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_ No Damage In Port Elgin ""You mentioned in the. paper |Just after Christmas that you had | a green Christmas down there this year--the first one in the mem-- ory of many of the citizens. I re-- member--Christmas 1895 was just 'like a Spring day, warm, with bright sunshine and green grass. I | guess we made up for it later, be-- ' cause the day of my oldest bro-- ther's funeral, Rebruary 18th, it | was extremely cold. I don't re-- member what the, temperature ) was. E~ Former Resident Recalls Old Bridge On Goldie Street Shown aboqe is the derailed CNR P 'The accident was caused by a track 'When Mrs. D. H. Rowley of Vancouver send$ along her re-- newal to The Advocate, she re-- calls --earlier days in Paisley. In part, her letter reads: "I wonder bow many Paisley citizens realize it is almost 70 years since Goldie St. bridge was built. It was erected in either 1889 or 1890. My father was reeve of Elderslie from 1888 to 1890 and as such was a member of the County Countil. Herwas a mem-- ber of the committee looking af-- ter the building of the bridge. when the bridge was opened, somme pictures were taken and he was given one of them, ©"I have a Very dim picture in my . mind of the old wooden pridee. 5 «My father Was the late Don-- ald Mecintyre of Lockerby, His name bas been Mentioned in The Aadvocate several times lately, so maybe it will nothe necessary to mention it this :%,tt you think this,,':'lt of MO ® worth print-- this ing." WALKERTON, '(ENIR 'Palmerston--Southampton train which claimed the lives of two men. a track wags;)ut just one--quarter of a mile from the Southampton yards. : --Photo by Thornburn One minor 'local inconvenience,; caused by flood conditions in the | Toronto district, was a long delay \| in the arrival of Monday after-- noon's {rain, which was forced to re--route its course owing to the transport . of hundreds of. flat | cars carrying fill to the flooded areas along the Humber Riv the. Etobicoke Creek and t;x;' western approaches to the city. Delegates returning late Fri-- day evening from the.Library. Co--Operative annual banquet, Helds sb ) Chesies.) anznumtancd. Homes, beach resorts and business premises in Port Elgin suf fered practically no damage from the torrential rains of last week other than experiencing the inconvenience' of partially--flooded cel-- lars reported from buildings along the low--lying portions of the shoresline, a avhere pumgs. have oc been in use ever since: last: Fri-- ; Mesaaenr S td day, A'seepage of water was also es ._ pkes s s reported in the basement of the "E'L" ho Curling Club. | Mn onl held-- at Chesley, _ encountered some difficulty motoring along the Chesley--Tara--Allenford road where streams of water poured actoss the highway at several low points. The 'bridge across the Saugeen River near White School, al-- thou% threatened, successfully withstbod the swollen waters. At Allenford on Sunday thesereek was also>th. flood, swelling. to Several ii,rii;es its' normal, Size and countléss bonds were visible throughout the adjoining fields. Jones Falls, alongside Highway 6 near Owen Sound, had swelled to the proportions of a roaring cataract. Reports were received of.some demage to a portion of the corn crop. in neighboring farms and fall plowing has been at a stand-- still ever since last week's inces-- sant downpour, Southampton was also said to have 'eseaped lightly, . although homes in some areas had flooded basements, | The Saugeen River, althOugh it rose to springtime £100d (level, was kept within its . " 5oo mien PAISLEY HIT HARD BY FLOODS son of Mr. and Mrs, Thomas W. Thompson, R. R. No, 2, Tiverton, {'who has been named one of 109 outstanding graduate students from 34 countries to be awarded a Rotary. Foundation Fellowship for advance study abroad in 1952--53, granted by Rotary . International, world--wids service club organization. A graduate of 'Paisley Continuation School an the University 'of 'Toronto, Mr, Thompson's application for the Fel:) fowship was sponsored and endorse;| by the Rotary Club of Paisley. His! Fellowship will permit him one yeur" in the study of philosophy at i!he'_ University of Aberdeen in Scotfand,| in preparation for a career, as 'a \university teacher or as a Christian {minister. _ § CCC Cab JAMES M. THOMPSON, M.A., uim nornes E_ Flood Damage wepsns? Despite the inconveniences, Sat-- urday night business carried on as usual. 'Added equipment for the shoppers was apparel such as hip boots and boats, Everyone slopped around as the "Business As Usual" theme. conquered" the flood drive. .As the river kept rising, merchants just moved stock up another shelf. -- In the hotels, . townspeople, with . no place to sit, enjoyed their glass of ale standing up, as the Saugeen (waters kept flowing in the front door and along the bar, through the rooms, escaping out the near-- mets exit. Waich Dikes; Bridges Out Paisley, Walkerton Hit As Rivers Overflow continued from page One . Elsewhere the damage caused by floods created havoc in the neighboring towns of Walkerton and Paisley and is comparable to the heavy spring flood of two years ago. -- Damage along most Walkerton Sections Hit Downtown sections of Walketr-- ton could=be--compared with the actual Saugeen river itself, . Up to two feet of water swirled through doorways and basements and along the streets. Currents were estimated up to 16 miles an hour. But for a hardy band of 30 volunteers and firemen the night was one of vigil on the dikes and dam above town, moving stricken families and piling sandbags at weak pgints on the dike ram-- +parts. The river reached 11 feet, six inches above normal at 11.30 'p.m: Saturday and stayed there until 5 a.m. At--least one man, Fire Chief Irwin Lobsinger, had three hours sleep in two. days. Chief . Lobsinger, also-- chairman of the Saugeen Valley Conserva-- tion Authority, directed evacua-- tion, diking and clean--up opera-- tions. ' of ----tile_Eé.auge-e;"ifi;'er equalled that, of the floods of 1929 and 1947. Bridges were closed at Blue-- vale, Pinkerton, Walkerton and Gorrie, and highways were blocked. near Hanover, Wingham and Walkerton for hours. Many township roads were inundated. Pin boys and owners of the Schnurr--Schmelz bowling alley at Walkerton fought an all--night battle with the water to keep it from . $20,000 | worth of. alleys, Doors were sandbagged and va-- cuum cleaners, pump$ and mops were used agdinst the seeping water, When the river began backing away from. the. doors it had still not reached the six hardwood alleys. _ Trains were cancelled or delayed up to half a day through Walkerton. Waters Converge On Paisley As the water began to recede It quickly, rose over the streets after 5 am. Sunday and until late evening rushed through the streets, buildings and any open crevices. -- The Teeswater River "filled main. street basements, stores while making its way to the Saugeen River aiblock away. at Walkerton, the: village of Pais-- ley felt the full brunt of the en-- tite: Saugeen watershed. 'Rising waters from the Saugeen, Rocky Saugeen, the Teeswater, the North Saugeen, South Saugeen and the Styx all met to cause dis-- comfort in sectionsiof the inland Waters. of both the Saugeen and Teeswater Rivers completely surrounded 'many. homes,. busi-- nesses and churches, 'The Pais-- ley Baptist church services were "washed out" as water circled the building to a depth of about four feet. Sections of 'the Pais-- village. ley. dam were washed away aS well--as the Fisher's catwalk over the dam. It"Was a grim> tale of, "Water, water everywhere". NLY the younger generations O will not be able to recall the public gatherings on federal or provincial election nights, when townspeople gathered in the town. hall to receive the bulletins on results, which came in by tele-- graph or telephone. Of the 1908 'dominion election, the old fyles relate that "the election returns en Monday evening were receiv-- ed by the Conservatives at their committee rooms in the Flood block. Music and step--dancing entertained the crowd during the waiting intervals, The boys turn-- ed out in full force for the Don-- nelly triumphal march and torch light parade. The Liberals occu-- pied the town hall for the eve-- ning. Their hour of triumph was necessarily postponed until near midnight, when reports showed that Laurier and his government were again returned. Then their procession was formed up with Piper Donald Brown at the head." 'The torch light parade was a delight to the kids of that era« Dozens of worn--out brooms, dip= ped in coal oil and set afire, bob-- bed along the street with the! jubilant supporters of the vic-- torious party. And, when occa~ sion permitted, as in the instance | i le-- cited above, both parties cel brated. The younger crowd today don't know what they miss, receiving the results by television. OCT. 20, 1954