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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-01-25, Page 19SUkes .Inside: u I am despondent. Been that way for over a week and 'there is no indication that the pain will ease: You'll get over it in time I've been told by others as a comforting gesture. But their surface sympathies are useless.' It hurts and some affaires du coeur simply don't heal with time. They can leave emotional scars, painful memories and romantic dreams of what could have been. I fell into the relationship innocently enough, back on a winter morning four years ago. Perhaps I was too young, slightly naive and too trusting while setting out on my own. There was an immediate attraction and in retrospect it is easy to un- derstand why. The subtle curves in her body that blended gently with the overall streamlined effect. The ease in which she handled h�•� if +r 'IIFf rnit 'itufltions and yet a Lochalsh Page 3A Entertainment Page 4A, 5A Jack's Jottings Page 6A Huron Country Playhouse Page 7A Obituaries Page 8A Blyth Festival Page 9A Cancer Society Page 10A Farm news Page 11A Captain Comet Page 12A like a paradox she' had a cute way of mixing up words when she was excited or in a hurry. And it was(those sudden changes in temperament that made her even more endearing. The good times now seem too numerous to recall and perhaps, with the passing of time, they have become idealized and embellished in the memory. Sure we spent several nights together and admittedly there were some pleasurable moments but then again there were.times when we had it out. Name calling and ill chosen words hurledabout in the heat of an argument that were later forgotten. But oh, she could be ornery at times and took, delight in being stubborn when I was in a bad frame of mind. And it consistently appeared that when things got me down and I needed her the most she would be in a flighty mood and refuse to co-operate, o derich However with a little coaxing and gentle persuasion we generally got by, though sometimes just barely. Yet, we had faith in each other and despite our differences I suppose we believed that the relationship would somehow survive for years and rise above the difficulties. She never was one to complain much during those four years even though I would take to whining at times,remark about her appearance or ignore her for a day. It just wasn't her style. Our break was rather sudden which probably made it more difficult to comprehend but there were indications over the ,last couple of months that things would change. Naturally I grew complacent with what we had built up over -the years and being sensitive by nature it was un- bearable at first. The loss seemed shattering. There were a few tears and longing glances through misty eyes as we 4 parted but we knew the time had comae to go separate ways.Even . with the eventuality of the break looming that final goodbye sticks in the throat refusing to acknowledge the truth. -. I. still _see.her .13a.11V a.nd. again and it. conjures up memories of the good times we shared and what we could have achieved with a; little more time. Friends will say they know just how I feel but that's rubbish.It's different for every individual. I am now involved in a new relationship and she is better looking I might add. A little more on the delicate and sophisticated side and frankly I am not sure she can handle my moody periods. I am certain to survive this tragedy and it seems silly to think of how emotional I was. The name of my new love is Com- pugraphic MDT 350. But just between us that old Smith Corona manual was the best damn typewriter I ever had. GNAL STAR a' \ 1:AR—1 Bob Henry,a printer and 'photographer with the Goderich Signal -Star for many years, has donated his oldest photography equipment, to the „Huron County Pioneer Museum. Here, he displays s'me of the equipment he still has in his possession in - eluding one of the first cameras ever turned out by Kodak (in his right hand). Taking pictures is still a hobby with Mr. Henry although he has been retired for about 13 years. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan), rrIURsDny, JANLJAIFY Y. 1979 SECOND SECTION eet .Bo.bHenry -who asn't stop -o ed to quit BY JOANNE BUCHANAN , The shoe"°was on the other foot for Bob Henry of Goderich recently. After about 50 years of taking pictures for the Goderich Signal and the G.oderich Signal -Star, he was being interviewed and having his own picture taken. • Still an enthusiastic photographer at the age of 78, Mr. Henry says he "generally clicks them pretty good." He was introduced to photographyat an early age by his father Walter, who took pictures for a living in England.Walter Henry took all his pic- tures using the old glass negatives, reports Mr. Henry and one time he won first prize out of 700 entries in a photography. contest - in London, England. Mr. Henry himself was the subject of the winning entry being only six years --of age at the time. His father posed him as little Tom Thumb for the winning entry. Mr. Henry. feels that, like his father, , photography was just "built into" him. "When it's built into you, there's nothing you can do about it but take pictures," he says. Actually, Mr. Henry's career didn't begin as a photographer. He began working at the Signal as a printer, setting lead type. He remembers washing the used type with lye and water. After it was washed, it looked just like silver, he says. FROM ENGLAND TO CANADA To begin at the very beginning and explain how Mr. Henry ended up in Goderich and later working for the Signal and Signal -Star, it seems appropriate to start his story as a child. He was born in West Hartlepool, England and _came with his family to Canada 'about 1913 or 14 at the age of 13 or 14. He still vividly remembers that trip across the ocean. The water was a deep,clear blue and he could • see porpoises swimming along side the boat. Mr. Henry first lived with his family in Kin- cardine for a year and then moved with them to Goderich. He is still in the original fam_i-ly- home here. ."Goderich is my home and I love it here," he says. As a boy, he has fond memories of fishing off the north pier for giant pickerel (which you won't find there anymore) and 'skating on the river. Mr. Henry thinks it was about 1917 when he first started working at The Goderich Signal. "I just went and asked for -a job and I got one," he recalls. He is quick to add that he didn't start off as a' photographer but as a printer. W.H. Robertson, who had taken over The Goderich Signal in 1903, was Mr. Henry's first boss and editor. "He taught me a lot about writing," says Mr, Henry. At this point in time, The Goderich Signal office was located on North Street .'where the Clothes Closet is located now. There was another paper in town called the Goderich Star located on West Street where Blackstone's Furniture store is located now. EARNS SIX • DOLLARS WEEKLY When Mr. Henry first started working under Mr. Robertson, he was making a wage of six - dollars per week. One day Mr. Robertson asked him if he would try setting the ads for a week because the regular ad man was leaving. "If you catch onto it and like it, you can do it all the time and I``ll raise your wage to $14 per week,',' Mr. Robertson told him. After that he began setting ads and• got his raise which was like getting about $200 per week in these days, he says. "I really, stuck my chest odt then," he recalls. AMALGAMATION It wasn't until The Goderich Signal and the The Goderich Star amalgmated in 1938 to form The Goderich Signal -Star, that . Mr. Henry. really began to brush up on his photography, he says,although he had been doing some photography before. Mr. Henry would start work at 8 a.m., often attending committee meetings until 11 p.m. and then printing and developing his pictures until about 1 a.m, Everything was done by hand and the hours were long but Mr. Henry says he ','loved it". He remembers producing 20 pictures for the paper in one week which was really a feat since he had to do everything__fram laying out the pages to tray developing each in- dividual picture. He used his own camera equip- ment with the newspaper supplying the film and paper for printing. He mostly•tworked out of his own dark room at his home and averaged about six to ten pictures a week. Besides taking pictures for the newspaper, he also took wedding pic- tures for people too. There • were no color t M1 I may find a little difficulty getting this piece out of my machine here because I'm• sitting in a cloud.of srhoke. The machine is not on fire lint if you happened to stick your head in the door of the office right now you'd swear that either the old gray matter is burning from thought or my head is ablaze. Closer examination would show that neither could be further from the truth. Actually I've got five cigarettes lined up in my mouth. I'm not desperately trying to fight off a nicotine attack but rather am in training for Wednesday. Wednesday.__. is. the day I_ put allmy hours of training on the line. Wed- nesday is Weedless. Good old Weedless Wednesday. The day all us smokers give up puffing for 24 hours for a .bunch of reasons all good for society, our fellow nian and of course ourselves. Weedless Wednesday is part of a national campaign aimed at getting everyone in Canada to go Weedless forever. Heart and Lung Associations all over the country have picked up on the theme of going weedless and towns, townships and cities have been asked to GClare Wednesday officially weedless. oderich town council in their wisdom chose to leave ratepayers here to their own judgement and did not make Wednesday aro offically sanctioned affair. But weedless it is. In case you have been able to avoid radio,.. television, ne._wspapers and magazines for the past several weeks this -week is National Education Week on .smoking.. That does not. mean- a- wholesale effort will be made from sea to sea to teach people to smoke but. It means efforts will be made that are designed to influence young people not to start smoking and to assist smokers to quit. I appreciate the concern everyone seems to have for my filthy habit but u►til "tips" on how to quit smoking get I little more realistilc I'll have to 6 1 politely ignore them. Some of those tips are switching brands each time you buy a package of cigarettes, not carrying matches so you have to bother people for a light, never buying more than one package of cigarettes at a time, taking your butts our of your shirt pocket and putting them at the back of the highest shelf in your house or office and other little things that hopefully will make you so mad that you smoke _that in a fit of rage you'll give it up. Drivel thought up, by someone who has either never smoked in their life or feels that if you park your car five miles from home ar,d walk the rest of the way you'll give up driving forever, The only way to give up smoking is to give up smoking. If you haven't decided that yoia want to go weedless no inconvenience you cause yourself is going to make you quit. All the tips are going to do is get you in trouble. Switching brands is like giving up beer in favor of hard liquor to quit drinking. Not carrying matches is going to land you in court for assault after someone calls you a twit"for not carrying matches. Not buying more than one package ofcigarettes at a time is going to lead you to a life of crime after you break, into a store at two o'clock in the morning to 'grab a deck of butts. And hiding the smokes in the cupboard is going to get you in trouble with your family after you empty every cupboard in the house because you forgot where youhid them the smokes. ( Aside from the obvious problems II smokers are going to have observing Weedless Wednesday they are nothing compared to the problems non- smokers will have on Weedy Wed- nesday. That's a promotion smokers are considering. On Weedy Wednesday everyone in Canada is going to take up smoking for a day. I can do it if you can. I. pictures in those days and Mr. Henry can remember when he first began to tint his own pictures. 'Tufting came in before -color. FIRE PICTURE Mr. Henry says he has taken "thousands" of pictures but one which stands out in his mind is the one he caught of the old court house burning to the ground on February 26, 1954. Mr. Henry was taking pictures at the rink atthe time and rushed over to the court house when he heard the news. Within a few hours, it had burned to the ground. The heat was so intense that it was just like standing near a furnace. Water was being put on the rooves of all the other buildings on The Sqaure to protect them from sparks. Mr. Henry's pictures of this historic event, not only appeared in The Goderich Signal - Star but also in the morning and evening editions of the Toronto Star for which he was paid $12. Mr, Henry had to think fast to grab some of his pictures and he also did some risky things for the sake of getting "good shots". One time he walked out into freezing, knee-deep water to get , pictures of ice formations and ice leaving the river Turn to page 2A • 1 jeff Seddon