FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 4 - 10 AUGUST 1975
This week's many stories include the plans to create the Chain Lane Community Centre, British Sidac announces 200 job cuts after poor sales, the Sutton Mill Dam death trap for youngsters, a Nutgrove man remembers life on the dole in the 1930s, a violent storm hits St Helens, the Plaza in Duke Street seeks to reinvent itself and Hepworths and Modelle bring more style to St Helens.
We begin on the 4th when Anne French from Bosworth Road in Blackbrook won the "Miss Heineken, Merseyside" title at the finals held in Crosby. Also on the 4th the Liverpool Daily Post contrasted the fortunes of two families that had experienced unemployment four decades apart. John Connor, a father of five from Kirkby, described what life on the dole was like for him in 1975 and John Moore of St Helens recalled the depression of the 1930s.
The 70-year-old from Nutgrove Avenue remembered how children of the jobless would wait outside factory gates in St Helens, some in bare feet, saying "Any butties mister?" Mr Moore had spent 16 years working at Pilkingtons when he lost his job and considered himself to have been fortunate to find another in little over two years when many men were unemployed for far longer.
The Daily Post wrote: "He remembers the despair, the times when he was really hungry, and how more than once he admits he thought of going away and never returning to the home on the dole and its problems."
The UK recession that lasted from 1973 to 1975 had been triggered by the oil crisis and had badly affected numerous St Helens' firms. Many workers lost their jobs and this week the Reporter described how British Sidac in St Helens planned to slash its labour force by 20%. That entailed about 200 workers and although the redundancies would be spread over two years, the majority of job losses would take place during 1975.
Lack of orders had already meant overtime at the Lancots Lane plant had been stopped and currently Sidac was only working at 65% of full production. The cellulose wrappings company had two other factories in other places and their combined losses for the first six months of this year came to £1 million.
Darby and Joan clubs in St Helens were currently experiencing mixed fortunes. Many men had been deserting them for the pub but the Parr Darby and Joan Club was going from strength to strength. The Reporter described how August was the club's 20th anniversary and they now boasted 300 members.
The paper also stated how children from the City Road area of St Helens had been flocking to Victoria Park (pictured above) to enrol in a council play scheme. About 75 kids a day had been participating in organised games of cricket, football etc. during the summer holidays.
Parents in Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were again claiming that their children's play area had been turned into a potential death trap. As mentioned last week, the area adjoining the Sutton Mill Dam only had a wire fence to separate the youngsters from a 40-foot drop into the water. But the fence was a constant target for vandals who had created a 10-yard gap.
Local resident Barbara Fletcher said she first realised the danger when her three-year-old daughter Nicola came home one day covered in mud: "The children who use the play area are between three and seven-years-old, no matter how many times you tell them not to go near the bank they are naturally attracted to the water. The only alternative is for them to play in the road."
The dam was owned by British Sidac who were responsible for fencing parts of it, with St Helens Council being responsible for the rest. They and councillors had jointly visited the area and were currently deciding who should fix the issue but pointed out that vandalism in the past had cost Sidac a great deal of money in repairing fences.
In 1973 a Chain Lane and District Ratepayers Association had been formed to represent 1,500 local ratepaying residents. One of their main purposes was to campaign for a community centre and this week it was revealed that they were close to achieving their goal. A proposal to create a new centre had been referred to the council’s Planning Committee and the scheme was expected to be passed.
Initially residents would be allowed to use a section of the secondary school that was currently being built on the estate. And then at the end of the decade, a three-storey building would be constructed that, as well as serving as a community centre, would accommodate a doctor, clinic and play school. Roger Eaves of Arbury Avenue, founder and treasurer of the association, said: "The area is well known because of its lack of places providing entertainment and the council's latest proposals are a step in the right direction."
The Plaza in Duke Street would regularly try to reinvent itself to attract more patrons. An advert in the Reporter stated that the Plaza Theatre Club was the "New Image Nightclub" and they had snapped up Jimmy James to be their resident DJ. Wednesdays was now Soul Night; Thursday: Heavy Group; Friday: Party Night; Saturday: "Everything You Want" and Sunday: "A Great Crowd and Great Golden Oldie".
"St. Helens Now Has More Style" was the headline to an advert from Hepworths who had opened a store at 18 Church Street and which said: "We've got a wide range of the latest jackets, trousers, casual and leather wear to choose from. Made-to-measure and ready-to-wear suits in any number of styles, patterns, cloths and colours. All skilfully cut and shaped. Beautifully made. And very much in fashion. So why not come in and look around? You could walk out as one of the best dressed men in town."
And even more style was on its way. There was another ad in the Reporter for two new stores that were opening in Ormskirk Street on August 15th, both called Modelle. The Modelle Teenage Boutique was at 27 Ormskirk Street and was offering the "latest fashions in T-Shirts, Trousers, Skirts, Long Dresses". And Modelle Ladies' & Gent's Wear at 19 Ormskirk Street was selling "Ladies' Fashions – Outsize Dresses, Skirts & Knitwear." And "Men's Fashions – Jackets, Knitwear, Trousers, Shirts, Ties."
On the 9th the Liverpool Echo described how a "massive mopping-up operation" was taking place throughout Merseyside. The emergency services, they wrote, were working non-stop as calls poured in from people whose homes were flooded or had been hit by lightning during the previous night's violent storm.
The Echo said the St Helens area had been the worst hit: "Roofs of two houses – one in Catterall Avenue and the other in Park Road – were badly damaged by lightning. Firemen were to-day still pumping water out of the basement of the Swan Hotel in Hall Street, St. Helens, where the water rose so high that the carpets on the first floor of the pub were badly damaged. The brigade was also called to a house in Shaw Street, St. Helens, to help with mopping up operations."
And finally, the ABC Savoy on the 10th replaced 'What's Up Doc!' starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal with George Sanders in 'The Body Stealers'. That was for one-day only, with Disney's 'Escape To Witch Mountain' beginning a 6-day run on the following day. And the Capitol Cinema replaced 'The Sword In The Stone' with 'Funny Lady' starring Barbra Streisand and James Caan.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the drastic cuts that were to be made in council spending, the record number of young people unemployed in St Helens and another serious crash takes place on the dangerous Boardmans Lane bend.
We begin on the 4th when Anne French from Bosworth Road in Blackbrook won the "Miss Heineken, Merseyside" title at the finals held in Crosby. Also on the 4th the Liverpool Daily Post contrasted the fortunes of two families that had experienced unemployment four decades apart. John Connor, a father of five from Kirkby, described what life on the dole was like for him in 1975 and John Moore of St Helens recalled the depression of the 1930s.
The 70-year-old from Nutgrove Avenue remembered how children of the jobless would wait outside factory gates in St Helens, some in bare feet, saying "Any butties mister?" Mr Moore had spent 16 years working at Pilkingtons when he lost his job and considered himself to have been fortunate to find another in little over two years when many men were unemployed for far longer.
The Daily Post wrote: "He remembers the despair, the times when he was really hungry, and how more than once he admits he thought of going away and never returning to the home on the dole and its problems."
The UK recession that lasted from 1973 to 1975 had been triggered by the oil crisis and had badly affected numerous St Helens' firms. Many workers lost their jobs and this week the Reporter described how British Sidac in St Helens planned to slash its labour force by 20%. That entailed about 200 workers and although the redundancies would be spread over two years, the majority of job losses would take place during 1975.
Lack of orders had already meant overtime at the Lancots Lane plant had been stopped and currently Sidac was only working at 65% of full production. The cellulose wrappings company had two other factories in other places and their combined losses for the first six months of this year came to £1 million.
Darby and Joan clubs in St Helens were currently experiencing mixed fortunes. Many men had been deserting them for the pub but the Parr Darby and Joan Club was going from strength to strength. The Reporter described how August was the club's 20th anniversary and they now boasted 300 members.
Parents in Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were again claiming that their children's play area had been turned into a potential death trap. As mentioned last week, the area adjoining the Sutton Mill Dam only had a wire fence to separate the youngsters from a 40-foot drop into the water. But the fence was a constant target for vandals who had created a 10-yard gap.
Local resident Barbara Fletcher said she first realised the danger when her three-year-old daughter Nicola came home one day covered in mud: "The children who use the play area are between three and seven-years-old, no matter how many times you tell them not to go near the bank they are naturally attracted to the water. The only alternative is for them to play in the road."
The dam was owned by British Sidac who were responsible for fencing parts of it, with St Helens Council being responsible for the rest. They and councillors had jointly visited the area and were currently deciding who should fix the issue but pointed out that vandalism in the past had cost Sidac a great deal of money in repairing fences.
In 1973 a Chain Lane and District Ratepayers Association had been formed to represent 1,500 local ratepaying residents. One of their main purposes was to campaign for a community centre and this week it was revealed that they were close to achieving their goal. A proposal to create a new centre had been referred to the council’s Planning Committee and the scheme was expected to be passed.
Initially residents would be allowed to use a section of the secondary school that was currently being built on the estate. And then at the end of the decade, a three-storey building would be constructed that, as well as serving as a community centre, would accommodate a doctor, clinic and play school. Roger Eaves of Arbury Avenue, founder and treasurer of the association, said: "The area is well known because of its lack of places providing entertainment and the council's latest proposals are a step in the right direction."
"St. Helens Now Has More Style" was the headline to an advert from Hepworths who had opened a store at 18 Church Street and which said: "We've got a wide range of the latest jackets, trousers, casual and leather wear to choose from. Made-to-measure and ready-to-wear suits in any number of styles, patterns, cloths and colours. All skilfully cut and shaped. Beautifully made. And very much in fashion. So why not come in and look around? You could walk out as one of the best dressed men in town."
And even more style was on its way. There was another ad in the Reporter for two new stores that were opening in Ormskirk Street on August 15th, both called Modelle. The Modelle Teenage Boutique was at 27 Ormskirk Street and was offering the "latest fashions in T-Shirts, Trousers, Skirts, Long Dresses". And Modelle Ladies' & Gent's Wear at 19 Ormskirk Street was selling "Ladies' Fashions – Outsize Dresses, Skirts & Knitwear." And "Men's Fashions – Jackets, Knitwear, Trousers, Shirts, Ties."
On the 9th the Liverpool Echo described how a "massive mopping-up operation" was taking place throughout Merseyside. The emergency services, they wrote, were working non-stop as calls poured in from people whose homes were flooded or had been hit by lightning during the previous night's violent storm.
The Echo said the St Helens area had been the worst hit: "Roofs of two houses – one in Catterall Avenue and the other in Park Road – were badly damaged by lightning. Firemen were to-day still pumping water out of the basement of the Swan Hotel in Hall Street, St. Helens, where the water rose so high that the carpets on the first floor of the pub were badly damaged. The brigade was also called to a house in Shaw Street, St. Helens, to help with mopping up operations."
And finally, the ABC Savoy on the 10th replaced 'What's Up Doc!' starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal with George Sanders in 'The Body Stealers'. That was for one-day only, with Disney's 'Escape To Witch Mountain' beginning a 6-day run on the following day. And the Capitol Cinema replaced 'The Sword In The Stone' with 'Funny Lady' starring Barbra Streisand and James Caan.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the drastic cuts that were to be made in council spending, the record number of young people unemployed in St Helens and another serious crash takes place on the dangerous Boardmans Lane bend.
This week's many stories include the plans to create the Chain Lane Community Centre, British Sidac announces 200 job cuts after poor sales, the Sutton Mill Dam death trap for youngsters, a Nutgrove man remembers life on the dole in the 1930s, a violent storm hits St Helens, the Plaza in Duke Street seeks to reinvent itself and Hepworths and Modelle bring more style to St Helens.
We begin on the 4th when Anne French from Bosworth Road in Blackbrook won the "Miss Heineken, Merseyside" title at the finals held in Crosby.
Also on the 4th the Liverpool Daily Post contrasted the fortunes of two families that had experienced unemployment four decades apart.
John Connor, a father of five from Kirkby, described what life on the dole was like for him in 1975 and John Moore of St Helens recalled the depression of the 1930s.
The 70-year-old from Nutgrove Avenue remembered how children of the jobless would wait outside factory gates, some in bare feet, saying "Any butties mister?"
Mr Moore had spent 16 years working at Pilkingtons when he lost his job and considered himself to have been fortunate to find another in little over two years when many men were unemployed for far longer. The Post wrote:
"He remembers the despair, the times when he was really hungry, and how more than once he admits he thought of going away and never returning to the home on the dole and its problems."
The UK recession that lasted from 1973 to 1975 had been triggered by the oil crisis and had badly affected numerous St Helens' firms.
Many workers lost their jobs and this week the Reporter described how British Sidac in St Helens planned to slash its labour force by 20%.
That entailed about 200 workers and although the redundancies would be spread over two years, the majority of job losses would take place during 1975.
Lack of orders had already meant overtime at the Lancots Lane plant had been stopped and currently Sidac was only working at 65% of full production.
The cellulose wrappings company had two other factories in other places and their combined losses for the first six months of this year came to £1 million.
Darby and Joan clubs in St Helens were currently experiencing mixed fortunes.
Many men had been deserting them for the pub but the Parr Darby and Joan Club was going from strength to strength.
The Reporter described how August was the club's 20th anniversary and they now boasted 300 members.
The paper also stated how children from the City Road area of St Helens had been flocking to Victoria Park (pictured above) to enrol in a council play scheme.
About 75 kids a day had been participating in organised games of cricket, football etc. during the summer holidays.
Parents in Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were again claiming that their children's play area had been turned into a potential death trap.
As mentioned last week, the area adjoining the Sutton Mill Dam only had a wire fence to separate the youngsters from a 40-foot drop into the water.
But the fence was a constant target for vandals who had created a 10-yard gap.
Local resident Barbara Fletcher said she first realised the danger when her three-year-old daughter Nicola came home one day covered in mud:
"The children who use the play area are between three and seven-years-old, no matter how many times you tell them not to go near the bank they are naturally attracted to the water. The only alternative is for them to play in the road."
The dam was owned by British Sidac who were responsible for fencing parts of it, with St Helens Council being responsible for the rest.
They and councillors had jointly visited the area and were currently deciding who should fix the issue but pointed out that vandalism in the past had cost Sidac a great deal of money in repairing fences.
In 1973 a Chain Lane and District Ratepayers Association had been formed to represent 1,500 local ratepaying residents.
One of their main purposes was to campaign for a community centre and this week it was revealed that they were close to achieving their goal.
A proposal to create a new centre had been referred to the council’s Planning Committee and the scheme was expected to be passed.
Initially residents would be allowed to use a section of the secondary school that was currently being built on the estate.
And then at the end of the decade, a three-storey building would be constructed that, as well as serving as a community centre, would accommodate a doctor, clinic and play school.
Roger Eaves of Arbury Avenue, founder and treasurer of the association, said:
"The area is well known because of its lack of places providing entertainment and the council's latest proposals are a step in the right direction."
The Plaza in Duke Street would regularly try to reinvent itself to attract more patrons.
An advert in the Reporter stated that the Plaza Theatre Club was the "New Image Nightclub" and they had snapped up Jimmy James to be their resident DJ.
Wednesdays was now Soul Night; Thursday: Heavy Group; Friday: Party Night; Saturday: "Everything You Want" and Sunday: "A Great Crowd and Great Golden Oldie".
"St. Helens Now Has More Style" was the headline to an advert from Hepworths who had opened a store at 18 Church Street and which said:
"We've got a wide range of the latest jackets, trousers, casual and leather wear to choose from.
"Made-to-measure and ready-to-wear suits in any number of styles, patterns, cloths and colours. All skilfully cut and shaped. Beautifully made. And very much in fashion.
"So why not come in and look around? You could walk out as one of the best dressed men in town."
And even more style was on its way. There was another ad in the Reporter for two new stores that were opening in Ormskirk Street on August 15th, both called Modelle.
The Modelle Teenage Boutique was at 27 Ormskirk Street and was offering the "latest fashions in T-Shirts, Trousers, Skirts, Long Dresses".
And Modelle Ladies' & Gent's Wear at 19 Ormskirk Street was selling "Ladies' Fashions – Outsize Dresses, Skirts & Knitwear." And "Men's Fashions – Jackets, Knitwear, Trousers, Shirts, Ties."
On the 9th the Liverpool Echo described how a "massive mopping-up operation" was taking place throughout Merseyside.
The emergency services, they wrote, were working non-stop as calls poured in from people whose homes were flooded or had been hit by lightning during the previous night's violent storm.
The Echo said the St Helens area had been the worst hit: "Roofs of two houses – one in Catterall Avenue and the other in Park Road – were badly damaged by lightning.
"Firemen were to-day still pumping water out of the basement of the Swan Hotel in Hall Street, St. Helens, where the water rose so high that the carpets on the first floor of the pub were badly damaged.
"The brigade was also called to a house in Shaw Street, St. Helens, to help with mopping up operations."
And finally, the ABC Savoy on the 10th replaced 'What's Up Doc!' starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal with George Sanders in 'The Body Stealers'.
That was for one-day only, with Disney's 'Escape To Witch Mountain' beginning a 6-day run on the following day.
And the Capitol Cinema replaced 'The Sword In The Stone' with 'Funny Lady' starring Barbra Streisand and James Caan.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the drastic cuts that were to be made in council spending, the record number of young people unemployed in St Helens and another serious crash takes place on the dangerous Boardmans Lane bend.
We begin on the 4th when Anne French from Bosworth Road in Blackbrook won the "Miss Heineken, Merseyside" title at the finals held in Crosby.
Also on the 4th the Liverpool Daily Post contrasted the fortunes of two families that had experienced unemployment four decades apart.
John Connor, a father of five from Kirkby, described what life on the dole was like for him in 1975 and John Moore of St Helens recalled the depression of the 1930s.
The 70-year-old from Nutgrove Avenue remembered how children of the jobless would wait outside factory gates, some in bare feet, saying "Any butties mister?"
Mr Moore had spent 16 years working at Pilkingtons when he lost his job and considered himself to have been fortunate to find another in little over two years when many men were unemployed for far longer. The Post wrote:
"He remembers the despair, the times when he was really hungry, and how more than once he admits he thought of going away and never returning to the home on the dole and its problems."
The UK recession that lasted from 1973 to 1975 had been triggered by the oil crisis and had badly affected numerous St Helens' firms.
Many workers lost their jobs and this week the Reporter described how British Sidac in St Helens planned to slash its labour force by 20%.
That entailed about 200 workers and although the redundancies would be spread over two years, the majority of job losses would take place during 1975.
Lack of orders had already meant overtime at the Lancots Lane plant had been stopped and currently Sidac was only working at 65% of full production.
The cellulose wrappings company had two other factories in other places and their combined losses for the first six months of this year came to £1 million.
Darby and Joan clubs in St Helens were currently experiencing mixed fortunes.
Many men had been deserting them for the pub but the Parr Darby and Joan Club was going from strength to strength.
The Reporter described how August was the club's 20th anniversary and they now boasted 300 members.
About 75 kids a day had been participating in organised games of cricket, football etc. during the summer holidays.
Parents in Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were again claiming that their children's play area had been turned into a potential death trap.
As mentioned last week, the area adjoining the Sutton Mill Dam only had a wire fence to separate the youngsters from a 40-foot drop into the water.
But the fence was a constant target for vandals who had created a 10-yard gap.
Local resident Barbara Fletcher said she first realised the danger when her three-year-old daughter Nicola came home one day covered in mud:
"The children who use the play area are between three and seven-years-old, no matter how many times you tell them not to go near the bank they are naturally attracted to the water. The only alternative is for them to play in the road."
The dam was owned by British Sidac who were responsible for fencing parts of it, with St Helens Council being responsible for the rest.
They and councillors had jointly visited the area and were currently deciding who should fix the issue but pointed out that vandalism in the past had cost Sidac a great deal of money in repairing fences.
In 1973 a Chain Lane and District Ratepayers Association had been formed to represent 1,500 local ratepaying residents.
One of their main purposes was to campaign for a community centre and this week it was revealed that they were close to achieving their goal.
A proposal to create a new centre had been referred to the council’s Planning Committee and the scheme was expected to be passed.
Initially residents would be allowed to use a section of the secondary school that was currently being built on the estate.
And then at the end of the decade, a three-storey building would be constructed that, as well as serving as a community centre, would accommodate a doctor, clinic and play school.
Roger Eaves of Arbury Avenue, founder and treasurer of the association, said:
"The area is well known because of its lack of places providing entertainment and the council's latest proposals are a step in the right direction."
An advert in the Reporter stated that the Plaza Theatre Club was the "New Image Nightclub" and they had snapped up Jimmy James to be their resident DJ.
Wednesdays was now Soul Night; Thursday: Heavy Group; Friday: Party Night; Saturday: "Everything You Want" and Sunday: "A Great Crowd and Great Golden Oldie".
"St. Helens Now Has More Style" was the headline to an advert from Hepworths who had opened a store at 18 Church Street and which said:
"We've got a wide range of the latest jackets, trousers, casual and leather wear to choose from.
"Made-to-measure and ready-to-wear suits in any number of styles, patterns, cloths and colours. All skilfully cut and shaped. Beautifully made. And very much in fashion.
"So why not come in and look around? You could walk out as one of the best dressed men in town."
And even more style was on its way. There was another ad in the Reporter for two new stores that were opening in Ormskirk Street on August 15th, both called Modelle.
The Modelle Teenage Boutique was at 27 Ormskirk Street and was offering the "latest fashions in T-Shirts, Trousers, Skirts, Long Dresses".
And Modelle Ladies' & Gent's Wear at 19 Ormskirk Street was selling "Ladies' Fashions – Outsize Dresses, Skirts & Knitwear." And "Men's Fashions – Jackets, Knitwear, Trousers, Shirts, Ties."
On the 9th the Liverpool Echo described how a "massive mopping-up operation" was taking place throughout Merseyside.
The emergency services, they wrote, were working non-stop as calls poured in from people whose homes were flooded or had been hit by lightning during the previous night's violent storm.
The Echo said the St Helens area had been the worst hit: "Roofs of two houses – one in Catterall Avenue and the other in Park Road – were badly damaged by lightning.
"Firemen were to-day still pumping water out of the basement of the Swan Hotel in Hall Street, St. Helens, where the water rose so high that the carpets on the first floor of the pub were badly damaged.
"The brigade was also called to a house in Shaw Street, St. Helens, to help with mopping up operations."
And finally, the ABC Savoy on the 10th replaced 'What's Up Doc!' starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal with George Sanders in 'The Body Stealers'.
That was for one-day only, with Disney's 'Escape To Witch Mountain' beginning a 6-day run on the following day.
And the Capitol Cinema replaced 'The Sword In The Stone' with 'Funny Lady' starring Barbra Streisand and James Caan.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the drastic cuts that were to be made in council spending, the record number of young people unemployed in St Helens and another serious crash takes place on the dangerous Boardmans Lane bend.