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wy i bghtysecond yearno 13 acton ontario thursday october 4th 1956 eight pagesseven cents of firedamaged wing is ixtter to the editor school board tribute to firemen arkh all who helped after fire 1956 staff photo worst of tuesdays acton school hue is recorded in this acton firemen we la l helped rjy the georgetown brigadte as staff photograph as firemen start high pressure hoses on the blaz- fire chief j newton invoked mutual aid assistance to prevent the ing rear wing of the public school the nine hour fire damaged five whole school from being consumed flames leap out the rear left classrooms two storage rooms and the home economics room and at the roof smoke from the fire blew over the whole town cooperation in quickly sets up ires five aftermath classrooms cooporation has born iho key note today five classrooms of public school pupils how been completely transferred riht down to black boards desks and books teaching is back to near nornktl at first as the school blazed tuesday at noon huui ihc children were delighted as the word spread the schools ox fire later when thfcjy ran back to school and discovered that what they had heard was true many of them burst into tears teachers to immediately won dered wjqiax would be iiotn a fter the fire vvas under control and the principa 1 school boa rd mem be rs and inspector l 1- skuce vrr- con ferring they waited anxiously local mrn sivc time before 23l two hours after the fire was first detect ei jvmripal mckenzie was able to nimuince to the five teachers left roomless where tle weie l c and with trucks and irei there from the tannery coy irtae a v cieen and the town simi they hf right away for new quartern doug davidson had ail the deks of his gru1e sex en class moved to the scout hall and he is holding classes as usucil there one room and adioimnp wash room in the iegion hall vas com pletely riven unci- to mrs diane mcquay and her jruie five cas a new door is benic installed at once miss anderson is teaching her grade four youngsters m knox church and mrs switor has her grade five and six in the basomrm of the ymca mrs anderson set up school in the town hall but after one day the quarters were found not suitable she has moved to st albans par ish hall rash new llesks desks for two of n miss andersons aiid mrs swit- ers are beyond salvage suppliers hastily contacted promised new desks wednesday mornmg a 9 a r and the truck driver was up mot f the night tben yemerday morning the truck broke dowi or the way to acton but those usk were her by ll am blackboards were taken from the burned school and cenn vareys men worked extra hours tvakmg t rames f or them four classrooms in the old school ane back in use already after crews of volunteers and the busy care- bfkers doug price and colin mac oil set themback into order bss lichuvmr strauyn mrs smith and prs jacoby are teaching again m rooms saved from the flames by foremen home economics has temporarily cancelled due to wlater damage ien came to the school a sain wednesday to assist in cleaning up but the work was done with the rough time blaek hardtoppinc will blank et the dusty broken streets of acton within days as pre pav ing work here nears completion this week for- the pau several days ray iter construction rrews have been breaking up the town roads with toothed blades on graders to bring the streets tj prop x t levels and slopes before the hardtop is put on t a rash of work by town wat erworks and sewage crews has dso been hurried in recent days with service lines being renewed or extended on several streets prior to the paving work acton health unit office opens two nurses share area duties injuries serious in car accident tw men were hospitalised with eriius injuries ki iday mnt fol- mvinj an early even mi aecident on no 7 hiwy near the fourth iaie a crr driven i by edward footitu 19 of acton was moving west to ward acton wben anorher car driven by kobert house 2 rock- wood collided with the rear of the footitl ear tju house car owned by trevor rice guelph who was a passenger wts also travelling to ward acton the foot it t car crashed into the south ditch while the other veh icle went into the north ditch hit a hdro polo and rolled over rico suffered cuts to the head and possible fractured ribs elgin cnspiii 7 also tof rock wood and mother paseiiger n the house car received a fractured neck and dis- located shoulder ho is still m liuelph hospital the secotnl car wasti total wreck while dnrtiarce was cstimnted by milton detiehitien pilce at 75 to iu fihjitiit car boys pipe band in town proposed a boys pipe band may be formed town three members of the guelph pipe rand want any boys who are interested m leirnnir piping or drumming to et in touch with tleu ch titers and drum sticks will be ivirehsed and tin group will begin pi actcos just as soon as possible tbose kills atul caps cne later the town has gven its consent for a meeting m the town hall on two new branch offices of the hal on county health unit have 1 this fall uv opening offices m- acton and gcorjielttwn the health unit will be belter able to serve the northern eom- nun i lies of the comity the acton office is located on mill st just wot of the bus nat ion telephone 103 or fmtii 6- mv public health nurse miss lean how e hose district includes xas- sagaw eya township and the town f aetn will be sharing the iffue with mis honna cranswick the wlv appointed dental th oct obi 11 seven rstia oek lo s who wouul lke te make se with pip s and drums are ed to come to the meeting or phone rob kidsdale at 225 phil ioick at t531 or bob mcvey at isetown tr 737tw fount ly iieius the lniritiiu n in main st a furniture stuv lc 7otul tw nurses w ill be w office is loeated luivo mcttures telephone tri- public health rking ivon this fire postpones nursery school the nursery school at the ym c a is cancelled until further not ice as soon as officers of the y ladies auxiliary learned regular school classes are to be held an the following the fire at the school they put their heads together and decided the best thing to do was cancel their popular nursery class es for the time being registration was to have been this friday the ladies know that even if there is room n the y for one school room and the nursery school the httte tots would piake considerable noise thai would usturb the seholnrs ofilev m- joyce ne itl will serve the town of georgetown while mrs lambert 1 a mi est m will work in the township of fsquesiii since these offices will- be oper ating w it hout secretarial help the purses will be planning their work so they cm be m the offices for cimsultatiou between 115 and 200 p in avul from 400 to 500 pm draw winners acton ont october 2 editor acton free press dear sir dlsustor struck our school to day five classroms the home economies room and two supply rooms are out of service only the prompt efficient efforts of acton firefighters assisted by george town kire hriade saved our old school from total loss our prayer of thanksgiving is that all of the children are safe i the four front roupis are im- damaged apd will be used re- cause of the splendid community cooperaton it will be business as usual at our school tomorrow wednesday i alphabetically designated class- ntoms will ih held in tin ieuion i hall scout hall si albans parish hall town hull and the tamtta classrmnn furniture is already in place at the legion serttit hall and town hall and we have been assured by our supplier mr fred i gilchrist thornbury that new classroom furniture will he deliv ered for st albans pai ish haiti and the y m time for school to- i iimriuw wedmsday t all this has beep aelmeet4 hy concerted comniunity effort in spector skuce arrived m 1 imc to help salvage selnol furniture audi assist td the naiin in heaving itl throueh the hack windows words fail me in trying to ex press my admiration and regard for my fellow eilicns for the firemen for their devot ion to duty council support our town foreman and his crew for i their tireless effort for immediately assuring power cutoff our teaching staff for join ing the black gang to rescue school records etc our industry unsolicited sent trucks and crews to help our devoted caretakers the mome and school for scrub bing and cleaning the salvaged desks the fine executive work of principal mrkenie and the solid support of my board of trustees 1 am humbly proud that i am privileged to belong to actm on- behalf of the hoard mayl express to all who helped and of- fi red aid most grateful thanks thank you ftrr thi valued space 1 w wolfe chairman acton public school board thanksgiving last holiday weekend heed traffic pleas monday is thanksgiving day most places of business are closed for this annual celebrat ion of gratitude and the office and plant of this newspaper is among them correspondents and advertis ers are risked to send in copy as usual however or earlier if possible due to the shorter week next week during this hist holiday weekend of the summer and fall season the paper also- en dorses ontario highways and provincial police urgings to drive carefully and with eon- stdnralion for the other driver j blaze chars blackens seven rooms at noon rebuilding of the centuryold rear wing of acton public schoo charred and blackened tuesday noon when fire ate its way through seven rooms in two storeys seems unlikely tins week as board officials await a report from the ontario fire marshalls office which is scheduled to investigate the ruins today a hoard member saul yesterday following a meeting tuesday afternoon that inspector i i skuce douhttd vir strongly if the de- paitment of fducatmn would permit rtpau and i ct upation id tin old wing i this has left speculation that the boa id will mek in itl new rooins i to the present putdic school or iiilaigt- the ptoposel new six mom school to 12 rooms the latter al tenia to e is held iiun piobahl however- there has been no definite decision by thlmond up to pnvs tune trust ees are awaitingthe fire mai shalv epnyiwhn h emild nnlei the burned wing demolished as unsafe too there has as t len no full determina tion of damage in dollais and eruts a distru t builder apprusd damage tuesday afternoon ind this appraisal will bo suoniitted md considered when the insurance company eomplele its iiivomigntion thr old wine first built in the poos is tiostoo was known to in is m as havilas possibh tuesday afternoons fire started in the reai of this was confined to th- pail of the building stpaiated fro tinn of the school by a stone wall partition actual cause of the fire is unknown it started in 1h tone school id wing and central see- small storage are kept smoke was first supervising senior pupils ad t he- were only about six acton woman hurt as cars hit mrs margaret wall is of acton was hospitalized monday evening following a twocar accident about two miles north of milton on llighwax 2a suffering a suspected chest in iui y fracturid ribs and head and hand liceralions her car hat tieen in collision with an other car driven by hubert kerr of main st milton according to investigating offic er george moore the incident oc curred when both south bound cars pulled into the passing lane at about the same time after the electrician j collision the wallis car entered the west duch and rolled onto the left side while the kerr vehicle entered the east ditch went through two fences and came to rest m a field cons moore estimated damage to the kerr vehicle at 400 the other car was damaged to the ex- lent of satm loom where operetta costumes and scenery noticed by teacher doug davidson who was lunch hour two rooms away at the tune pupils still in the room mr davidson immediately sent the students out then rang the school alarm system and put in a fire call to the telephone office join ed by caietaker ioug pi ice mr davidson returned to the smoking i storage room and the two men using ixi inguishers attempted to find the source of the fire smoke lellowe thick- t oid they wirt soon driven out by the tune aeton tircnv n arrived the itar stair wll only ext from the old wing except lor two escape t botes m the south side waxs in flames and miioke was ndlmg from upper windows around the eaves and dor no is it was e id nt the fire was uuiekl v eating rmvard the front ot the school i thought it was djoriy for when 1 ii- aw it fwt chief jack newton said ja r he addel if wed been fn nnnuts later i doubt if the whole building could have been saved firemen swung laddcis to the second storey windows and started a play of water on the roof smoke was now blowing eastward right across town a few minutes after startini the fight to check the flames spread ing up into the roof timbers chief newton summoned help from george town fnemiii he later told the fne press this was done to work in additional high pressure hose lines needed to kiep tlio roof wet and force enough water on the roof timbers this p-ev- ntcd the blaze travelling right to tht front of the school about threecptat lers of an hour later he combined efforts of the two brigades showed results smoke subsided to trails of thin steam as the hot chaired joists and wall slats hissed and crumpled issrooms were found in sog- whcn the interior was entered five gy black messes paint was peeled desks r i j la l hooks and- papers burned and in some ra hay wedding march thr thl to surprise couple at anniversary party also burned was thi in the upper floor blistered is teachers valuable reciirds- storage room where the fire home economics room and a surprise family gathering in honor of mr and mrs a m mac- pherson of acton on the occasion of their inth wedding anniversary was held last sunday at the luno of rtheir datighter mr and irs ross gordon of rockwood for the gettogether 42 relatives met early in the afternoon and a chtpio for 100 will be prcs- j completely surprised the couple on cnted to j 1lbuckand next week their visu the playufg of the at the roxy theatre by manager wecldm-fi- march greeted them as hill leslie mr buckland sent in they entered the house during the an idea for the latest short adver- i afternoon- mrs- oi tismg film tips and learned last i presented with started was gutted another storage room ipstairs eutpnont was a total loss destriyed board secretary w middletoi rooms ale still usable the fire attraxtvd a large crowd of both adults and children again and again the comment was heard thai if tt- fire had to happen the time itiu considerabli supplies were i ml the desks in the lower tip wins 100 on filmatjvoxy couldnt have been better ren in the building other comments in was a good thing since if n hour when there were few or no cluld- that the burning of been considered a fire the 120- earold wing trap for years week that hi sloi winner tlicfalni is was selected as the v being shown at the and as well as macpherson was a lovely corsage and both were recipients of other anniversary gifts a weddjrjg anniversary cake and homo decorations recalled the q guest acton host yesterday to over 100 grand valley metermen assoc over foo representatives from 30 centres met in acton yesterday for the annual convention of the valley metermans assoc- i v3 sest5srtkjbilv3t sf w eden mills store owner struck in night robbery a five ptr crnt coupon in sat urdays approciatum day 1iiv meant si7 2o for 1 locker irs orwell johnson took the so award uoy next week tust two nintis wore railed and seeing mr bucklands tip on film happy day of 40 years aro ouisis iation the delegates hmst of them both wero neht there next weeks patrons will sw him receive his were present from toronto acton members of municipal hydro sys chest is 3k i cheque in person and rockwood tern registered at 10 am in the lejiton alldltoruiin and throviuh the day heard speakers saw films and conducted regular business acton i it c represented by all commissioners at the noon lunch eon provided the cntertairimem for the occasion rouovinjtrie noon dinner which was served btrrt lecion ladies auxiliarv miynr k tyler amlconied the visit ii i meternitn 1 1 acton prii to thi entertainment led by vinre mountfurd of brampton local hvd- for the second time in two years intruders attempted to rob the small general store operated j by mrs anna coulsoii a eden mills where the first attempt j failed when the wouldrbo robber was scared off by mrs coulsohs soninlaw he latest attempt sat- urday nijjht netted the two young thieves about s25 before they fled- stfs coulson operator of the j store for 18 years was alone wljen i two jacketelad youths entered lhe i store late saturday night one of j theni reportedly juriipcd over the eoiinter and the other struck her den by mrs coulson when the two entered and appeared suspicious police called from the guelph op p detachment invest lasted the incident and searched the area af- 1 tor they were called by a neigh bor mrs coulson was treated for shock head bruises and cuts re- ceived in the scuffle i windows and dojors of the destroyed on th head witl a bottle- iks boarded up nothing may be mrs coulson managed to touch overheated stove causes house fire acton firemen were called late j saturday night toohcf arm home of h bessem on the town line northeast of crewsons corners when an oil stove became over- now until the fire marshall off an alarm which brought her heated and set fire to the yall and i has insriected the premises no valuable school records were lost irriportant documents dating back to 1900 were au in the fire proof vault in jujo new school o superintendent i mason intro duced the popular comedian following morning registration films on atomic energy were shown h canadian general kl- ectrie cn a discussion on in duction type watt hour meters vvas later led by j g steiss uf the kitchener public utilities in the afternoon i v hun i the fieiuency standardization div ision of ontario hvdro gave an address on the servicing of con verter meters he wan followed cy t talk application of instrument transfitrniers by h 4 martin of the packard electric co i a irief session of report and new business was conductiii by the secretary dn smith daughler mrs jack chamberlain j ceiling near the unit at the alarm the assailants fled i th tire vvas partlv undbr76n- after one had lifted about 25 in trc bv the tirae fi arrived nr damaged classrooms greeted local volunteers ywho started cleanup tit salvagealjle equip- change from the cash register but damage was esitmated at about j ment as soonas the fire was oiit here is one of th a five classrooms messed and damaged by the heat a larger sum of money- was hid s1000 and watr paint peeled and papers a lags arid books charred or burned on the walls f rorn the heat weekly newspapers week this is national weekly newspapers week a wetk set aside- once a year to reflect on the role of the weekly press in counties communities across canada here your local paper assesses some pride in the growing influence of canadian weeklies as one of them but at the same time we accept humbly the faster crowing responsi bilities and tasks that companion community influence prime minister louis st laurent in a statement from ottawa to canadas news journals says in part a free vigorous press is essential to the working of our canadtptn democracy it is not mere coincidence that the develop- ment of responsible government in canada has closely paralleled th growth of a daily and weekly press in which the issues ef the day have been debated and recorded it am convinced that true freedom of the press together with the practice of responsible journalism are among the best form of insurance against international hatreds and all their evil consequence es i isend my best wisheoo the press of canada and particu larly to jhe weeklies who work so faithfully to keep the residents of the smaller centres and of the countryside informed of matters of public interest i ii