bX ae a ee RR fe RRP AE OT = Ea Say Se ed THE TRATFORD MIRROR iS: Ma Dacha ud Bl a i, hs he et poe 9 in 4 Published Weekly by the Stratford Mirror Press, 123 Ontario St. DAVID RAE, Publisher secnticiececrnonae <= Vol. 24 Circulation 4,200 STRATFORD, DEC. 27, 1946 No. 52 Albion Block 1946 Year Of Great Of Yesteryear Memories of Stratford in the lat- ter part of the last century will be recalled to many older residents by, the picture of the Albion block as it! appeared in 1879, which is printed | elsewhere on this page. The picture; was taken from a book on Perth' County, published in that year and now in the possession of G. Edgar Stone. Although the population of Strat- ford was only approximately 9,000, the city boasted twenty hotels and ten churches. Of the former, the Albion, the Mansion House and the Queens were considered the most popular, although the latter two hostelries have outlived their larger contemporary. | BUILT BY ALEC WILLIAMS Built in the early '70's by Alex Williams, a tailor and men's furnish- ings merchant whose establishment was on the site now occupied by Crosier's Department store, the Al- bion was originally named the Wav- erly Block. The Albion Hotel was then in the building at the corner of Erie and Ontario streets, where John Northway and Son now con- duct their business. Shortly after completion of the building the hotel moved to its new quarters and was renamed the New Albion Hotel, a name which has stuck to the build- ing ever since. Although considered a "modern" hostelry by the standards of the day, travellers did not find many of the conveniences demanded in present- day hotels. There were no water- works or sewers in the Stratford of 1867, but it is probable that gas light- ing had been installed as the mains were laid three or four years be- fore the taking of this picture. The rooms were wide and spacious, many having open fireplaces to help com- bat the winter cold. Otherwise the heating arrangements would have been considered rather primitive by today's standards. The wide wooden sidewalks seen in the picture remained for many years, being replaced by ashphalt and finally by the cement that we walk on today. The dirt road was dusty in summer, and apt to be- come a muddy quagmire in wet weather, despite the loads of stone that succeeding City Councils order- ed dumped on it. CENTRE OF SOCIAL LIFE Despite all this, the Albion was the scene of much of the city's social life. The dining room, exceptionally large for those times, was used for banquets on many gala occasions. and also for dances. Large sample rooms attracted the travelling sales- men or "drummers", and a great deal of the city's mercantile life was transacted in these spacious rooms and the adjoining bar. All in all, it was considered a very notable hostel- ry for'a town of barely 9,000 people. The turn of the century brought varying fortunes to the old building and after a succession of proprietors it was bought and re-modeled by ex-Mayor William Gordon, and re- mained part of the Gordon estate until quite recently. Most disastrous event in the block's chequered his- tory was the fire which burned off (Continued on page 5) 2 ALBION BLOCK IN 1879 Above is a picture of the Albion block, home of The Mirror since 1921, as it appeared seventy-nine years ago, shortly after it was built. Strat- ford's population was only approximately 9,000 in those far off days, and the Albion was considered a very modern, up-to-date hotel and a great asset to the community. It played a large part in the city's social and business life before its gradual decline and discard. It housed the Post Office, telegraph office and several of the city's finest retail establish- ments of that day and was known throughout the whole district as Stratford leading hostelry. Note the dirt road, wooden sidewalks and lack of hydrants. There were no waterworks in 1879 The two-horse vehicle standing in front of the main entrance to the hotel is the old omnibus that met all the trains and was a familiar sight to residents of Stratford in those days. Hy Ya Folks! Here | Come! He's just a baby yet, but big things are expected of this little man. We hope, during his lifetime, or this coming year, to offer you an enlarged selection of those "good shoes prop- erly fitted'. THE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF Boyd's Shoe Store WISH FOR EVERYONE A Happy New Year GOOD SHOES rae 99 PROPERLY ONTARIO FITTED +2 : Accomplishments After one of the most pleasant Christmases in its memory, Stratford is preparing to celebrate the advent of 1947, a year of which much is expected and much is feared. 1946 is almost over, its successes and fail- -- ures passing into history. Hope, as always, rises with the New Year." Much remains to be hoped for in the New Year, much to be worked for and attained. But 1946 has been far from fruitless. True, we are pass- ing through a time of readjustment | and discord inevitable after an up- heaval such as the 2nd World War. But progress has been made -- we have started on the road to normal, peaceful living. ' Locally a start, and in some in- stances more than a start, has been made in solving some of our most pressing problems. Housing, still the No. 1 headache, has received a tre- mendous boost by the completion or -|near completion of Wartime Housing and Housing Enterprises projects. The new hospital, another urgent need, while it will not be completed for at least two years, will be the result of work and planning done in 1946, as will the projected vocation- al school when it finally reaches the building stage. In the field of recreation also, great strides have been made. The newly- formed Recreational Committee is now well-organized and the next year should show the wisdom of its creation. Perhaps most far-reaching of all, the work of the Planning and Devel- opment Council resulted in a master plan for future growth of the com- munity that should prove of inestim- able value in the years ahead. While 1947 is, like each new year, an unknown quantity, containing elements of both disaster and suc- cess, it need not be feared so long as the community tackles its prob- lems with the same determination and common sense that made 1946 a year of outstanding accomplishment. ALONG THE COMMON WAY We meet upon the common way, The weary, the weak, the strong, Those who sing at break of day, Those who envy the song.' The good, the bad, O who can say In that great and motley throng We meet upon the common way, Meet as we hasten along. The cheerful look, the eyes that smile ' May hide the breaking heart; And those we deem as without guile Be merely acting a part. ® We cannot place the good, the vile, Nor what is truth, nor what is art; With some we'd walk the other mile, | With others just meet and part. Yet all who walk the common way May meet with One who knows The lights and shadows of their day, Their fears, their hopes, their woes, For He whose name we 'memorate On every Christmas day: ; He never sought: to deviate; He trod the common way. : Jas. H. Skene.