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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-06-13, Page 1r -74 • • •F';''sti-.-_; • • . 4:c.• •.• ,•• t. • • 1 q.•ST SECTION. : • • • • • :•.• • CANDYSTRIPERS GET THEIR CAPS—Eleven members of the Candystripe corps at the Wingham and District Hospital were awarded caps for completing at least 50 hours of service. In the back row are • . ,45." , Darlene Darlow, Kim Switzer, Connie Kingsbury, Joanne Lang, Annita Damsma and Diane Raynard, while in front are Stephanie Dimelow, Karen Philips, Kim Stephenson, Leesa Stone and Dale McFarlan. Separated from .family at birt man returns to boyhood, home After almost 40 years and a strange twist of fate, Ar- thur "Lionel" Gallagher returned last Saturday to his boyhood home and to a family he never had met before. Born at Lucknow on Feb. 1, 1929, he was adopted by the Anglican minister, E. 0. LIONEL GALLAGHER will be remembered by many people around town as the son of the Anglican church minister who served here from 1938 to 1944. He returned to Wingham this week after 40 -years to renew - acquaintances with old friendS and also with his natural family, members of the Carter clan from the Lucknow . area, from whom he had been separated since his birth in February of 1929. G llagher, and his wife la. When he was still quite small the family moved to Owen Sound and then back to Wingham in 1938 where they took up residence in the Anglican church manse. The Gallaghers moved to Globe, Arizona, in 1944 and left the Wingham train station on a snowy day in November. By 1950, young Mr. Gallagher was married and living in Phoenix when he received a strange letter. It seems that Mr. Gallagher's blood father, a man by the name of Carter from Lucknow, had died and included his youngest son in his will. That was how he found out who his natural parents were and the names of his two brothers and three sisters. He started corresponding with his new-found "fam- ily", but not too much at the first, just the odd Christmas card or letter. Mr. Gallagher mcved to California in 1967. During his working career, he spent 21 years in military service, as well as being employed by Western Union, Sears Roe- buck and Company and in a copper mine. Throughout the years he kept corresponding with his natural family, but never got a chance to meet them. However a recent bout with poor health made him realize he's not getting any younger, he said, and the time to meet his family is now. So he arrived at Wingham Don't try to dive on rocks at dam The long-awaited filling of the upper pond combined with the warm summer weather will soon lure swimmers back to their favorite spot above the Howson Dam in Wingham. However the more adventurous among them are being warned that a time-honored test of daring, jumping from the south side of the bridge into the deep hole below the spillway, has come to an end. Construction to repair undermining of the spillway last fall has left the hole filled with large boulders, lurking just below the surface. Police Chief Robert Wittig said Monday that signs are being posted at the dam warning of the danger, but he was concerned that some might be tempted to try it anyway, particularly if the water were murky and the boulders not visible. Swimming will be permitted as usual upstream of the dam. The logs were replaced in the dam last week to fill the pond for the summer while the town continues to ponder the future of the structure. Recent engineering studies of the dam have turned up potentially serious structural problems which could prove very costly to repair. However council is still • awaiting a final report on the findings and recommelzdations. LIONEL GALLAGHER, far right, was one of the cad members of a Wingham Public School production in the early 1940s. Mr. Gallagher returned to Wingham this week after 40 years and met his natural family members for the first time. He was born Lionel Vincent Carter at Lucknow on Feb. 1, 1929, and was adopted by the Anglican church minister shortly afterward. The other cast members from "The Pied Piper" include Bud Wild, Bob Colborne, Claire Hopper, Jim Currie and Bill Johnston. (Photo courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Currie.) last Saturday and a sister (luckily he had seen her picture) picked him up at London. A family reunion was held Sunday at the home of Peter and Joanne Carter at Walkerton. Over 60 of his relatives gathered to see the man they had heard vague references to all these years. He has three sisters: Dorothy, Mrs. Mike Willie of Wingham; Mrs. Millicent Carter of RR 3, Teeswater ; and, Eileen, Mrs. Peter Carter of Wingham. A brother William lives in Pennsylvania and another brother, George of Wing - ham, is deceased. It all has been over- whelming, 4 301 --Mr. Gallagher, and there are so many questions yet to be answered and waiting to, be asked. He is not too clear on the circumstances of his birth, but from what he can gather it seems his parents divorced at around the time of his birth and their six children were sent out in different directions. He was born Lionel Vincent Carter. The other family members made contact eventually, but he had been adopted and so knew nothing of them. Almost as exciting as meeting his family is coming home to a place he knew,and loved as a boy. The Wingham he remem- bers sounds like it is right off the pages of an Alice Munro story, except he knew her as Alice Laidlaw, the shy daughter of a Lower Town fox farmer. Since he remembers through the eyes of a 15 -year- old boy, Mr. Gallagher said everything looks smaller than he remembers, like the ball park and the, bowling green for instance. Many of his boyhood friends have moved away or are deceased. But some still are here, like Alan MacKay, who recognized Mr. Galla- gher immediately Monday and Murray Stainton. Mr. Gallagher remembers tobogganing down the hill behind where the Zehrs plaza is today and sailing a raft up the Maitland River in the summer. He remembers Saturday afternoons at the theatre and blacksmith shop and livery stable on Diagonal Road. Two of the biggest changes are in the public and high schools, which are totally modern now and completely different from the rambling buildings he remembers as a boy. Two buildings that have resisted change, outwardly at least, are the town hall and the post office. They look the same, even though the post office is no longer used for that purpose and houses a day care centre and museum. Mr. Gallagher is leaving for his home in California June 26 arid has many ac- tivities lined up between then and now. He said he is "having a ball" getting to know his family and renewing acquaintances with old friends around town. Winghatn, Ontarioi 'Wednesday, June 13, 1984 Single Copy 50c Affialimmowsiamiumemamialeadaiimaivasefasemismx., a or authorized to name fifth member of commission Over the strenuous ob- jections of several of its members, Wingham Town Council has decided to let Mayor Williain Harris name the second council member who will serve with him on the new Wingham Police Commission. The commission, which is still in it formative stages, will be made up of 'five members: three appointed by Vie provincial solicitor general, the mayor and one other representative from council. The motion authorizing the mayor (who was not present at the meeting) to select a second member to serve on the commission for its initial term originated with Councillor Jack Kopas, who said he was trying to head off further conflict over per- sonalities as well as give council more time to devise a selection procedure. However, a clash de- veloped anyway as three council members, all mem- bers of the current police committee who had voted against forming a police commission, objected strongly, declaring it is council's responsibility as a whole to name its own representative. Councillor Tom Miller, chairman of the police committee, said he did not think the Police Act per, mitted delegating the authority to nominate members, but could not substantiate the claim since a 'copy ,Of the latest amendmentjo the Act was not ' Counciller William Crump also objected, saying the mayor had already sug- gested all but o'ne of the names onlhe list sent to the solicitor general .as nominations for the provin- cial appointments and it would be "a disastrous mis- take" to leave the picking of commission members in the hands of one person. This started an argument btitveen Mr. Crump and Councillor James A. Currie that was finally cut off by 'Acting -Mayor Bruce Machan, who had been selected by council to chair the meeting. Mr. Currie said he had read the Police Act and it has nothing to do with how town council administers its af- fairs. "If we choose to delegate authority we have the right to do that." He also noted that all council members had been given the opportunity to add names to the list of nominations during an in - camera discussion, so it was not fair to suggest the commission was being hand- picked by the mayor. Mr. Crump agreed he had no quarrel with any of the names on the list, but in- sisted council was elected to represent the people of Wingham and council as a whole should select •its representative. He also claimed council was already turning control of the police over the the provincial government, since the provincial appoin- tees form a majority on the police commission. This brought a rejoinder from Mr. Currie, who said it is not true the province will control the commission, since the appointees will all be local people, to which Mr. Crump responded, "Whatever body appoints the members IS controlling the commission. It's as Workers back on the job following pact ratification Workers are back on the job at the Premium -Lloyd door factory in Wingham this week, following the signing of a new three-year contract with the company. The contract, which was hammered out in a negotiating session last Wednesday, was approved by an overwhelming majority of the workers in a ratification vote on Friday. The vote of 106-10 finally ended a strike which had dragged on at the plant for more than 11 weeks. The new pack includes a number of changes from the company's previous offers which had been rejected, though it offers less than had originally been requested by the union. It provides for an across- the-board wage increase of 40 cents an hour im- mediately, instead of the increase being awarded in stages. In the second and third year it calls for in- creases of 30 cents an hour in January of each year and a further 15 cents an hour July 1, which is up five cents from the company's earlier offer for the second year. It also provides for some minor improvements to the benefit package. The union had been asking for 55 cents an hour in each year of a two-year contract. In return for improving its offer, the company insisted on a three-year pack, which will expire at the end of December, 1986. The first group of workers was back at the factory Monday morning and Elmer Schultz, chief union steward, said he expects all the workers will be back by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. New Scout House opening Saturday The new Wingham Scout House in Riverside Park, near the railroad bridge, will have its official opening this Saturday. Representatives of the various Scouting organizations will be joined by local dignitaries for the opening ceremonies, scheduled for 11 a.m. The public is 'invited to attend and an open house with displays of Scouting activities will follow the ceremony. The Scout House fulfills a long-time dream of the local Scouting organization. The building itself is the former Reavie Workshop building which was donated to the Scouts by the local Association for the Mentally Retarded when it built its new workshop. However the transportation and erection of the building on its new site was made possible only by the generous donations of labor, material and ser- vices • by many local individuals, businesses and organizations. Photo sessions set for Wingham dogs Dog owners in the Town of Wingham are being asked to bring their pets to the Wingham Armouries any Thursday af- ternoon during June, July or August as part of the town's new dog licensing and iden- tification program. At the Armouries the dogs will be photo- graphed and issued with a new lifetime licence. The photos will then be kept on file as a means of identifying the animals, The program is being run by the town police, and Chief Robert Wittig explained it should have several benefits. From the point of vie*. of the pet owner;it will eliminate the ongoing inconvenience and expense of yearly licensing, while for police it will simplify animal control by making it easier to identify the dogs. It will not be necessary anymore for police to Catch a dog found running at large, he noted. If 'the animal can be identified. the owner can be issued with an offence notice and required to' round up the dog himself. Under the new licenshig bylaw, the fines for animals running at large have been set at $25 for a first offence and $50 for each subsequent offence. If the dog is captured apd impounded, there is an additional pound fee. So far as he knows, the system of photo- graphing animals and issuing lifetime licences has never been tried anywhere else, Chief Wittig said, but he is expecting it to work well. The licence fee of $20 should cover administrative costs and hopefully control costs can be kept at a minimum. At the same time it represents a bit of a break for pet owners, who previously had to pay up to $10 a year for dog licences. There is no discount for old dogs, however; the fee is the same whether the pet is six months or 14 years old. The chief said he anticipates licensing a couple of hundred dogs during the next several months. It is hard to know exactly how many dogs are in town, since the numbers fluctuate and not all were ever licenced under the old bylaw. Photo and licensing sessions will be conducted at the Edward Street entrance to the Armouries from 4 to 6 p.m. each Thurs- day, beginning June 21 and running until the end of August. There is a fine of $50 for failure to licence a dog by Sept. 1, 1984; anyone obtaining a dog after that date has one monthtin which to get a licence. simple as that." Deputy Reeve Patricia Bailey also objected to the appointment proPosal, saying council, should vote Please turn to Page 5 • GRADUATED Mrs. Pauline (McLellan) Daugherty is proud to an- nounce the graduation of her husband, Richard Arthur Daugherty, on June 9, 1984. Richard, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Daugherty, graduated with honors from the Business Administra- tion: Marketing Manage- ment program at Niagara College at Welland. He is a graduate of F. E. Madill Sec- ondary School and has ac- cepted a position with the To- tonto-Dorninion Bank at St. Catharines. He plans' to' fut- ther his education by work- ing toward a Master's De- gree at Brock University in the fall. Attending gradua- tion ceremonies in Welland were Mr. and Mrs. Alvin McLellan of Listowel and Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Dau- gherty of Wingham. GRADUATED Janet Louise Wood, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Wood of Wingham, graduated with first-class honors in physiotherapy from the University of Western Ontario at its convocation held Friday, June 8. MEDICAL GRADUATE Dr. Jack Walker Galbraith of Windsor has graduated from the University of West- ern Ontario Medical School. He is a graduate of Ontario Veterinary College of Guelph, F. E. Madill Sec- ondary School and the Brus- sels Public School and is the son of Verne Galbraith of Wingham and the • late George Galbraith.