The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

3 jliejtit 3- special suppwwenf the story of acton today this is acton today this fiph page supplement i to the free press prepared under the sponsorship of the local chamber of conjmsrce brings to free press readers and to hundreds of other tt ho have never seen this new paper before a comprehensive story in words and pictures of ac ton today the chamber of commerce mak- ing this special edition possible hai opened the doors for hundreds on this continent and in europe to learn something of this active li dustriat community and the rich agricultural area in which r lies on these pages will bejfound not only stories of actons industrie- its commercial activity and stra- t tegic location but stones and pic tures of its social institutional life to many familiar with acton this edition will reaffirm that this is a prosperous and pleasant community in w hich to live it will reflect the pride actonians have- for then home town ts other not familiar with ac ton this edition may offer ome idea how a progressive small town in ontario canadas indus trial heart live today thats why erftra copies of thi- free press supplement are bein printed this week these copies w ill be sent to trade eommis-ion- er- international commerce house and industrial expositions abroad as well as to canadian and ameri- can industrial offices government planning and development de partments and to the canadian chamber of commerce for distri bution this ear with nearly 500 new home planned for erection in town new families will be expect ed to assimilate into the business and social life of acton the busi ness directory on the back page of this supplement will be useful to these people a w ill the social di rectory on local organizations there is much valuable informa tion in thee pages just asthere is much of value current and po tential in acton today tbtae return sttt tt acton from ttje air is shown wefll spread out with plenty of space to grow especially in industrial development as the ample rail siding area at centre right illustrates top fight is fairy lake a wellknown acton landmark and upper left is the beardmore plant this year art additional 465 acres was added to the towns boundaries to bring in a total of 917 acres the large expanse at right is zoned for industrial use and was in part included in the annexation addition commercial life active through full range of business categories m holmes flaming board chairman oac to north university to south for students here an acton high school diploma docsn t necessnrilv mean the end of training many higher educational facilities are very close and so economical to at tend commuting home w eekends is cas for universitv of toronto stu dents it just 45 miles w ith f re quent busses and trains one talent- edaetoruan frank bean travels to toronto for singing lessons at the conservatory of music and the united church organist george el liott goes to toronto- regularlv for further organ training these are just examples of the unlimited pos- sibjlitics of adanced education w ithin reasonable distance for those whose interests lie m another direction thejres a short trip m another direction too just 15 nulcs up no 7 highwav is guelph with its famous ontario agricul tural college the ontario veterin ary college and macdonald insti tute manx loal students go there to obtain a degree or to attend a valuable short course or conven tion wouldbe teachers choose be tween hamilton and toronto teach ers colleges within is miles there are two business collects one in milton the count town of halton and an other in guelph when residents take a look at acton they realize its strictly ji one horse town business facilit ies have expanded over the last years so much the only horse on local streets is driven by a milk man- there is a total of 64 different classifications of business in retail and service establishments that fill the needs or local residents the majority of the business section i- ing the corner on to main street acton merchants have their shelves well stocked with the merchandise requirements for residents of the town and surrounding district postal and express facilities ar provided at the post office with six trains carrying incoming and out going mail daily the customs of fice was recently named on the basi- of the volume of business handled a port of entry providing ideal facilities for importation f good b industry and smalle- bu-ine- two medical doctors two dent ists and one veterinarian are located m the municipality as well as a rest home a nursing home and funeral director legal facilities the bank of no va scotia and bank of montreal two hotels and eight garages are rlo included in actons well- rounded lit of ervices and facu lties a hawkers and peddlers bvlaw governs those wo solicit support w ithin the municipality and c as a protection to prospective pur chasers of tranient goods protection for the businessman found in the practice of merchants- refusing support to outside requests for donations until the solicitor has been interviewed by the chamber of commerce cmmittee while acton may be physically only a one hore town its commer cial section reflects the vary ing needs and desires of a grow ing town the familiar saturdav night shopping is still a feature of the busines- section that provides the friend meeting and exchange of conversation on mill day night street satur- labor conditions satisfactory here local conditions mate this psst of ontario very favorable n re gard to labor within the area lmediateiy circ ling tororto which includts aeti there are 40 per cent of a1 the manufacturing emploj eos of the entire prov met lng condition- for liborro good here with a wide dtvt of indutrv w a minimum f sasonal operatioi there htajiot- beiu asirke jian acton industry li tie pa ff j ea- labor rates tv modcatc tnd thi- labor turi ve- st- 1 lab- lw cnitic w nj houn worivmeis ionipeitio factiv end 5 etc e nodt ate vet nt o- e- 1- maj- ty of nsta- co- thi k been at- temind to the it ltual t-fjc- tion of empkvee and ivplovi after yea of pr grvve tgt- -tictc- j got president of the c not just big boom natural growth in all of the national growth ii canada ontario has shown b fr the greatest gain- and acton now enjov a strategic pomon of im pressive importance in natural reources canada ranks as one of te wealthiet countries in the world in area it is third largest of its ten provinces ontario the mot central the mot popula ted and the wealthiest aoton is located in the hub of ndutry which circles the capital of the pro mte toronja the present ur precedent expan sion has nothing of th earmarks of a boom it is a natural growth paralleling the increasingly im- pirtant poition occup- d bv cana da in world affair- with its vast supplies of ra materials its greats expanded capacity of production its rapidly grow ing domestic market and jn- creasing foreign demand lor its products canada now ranks among the worlds leading trading nations salic polio vaccine given to children the salk polio vaccine is being given to acton children in grades one two and three currentlv the halton county health unit began administering the vaccine even be fore the final report on its value was released pioneering in protec tion for local children the children made no fuss as thev received their inoculations from the- health unit team a nurse from the unit is in at tendance at the public school refiii- larly also under the unit s juris diction is the baby clinic acton has two doctors two den tists and a chiropractor acton has had a variety of bands the first organized in 1875 fightieth year acton ontario may 26 1955 special section acton mirrors the progress of canadas small towns easy access makes actons location good for industry acton is an easy place to get out of and is equally as simple to get into located at the junction of highways seven and 25 it has northsouth eastwest highway tra vel facilitated by regular gray coach bus service thethird high way that will add noticeably to th- eatwest travel is the all new 401 highway that will cros no 25 highway onl a few mile- south of town when its construction is com pleted linking toronto and the quebec border air travel is convenient w ith the malton airport just over 25 miles away linking the major cities if the continent this air travel ser vice is only about the s trav- clling distance from acton as it 1 from the centre of toronto passenger and freight srvice is provided by the canadian national railways whose main line from stratford to toronto serves acton within the town itself taxi service meets the need of residents and cartage and trucking facilities ar- available for short and long dist ance hauling bustling seawav activity will bo only 30 miles from acton at port credit where a major port 1- cxpected to be located bv plane train truck or freight er acton is located for tas acce e tyler mayer of acton saturday busiest for acton stores saturdav night is the evening in town for the farm families of the district although farm wives drive fir their shopping w hen it s needel saturday is still the day the town is busiest groups of friends chatting on street corners then bundles in their aims ricall that modern living has not eliminated this pleasant habit of tradition acton incorporated a- a town in 1950 120 years after its founding as a ettler s cabin mirrors the character and progre bound n the growth through generations of canada s mall towns aside from its people and instit utions that make the character the town when capitalized denotes it- legilative and administrative personality and thi- changing yet constant frames the progress hn this town as in all towns the municipal council is the first legis lative body a nineman group el ected for a oneyear term the council under the direction of a mayor reeve and deputyreeve emplojs its re ponibility to pass bylaws collect taxes and spend a budget sit administrative policy direct town works implement ex pansion and generally guide the course of municipal affairs its prime responsibility w ithin the laws of the municipal act is to the needs and welfare of the citiz ens who tlect it di a of finances actons diversified industries pay two million in yearly wages dr f g oakes public utilities chairman acton an ideal industrial site in premier province of ontario within a 100 mile radius of acton ontario there is a con centration of ontario s greatest buving power which prov ince alio represent vanetv the old adage says is the piet of life but its also the key note of actons industrial output cold statistics tell us that over 2- oooooo avear is paid to acton work ers and moie than a thousand are mplovid in the 20 industrial es tablishments old and comparatively new in dustries contribute to the gross pro ducts that exceed 10000 000 a year and are shipped from acton on their route to other countries and across canada hospital supplies fine leathers heavy punch presses fire brick wood and steel structures knit goods plastic products combed i wool electrical appliances gloves 33 t 40 38s 44 52 481 45 55 50 45t 46 of canada s total population domestic income retail sales buving power manufacturing production purchaes by industry moto vehicle registration electric energy consumed household appliance purchase chain store merchandising residential telephones fondness for books developed early i want a bobbsey twins ungrammatical but apt thats a popular remark among the junior readers of acton as they line up regularlv every two weeks with thvir classes for u day- shepherded by teachers the boys and girls develop a fondness for reading earlv as tljey search through itht titles in ithe wellstocked child ren s section of the library and -7uc- arc among the products thit bear a label made 111 aton centi o of pi ogr s in terms of wars some of the industries art old some n w the variety has provided an attractivilv balanced cconomv for thi town gm- erallv on which solid plans for a bright future can be made bv pre s- ent industry and those who would join the community arrival of gas appears imminent several companies have ap prnched the acton council within recent weeks seeking natural ga- franchises a general plan to serve the north section of halton countj with this commodity new to the ea has been jresented that would necessitate a pipe line from one crossing the south ectipn of the county interest has been sparked in this development bv the announcement of the local anthony gas and oil explorations ltd of dcoverv of four natural gas wells within a few miles 0 the town drilling opera tion- are continuing picnics in park summer highlight x during the summer picnickers and fishermen come to acton parit from miles away i oh th other fide of fairy lake sonny jocque has created another park called the breezes with cab ins refreshment booth ma boats for rent streets and sewers public buildings ind park- falls on councillor houlders through the office of clerk assessment building mspe- lon terms of procedure and contin uity of busine5 are other related lesponsibilities which combine ad ministrative and executive function to protect actons 3 040 residents a volunteer fire brigade and three- man police force operate with the chief of each department referred tcj a council committee for coord ination w ith the general administ ration a town work- foreman im- ilarlv directs hi- department on irection from a coijncil commit- ttc separate but conducting in trust the operation of municipal utilit ies for the council 1- the fiveman public utilitu- commission of which the mivor 1- a member un der 1 chairman and commisioncrs who are also dieted but feu two- tar term the puc steers the onewatinn and extension of hdro nd waterworks ervices thmugn superintenelents of each of these two important departme nts an integral adjunct of the coun cil is the planning board a ievn- man bodv re sponsible to the town mj current and long range co-ord- lratfem of land development plan ned town gremth zoning and buileling regulation and related problems of polic in acton the clerk acts a- sec retary on all three of these bodies insuring accurate bridging of in formation the ma or s- official pos ition on each organization lends aa overtone eif policy continuity continuity is vital for a town m a sense is big business with the profit motive mi- ing in 1955 ac ton will ask its ratepayers for 209 039 to maintain and add to its i communal asset- a mill rate of 70 is set to rale this amount based on f an asesment of land and build- ing worth of 2 966 944 j this year with 465 acres added to the towhs area by an annexal- ion award assessment has increased 465258 over 1954 bringing the bal ance of assessment to 30 per cent industrial 51 per cent residential rrd the remainder farm and com mercial shareholders in this business on a participating barns are the ncar- lv 1400 actonians who form the diary and wjageearning force n the communty