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The Tely Contirnued from Page 6 In Toronto the laying off of employees made a dramatic appearance in the his- tory books as a paper called the 'Tor- onto Telegram' fol ded under the leader- ship of John Bassett. The new spaper had b een one of Toronto's tw o afternoon papers for over 90 years and the impact of t h e closure would be fel t ail across O n t a rio, and would be even mentioned in parliament in Ottawa. Road widening During a warm August in Whitby big trucks rumbled down the main street to signal the start of road widening which woul d prompt some downtown merchants to close while others voiced their com- plaints to the town council. On-street parking The c on f us ion down town was com- pounded because nobody seemed sure if they wanted on-street parking meters. The new si dewalks were laid without holes andwould laterbe drilled for met- e r s and the on-street parking. On a happy note the road widening was finis- hed ahead of schedule but the downtown merchants would stiIl have trouble com- peting against plazas. Belfast Religious strife made news in '71 as the fighting in Belfast revealed atroc- ities almost as bad as those in Vietnam. So bitter would the fighting become that s om e girls would be tarred and feath- er e d for da t i ng Sri tish sol diers vho w e r e posted in Ireland to put a stop to the fighting. Ruddy Hospital Whitby saw strife on a much smaller s c a I e- a s the Free Press reported on September 9th of accusations of intimi- d a t i on by administration towards staff m e m b e r s of the Dr. Joseph O. Ruddy Hospital. In that same issue was the re- p or t of two girl s vvho were needlessiy killed at an unmarked railway crossing in Whitby. Price war A p rice war started in 1971 between food stores such as Dominion and Lob- iaws and so competitive was the price- c ut t ing t hat many independent stores went out of business. It was a war which would cost Loblaws so much money they wvere forced ta close many of their smai- ler stores and layoff a great many of their staff. Àlthough food became cheaper for a wh i le, the l ayoffs ail over Canada in 1971 meant many families found it neces- sary ta institute bel t tightening mea sures as the economy and stocks faltered. Spadina Expressway T o ronto citizens were both angered and gladdened at the news of the closing of the much disputed Spadina Express- way. Al though the decision was supposed to be final, the debate would go on far in- to later months. Adecision in the United Nation s.was aiso highly criticized as Nationalist China was expelled from the U. N. seat she held to make way for the si Republic of China. WHITBY FREE PRESS, Thursday, January 6th, 1972 , Page ? Canadian Antique Furniture by Helen Ingram THE LURE OF ANTIQUES In the iast few years there has been a marked rise in interest in things an- tique. Our national birthday celebration in 1967 brought the collecting disease to a fever pitch which shows little sign of abating. Indeed, new victims are claimed every year. So, the question arises, what is an antique, or, how old is old? What is Old? For purposes of collecting duty, the Canadian and American customs offices cons ider anything one hundred years old to be antique. The British Antique Dealers Association has a cut-off date of 1830. However, many dealers feel that anything fifty years old or less is collectableandworthy of preservation. On e r e ason for this is due to the fact that true antiques are becoming scarce w hi l1e the demand for "Iold things " i s grow ing. Manypeople are buying articles that are obsolete or merely old, with a view to saving them for the future, when pre- s um a b I y they wil I acquire a patina of age and desirability. Canadian antique furniture, the pur- pose of this article, will be the furnish- ings made prior to 1850. Called "pion- eer, primitives, or early"Canadiana", these pieces are what true collectors of C an a d iana are searching for. A true primitive isa rare find. Remember that thepeoplewho settied this country dis- cardedtheir first crude household fur- nishings as soon as they could afford to doso. Whiletherearestill a few pieces in existence, most of what is available are made of native woods, but beer dis- tinct resemblances to familiar styles. Originations If you find a table with Sheraton in- f ue nc es made of curly maple, it will certainly not be Engl ish. Canadian furn- iture is different from any other, and to tell the difference, one must look very carefully at the wood of which a piece h a s b e e n constructed. One must al so learn something of regional differences and of cabinetry. Anylist of Canadian wood must begin with: Pine - ai d pine has a dry, dustyar oma which is difficuit to describe, ai- t h ou gh i t cannot be mistaken for any at h er waoaod. Brown in colaur , it is a s of t waa d that i s remarkably stur dy. W h en r e fi nished it has a saft, wvarm 9iow that flatters every colour. Furn- iture of ail kinds was made from it. Butte[ri - Can stilli be faund.Ne b u tternut is brown. Old butternut is a greyish shade of brow~n. The grain will r em in d yaou of walnut, slightly. It is soft and can be highly polished. Furn- i ture made of this wood may be restr icted ta tables and chests of dr awer s. Because of the grain, early pieces were some- times stained to resemble walnut. Black Cherry - Is hard and close gr ai n ed aid light reddish brown. Not too common any more, but you might be lucky to find some in chests of drawers Maple - T h is very desirable wood is creamy white, can have tiger-striped or bird's eye marks in the grain which are d i s t inctive in the finished piece. It is close grained and hard. Found in tables, chairs, cabinets, beds. Walnut - Close grained and v e r y hard. This wood is used in a great many kindsoffurniture. It can be turned on a lathe and highly polished. Basswood - Light in colour, a soft wood with an indistinct grain. Not pri- zed by col I 1 ec tor s gener al1y , although that is a matter of individual choice. It isdifficult tofinish, and is better pain- ted. Chestnut & Birch are found oc- casionally, althoughbirchis more com- monly found in the furniture of Quebec. E l - is quite common in Windsor chairs and other pieces of furniture where long- grainedwoods were necessary to achieve bent shapes. Earl y Ontar io cab inet-makers showed the influence of their trainiig in their i n t e r p retation of the designs created by such masters as Hepplewhite, S h e r a ton and Chippendale. American influence was also prominent, so much so, that sometimes it is difficult to id- entify a piece positivelyaseither Can- adian or American. Craftsman's Signature Occasionally, you might find a chair that has been signed by the craftsman who made it. Then you can enjoy owning an authenticated piece. Most often though, it is necessary or at least desirable to do some research yourself. Old furn- iture was made bv hand and the mark of the craftman's hand tool is there to see. Since most pieces will be covered with layersofpaintanddirt, youwillbelook- ing inside drawers and doors, and along the backs for marks of saws and plan- ning tools. Modern saws leave circular marks so pay particular attention to saw ma r k s. Wide rough boards were fre- quently used on the backs of cupboards. Nails were made of iron and their rec- tangular heads will indicate a date be- tween 1800 and 1830. Knobs were wooden porcelain knobs came later. Beds B ed s have knobs along their stret- ch ers and acraoss their ends around which ropes were crossed to make a bed spring. They are smaller than modern beds, shorter and higher, and frequen- tly are quite heavy since many beds were made of maple or walnut or cherry. Arrow - Back Chairs T h ere i s great varie ty in chair s, l ad d er backs are smalli and may have either rush or woven bark seats. Thei r ru n gs will be worn from the scraping ofmanyshoesand the upright side rails may be splintered. They are treasures, regard I ess of the condition in which you find them. Arrow back chairs are pl a in wooden chairs with solid seats andarrow-shaped slats in their backs., Continued onrPage 10