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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-03-08, Page 13e are indications at ch Town Council that rs are having renewed t in the historical value former Huron County At last Thursday g's meeting, town council to refer an application uron CoufltY Council for *tion of a part of the jail the upcoming cortimit- .ting and to provide time complete review of the Councillor Frank Walkom said that in recent day.s, some "different views I haven't heard before" carne to light' and he asked for time "to think it over before being called upon to make a decision on the matter. Town Council now has a file filled with items about the jail for study. Included in that file is a copy of a letter from ,I)orothy Wallace„...sixretary-44-- Off " the Save The Jail Society, to the Goderich Tourist Commit- tee. In that correspondence, Mrs. Wallace said she hoped to "enlist support" from the tottrist committee because the jail, ''the only structure of its kind in North America" will "do the tourist business in Goderich no harm", -She- the—fact,,,,,that—tita It was Roy Breckenridge who brought the request of Huron County for a demolition permit at the jail to council. The building inspector said he' was Withholding the permit for removing 215 feet orstone wall frorn around the jail until the jail issue has 'been clarified. As well, a letter to council from Breckenridge stated that in his views the design of the proposed changes at the jail, the plans for fire protection and for adequate plumbing as well as the structural condition of the present building should be thoroughly investigated before the town goes ahead with any agreements regarding the jail. A full gallery of spectators, many from the Save The Jail Society were in attendance at the coucil meeting: On hand was the group's legal counsel MacEwan Egener. Egener asked that a commit- tee be appointed to look into the entire' matter at the jail. I4e referred once more to pen- ding provincial legislation .which would financially assist municipalities to save some historical sites. He reiterated the fact, that the former Huron County Jail is unique and that "to destroy one wall takes away the whole uniqueness". Egener reminded council of the letter on its agenda from Douglas S. Richardson, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, who is an architect as --well as a historian. , (That °letter was published in its entirety in last week's Signal -Star.) "Surely we must rely on these people who know about the. thinks," said Egener. Egener also claimed that in -many instances, the only way save a historical building is S. urn out la for a ; • ple29? REG 57 'J LOT 584 424 • ,„, •.,..s.: , C f i t / 5021.0/ LOT 503 LOT 504 -{ LOT 505 124,/ Instrument Nt 425 rnalrument Ne 425 ' Instruin nt Na 425 1 Estoc,s• •9,1 DAI 'fird ',A...reo. I 3'84 Acres ERED1 B,dp PLAN 2ilta.1 Er. LOT 585 LOT 586 Instrunlent 5t425[ e "s,:" Instrument Nt 425 7 is a map showing the former Huron County Jail in relation to the property around it. kiwi black line on the map denotes the portion of the jail wall which the county hopes ove. Note this Is the largest of thi five exercise yards at the jail and If removed Id bare the jail proper to the street. Sone county councillors argue this would anpe" the jail for public use; most persons interested in preserving the jail believe this Id destroy the truly historical significance ot the building. This large exercise yard is •ne in which outdoor theatre was held last summer and was enjoyed by so many. It is •ne exercise yard which is considered most valuible by Save The Jail workers. This also shows vividly how an addition to the assessment office would "notch" into the jail plex. heat, -light and custodial ser- vicbt+ at the jail run about $1,000 per annum suggests that Goderich should have no real difficulty in financing the ven- ture at the The letter stated that Goderich had already been put before the public -nationwide because of the jail and urged the tourist committee to take a long look at "this tremendous asset". When .Prime Minister William DgVis was in Goderich last 'week to support PC candidate Don Southcott (Centre) in his . bid for the Riding seat in the by-election March 15, Save The Jail president Mrs. Joan Van aen tiroeck took tne oppor- tunity to draw provincial attention to the former Huron County Jail. Last week, HuronCounty Council applied for a permit in Goderich to demolish ,e. part of the 100 -year-old wall at the jail to make way for an addition to the Huron - Perth Regional Assessment Office. Southcott failed in his bid to stall a county decision on the matter until atter April 1. (staff photo) • Goderich -Little -Theatre presented its 'l 1111(1 play of the season last weekend. The Curious Savage written by John. Patrick and directed by Mrs. Beth Markson was a delightful blend of comedy and tragedy .which captured the hearts of most theatregoers - Thursday.• Friday and Saturday evenings. Action was in The Cloisters, 49 101 i 5( 19( 1 lc i 19( 111 9c 79 9c 9c ssc 69( .69( 49( Goderich BusinessmeWs iation officially organized elves at a meeting last electing John Schaefer an. Bruno Lapaine was d vice chairman and Bob tman will serve as ary Treasurer. In ad - there are 10 directors on ssociation directorship. anization of the 'ation was prompted 1)3' ent announcement that a ,000 shopping plaza is d --for- a-site-nftffighiiray th of Goderich. The an. ement was made by Sun - Estates. Goderich and Area plan - board heard a one page ,at their last meeting ob. g to the plaza and ed a petition signed by 70 e downtown merchants. week a spokesman said downtown businessmen be electing an official tive Thursday or Friday at they might more effec- carry on their fight. plaza plans call for a square foot shopping lex containing a super et and large department 'as well as five to eight' ler outlets. the brief, presented by Markson, , the essmen noted, "At a time many centres are trying vitalize their downtown the proposed new shop - area appears to he taking town in the wrong direc- The proposal would add a. r 63 percent of sales floor whereas our population th is quoted at one percent nnum," when it would appear that the real need of the existing food chain store in question is an improved floor area and parking facility. It is open to question whether or not this ' would be practical and indeed infinitely more: beneficial for they store in question to accom- plish this at their existing site," the brief noted. The brief also questioned "the wisdom of sighting this —facility--one--mile or more south of the . -existing established marketing areas on a through tourist route creating a venient out of town rest stop area." It also asked how true the five percent tourist sales figure ; used in the report was. "While the report admits that no con- crete figures exist," they said, "we feel that this figure is ex- tremely low and that -a survey should be undertaken during a tourist season and not during a mid winter period." "We question whether or not this establishment would significantly enhance Goderich as a regional shopping area in opposition to the cities of Strat- ford and 'London." they said. "The reason why some people prefer to shop in the larger cen- tres will not change with the in- troduction of the new marketing area. It is possible' however that, given a period of time, the new facility could so dilute existing local sales as to make the centre of .Goderich nothing more than a highly specialized area of services •Ftueh as lawyers, and automobile distributors and all we will have accomplished is to move from a unique tourist at- tracting, pleasen'tIV wooded mark‘t.jng area to the sterile glass and metal stamped out copy of suburbia." The brief was summed up by the businessmen asking that the planning hoard look at the retail study completed by MacLaren Ltd. on the basis that the report is the result of "A study on on weeks duration taken during last December by a stranger to Goderich who in fact equated 4the, town with St. Thomas." "Secondly," the brief asked, "before taking any action allow another study to he undertaken and you, the planning hoard, oversee it to ensure its accuracy and impartiality." Mrs. Jean Barnett on Black's Point Road in Goderich Town- ship is gathering news from Goderich Township for The Goderich Signal -Star. fslewslis nothing new to Mrs. Barndtt. She's acted as a corresktondent for other com- munities while she and her husband Allan were with the armed forces. Now retired and living near Goderich, Mrs. Bar- nett hopes to renew her interest in writing and at the same time, give improved local coverage for her doderich Township- friends and neigh - hors. Mrs. Barnkt's telephone number is 524-2150. Mary Ann Shill;ahan puts on thea last minute makeup touches before GIS's most recent production The Curious Savage in McKay Hail last weekend..The-show played to full houses Thursday and Saturday 'twinge With Friday evening's performance competing with several other events in Goderich. The play was the.second of a set of three planned for,the 1972-73 season. (staff photo) a home, for persons .with emotional problems. Wealthy widow, Mrs. Savage (Kathy :Jenkins) was • admitted to The Cloisters by her three children: .sons --.Titus (Brian Markson) and Samuel (Glen Lodge) and daughter Lily Belle (Mary Ann Shanahan). The 'Savage children believed. their mother was unable to ad- minister- her--husba-nd's large estate. They feared that her - plans for a fund to help deser- ving people get what they wan- ted out of life would leave them penniless. Although unhappy about her admittance to The Cloisters and determined to get 'even with her family, Mrs. Savage quickly made. friends with the other residents in her %king: Florence (Marjorie Robinson) wfi6 had lost her first son and carried a rag doll which she believed to he her dead "child; Fairy May (Susan' Dunlop) who believed herself young and pretty and needed to be loved by everyone; Hannibal (Bill and fanciful Fairy May were outstanding. Mrs. Leonard had only three or four lines- in the entire production but she ..was' on stage throughout • the whole play and stole the show. She kept her Mind on her acting and although she 'could not • compete with dialogue, her facial expressions- and -protrayal of 'a silent-- mental Patient were excellent. Susan Dunlop, a veteran ac- tress for. her younoyears, had plenty of dialogue connected with her part and never missed an opportunity to show that she knows how to share those lines with the entire audience. Her voice carried well into the far corners of•McKay Hall without ever- once losing the softness and poignancy of the role. Pat Shanahan looked more like 'a doctor than some doc- tors. He brought reality to his role and deserves honorable mention . for his efforts. Although everyone in the audience learned to -hate Lily ,C ciltAing),„ _w w statistician who longed to play Shanahan as much as' Mrs. " the violin; .Jeff (Dr. Michael Savage did, there were times Watts) who was a concert when it would have been a pianist turned pilot shot down relief if Mrs. Shanahan had in wartime and afraid to face been less dramatic. Her the world; and Mrs., Paddy eiaggerated expression in most (Ruth Leonard) who confessed • Of her speeches left something to hating everything in the to he desired and the same ef- world and painted continuously fect could yrdhably have been on a seascape which she never achieved with less stalking and. could complete. arm throwing. As well, Mrs. Savage's unfair Conversely, Glen Lodge as committal to The Cloisters was Lily Belle's brother Samuel soon recognized by Dr. Emmett •(Pat Shanahan) and his nurse " Miss Wilhelmina (Carol Gosse) who eventually helped the woman leave the -confinement of the place and put her un- caring family to flight. There's little doubt that Kathy Jenkins as Mrs. Savage . carried the play. It was Mrs. .Jenkins' natural ability as a comedian and an actress 'which kept the presentation moving in the rough, slow spots. Few in the audience suspected that Mrs. ,Jenkins was battling the flu during the first perfor- • mance! However, Ruth Leonard as the , angry Mrs. Paddy h nil Susan Dunlop as the flighty had a difficult time being hateful and the audience didn't quite believe his occasional burAts of deceit and bitterness. Generally though, the casting was perfect and the acting quite gond. Most effective of all was the final curtain when flashes of light lit up sections of the stage and focused on the five residents of The Cloisters as they might have been had men- tal illness not robbed them of their rightful heritage. Many in the audience dabbed at their eyes as file spotlight caught each in their pose and in the shadows, the freed Mrs. Savage blowing a kiss to these, her tortured friends.