CENTENNIAL EDITION ®tt St. mhntittts· · · ~ittlts·l~ntnnl

INC 0 R P 0 RAT I N G THE ST. T H 0 MAS D A I L Y T I ME S A .N D THE ST. T H 0 MAS J 0 U RNA L .

CENTENNIAL EDITION

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FIRST ISSHE JULY 2, 1918 ST. THOMAS. ONTARIO, FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1952 SECTION G - 1 to 12

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St. Thomas: A Village 100 Years Ago; Today a Progressive City

Air view taken from the west, when the P.lace started as a small settlement. By Ron Nelson

THE·Y'RE HAVING OLD HOME WEEK (and.l_. Wish That I Was There)

Written 'by the late Peter McArthur, Farmer, Author and Journalist, on-August 6, 1913. o. "' ~ I

Here is news to clutch the heartstrings, that makes me feel forlorn, l'hey are having an old home week in the place where I was born; lfhey have called their wandering. children from the reaci-ies of the

earth, · . .. . . f.['o taste the cheering welcome of the .·place that gave· th~m :birth; For the prodigal and prudent, they have killed the fatted calf; ~hey have spread a banquet for them, and they don't do things

by half ••• The boy's 'I fought and played with are there, all sober grown, And the girls I used to flirt with. now with .daughters of their own.

, Along the streets \fhere barefoot, we romped in 1 childisq play. With dignified -decorum, they move about today .• '6 • · - · •

Old times they're talking over, aqd the joys we used tq share­lfhey are having an old home week, and I wish that I was· there.

itt my desk in a far ·dty I sit ·a~a try to smile, . ,.

With visions of that happy sc~n~, my fancy I beguile ••• I see the bands parading with their "oompah! oompah !" noise, While leading a procession of _shining' girls and boys. I seem to see the preachers hand-shaking with the folks, While everyone is laughing at their good, old-fashioned jokes. I see the home-returning, each in an honored place, And try to see through making:years, each w.ell-:rememoere'd· face. They went away in homespun, ·but now, behold them, please! Solomon in his glory was not clad like one _of these; . ' .

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But, oh, it's ill in fancy, a scene like this to share-J'hey are having an old home week- and I wjsh that I. was there1

Though homing ones are happy, many a mother's heart will yea~n . For sons of golden pr-omise who will never more return; .

Some sleep beneath. horizons where the sun at evening dips, And some have dropped the'ir anchors in the port of missing ships;~ But though to their beloved, their welcome words they'll say­What know they of the ·home love, who never went away?, My song is .for the . ~bsent in whatever land, they fare-

. . ~hey. are h~yjgg .ol_d ·home week, and J; :wish that :we Yl!t~_e. tber~

;The ties nave ~11 -oeen oro}Cen so long- . so long ago- -;That 'there are none to cherish, and happily, none to know, And here·! sit and wonder,'for no word of we~come came, Will . anyone remember? Will someone speak my name.~ For though they've all forgotten, I never can forget ;the friends my memory treasures, that I shall visit yet. Some day I'll drop .my burdens; some Clay my bonds I'll orea~ .. And the dust of the mad city from my weary feet I'll shake, With a hearty country handclasp, I'll rally my old friends, And. for my.years of silence; make a happy week's amends.~. t, I know-my words are foolish, ! ·know I should not care, But they're having .an .old home w_e~~--h9w: I :wislt I :was tnere.!i

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-LOOKlNG BACK NEARLY 100 YEARS

WhenSt. ThomasHad.1050 Inhabitants, But Considered to· Have Vecy Bright Future In 1855 fiu.itory: East: and West Qf 1;'Jleir Village Was Spal;'sely Settled and A:v.Jmer Was at That Time Much

L.arger Than St. Thornas.

HE WAS FIRS'T· lVIA Y O;R OF CITY

Ther.e is the q"d'li -eopy here arul 'there -of Harper's Ga'ZE!tteer, an author_ati"ve. leatherboU!lld bQok four or five m_ches thi~k which was publiShed in the United' States with a : .Pl'f!facing note dated Januar:y, ·. 18&,5, and which proclaims the gazett-eer .as being "as reliable and perfect as such a work could reasonably lbe at a ·moderate cost."

One- of these, .which has been the · property of The Times­Journal so long that the leather binding -flakes off even with the most gentle handling, contains en­ilightening notes on St. Thomas and other villag-es of the day !here in Elgin C-ounty. St. 'IIhomas-·­in 18S5--or when the editor com­pile,d, hls tacts on the community: was Less than a third the size of Aylmer with its populatiop :then in the -nighbor~ood of :S.ooo._ Little st .. Thomas the-n !boasted , a pOpulation - of O'nlY l;Q50.

HAD 5 CHURCHES The· -editor of Harper's Gazet­

teer !les~ribes St. Th~mas o! a century .ago as foll~ws:

~aint Thomas, post village; Elgin County; Canada ·west, 149 miles southwest of Toronto. It contains 5 churches-1 Baptist, 1 Episcopal, 1 Free, an(f 2 Method­dst-18 stQres, a woolen :factory, a brewery, 2 founddes. a tan­nery l!cM 1,000 inbabitants." .

It ~n't that the dilrtanee be· tween Tor~nto and St." -Thomas !has sh·runk in the past .hundred years f!rom 149 miles, but just that numerous shorter routes can Mw be taken

An -excetlent six-color map in lHarper's · Ga;1:etteer ~f l855 takes in all of ~he United Stat~ as !far west ~s the Mississippi valley -and north far enough to show ttll o! that portion of Upper Canada lbelow the line - of the French River. -This map -shows the route _ ;j)y which it meant a 149-mlle journey for -a'liyone com~ng here from Toronto. ·

Heading "west' fro-m Toronto, the 1-855 trave)el' cpniing by road first passed through-C~it, then Oakville, Ilurlhigton, Dundas, Ancaster ;lnd on to Brantford where the road turned south through Wa_terlor(l, S imcoe, Vit . ·toria and came out on Lake Erie at Charlottevllle, just east of the JPre.se:n_t Port .Row;m. The route then followed the Lake R~ad west through ~rt Burwell to Port Stanley, and to get from there to St. Thomas and L<>ndon meant veering north from th.ere on a road showing as a mere hairline -On the 'map. This was the military plank road·

· 'built from London to Part Stanley

Dr. w. C. Van ·auskirk was St. -Thomas' mayor whi:n St. Thomas ' was incorporated as a clty In

• .1881. Ho was one of the city's best known medical practitioners and is sai~- to have brought more

·babies Into the ·world - than any other St. Thomas doctor. Before hTs retirement he was the city's 'medical -officer of · heafth.

about HMO and wlikh 1ater ~became the London and Port Stanley - Gravel Road, -. · nnw

'Queen's Highway No. -4. Even as late -as the half-way

ma·rk 1n the 180b's, the area west of St. - Thomas to the Detroit River border must .have been sp,axsely settled; e_ither that, m­American map publishers were doing then as some of them still d-o, publish maps of the United Sta~s sh-owjng _ the a-dia-cent !Parts of Canada with only .a city here ,ar.d there .and nothin-g but wide open spaces in between.

At any rate, Harper'Jl map of 185-5 -shows no ~ther places .be­twee-n the route the old stage road followed from P-ort Talbot west to Amh.erstburg, from which po-int the road jollowed the Detroit river north 1o Sandwich.

Other southern Ontar.lo place 'names appearing on the . map are St. Clair, Southe-rlan-d and Fort Edward, all on the Canadian side of the St. Clair River, Kates­v_llle about where Waitford is located, G-oderich and Albert up the east shore of Lake Huron, Collingwood and Penetanguisbene as the only places on Georgian

:Bay, C!llld Galt as the only place

nofth e ·f Brantford on the Grand (or OUIOe) River.

Somebody many years ago !had penciled an interesting mar· ginal note on the page ef the Ga,retteer on which st. Thomas was listed. It \I'eads: "Mich. 1874, G .T.R. 1874, L & P. S. 1&57, C.P.R.

- later," and then goes off on a tangent up over the top ef' the page with mention of a fife and d:t;Um.band whose members were, apparently, Heru:y Lindop, George Wegg and Jos. Matthews.

The route of the .one railroad shown ()n the Gazetteer's 1855

· .m.ap as being in existence in · Upper Canada was from Sand­

,wich to Cha.tham, London, Woo'd­stock, Dundas and then _along the

- south shore of · Lake Ontario through Saltfleet and Port Dal­hqusie to Que.enston and Niagara _Falls: A branch line cut south- _ east tram a point north o! Brant­ford and came down along the valley ef the Grand River to a J)oint near Lake Erie where it swung east and -ha-d its terminal at a _place called Waterlo-o. That must have been the old name for .Fort Erie.

St. Thomas Reeves l

and Mayors VILLAGE OF ST •. THOLII!AS

1852-55 David Parish 1856-Edward Ermatinger 1857-Asa .Howard 185&-Thomas -Arkell 1859-Archibald Mcintyre 1860-Geor.ge; Sou.thwick

TOWN -OF ST. THOMAS 1861-M. T. Moore. _1863-64-George :southwick 1865-71-Thomas Arli:ell 1872-Atchibal-d · McLachlir' -

-1873-'16-Daniel Drake 1ll77-78-Dr. D. M·cLarty 1897-BO-Jo!1n E. Smith

CI'T'Y OF "ST. THOMAS 1881-82-W. C. Van Bu.skirk 1883-Dr. E. W.- -Gustin _1884-85-Edwaro ·Horton 1886-John .E. Sm4fu ;1887.-88-John Midgley 18'89-"90-Israel Morae

: 1891•92-Robert McCUlly 1893-94-George L. ~ill 1895-'96-W. E. ldsarcli l.B97-98-Fre.d E. Wright 1BaS-1BOO-Patrjck ·Meehan l9Ql-02-Bperrin Chant l9Q3-D4--C. F. Ma~w_ell

-19_05-Thomas Meek .19.06-0.7-Calvln Lawr~ce 190'8-0.9-George Geddes 1910-11-Dr. F.l'ed . Gu.-est 1912-13-R. N. Price 1914-15-M. B. Johnson 19Hl-17-William Trott 191'8-1.9-E. A. Horton 1920-2l;F. L. Brink:tllan 1922-23-Charles E. Raven 1924-25-George:H. Sloggett 1926-27-John Handfor d 1928-29-William Stokes 1930-33-John -A.- Jagoe 1934-35-A. w. J ohmon 1936-3S.:Ernest -Duckworth 1939-40-P£-ter Laing, Jr. 1941-43-G<!orge T. Dyer 1944-45-Thomas H. Currah 1946-Ri-chard T. Sanders

-1947-49-J. Bruce Caldwell 1950-John 'F. Peterson 1951-nr. E. C. Glidden 1952-'l'bornas H. Currab.

THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAfJ

IN THE DAYS OF' THE OXEN - It's difficult to get the exact date of t his picture, but judging from the oxen-drawn . wago)1, tl)e cow grazing on Talbot street and the pig rooting around, it must .have been when St. 'Thomas was a very smal l village. The bu ildings on the left are on the brow of the i hill, ju'St above where the r·oa.d leading to Lynhurst is now situated, I

THIS IS A BIT -MORE MODERN - A winter scene of Talbot street In the early seventies, with . the business houses located In what Is now the extreme west end.

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St~ ThoritasNamedin 1817 Willi_am Drake antf Jeroriimus

Rapelje are the pioneers who gave St. Thomas its name.

The naming of the community took place in 1817 when the first frame building was built by Horace Foster. ·

The men at thatt his_toric rais­ing decided .that the community should have a name and they asked the -two oldest inhabi-tants io make the selection. They named the community St. Thomas for Colonel Thomas Talbot, pre­fixing 'the Thomas with a "Sp.!nt" as ' a joke, or to give the na.ftte more dignity~ Certainly Colonel Talbot was n-ot a saint.

The evidence of how Sl Thomas received its name was recorded in a statement made by Jerenimus Rapelje, brother of Daniel Rapelje, St. Thomas' first settler,

The Rapeljes were of French Huguenot descent, their ancestors fleeing :from Rochelle, Frarnee, to escape per_secution, in 1623. Jaris Janson de Rapelje, the first in the New · World, purchased a large tract ot larnd from the Indians where t4e city ot Brook· lyn, N. Y., n•ow s tands.

Dan-iel Rapelje, his wife, three children, and brother Jeronimus, migrutK to Canada in 1802, set•

Celebrating .. "' "•. - .. . '\

Elgin Centennial

and St. Thomas

Old Home Week

August

3rd to 1Oth

tied in Wood·~10use, Norfolk County, ~en came to the mouth of Kettle Creek in 1810, to settle in what is now St. Thomas. By <flha,t time the -family had in­crea.sed to seven children. Jer­onimus Rapelje, the man who named St. Thomas, like Colonel Talbot, never married,

S~ART MAN "William, I us~ to have a lux­

uriant beard like yours, but when I look ed at mysell in the mirror, I decided to shave it off."

Quick as a flash William re· tarter, "Sir, I once had a face like yours, but when I looked at myself in-. the mirror, I decided to grow a beard ...

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FRIDAY, AUGUST l,-1952

Highlights of City History Captain Dandel Rapelje, of

French Hugueno-t descent, and David Mandeville were the first settlers in what· is now the city of St. Thomas, coming from Lon-g Point before 1809. Captain Rap­elje built his log· home on the Yarmouth side of' :B:ettle Creek; David Mandeville on fue South­wold side.

Captain R. D. Drake, who also came from Long Peint, brought the first wagon ro St. Thomas. A yoke of oxen pulled it through the virgin woods from Long Point, a distance of at least 60 miles. James Hamilton, who :for many years was sh~ff o:f Mid­dlesex, WlaS the first retail mer· chant in St. Thomas. He brought a few goods by sailin-g Ship to Port Stanley and thence through the woods to St.' Thomas. Later John Warren joined him in part­nership.

In 1824 Stephen Randall opened the first grammar school in St. Thomas.

The first banking institution was established ili 1835 by J . K. Woodward who opened the Agri­cultural Bank. It was in the na­ture of a :fa-rmers' joint stock bank.

The first newspapet" in S t. Thomas was published in 1831 by George and Thomas Hodgkinson, brpthers. They named it the St. Thomas Journal. They were as­sisted in their print shop at times by their brother, .Herbert Hodfi· kinson of Aylmer.

St. Thomas was named for Col­onel Thomas Talbot, founder of the settlement about 1815, Pre­viously to that the village, at the foot of the west hill, was known as S tirling for a time. Accord· ing to old recDTds, two aged · resi· dents o:f the pion<eer community named the village St. Thomas while at a building raising along what is new Talbot st reet. They first decided on Thomas, for the Colonel, then prefixed the name with a "Saint" oo give it tone. .

Although St. Thomas was a busy little trading ce'llltre from about 1825 on, it was not incor ­porated as a village until 1852, when its population was bebween 1,200 and 1,300. Nine years later, in 1861, St. Thomas became an incorporated town, with M. T. Moore as ·the first mayor. Twenty years later, · in 1881, S t. Thomas took on city status, with Dr. W. E. Van . Buskirk, a ~rominent physi-cian and surgeon of <bhat time, the first city mayor.

The :fi.mf: medical school in Upper Canada, called the Tal· bot Dispensatory, was started in -St. Thomas in 1824 by Dr. John Rolph and Dr. Charles Duncombe. It was to be a s chool for me-dical instruction, combined with a hos­pital where :tree medical !tdvice

was to be given weekly. The §.chool soon fai1ed and its si~ is now mark-ed by a fieldstone cairn on the proper ty at' S tanley and Walnut streets. Subsequently, Dr. Rolph f o u n d e d the Rolph School of Medicine, affili­ated with Victoria University., later to be merged wifu Toronto University and to become the foundation of the Toronto Uni­versity School of Medicine: Dr. Duncombe years later was very actively involved in th·e WiLJ;iam Lyon MacKenzie rE)bellion.

The first place of worship in the entire district was the· old ·st. Thomas Anglican Church o:ff Wal- -nut street, on land deeded .by Captain Daniel .Rapelje, the first settler. The church was com-

. pleted and open-Eid in 1824. Serv• ices are still held in iihiis pioneer -place of worship and it. :is open _to . -the public daily. · -

S t. Thomas became ·a boom town durin·g the late 60;s and the ' early 70's of the la~t century, when rival raiLway companies staged a race in building Iiries through the town. The Great ' -Western Compan y, now the , C.N.R.-Wabash Buffalo Division, built what was known as the Loop Line from Glencoe' through to Niagara, w'hile the - Canaaa Southern Railway, now : the ·_ Michigan Central Railroad <New York Central System) carried a line across Ontario from the .be- -trait to the Niagara. Both -lines' were in servi~ by 1872, witq. _ regular daily services in 1873. · ,,

The railway boom gave ·st.' Thomas the name of the RailwaY- :. City. In the years that .have,­elapsed it has also been called. the Flower City, due tq ea11lJy: civic beautifie&~tion by the St. Thomas Horticultural SocietY, , unde.r the late Dr. Ji'. E. Benn~tt._ 1

and for a time it was called! 1 -

Calamity City, as the result' of two world-$hocking tragedies. ·! · ·

First on the evenmg, of Sept. ' 15, 1885, the \famed Barnum -circuS · elephant, Jumbo, was killed m the old Grand Trunk yards off the circus grounds in a colldSioll! with a west-bound freight loc~ · motive. Less than two years lat ­er, on ~he evening of J'uly 15, 1887, 13 people were killed· Mid scores were injured, in a terrible­holocaust on Talbot street, when a Port S tanley excursion f:min, -loaded with picnickers, crashed -

. into two oil: tank cars in a Michi­gan Central freight train off Cen­tre street. Thirteen we-re killed! or terribly burned when the oil caN caught :til'le and explod~

OUTSIDE HELP ··what did you bid no-ir~ ;

'(m!f I had ·three aces and fbur ~ kings... I

"Wen, H you 1<eally want 1'o know--one jaC'k, two queemr1 I and four drin"ki.'"

. Andersnns,_ .the Department Store ol Western Ontario _c'~ • ., .

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-~~r · 56. Ye.c1,~s Offering Only the Fi11est In MerChandise, . . .... "' . . .

t-h:e·, Utmostr In :-Service ••• th.e· Best· ·v.alu.es Obtainable \

.When ·_ You -:Visit St. ThOmas Visit Andersons-! ,. ... ;r

WE -WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE -YOU A~rrB~n T ourlsts in· DirQ-e:t lmp,orters of

Canada 48 Hours Al lowed $200.00. in .Merchandise "per person'' Duty Free

Irish Linens, English Bone China English and Scotch Woollens

.-Free-Parking Rear of Store .,.. Convenient Rest Rooms •

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1952

PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

St. _Tho.m,as Was in the ·Gas, W,afer, Railway Business for

Over Half Hundred Years .

Water Department Alone Remains; Three Utilities Were Established After Canada Southern and Great Western

Railways Were Built Through St. Thoma·s St. T.homas has one of the most

modern :filtered water systems in Canada, with storage capacity in N-orth Yarmouth to supply an in­dustrialized city of many . more thousands population than St. Thomas has at present.

The city's modern system of storage, purificaiton and distri­bution, is a far cry from 78 years ago, when the city's first system was installed after months of de­liberations by town councillors, public meetings and a bylaw vote on the matter. The agita­tion for a waterworks system that would provide more ade­quate fire fig'hting service for the growin.g town began about the time that the Canada South­ern and Great Western ·or ~ Line Railways began construc­tion work.

The first water department ac­tually did not get into operation until 1-874, when the Holly or Waterous system, made in Brant· ford, (!)nt., was installed at a cost of approximately $25,000.

That first system consisted of a powerfUl engine and pump in- . stalled in 1l pumping plant built along the bank of Kettle Creek, below New street, in the west end of St. Thomas; and water mains laid under the streets to supply various hydrants.

It was the forerunner of the present pumping system, but the water 78 years .ago was not fil­tered or treated and was not for domestic use. Citizens still had to depend on their private wells, some of which were not supply­ing the pnrest water by any means. The first system was only designed and used for man­ufacturing purposes and for fire fighting-the Canada Southern shops were supplied.

It is Pather interestin.g to note that the first steam . pump in­stalled in that first little plant was capable of supplying water, directly from Kettle Creek, at the rate of 1,500 gallons per .minute.

With its modern electrical and diesel-powered auxiliap- pumps,

the present plant will deliver only about 2,200 gallons of wate·r per minute. The electrical pumps alone are geared to supplying water a:t the rate of about 1',800 gallons a min)lte. ,

The big ·steam engine . that served for so many years in the present plant and· was removed several monti,ls ago, in its prime was capable of pumping at the rate of 5,000;000 gallons .every 24 hours. The daily pumpage for St. Thomas averages around 2,200,!JOO gallons.

IMPORTANT MOVES

The establishment of a water system in 1'874 was one of sev­eral important moves ma.de by the municipal councils after the opening of the railways, which introduced a new era of indus­trial life. Need for public trans­portation in t'he growing toWl'l 1M to the establishment of a com­pany . to lay tracks and operate a street railway. The first line, largely on Talbot street, had old-fashioned horse-drawn cars. Years later came electrifi~ation; and then during the close of the first quarter of the present cen­tury, the utility was discontinued and the cars sold and other equipment scrapped or sold for salvage.

The first operations of the old St Thomas Street Railway were early in July, 1879. It was an ,incorporated company with Colin Munro, the first president, and W. F. Ellis, the first secretary.

The railway encountered diffi­culties as a private enterprise for years. Finally, at the close of the 19th Century, when St. Thomas people went wild over the Relief of Ladysmith in the South African War, marchers tramped the street car tracks so hard with snow, which became wet and froze, that the street cars were out of operation for weeks. That patriotic gesture led directly to the street rail way system becoming a .public utility and St. Thomas municipal cotin­cils inheriting its' economic head­aches. Incidentally, it was dur­ing that Boer War celebration that the city hall clock bell was

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cracked from heavy pounding, Former mayor and alderman Pat­rick Meehan hired an enthusiast to :wield the sledge hammer, all day long. _ .

A third important move that :followed the railway boom was the building of the St.· Thomas gas works, also by private capi­tal, to supply St. Thomas citizens and industries with natural gas and also coke. A water gas sys­tem was started in 1874 with the late Jo,hn Farley, St. Thomas lawyer, president of the com­pap.y, and M . . A. ·Gilbert, St. Thomas banker, the secretary­tr·easurer. ,

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ANOTHER HEADACHE

Like the street railway, the old gas works, loc<1ted between MondaJ.t~in and St. Catharine streets, n"iorth of Curtis street, where what is known as the Cen­tral - Park area .is situated, ran into financial problems and ·even· tually was taken over by the city and operated as the light, heat' and power department un­til it was finally sold, by vote of the ratepayers, to the Dominion Natural Gas Company, Limited, in 1936, and was scrapped.

'I:he elecfric lighting plant, operated by the same company at the old gas plant, was taken ov;er by th~ city .at the iime Hydro arrived in 1911.

Many suggestions were offered during the last 75 years· for strengthening the utilities finan­cially and also for ensuring un­limited water supplies. Bringing Lake Erie w,a.ter to St. Thomas through a canal was suggested more' than -once, · with engineers

· reporting that . the canal would be ·more than 100 feet deep when it reache'd St. Thomas. Another proposal was ·to ·pipe spring water to St. Thomas !rom Lake Whittaker in North Dorchester Township, near Harrietsville, a distance of 17 or 18 miles.

Then there was a prominent man who was going to solve the street railway operating dMi.cit problem by encouraging people to buy from one to five dollars worth of tickets. He never did explain what the road was ,going to do for revenue while those tickets were being used up.

Before the advent of the auto­mobile, the street railway made money in its service to Pinafore Park, where summer attractions were much more. numerous than today, even the first golf course· beiflg located there. A very good brand of summer stock and vaudeville was furnished in a theatre, the stage of which was part of the old crystal palace, rn,oved frc,.. ~ ,the former fair groUflds, with the seats · in an · open air enclosure near the present bathing house. Many older residents will als.o recall the musical rides that the street

THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAJ; · G-3

railway sponsored, with the old 25th Regiment Band playing popular selections on a section of a front car, and citizens buy­ing the other seats in a double­header and enjoying the loop­line to ·music.

Three Votes On City Hall

When a Train Ran Along St. Thomas1 Main Street ·

Incidentally, there has a.Iways been speculation as to how Pinafore Lake got its name. Some say after Gilbert and Sul­livan's famous opera, "H.M.S. Pinlj.fore"; others that its shape like· that of a lad~{'s pinafore apron was responsible. ·when

. the' Yarwood farm was first taken over by the street rail-

. way company, it was known as "Pinafore Lake Parks." Later, when purchased by_ the city, it was called simply, "Pinafore Park."

MOVED IN 1890

· The waterworks plant con­tinued to ·operate in the ' Kettle Creek flats at the foot of New stre'et,- when the .· city . acqui!'ed land in North Yarmouth and the move to the present location off Balaclava street and the 9th Con­cession Road was made . .

The St. Thomas fire depart-, ment was very closely connected with the waterworks plant in tbe early years of the service; in fact the cry for better fire protection, which both newspapers, the Can­adian Home Journal and the St. 'Thomas Time·s, took up with ve- · hemence, wa~ pJ;imarily respon­sible for a system being installed. The Canadian Home Journal edi­torially fought for the Waterous

·system for months, warning against the old system of street cisterns for water supply sources and against buying an expensive steam engine before adequate water- supplies were ensured.

William F . Martin was the chief of the St. Thomas Fire De­partment when the Waterous or Holly system was completed and placed in .service. J. H. Thomp­son was the Chief's first assis­tant; D. Fergtison was second as­sistant.

St. Thomas had three fire­fighting units 80 years ago, with considerable rivalry among them. Fred Doggett was the captain of the Waterworks Hose Company; J. ·Shrimpton was captain ot"tbe Torrent Engine and Hose Com­pany; and J . H. Adkins was cap­tain of the Hook and Ladder Company.

The town's directory for 1879 gives thl! name of ;Tames AUan .,s the waterworks engineer. It could not have been long after­ward that the late Thomas Allan took over and continued with the plant when it was moved to the present location. He was suc­ceeded· by his son William A. Allan, who retired about two years ago and is now a member oi the St. Thomas Public Utili· ties Commission.

It took three votes of St. Thomas ratepayers to place the city hall on its present site. Those were the days when so many felt tha't "East' is East and West· is West and n'er the twain shall meet." The people, voting by wards, elected · six aldermen , from the wards west of the Lon· don and . Po)."t .stanley tra~ks, and the same number from the eastern wards. with the mayor sitting· in "the devil's sear'. and when the-site whexe the ,store of Andersons Limited •· now staJ1dS w.as prop.osed the East , decided it' was too fM, .West, . the West that it, was too far East, so down it went to defeat. - ·

The next bylaw .called for tb:e hall b'eing erected on the Elh­son site at the .corner of :falJ\JOt and Southwick street, now occu­pied by Loblaw's. Down also went th4 plan. !or pretty much the same reason.

Then the East and West came to their senses, dec1ded that the age-tong battle _ of the two ends was a bit nonsensical and was getting them nowhere. They

, voted on the old tannery site at the corner of George (now Mon­damin·). and Talbot streets and the ' by.law carried. N-ext year, 189<9, · the ha·Ll was erected.

SCOTCH THE· FLY · -(Another Poem From the Past)

A fly astrode a toper-'s nose , Whence all but he had fled, The flames that lit that ghastly

wreck Shone round in ghastly red.

Yet beautiful and bright he stood And danced 'and piped his horn, A creature fond of htJ:man blood In almost any form.

The sager "shooed", he' would not go-

A left sniff. then a right-. He whet his proboscis anew

And tooK another bite.

The biped shrieked, "Arrah, ye snide,

Be jabers, git ye gone," And but a bigger bite replie.d And fast the flames ' rolled on.

Now anger knit his ,irate brow, And raised on end his hair.

. With upturned underlip he blew A blast of brave despair.

And shouted but once more aloud, "Ye varmint-drat,I say."

·One of the greatest Labor Day demonstrations in the history of St. Thomas · to1>k place in 1907, when thet New York Central provided a mobile unit, pulled by the celebrated old inter­department engine "A," illus­trating the various phases of railway industry. This mobile unit operated over the city's street car tracks, heading a two mile long parade. The above photograph was taken on Talbot street by J. H. Hopkins, a lead­ing photographer of 45 years ago. The Times-Journal is £!eat­ly obliged to Harry Martin for the identification of many of those appearing in the picture.

Standing in front of the engine, from the left: Elijah G. Kitchen, in charge of the carpet depart· ment in Mickleborough's store for many years; Sam Wall, con­ductor on the St. Thomas street railway; frank L. Brinkman, prominent in the Labor Day committee, later to serve in the City Council for several years But hymenoptera still clung,

And gaily sucked away.

Then came • a· thwack of thunder sound,

The fly, oh! where was he2 Go ask the stars that all around That soger he did see.

Go ask the bleeding, broken nose, Go ask the bungled eye, / For the noblest' thing that perished

there Was not that wily fly.

· as alderman and ·mayor; James Odbert, a motorman on the street railway; B. Swisher, a conductor on the street railway; George Smith, Wabash Railroad locomotive engineer; Joseph Wor· den, Michigan Central Railroad locomotive engineer; John Mac­kenzie, bailiff of Division Court No. 3 and treasurer of the St. Thomas District Trades and La-

bor Council; George E. Wright, M.C.R. conductor, and chairman: of the Labor Day Special, as this mobile unit was called; Herbert Sharp, then an M.C.R. brakeman,

· for so many years secretary of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, who died last year; T. H. (Herb) May, a Pere Mar­quette Railway brakeman, who was killed overseas while serv­ing with the Canadian forces in the First World War; L. G. (Toughy) Thompson, at that time a Wabash Railr·oad conduc­tor, later a well-known cigar store proprietor and alderman of St. Thomas, 'now of Buffalo, and the late Zack Rowland, a char­ter member and one of the stal­warts of the Trades and Labor Council for over 30 years. In the cab of the little locomotive is the late Fred G. Mills, a Pere Marquette engineer, who lost the sight of one eye several years ago and moved to Sarnia, while beside him is Calvin Lawrence, who was mayor of St. Thomas in 1906 and 1907 but donned his engineer's outfit to operate the Labor Day Special. Later Mr. Lawrence was legislative repre­sentative of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers at Ottawa. His son is directly behind' him and back of him are a number of M.C.R. shop mechanics and apprentices of 45 years ago. The train consisted of two or three flat cars, each fitted up to repre­sent a shops department or some other phase of railroading. Al­though not shown in the pic-

ture, Alderman · William Stokes, another former mayor of St. Thomas, took a prominent part in that 1907 parade. He was sec· retary of the Trades and Labor Council and was also marshal of the parade, and was mounted on a spirited horse. Perhaps that accounts for him not being in the picture. •

PLETHORA OF BRmGES St. T·homas saw a lot of bridge

buildin·g during the early !1870's. It was just one bridge after an­other. First the Canada Sooth­ern Railway and the Great West­erh RaiJway were in a race to build fiigh lev-el wooden trestles across Kettle Creek, with the Canada Southern winning the race. It was the larger bridge of -the two, being approximately 1,300 feet in length and 90 feet in height. The Great Western bridge was over- 900 feet , in length, 00 feet high in the .cen­tre, and took nearly a million feet of timber: The Canada Southern cost arpproximately $3<5,-000; the Great Western, $20,000. Colonel John Ellison, . a familiar name in ELgin County, was the builder af the Great Western bridge. Then a lit-tle lat er, Dr. • J. H. W!il.son built a wooden bridge acroos the Mill Creek ra­vine from the end of Elgin street and that mor·e or less inspired Judge D. J. Hu·ghes of the Elgin County Court to brid.ge the Hu·ghes street ravine in the northeast section from the north end of Hughes street in the city to his property in Yarmouth. That bridge cost around $1,500.

• . . '' •

omeo OS Ita lty ... For ·over HaJj-a Century!

Our COFFEE SHOP~.~.-\

_ .... IS FAMOU.S FO·R.FINE .. F.OOD.S. ·' • • • .!, At Moderate Prices

I I

Opel"' Doi.fy from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m;

BREAKFASTS .. SANDWICH SPECIALS

BUSINESSMEN/S LUNCHES . \

-and-

.. FULL-COURSE MEALS Served Every Doy 1

• DELICIOUS SUNDAY DINNERS

• LlCENSED DINING ROOM

THE EMPIRE CO~FEE SHOP

2 Television Sets for Your Enjoyment In Our Beverage Rooms

...

t .,

•

.

'·

THE NEW "SPORTSMAN'S ROOM"

Welcome . To· St. Thomas .•• ST. THOMAS "OLD BOYS" and

CENTENNIAL VISJ·TORS I'

.. ; .

. ' '--, -

May your visit be long remembered ~as on ­outstanding event in your life: ·

.& ~

' '

• 30 NEWLY DE CORA TEp ROOMS

15 With Complete Bath

Pictured below is one of our comiortably fur­nished, ottractively decorated rooms.

•

ONE OF OUR MODERN,. SPACIOUS BEDROOMS

Large Floodlit Parking Area At the Rear of the Hotel

' '

'-.!.".'

c·-

·• .. - ~ ;

-THE -ST. THOMAS TIMES .. JQURNAt

' ..

1869-Working for a Greater St.-Thomas ·l95Z. . . ~ ... I · • . ' I

r_r .. Eighty three years ago when St. Thomoswos_only a town, twent)i ..

eight progressive residents of the community petitioned Porlieunent for per­m is$ ion t<;> organize os -e· ,Boord of, Trade . . Tnrougl"\ a speeial ect, Porlfq, '

.. ment granted the petition·lh the name of Queen VietoriQ. Tnese twenty .. eight men sow the p~ssibi,lities thot-St. ~ Thomasoffered OS a 'commereiol and ,' ind~;~striol centre . . The foitn·ond . foresight of· these men,· ond of the men who followed them in th_is organi~qti~n MOS pe~n . wel'l founded, · emd. the tr~, . mendous exponsionSt. Thomos)'16~ ~ojoyed is ·due largely to their effort$. ·

"'

...

Tqdoy, ~~ o city, ·S!; Thomas celebrates its 1 OOth AnMiversory"on · event mer:klng the histor,ical progress of~ ~ommL111ity tnc;,t ho$ g,rown t6 on. ,envioble 'pos'ition in; fndustry ond commerce .

. ·- •]

_ As St. Thomas stands et the down of another eentury, .the . St. , .. ThomCJS (Ont.) Boerd of Trc:~de, with 350 working members, Qre ' r~o.dy I to .

-~ ~ M"!~Ye forwarel to build St. Thomqs to an even stronger position in <!1 greot Oot<hiniort'.

. (

.-----The IDcol')lorulots 01 the St. Tholllbs (Ont.·J Bourd. of Trude---.-, ~ ! '

~eir~ are the men whorin . . ·.. . . ·. . . . ,

THOMAS,ARKELL . WJLLIAM C:OYNE . · JAMES McADAM .

. . . . ! r

1 9~9, we-r-e r-e~ponsible for -the:org .. anil·ins of the St. Thoma$ (Ont;) Beard. of TrCJ.cle • • • • ' JOHN R. SMELLIE , JOHN A. KALNS

JOH.N KING ' JOHN ARDAGH ROE CHARl.E$ W. HAR'f!; •

) ' "' r

HENRY l3ROWN MARWOOD A. GILBERT

. . \

' ~ '·· . •' . · I .

·• 'fHOMA$ FiEE>5QN . 'ARQefl~ALO· M~!.,ACHl-IN l'e>NALD McKI:NZI'E

JAM!fS 'cARR!~ CHARLES G. RleH JAMES H. Srlt-1, · J<;)HN BLAKE

' :0 • • WilLIAM E. YOUMANS PET-ER. Ce>US~ Al-ONZO ·J. BVRNS '

·-·

• -- JOHN MIDGLEY: . · . -' .,ROB~RT· ~RiNGU~: .

l-. :-. ..... . .

'.· .

.. . ,• .

GEORGE Re>WLE¥ J: ORD KA1NS W. F.- CAMP~!;kl. H, ~- J?OJ,,;t~6ei( ..:--

PETER RQ~ MiLSON MQORI;:

r

f .

! :

Today, the ·St Thomas ·fOnt.) Board ol Trade Boasts 350 Memhirs .... ~ . .

' . ·WorkinfJ ToWard Building Our· Community! ' '

~~~-~~- Presenting .the 1952 · Membership-~~~~!!'!'!!"!!!!'12£23 RETAIL .MEMBERS

J. RO~lNSoN ,_ Rollinson Dept:_ Sto~e _H. R. PHII,LIPS - Phillips Dry ~ooda J . &. D. THOMPSON- Thompson Tailors E. A. BEDFORD - Walker' Stores Ltd. R. W. RICHARDSON - Richardson's

Men's Store B. T. MOORE - Moore Tire Company

D. H. ANDERSON } C. H, KNAPP Andersons E. J. t-{IGGINBOTTOM ' . Limited D. McCALLUM.. • • C. L. ANTHONY- Anthofl.y Music Store

H. J. SMITH - Smith Coal Companr A. E. CARTWRIGHT - ' Martin·Senour

co. G. J. WIMBUSH- Wimbush Drug Store G. DOWLER - Dowlers Ltd. H. D. JACKSON - Logg. Coal Company K: BLOYE - Liggett's Drug Store S. M. ·BUTLER - Brewers Warehous<e A. N. SWIFT - Swift Coal Company Ltd. G. I• HUNT - Boweys Feed &. Seed R. O. BURGESS - St. Thomas City

Dairy Ltd. C •. K •. FRY - St. Thom·as City Dairy Ltd . B. W, BOWMAN - St. Thomas J,eather

Goods ,

. INDUSTRIES F. W, SUTH~Rt..ANJj...,.Sut!lerland Press . H. J . SUTHERI;:.AND-Sutherland Press R. B. VENNING - Nationa.! Grocers V. A. BARRIE - Pelee Sh l ,:~plniJ eo. ' H; D. WILLIAMS ~'St Thomas" Bro'nze ·

co. H. S, WHITESIDE <- St. 'Thomas

Metallic Gralle Vault Ltd. E. ·SI::GAL - · Canada Scrao Iron ;r;d

Metal · J., A. ATZBERqER I A. I:.ANGNER G. J. WOOD J . B. BRANNEN J. BEAVIS

C'levlte Ltd.

W; : D. PRESCOTT 1 C. H. JAY - Elgin Handles Ltd • • G. P. SMITH - Elgin Handl~s

BAHK, TRUST & FINANCE COMPANY MEMBERS

M. W . GOLDIE - Domln-!G:n 'Ba·nk

. .

J. GALBRAITH - Canadian Bank of Comm·erce

H. L. KERR - Bank of Montreal (East) G. L, JOHNSTONE - Bank of Montreal

(West)

E. w. (:OOK - ·Bank of Torbnto W. R, OUMMING ·- Imperial Bank llf 1

Canada (East) J. E. BRAWLEY - Imperial Bank of

Canada (West) J. H. FLETCHER - Roy~JI Bank of

Canada · D, M. McOALI,.UM _: Hllron &. Erie

Mortgage Corp. P, ._ H, G!;:ORGE - Household Flnapt;e •

BUSINESS SERVICE MEMBERS A. 1), McCOl-L- Seo. Kiwanis Club. Int. W. A. GRAY - R. w . Johnson &. Co. A. L. CAMPBELL - lnve~tment Broker MRS. 1. MACGIBBON - Elgin Credit

Exchange · D. J-. ADAMs - M.emorlal 1-!ospltal J. c. WARDER ~ Radio station CHI,.O 1.. EVANS .... Rad io station CHLO !,.. N. J-ANE - Optometrist J. M. WATERMAN - Talt Optle11l Co. C. !-f, C!.ARKE - Steele Optlci!ll C&. D • . W, O'BRIEN- Barber ! !,. FIIRGUSON - Barber

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ReTAIL MEMBER$'. s. w. !.CilGM.IS - '-o9m1, Hifrf!w!lre , J,!. L. SIMON$ ..,.. SimQns' Hi!rdwl!re R. W. ST. LAWRENCE-S. S. l(resge Co.

A. WJLLIAM$ON"'-Qoinlnlon Stores Ltd,' R. D. KENN·~DY - Mye Fashion Shop MRS. F. MOORE -The T. Eaton

Company Ltd.

W . E. R. BROWNLEE - Brownlee's ·Drug Store

R. E. COFFEY - Tobacconist T. NELSON ;.,... A &. P Stores R. SMITH - A 4 P Stores T. L. QUINLAN-Quinlan Co<!! Company C. H. ROBERTS - Roberts &. Ha·rris 1.' HOUGH- Elgin Packers W. A. JENNINGS - W. !3. Jennings &.

Company Ltd. F. · L. EATON ·- Thom"pson's Bicycle

Shop. _. C. Pi; COOK - C.' Co!)k &; Son _. ,

·A. E. · MAXWELL ~ Tobacco Wholesale &. Retail

D. L. GERRAR'o - Gerrard'J Dept. Sfore A. P. <iS~ORNE - Tub's Men's Shop G:- F. LEMON '- Li~inon 's Drug Store C. A, W. j'dcMURTRY - M~ur~y.

HardY(I!Ire- L,d • . ·.

INDUSTRIES J •. W. JOLLY. ' ,: L. E. • l..EWIS · j , C. TRULL:;

· 'T. w.: -CLJFi · T imken Roller ·.· R: ·v ; C'OURR'IE.R _Bearing Compa~v: .

'l· G . . MORGAN C. J . NICKL:ESON

1 .. J, B, BASSETT · J'.' ·a: vrctoR -:~.: 'vl~tor Co. Ltd. W. ,T . . SMITH -r Jones Box & Label w.· S. McKAY - Municipal World A. G. CLIFFE - VioBin Co. Ltd.

' G .,.W~ A:Nruu;;w/~ ,V:i-oBin co.-, . Ltd; .,,,_ ... : J . G. GRUBER- Canadian Worsted Ltd. '· G W. PARKINSON - Canadian

Worsted Ltd. H. R. DICKEY - Canada Vitrif ied

Products

INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE ' MEMBERS

P. Fi: LOCKE ..::..~ lnsu~arice &. Real Est;it~ C. H . SMITH - ln$uraoce &. Real Estate H. E. MACDONALD - Insurance

A. M. BROWN - Insurance S. A. ·MORTIN - lnsuran.ce· W. A. !;!tJTJ;,ER ..,.. Real Estate J . W. McNEIL ~ tnsuranee

J. A. SUTHJ;;RL,AND- Insurance & • Real Estate ·

H. H. HAIR - - A. K. Mael)OII'!Id Iris.·

0 . E. JlaNNINGS - Real !;atllte MRS. ·G. TAYLOR ~ Jnsuran!ie M. L, BAeCOCK ~ LO!H:!on Life Ins, MRS •. M· A-61-!TQN .--· Insurance ~ f!e<tl

. , £state ' · . ·. · ·

·· H • . B, -B~·q'A,pFOOT: ;..... Gr~<!t W~st !,.lfe . · Insur-ance .·

J • . ·D. S'CHWE.ITZ'gR ' .;,_ ln~ur;~nce A. T. KE'.TH - Real ,:gstate ~ lns~o~r~nce

RAILROA-D .MEMBERS i. c:· NE~SO.N - ~;.V., York central Rly.

. C. G. TIN-LINE- New Yo·rk Central ~ly . -C. SMALE - Chesape'!ke ~ Ohio ·Riy,

A. C. QUICK- Chesapea~e &. Ohio ~ly'.

A. 0. CALVE~T- G.P.ft l;l(pre&s · Agelit R. C. JVIOSS - Trans·WO•Pid Travel .. -.· . · .

Agency ' , . · .. ,-T. R. ROBERTSON- L, &. P. S. Railway ,

' • • I • ~

RETAIL MEMBeRS G. J .. CARRUTHERS - Ron Sl Ready•

• tG·Wear

T. QEN"!ISON,BRO~~ ..,. ~nnlso!!· Broad's Farm Suppllet

MISS E. LOVER - Helen'a Sp·eci11lty Shop

D. A. SMALL - Small's Drug Store

J. N. PINCOMBE- Jack Pincombe · Meats • ~

A. C, WHITLOCK .... Electriciiui L. R •. NORTON - !'lorton's D•ug Store W, A. DAKE - P10rk Smoke Sl!op R. W. PINCOMB~- K. &. H. P!ncomge

Meats & 'Groceries A. J. MITCHELL -- -Richardson's Boya'

&. Yo·ung Men's Clothing Ltd. H. 111. GOODWIN - Qoodwin J;urnlture

_HOJ,ISe ' J. E. SMITH - Smith's Drug Stor.e 'N. B. CO.O K - Cook's Drug S\Qre w. J. l!!ANDERSON- Sanderson -

Hardware MRS, K: YOUNG - young's Specialty

· Shop A. GREEN - Dominion Furniture e . W. RAINBOW - RainboW's Book

Store l R. WILSOII! ..... Wilson Jewtller-a

-INDUSTRIES R. S. SPARROW "F Supertest 1.-tc!. ~· A. McV!!IGH } V/. H. SMAL!,.HQRN . e4.11 • Al!la .J , P. • LYONS . eh41rnera C~. J . H. Mact!ON_AUI) .

D. ESSELTINE R#d~tton~ f>iotol'ti T. M. GRIEN -. } _ .

w. KLOOSTERMAN of Oa~tlllfll l,.t~. f'· JOHN~O~

T. KEITH Tile '!'lrn••· J,,.. e . . BIBI)S,A\.,1,. . Jj}urn'l! " E. P.• RAY

.G. M. DINGMAN }

J . ' s , CM.QWELL -= Fr~•ted l!'redy~ Ltd,

W. T. FA\)LD§ ~ Fotulda C1e1nor~ 4 Dye I'll

• CONTR.C:TORS 8r JUIL~ERJ S.UPPLY. MEMIE~$

. 1-· 1',1. MART!t-4 .. -:::- PlllntlnQ K. R. AXFORD -.. Sa114 & Gravel q. W. MANN - Plumbing &. Huting H. K. PA~K!O~ .- Cons\ructlen · D. GILLARD "7:' Plllmblng • 1-!tatll)g R. L'AING - ·lotl!'19 't\ Luml~y Roofers C. P. V.A.UGHAN - Contr1ctor I E. H; ·coNN O-R - Plaaterh'!.f Cpntr1ctor R. F. EM Mon: - Lumber &. Builders'

Supplies W .E. TURVILLE- - Coal &. LUMBER B. STANIF'O'RTH - ' Plumbing&. Heating A . .. L. SAN tu;: RS .,,...;. R· sa,,.der, . !.umber

Ltd. H, G, PETTIT- "'" Marlatt l'qela e. e . 'KNAPP . .... P. 1(, Htr!!wtrt

Olstr!butol'§ - · W. J. GFiE~N-- Gree!! Lu!Tit!tr Oe11'PI"V R. T. WALLIS - Fllllmbl!lll of. Heating !;, P. RONAC~D- H~ttl!l!l " ahe~t M·e41 G. FIAII!td~ _' · !, F, 'JtOaiJIISQN ·

. · ·aa'l'lklng ._Piuni'h_l.11; 4-, Hettlng 1

D. w.: E!EltRY ..:;. MI!I\'J$Od ~~·*'' A. NICI.I - ~loin e'on~\ru~t!on eo. .. e. A. WfL$0N - WII1Qf1 • $e'"crvllle

. L,td. .

-~UNERAL DI~EC::TOR MlMBER$ 1.,, e. SIFTO.N - !Iifton Jll'uneral Homt~ MAFISHAJ,.L ~. TOWERS .... Mortician . H. A.- WI!-I.IA'M~P'. R, Wll!lams of. $ol'l ,.

~.

RETAIL M~MISERS · ~. G, MAN~JFI~!,.D ...,. -!lln'!es Cowan Co.

Ltll, Q. A, 'Fii~~oe =Reward {Shoes Ltd~

. E. P. CASH ""' BiOidwin; Robinson D. A. CLINTON - Clinton Flower · , · Seryi~;~ .

W. J. KEMf> - · Kemp Upho,lsterlng Service .

T. JOHNSTONE - Johnstone Ice &. Coal Co.

G. JOHNSON ..-. Johnson Hardware MRS; Et>'· LEV!;:RINGTON - BrowJ1's

Sill<: Shoppes L. E. ROFFMAN- Hoffman Hardware P. H, STOCK - Hf!plnstall's Ltd. J. D. CLARKE ..... Jac)< Clar!<:e Man._

Shop R. SNELL .:._ F·. W. Woolworth Co. D. c. RAVEN- Raven's Shoe Store ··· G. R. FOSTER - Berry-Hill Sales Co. MRS, M. MARSHALL- Jackson L,apies'

Wear , ~. O. HOWSE ...,.. Howae Ra(IIQ &

Refrigeratlc., Sal41_s R. C. COCHRILL:.....wendel( Holmes Ltd. L. L. SOPER - Wonder B<!kerles Ltd, MRS. -M. MILLER - Sally Shops Ltd. ' (3. S. fii;YNQLPS - St. T)1omas

Automotive Supply

IND\ISTRIES W, g. QRAP!!'R ., lm,:~erlal Qll i.lmlted

;f. GftJ;GO~Y'--....., .. l~!n Whol~a11le '!"o~aeco Ltcl.

N, I, KI!.,.MJ;!i .j. f-1 . LOC!<HAFi'I' J,!, A. WHin R. A· McOANC!;: ~- · - 1-!, WYN"! W,' lol. S. ~ILLAR

,A.-' 1?; QL!,J'I'I; W, J .. Mt:~AY

Weatt~erhead Com,:~any

- of ~ll11ada Lt'd. ·

'1'. g. NEJ;J,IY """ Damlnlon Natural G..u C,g.

t. H. ~; §TEV!;NSOfl! ..,. Canadian Wot~denwtr~ Cq.

J, T, $-'l"I;W J.RT ,... St. Tl'!&mas Steel Pro!!t~!lta , ..

P~OFESSIOHAL MEMfER$ f)R. !),1 S. QARRIE ...... Phys!el4n &.

- Sur§eon ·

DR •. J. F. CURTIS - Physician & -- -.surgeon

l);R, J; D, CURTIS - Physlpian &. • SIIFO!IDII·

DR. J, .H. H/.ftE ~ P,hyslcl"n &. Surgeon ~. . .... . -

!)R, J ,' A. M~J.;ACHL'IN - Physician &. Surgeon -

DR. A • . e. McCALLUM - Physician &. Surgeon

DR. A. R. POST - Physician &. Surgeon

Oft. M. !J. RYCKMAN - Phy~!r:htn ~ SYft~EON

!)R. fl. J. BRisTOW - Phya!cla!\ &. $1m1oon .

111'1, J!', A. (;lfi .. BER;t' ~ !;)entiat

Df:l. c;; M. FII'H-AY· - Q~ntln Q~, Q, ·,., I<;!;~I'Hl:QY .... Dentl~t I)R. !.. A. lii.I.IOT1' - . Eye, Ear, Nose. _

Throa~- . . OR· P. s. goesoN ~Aim!! Coll!lg'f

' W. R, CAVANA,l.!QH ~ Vocational School

R. A. SANDER$- illlrrlster I;, .Jl, · 8, sANDI::RS...,. Barrister 1::. ·!); ·3M I'!'H """' Barrister J. ~- i.;'JNDS4Y ...... !,;larrlster E. $, GRA~AM ...... earrl~ter f;, A, Bli!,.,l, - J;;11g!neer G,,_ !. MORI.,.I;Y ..,.: Arct,!tect

RETAIL MEMBERS H, V. -BA~NARQ - Lob law ~~ocete!!la H. L. BRUBACH~R - Br.ubacher

Hardware E. ~ANGSTER - MetropQlltilll ~tQres

· R. J. WALSH - Walsh Upholstering E. M. SHILDRICK ..:_ Elgin Smallwares

F. E. WORTHINGTON - Worthington Electric

E. DAVIS- St. Tho·111as ~lty Laundry A. SAUNDERS- City Signs & Displays A. CHAPMAN - Elgin Pa int &. Wall·

paper Ltd. W. WHARRY - Silverwood Dairies Ltcl. J. BRI~TOW - Silverwood Dairies Ltd. MRS. A,. BARNES- Imperial System of

Baking A.- BAXTER- Baxter Ice Cream

Company D. L. WINTER r- Terrace Club P. L!iE - N~w York Cafe W. NICHOLli- Three Little Pigs Pentry e. R. SHACKLETON - Diana Grill J~ A. STOLLERY - Stollery of

St. Thomas , H. C. SHAW - Shaw's Candy &.

Lunches 0 . WOTHERSPOON - Service Station

INDUSTRIES I

C. A. LOW -. Bower's T~ol "" Dye eo. E. A. HORTON:- Ontario Cllrlental Flbur

Co. Ltd. E. SILCOX - ,Sterling Fuels S. G. TATHAM - Sun 1)11 ~ompilny -, • 1,

Ltd. (London) J. THWAITES - Erie Iron Works F. J. ARMOUR - Erie Iron Works C. S. GILBERT W. J . LANGSTON Jr. H. G. McLEAN Canadian P, A. DAWDY l~on R LEITCH Foundries M. C. MICKLE Ltd, F. WISE Jr. W. C, PERRQTT

(Manager-Quebec)

AGRICULTURAL MEMBERS D. J. BEGG - Aqr-lc;lltturall§t W. K. BODKIN - Agriculturalist D. K. BURGESS - Agriculturalist D. W. CAMPBELL - Agriculturalist A. V. COULTER - Agriculturalist C. D. COYLE - Agriculturist J . R. FERGUSON - Agriculturalist HON. M. F. HEPBURN - Agrlculturall$t J . A. IRVINE 7"" Elgin Co-Operative

Service -A. V. LANGTON - Qepartment of

Agriculture R. G. SHAW - Mc91e,<Jn Grain Limited A, , ROBSON' - Agrlt:ulturalist E. A, SANDERSON ~ Elgin Fruit

Growers C!l·Oi!J. B. P. TEASDALt; - Elgin eo-Oporatlve

, Services . HQN. F. S. THOMAS...., Agrlcyltt~rallst

CITY OF ST. THOMAS MEMBERS W. E, ROWE W. C. MILLER W. H • . A. SPARliNG T. H. CURRAI.,f W, STPKES , K. R, $TOKES

ENTE~TAINMENT MeMnRS H. L. PR§;STON - Capitol Theatre Q. E: ROBINSON ""' Ocjep11 Theatre B. A. YOUNG - St. Tkom'ls Bowling

Lanes

RE'f~IL MU~BE~S

e. H. QEREJIIR,41(?H ' ...,. QQmlnlon C.r~dit . Jewe'llers ·

~QE!E~TS ~ 'F~ YI,.QR- Se~vlce Stqt!on L. VEIT- ~ernie- ~lower Shop -. ~ •- . I

G. GETTAS- Gettas Restau·rant S. L. WALKER- Home Dairy Com•pany R. H. INCH - Roy Inch & Sons CROCKER GREENHOUSES -, Florist W. F. CASSI D.Y - Supertest Service

Station A. STALMAeK- Stalm~cl< Shoe Repair H. JABKSQN - Retirecj M·erchant A. JOHNSTONE - Johnstone's Service

Station and Restaurant CRYSTAL GRILL- Restaurant R. S!iEPHt;RD - Reuben's Men's &

Boys' Sto·re J. H. DENNETT - Dennett's Home

Appliances I. H. RACE - Beckkett's Bakery C. R. HAMMERSLEY - Hammersley's

Sea Food C. GEORGE - N·ew Radio Lunch . MRS. D. CLARK - Robert Simpson Co.

Ltd. W. M. SCOTT - Scott's Studios .. M, B. · JONES - Jo-nes Flour &. Feed G. PHIBBS ...,... Phibbs Printing Ltd.

' INDUSTRIES J . Mc~WAN - ·St. Thomas Box Co. Ltd. Co E. F!,.E)\t;N - l"lt;?Cen Machine Co.

Ltd. fi, T, VINCENT ...., British American Oil

• ' eo. B.' F. JOHNSON - Nicol &. Johnson Ltd. M. F. JONES - Jones Transport R. HEPBURN - Hepburn Transport C. FERGUSON - He,:~burn Transport W. G. WHI'J'E "- C. E. Marley Ltd. G: W . LAING ..,... Printing World B. T, STEPHENSON - Printing WorlC: M. L. MONTGOMERY - Montgomery

Cleaners B. THOMPSON - Bill's W'eldlng Shop G. $. KUL.MAN - Kulman &. S~ns

(Metal) S. (!j, GILBERT - Gilbert Press

AU:TOMOTIVE MEMBERS 4!l, P. $!:,-ACKMAN ...,. Spackman Motore H. ' SPACKMAN - Spackman Motors

R. W, RANKIN - Mer·Lin Motors P. SfiOPfiEY ...,. Mer-Lin Motors A. J. SCHWEITZ~R - Sch"Veltzer

Motors G. E. DISBROWE - Dlsbrowe Motors

"'· M, K!;MP - Hal Kentp Mo\ort ' E. !31)Tl'~RWORTH ..., • Bq,tterwe~rth

MotorA -' J . M. BIS§ETT~Bis~ett Mot!!r~

R. A, OPNNOR - Bi!seti; Mow"' G. W· S,N!=:!-GROVE - Srrei(Jrove tdot~rs

HOTEL MEMBERS 1;. J. RleE - Joftn $cot~; Tavern H. e. J.IUN"!'ER, Prop . .... G~tan!{ . Central ,

I Hotel

B, eARNI;~ ~ Gr~nd Centrlll Motel (!j. WHI'FFJJ;!,.D ~ Empire Hottl J.e. CONLEY ....., f,lotel .'l'lllbot

• PUBLIC UTII,I'!"JES C:OMMISSION

MEMBERS' J . W. PIA!'aT P . R. !,.Q()KE G. Q, !.ANQ W. A, ALLAN R: '1'. Gll.§liRT F. T. FORD .

_\

'" . ·"

a·OARD of.. TRADE •

<"'-==0=~ =ff,._ic=-e=s==_ i~n~G=r~a~nnd•C!!I!!!:!e!l!!ll!ln=·t~ro~J!!!IIIH•-== ~!!!!'!. t!!!!e!l!!!!l !!!!i~iiilj!s~.~-!!!!!!!!i.~!l!!!!!lin!l!!l!!g•_, --~!!!!I! .. !!!!I!!~!!!!I!!J!!!!IIe ·'!/-· __ ·e._J_o_u_. y_, .P.re_,·~-;~~--- e_n_t_ .. _w_e_.R ... _c: .. ·: a_v_a_n_a_u_g_h_,_s_e·c-re_t_alll!l!ry_ ... .,.T .. re-a_s_u_re __ rl!!!!!l- .... ~!!!!I!I!!!!II!~~!!II!!I!!I!~-P-h•o•n•e•6•7!!!!!15~ •

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1952

In Same Business 69 Year~

MRS. WILLIAM MANLEY SELLS f.LL THE LATEST MAGAZINES

Manley's, Formerly Watson's Bookstore, Old, Up-to-Date

Manley's boo~store will be re­membered by many of the peo­ple.,returning for the St. Thomas · and Elgin Centennial; also the cheerful little lady · who runs it, Mrs. William Manley, the former Agnes M. Watson.

For sGme 69 years Mrs. Man­ley has been in this business,

. starting as a ,high school girl of 15 yea•rs. It would be almost safe to say that during that long per­Iod of time, ex·cept for Sundays and an occasionaJ holiday, she has- never missed a day in the store.

Mrs. ·. Manley ha·s lived in St. . Thomas for 80 years, coming here

from Hamilton with her parents when she was three years old. Her father, William Watson, was first employed as a car­penter on the old Grand TrUnk or Air Line Railway out of St. Thomas; subsequently ile trans­ferred. -to the Michigan Central

Bei;ng an energetic and ambi­tious man'· in the er·a when rall­roaders served long hours for small pay, Mr. W.a,tson decided to see if · he could make money on the side. He decided to go into the stationery, fancy goods and wallpaper business, openihg a · little $lore albout where Barrett's barber shop is now located on the south side of T.aJ•bot s-treet, west of Princess avenue. The

building was in what became known as the Joseph Gxiffin block.

There his daughter, Agnes M. Watson, began her business ca­reer that is proba·bly one of the oldest in Cana:da today. In the rear of that little frame building, with its false fr·ont, little George Alex~nder (Alex) Watson, Mrs. Manley's brother, set up a job , printing business, working in conjunction- with his father's booksto·re.

The business was contillllled in that location until lust before the turn of the century, when · the Watson's moved acros~ the .street in the · present store building at 579 Talbot .street. The store was rented from the late Arthur S. Smith for a few . yea-rs, then Mr. and Mrs. Manley ·· acquired it from Mr. Smith. ·

W.ii!iam Manley, :who was .for­merly in the grocery business and a:Iso was on the Michigan · Central Rai,lroad for a . sh.or.t per­iod, became manager of the Wat- · son Book Store in the 90's of the past century. Re and Agnes M. Watson were married about 58 years ago.

William ManJey and Alex Wat­son, the little printer, died a·bout 20 years a.g,o; and A. S, Smith, the original owner of the build-

ing went to his reward over a quarter of a century ago, but the little old lady, who is known to thousands as the proprietor of Manley's Booksto-re, remain£, still chipper and fu!J of busi-ness. The store ·hasn't changed a great deal in the last half centucry; but 1\ks. Manley has kept ab'reast of the time.s so far as stock is con­cerned. It is more of a variety store than a bookstore today,. with heavy stocks of toys and novelties, as well as some china­ware, and a good range of sta­tionery and office supplies car­ried.

Next door business neighbors of Mrs. Manley for a la.rge paTt of her business careecr and still going strong are Robecrt (Bob) Stirling, the clothier, and Mee­han's shoe store. Meehan's shoe store was established. by the late Patrick Meehan, former mayor and for many years called the Dean of the St. T.homas City . Council. It was known for many years as Meehan and 'Re­gan's, Mr. Meehan's p~rtner being the late C. W. ·Regan..

LEGAL TALK A - young lawyer attended the

funeral of a financier. A · friend arrived a little late, took a seat beside the lawyer, and whis,pered:

"Hpw far has the service gone?,.

The lawyer nodded towards the clergyman and whispered back: "Just opened for the de­fen-ce.,,

I THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAL

William Vair Once Served Loaded Candy to Council ' As April Fool' s_ Day .Stunt

Practical Jokers Were More Numerous In. More Leisurely Days of Past; A. P. Conley Was Great Irish joker

There was more practical jok­ing in the earlier periods of this century-and St. Thomas had its share. A more leisurely age, per­haps people had more time to en­joy life. The late· Henry Roe was quite a practical joker in his day, with many a story told about the jokes he pulled. Possessed of considerable acting ability, Ma Roe was never happier than play­ing a comedy role behind the footlights. One Of the roles . in which the tall, decidedly thin Henry Roe will be remembered by many older folk was when he made his s t a g e appearance, mounted on a diminutive donkey. He stood up and walked off the placid little beast.

The late Walter . Ross and his son. William Ross, possessed rare sense of ·humor and the latter was a top comedian tor many years when Holy Angels Dramatic So­ciety and other amateur theatrical organizations presented produc­tions. that had profe.sional finish to them. Dell Henderson, later to become a pioneer . among mo­tion picture producers, and now living in Los Angeles, got his first acting experience in Holy Angel's dramatic group. Charife Corbett, retired city post · office veteran, was· a· contemporary of Dell Henderson in those happy days when Tom Marks' .stock company was the regular dra­matic fare in towns and cities throughout OntaJio.

THE ELUSIVE CROSS

with him to a committee session. They were the most tempting sweetmeats any man could un­cover.

COTTON AND CAYENNE

Alderman Vair passed the box around and the other alder­men were not at all modest in helping themselves. Then things began to happen and aldermen began to sputter. Every chaco· late drop, except the cne Ald­erman Vair selected for his por­tion, was "doctored." Alderman Patrick Meehan, the dean of the Council, had a ·green, s'tartled look on his face as he tried to chew a - filling of cotton bat­ting. Alderman George Pons­ford let loose some candid re­marks as he ' bit down into an ounce of pure cayenne pepper; and Alderman Matt Penhale seemed to have developed hy­drophobia or the hoof and mouth disease, as froth coated .his !ips. He had picked a chocolate droP that was loa~ed with soft soap.

Surprisingly, the "victims" were able to see the joke and enjoyed the laugh at their own expense-especially after Alder­man Vair produced 'another two­pound box of dklicious chocolates that were not filled with start!· ing reactions.

THE qREAT CON .LEY The .list Of jokers of yesterday

would be incomplete without the late Albert P. Conley, dean of the St. Thomas Board of Edu­cation two df,cades ago. Mr. Coril~y 'loved a good joka a~d

he made those he practi~ed from his headquarters in the Hotel Talbot, harmless and ful,l ·Qf

A man of quick wit and re­sourcefulness, Mr. Conley had to think fast on on~ memorable occasion.

It was the time in the , early tweonties when Arthur Meighen hea:l.ed his "shadow government,. &t Ottawa. An election campaign was .on in East Elgin and Mr. Meighen came unexpectedly to st. Thomas to address two or three me-etings. He came so un­expectedly from London by L~ & P.S. that the local Conserva­tive association had ·-time to muster only. a handful of the faithful and meet the Premier on the station platform. Albert Conley . was an ardent Tory and one of the chosen few. ,-·

The fact that only -'about a · dozen or so. persons were. Qn hand

to greet Mr • . Meighen · worried him. So what did he ·do? He shoved himself into the front of the line, shook hands hurriedly with the H·onorable Arthur, then cut across the station platform, around to the St. Catherine street entrance to the Hotel Tal­bot, dashed in, donned a differ-

• ent coat and hat and ran out the Talbot street entrance and back to the platform, to shove into line and shake hands with Mr. Meighen again. ·

Mr. Conley actually worked f.his stunt three · times, and- if the then Prime Minister of C'ariada caught on to the trick, he cer­tainly did not show it. Mr. Con­ley felt quite proud of ·his ac­complishment. describing it as a ' one-man triple play.

11'4 COUNTY COUNCIL '

There was · more fun and prac­tical joking in Elgin County Council circles 25 or 30 years ago. Two vete-~an members who. delighteCI in playing little jokes on each other, as well ;~s on other - members of Council were · the late Oscar McKenney, tor

G-5

Preceded the Grand Central

This p!eture was taken prior to 1881, In that year the Grand ' Central Hotel was built and it was erected on the site of the reai­d.ence shown at the right. It was the home of the late· J, M. Green, (fathen ·of Lt.·Col. W. J. Green) who had the contract for erecting the hotel. At the left is the old postoffice bul_ldlng, In the forefront can be seen the tie. posts along the north side Talbot street.

many years reeve ot Aylmer, and the late Hugh C. McKillop, reeve of West Lorne ~nd later Conservative member of parlia­ment for West Elgin.

One warm June day, the Goun­cil decided to inspect the Elgin House of Industry, on the old Talbot or Fingal Road. Oscar McKenney promptly challenged Hugh McKillop to •a · walkin.g competition. up over the west hill along a then dusty road. The challenge was accepted, and bets were. placed as to which contestant would get there first.

Each plotted to fool the other by having a motor car pick him up after he had gone a short dis­tance. · The joke backfired on both of them, when they arriv­ed in an Eixhausted condition, in motor vehicles. So far as is known, • the wager was never settled.

TIME TO GO

Bore: "SJ)eakin-g ot Africa makes me thin·k of the time-"

Bored: "Good heavens, you're quite right. I had no idea it was so late, Goodbye." An incident is recalled when

Billy Ross showed . ma~tery of ~tage presence when .one · of the Irish medodramas that were so popular i'n · ·the ~ late Victorian era. Mr. Ross was playing tj)e role of the little hunchback in a midnight graveyard scene in the old town halt' ~·cipery, house" in Ti!lsc:mburg. -'It -was _ supp,os­ed to be a very _ sad .scene, one to move tender hearts to tears and sobs; buf j'ust as ' Mr. -Ross was to . enac::t hi.s ·big · s1=ene, the toe of one Of . his · bopts struck

St. ThOmas' LARGEST · tne papier mache _grave~tone ' anq sent it helt~r skelter. off the· stage.

Tears tui;Iled ·to laughter in ·an · inshmt. But BiUy ~ass· V~i<s ·too

good an actor fa let th:at · faze hi:in. · He recoV'ered , the head­stone, placed: it , in ·proper posi­tion, and . praeee\ie.d . with his

deeply emotional 'lin'es , a;;: if no­thing had o~curi'e<l : - · · The ·st: Tliowas , City .'Council h~s ·ha4 a few .fun-loving mem-

. bers who· cpuld 'tum· a' 'neat prac- . · tical joke: · One of tneri\ ·was Wil· !iam Vair;. founi:l.er' of the' candy firm of·. Vair ·'and· ·Balkwill, and fa.ther of the sec·o'nd. William Vak who carrie;· on :the business.

OJ:~e night Alderman .Va.ir took a two-pou.,nd· box .. of · chocolates' I

•

•. ALWAYS~ at the ECONO.MY SHOE STOIRE".f.

For 35 Years

492 TALBOT STREET

Lenders ~ In Family

Footwear!· Many of you will remember shopping at the "Economic Shoe Store", as our firm was originally known, in our first location at the corner of Talbot end St. Cotharines Street.

"through .the years many changes have been made, both in our store and in the styles that we corry, but our policy has remained the some ... to fit every foot carefully and com­fortably with quality footwear priced to fit every pocketbook.

PHONE 1319

~t "Photo by Stol!ery of St. Thomas"

3 Modern SERVICE TR.UCKS To Serve You! The above photo displays' the modern refrigeration service trucks at Roy lncli & Sons, 279 Talbot St. Equipped to handle any problem in modern refrigeration -commercial- or domestic.

' .International Harvest-er

.r I SALES & SERVICE

Complete Stock of. farts!

A Wonderful Name in Refrigeration!

"FRIGIDAIRE" Evecyone ltnows that Frig­idaire is far out in front for year 'round depend· ability and "6 n~s 'ructive beauty. Your present model will be accepted as down payment. Inquire to­day about the convenient Roy Inch Budget Plan. Low monthly payments.

SALES & SERVICE

·Roy Inch & Sons Frigidai~e - Philco - Marconi - Coffield

Jnterncrtional Harvester

· 279 1'ALBOT ST • PHONE 4131

, OPEN FRIDAYS UNTIL 9 P.M.

G-6

BEHIND THE FOOTLIGHTS

Old ·Grand Opera House Brought Some af Greatest Stage Pl,ays f·o S.t. Thomas

Where Once John Drew and Nat Goodwin Played is Now A Commercial Garage; Great Moments of the

Pas't Are Recalled By MARGARET ADAMS

There is a Broadway Ghost on tt'albot street, St. Thomas. Bank 6f a motor salesroom and huge garage are the remains of the old C:rand Opera House of our fath­ers' and grandfathers' times. Re­membering that .some of the most :famous ac:tors and adresses of a J')ast decade came here to play to St. Thomas audiences, I had a great urge to see it again. My oJn youth was linked up with it.

When I asked the garageman where if was he waved his hand l{)Wards the enormous soace for injured cars. "Sure, th~ is part of it, but if you want to see the stage, you'll have to go up that little stairway next door." Sud­denly I realized that what I stood looking at was the place under the theatre where lhe dressing rooms had been. I was told by the late Hugh Oliver, the drum­mer o:f the old Grand Opera House orchestra, that there were ten {)r twelve dressing • rooms. Frequently, the companies that came here had sixty or seventy people ih the cast and the lead­ing stars often had to double up. Sometimes, they dresS€d at the Grand Central Hotel and were driven to the theatre in cabs. He h a d s e en chorus-es dressing around the furnaee that was down there.

1'he little staltway was narrow and dark and I felt a bit nerv­ous in ,these head banging days as I crept up alone, along a nar­row hall with doots probably leading to apartments. And then i came out into a great empty space, a skeleton of what had Men the Grand Opera House.

But there was the stage, as big as any city stage with its plaster 0! Paris scrolls and decorations still around it, like a head with its face gone-that face that had presented such vivacity and glamor to those audiences of

loJ;!g ago. A cold wind blew through the broken windows wheTe the wings had been and fluttered old playbills on the walls.

Most of the fittings of the place are gone due to the vandal­ism of a gang of boys some years back. The old faded plush box~s arc no ntore, the galleries have vanished, there ·are no seats in the pit, the best drops were sold to the Grand Theatre in London, and the rest is being used in a bowling alley in Port Stanley. I looked up at the grooves where the curtains once hung and no­tice their height, and remember being told the'y were built to take ·care of the most elaborate scenery of the day. Being a one night stand, what hustling and bustling there must have been to get it into place. I can see the rope drawij in the wings where the scene shifters stood to mani­pulate the panels and drops. For a long time St. Thomas was the only place in Canada where first class New York plays could be seen. It was a one night stop between Detroit and Buffalo. People ~arne from London and Aylmer to see the shows.

Since I begame curious about this place, ·P have been told many interesting things. They come back to me now.

ORIGINALLY CLARIS THEATRE

Before this theatre was called the Grand Opera House, it was the C!aris Theatre, owned by George Claris, a member of one of the early families of St. Thomas. At that time, there were no galleries, the floor slanting from a third story to ihe stage. The back formed the gallery, a separate entrance led to this and here the young bucks of the day came to applaud their favorite actresses. An old-timer tells me they often put a 'floor down over the seats and held datices heTe,

'filE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAL

SCEI'JE OF OLD·TIME PL.o>Y3-The old eiarls opera house, later the Grand, is seen :It the extreme right of the picture. It was located on Talbot street -between Queen and William streets, the sto ~e at the right being that of Alexander Llndsa:lf, grocer, with the James Carrie dry goods store between tliat ~nd the opera house. Tl\e former

theatre is now a gar:;tge and motor sales room:

but a fire put an end to the orig­in)! place and it was bought by Ambrose Small o! Toronto, mil­lionaire the.atre owner and vic­tim in one of the most famous murder mysteries-if he was murdered-or disappearances. He simply walked out of his office

' in Toronto one morning and vanished without trace. He re­novated the theatre in splendid style and made it suitable for some o1 the best companies of the day. It was one of a chain of theatres owned by him. This circUit included Toronto, Hamil· ton, Chatham, London, Stratford, and Wmdsor. He made the St. Thomas theatre especially attrac­tive with famous artists, having the idea of eventually selling it for a good figure.

The first dramatic society in St. Thomas was the Holy Angels Group. Strange to say, the pres­ent Little Theatre Organization uses the same r o oms over Meehan's store on Talbot skeet as was used by this group fifty years ago-a strange coincidence!

Joe Butler played the black­smith ih "Kerry Gow" for many years. Also in the cast were Dell Henderson, Tom Wallace, Ned Sparks. and John L. Robert­son who afterwards went into motion pictures ih Hollywood

and all became Well-known •actors or producers.

I stood now on tpe very same boards where Robert B. Man­tell, Fornes Robertson, Modjeska, Mansfield, Charles Hackett, E. H. Southern and his wife Julia Mar­lowe, John Drew, Ethel Barry­more, John Barrymore, Maude Adams, Nat Goodwin, Chauncey Olcott, Elsie Janis, De Wolf Hop· per, Edna May, David Warfield, George Arli.ss and many other great actors walked and · talked. It was a little breath-taking.

Brlieve it or not, Grand Opera came here once a year for a week and I heard the great music for the first time. Schuman Heink and Albani sang in this place, and Walker Whiteside came for a week f)f Shakespeare.

The great Modje.ska, forty-five years ago :~~layed in St. Thomas, her special "Lady Macbeth," and probably smoked her famous cigar before going on the stage. Her private car was parked on a siding where the Elgin Fruit Growers' Building now stands, also the site of the West End St. Andrew's ·Market.

Maude Adams played at the Grahd ib. "The Little Minister" and "Peter Pan," and in the lat­ter leaned forward and asked in that credulous throaty voice, "DO you. believe in fairies? If" you do, elap your hands." 01

deafening. He had to stop and burst out laughing and the whole audience laughed with him.

Another time a butler was needed in the play and a short little Englishman living here was persuaded to play the part. All that was required of him was that he should ste·p on the stage and say "My Lord, the carriage is waiting.";' But when the time ar­riv<!d, he became very rattled and said, "My God, the buggy is out front."

I .stood now where the orche~­tra had played. Hugh Oliver started as a drummer in the 25th Regiment in 1895, and played through three wars. When seven or eight men left for the South African War, the farewell was held herE!. "Soldiers of the Queen" and the "Maple Leaf Forever" were sung lustily. A local verse was put in the lat­ter. It ended with "And Billy G reen, God Bless ihe Qt1een, the Maple Leaf Forever." The same popular Colonel Green of today.

In light operas like the "Merry Widow," "Babes in Toyland," "The Runaway Girl" and "The Chocolate Soldier," the musical scores would be very long. Very often the companies brought part \ o1 the orch(!stra with them and the rest would be supplemented by St. Thomas members. On a one-night stand, this gave little time for r'ehearsal and th,ere would probably be only one scanning of the score. The; leader would often say, "Boys, just do the best you can."

I remember once when Quin-

Prof. J. H. Jones, director of the St. Thomas Conservatory of Music and organist of Trinity Church, who conducted a num­

, ber of Gilbert and Sui ivan's musical opera, including '1H.M.S. Pinafore" In the Claris and Grand

, opera house,

lan and Wall, minstrels, pl::~yed in Sarnia and lost all of their instruments in a fire. The next night when pla")'ing here, they were lent the 25th Regiment in"­struments and were exceedingly grateful.

Another time when a great violinist was playing, some

trained seals -escaped from their cages and came slithering up the

Centennial Greetings

;

from "Tom my" This is the Centennial Anniversary of the City of St. Thomas and of Elgin County . . . One of the pioneer cities and counti!'!s of Ontario.

.FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1952

stairs into the orchestra, causing an uproar.

Before the days of electric power, the footlights were of gas. When the janitor, a popular figure, came with his taper to light them before the curtain went up a roar Qf applause greet­ed him.

MEMORY OF MISS FITZGIBBON

In this spot, J. H. Jones, well­remembered organist of Trinity Church, conducted his Gilbert and Sullivan operas with such life and spirit, while many :fam­ous beauties of St. Thomas took some of the leading parts. Here :Miss Fitzgibbon, the Grand Opera House p{anist, sat. I can still see her erect Gibson Girl carriage, her sleek black hair which was never at any time covered by a l,lat. She was a forerunner of the modern girl­with ·one exception-she always carried a small revolv~ in her purse. I still remember the thrill I got as she played . the National Anth-em, always stand­ing to do it. Martin Harvey, who played Sic\ney Carton, in "A Tale of Two Cities," remarked that he had performed il'l many parts of the Empire but had n-ever seen a pianist stand to play the National Anthem. Real homage was tnere. She wore a size one shoe 'and was very proud of it. I have memories of her walking along Talbot street hatless and knitting as she walked.

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" was a yearly event anA I remember the first time I saw it with my father,

I WAs deeply stirred. After all the anguish, it was hard wh~n my father, rather bored, decided to take me home before Eva went to Heaven. I felt I had been cheated of the cheer I need­ed so much.

Many a St. Thomas man will remember getting a pass :for lead· ing the bloodhounds in the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" parade. In fact, theT·e is a club formed in the States of all men who at s6me time have Jed the bloodhounds in the parade.

The Marks Bros. were also yearly visito·rs in s tock ~d all the young fry went to the ma­tinees. Admission was ridicu­lously low, ten, twenty, and thir­ty cents; and five cents for a child under ten. The Marks Bros., six ' in number, with Gracie Marks, a sister, came from Crys­tal Lake, near Peterborough. There must be something in the air of that disttict to produce a Davies and a Marks family. Af·

' ter giving up the theatre busi­ness, Ernest, one of the Marks brothers, became the mayor of Oshawa. He died recently. An­neS.!, a nephew of the Marks be­came the Mayor of Oshawa. An· other became a minister.

Het·e was pure unadulterated melodrama and I revelled in it I remember Tom Marks in fur~ lined coat, top hat and white spats, distributin g• play bills at the schools. In one of their plays, "The Queen of China­town," a girl is being forced to

(Continued on next page)

l_t Wasn't Funny Then ••••

• course, by th~n. by gum, we all did. Afterwards she went to Knox Church and talked to the children. E . .H. Stoddard played here and gave his last perform· alice of "Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush." Fle died the next day in Stratford. There was something fatal about this place for it was here that Lawrence Irving, son of Sir Henry Irving, and his wife, Mabel Hackney, played "The Un­written Law" a week before they went down in the Empress of Ireland in the St. Lawrence River. While here, they went to the high sehool and talked to the students about dramatics.

From on_e resident of this honored. and fdmed section of the Provihce to all the residents of St. Thomas and throughout the County of Elgin - I extend hearti­est congratulations and a wish that the next hundred years of this wonderful City ond County of homes, schools, farms, industry and business, will be as full of growth, prosperity and pioneering as the first nundred. For pioheering is an Elgin heritage and our best hope for the future.

Wnen granc;lma was a girl it was frills and ribbons, layers of petticoats and corset covers. Today, these cumber­some garments have been replaced by functional garments and magical materials.

~ l\Y ShO\\··· v ountJ'S $vee G . es.s that is I bUStll

a youttY St Thomas • • . itlt . rowtttY w . red custorn-g lue satls 1 t..onesty

· to va lace " Our creed lS f't _ to P off.er sin·

pro l ~ d to - in" ers above tunity .,n ll In keep "' aoove oppor ervice to a 't the follow­cere friendly .s we presen brands, be· with this po1tcy advertised t the very . g national Y h represen s tn th t eac . ld ueving i1 \le in its fie . best ava a

SPECIALTY SHOP 509 Talbot- St. Phone 3576

J

;

Tyrone Power, father of our Tyrone Power of the movies, played in the Grand "Servant in the House" and was snow­bound ~ere 1n February, 1911. I remember, myself, gne time .when Mansfield was playing a Berious Shakespearian role, a drip fell On

. the stage from a leaky roof, that was well along in the history of the Grand. He steadily went on with his part until sOme unthink­ing person rushed forward with a tin dishpan to catch the drops. The noise ·in the house became

Welcome home, "old timers," and a happy Centennial !

Very Sincerely,

F. S. "Tommy" Th()mas Minister of Public Works, Government

of the Province of Ontario

. ·You Are Always Welcome at Western Ontario's Unusual Eating Places D·RIVE-I'N

Coui'teous service right to

your ear-on our flood­

lit lot every night <April

to October).

. You'll enjoy dining in.~

11The Big Top11

Yes, you'll enjoy your•

!elves hi a unique atmos­

phere ..- with the Three

Little Pigs at tlie Circus.

The cliildren, especially,

will love eating out undet

"The Big '1'6p."

we w elcom~ the

Guest Who Welcomes

the Best

ST. THOMAS LOCATION ••• Just North Of St. Thomas on

1 Sandymount Hill -Highways Nos. 3 and 4.

<Facilities for Group Luncheons and Dinners)

LONDON LOCATION . . . Wharncliffe Road at Dundas

Highway No. 2 The Original "Pentl'y"

Established in 193(

The fnain portion of The Three Little Pigs "Pen try", known as "The Big Top" is in keeping with the circus theme painted in delightful murals on the walls. It is seen here from the main entrance lobby where three little pigs wave a cheery welcome to visitors from atop the huge fireplace opposite the front door. Still further to the rear, is the modern, stream­lined kitchen, well equipped for speedy service to all departments.

,, So. 1

where a Snac!G l?a.s a Sm(Jc!G ~I' Owned and operated by Earl and Bill Nichols.

'.

The Original Home of

Cllicken Pickin's A DINNER IN A BASKET

Tender chicken, d e e p

fried in a golden batter1

nestled in a basket with

French fries, toasted but­

terd roll and tfimmin's .

MR. FIVE BY FIVE

DOUBLEBURGS

CHICKENBURGS

CHEESEBURGS

HAMBURGS

HOTDOGS

Orders attractively pack­aged to take out, piping hot and ready to serve at home.

Steak ••• Shrimp and

Fish

DINNERS

11 Cordial Welcome

• • • to all

CENTENNIAL VISITORS

FRIDAY. AfTGUST 1, 195Z

Cl . G d :: arts,: ran Theatre Days

(Continued from preceding page)

take dope. Some farmer tn the house who pr-obably had visited the Penwarden House bar be· for-e coming in got up and shouted, "It's a crying Shame."

In the bar of the ·penwarden House, now the Royal House, a bell was rung when it was time for the theatre patrons to go back for the next act.

"The Merry WidoW" opera was the rage in Europe, and th~ first place in America 1where the waltzes we:-e played was in St. Thomas. A St. Thotnas woman went to England aJtd b~ou§ht back the score. BeTt :Billings the bandmaster of the 25th Regiment arranged the waltzes and they were a sensa­tion here.

MR. AND MRS. TOM THUMB As a child I was taken to see

Tom Thumb and . his wife who were midgets. I can still see their adorable little coach drawn by dogs. Mrs. Thumb in a minute rooe satin evening gown was helped from it by her tiny husband, in theatre cape, and white gloves.

Strange, the movies that have now taken over showed. one of their first great pictures here, at the Grand. It Wall "The Birth of a Nation" and I can still re­member the profound impres­sion it made on the audience. The exhibitors brought their own Orchestra with them.

The Irish comedians Joe . • Murphy and Fisk O'Hara, tenors,

came evety year, and the Guy Bros., minstrels, were frequent visitors. Before perfOrmances, theit orchestra played in front of the post office and theatre.

Jessie McLachlin, Scotch singer, came yearly and every Scot turned out, She generally had a little drink before she went on and When she sang "You tak the ' high road and I'll tak the low road" the audienc~ rOse to its feet and almost raised the roof off.

Jack Spurr started as property rnan at this theatre, and began , his long, successful career as a theatre manager all over Canada. He was manager of the Winni­peg theatre, then manager of the Orpheum circuit in the West, manager in Regina, Cal­gary and Vancouver. Before his retirement he was managing three movie t.heatres in Hamil­ton. He told me of hiring Will Rogers for $25 for three nights. In later years Rogers sometimes received $2,000 for a single per· formance. He drew fabulous salaries as a movie star before he was killed in a plane acci­dent in Alaska

Mr. Spurr told one a tale about a man who brought a tame lion and its cubs to the Grand and how one night run· ning down the stairs to the dress­ing rooms he stepped on a cub and received a terrible roar from the mother lion that almost chilled his blood. ' ·

John L. Sullivan and Jake Killrain, prize fighters, came with a variety show. Also James J . Corbett in "Gentleman Jim."

NO BURLESQUE FOR CHARLI E Charles Corbett, who was long

a postal employee and is still in our midst, spent much of his early life around the Opera House, starting as a little boy holding open the doors. His home is neat the Opera House, From hiilding open the doors he pro~ressed tii giving out pro­gratns anCI was otten given a

1921

St. Thomas had a real flve dram· atic organization 50 or 60 years ago; first In the St. ' Patrick's Dramatic Society, then in the St. Thoma~ D ram at I c Company, troupes which played at the old Claris and Grand opera houses and also travelled a bit. Above Joseph P. Sutler, who played the leading role in I!UCh plays as

"The Kerry Gow," "Arizona," "Col­leen Bawn," etc. James Mc­Manus, member of another well­known St. Thomas family usually

played the viii ian.

Charlie Corhett, retired posta l clerk, Queen street, who can recall "the good old days'' around the Claris and the Grand.

pass. He would run home to tell his mother where be was going to spend the evening. When the first burlesque show came to St. Thomas he received a pass and ran h ome to tell his mother. "Go to see those naked women," said his mother. "No you don't. You go right up tho.se stairs to your bed.''

He tells me that at the first of the burlesque shows only men went and the town was shocked at the posters. Men would come to the theatre, look up and down the street to see if they were being observed. then dash in at top speed.

Boys, he says, often sneaked in early in the evening · and hid under the back seats until the doors were opened. Mr. Cor­bett became an important man at the Grand and learned the theatrical business thoroughly He often trained casts for loCal

\ performances. Some of his boys who made good in other places came back to see him.

The St. Thomas boys had lot6 01 fun in the past with the hypnotists who came to the Grand. There was one Pro­fessor Reyno 1 d s who came yearly. The boys would pre-

1952

BU.IlDING FOR 31 YEARS

r n Community and Inter­

Comrnunity Service!

For 31 years The St. Thomas KiwOnis

Club has been buildit'lg tnr()ugh the

medium of its noble work fot crippled

ond underprlviledged children . . . in

juvenile sports and recreation.

The Kiwa nis Club has been respons­

ible for better undefstanding between

rural and urban people through itc; 'an-

. nual Farmers' Night. and the sp611sor­ing .and encouraging Form Boys Club­

work for more thor\ 20 years.

The Kiwanis Club conducf@d Ontario's

lorgest Blood Donors Clinic during the

Second World Wor.

The Kiwanis Club Of. St .. Thomas Inc.

Inaugurated March 4, 1921 ·

"LIBERTY ••• LET'S kEEP IT!"

W. !, T URVI LLE, Pre•.

480 Ta lbot S.

A. D. McCOLL, Sec

91 Glads tone

THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAL

Claris and Pendleton ~Gave St. ·Thomas Its First Opera

Famous Old Theatre Was Opened _With Civic Cere· monies, December 24, 1873

For nearly half a century, after the building of the Canada South­ern Railway, St. Thomas had the reputation of being a great show town. getting many of the best theatrical productions and the great actors and actresses of the :Past when the companies were on the road, travelling between Buffalo and Detroit.

That end of high class enter­tainment dates back to 1873. when the Claris and Pendlefon Opera House was built in West Talbot street at a cost of $20,000. George T. Clarls ran the opera house tor many years and it became known as the Claris Qpera House, but part of the funds were ):!Ut up by Pendleton a confectioner, who occupied one o.: the two stores on cupied one of the two stores on the main floor of the building The other store was occupied bY, Webb's and Orr's China Uall. The second floor was offices. The opera hou.•e, or opera h all as it was called. was on the thirc~ floor and had seating for 900 people. The Claris Opera House was

tend they were hypnotized and put on some funn y antics.

All these memories were thronging through my head as I stootl in this great empty space. I glance up, and where the gal·· leries were a .iamily wash hangs on the line.

But the play bills are still there and the stage and for all the chilly breezes through the broken windows I can still feel the old gay ghost stamping around and I'm glad he is here while the modern world on motors rushes by on Talbot street, St. Thomas.

formally op,ened with a civic cere· mony and entertainment on Christmas Eve, 1873.

The contractors who built St. Thomas' first opera house were masonry, George Ponsford; cat· penter work, J. M:. Green; plaster• ing, Clarke Brothers; heating, Bradley Brothers, Stratford; !ton work, Farley and Irwan, Hamil· ton. '

St. Thomas had places · of en­tertainment and so-called opera houses before Claris and Pendle· ton launched their project. but that was the first to usher in a new era Of public entertainment.

PIONEER WASHBOARDS The Home Journal, Thursday,

August 16, 1860, said: C. B. Brown has established his busi­ness on the corner of Queen and Talbot streets. where he is carrying on the manufacture of his celebrated Conclave Wash Boards. He has just succeeded in securing a Patent for his Com­bined Plaster and Grain Sower, and is new prepared to mamifac· ture himself, and to sell rights to others who wish to manufacture this excellent labor saving rna· chine. Sowing Plaster of Paris is one of the most disagreeable duties that a farmer undertakes, from the beginning to the year's end, and, as has been tested, 'with this machine he can sow very evenly, and with the utmost ease, any quantity he may wish, to the acre, from 75 . to 200 pounds. It has also been tried for sowing peas, barley, oats and wheal, and for either, has been found equally well adapted. We have no doubt that before the end of another year it will have come into very extE-nsive use.

· St. Thomas' Largest and

Most Modern Bowling Alley •

ST. THOMAS

BOWLING ANES 10 MONDOMIN ST.

• 16 BEAUTIFUL ALLEYS

• CORRECTLY LIGHTED

• BOWLING SHOES TO RENT

• • I REDMOND MOTORSI milde in St. Thomas

•

. SERVE THE NATION

it A hundred ye,rs ago, when St. Thomas had its start, the electric motor

· \ was hardly more than a dream of ambitious inventors.

St. Thomas , and the electric motor industry beth hav~ play~d important roils in the industrial growth of Canada and were destined to eventually join hands.

Today the majority of automobiles built in Canada are equipped ~ith electric motors manufactured in St. 'fhomas by Red~ond Motors of Canada, Ltd.

Redmond is proud to be part of progressive St. Thomas. Our employees as w_ell as the entire community ha ve earned our thanks for their excel· lent' coftoperation.

ro us, St. Thomas is youthful and ambitious, a community with which we look forward to growing and prospering in th~ years ahead.

MOTORS OF CANADA, LTD~ ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO

5$5

• BEAUT IUL SURROUNDINGS

. • MODERN LUNCH BAR (Photo by Stollery of st. Thomas)

Manufacturing plant of Redmond Motors of Cllnada Ltd .. 121 Woodworth Avenue, St. Thomas

-

ELGIN COUNTY'S LARGEST & MOST MODERN FURNITURE STORE!

Next to L. & P.S. Tracks 4'The Store With the Large Green Frane' Photo by Stollery of ~t. TbQlllat

Phone 2805

Everything for the Modern Kitchen ! REFR IGERATORS- All leading makes--deep freezes acros~

top-7.6 to 9 cubic feet.

WASH ING MACHINES- Famous Connor-Thermo---4 year guarantee.

CHROME TABLES-Smart desigl'ls- refrectory and Duncan Fyfe styles- orborite tops-assorted co lors.

Everything for lhe Modern Home ! CHESTERFIELD SUITES-Velours, wool and nylon frelzes­

guaranteed spring cGhstruction-r-new~st shades.

BROADLOOM CARPET - Popu lar 9' and · 12' widths-1 00% wool. Can be made up to rug sizes or' wall to wall FREE PAD with every rug sold .

CHROME CHAI RS-Variety of s tyles-os~orted colors.

" -

G-7.

J

\

'

FRIDAY, AUGUST l, 195~ THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAL

BE CK MAKES GOOD P R OMI SES TO FARMERS

Rural Hydro First .Shown to Elgin County Farmers Ne.ar City Forty Years Ago

Demonstrations on Anderson anJ McKenzie Farms In October, 1912; Mischievous High School Boy Shied

Apple at Sir Adam B eck's Derby While such words as "centen­

!i.ial" and "pioneer" usually are associated with the era of tallow candles, kerosene lamps and manual labor, the magic medium of electrical energy · has taken on certain venerable qualities in the St. Thomas and Elgin District.

In fact it is more t11an 41 years ago that St. Thomas became one of the or iginal 13 municipalities

'in whai is known as the Niagara Zone to be "hooked up" to Sir Adam Beck's ex·periment in public ownership and power at c;ost-Hydro.

T he first delivery of electrical energy to St. Thomas by the Ontario Hydro-Electric P ower Commission was made early in April, 1911. Port Stanley was just a year later, getting its first Hydro deliveries in April, 1912. Other municipalities in Elgin received their first deliveries from rflhe Niagara generating plants in the following order: Village of Dutton, September, 1915; Village of West Lorne, January, 1917; Village of Rodney, February, 1917; Village of Springfield, August, 19<17; Town of Aylmer, March, 1918; and Village of Wardsville, on the northwest limits of Elgin, June, 1921.

"Mitch" Hepburn - a lad who later was to become Elgin's youngest member in the House of Commons and still later pre­mier of Ontario. T he "Boy From South Yarmouth," th en just an­other high school kid to Sir Adam Beck, watched the demon­strations with other lads from the vantage point of trees along the Anderson barnyard. It is a matter of unofficial record that one of those lads tossed the a l}ple at Sir Adam's derby with accurate aim on th'at now historic

· occasion, but The Times-J ournal has been assured that it was not the L iberal-minded future pre­mier of Ontario.

The Rural Hydro demonstrati-ons at the farm of A ·ex Anderson, just sout h of St. Thomas, ca1led f or a St. Th omas school holiday. Teachers t ook t heir classes t o see t he won ders of Hydro in gro ups. No do ubt ma ny ch ildren of 40 years ago will r ecognize their faces an d t hose of f riends in t he above

When one quotes these early deliveries, one ne~essarily thinks in terms of urban municipalities. True, Rural Hydro as it is known today was not to come as a distinct division of public service for some years, but Sir Adam Beck and his early associates were cognizant of the place that electrical energy would have eventually on the farm and in

' the rural areas. · That vision of things to come

was crystallized during the year 1912 when a series of farm demon­strations on the various uses of Hydro were a rranged and were attended in virtually every in­stance by Sir Adam in hb familiar derby hat.

The two demonstrations that !brought a vision of Rural Hydro to Elgin people were held on the Alex Anderson farm, off the Port Stanley Highway, just south of the city, from October 5 to 8 inclusive, and on the McKenzie farm, south Yarmouth, also off the Port Stanley Hig:hw-ay on October 11, 12 and 14, 1M2.

P OWER FROM ST. THOM AS The demonstrations at that

¢ime had to be limited to the · St. Thomas area for until about

ten yea·rs later, Hydro energy for farms rhad to be provided from the St. Thomas system on a rural extension plan. About 150 rural or su·burban services were hooked up.

Among those who witnessed 1lhose first demronstrations in the 'Use o! Hydro on the farm in the St. Thomas area was a Col­legiate Institute . .student named

BRUNNER MONO .

The successful application on the European continent of electric drive to various agricultural machines, particularly threshers and ensilage cutters, led the On­tario Commission, headed by the Hydro Knight, to construct two outfits similar to those used on

SI R ADAM BECK

the continent bY embodying a number of minor changes to adapt ~hem to Canadian conditions. It is amusing to note that each outfit was composed of a covered motor wagon and a covered trans­former wagon. The wagoq proper consisted of Bain wagon gears equipped with wagon poles and whipple-trees. The transformer wagons were provided with com­mon wagon springs and the motor wagons with bolster springs. Ex·perience in . the field Showed: that wagons with 1110 springs at all wouldr have been preferable, ·but at the time the wagons were designed it was · thought necessary to tprovide for the jar incident to the movement or vhe wagons over the rough country roads. (There w ere no 'hard-surfaced. highways or county roads in these parts 4'0 years ago.) All the wagons were pro­vided with hand brakes. Each unit weighed approximately two tons, fully equipped. The trans-

former wagons were, r oughly, eight feet long, three and one-half feet wide, and five feet high. The gears were fitted with front wheels 30 inches in diameter and rear wheels 42 inches in dia­meter. The motor wagons were slightly smaller.

WAGON EQ UI PMENT Each transformer wagon in

those first demonstrations of Rural Hydro was equipped with two 15 kilowatt 2,200-220-110 volt 25 cycle oil-cooled transformers, connected delta to delta. The transformers were provided with 110 and 220 volt taps on the low tension side and protected on the high tension side by auto­matic oil circuit breakers. T he complete equipment of the wagons proper was protected against atmospheric discharge by Garton Daniels' lightning arrest­ers grounded through the wagon f rames, with a short piece of cable and iron pin driven into the ground when the equipment was in operation.

The transformer wagons were also supplied with multiple tele­phone units which were con­nected to the line in a manner similar to the transformers. This enl!lbled the wagon operator to communicate directly with the sub-station in St. Thomas, or , when necessary, with th e Hydro ihead office.

The motor wagons were each provided with a 25 horsepower, three phase, 220 volt induction mot'Or, connected and controlleds directly by oil insulated au to­starters. Ther e were n o knife switches on the motor wagon, and the only way by which the circuit could ·be opened was by manual operation of the star ter, by an excess of cu rrent tripping. the overload :relay or 1by the no voltage reLease on the aut() starter.

The motor wagon carried in the :rear compartll'j,ent an iron cable reel ca.pable o( holding 1,500 feet of flexible cable, which was used to connect the motor and trans­former wagons by means of a special plug which was inserted in the receptacles and rotated 00

. . / •• ~ ~ • Oily's Lostnl

Sollie . ll! DOLLAR$-in DUi'T

MONEY INTC

THIN AIR!

That's where your gravel goes- in the 1

form of dust! It's false

economy to have frequent maintenance with all the added costs,

ANCHOR THE GRAVEL THIS EASY WAY!

Smooth out the road by Consolidating the surface with Brunner Mond Cal.cium

Chloride. Make the roaf:i cleaner, safer, better for traiic - at no extra cost.

CONSERVE GRAVEL- STRETCH MAINTENA NCE DOLLA RS! Discuss with our Sales Engineers the advantages of Consolidation of your gravel road mileage. Remember:

"Calcium Chloride where there's travel, Costs no more than losing gravel, There are benefits to you, In far less dust and maintenance, too.'!

AN ALL-CANADIAN PRODUCT

BRUNNER MOND CANADA SALES; LIMITED

MONTREAL ·TORO N TO

picture.

degrees to insure proper contact. This cable, when alive, was sup­ported above the ground by 15 to 20 foot wooden tripods.

Portable meters were carried to show the power us.ed and various sizes of pulleys were included to provide proper driving speeds for the d ifferent types of thresh­ing machines and ensilage- cut­ters.

In addition to the outfits just mentioned, a three ton 50 horse­power gasoline motor truck was purchased, equipped with folding running boards which during the demonstrations were used as plat­forms from which the operators might explain the operation s.

A three phase induction motor was mounted on this platform and employed to operate a me­chanical milking machine, a steel frame circular saw, a wash­·ing m achine, cream separator, a churn, a butter workers and a windmiH pump.

FED BY ELECTRICITY The demonstrations drew large

attendances and no doubt some Doubting Thomases, for don't forget Hydro on the farm was

virtually unthought of 40 years ago.

Farmers' wives who attended demonstrations, along with hun­dreds of St. Thomas women, found special interest in d.emon­strations by an expert of electr ical household appliances "ot that day. Toast, coffee and tea, prepared on those electric appliances, was served the spectators. Demon­strations were also given in the uses. of an electric vacuum cleaner, washing machine, bed­warmer, etc.

Some of those who attended no doubt had seen similar demon­strations at Western Fair, then called· London Fair.

There were also demonstrations given in the superiority of the electric motor over steam, gaso­line and oil engines for threshing, silo filling, wood cutting, and other vJork on the farm. And of course, Sir Adam Beck, was very much present at those demonstra­tions, as the Beck home was in London.

NA UTICAL Mother: "I told you if a sailor

asked you for a kiss to say 'no.' " Daughter: "But, Mother, they

d on 't ask."

Elgin fa rmers saw electrical e nergy used f or the first tim e in mi lking cows at the demonstration on A lex Anderson's farm, In the above group are Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Sir Adam Beck; the late Dr. Fr ed Guest, who was mayor of St. Thomas; and quite a few well known local peop le, inc lud i.ng Fred Lindsay, now well known Ka ins Hill farmer and dairyman. The cow, very Impolitely, turned

.EARLY BANKS AND ELGIN BAN KERS Bank of Montreal P ioneer

Institution Four names are linked up with

the earliest history of banking in the Talbot settlement. They are those of Edward Ermatinger, father of Judge C. 0. Ermatinger, who first visited the d istrict in the early summer of 1830; J. K. Woodward, banker and paymaster of the cavalry troops when the garrisons were located in St. Th~mas; and Hope and Hodge, prominent businessmen in St. Thomas from about 1835 on.

E d w a r d Ermatinger became postmaster of s t. Thomas and agent successively of the Bank of

her back to the camera.

Upper Canada and the Commer­cial Bank and for 14 years was manager of the Bank of Montreal in S t. Thomas. After Elgin was set apart as a county, Mr. Erma­tinger authorized the Bank of the Coun ty of Elgin, but with a de­pression, the bank failed. How­ever, there was no ' loss to the creditors, an d v e r y little to the shareholders. Subsequent­ly the Bank of Elgin County building was occupied by the Commercial and Merchants' Banks.

J. K. Woodward was the pioneer banker who formed the agricultural bank. It failed and he ended his days as a miller a t Selbourne, just north of Port Stanley. Adam Hope, later Sir Adam Hope, of Hamilton and London, and h is brother-in-law, Thomas Hodge, became agents of the Gore Bank about 1838 or 1840 with an office on the old market

square at Talbot and S tanley streets.

As early as 1840, there were offices of the Bank of Montreal and the Commercial Bank at Port Stanley, then a thriving shipping centre for the district.

At one time the old Merchants , Bank was in the large residential building on the west side of Pearl st reet, directly across from the Memorial Hospital. I t is now an apartment building.

SPEED

In an American shipyard not­ed for i ts hustle and speed the stage was set for a launching ceremony. The distinguished guest, holding the traditional bottle of champagne, exclaimed in some bewilderment. "But there's no ship!"

Replied the foreman: "Start swingin g that bottle, lady. There will be."

A Billion Dollar Corporation

CHENAUX Generating Station The Chenaux Generating Stat ion on the Ottawa River was placed in service in Nov. 1950. This station has a capacity of 120,000 Kilowatts (160,000 HP).

SIR ~DAM BECK-Niagara Generating Station No. 7 This project, the largest ever undertaken by Hydro, with an installed capacity of 525,000 Kilowatts (700,-000 HP) is scheduled for initial service 1954.

,.

J. CLAR K KEITH Generating Station Like its counterpart in Toronto this station in Windsor \fas officially opened late in 1951. Installed capacity when completed 264,000 Kilowatts (354,000 HP).

Pacing Ontario's Growth .. •

OTTO HOLDEN Generating Station Another link in the chain of Generating Stations on the Ottawa River. Placed in initial service January, 1952, tills station has an ultimate capacity of 204,000 Kilowatts (273,000 HP).

FOURTEEN NEW POWER SO URCES ADD OVER 3 · MILLION HORSEPOWER Ontario Hydro Is providing low-cost power for the greatest industrial ex pansion in tl'le history of the Province. Of the 14 ,.ew power sources embraced in the expansion program, in­a ugurated in 1945, 13 a re now in full or partial service.

As a result of this record 1()-year building program, which includes the giant Sir Adam Beck-Niagard Generating Station No.2 now under construction at Niagara Falls, the Commission's dependable peak ca pa city (all systems, generated and pur­chased) will by the e nd of 1955 be increased 3,17 4,500 horse­power to a total of 5,771,600 horsepower- 122% higher than the de pendable pea k ca pacity of December, 1945-more power for greater p rogre5S and better living in Ontario.

PINE PORTAGE Generating Station This station on the Nipigon River, officially opened in June, 1950, is to be extended to three units h_aving a total dependable peak capacit y of 93,000 Kilowatts

. (124,700 HP).

HYDR:

STEWARTVILLE Generating Station Placed in service Sept. 1948. This station on the Mada­waska River added 63,000 Kilowatts (84,500 HP).

DES JOACHIMS Generating Station This station on the Ottawa River with a capacity of 380,000 Kilowatts (509,000 HP) is the largest project completed in Hydro's current expansion program.

RICHARD 1. 14EARN Generating Station Located in· T oronto tills is Canada's largest fuel-electric generating station. Officially opened October, 1951. Present installed capacity 188,000 Kilowatts (252,000 HP). Capacity when completed and operating a t 60 cycles 400,000 Kilowatts (536,000 HP' -

'

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1952

GOODWIH - l881

•

-=-··A_,..,.., oday we pro u g I y take our place ~~~-;::;? among tne o Ides t firms in St.

Thom.as. Goodwin1s is a store that was well and I

truly built upon the sound business ethic~ of its fouMd~·r~.

~~./ raven th-rougn the years.-. it holds its place firmly in the regard of its

customers .. ~ . a regard that has been reflected in steady growth .•. Several ge11erations have been born and raised in hqmes furnished by Gooawin1s. This is an ertviable recor-d of which . .

we ore understandably p,roud.

Where Qualify .Is a T raaition •

-----.::-; • • tne f~rniture you see a·t Gooowin's is carefully selectea for qual~ ity. Each piece is the product of o famous Canadian factory - of a uniform high degree of excellence as to quality of materials and care­ful expert workmanship • !: .. In its e:lass each piece is the finest ob­t-ainable.

FIRST in ST. THOMAS in 1870 . : •.. . anti still FIRST cho'ice o'f people who demand quality f_urniture at Reasonable

Pric;_es ..

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FURNITURE STYLES .. \

FOR .. 82 ·Y.EARS!

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-GOODWIN - .1 Q~2

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. . . ·FurnitJire by Canada!s . ·• Leading Manufacturers!

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* Kroeler * Mclagon *Gibbard * KnectE~I * Lane

* Dei lc:roft

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*Simmons ~Marshall

• ·* Sleepmaster * H~ordings

*Barrymore

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FURNITURE -HOUS ~- . ' . . ' ~ \ .. ' ,

~56 T a!bot St, _ -Establi~hecl JS7~-

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Farm in' Same Family for Generations

~ne or Southwold's fln~st farms that has bl!en In the same family for ,generations Is the Fer­guson farm on the Union Road. The above line drawing of the Dugald Ferg uson farm, ~ot 11, was lftfade and published about 75 years ag~. At that time it was regarded as . .one of the fi nest farms

In southwestern Ontario.

· The Jrerauaon farm home and approach as It app ears today. For · years It has been known as the R. D. P'erguson farm and has been one of Elgln'a showplaces. The farm has never · left the Fer­_.u.on family and Is operated today by Robert Ketchum, nephew of the late Robert D, Ferg~son.

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·Best

F. W. Cadlck Accountant

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D. 'M. McCallum ,-· · · ·

Manager

St. Thomas Branch

390 Talbot Street

St. Thomas1 Ontario

I. J. Brown Tru&t OfflC'er

THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAU FRIDAY, AUGUST l, 1952

Rebel Hunter of1837Got ~Good Advice

·so YEARS COMBI"ED HARDWARE The enfranchisement of Ca­

nadian women may be a modern institution, but the women of pioneer days had their political

. views and convictions, just the

same. Many an anecdote regarding a

'husband who was of one polit­ical stripe and a wHe who was of the opposite have been pre­served from the early settlement days.

· One of them has to do with William Hutchinson, an English- , man who settled on the old Tal­bot Road, now Queen's Highway No. 3, about five miles east of Aylmer. He built an attractive white frame house well over a century ago that is still a beau­tiful home, owned and occupied by AI Benner.

Hutchinson was an ardent Tory while his wife was just as strongly Reformer in her views. At the time of tlhe Mackenzie Rebellion in 1837, Hutchinson be­came greatly exercised over the rebellious elements, so the story goes.

One morning, when the news about the insurgents was rather disturbing, Hutchinson arose early, c1eaned his musket and went out the back door of the old house. His wife hurried to the front door and called to him as he came arol.md from the rear.

"Wihere you going, Billy?" she called.

"I'm goin·g to shoot some of those rebels," he. replied.

"Be careful you don't come back with a bullet in your rear section," his wife warned.

That story was recalled by William (Billy) Pound, third generation of that family to live on the Pound farm, across the highway from the Hutchinson, now the Benner, farm. He re­membered hearing his mother tell the story when he was a boy,

THE FIGHTING IRISH Irish settled in the northeast

corner of Aldborough Township iti the early days, and became known as the settlement of the Fighting Irish. With backs to ' the .Thames River, and surroun­ded on three sides by Heiland Scots, they quite likely had plenty of opportunity to in­dulge in brawls. The Fighting Irish ran a ferry for ,¥ears, but by the time a bridge was built they seemed to have drifted away. Malcolm Robinson, a weaver, and another Irishman named Smith, came from Nor­thern Ireland in the early 1800's. Robinson settled near Eagle where . his home became Aldbo­rough's first school, started in 1819. A Robinson still lives on that rpioneer farm.- E.T.C.

to

100 ye

s. W. LOOMIS, Pro•p, I 32 years service in same I

store. 1 . /

1903-1952 - 353 Talbot St.-

EXPE-RIENCE •

MRS. E. S, RANDALL Office Accountant:

N. C. LOOMIS, Manager

28 years servic:e. in same store.

49 YEARs· HARDWARE STORE

Featuring Products That Have· Stood the Tests of Time!

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Branlford Roofing & SUPPLIES

Sold loT 40 years

CCM Sporting-· Goods .

Sold for 40 years

Tfie Wonder Paint

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a"d SOLD HERE CONTINUALLY •••

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Glidden Paints Clare Jewel General -ENAMELS Stoves and Sleelware -FLORENAMEL

Ranges Products -SPRED SATIN

Sold for 28 years Sold for 40 years Sold for 40 years

Ta_ylq~ Forbe~ Reach, Wright Maple leaf LAWN MOWERS · &:Dilson ' Harvest .. '

~po.~ing Equ ipment GARDEN TOOLS Sold for -40 years Sold for 40 years • • Sold for 40 years

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LOOMIS· HD·WE. "'Your Glidden Paint Dealer." ,

WE DELIVER

Talbot Opp. Elgin Phone 371

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c , ONFIDENT in the future prosperity of Elgin County and believing there-existed a need for our services in this area, we extended our activities to the "Golden Acres'' district in 1903, almost a half century ago. Up until this time our Companies had operated from one office, our Main Branch in London.

. Many senior citizens of Elgin County will recall the St. Thomas a'~fice of Ta_it and Murch, private bankers. It was through this office that we first did business in your City, later opening an office on Talbot Street near the ticket office of the old Traction Railway .

. In 1927, when the business of The Soutnern Loan & Savings was merged with .ours, w~ moved to 390 Talbot Street, the forme:: ~outhern Loan offices, and have enjoyed a happy relationship with tpe people of St. Thomas and Elgin

·County at this location since that time. \Ve look forward to a period of even greater prosperity for Elgin County . and count it a privilege to be identified with the growth of your city and county through the years.

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TBE CANADA ·TRUST COMPANY AND'

· {4.'n InvUation

Old friends and new ones always fino a worm welcome and efficient, courteous service at .any of our Bra nch Offices. The Manager and personnel of ou'r St. Thomas ~ Office join in inviting you to drop in for a friendly visit. They will be pleased to explain f.inancial services to Y.OU.

The Duron & Erie Mortgage Co-..poralion _

'Branch Offices:1 London, (4), Toronto, 'st. Catharines, Ha miltol'l, G u e I p h, St. Thomas, Chatham, Windsor, Montreal, Winnipeg, R e g in a, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria. ·

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"Older than the Dominion of. Canada"

Huron & Erie and Canada Trust Services., Savings Accounts - Christmas Savings Club - Guaranteed Deposit Accounts - J)ebentures - Guaranteea Trust Certificates Safe Deposit Boxes- Loa~s- Estate Analysis- Executor - Trustee - Agent - Business Sales - Trustee for Pension

Funds - Transfer Agent - Dividend Disbursing Agent - Registrar - -Trustee under Bond Issues.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1952

THE OL.D MARKET SQUARE-The old horse drawn street car at the right shows that this picture was taken prior to 1889, when the electric cars came. Loads of cord wood and hay were among the offerings. The lower floor of the old town hall in the centre of the picture was . rented to butchers and other dealers. The large building at the right Is the Hutchinson House, while at the extreme right, the cOrner just showing is the ,White Bronze Monument works. At the left at the far end of Stanley street can be seen Drake's livery stable. .

' The oid :m.arke<t square around

the town hall, off Stanley street, was an im~rtant place '15 to 100 years ago, the meeting place of the people of Yarmouth and Southwold and st. Thomas clti· zens.

It was not only a bus;r. plaee of 'barter and trade but it was also the source of considerable rev­enue for the community. Market stalls were sold at fixed prices for the year and in addition the right to collect market fees from other y.e:ndors was awarded by tender, year after year.

The first market cler.k after village incorporati<>n in 1852 proved unsatisfact<>ry with the ~reSUlt that toward the end of the year he was removed fro~ office and the clerkship re-advertised for a three m<>nths period as from J anua.ry 1, 1853. The result was that the tender <>! one John Moq.ntford of seven pounds, ten shillin,gs was accepted, but the village council took t he precau­tion to _append a rider to the ef­if€ct in event of improper per­fonnance of dttty, a penalty of ten pounds would be imposed. The resolution in the minutes book dealing with the discharge of the -1852 ·market clerk is in· terestin·g, It reads as follows: "That whereas the clerk of the market has mad-e default in the payment of :fees due by him, and

has misbehaved himself in the said office, be it therefore re­solved that said office be for­feited and market fees be re­sold.''

Another resolution required the market clerk to hand over the keys to the market to Reeve David Parish.

Competition was nevertheless keen for the market' clerkship in 1853. William I . White .got the clerking with his tender of 54 pounds for the market fees. W. I. Brett bid 52 pounds; Jo- . seph Laing, 51 pounds; E. C. Ferrin, 43 pounds; and Arthur Wellington Mann and Patrick Regan. 25 pounds apiece.

Market stalls were sold in the town hall. In 1852, the stalls went to Leonard Thompson and Samuel Paddon at 8 pounds, 12 shillings, 6 pence each for the year; while Reeve David Parish paid 8 pounds for his stall. The council- by reS"olution required the payments to be made month· ly in advance, even if the Reeve was one of the bidders.

The next year the price for -the stalls was u pped to 10 pounds and one shilling each, with the same three men getting the stalls.

In 1854, the council again upped the price of the market stalls to 12 pounds, 10 shillings for stalls 1, 2, 3 and 4; and 9 pounds for stalls 5, 6, and 7.

The resolution that again rais-

The origNvaa Erie Iron Works plant 'Wihen it was located at Curtis and St. Catharine Streets,

Our History Goes Back Beyond 187·&· The exact age of the Erie I ron Works is not known, but · records show that this firm was manufacturing in St. Thomas before. 1876. From a smaff beginning, the Ene Iron Works has grown with the years through s e vera I managements various locations, and even disastrou~ ~ire, un;if it stands today, a strong link rn the rndustrial life of St. Tho mas. Generations of hardware merchants and farm implement de a I e r s throughout Canada have been handling the re liable products of this veteran St. Thomas in­dustry for generations.

THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAl; ·- · - - ---------- - - ---- G-1{

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CANADIAN ALUS-CHALMERS (1951) LTD. General Offices: Lachine, Que;

WORKS: LACHINE; Q,UE; • ST~ THOMAS; ONT:

A STILL. EARLIER PICTURE-The earner of Stanley and Talbot streets was a busy place Saturday morning 70 or 80 years ago. .Among the buildings on the left on Stanley street was ~rommel's

ho~el or the Farmer's Exchange.

ed the stall prices read "the up­set prices of market stalls."

sponsible or not, but in August 1852, the village council passed this resolution: "That the in­spectors be instructed to inspect the village and to this Council at

the next meeting infonning them of any stagn ant water, pools, of­f~nsive smells, or other nuisance likely to affect the public health."

CANADIAN . ALLIS-CHALMERS • John Cole, John Paddon,. John

Sells, and Samuel Paddon were th~ boys who paid the higher prices, Samuel Paddon buying Nos. 2 and 4 stalls at those figures.

Whether the market was re·

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A Dependable .Manufacturing ~

Name For Over. so·vears!

~he Modern Home of the Erie Iron Works as it Operates Tod~ ·on Edw.ord Street

The old Ermatinger block in the west end of Talbot S treet where :the Erie Ir.an :Wom carried out operations for nearq (() yearrs.

L~oking Ahead ·To Future Ex_pansion

As St. Thomas looks ahead to .future &X•

pension, so do we ot Erie I ron Works.

While many products of the originol

plant are stiff manufactured, with mod­

ern. improvements, of eourse, many new

products are also manufactured. We

look forward to greater expansi~n end

the manufacturing of new and improved

products.

CONTRACTORS' and INDUSTRIAl -

ERIE LAWN RO L.L.ERS All desigris of Lawn Roller from the low priced model within the reach · of · every householder to large double drum types !or com·

BARROWS'

ERIE wood and steel frame models with a variety of tray designs to meet every possible requirement. 48 models with all parts" interchangeable.

ERI E CONCRETE CARTS Pneumatic tired concrete C3.1"ts in a variety of sizes and · designs,

ERIE IRO

ERIE DOMESTIC WHEELBARROWS A model to suit every householder from the low priced all w ood design to the modern all 1teel ERIE RED TOP.

l.fU! TWO.WHEEL. PICK•UP &A·RT8 An attractively finished general pur:po6e garden pick-up cart popular with ~use­h olders :trom coast 1o coast.

WORKS 99 Edward St. Head O~ffice and .Plant, St. Thomas 3188

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THE ST. THOMAS TIMES-JOURNAIJ FRIDAY, AUGUST 1,195%

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~For Nearly 50 of the 100 Years of St. Thoma

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clnd. Elgin County History, ,We Ha~:e Served t~e "' I • t 1 • ' 1

People ·of this · Progressi.ve Community! \

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~1905 to . 1952---,. ~ [ . . ...

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L From J. MickleboroUgh~To J. H. Gould, Limited:_~~ waiker Stor~s, Limitedj

Yes, the histor)' behind this famous business can go

"way back11 beyond 1851 but lees go back to 1905

when the store was built on its p.resent location by the

late Joseph Mickleborough. Many St. Thomas and dis·

trict folks will remember the store under the Mickle·

borough banner ..• and the change in 1917 to the J. H.

Gould, Limited. It was only in November of 1951 that the store became known as Walker Stores, Limited, eve·n though the store has been in the family of Walker Stores· Limited since 1917. Centennial visitors to the Walker Stores, Limited will find some bright new changes, par­ticularly on the main floor which has been completely modernized.

E. A. BEDFORD ,Manag.el'

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. ·- During the more than fifty years in business, we have

served the citizens of St. Thomas and Elgin CountY

with quality merchandise at moderate prices. Yo rd

goods, linens, china, ready-to-wear for men, boys, wo·

· men and children, flbor coverings, draperies and cur­

tains are all featured in this large store that has proven I

such a popular shopping centre over the. years.

As we join the 1 OOth birthday celebration, we I o o k

forward to another fifty years when, we trust, it will

be our privilege to continue and improve our service. J

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' ,j I Shopping Convenience! Sf. Thomas and Elgin Old Boys and Girls returning to '~the old home town" for the· Centennial Celebration, will find a warm and cordial . . welcome awaiting them at Walker Stores, Limited. · ..

• · The St. Thomas Headquarters for the Famous Kenwood and Hudson's Bay Pure Wool Blankets

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T albpt at Mary Street St. Thomas Phone 3200

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