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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30,1977, PAGE 7 Brian.W.'i>ter's Histori Whitby cal CURLING IN WHIITBY The eyes of the curling community in Ontario are focused on Whitby this weekend as the Sun Life Bonspiel draws to a close at the Whitby Curling Chih. The curling club where this noted event is taking place, was formed in 1958, but the history of curling in the Town of Whitby goes back nearly a century. There was likely curling activity in the town long before this, but early records show that the first Whitby Curling Club was formed in November 1879. The first officers of the club were: R. H. Jameson, pres- ident; Christopher Johnson, first vice-president; John Tweedie, second vice-president; Ed Armstrong, treasurer; and Charles Nourse, secretary. At its first meeting the curling club decided to issue shares of $10 each to members to pay for the construction of a curling and skating rink, the first such enclosed build- ing in the town. Six years previously the Mechanics' Institute hall at the south east corner of Byron and Mary Streets had burned Corridor Capers Snow, snow, beautiful snow. The lawns and gardens have turned into a winter wonderland. The clean white snow covers a multitude of sins, such as all the pot holes on Powell Road. Some unknowing driver might even venture aloegthat road, but I, he would not get far before both axles of the car were broken. The joys of a developers' hanie work! Newton's zoning bylaw of gravity should seriously be considered. - Roads that are dug up, must be filled up. - The latest fad seems to be to change the laws to down, ana tns vacant lot was obtained as a site for the new curling rink. The building, constructed of wood, was 160 feet long and 60 feet wide, with a 30-foot ice sheet in the centre for skating and a 15-foot curling rink along each side of the building. Anterooms were also provided for ladies and gentlemen. The curling and skating rink opened on New Year's Day 1880, and was available to ticket holders every day of the week except Sunday, closing at 10 p.m. The town band provided a concert at the opening. By January 1885, the Whitby Curling Club had 40 members. By 1888 it had achieved considerable status in the community, with its patron being George H. Dartnell, the Ontario County Judge, and Mrs. Dartnell was the patroness. The president of the club was Richard Snow, a Whitby baker, and the vice-president was John Stanton, the chief engineer of the fire department. W. R. Howse, a druggist, was the treasurer, and C. E. Ray who operated a livery stable, was the secretary. The club even had a chaplain, Rev. K. MacLennan. Represenîtatives to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in Toronto were Judge Dartnell and W. Beith. The club had a fire-man committee or council of management and 20 regu- lar members. The year 1888 was an active year for the Whitby Curling Club, but it also turned out to be a year of disaster. In November that year, the curling rink burned to the ground at one o'clock on a Thursday morning, and nearly took a neighboring house with it. accomodate the crime, then the crime is no longer illegal. The Feds do it, Queen's Park do it, and even the municipali- ties do it. It says so, right in the OFFICIAL PLAN, some- where between Introduction and Indices. The snow also reminds us of happier times, like Christ- mas is but a few short weeks away.. On December 11, the Mayor and Council of the Town of Whitby invite you and your family to attendan OLD TYME CHRISTMAS PARTY at the Municipal Building, 575 Rossland Rd. E., Whitby, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. There will be entertainment, Santa for the children and a Sing-a-long for everyone. Coffee and Cakes will be served. Children must be accompanied by an adult. It sounds like a lot of fun. The Town Hall will be dec- orated in the Christmas Spirit and everyone should enjoy the day. Plan to attend. BOY SCOUT PAPER DRIVE The 7th Whitby Scout Troop will have a paper drive on Saturday, December 10. The area to be covered will be from Elizabeth Crescent to the Oshawa boundry line, north of Dundas Street. Papers should be bundled and tied, and be at the curb by 9 in the morning. Shing papers can not be accepted, just plain old newspapers. The 7th Whtiby Scout Troop plan to conduct a paper drive every month, except July and August, on the second Saturday of the month. Plans are underway for the area south of Dundas to be covered by another Whitby Troop. More details later. - Who says car repairs are expensive. One lady reported to me that she took in hem Lincoln Continental to Glen- wood Motors for repairs. The total bill came to 17c,even the Province got ripped off, no sales tax. So you see, there are some honest car service dealers around. Thats all for now, have a good week. M.McEachern 725-8967 Due to lack of response to the call for nominations for the executive of the Bradley Community Association, the nominating committee has decided to cancel the previously postponed election, as well as all efforts to continue organizing the association. A- survey of residents' expecta- tions of the Community Association was prepared, but has also been cancelled. In September, a notice requesting nominations was delivered to every resident of "The County" and "The General's Placei' subdivisions. The committee decided that if people living in the area are not interested in who will be running their association, this indicates they do not feel there is any need for such a group. The decision was taken with regret, for in a new subdivision, even more than in an older area,there are many problems which can be best solved by people working to- gether. Merk Sokolow Betty Hishon Kathleen Chung Ellen Roberts MARCH BREAK fr'" Services of Talk Travel & Tours. Includes: • CP Air 747 Toronto-Tampa Retèrn * Transfer from airport to hotel- return and baggage 7 7 nights accommodation at Holiday Inn, Clearwater Beach or Hilton (St. Pete's Beach) Talk Travel & Tours FLORIDA C.D.N. per person D.O. Mar. 16/78 Return Mar. 24178 Approx. 10 p.m. Approx.7:300o.m. Not incuded: $8.00 Canadion transport- ation tox and U.S. airport deporture tax Hotel state tax and service chares payable et hotel et Askoboutou, special departures tu Jamaica S419.00. Puerto Rico $50900 Aspen $379.00 vinyl travel walletD RUSSELL TRAVEL 116 BROCK ST. S., WHITBY 668-5000 HO URS Mon. - St. 9-5 p.m. Ashe says he will not respond to union "threats" Durham West MPP George Ashe is annoyed about the way in which the Ontario Public Service Employees Union informed him about the protest held at the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital last Wednesday. "I don't respond to threats," he said, referring to a strongly-worded message which was left at his Ajax constituency office. "Someone told my secre- tary I had better be there if I knew what was good for me," he said. "The note says the union is really going to paste me with the press." Mr. Ashe said he is willing to sit downwithanyone in his Queen's Park office to discuss a problem. "but I don't do anything just because I'm threatened." Mr. Ashe said he had to represent a constituent at a compensation board hearing the day of the protest, and the message had come on such short rn,)tice, he had little chance to reschedule prior commitments. lie said he doesn't really agree with the OPSEU case against the layoffs in the hospital service because citizens "haven't lost any service" through staff re- ductions. The cuts protested acro§s the province last Wednesday by the OPSEU are justified by the province's need for a balanced budget, said Mr. Ashe. The OPSEU says the loss of 6,000 public service jobs in three years will drastically slash governnent efficiency FISHER REFRIGERATION SERVICE Authorized AMANA dealer Save energy with high efficiency central air conditionig sales and installation iepairs to il mokes of freezers, refrigerutors, aà conditioners, delMhIdflers. We dam A servi resdentiol snd commercial air comtoneurs Repairs to Ail Makes Freezera - Refrigerators - Air Condition.rs We Recharge Automobile Air Conditioning 20 QUEEN STREET BROOK! IN, ONTARIO 855-3233 and interfere with established is planning to eliminate 2,300 programs. government jobs in the next The provincial government year. York & Durham Regions contribute most patients The Whitby Psychiatric Ilospital reports that on Oct. 31 it was caring for 462 in- patients and 379 out-patients, and had completed 110 as- sessments during the month. During October there were 94 admissions and 92 dis- charges. There were 46 admissions from York County, 34 from Durham Region, four each from Metro Toronto and Victoria County, two from Northumberland, one from Peterborough and three from other locations. York led the number of discharges with 36, followed by Durham with 23, Metro Toronto with 10, Victoria with six and Northumberland with two. There were 15 dis- charges to other locations. PANELLING Adds a warm inviting look to any room. Easy to apply with nails or adhesive. Many Different Panels in Stock MITCHELL BROTHERS BROOKLIN 655-4991 A score or more sets of culing stones were ruined bythe water stiking them when they were red hot. The rink. which cost $1,600 to build, was insured for $600 and the A score or more sets of curling stones were ruined by the water striking them when they were red hot. The rink, which cost $1,600 to build, was insured for $600 and the stones were insured under a separate policy of $400. Suddenly without a home, the curling club began to search for a new site where it could build another rink. By October 1889, the club had purchased the block of land south of the tannery on Brock Street, where the liquor store stands today. The stockholders in the curling club subscribed a bonus of $700 to start the construction of a new curling and skating rink. William Barnes and George Cormack, two Whitby car- penters, agreed to construct the rink at a cost of about $4,000 and after 10 years they would turn it over to the curling club. The club members took out shares to pay for the cost of construction. The rink was larger than the former one, but built on the same principle, with a skating ice sheet in the middle and the curling rinks down the side. In 1913, because of the emerçpnr of hockey as a maor sport in the town, the rink was enlarged by Fred Burns, but the curling ice sheets remained along the sides of the build- ing. This building, later known as Taylor's arena, stood until 1953 when a modern arena was erected on the site. Curling appears to have passed into obscurity in Whitby after 1900, only to be revived again in the late 1950s with the flourishing curling club we have today. Ààl' buil ing centm m