MERRITTON MATTERS

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Merritton Baseball Jim Salomone let us know that his mother-in-law (Mrs. Margaret Saunders) had the following photograph of a Merritton baseball team and knew that our readers might be interested. They could only identify four of the players but we know that some of our readers will be able to help. We believe that the person in the front row, 2nd from the right, is Omar (Lefty) Savoie. In the back row, 3rd from left is Orm Simpson, and the 8th from the left is Jim’s father-in-law, Reg Saunders. Fifth from the left in the back row we believe is Angie Pastore. Unfortunately these four have passed on, but were all long-time residents of Merritton. Likely they were all employed at Hayes-Dana at the time. Let us know if you recognize any other players. Signs of Spring Thank you to all who attended our ‘Signs of Spring’ dance in March. Proceeds have been directed towards the purchase of a sign welcoming everyone to our Merritton community to be placed at the entrance of Mountain Locks Parks. The Merritton Community Group greatly appreciates the donation of prizes for the dance. Donors include: Canadian Tire Fourth Ave.; Laser Assist Dentistry; Bloomin Busy Flower Shop; Home Hardware; Sewing Machine Essentials; Merritton Community Pharmacy; J. Lombardi - Subway Pen Centre; Sheri’s Creative Edge; Burtnik Printing; A. Hartnett; M. Enright; C. Morra - Boston Pizza; Garden City Automotive; Dairy Queen; Time Bomb Computers; Pizza Hut; Shoppers Drug Mart; Midas; Stephanie’s Flowers; and Dana Does Dirt – Cleaning. History of Ladies Softball in St. Catharines Marg Schram is in the process of writing a book entitled The History of Ladies Softball in St.Catharines:1920-1960. She needs pictures of the many teams that represented Merritton in that era. Any original pictures would be appreciated. Please let her know if you can help by contacting her at 905-684-2515 or schrambo2@ sympatico.ca. I MERRITTON MATTERS
Merrittonians in Sports Hall of Fame Last Issue’s Trivia Edna (Green) Groff provided us with the following list of breakfast restaurants in Merritton. Early Bird, Fortis Restaurant, Good Eats, Lancer Restaurant, Oma and Opa’s, Queenston Grill, Sunrise Cafe, Tim Hortons, Tony’s, and the third Sunday of the month at the Legion on Chestnut St. There were a few on Edna’s list that we hadn’t included when we created the trivia question. She added Tim Hortons onWelland Ave which is outside our boundaries. Several at the Pen Centre (A and W, London Arms, The Bay) weren’t originally included because they don’t consider themselves ‘Merritton’ although we certainly know better! Richard and Barbara Mawhood gave us their list of breakfast locations in Merritton Ward which had a few more, namely Lester D’s, The Flats, Fortis, Mozie On In Diner and Donut Diner. We know that happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast and, even more so, if eaten at a restaurant in Merritton. Previous Trivia – Aiken and McLachlan We want to recognize those who became part of the St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame on April 28 th . Two of these people, George (Clickey) Taylor and Bruce Erskine, were important parts of our Merritton sports history. Other inductees were Bob (Buff ) McCready, Marianne Groat and Mark Walters. George worked diligently for the Merritton Athletic Association, coaching baseball for 35 years. He was at the helm when teams achieved six Ontario titles. He was Community Park’s head groundskeeper when we had the Penn League Blue Jay’s team. Bruce attended Merritton High School and we like to think that his interest in rowing really got started when he rowed for the school. Honoured posthumously, he was a fourtime gold medalist at the Henley, a coach and official for 35 years. His wife Sue, also a Merritton student, was inducted in 1997. Your Letters Dorothy (Pirie) Hanna wrote to tell us how much she enjoyed ‘Merritton Matters’. She has lived in Merritton most of her life, first on Elm Street, then Almond and eventually over near the Pen. In the past issue, Tom Barwell had written about lawn bowling beside Main’s Drug Store. Her mother had bowled there for years with other ladies from Merritton and her mother and father met at the drug store when it was Bob Stewart’s before Main’s. That same issue also featured a picture of the train station and she reminded us that it was at the corner of Bessey and Merritt and for street cars, heading to Port Dalhousie. In the Fall issue, we showed a picture of a concrete truck from a company that has since disappeared from Hartzel Road. We hadn’t heard anything about it when we went to press with our Winter issue. In January, Dorothea Ives contacted us with some fascinating information and we have printed her letter below. Aiken and McLachlan Construction and Ready Mix was a thriving business during the 1950’s and 60’s. It was located at an angle, across the street from the Cosy Grill in what is now the Food Basics parking lot, where the Itt’s Thai Restaurant now stands. The front office was a two-story brick building housing several offices and work stations. There was a second building behind that which housed the equipment and the Ready-Mix. I joined the office staff of this company in the mid 1960’s. I met much kind, hard-working, good people during my few years there. Even my father was a past employee at that time. As time passed, the company ran into some difficult times and relocated to Ontario Street with many employees having been laid off. After a fairly short while, its doors closed permanently. I have many memories of the Hartzel Road area as I have spent much of my life in the neighbourhood. My parents moved the family to 35 Hartzel Road in the 1930’s and the house remained in the family until my mother’s death about 25 years ago. I returned in 1960 to raise my own family of 8 children on Marmora Street, just around the corner. They all attended Merritton High School. I now live in Secord Woods as do 2 of my daughters. MERRITTON MATTERS I
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Page 3 and 4: Merrittonians We’ve Lost Whenever
Page 5: You know you’re from Merritton if
Page 9 and 10: Habitat for Humanity For the first
Page 11 and 12: A Memorable Man and a Memorable Era
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Page 15: St. James Anglican Church’s New C

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