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e y st Former Ma ee Seen abe A SOLDIER'S death in the First 'World War battle of Vimy Ridge is reflected in this bugle. Holding it is eight-year-old Donald Ed- ward Whitehead of 1285 Thornton Rd. N. It was owned by his great uncle, Eddie Chalmers, _ killed, April 9, 1917, as the battle started. Donald and other members of his family i 2 | i| ible ieee learned through a Times story last week how Eddie Chalmers, a message run- ner, was killed about 6. a.m., 50 years ago last Sunday. --Oshawa Times Photo Story Tells Sister How Brother Died A touching story has been brought to light by an Oshawa veteran who kept a diary ac- count of how his war-time friend was killed alongside him in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. In a story centred on Donald Losee, 148 Oshawa Blvd. N., The Times published an excerpt from his war diary where he noted "Eddie Chalmers was hit' on the left of him as they advanced in the massive Can- adian charge on the Germans, April 9, 1917, The Times carried the story, Friday, and by Friday night an elderly woman from Simcoe, Ont. had jearned at last how her brother, Eddie, had been shot down in action. ; The woman, Mrs. Elizabeth Whitehead, is the mother of Ed- ward Chalmers Whitehead, 1285 Thornton Rd. N., Oshawa. Mr. Whitehead was reading the newspapar account of the famous Vimy Ridge battle when he ran across the excerpt from Mr. Losee's diary that men tioned his uncle Edward Chal- mers. CONFIRMED He couldn't believe it. He called Mr. Losee, who was a runner of messages along with Eddie in the war, and the one- time private confirmed the story. Mr. Whitehead called mother on the teleph his and 'telling my mother not to worry about him -- he was only going to run messages. We knew it was dangerous." She says she is sure the offi- cial army report was that her brother was killed by a sniper. Toward the end of the letter she said: "I better stop, the tears sure are flowing now." Mr. Losee, baffled by the coincidence of Eddie's sister still being alive, said in an inter- view yesterday his war-time friend was "a good head. He was always joking." He even recalls a day shortly before the rush on Vimy Ridge when "we were in a trench at the Ridge and he (Eddie) could not find a light for a smoke. So Fritzie to get a match.' "' Mr. Losee says that Eddie was apparently killed by machine gun fire about 6 a.m. He said he rushed over to Eddie to help and found him out stretched in a sideway position on the battlefield. "He was pretty badly injured. I had to'go on. I didn't think he would live. The stretcher bear- ers carried him off, Someone told me later he died in a hos- pital." Mr. Losee's last recollection about his good friend was that "Eddie and I were the best of pals. We usually bunked to- WHITBY LAUNCHES ACTION... ... AGAINST CONSUMERS' GAS Towns Ownership Claims Criticized TORONTO (Staff) -- Consum- launched a Supreme Court ers Gas Company vice-presi- action against the company ed belonged dent J. ©. McCarthy said to- arising from the fact that a 35- said the company day the courts would settle the year franchise agreement ran time the franchise was grant- to the town, He was not pre- pared to agree that the entire Whitby gas franchise question. out and that in accordance with system reverted to the town In reply to a statement made the agreement all mains, pipes after the agreement. ue bag gd ge ~~ a a _-- = The Consumers Gas_ vice- New Monday night Mr. to be surrendered to the town wcat ; McCarthy said Consumers Gas without compensation. president said his company was willing to negotiate further Whitby council gave third purchased the property from with the town but added that i : PHEeR Be Shore Gas and took over the the matter became _ ridiculous reading to a bylaw authorizing franchise. He said the com- when Whitby insisted on negoti- its solicitor to commence the pany did not recognize the ating from the position that action take-over clause when they they own the gas lines in the Mr. McCarthy said his com- took over the installations. town. t pany might agree that the Mr. McCarthy told The Whitby council, last night, original pipes installed at the Times that Consumers Gas had Damages, Injunction Sought By Council WHITBY (Staff) -- Town! council, at its Monday meeting,|supply gas to existing custom-/their part to talk that we have| launched an action in the Su-| preme Court of Ontario against the Consumers' Gas Co. and Consumers' from continuing to) ers at existing rates but it is felt that, unless and until Con- sumers' is prepared to make a Charles H. World, of Oshawa,|new franchise arrangement, its district manager. which is satisfactory to the The action will seek unstated|Town of Whitby, they should damages for trespass and an in- junction to restrain the com- pany and its employees from trespassing on any property be- longing to the town to extend the existing gas distribution system without the express per- mission in writing of the town obtained in advance. Council gave three readings to a bylaw authorizing its solici- tor, Hugh T. Nichol, to com- mence and prosecute the ac- tion. It also authorized the solicitor to employ as counsel the law firm of McCarthy and McCarthy, of Toronto. At a press conference, follow- jing the council meeting, Mayor a Desmond Newman read lengthy statement setting forth the town's position. He empha- sized that the action is being brought to protect the interests of the citizens of the town. The statement said the action arises out of the fact that the franchise was granted for the distribution of gas which the Consumers' Gas Co. acquired from Ontario Shore Gas Co., Ltd., expired on June 1, 1966. The franchise, which authorized the firm to operate a natural gas distribution system in Whit- by, ran for a period of 35 years from: June 1, 1931. APPROVAL NEEDED One of the terms of the franchise was that the location of all mains, pipes and fixtures should be subject to the discre- tion and approval of the town. The franchise also. provided that on its expiration all' mains, pipes, fittings and fixtures then in the ground were to be sur- rendered to and become the property of the town without comp tion to "the grantee"'. gether in the same shell hole. "But, you know, it's a funny thing ., . we never got on a he said, 'I'm going over to leave together." Herbert Robinson, president of the Canadian Automotive Museum, announced today that the fund raising program to purchase the museum and con tinue its operation has been bol- stered by $5,000 from the own- er of the property, Dr. J. E. Rundle. Mr. Robinson says he wishes to eorrect any impression that OWNER BOLSTERS CAMPAIGN TO SAVE CITY CAR MUSEUM Dr. Rundle was forcing the museum to close. Mr. Robinson said he only wished to express the urgency of raising the re- quired $125,000 before April 30 to meet the obligation of the museum. Mr. Robinson' said -- the urgency still exists and that additional support in the form of loans is still required. told her about the account. The dead soldier's sister, Mrs. Whitehead, at Simcoe, immedi- ately wrote her Oshawa rela- tives a letter telling how much the news had startled her. "T still can't get over your phone call .. ." she began to say in her letter to the White- head family in the city. "So many memories of 1917 came to mind," said Mrs. White- head, who knew her brother had been killed at Vimy Ridge. But she never knew exactly how. "It must have been about 3 a.m. (last Saturday) when I went to bed, and when I woke up about 8:30 a.m. it was 'Vimy' again. Strange how things come to light after so many years." She says all she knew was that Eddie was taken off the battlefield, April 9, and was moved along with 42 other soldiers of the 15th Battalion (Toronto) to be buried at a place called Nine Elms. Later in the letter, she re- called her brother writing from the battlefront before April 9. 50 years ago last Sunday, and Underweight Store Owner It became evident in Oshawa magistrate's court Monday that a city man was a little more than the average bread winner. Florenz Masarin, owner of College Bakery in Oshawa, was managing an average of $50 a week extra by misleading the public as to the weight of his} bread. Instead of the 24 ounces} marked on the bread wrapping the actual weight of the product was about 20.6 ounces, Terence Kelly, acting on be- half of the crown, told the court Mr. Masarin "was profit- ing by misleading the public," and that while the difference did not seem like much _ it made a difference to a family without much money. Inspectors under the food and drug act investigated the College Bakery case. Bread Sold; Fined $100 Twenty loaves of bread were purchased on Nov. 30 with add- itional inquiries made the next day and although Mr. Masarin had been warned on two occa- sions prior to the buying of the bread, it was still underweight. After hearing all the evi- dence Magistrate D. B. Dodds fined Masarin $50 and costs on each of two charges or a total of 20 days. CIGARETTES STOLEN WHITBY (Staff) -- .A_ thief broke into the Dominion Store at Highway 2 and Kendalwood Avenue Tuesday and escaped with 20 cartons of cigarettes valued at $50. Entry was gain- ed through a window on the south-east side of the building. The statement said that in order to ensure a_ continuing supply of natural gas to the people of Whitby, the mayor and other officials entered into discussions with Consumers' Gas with the object of nego- tiating a new agreement. It was the view of town. officials that in the new agreement con- sideration should be given to the fact that the system was owned by the town. The town also asked the firm to supply drawings showing the location of the system and also figures to indicate its value. "Consumers' Gas at no time denied that the franchise had expired, but stated that wheth- er the title to the system was in the town or not, the system had no value to anyone other than Consumers' since the transmission line from the dis- tribution system to Trans-Can- ada Pipe Lines lay outside the town and the Town of Whitby had no way of ensuring either a contract for the supply of gas or a means of transmitting that supply to the distribution sys- tem. Initially, Consumers' undertook to supply a plan of the system but to date it has not been forthcoming, the state- ment continued. NO PERMISSION Despite the fact the firm does not have a franchise, the state- ment said, it had continued to operate as if it did even to the point of authorizing and con- It is not intended at this time to ask for an order prohibiting not be permitted to conitnue to extend their system when they have no right to do so and in| defiance of the town,"' the state- ment said. TRIAL PROCEDURE "After the issuance of the writ on Jan. 24, 1967, an appli- cation was made before a judge of the Supreme Court of On-} tario for an interlocutory in- junction restraining Consumers' | from further extending their| system without the permission of the town and this application was heard and determined Feb. 20, 1967. It was the view of Mr.) Justice Brooke that an inter-| locutory injunction should not} be granted until the trial of the} action because the town was not in a position to show that} it would suffer irreparable harm if such an injunction was not granted. Accordingly town will have to proceed to trial in order to obtain the re- lief it seeks. "We emphasize that we are only concerned in reasserting our rights to determine who can dig up our streets to lay extensions to existing publi utilities and on what terms," said the mayor in his state- ment. 'Consumers' is in the position of a tenant whose lease has expired and yet persists in acting as if it still had a lease. They purchased the franchise for 35 years which has expired in accordance with its own terms and, in our view, we are entitled to insist that they either make a new agreement with us which is in the best in- terests of the people of Whitby or refrain from further exten- sions to the existing without our express consent," the statement concluded. TWO OTHERS "The essence of the matter is that the town know where extensions are being installed in the future," Mayor Newman said. "We know of two other municipalities: whose franchises have expired and are aware of two others where they will be} expiring. One of those which | has expired calls for the sys- tem to revert to the municipal- ity. Bowmanville is in precisely the same position as we are. system| have found such reluctance on) given up. They will not tell us| where its mains are located. The system was valued at $1,500,000 when it was taken over. Today it serves 1,300 resi- dents of the town. "This matter came to our at- tention last April. We have tried to handle it carefully and tried to get Consumers' to come to an agreement. They have shown amazing reluctance. I feel that if we do not take a stand we will not be doing our duty to the citizens. This action may benefit other municipal- ities. It can have effects we may not appreciate but I feel we must do it,"' Mayor New-) man said. COMPLAINT Councillor Thomas Edwards} said that a year or so ago coun-| cil had received a complaint} from a resident of Green Street} asking why a gas main was! being installed on the street} when no residents were gas customers. He said also the) firm had refused to supply gas} the| to the Centennial Building. | | Deputy Reeve George Brooks | charged the company was tak-| ing a 'we don't care' attitude) jand 'We are too big for you) little puddle jumpers'. 'We! want to know what we own.) We tried to use discretion, but we can get no where." | SERVICE Asked if he thought the gas company might cut off service} to Whitby, Mayor Newman re- plied that under such circum- stances, he believed the Ontario \Energy Board would step in. |He was also asked whether the} \two district members of the | legislature had been asked to take the matter up with: the provincial authorities. Mayor Newman replied in the nega-| tive, "The renewal of the agree-} jment proposed by the company did not make any reference to the system reverting to us, Dis- cussions were amicable when BUSY SCHEDULE ENDS STUDENT EXCHANGE eon, welcomed the students A four-day exchange trip in French. T. D. Thomas, between Oshawa and Que- bec students ended with a schedule when 40 young people visit- busy ed Col, R. S. McLaughlin's Parkwood estate to tour the gardens. The tour was fol- lowed by a tour of ate. luncheon and Eastdale Collegi- Mayor Ernest Marks, special guest at the lunch been one of Whitby's taxpayers taxes were being paid on installations largest that all was for years and He said it common practice for the com- pany to consult with the town engineer when any digging as to be done Mr. company did not any did said that the sell gas in municipality where they not own the complete facil- McCarthy ities. He said the company was not at liberty to make a deal with the town and that the matter would have to be re- solved in the courts. "Tt didn't realize that the Mayor would make a_ public issue out of this and we will keep working towards a satis- factory solution," said Mr. Mc- Carthy. Mr. McCarthy said that the initial franchise was a very un- usual one and added that the Oshawa franchise made no mention of Consumers Gas Co. facilities reverting to the mu- nicipality. He agreed that the pipes in question could be valued at $1,500,000 and served about 1,500 Whitby residents. | Hhe Oshawa Cimes OSHAWA, ONTARIO, TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1967 trustee of the board of edu- centennial display of old Saturday cation, said the exchange and new ships for trade and trip not only develops liai- fishing is in the main foyer son and friendship but also of Eastdale Collegiate, produces leaders for the After touring the school, future. Rosemere and Osh- students visited the Nation. awa students from left are: al Stud Farm and _ then Central Judy Seymour, 16, of Rose- mere, Lorrie Smelko, 17, of Collegiate in Osh- visiting students boarded a train for home. --Oshawa Times Photo the president and vice-president) were there but when their legal} department took over we got! nowhere. I am glad to see the) injunction law is being used properly for once,"' said Counc. Edwards. | "We have partial plans of the; will be that all costs will borne by the gas company. Our main purpose is to make it believe they have retained legal the franchise in East Whitby} ¢ clear that a municipality has|James _ demande snip sated counsel. We believe, also, that|rights. It is unreasonable that|Whitby Township Council last/unless the information is made night that it make information|public for question and criti- any body can come in and do} Councillor Demands Sis tu one ftom Merger Information WHITBY Brady (Staff) -- Coun. | demanded ofjare proceeding is break-neck speed at which we ridiculous, public. meetings." Coun, Neil Grandy, awa and Richard Carryer, 16, also of Rosemere. A through and I am in favor of "Ratepayers can wait," said "until we Township has also expired. Gas Company Agreement i: mien putting aus-|Heber pone «We're on ae Similar In Bowmanville |:2.22%02 i 33° aNMAINGIAA tie jem socks commie "Ee sams oo a on) LOO MALOLY Fatrollens Town officials here are keep-|tween Bowmanville and Whitby |tionnaire," ing a close eye on the Con-\and that his council was being|Hanna, in defence of the coun- sumers Gas franchise fight in|continually |Whitby council. Bowmanville has retained the the day Bowmanville has exactly\same legal firm as Whitby to! 'Besides,"' the Town of Whitby. Clerk Robert Byron said to-| the same agreement as Whitby that council had paralleled that town Whitby and { right to the pipe. facilities. Mr. Byron: said "We have done our best to|to any authority,' said Mayor| talk to the company but we! Newman. | advised deal with Consumers Gas. with Consumers Gas and that/pasT WHITBY it expired last July 1. He said) fast Whitby Township clerk|US thing in the the procedure taken by the|william Goldie said today that! Of/his council is still negotiating)cused Mr. there had'municipality able. to the public. Coun.: Brady Deputy-Reeve Gordon with the Town of Whitby avail-| sparred jas they wish without recourse| on the proposed amalgamation|cism by the ratepayers." "If we can't go before the |people,"' said Mr. Brady, "'then with| there is something drastically Hanna/wrong with the amalgamation) over the lack of information be-|proceedings." ed off. said refusal to by the! cil's proposed said Mr. NO OFFERS MADE YET FOR LYMAN GIFFORD FARM About 115 acres of city land industrial There have been no off ers to may be sold as an date and Mr. Gifford said yes- cemetery. -: site. terday he wouldn't "'talk price" The cemetery, com For the last few weeks the about the property, embracing slightly more than or south-end land, part of the the homestead site of the area's acre, is about a qu city's sprawling 500 to 550-acre first settler, Captain Benjamin east of the Gifford f Farewell Industrial Park, has Willson, a New Yorker. barn, located at the been up for sale. Sixty - three - year - old farmer Lyman Gifford, unsuc- cessful in his bid last Dec. 5 to retain his mayoralty seat in Oshawa, bought the property in 1931 from the late Gordon Con- ant, former Ontario Premier and attorney general. Fa rewell Street. on Oshawa Inter - denominational ing on Farewell Street, with a picion on our actions," said Coun. Brady, '"'and every time meet groups to explain and discuss amalgamation. | Hanna, | ing to 'railroad' anything have the best possible informa- tion to give them." No future public meetings have been scheduled by either Whitby Township Council or the amalgamation committee, but a questionnaire is being sent out to ratepayers, to ar- rive at the end of April. a ques- Deputy-Reeve} with Patrol Jamboree. lverting the pipe lines to the/tions, "but I do oppose the way|patrol member with the rest we are going about it. The'coming from the other sources. One thousand primary school \"with the public, a little bit of children will congregate tomor- linformation is the most danger-|row for the annual school Safety world." At that point, Mr. Hanna ac- Brady of not show-|torium, is a form of reward for} was|with Consumers Gas and that|img up regularly for amalga-|the pupils taking part in the|/boarded over for the jamboree imation meetings, and referred|school safety patrols. To Take Part In Jamboree The dollar donations by the schools' boards are returned in the form of a strip of tickets |for hot dogs, pop and popcorn, The jamboree, at Civic Audi-|etc. for each pupil attending. Half the ice surface will be \for dancing while the other half structing extensions to thejawaiting the outcome of the|settlement appeared close. existing system. These exten-|Whitby action. Clerk Goldie said there were|t0 '"'personal comments" (al-| Parents of the children arej|will be left for skating with the sions were done without the] The town clerk said negotia-\no gas consumers in the|legedly made by Mr. Bradyjasked to transport them to and/rotunda around the arena used permission of the town. tions have broken off with|township and that the agree |during committee meetings) |from the auditorium lfor game booths, although no "The object of this litigation|Consumers Gas and the last|ment only covered the gas|which are not normally made| Money for the jamboree, cost-)money will be involved is to obtain an injunction re-|meeting was held on July 19|transmission line. He said Bas public ing more than $1,500, comes} Special guests at the jamboree straining Consumers' Gas fromiof last year. He said that the|Whitby was not in the same RIDICULOUS |from public school boards and|will be Mayor Ernest Marks, continuing to trespass upon the|zas company at that time took|position as Bowmanville and| 'I don't oppose amalgama-/donations from private indus-|Police Chief Walter Johnston town's streets by extending itslthe position that they did not|Whithy since there was nojtion." said Mr. Brady, afterjtry and service clubs. Schooljand Deputy Chief D. F. Fergu- system without our permission.|recognize that the town had any/clause in their agreement re-|jrefuting Mr. Hanna's allega-jboards will donate $1 for each|son, Inspector J. N. Smyth of the traffic division and the two safety patrol police officers. LAND EMBRACES HOMESTEAD SITE OF FIRST SETTLER about $75 to $80 an acre. I've got no sons to carry on northerly extreme that ends In the early 1960's the federal and I'm getting old,"' says Mr. prised of just above Harbor Road. The government bought up six and Gifford ne-half an western border is the second one-half acres of the farm for He says he didn't initiate the arter-mile marsh, or Farewell Marsh. The Oshawa Harbor development- idea to sell, but made up his home and southern part of the property and the price then was $6,000 mind to when Lloyd Metcalf base of is about. three-quarters of a an acre Real Estate Ltd., Oshawa, ap- the east mile wide, while the north is "People say 'Oh, you proached him CEMETERY Benjamin spent 30 years there and on his death in 1821 at the age of 88 was buried a few yards from the residence -- only to have his body exhumed 30 years later and moved to the old pioneer resting spot, Fort side. The Gifford property, where mostly hay is harvested for a herd of about- 50° head of beef cattle, begins to spread out from the Farewell Street base. The easterly limit of the land is about 2,000 feet long, border- about one-quarter of a mile. EARLY VALUE When Mr. Gifford bought the land from Mr. Conant, first cousin of Lyman's father, the late Hiram Gifford, it was be- lieved to have been valued at wouldn't sell.' Well I got a sur- prise myself when I thought 'Oh, why are you keeping it'," Mr. Gifford says Only Mr. Gifford and his wife, Louise, live on the farm now "What are we working for? Though the real estate agency has gone as far as advertising in a Toronto newspaper, there have been no, resultant offers. LARGE CONCERNS But James Williams, the city's industrial commissioner, said in a separate interview yesterday that large concerns have been sizing up the Fare- well Industrial Park. property in recent weeks.. He doesn't have the names of the interest- ed concerns, which also looked at Gifford's land Mr. Gifford says he is pre- pared to sell out, but if he can hold on to the home and the barn it would make him happy even if industry begins sprouting up in his back yard. "1 won't be bothered by indus- tries or buildings being built up payers' judgment confidence in Mr. his land is sold he would still yors Lakefront Property For Sale In Oshawa near me. That's perity -- times." a sign of pros- the trend of the "I'm still confident in the tax- And I've got the city," said Gifford, adding that if all reside in Oshawa If industry does move in, what happens to the pioneer cemetery? "T don't say. it would be moved ... but it has been known to be done to other cemeteries,"