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Memories memories of the old town hall jammed to the rafters by Hartley Coles So they re going to tear down the old town hall If they do there will be a lot of pleasant memories torn down with It when the com revolved around the unique red brick building What residents of Acton don t remember minstrel men dramas meetings and even bor rowing a book when it was once used as a library Maybe some unlucky people also or up in front of Acton one and only police man for some breach of the peace It has always been the headquarters for the Acton fire brigade back to when the hand operated pumpers were pulled by fire horses My memories only go back to what seemed a few short years when It represented the village and then Town of Acton to a child s mind They go back to before World War II when minstrel shows and stage plays were produced and directed by local people And the place was jammed to the rafters to see people they knew on stage Outside the Gregory Theatre where the latest screen thrillers were seen on Mon day Thursday Friday and Saturday nights and a matinee thrown in Saturday the town hall was the other for en tertainment Jimmy Fox brought his travelling troupe to town and made the town hall his headquarters where some of the finest live acting this side of the Rockies was seen Back the days when Acton had only a ContinuationSchoolwithfourgrades 11 instead of a high school the town hall was the place where the school At Home was staged It was most young people introduction to the dance and many first stumbling steps were taken across that floor with its pot bellied stoves at each end and stage across the middle There the orchestra sat and played fox trots waltzes reels and some pretty fast stepping square dances That old floor used to rock when the squares were called and the fiddles scraped and the men let out revel war cries Some tines there was some trouble when some of the boys who stepped out the back to take two or three swallows from a bottle forgot their manners Sometimes they the constables who t stand on ceremony They would ask the ob jectionable ones to leave peacefully If they wouldn they grab them by the scruff of the neck and almost hurl them down the stairs to cool off in the Jail cells which held only occasional prisoners When they sobered up they were allowed to go home with a warning The upstairs auditorium was always decorated for the fancy balls such as the firemen annual the At Home or a spring frolic sponsored by the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire bless them No one came to the dances in jeans You wore your best dress or suit for the occasion For most people it was their only one I remember also some of the more serious matters which took place in the town hall such as the time Charlie Millard who was international director of the United Steel Workers and later a big shot in the CCF gave an Impassioned plea for more help for Mother Russia during World War II Noticeable at the meeting were many of the local leftists then branded Reds Socialists were few and far between in those days and I went mostly out of curiosity to hear the well known Millard I remember his glowing references to Russia and the social justice he felt was there It was before I knew how wrong he was He was heartily applauded by wartime workers who came to Acton from as far away as During the war years too they staged some of the best minstrel shows the town has ever seen They are out of fashion now but who can forget Jock Baloney Greer doing a fast shuffle across the stage while Joe Whetham Scotly Burton George Musselle and others crooned barbershop and southern melodies for appreciative audiences fed up with the shortages of the war years Remember the soup stock plays produced written and directed by Bob Parker Bob son Rob of course Is a TV figure now known across the breadth of the country Remember some of the plays the and Ys Men used to stage with plenty of pretty names as Charlie Aunt or something and always were sprinkled with humor Names I can remember that starred in these productions How about Charlie Kirkness and George Mason a pair who came straight from Mason Knit to charm audiences with droll humor Things got more sophisticated after the war years and the era of the big bands Orchestras with such names as The with the emphasis on sax that was sax typesetter instead of fiddle played for new generations of moon struck teenagers But the old place is starting to lose its glamor It was even getting a bit shoddy despite efforts of the villages mandarins to keep it painted and the stage curtains in repair It wasn t long occasional dances were held there and few if any entertainments Gregory Theatre became the Roxy and films were shown every night of the week except Sunday at the brand new Entertainment palace The occasional dance drew some ominous shudders from the town hall floor which resulted in an Investigation by an engineer long before they said the upstairs was not only unsafe but unsuitable for expressions of the dance which used to shake the whole building Many of my memories are also down stairs where many of the council meetings of the and Town of Acton enacted by laws and counted money to keep the reasonable They had only local subjects to discuss and there was always plenty to do it surprised me when they decided a few more people could ad minister an area much larger and with eight times the population Of course they weren counting municipal employees then They were relied upon to work at all hours and be good at their jobs often without much formal training Never having belonged to the fire department it would take pages of type to recount some of their memorable nights in old town hall Now they re to tear it down Somehow it seems they II take more of Acton soul away They II erect a brand new building someplace else but it won have the same attraction that old red brick building held for generations of Ac Ionian who remember it when it stood proudly at the comer of Bower and Willow looking out at a serene little community with a heck of a lot of nice people Town half MOULDING at side of stage is typical of the decorative arts of the 1880 s ACTON OUTERS ClUB GLASS DRIVE Saturday May 7th ANY GLASS BOTTLES JARS ETC WITHOUT LIDS Pickop Starting at PLEASE LEAVE AT END OF DRIVEWAY JwJem HELP THE MENTALLY RETARDED Support the Flowers of Hope The Munrapafty of NOTICE totha Residents of Acton There will be a water service in terruptlon effecting the area west of Main St South of Knox Ave on May 1977 Commencing at am for approximately three hours This Interruption is necessary to allow inspection and maintenance of the Distribution system RWJ Moore Director of Pubic Works RegkMiof HELP THE MENTALLY RETARDED Support the Flowers III of Hope For all your hardware needs visit HARDWARE 22 Mill St Acton 8532720 Repair refurbishing required for full use The report on Acton town hall prepared for council by Alan Zeegen Associates con sulting engineers Toronto shows no serious defects In the building It docs not refer to any problem of safety Their report calls the build a particularly Tine example of the type of ar chitecture common In South ern Ontario during the late Their estimate of 000 to repair the building includes for exterior masonry work rebuilding main arches and brick work cleaning Repairs to the floor and roof systems account for new exit stairs to the second floor and enclosed fire doors and reconstruction of szairs are estimated at Some of these repairs would be required only if the second floor was returned to use At present it is used only for stooge Downstairs are the police offices and the senior drop- In centre The conclusions reached by the consulting engineers in their report are 1 The first and second floors to the building appear visually in good order A detailed examination at he structural floor systems would have to be made prior to a final assessment of the load carrying of the floors Ports of the roof system art overs tressed under current code of practice live loading conditions and some reinforcing will be necessary The exterior masonry walls are extensively cracked and repairs to the brickwork and some foundation work will be neccssarv The following mechanical and electrical work will be red for the second floor a Installation of a heating system The present furnace The Acton Free Press Wednesday May 1977 electrical systems Installation of washroom facilities d Insulation to roof space and exterior walls 5 A fire escape from the second floor Is currently pro vided by an exit door onto the existing flat roof Some further firerelated work may be necessary to bring the at the first floor level will pro bably need to be enlarged b Re- wiring work for Continued on Page Here The Sun BE READY FOR OLD SOL IN A BEAUTIFUL SWIM SUIT BY RAN OF ISRAEL SWIMWEAR FROM MARILYNS 124 Mill St E Acton 3910 We have a fantastic selection of Bikinis Two Piece Suits of various colours designs GENTLEMEN THIS IS THE IDEAL GIFT FOR MOTHER S w is part of your order Shredded taa Freshly Minced REGULAR GROUND BEEF Bnghfs Tomato Juice Sunlight turn at rustic 49 c lb FRESH 1 AVG Pork Loin Roasts Cooked Chicken Partes Loin Pork Chops 339 Swan Wrap Si 49 IGA Apple Pie n Fry Sole ii 9 Soft Margarine DO 79 Mafic Ham Bits n Bites PRODUCE OF USA PsaTS CANADA No 1 GRADE MMMnwotuMU Lettuce Carrots K Onions STi4BIC Onions MOM 229 Check Our Handbill for Many More Exciting Specials WEDNESDAYS ARE GOLDEN ACE DAYS AT ACTON FREE DELIVERY WITHIN TOWN ACTON LIMITS O 8 Main St North 8531960