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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2008 9THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 20088 January Special! Upcoming Lecture Series Weight Training Create a Program for 2008 with Local Female Fitness Competitor Judith Kirkness Saturday Jan. 12 10:00am - 12:00pm Call for details (519)853-2650 Sign up now for a 3 month Full Use Membership get the 4th month FREE also receive a FREE 30 minute Nutritional Consultation with Naturopath, Dr Nicole Meier N.D. regular price $199 NOW $160+GST CREDIT PROBLEMS? QUICK CONFIDENTIAL APPROVAL APPLY BY PHONE - APPLY BY PHONE NEED WHEELS? WE CAN HELP QUICK CONFIDENTIAL APPROVAL Bankrupt (discharged or un-discharged?) In credit counselling or proposal New immigrant/Refugee? Too young/Too old? No established credit? IF YOU ARE EMPLOYED WE CAN HELP! Specialists in Automotive financing. Your circumstances, Your rate. Rates from 8.9% to 29.9% O.A.C Some down payments may be required RE-ESTABLISH YOUR CREDIT TODAY! carloansapproved.ca 1-866-385-9469 Call Dave Watson Wellington-Halton Hills M.P.P. Ted Arnott Invites you to A NEW YEAR SOCIAL ON SUNDAY JANUARY 13TH FROM 2:00 P.M. TO 4:00 P.M. at the Victoria Park Seniors Centre 150 Albert Street West in Fergus EVERYONE WELCOME! For more information call 1-800-265-2366 To the editor, The Acton Christmas Hamper Committee sends sincere and heartfelt thanks to the individuals and groups in Acton and surrounding areas for your generous support of this years Christmas Hamper Program. We especially appreciate the amount of non-perishable food donated by the six local schools. Your kindness helped us to provide hampers for over 80 fami- lies, including more than 100 children. Christmas was much happier for these people because of your thoughtfulness. Thanks also to the many volunteers who gave their time to sort the donated food and pack the hampers, helping to make this years program such a success. This year the Knights of Columbus Council 8050 provided great help with the hamper distribution and we welcome them to our group of faithful volunteers. The spirit of caring and sharing is indeed alive and well here in our town. Thanks again; we wish you Gods blessings now and in the year ahead. Sincerely, Acton Rotary Club, Lakeside Chapter IODE, Salvation Army Acton Family Services, St. Vincent Charities of St. Joseph, Patron of Canada Christmas hamper provided for over 80 families, 100 kids HIGHLY VISIBLE: The Storey Glove Factory on Bower Avenue was the first to feature an electric sign which re- flected in the mill pond surface of Hendersons pond. Both the factory and the pond are gone now, replaced by Acton post office and Halton Hills Hydro. Although Acton has long been recognized as the leather capital of Canada, probably few realize that glove-making has also been a major indus- try here since 1868. A story in this weeks New Tanner about another expansion of the Superior Glove Co. indi- cates it is still very much part of the employment picture here after 140 years although leather gloves in many cases has substitute materials. According to Actons Ear- ly Days, the bible for early Acton, the first glove works was started in the building now occupied by Country Reflections by W.H. Storey, Actons first reeve and founder of the Canada Glove Works. He came to Acton about 1866 and opened a saddlery and harness business which was very successful. In 1968, Storey had a flourishing business and he decided to start making sheepskin harvest mitts as another enterprise. The mitt business was so successful he disposed of the harness business and gave all his at- tention to producing gloves and mitts, with a specialty of buckskin gloves. The business soon became know as The Buckskin Acad- emy by young people out of the village who labeled the public school Little Tan- nery. After a few years, W.H Sto- rey took in James Moore as a partner and the firm name of W.H Storey and Co. was reg- istered, Actons Early Days says. Addition after addition was made to accommodate the growing business which eventually built a three storey building on Bower Avenue, the only business ever to lo- cate there. It was torn down to make was for a new post of- fice which occupies the glove factorys site. Glove-making also pro- duced a sheepskin tannery in 1860 which was located north of the Acton Scout Hall, near the C.N. railway tracks. It was built by Dr. McGuir, an early physician in Acton, and Charles Sidney Sauth. They pulled wool and made the pelts into russet leather. The tannery eventually got into the hands of the Canada Glove Works where W.H. Storey felt he could make better gloves if he turned the leather. Storey hired experts in leather making and soon was sending fine buckskin leather, bid and other lines to the glove factory. The busi- ness reached its epoch when the new factory on Bower Ave, was highly visible from the Grand Truck Railway and Storey made it more impres- sive by erecting an electrically lit 100 foot long sign on the factorys roof. It was also en- hanced by the sign. The pond has disappeared, of course, and the Halton Hills Hydro building sits on its site. The glove factory, under Storeys management, gave employment to hundreds of residents and continued to do so under subsequent manage- ment of H.T. Arnold & Sons. Many Acton residents learned the glove trade at that site and went on to found their own business when the big factory closed after World War II. But thats another storey and requires a lot of research. Theyve been making superior gloves in Acton since 1868 Tanner ads work Call Marie 519-853-0051 Deadline is Mondays @ Noon Coles Slaw with Hartley Coles