The Huron Expositor, 1968-10-31, Page 34.
oa
through the year D. J. McCall-
um moved from Seaforth and
W. E. Kerslake filled out h i s
term as chairman and, quite
properly, the vacant plade of
commissioner was filled by. that
early enthusiast J. F. Daly. In
1913 Mr. Daly became chai r -
man of the commission and held
this office continuously until
1929. His son, Edmund Daly
served on the cormnission, as
mayor of Seaforth, 1961 a n d
1962.
Two other father and s Q
teams have served the Seaforth
Public Utility Commission since
its inception. E. L. Box was on
the commission for thirteen
years, twelve of them as chair-
man and nine of them as man-
ager too. The first secretary -
treasurer .of the Commission was
J. A. Wilson who served f o r
twenty -four years. Subsequent-
ly his son D. H. Wilson, acted
for thirteen years. The son of
E. L. Box, R. S. Box is the
present chairman of the cdtn-
mission and previously served
for four years as commissioner.
Over its fifty-seven year his-
tory the commission has had re-
markably few changes of per-
sonnel because of the many -
years which certain individuals
in Seaforth devoted to it and its
work. Among these was J. J.
Cluff who served on the com-
mission for a total of twenty-
two years as chairman, as com-
missioner and as ma yor of t h e
'town. Similarly Senator W. H.
Golding served twelve years in
all capacities. D'Orlean Sills .
has served sixteen years a s
chairman alid corhmissioner and .
is presently on the commission.
Others who have spent many
years in the work of the Public
Utility Commission in Seaforth
are A. Y. McLean - eleven
years as both chairman a n d
commissioner; Frank Kling -
twelve years as chairman,
commissioner and now as •
Mayor; and W. E. Kerslake -
nine years as•chairman and
commissioner. •
The commission has also
• beep fortunate in that there
have been few changes in its
management. First superinten-
dent Ed. Mole acted for four-
teen years and he was succeed-
ed by E. L. Box. 4. J. Calder,
W. V. Brown, W.. R. Thuel and
J. R. Mason Served briefly in
this4attiabitlyT:). B.1416111*Od
served for seven years and
R. J. Boussey was superintend-
ent and manager for eight years.,
•rhe present manager is Walter
Scott. •
UndeF,Oli slcillful, dedicated,
adminiitratipn the •13.'1,..1. C. of
Seaforth has maintained a rate
of steady growth. In 1911
there were 203'custor3ers and
the tota.1 load was approximate-
Walter Scott
P.11. C. Manager
ly 180 kilowatts. The cost to
the commission was 54. 63¢ per
kilowatt and net cost tolhe
consumer was 8. 6¢ per kilow-
att hour. In 1921 there were
423 consumers and the com-
mission Was buying its power
at the rate of 50¢ per kilowatt,
the net cost.to the consumer
had been reduced to 5.8¢ o
kilowatt hour. In 1931 there
were 605 consumers and the
cost from the Hydro Electric •
Power Commission had been
reduced to 46. 3¢ per hour; the -
domestic rate was 2. 5¢, 1.25¢
and the commercial rate per
hundred hours 2. 5¢, and . 750.
In 1941consumers had risen to
,679 and the cost.of power re-
duced to 40. 6¢ per kilowatt;
domestic rates were 2.9, 1.1
and commercial rates 2.2, 7.
In 1951 there were 754 sub-
scribers And hydro was now
costing the P. U. C. 39. 81¢ per
kilowatt; the domestic rate was
1.2, .83 and the comMercial '
, ,
rlars4arc'aelkmqje'llhPigiirEP3.
W
reached of 876 consumers and
the cost per kilowatt hour h a d
been reduced to 35.50; the
rates"Were for domesd.e,n s e
were 3.0, 1. 5, • 8, 1.2 a n
ases
commercial rates were 2. 3, .
.5. These represent one of the
lowest rates in aU Southwestern
Ontario.
All this was a far cry from
the first statement from t h e
Hydro Electric Power Comrniss-
iodof Ontario to the municipal-
ity of Seaforth, dated January
5, 1912, and covering power
used during the month o f
December, 1911. The total
charge was $382. 62.
Over the years the offices
have changed considerably
sirce the town decided to rent
Gillespie's store., 4t t h e
present time the'commission
operates out of an efficient
suite of offices which were in-
corporated into the re- modell-
ed town hall of Seaforth in 1958.
It has a total of six employees,
serving the community with a
capital investment of $368,272.
in plant including in 1967 a
fully automated aerial hoist
with which to handle„ line main-
-tenance.
In 1961 the P. U. C. celebrat-
ed its 50th anniversary and o n
November 30 a plaque at the
town hall was unveiled followed
by a reception and dinner a t
which the speaker was R. M.
Laurie who, at that time, was
manager of the western region •
for the Ontario Hydro Electric
Power .Commission.
Not only have the number of
consumers risen steadily hut the
uses to which electricAL--is now
put are manifold and serve
• geeatly to enhance the conifort.
rid wellbeing of the citiZenS.0
Streets are brilliantly litleverr,
when the moon is full A flat
rate for water ha1rs has been
in existence sin e.3.941. In 1962
the town got its first electrically -
heated home- that of Mr. John
Muir whq started heating h i s
newly - built house on Jarvis St,
in November 1962.
•
I"
,11,1RON EXP9SITOK, ZgArOltrtl, ONX,„ ocr,, 110
Those
Old Time
Prices
, It's always interesting to
compare prices of some by-gbine
era with those of to -day and the
comparison Usually ends in a
"Oh for the Good 01' Days" cry.,
See if you can match these
prices, farmers. '
"Mr. J. P. Brine informs
us that at Mr. John Dickson's
sale on Tuesday last, he sold
two cows which brought the
handsome sum of $94. One was
sold for $48. and the other for
$46,. Although the cows were
superior animals, yet this is a
very large price for this season."
-The Expositor, Feb. 16,1872.
• Oh• for the ,Good.
that is if you're buying.
Mrs. Amy Horne,
tokm. Dalrymple.
(left) P. U. C. Secretary and her assistant, Mrs.
BETITWASCOOKEDRECTRICALLY!
It's not just because nine out of ten Seaforth cooks cook electrically
that we are so glad to be identifiedwith your 100th Anniversary. Far
from it. When you stop to think about it, electricity
has had a hand in shaping just about everything Stip,
you can list under "progress". . . in industry, com-
merce and In. the home. That's why consumption of
electricity in Seaforth has -More than doubled in the
past. 1$ years alone. Power and progress• do go
hand in hand. ,
•
o
61
West Side of Main Street,- Early 1870 befOro Fire
This is how the west side of Main Street looked before the disast-
rous fire of 1876 struck Seaforth. The picture is taken from the
intersection of Main and Goderich Streets' looking south. The large
'three storey brick dwelling on the right one of the few brick
I ^ ,
- buildings in this town at that time - is the Mansion Hotel. Nem, -
all the buildings visible h the picture, including the hotel, were •-•
lost in the fire.
Buildings Disappear
en Fire Strikes
The Seaforth fire of 1876'
must have been one of t h e
worst ever in Ontario. Ir. burn7.,
ed out 40 houses and stores,
left over 30 families homeless
• and did over' $100, 000. damage.
The fire involved buildings
occupying 12 acres on the east
side of Main street from what
today is Shinen's store north
almost to George Street and on
the west side from Goderich
Street to Tohn Street. as well as
a block on Goderich Street be-
tween Main and Victoria Streets.
The Expositor of September 8,
1876 describes it this way:
"About 2 o'clock on Monday
morning last, ,thecitizens o f
Seaforth wer,e aroused from their
slumbers by the dreaded alarrh""
of fire, and in a few minutes
hundreds of people, men, women
and children in all manner . of
attire, were rushing to the scene
of the fire. When first discover-
ed, the fire was issuing from the
rear portion of a small frame
building in the centre of t h e
wooden block on the east side of
Main Street north of St. John
Street. This building was occu-
pied as a small grocery or candy
shop by a wornhn named Mrs.
Griffith. Before anything could
be done to stay the progress o f
the ames, the fire had attain-
ed g d headway, and had
sptead and enveloped build-
ings on e er side of the one in
which it had originated. In a
short space of time hundreds•of
people were on the street, and
the fire engine and hook and
ladder apparatus were brought
into requisition. The fire eng-
ine was stationed at the tank at
the corner of Math and Goderich
Streets and comtnenced playing
on the Wining buildings on the
east side of Main Street. These
buildings were, however, of
such inflammable material that
the water had but little effect
on the flames, and the fire
spread rapidly both north and
south. For a time it was hoped
that the large frame store of
Mt. William Campbell, to the
north of where the fire started,
and on the southeast corner of
Main and Goderich streets,
tould be taVed, Nit thit hoPe
could not be long cherished,for
a smart wind from thesouth- '
west sprung up. and while it
ternporarily checked the
progress of the flames southward,
it increased their fury and
drove them still more rapidly
towards, the northeast, and, in a
very short time Mr. Campbell's
store was enveloped. The fire-
men then directed their atten-
• tion to the hotel. of Messrs.
Stephens & McKinney, and the
stables of Mr. T. A. Sharpe in
the rear, and commenced pour-
ing water on themInthe hope
of stopping the north-easterly
progress of the flames, but all
in vain, a sharp current of
wind carried a spark from the ,
rear of Campbell's store into
the hay loft over Sharpe's livery
stable, igniting the hay. The
fire ran through the hay like
lightning, and almost in a'
moment the whole building was
enveloped. So speedily did the
fire,spread through these build-
ings and the rear of the hotel',
and so intense did the heat be-.
both ways, and was, now burning
in six Afferent directions at the
same time. At last the Mansion
Hotel building, the most costly
ana beautiful edifice in t
town, was on fire, and the en-
tire town seemed destined to
destruction. The residence of
Mr. Grassie on George Street
was also at this time discovered
to be in flames,, the firel,rom,
the burning, MOss 1;),4141,4
come between the burning rows pouring on to' ft in sueliater.r.elirts
on either side of Goderich btreet, that it was impossible to do
that it was with great difficulty
and danger that the hose of the
engine could be withdrawn. At
this juncture the whole of the
row of wooden buildings on the
more than save a portion of its
contents. Main and Goderich
streets; behind the burning rows,
were like heated furnaces. The
entire front rciw of buildings On
east side of Main Street and the west side of Main street,
Goderith'street,
and,. the W.hole.,block on the east
side of Goderich street, between,
Main and George streets, fro. rti
Megarey's new brick store t o
Goderich street, and therow of
buildings along Goderich street
east of Main street, were at this
time burning with the most
terrible fury. A mass of flames,
covering an area of nearLy five
acres is an appalling sight. The
efforts of all were now directed
towards preventing the fire ex-
tending northwards and crossing
Goderich street on die west side
• of Main Street to, the stores of
Mr. Lumsden and Mr. D. D.
Wilson, and east and north to
the residences of Mr., L. Murphy
and Mr. James Walsh, and '
southward, on the east side of '
Main Street, past the new brick
building of Mr. Megarey, and
on the west side cif Main sfreet
Across St, John street to the
stote of Grey, Young and Sport- •
eluding "Mr. GraSsie's wagon
shop and Stephen's hotel, were
a mass of flames, and just as
the firemen were conveying the
hose to play on the wooden
buildings on the west side of
Main Street, the water in the
tank gave out, and the,engine
had to be removed to the tank
on thecorner at the Presbyterian
,Church. Before the engine .
could be got into play at this
tank, the intense heat from the
east side of Main Street, aided
by a sort of circular current of
air, ignited the wooden build-
ings sin the west side. The shop
occupied by Mr: Coventry was
the first to catch on this side,
and the fire ran through the
building as if it had been tinder.
The engine was immediately
got into play on the buildings
between Mr. Coventry's shop
and the Mansion Hotel, but the
fire spread so rapidly and the
heat became so fearfully in- , Ing and The Expositor office,
tense, that the hose men were immediately in the rear. At
forced to withdraw. On this these several points a most
side also the fire spread almost dreadful struggle with the
•••
seemed almost certain that
those who were so bravely fight-
ing the elements, in the hope
of saving further destruction,.
would be baffled. The struggle
lasted for about three quarters'
of an hour, during which time
all the guardedAbuildings were
on fire several tithes, but the
fire was each time extinguished,
and by determined effort,. and
, • " •
the ?,(alis,a,ble,, aid; of-lw,et.;-b1an1c-
ets and a plentif,ul,supplr,Of
salt, the buildings were saved
and the fire was stayed. The
window casings in Megarey's
new building were all burned,
and the frame building on the
' south side of it was in a blaze
with the rapidity a lightning flames ensued, and at times it
several times; the verandah in
front of GI*, o' YoungASpar-
ling,'s store ha caught fire and
was torn' th}e
frame buildings in the rear"'
the large sparks Of fire for a
time fell in showers. On the
north side of the fire the danger
was even more imminent. The
wooden blinds on the inside o f
Mr. Lumsden's drug store w ere
blackened and charred with the
heat, while the front of Mr. Wil-
son's*store, to the north o f
Lumsden's, was badly singed.
Had the fire spread to either of
these buildings the entire north-
ern part of the town would have
burned, while if it had crossed -
John Soeet on the south. t h e
part of town between the burn-
ed district and the station would
,most assuredly been cleaned out;
in fact, if it had not been f o r
_the Stick building erected this
summer by Mr. Megarey, t h e
whole town, between the Huron
Road and the railway track,
would today be in ruins. It was
this building, together with the
almost superhuman efforts of the
citizens, which saved this part
of town".
BEST WISHES
to
THE HURON EXPOSITOR
4,4
and
The Town of
SEAFORTH
cammmo
loF CANADA LIMITED
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