FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 3 - 9 NOVEMBER 1975
This week's many stories include more criticism of the big bus fare rises, the woman who abused councillors at their monthly meeting, the three horses that strayed on to the Rainford Bypass, the Rainhill Hospital Bonfire Night, the Rainford boy using a chemistry set who set fire to his father's garage and how over 100 school leavers in St Helens were expected to benefit from the government's new Job Creation Scheme.
We begin on the 3rd when the St Helens Mayor, Peggy MacNamara, officially opened the Maharaja Indian Restaurant in Westfield Street. And while she was there, the mayor enjoyed an Indian curry.
There was more criticism on the 3rd of the latest round of bus fare rises. On November 2nd fares in St Helens increased by 50%, with 4p tickets rising to 6p; 8p to 12p; 12p to 18p and 15p to 23p. It was the third rise in the last 12 months, which had doubled fares. At a meeting of Eccleston Parish Council, Councillor Ray Crosby said:
"I think we should make a very strong protest about these latest increases. The fare into St Helens has jumped from 6p to 12p. So it would now cost a housewife almost 5 shillings in old money for the return journey into town just to do the shopping. It is the last straw."
Councillor Crosby also criticised the standard of bus services, saying: "The least you would expect after these massive fare increases would be an improvement in the services but it seems to have gone worse. I believe we are subsidising transport elsewhere." Another councillor said he believed a further rise was planned for next April.
The Parish Council also heard that it was likely to be 1978 before children in Eccleston would be able to attend a St Helens school. Currently, they had to travel to schools in either Knowsley or Rainford. But Cllr Tom McCormack said: "I believe that changes are to be made at Cowley Boys School involving an extension which will provide 200 extra places by 1978."
On the 5th 700 women workers at the Northgate factory in Parr walked out over a pay dispute. To combat the high inflation rate (24% in 1975), the government had brought in strict pay and price controls and were now allowing a maximum increase in pay of £6. But female machinists at Northgate claimed they had only been offered a rise of £3.60, plus £1 from equal pay legislation.
The 5th was, of course, Bonfire Night and two children were taken to St Helens Hospital following accidents with fireworks. Neil Dixon aged 10 of Hempstead Close in Sutton Heath and Adam Bradbury aged three of Clifton Road in Billinge were treated for superficial burns to their face and neck before being allowed home.
People were certainly starting to get very bolshy with councillors! Recently, I described the fury of some Derbyshire Hill residents at a meeting in which councillors who had simply attended to offer them advice were verbally abused. And at St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 5th, a watching member of the public exploded with anger. This is how the Reporter described what happened:
"A furious woman visitor at Wednesday night's Council meeting shot a tirade of abuse at councillors as they rose at the end of a major debate on rates. The woman, disappointed that there was no discussion on transport, had councillors rooted to the spot as she yelled: “I think your behaviour was bloody disgraceful. I wouldn't trust you with a kid's piggy bank.” She accused them of laughing and sniggering all the time, and said she wouldn't vote for any of them. She then left . . . before the Press could catch her."
The Reporter on the 7th described how St Helens Council was hoping to be able to give temporary jobs to 125 unemployed young people under the government's new Job Creation Scheme. The council's Chief Executive, Tom Taylor, revealed that details of six clean-up schemes had been sent to the Merseyside Action Committee for Job Creation, stating:
"We are hoping for approval for about £47,000 to pay for labour. The cost of supervision, plant and materials will be a further £12,000." If the scheme was given approval, the government would pay the wage bill and 12 weeks' work would be provided.
"Shop at Whelans" said a large ad in the Reporter. "No Stamps No Gimmicks – Just Permanently Reduced Prices". Whelan's opening times were typical of supermarkets in the 1970s. As well as their enforced closure on Sundays, they were also shut on Mondays and for the rest of the week, Whelan's only opened their doors at 10am (apart from Saturday when it was 9am).
On Tuesdays and Saturdays they closed at 5:30pm and at 8pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Whelan's had opened inside the former Sutton Oak engine sheds in Baxters Lane in 1971 and Morrison's supermarket now operates from the site. There was also an advert in the paper for the Westfield Restaurant, which had just opened and was located over Everson's confectioners.
Neil Burrows of St Helens Road in Rainford was featured in the paper after accidentally setting fire to his father's garage. The 14-year-old had upset a bottle of methylated spirits near a lit Bunsen burner after the Rainford High pupil had been experimenting with his chemistry set. Neil's mother told the Reporter that she had in the past permitted her son to practice his chemistry at home but added: "We won't allow him to in future". Neil was unhurt and there wasn't too much damage to the garage.
The Reporter also described how two men from the St Helens district were sailing on a specialist research ship bound for the South Pole. Ian Hogg from Heyes Avenue in Rainford and Roy Whitfield of Dorgan Close in Rainhill were part of a 100-strong contingent aboard a British Antarctic survey ship bound for South Georgia. The expedition would take seven months and the team were to carry out survey work in sub-zero temperatures.
The paper also described how a century-old recreational club was faced with ruin unless financial support was quickly obtained. Eccleston Lane Ends Recreation Club, which had been founded in 1866, had asked their local parish council for assistance to meet the cost of repairs estimated at over £800.
There was an advert in the paper for the Lilian Rogers clothes shop in Duke Street which said it was under new management, although their staff remained the same. Lilian Elliott had been the founder of the shop and in 1973 became the first female president of St Helens Chamber of Commerce.
In another story the Reporter revealed that Sutton's Transport had written to St Helens Council to ask for a fence to be built between their depot in Elton Head Road and the Sherdley Park municipal golf course. That was because of vandals repeatedly lighting fires near to their premises.
The Reporter also told the story of three horses called Chocolate, Blaze and Lightning that had strayed onto the Rainford Bypass. The trio had escaped from a field in St Helens Road and PC John Birch needed to borrow a towrope from an AA patrolman to lasso the biggest of the horses, rodeo style!
Footballer Kevin Keegan was in St Helens on the 7th to open the new Orbit clothes shop. Owner Barry Moss believed he had spotted a gap in the market by specialising in fashionable boys clothes for lads aged from eight until early teens. Barry's first shop had opened in Liverpool three years ago and he said it had done very well.
An estimated 8,000 people arrived at Rainhill Hospital (pictured above) on the 8th to watch what was known as the Safety First Bonfire and Fireworks Display. This was now an annual event, which was organised by Prescot Round Table, and over £1,000 was raised.
And finally, on the 9th at the ABC Savoy, 'Confessions Of A Pop Performer', starring Robin Askwith and Anthony Book, replaced 'Mandingo' starring James Mason and Susan George. And at the Capitol Cinema, 'Freebie and the Bean' starring James Caan and Alan Arkin replaced the 'Klansman', starring Lee Marvin and Richard Burton.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the war of the sexes at Pilks, Silcocks winter pleasure fair, the nudist colony that wanted rate relief, the use of Rainhill Hospital's operating theatre and the race against time to open a youth club in Rainhill.
We begin on the 3rd when the St Helens Mayor, Peggy MacNamara, officially opened the Maharaja Indian Restaurant in Westfield Street. And while she was there, the mayor enjoyed an Indian curry.
There was more criticism on the 3rd of the latest round of bus fare rises. On November 2nd fares in St Helens increased by 50%, with 4p tickets rising to 6p; 8p to 12p; 12p to 18p and 15p to 23p. It was the third rise in the last 12 months, which had doubled fares. At a meeting of Eccleston Parish Council, Councillor Ray Crosby said:
"I think we should make a very strong protest about these latest increases. The fare into St Helens has jumped from 6p to 12p. So it would now cost a housewife almost 5 shillings in old money for the return journey into town just to do the shopping. It is the last straw."
Councillor Crosby also criticised the standard of bus services, saying: "The least you would expect after these massive fare increases would be an improvement in the services but it seems to have gone worse. I believe we are subsidising transport elsewhere." Another councillor said he believed a further rise was planned for next April.
The Parish Council also heard that it was likely to be 1978 before children in Eccleston would be able to attend a St Helens school. Currently, they had to travel to schools in either Knowsley or Rainford. But Cllr Tom McCormack said: "I believe that changes are to be made at Cowley Boys School involving an extension which will provide 200 extra places by 1978."
On the 5th 700 women workers at the Northgate factory in Parr walked out over a pay dispute. To combat the high inflation rate (24% in 1975), the government had brought in strict pay and price controls and were now allowing a maximum increase in pay of £6. But female machinists at Northgate claimed they had only been offered a rise of £3.60, plus £1 from equal pay legislation.
The 5th was, of course, Bonfire Night and two children were taken to St Helens Hospital following accidents with fireworks. Neil Dixon aged 10 of Hempstead Close in Sutton Heath and Adam Bradbury aged three of Clifton Road in Billinge were treated for superficial burns to their face and neck before being allowed home.
People were certainly starting to get very bolshy with councillors! Recently, I described the fury of some Derbyshire Hill residents at a meeting in which councillors who had simply attended to offer them advice were verbally abused. And at St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 5th, a watching member of the public exploded with anger. This is how the Reporter described what happened:
"A furious woman visitor at Wednesday night's Council meeting shot a tirade of abuse at councillors as they rose at the end of a major debate on rates. The woman, disappointed that there was no discussion on transport, had councillors rooted to the spot as she yelled: “I think your behaviour was bloody disgraceful. I wouldn't trust you with a kid's piggy bank.” She accused them of laughing and sniggering all the time, and said she wouldn't vote for any of them. She then left . . . before the Press could catch her."
The Reporter on the 7th described how St Helens Council was hoping to be able to give temporary jobs to 125 unemployed young people under the government's new Job Creation Scheme. The council's Chief Executive, Tom Taylor, revealed that details of six clean-up schemes had been sent to the Merseyside Action Committee for Job Creation, stating:
"We are hoping for approval for about £47,000 to pay for labour. The cost of supervision, plant and materials will be a further £12,000." If the scheme was given approval, the government would pay the wage bill and 12 weeks' work would be provided.
"Shop at Whelans" said a large ad in the Reporter. "No Stamps No Gimmicks – Just Permanently Reduced Prices". Whelan's opening times were typical of supermarkets in the 1970s. As well as their enforced closure on Sundays, they were also shut on Mondays and for the rest of the week, Whelan's only opened their doors at 10am (apart from Saturday when it was 9am).
On Tuesdays and Saturdays they closed at 5:30pm and at 8pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Whelan's had opened inside the former Sutton Oak engine sheds in Baxters Lane in 1971 and Morrison's supermarket now operates from the site. There was also an advert in the paper for the Westfield Restaurant, which had just opened and was located over Everson's confectioners.
Neil Burrows of St Helens Road in Rainford was featured in the paper after accidentally setting fire to his father's garage. The 14-year-old had upset a bottle of methylated spirits near a lit Bunsen burner after the Rainford High pupil had been experimenting with his chemistry set. Neil's mother told the Reporter that she had in the past permitted her son to practice his chemistry at home but added: "We won't allow him to in future". Neil was unhurt and there wasn't too much damage to the garage.
The Reporter also described how two men from the St Helens district were sailing on a specialist research ship bound for the South Pole. Ian Hogg from Heyes Avenue in Rainford and Roy Whitfield of Dorgan Close in Rainhill were part of a 100-strong contingent aboard a British Antarctic survey ship bound for South Georgia. The expedition would take seven months and the team were to carry out survey work in sub-zero temperatures.
The paper also described how a century-old recreational club was faced with ruin unless financial support was quickly obtained. Eccleston Lane Ends Recreation Club, which had been founded in 1866, had asked their local parish council for assistance to meet the cost of repairs estimated at over £800.
There was an advert in the paper for the Lilian Rogers clothes shop in Duke Street which said it was under new management, although their staff remained the same. Lilian Elliott had been the founder of the shop and in 1973 became the first female president of St Helens Chamber of Commerce.
The Reporter also told the story of three horses called Chocolate, Blaze and Lightning that had strayed onto the Rainford Bypass. The trio had escaped from a field in St Helens Road and PC John Birch needed to borrow a towrope from an AA patrolman to lasso the biggest of the horses, rodeo style!
Footballer Kevin Keegan was in St Helens on the 7th to open the new Orbit clothes shop. Owner Barry Moss believed he had spotted a gap in the market by specialising in fashionable boys clothes for lads aged from eight until early teens. Barry's first shop had opened in Liverpool three years ago and he said it had done very well.
And finally, on the 9th at the ABC Savoy, 'Confessions Of A Pop Performer', starring Robin Askwith and Anthony Book, replaced 'Mandingo' starring James Mason and Susan George. And at the Capitol Cinema, 'Freebie and the Bean' starring James Caan and Alan Arkin replaced the 'Klansman', starring Lee Marvin and Richard Burton.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the war of the sexes at Pilks, Silcocks winter pleasure fair, the nudist colony that wanted rate relief, the use of Rainhill Hospital's operating theatre and the race against time to open a youth club in Rainhill.
This week's many stories include more criticism of the big bus fare rises, the woman who abused councillors at their monthly meeting, the three horses that strayed on to the Rainford Bypass, the Rainhill Hospital Bonfire Night, the Rainford boy using a chemistry set who set fire to his father's garage and how over 100 school leavers in St Helens were expected to benefit from the government's new Job Creation Scheme.
We begin on the 3rd when the St Helens Mayor, Peggy MacNamara, officially opened the Maharaja Indian Restaurant in Westfield Street. And while she was there, the mayor enjoyed an Indian curry.
There was more criticism on the 3rd of the latest round of bus fare rises. On November 2nd fares in St Helens increased by 50%, with 4p tickets rising to 6p; 8p to 12p; 12p to 18p and 15p to 23p. It was the third rise in the last 12 months, which had doubled fares.
At a meeting of Eccleston Parish Council, Councillor Ray Crosby said:
"I think we should make a very strong protest about these latest increases. The fare into St Helens has jumped from 6p to 12p. So it would now cost a housewife almost 5 shillings in old money for the return journey into town just to do the shopping. It is the last straw."
Councillor Crosby also criticised the standard of bus services, saying:
"The least you would expect after these massive fare increases would be an improvement in the services but it seems to have gone worse. I believe we are subsidising transport elsewhere."
Another councillor said he believed a further rise was planned for next April.
The Parish Council also heard that it was likely to be 1978 before children in Eccleston would be able to attend a St Helens school. Currently, they had to travel to schools in either Knowsley or Rainford.
But Cllr Tom McCormack said: "I believe that changes are to be made at Cowley Boys School involving an extension which will provide 200 extra places by 1978."
On the 5th 700 women workers at the Northgate factory in Parr walked out over a pay dispute.
To combat the high inflation rate (24% in 1975), the government had brought in strict pay and price controls and were now allowing a maximum increase in pay of £6.
But female machinists at Northgate claimed they had only been offered a rise of £3.60, plus £1 from equal pay legislation.
The 5th was, of course, Bonfire Night and two children were taken to St Helens Hospital following accidents with fireworks.
Neil Dixon aged 10 of Hempstead Close in Sutton Heath and Adam Bradbury aged three of Clifton Road in Billinge were treated for superficial burns to their face and neck before being allowed home.
People were certainly starting to get very bolshy with councillors!
Recently, I described the fury of some Derbyshire Hill residents at a meeting in which councillors who had simply attended to offer them advice were verbally abused.
And at St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 5th, a watching member of the public exploded with anger. This is how the Reporter described what happened:
"A furious woman visitor at Wednesday night's Council meeting shot a tirade of abuse at councillors as they rose at the end of a major debate on rates.
"The woman, disappointed that there was no discussion on transport, had councillors rooted to the spot as she yelled: “I think your behaviour was bloody disgraceful. I wouldn't trust you with a kid's piggy bank.”
"She accused them of laughing and sniggering all the time, and said she wouldn't vote for any of them. She then left . . . before the Press could catch her."
The Reporter on the 7th described how St Helens Council was hoping to be able to give temporary jobs to 125 unemployed young people under the government's new Job Creation Scheme.
The council's Chief Executive, Tom Taylor, revealed that details of six clean-up schemes had been sent to the Merseyside Action Committee for Job Creation, stating:
"We are hoping for approval for about £47,000 to pay for labour. The cost of supervision, plant and materials will be a further £12,000."
If the scheme was given approval, the government would pay the wage bill and 12 weeks' work would be provided.
"Shop at Whelans" said a large ad in the Reporter. "No Stamps No Gimmicks – Just Permanently Reduced Prices".
Whelan's opening times were typical of supermarkets in the 1970s. As well as their enforced closure on Sundays, they were also shut on Mondays and for the rest of the week, Whelan's only opened their doors at 10am (apart from Saturday when it was 9am).
On Tuesdays and Saturdays they closed at 5:30pm and at 8pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Whelan's had opened inside the former Sutton Oak engine sheds in Baxters Lane in 1971 and Morrison's supermarket now operates from the site.
There was also an advert in the paper for the Westfield Restaurant, which had just opened and was located over Everson's confectioners.
Neil Burrows of St Helens Road in Rainford was featured in the paper after accidentally setting fire to his father's garage.
The 14-year-old had upset a bottle of methylated spirits near a lit Bunsen burner after the Rainford High pupil had been experimenting with his chemistry set.
Neil's mother told the Reporter that she had in the past permitted her son to practice his chemistry at home but added: "We won't allow him to in future".
Neil was unhurt and there wasn't too much damage to the garage.
The Reporter also described how two men from the St Helens district were sailing on a specialist research ship bound for the South Pole.
Ian Hogg from Heyes Avenue in Rainford and Roy Whitfield of Dorgan Close in Rainhill were part of a 100-strong contingent aboard a British Antarctic survey ship bound for South Georgia.
The expedition would take seven months and the team were to carry out survey work in sub-zero temperatures.
The paper also described how a century-old recreational club was faced with ruin unless financial support was quickly obtained.
Eccleston Lane Ends Recreation Club, which had been founded in 1866, had asked their local parish council for assistance to meet the cost of repairs estimated at over £800.
There was an advert in the paper for the Lilian Rogers clothes shop in Duke Street which said it was under new management, although their staff remained the same.
Lilian Elliott had been the founder of the shop and in 1973 became the first female president of St Helens Chamber of Commerce.
In another story the Reporter revealed that Sutton's Transport had written to St Helens Council to ask for a fence to be built between their depot in Elton Head Road and the Sherdley Park municipal golf course.
That was because of vandals repeatedly lighting fires near to their premises.
The Reporter also told the story of three horses called Chocolate, Blaze and Lightning that had strayed onto the Rainford Bypass.
The trio had escaped from a field in St Helens Road and PC John Birch needed to borrow a towrope from an AA patrolman to lasso the biggest of the horses, rodeo style!
Footballer Kevin Keegan was in St Helens on the 7th to open the new Orbit clothes shop. Owner Barry Moss believed he had spotted a gap in the market by specialising in fashionable boys clothes for lads aged from eight until early teens.
Barry's first shop had opened in Liverpool three years ago and he said it had done very well.
An estimated 8,000 people arrived at Rainhill Hospital (pictured above) on the 8th to watch what was known as the Safety First Bonfire and Fireworks Display.
This was now an annual event, which was organised by Prescot Round Table, and over £1,000 was raised.
And finally, on the 9th at the ABC Savoy, 'Confessions Of A Pop Performer', starring Robin Askwith and Anthony Book, replaced 'Mandingo' starring James Mason and Susan George.
And at the Capitol Cinema, 'Freebie and the Bean' starring James Caan and Alan Arkin replaced the 'Klansman', starring Lee Marvin and Richard Burton.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the war of the sexes at Pilks, Silcocks winter pleasure fair, the nudist colony that wanted rate relief, the use of Rainhill Hospital's operating theatre and the race against time to open a youth club in Rainhill.
We begin on the 3rd when the St Helens Mayor, Peggy MacNamara, officially opened the Maharaja Indian Restaurant in Westfield Street. And while she was there, the mayor enjoyed an Indian curry.
There was more criticism on the 3rd of the latest round of bus fare rises. On November 2nd fares in St Helens increased by 50%, with 4p tickets rising to 6p; 8p to 12p; 12p to 18p and 15p to 23p. It was the third rise in the last 12 months, which had doubled fares.
At a meeting of Eccleston Parish Council, Councillor Ray Crosby said:
"I think we should make a very strong protest about these latest increases. The fare into St Helens has jumped from 6p to 12p. So it would now cost a housewife almost 5 shillings in old money for the return journey into town just to do the shopping. It is the last straw."
Councillor Crosby also criticised the standard of bus services, saying:
"The least you would expect after these massive fare increases would be an improvement in the services but it seems to have gone worse. I believe we are subsidising transport elsewhere."
Another councillor said he believed a further rise was planned for next April.
The Parish Council also heard that it was likely to be 1978 before children in Eccleston would be able to attend a St Helens school. Currently, they had to travel to schools in either Knowsley or Rainford.
But Cllr Tom McCormack said: "I believe that changes are to be made at Cowley Boys School involving an extension which will provide 200 extra places by 1978."
On the 5th 700 women workers at the Northgate factory in Parr walked out over a pay dispute.
To combat the high inflation rate (24% in 1975), the government had brought in strict pay and price controls and were now allowing a maximum increase in pay of £6.
But female machinists at Northgate claimed they had only been offered a rise of £3.60, plus £1 from equal pay legislation.
The 5th was, of course, Bonfire Night and two children were taken to St Helens Hospital following accidents with fireworks.
Neil Dixon aged 10 of Hempstead Close in Sutton Heath and Adam Bradbury aged three of Clifton Road in Billinge were treated for superficial burns to their face and neck before being allowed home.
People were certainly starting to get very bolshy with councillors!
Recently, I described the fury of some Derbyshire Hill residents at a meeting in which councillors who had simply attended to offer them advice were verbally abused.
And at St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 5th, a watching member of the public exploded with anger. This is how the Reporter described what happened:
"A furious woman visitor at Wednesday night's Council meeting shot a tirade of abuse at councillors as they rose at the end of a major debate on rates.
"The woman, disappointed that there was no discussion on transport, had councillors rooted to the spot as she yelled: “I think your behaviour was bloody disgraceful. I wouldn't trust you with a kid's piggy bank.”
"She accused them of laughing and sniggering all the time, and said she wouldn't vote for any of them. She then left . . . before the Press could catch her."
The Reporter on the 7th described how St Helens Council was hoping to be able to give temporary jobs to 125 unemployed young people under the government's new Job Creation Scheme.
The council's Chief Executive, Tom Taylor, revealed that details of six clean-up schemes had been sent to the Merseyside Action Committee for Job Creation, stating:
"We are hoping for approval for about £47,000 to pay for labour. The cost of supervision, plant and materials will be a further £12,000."
If the scheme was given approval, the government would pay the wage bill and 12 weeks' work would be provided.
"Shop at Whelans" said a large ad in the Reporter. "No Stamps No Gimmicks – Just Permanently Reduced Prices".
Whelan's opening times were typical of supermarkets in the 1970s. As well as their enforced closure on Sundays, they were also shut on Mondays and for the rest of the week, Whelan's only opened their doors at 10am (apart from Saturday when it was 9am).
On Tuesdays and Saturdays they closed at 5:30pm and at 8pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Whelan's had opened inside the former Sutton Oak engine sheds in Baxters Lane in 1971 and Morrison's supermarket now operates from the site.
There was also an advert in the paper for the Westfield Restaurant, which had just opened and was located over Everson's confectioners.
Neil Burrows of St Helens Road in Rainford was featured in the paper after accidentally setting fire to his father's garage.
The 14-year-old had upset a bottle of methylated spirits near a lit Bunsen burner after the Rainford High pupil had been experimenting with his chemistry set.
Neil's mother told the Reporter that she had in the past permitted her son to practice his chemistry at home but added: "We won't allow him to in future".
Neil was unhurt and there wasn't too much damage to the garage.
The Reporter also described how two men from the St Helens district were sailing on a specialist research ship bound for the South Pole.
Ian Hogg from Heyes Avenue in Rainford and Roy Whitfield of Dorgan Close in Rainhill were part of a 100-strong contingent aboard a British Antarctic survey ship bound for South Georgia.
The expedition would take seven months and the team were to carry out survey work in sub-zero temperatures.
The paper also described how a century-old recreational club was faced with ruin unless financial support was quickly obtained.
Eccleston Lane Ends Recreation Club, which had been founded in 1866, had asked their local parish council for assistance to meet the cost of repairs estimated at over £800.
There was an advert in the paper for the Lilian Rogers clothes shop in Duke Street which said it was under new management, although their staff remained the same.
Lilian Elliott had been the founder of the shop and in 1973 became the first female president of St Helens Chamber of Commerce.
That was because of vandals repeatedly lighting fires near to their premises.
The Reporter also told the story of three horses called Chocolate, Blaze and Lightning that had strayed onto the Rainford Bypass.
The trio had escaped from a field in St Helens Road and PC John Birch needed to borrow a towrope from an AA patrolman to lasso the biggest of the horses, rodeo style!
Footballer Kevin Keegan was in St Helens on the 7th to open the new Orbit clothes shop. Owner Barry Moss believed he had spotted a gap in the market by specialising in fashionable boys clothes for lads aged from eight until early teens.
Barry's first shop had opened in Liverpool three years ago and he said it had done very well.
This was now an annual event, which was organised by Prescot Round Table, and over £1,000 was raised.
And finally, on the 9th at the ABC Savoy, 'Confessions Of A Pop Performer', starring Robin Askwith and Anthony Book, replaced 'Mandingo' starring James Mason and Susan George.
And at the Capitol Cinema, 'Freebie and the Bean' starring James Caan and Alan Arkin replaced the 'Klansman', starring Lee Marvin and Richard Burton.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the war of the sexes at Pilks, Silcocks winter pleasure fair, the nudist colony that wanted rate relief, the use of Rainhill Hospital's operating theatre and the race against time to open a youth club in Rainhill.