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Zurich Citizens News, 1961-07-20, Page 1ZURICH NEWS No. 29 — FIRST WITH THE LOCAL NEWS ZURICH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1961 $2.50 PER YEAR — 5 CENTS PER COPY WATER AND MORE WATER — The heavy rainfall which hit this district on Sunday afternoon caused considerable damage to many basements throughout the village. One of the hardest hit places in Zurich was the Evangelical Church, where about two feet of water covered the entire basement of the building. The top photo shows a group of interested by- standers watching as the Zurich public utilities truck tries to pump the water out of the church basement. Later the Zurich fire truck was used to successfully complete the job. The middle photo shows a group of children who apparently enjoyed the ready-made lake in front of the homes of Bill Smith and William Hay, north of the. Evangelical Church. It took several hours before workmen could arrange outlets for the water to run away. The lower photo shows the flooded condition of Cedarbrook Park, south-west of Zurich. The Park was ready for the holding of the Merrier Reun'on, when the rain came. Water coming down the river east of the park caused considerable damage to several bridges and the roadside before the storm subsided. (Citizens News Photo) ST. JOSEPH and DRYSDALE (AL. FRED DUCHARME. Corre*oondenta Heavy Rains On Sunday last this commun- ity has witnessed the heaviest downpour of rain in years. It was accompanied by a severe electrical storm pushed by high winds leaving flooded base- ments and flattened crops. At time of writing there is no esti- mated figure of damage caused by the storm. Perhaps the greatest damage would be to the bean crop. Fields were tin- der water with crippled plants caused by hail and wind. Farm- ers claim it will take another rain to wash the dirt from the bean plants, otherwise that to could be a set back for growth. They think that would rot the leaves. While waiting for their labour returns, there seems no cure for their ill luck as it will perhaps be confusing to the weather man to send another rain. The past week visitors with Mr. and Mrs. Sopha of this high- way were Mr. and Mrs. Vdele Sopha, of Detroit, a brother of Mr. Sopha; Mr. and Mrs. Leon- ard Sopha and family of De- troit Mr. and Mrs. Harold Diet - rick and family of Zurich, and Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Rose, of Indiana. - New Well Mr. W. D. Hopper and Sons, of Seaforth, have completed the rock well at St. Joseph's for the Burgess'. The family were in need of a water supply due to the carrying on of their gen- eral store and other business. Bridal Shower On Saturday evening last a bridal shower was given for Miss Betty Ann Ducharme, of Drysdale, in the Parish Hall. The shower was attended by over 50 ladies from this parish and also the parish of Zurich and surroundings. Betty Ann was the recipient of many val- uable gifts and was very much appreciated by her and thanked her donors for their sacrifice and fair thoughts. Betty Ann, the bride-to-be, is a popular young girl, perhaps that added greatly to the success of her shower. - Mr. Edward Corriveau is off work, also not feeling too good, and it was advisable for him to take it easy for .a few days due to a cold. Mr. Joseph Cantin of St. Jos- eph, was taken to Hospital on Sunday last after being strick- en with a heart attack. We wish them all a speedy recovery from their ailments. V1Ient torm Hits Area tunder„ 'Rain ei d Hail Brings Heavy Damage To Homes, Stores and Farms 'Thousands' of dollars damage was caused to this section of Western Ontario on Sunday afternoon, when the worst rain storm in history hit the area. One of the hardest hit sections in• the storm was the village of Zurich, where all but a few homes and business places had at least several inches of water in their basement. Two business places in Zurich, Doerr's Superior Stores, and Tasty -Nu Bakery, each suffered close to $2,000 in damages to merchandise in their basements. A violent thunderstorm accompanied the rain, and caused damage to many acres of grain and beans. The first rain and electrical storm came shortly after din- ner, and later jt cleared for a few minutes before the second blast came. At one time there was hail accompanying the storm. Several old-timers told the Citizens News it was the heavest rainfall in their history. For about two hours steady the rain came down like a cloud- burst, allowing no time for the water to disappear down the drains. Several streets in the village were impassable as the water rose to a height over car doors. In the rural area, entire fields were covered with water, ruin- ing the crops,and washing away the top soil. Church Flooded The Evangelical Church had about two feet of water in the basement of their building. First the Zur i h public utility truck was use4 in an attempt to pump the water out, but later it was t&suid necessary to uset he facilities of the bigger pump on the fire .truck. • Considerable damage w a s caused to the gyproc walls, 'chairs and other furniture which was 'in the church base- ment. Volunteers were soon on hand to help in any way they could to get rid of the water as quickly as possible, Heavy Damage Both Doerr's Superior Store and Tasty -Nu Bakery lost val- uable merchandise through wa- ter damage. In Doerr's store, there was a large amount of soap flakes, soap, canned goods, cookies, and other groceries soaked with the water. Mr. Doerr estimated damage at close to $2,000. Tasty -Nu had a large amount of raisins, dates, baking ingred- ients, and all their wrapping papers stored in the basement when the storm 'hit. According to Allan Gascho, one of the partners in the firm, their loss will run at least $2,000. An estimated three to four feet of water gushed- into their base- ment through a grade door and window. The Zurich • Variety Store, which has a fish pond in the back yard, found it necessary to pump about a foot of water out of - their entire yard to prevent it 'from running in the base- ment windows. Many `of the fish from the pond were found swimming around the yard. At one time, the entire area be- tween the coiner hardware building and the bank and the South Huron Board Gives "Final Approval To New Vocational School At a special meeting of the South Huron High School board on Monday night, the final ap- proval for the area to partici- pate in the new millon-dollar vocational school at Clinton was passed. Chairman of the board, H. L, Snider, and secretary E. G. Howey were given the auth- ority to sign the necessary agreements for the South Huron board. An advisory board will now be set up to adminster the con- struction and operation of the new institution, consisting of nine members. Of the nine -man board, five will be members of present school boards, and four will be non -trustees represent- ing employers and employees. Representing South Huron on the board will be A. Garnet Hicks, Usborne, as board mem- ber, and James Taylor, of Hen- sall, as non -trustee member. Each of the other two school areas, Seaforth. and Goderich, will also appoint two members to the advisory board, while .Clinton, the home school, will have three members. Officials are hopeful of get- ting under way with the new school as soon as possible, so that classes may begin in Sept- ember, 1962. The school will be located adjacent to the pres- ent high school building to Clinton. The cost of the new build- ing will be borne by the Ont- ario Government, with each sha- ring in the cost of tuition and transportation. The estimated enrolment will be approximat- ely600. Students wishing to at- tend the new school will be transported daily by the board in which area they reside. In explaining the details of the operation to the board mem- bers at the Monday night meet- ing, secretary llowey advised that there should be no increase in local taxes due to the new school coming into the area. At present the tax rate for South Huron is the lowest in Western Ontario, at seven mills. The new vocational idea in Huron County is believedto be one of the first such ventures in Ontario. According to the minister of education, the plans for the Huron unit are much further advanced than for any other such school that is being discussed. 0 Twilight Meet For Soil And Crop While some damage has been done to the experimental plots at the Huron County Home Farm by the Sunday rain and hail, it • is planned to carry on with the annual Huron County Soil and Crop improvement As- sociation twilight meeting as previously scheduled, on Tues- day,' July 25, commencing at Dr. Stan Young, of the Field Husbandry Department, OAC„ Guelph, will discuss the hay and pasture mixtures establish- ed at the farm in 1959 and 1960. Jack Murray, soils spec- ialist for this area, will discuss the rod row and the drill width tests using spring wheat in the mixtures. The ladies program will feature Miss Fewster of the Dairy Foods service bureau. She is planning an interesting pro• gram. for the ladies. At the jointmeeting on the lawn in front of the new Coun- ty Hotne a display will be put on by the Ontario Department of Transport, of interest to all farmers and farm wives. W. K. Riddell; the Agricultural Repre- sentative from Middlesex, will show his pictures and discuss his recent trip to England, Scotland and the Continent: variety store, was covered with water, making the area resem- ble a small lake. As soon as the sink holes were opened, the water disappeared quickly. Road Damage Hay Township Reeve V. L. Becker told the Citizens News that considerable damage was done to several bridges in the township, and as well some roads were washed out. Damage to farms was heavy, as grain was flattened and bean fields flooded. As one farmer explain- ed, the worst part of the whole thing as far as the farmers were concerned was the amount of choice top soil which was wash- ed away with the heavy down- pour. Homes Hit Practically every home in the village of Zurich had water in the basement. One of the worst spots was the residence of John Gascho, south of the Evangeli- cal Church, where close to four feet of water ran in the back cellar door, to completely flood the basement. Several feet of water lay in the garden, just east of the home. The sump pump in the Gascho home had to be shut off, for fear of water causing damage to the motor. The odd part of Sunday's storm was the fact that only certain areas were hit by th ex- tremely heavy rain. North, around Bayfield, people repor- ted only an ordinary rainfall, which only lasted for a short while. South of Grand Bend the damage acused by the water was very light, while to the east the storm caused only minor damage. St. Ja,;eph Parise Priest Passes Away 5u,genly FrOr Heart Attack The community was deeply saddened on Monday evening, with the sudden passing of Rev. Father I. J. Poisson, the parish priest" at St ' Peter's Church, St. Joseph. Father Pois::on suffered a heart attack in ti -e late afternoon, and died enroute to St. Joseph's Hospital, London. Tyr cf Fath^_r Poisson's par- ishioners, Anthony and Ray- mond. Denomme, were ; driying him to the hospital, and stopped at the office of Dr. Gulens, in Daswood, for medical aid. Fa- ther Poisson passed away before any help could be rendered. Father Poisson was a well - liked man throughout the entire Zurich area, and was always in a jovial mood. Just a couple of months ago he saw his ambition realized, when the new Ste. Marie School at St. Joseph was officially dedicated. He has been serving as secretary -treas- urer of the school board since the plans were drawn up for the new school. The priest worked hard to unite the two sections which comprise the new school area. Prior to coming to St. Peter's some years ago, Father Poisson. had served as parish priest at St. Charles Church, Stevenson; St. Therese Church, at Windsor, and St. Simon and Jude Chur- ch, Belle River. He was ordain- ed as a priest in 1924. Since 8:30 p.m., Wednesday evening, the body has been ly- ing in state at St. Peter's Chur- ch, St. Joseph, where a constant guard of honour will be kept until Friday morning at 11:00 a.m., DST, when Solemn High Mass will be conducted by Monsiegneur A. P. Mahoney. Deacon will be Mronsiegneur Wi- lliam Bordeau, a former priest at St. Peter's; Sub -Deacon will be Rev, Father Auguste Caron; and. Rev. Father Oscar Martin, another former priest at St. Peter's, will be the preacher. From St. Peter's Church, the body will be removed to Sts. Simon and Jude Chureh, Belle River, where interment will be conducted at 4:00 .m. ST, by Father Vincent Marin - tette. Surviving Father Poisson are six brothers, Fred, William, Colonel Paul, Edmund, Rene, and Dr. Adelard; and one sis- ter, Miss Sarah. His mother passed away only about a year ago, and was close to 100 years old. Father Poisson was 63. The 'deceased will be deeply missed by not onlymembers of his parish, but the entire com- munity, 0 Radio Station Is Refused in Huron. According to a report from Ottawa last week, the Board of Broadcast Governors last Thurs- day recommended for denial, two applications for a new 1,000 watt radio station at God- erich. Comment from the board was that the licensing of a Goderich sation would not—at this time '-assure the residents of Gode- rich of satisfactory local service and would endanger the stand- ard of service in Huron County generally." Huron County Publishers As- sociation had submitted a brief to the board suggesting that the ten weekly newspapers pre- sently in the county, plus the excellent services of CKNX and_ CFPL radio and television sta- tions were giving adequate cov- erage in the county. In addit- ion this brief pointed out that two daily papers in London and Stratford also served the area. Also submitting a brief, and appearing before the board in person were representatives of radio station CKNX at Wing -- ham. The two men seeking a lic- ence were groups headed by William R. Beatty, Toronto, and James Yarrow, Oakville. Music Results Of Local Pupils The following pupils of Miss Melia Gabel, ARCT, tried music examinations in London. Those trying Royal Conservatory exam- inations are grade four, piano, pass, Margaret Hostan, Mary Jane Hoffman; grade seven, pi- ano, honours, Ruthanne Salmon; grade five, piano, first class honors, Janet Miller, Sharon Gillings. Grade two, theory, first class honours, Ruthanne Salmon. Those trying Western Ontar- io Conseravtory exams: grade five piano, first class honours, Connie Dietrich; honors, Linda Rader.