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The Acton Free Prats Wednesday February 14 Former Ginger Good weather brings Turn sod for Maplehurst 50 Golden Agers A FORMER RESIDENT of the farmhouse where the Maplehurst Correctional Centre la being built Mrs A MacNabb of Milton chats with provincial cabinet ministers ceremony The farm dates back to a crown deed in and the farmhouse was built in of handpressed brick she said Mrs Mac lived in the farmhouse for the first five years of her married life from to K explains railway bonus fund It was a big prelect so the sod turning ceremony was done on a grandiose scale too when of fidals launched the Maplehurst Correctional Centre construction project In Milton Friday morning Jim Snow and in the operation bnckhoe and scooped a yard and a half of clay from the ground to officially turn the first sod for the project Snow East Is minister of government services and his department will build the project for the ministry of correctional services headed up by former Toronto Maple Leaf centre Syl 480 Inmates Maplehurst is a two part complex designed to replace the training centre and relieve the overcrowding at Reformatory It will accomodate Inmates each from Mlmlco and in a minimum security Institution complete with Infirmary kitchen and dining rooms gymnasium recreational facilities rooms and shops Maplehurst when It Is completed and opened In will produce the licence plates for all vehicles In Ontario The property on which Maplehurst Is being built in bounded by Highway on the north Highway on the west and the elevated CNR bypass line on the south and east Its history goes back to a crown deed Issued In ISIS and for many years It was the MacNabb homestead The brick house which still stands on the property was built In ISM with handpressed brick four deep presumably from the local brick plants One of the Interested spectators at Friday a sod turning ceremony was Mrs A Mac Nabb of Mary St Milton She remembers going to live In that house as a bride in and said she spent the first five years of married life at that farm Asks federal riding include Georgetown A brief presented to a four man commission on redistribution of federal electoral ridings which represented views of a Joint committee of local liberals NDP and Conservatives was presented In Toronto by MP Terry O Connor In the brief Connor asked tho federal riding boundaries for Halton be as close to tho provincial ridings as possible Under the federal proposals Oak ville and Milton would be combined with parts of Peel to form a new riding while the northern part of the Halton riding would be lumped In with a large rural WoUingtonDufferln riding O Connor suggested Georgetown be Included with OakvUle and Milton Writer borne In more recent times the farm was owned by the Clarke family It was there that Mrs Clarke wrote Halton Pages of the Past a county history published in 1953 Mrs Clarke was also a columnist Tor the Acton Free Press and for many years her weekly article Chronicles of Ginger Farm reflected the day today happenings on the farm that was then on the outskirts of Milton in the heart of Scotch Block MPP said the 118year old farmhouse was slated to be used for a construction office but vandals had damaged It so badly it was less costly to build a temporary office than renovate the house The house will be torn down soon Not a replacement The correctional centre being established will not replace the two old county Jails but this will follow when Mr priorities allow it as the next stage of the project he said By Mrs D G Robertson A mixture of good weather and better walking conditions boosted the to over at the afternoon meeting of Acton Golden Age Club held In louton Hall President Ivan Harris and welcomed all the cine song followed with Mrs A Mann at the piano Mrs Itobcrtaon read the minutes and thank you notes for gifts and Mrs A Mann presented the financial report collection Mr Harris explained the purpose of the collection this la for the purchase of lunch supplies He also gave a few suggestions re the lunch A bus trip to Kitchener Ice Is being planned for early In March following the business meeting iToklnole and scrabble were played Winners named Winners for crokinole lady first Mrs Spear lady second Miis A gents llrat gent second David ion Euchre ladys first Mrs Robertson ladyssecond Mrs Cults gents first D Robertson gent second I Harris Birthday and wedding anniversary songs were sung for Mr and Mrs Earl Lambert A delicious lunch of biscuits cheese and Jam was served by the lunch committee mutes and gifts and fay raise A tallowing the lead of other local boards Acton Parks and Recreation Committee members voted themselves a per meeting raise Monday night Noncouncil committee members will now receive per monthly meeting Councillor Chapman who together with Councillor Barry Inscoe receives no pay for and recreation meetings because he Is a council appointee felt the pay raise Justified Hi is is no secondary board arc a lot of hours and work that can go into doing a good job on parks and recreation hi said C Lindsay former clerk of and treasurer of the Railway Bonus Fund has explained the story of how the fund originated Recently township council disestablished the fund and transferred the to the township working reserve fund Mr Lindsay was treasurer of the Railway Bonus Fund for years so is one of the few people who could speak with authority on the subject He says The Fund originated In when the now defunct Hamilton and North Western Railway Company applied for a bonus from the County of Halton for the prtvlledge of having the railway line run through the County from South to North This bonus or grant was approved by the County but also had to be approved by a vote of the Electors in the several municipalities through which the railway ran I Burlington parts of Nelson and Trafalgar Milton Georgetown and Esquesing The vote was taken in and the Bonus was defeated but the then of Esquesing Wm Clay noticed that the electors in the northern part of the township were in favor while those In the southern part were against the Bonus so he had a second vote token of those rate payers owning property In Lots 16 to in Concession to and also Lots 11 to in Concessions to This time the vote carried and since it also carried in the other municipalities the county went ahead and bylaw passed on the day of April made a grant of to the Hamilton and Northwestern Railway Company and issued debentures therefor Today may seem like very small potatoes Indeed but when you consider that at that time a skilled tradesman only earned cents a day or less it makes look like a lot of money This also necessitated special rates in that portion of the town ship known as the Railway Bonus group namely those properties in Lots to Inclusive In Concesionlto7 inclusive in Concessions to 11 of Township However was a pro vision in the agreement with the Hamilton North Western Railway Company 1 have always understood put there at the insiitance of John Warren Deputy Reeve of at that tune that the Company must operate as an Independent Company for a period of years or repay the amount of the Bonus with interest The Hamilton and North Western Railway operated Independently for years and then sold out to the Grand Trumt Railway Company and became the HamiltonAllendale branch of the Grand Trunk Company The County of Halton sued for the fulfillment of the contract and after carrying the suit to the Privy Council London won the suit and recovered the money and interest less the legal expenses incurred by the county which were heavy The amount paid by Esquesing township with interest was SO by Nelson Township 189 00 and by Trafalgar township 464 with the other municipalities less than 00 each a al of 345 This amount less expenses when prorated gave a return of 25 This money could not be returned to those who had paid it since some were dead and some had sold their properties and moved away so the Council In their wisdom set up a Trust Fund to be known as The Railway Bonus Fund to be reinvested from time to time and the interest on the fund to be prorated ac cording to the Assessment Roll of IBM and paid over to the local School Trustees to reduce the school taxes on those properties in the Railway Bonus Group which had originally contributed the money for tho fund and it is worthy to note that not Infrequently in some of the Sections that the General School Rate with the Railway Bonus Money was sufficient for the year s expenses without a levy by the trustees at all and that situations prevailed right through until the Inauguration of a township school board Of course it still prevailed right up to the present that that every few years sufficient interest had accumulated that It made a difference of one mill in the school rate between those properties which were within the Railway Bonus Group and those which were not It may be of Interest that there was a previous Railway Bonus approved by County Council Bylaw 69 of the County of Dec 1B71 which provided for a bonus of to be paid to the Credit Valley Railway Company and debentures were issued and paid for for appro 10 years but the railway was never built and thejiwney was afterward used to build the Milton Campbellvllle road New PO A post office will be constructed In Hillshurgh The government bought land for from the Royal Bank of Canada Tenders have been called and the building might be completed this spring New I or milt DOWN Engine If you qualify Pick up and Delivery in Town Courtesy Car by Appoint m tot HIGHEST TRADE IN ALLOWANCE fit COME TO Motors Ltd TO ALL ADVERTISERS w w ed HtW mitt rto