be about 30-40 feet deep.
If the drilling shows that there
is enough gravel to make operation
of the Ranney- system feasible, /2
will then be up to Town Connell
to decide whether a full-scale sur-
vey
emvey should be made. .The more
complete survey, which would have
to be done at town expense, woule
include a pumping test.
When Wintry Winds Blow At
The Harbor