FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (10th - 16th JANUARY 1972)
This week's many stories include the dollies in a dust up at Pilks, St Helens' schools prepare to close because of the coal strike, the house-building and demolition situation in St Helens, there's a Reporter feature on Westfield Street and the town's last trolleybus is saved from the scrapyard.
We begin on the 10th with a visit to Prescot Employment Exchange by local MP Harold Wilson. The Labour Party leader's Huyton constituency also included the Whiston, Eccleston and Windle districts. Wilson was pictured in the Liverpool Echo puffing away on his trademark pipe while talking to jobless Francis Murphy of Stanhope Drive in Prescot. Since losing last year's General Election, the leader of the opposition was now in a position to criticise the jobs crisis in the country and during his visit, Wilson described the unemployment situation on Merseyside as the worst since pre-war days.
During the evening of the 10th, there was more damage done to schools by vandals. Both Maryville Road Junior and Bryer Road Primary schools in Prescot had windows smashed and other vandalism done.
The DaSilva puppet company returned to the Theatre Royal from the 10th to perform 'Treasure Island' for a week. The show was advertised in the Reporter as: "A new giant sized puppet pantomime spectacular". Ray and Joan DaSilva's 20-foot high puppet stage was claimed to be the largest in the country and allowed simultaneous operation of marionettes from above, as well as glove and rod-type puppets from below.
The house-building and slum demolition situation within the St Helens district was revealed this week when new figures were released. In the first nine months of 1971, 543 new homes had been built in the town itself and a total of 2,252 were under construction. A further 229 houses had been demolished in clearance areas and another 908 new homes had been approved but work on building them had not yet begun. During the same 9-month period at Billinge, 80 homes had been built and 91 were under construction and at Rainford 47 houses were under construction and 125 built. Whiston Rural District (including Eccleston) completed 314 new homes and had 341 under construction by the end of September 1971.
A meeting to set up a St Helens and District Civic Society took place this week. Over 100 people attended the gathering at St Helens "Tech" and heard that members could plant trees, mount exhibitions, undertake research and publish reports. Brian Wilson of Peebles Avenue in St Helens was one of the organisers of the meeting and said a steering committee would be tasked with approving a constitution for the new society.
Three Sutton youths were each fined £10 in the magistrates' court this week after admitting stealing small statues from St Helens Hospital on Christmas night. After stealing glasses from local pubs, one lad had cut his hand while walking home and so had called in to the hospital's Casualty Department. Upon seeing their Nativity Crib, the 17 and 18-year-olds took six statues out of it and ran off. PC Raymond Danton apprehended the threesome in Warrington New Road but only three of the statues could be recovered.
"Dollies In A Dust Up" was the headline to an article published in the Echo on the 12th. The story described the annoyance of cleaners at Pilkington's HQ in Prescot Road when they saw how they'd been depicted in the company's newspaper. The Echo wrote that the cartoon used: "…a “Mrs. Mop” character complete with turban, bedraggled hair, wrinkled stockings and “Old Mother Riley” boots." Alice Platt of Nutgrove Hall Drive told the Echo: "The cartoon character went back over 40 years. Those days have long gone. Cleaners are now much smarter in appearance and we use sophisticated cleaning equipment."
And supervisor Edith Gordon commented: "Women can afford to come to work well-dressed these days. There is no scrubbing by hand and the mops they have are specially treated to pick up dust at floor-level instead of causing it to rise." The women's protests against the cartoon had now prompted Pilks to run a competition for the most glamorous cleaning lady on their books – and there were 70 of them. However, the prize for the winner was not going to be particularly glamorous. It was a vacuum cleaner or floor polisher!
I find saying "shoe shop sale" quite tricky. After a few drinks I expect saying it would be impossible! But that's how Clinkards styled their New Year bargains at their Westfield Street store. Their Reporter advert announced that their shoe shop sale would start on January 14th, with special children's bargains available on the following Tuesday.
"Closure Threat Faces 25 Schools", was the headline to the lead story on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 14th. It was the national coal strike that was threatening the education of 7,000 local children at schools reliant on solid fuel. The stoppage had begun on the 9th and seventeen schools were in danger of imminent closure, with the rest set to shut once their fuel stocks had run out. John Deane, headmaster of St Anselm's in Blackbrook, told the paper that he expected to close his school by the end of the week, as they had not received any deliveries of coal since before Christmas.
During industrial disputes at pits, the unions would usually allow safety work to be undertaken, so that mining operations could quickly resume when the strike was over. However, the miners at Bold Colliery (pictured above) were refusing to allow safety work to take place, although at Sutton Manor, fifteen pitmen were being permitted to keep the mine in good order. On the 16th a mass meeting of strikers took place at the Bold Miners Institute in Parr to discuss the present situation with the strike.
The Reporter also described how Jimmy Savile had been invited to judge Haydock's inaugural "Glamorous Grans" competition. The event in June – organised by the local Old Folks Treat and Welfare Committee – was connected to the Donkey Derby that was held every year to raise funds for Haydock's old people.
The paper also revealed that the town's last trolleybus had been saved from the scrapyard after a group of enthusiasts had paid £180 to Bradford Corporation. St Helens Corporation had sold the bus to the Yorkshire town after the number 7 on the Rainhill circular route had been removed from service in 1958. David Ashall of Calderhurst Drive in Windle told the Reporter:
"The old trolley bus has so much character than the modern diesel monsters. Two pedal controls – one for stop, one for go – no pollution from fumes, no noise from the engine and a comfortable ride at speeds up to 50 mph. They are perfect in every way." The bus would now have its old red and cream livery restored and be preserved at a museum in Doncaster.
The Reporter also praised Alfred Houghton for helping his twin brother when badly injured by fire after some other children had been playing with paraffin. The 13-year-old slung Andrew over his back and carried him 300 yards towards their home in Forest Road in Sutton Manor before dialling 999 for an ambulance. There was an advertising feature in the paper on Westfield Street that focussed mainly on Harold Stott, the TV, radio and hi-fi dealer.
Harold had been the service manager at Rothery Radio before starting his own business in 1961. The firm's service department was situated on the corner of Windle Street and North Road in premises formerly occupied by shirt manufacturer's Barron Walton. "Stereo Sound Is Stott Sound", said one headline. "We Are Not The Cheapest In Town" admitted another, before explaining: "But what we offer is honest advice, attention and service. So seldom obtained in this day and age."
Other Westfield Street businesses advertising in the feature included Pimbletts ("Fresh pies daily"); Eversons ("Fresh bread baked daily, continental gateaus [sic] and pastries, also fresh cream fancies, our speciality"); Prescotts ("Do-it-yourself headquarters") and Haywards ("End of season sale commences Saturday, Jan. 22 – final clearance of all ladies' knitwear"). There was also St Helens Aquarium ("Hundreds of tropical and coldwater fish and an excellent selection of aquatic plants") and Courtman Master Tailors ("Sale must finish Saturday evening to allow work to continue on shop extensions").
At lunchtime on the 16th, two of the stars of the new TV show called 'The Comedians' performed in St Helens. The venue was the St Helens Town Social Club and the comics were Colin Crompton and Tom O’Connor. The latter had performed a lot in St Helens over the last few years, mainly as a support act. However, the former Bootle maths and music teacher's exposure on TV was turning him into a star attraction.
'The Summer of ‘42' had been the film shown at the Capitol for much of this week. Then for four days from the 16th, the Duke Street cinema began screening 'Catch-22' starring Alan Arkin. Meanwhile, down Bridge Street at the ABC Savoy, 'Up The Chastity Belt' starring Frankie Howerd was the film being shown for a week.
Next week's stories will include the shock closure announcement of Greenall's Hall Street brewery, the Bold Colliery pitman's pittance, a bus crashes in Prescot Road, plans for Rainford's linear park and Saints successfully trial the six tackle rule.
We begin on the 10th with a visit to Prescot Employment Exchange by local MP Harold Wilson. The Labour Party leader's Huyton constituency also included the Whiston, Eccleston and Windle districts. Wilson was pictured in the Liverpool Echo puffing away on his trademark pipe while talking to jobless Francis Murphy of Stanhope Drive in Prescot. Since losing last year's General Election, the leader of the opposition was now in a position to criticise the jobs crisis in the country and during his visit, Wilson described the unemployment situation on Merseyside as the worst since pre-war days.
During the evening of the 10th, there was more damage done to schools by vandals. Both Maryville Road Junior and Bryer Road Primary schools in Prescot had windows smashed and other vandalism done.
The DaSilva puppet company returned to the Theatre Royal from the 10th to perform 'Treasure Island' for a week. The show was advertised in the Reporter as: "A new giant sized puppet pantomime spectacular". Ray and Joan DaSilva's 20-foot high puppet stage was claimed to be the largest in the country and allowed simultaneous operation of marionettes from above, as well as glove and rod-type puppets from below.
The house-building and slum demolition situation within the St Helens district was revealed this week when new figures were released. In the first nine months of 1971, 543 new homes had been built in the town itself and a total of 2,252 were under construction. A further 229 houses had been demolished in clearance areas and another 908 new homes had been approved but work on building them had not yet begun. During the same 9-month period at Billinge, 80 homes had been built and 91 were under construction and at Rainford 47 houses were under construction and 125 built. Whiston Rural District (including Eccleston) completed 314 new homes and had 341 under construction by the end of September 1971.
A meeting to set up a St Helens and District Civic Society took place this week. Over 100 people attended the gathering at St Helens "Tech" and heard that members could plant trees, mount exhibitions, undertake research and publish reports. Brian Wilson of Peebles Avenue in St Helens was one of the organisers of the meeting and said a steering committee would be tasked with approving a constitution for the new society.
Three Sutton youths were each fined £10 in the magistrates' court this week after admitting stealing small statues from St Helens Hospital on Christmas night. After stealing glasses from local pubs, one lad had cut his hand while walking home and so had called in to the hospital's Casualty Department. Upon seeing their Nativity Crib, the 17 and 18-year-olds took six statues out of it and ran off. PC Raymond Danton apprehended the threesome in Warrington New Road but only three of the statues could be recovered.
And supervisor Edith Gordon commented: "Women can afford to come to work well-dressed these days. There is no scrubbing by hand and the mops they have are specially treated to pick up dust at floor-level instead of causing it to rise." The women's protests against the cartoon had now prompted Pilks to run a competition for the most glamorous cleaning lady on their books – and there were 70 of them. However, the prize for the winner was not going to be particularly glamorous. It was a vacuum cleaner or floor polisher!
I find saying "shoe shop sale" quite tricky. After a few drinks I expect saying it would be impossible! But that's how Clinkards styled their New Year bargains at their Westfield Street store. Their Reporter advert announced that their shoe shop sale would start on January 14th, with special children's bargains available on the following Tuesday.
"Closure Threat Faces 25 Schools", was the headline to the lead story on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 14th. It was the national coal strike that was threatening the education of 7,000 local children at schools reliant on solid fuel. The stoppage had begun on the 9th and seventeen schools were in danger of imminent closure, with the rest set to shut once their fuel stocks had run out. John Deane, headmaster of St Anselm's in Blackbrook, told the paper that he expected to close his school by the end of the week, as they had not received any deliveries of coal since before Christmas.
The Reporter also described how Jimmy Savile had been invited to judge Haydock's inaugural "Glamorous Grans" competition. The event in June – organised by the local Old Folks Treat and Welfare Committee – was connected to the Donkey Derby that was held every year to raise funds for Haydock's old people.
The paper also revealed that the town's last trolleybus had been saved from the scrapyard after a group of enthusiasts had paid £180 to Bradford Corporation. St Helens Corporation had sold the bus to the Yorkshire town after the number 7 on the Rainhill circular route had been removed from service in 1958. David Ashall of Calderhurst Drive in Windle told the Reporter:
"The old trolley bus has so much character than the modern diesel monsters. Two pedal controls – one for stop, one for go – no pollution from fumes, no noise from the engine and a comfortable ride at speeds up to 50 mph. They are perfect in every way." The bus would now have its old red and cream livery restored and be preserved at a museum in Doncaster.
The Reporter also praised Alfred Houghton for helping his twin brother when badly injured by fire after some other children had been playing with paraffin. The 13-year-old slung Andrew over his back and carried him 300 yards towards their home in Forest Road in Sutton Manor before dialling 999 for an ambulance. There was an advertising feature in the paper on Westfield Street that focussed mainly on Harold Stott, the TV, radio and hi-fi dealer.
Harold had been the service manager at Rothery Radio before starting his own business in 1961. The firm's service department was situated on the corner of Windle Street and North Road in premises formerly occupied by shirt manufacturer's Barron Walton. "Stereo Sound Is Stott Sound", said one headline. "We Are Not The Cheapest In Town" admitted another, before explaining: "But what we offer is honest advice, attention and service. So seldom obtained in this day and age."
Other Westfield Street businesses advertising in the feature included Pimbletts ("Fresh pies daily"); Eversons ("Fresh bread baked daily, continental gateaus [sic] and pastries, also fresh cream fancies, our speciality"); Prescotts ("Do-it-yourself headquarters") and Haywards ("End of season sale commences Saturday, Jan. 22 – final clearance of all ladies' knitwear"). There was also St Helens Aquarium ("Hundreds of tropical and coldwater fish and an excellent selection of aquatic plants") and Courtman Master Tailors ("Sale must finish Saturday evening to allow work to continue on shop extensions").
At lunchtime on the 16th, two of the stars of the new TV show called 'The Comedians' performed in St Helens. The venue was the St Helens Town Social Club and the comics were Colin Crompton and Tom O’Connor. The latter had performed a lot in St Helens over the last few years, mainly as a support act. However, the former Bootle maths and music teacher's exposure on TV was turning him into a star attraction.
'The Summer of ‘42' had been the film shown at the Capitol for much of this week. Then for four days from the 16th, the Duke Street cinema began screening 'Catch-22' starring Alan Arkin. Meanwhile, down Bridge Street at the ABC Savoy, 'Up The Chastity Belt' starring Frankie Howerd was the film being shown for a week.
Next week's stories will include the shock closure announcement of Greenall's Hall Street brewery, the Bold Colliery pitman's pittance, a bus crashes in Prescot Road, plans for Rainford's linear park and Saints successfully trial the six tackle rule.
This week's many stories include the dollies in a dust up at Pilks, St Helens' schools prepare to close because of the coal strike, the house-building and demolition situation in St Helens, there's a Reporter feature on Westfield Street and the town's last trolleybus is saved from the scrapyard.
We begin on the 10th with a visit to Prescot Employment Exchange by local MP Harold Wilson.
The Labour Party leader's Huyton constituency also included the Whiston, Eccleston and Windle districts.
Wilson was pictured in the Liverpool Echo puffing away on his trademark pipe while talking to jobless Francis Murphy of Stanhope Drive in Prescot.
Since losing last year's General Election, the leader of the opposition was now in a position to criticise the jobs crisis in the country and during his visit, Wilson described the unemployment situation on Merseyside as the worst since pre-war days.
During the evening of the 10th, there was more damage done to schools by vandals.
Both Maryville Road Junior and Bryer Road Primary schools in Prescot had windows smashed and other vandalism done.
The DaSilva puppet company returned to the Theatre Royal from the 10th to perform 'Treasure Island' for a week.
The show was advertised in the Reporter as: "A new giant sized puppet pantomime spectacular".
Ray and Joan DaSilva's 20-foot high puppet stage was claimed to be the largest in the country and allowed simultaneous operation of marionettes from above, as well as glove and rod-type puppets from below.
The house-building and slum demolition situation within the St Helens district was revealed this week when new figures were released.
In the first nine months of 1971, 543 new homes had been built in the town itself and a total of 2,252 were under construction.
A further 229 houses had been demolished in clearance areas and another 908 new homes had been approved but work on building them had not yet begun.
During the same 9-month period at Billinge, 80 homes had been built and 91 were under construction and at Rainford 47 houses were under construction and 125 built.
Whiston Rural District (including Eccleston) completed 314 new homes and had 341 under construction by the end of September 1971.
A meeting to set up a St Helens and District Civic Society took place this week. Over 100 people attended the gathering at St Helens "Tech" and heard that members could plant trees, mount exhibitions, undertake research and publish reports.
Brian Wilson of Peebles Avenue in St Helens was one of the organisers of the meeting and said a steering committee would be tasked with approving a constitution for the new society.
Three Sutton youths were each fined £10 in the magistrates' court this week after admitting stealing small statues from St Helens Hospital on Christmas night.
After stealing glasses from local pubs, one lad had cut his hand while walking home and so had called in to the hospital's Casualty Department.
Upon seeing their Nativity Crib, the 17 and 18-year-olds took six statues out of it and ran off.
PC Raymond Danton apprehended the threesome in Warrington New Road but only three of the statues could be recovered.
"Dollies In A Dust Up" was the headline to an article published in the Echo on the 12th.
The story described the annoyance of cleaners at Pilkington's HQ in Prescot Road when they saw how they'd been depicted in the company's newspaper. The Echo wrote that the cartoon used:
"…a “Mrs. Mop” character complete with turban, bedraggled hair, wrinkled stockings and “Old Mother Riley” boots."
Alice Platt of Nutgrove Hall Drive told the Echo: "The cartoon character went back over 40 years. Those days have long gone. Cleaners are now much smarter in appearance and we use sophisticated cleaning equipment."
And supervisor Edith Gordon commented: "Women can afford to come to work well-dressed these days. There is no scrubbing by hand and the mops they have are specially treated to pick up dust at floor-level instead of causing it to rise."
The women's protests against the cartoon had now prompted Pilks to run a competition for the most glamorous cleaning lady on their books – and there were 70 of them.
However, the prize for the winner was not going to be particularly glamorous. It was a vacuum cleaner or floor polisher!
I find saying "shoe shop sale" quite tricky. After a few drinks I expect saying it would be impossible!
But that's how Clinkards styled their New Year bargains at their Westfield Street store. Their Reporter advert announced that their shoe shop sale would start on January 14th, with special children's bargains available on the following Tuesday.
"Closure Threat Faces 25 Schools", was the headline to the lead story on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 14th.
It was the national coal strike that was threatening the education of 7,000 local children at schools reliant on solid fuel.
The stoppage had begun on the 9th and seventeen schools were in danger of imminent closure, with the rest set to shut once their fuel stocks had run out.
John Deane, headmaster of St Anselm's in Blackbrook, told the paper that he expected to close his school by the end of the week, as they had not received any deliveries of coal since before Christmas.
During industrial disputes at pits, the unions would usually allow safety work to be undertaken, so that mining operations could quickly resume when the strike was over.
However, the miners at Bold Colliery (pictured above) were refusing to allow safety work to take place, although at Sutton Manor, fifteen pitmen were being permitted to keep the mine in good order.
On the 16th a mass meeting of strikers took place at the Bold Miners Institute in Parr to discuss the present situation with the strike.
The Reporter also described how Jimmy Savile had been invited to judge Haydock's inaugural "Glamorous Grans" competition.
The event in June – organised by the local Old Folks Treat and Welfare Committee – was connected to the Donkey Derby that was held every year to raise funds for Haydock's old people.
The paper also revealed that the town's last trolleybus had been saved from the scrapyard after a group of enthusiasts had paid £180 to Bradford Corporation.
St Helens Corporation had sold the bus to the Yorkshire town after the number 7 on the Rainhill circular route had been removed from service in 1958.
David Ashall of Calderhurst Drive in Windle told the Reporter:
"The old trolley bus has so much character than the modern diesel monsters. Two pedal controls – one for stop, one for go – no pollution from fumes, no noise from the engine and a comfortable ride at speeds up to 50 mph. They are perfect in every way."
The bus would now have its old red and cream livery restored and be preserved at a museum in Doncaster.
The Reporter also praised Alfred Houghton for helping his twin brother when badly injured by fire after some other children had been playing with paraffin.
The 13-year-old slung Andrew over his back and carried him 300 yards towards their home in Forest Road in Sutton Manor before dialling 999 for an ambulance.
There was an advertising feature in the paper on Westfield Street that focussed mainly on Harold Stott, the TV, radio and hi-fi dealer.
Harold had been the service manager at Rothery Radio before starting his own business in 1961.
The firm's service department was situated on the corner of Windle Street and North Road in premises formerly occupied by shirt manufacturer's Barron Walton.
"Stereo Sound Is Stott Sound", said one headline. "We Are Not The Cheapest In Town" admitted another, before explaining: "But what we offer is honest advice, attention and service. So seldom obtained in this day and age."
Other Westfield Street businesses advertising in the feature included Pimbletts ("Fresh pies daily"); Eversons ("Fresh bread baked daily, continental gateaus [sic] and pastries, also fresh cream fancies, our speciality"); Prescotts ("Do-it-yourself headquarters") and Haywards ("End of season sale commences Saturday, Jan. 22 – final clearance of all ladies' knitwear").
There was also St Helens Aquarium ("Hundreds of tropical and coldwater fish and an excellent selection of aquatic plants") and Courtman Master Tailors ("Sale must finish Saturday evening to allow work to continue on shop extensions").
At lunchtime on the 16th, two of the stars of the new TV show called 'The Comedians' performed in St Helens.
The venue was the St Helens Town Social Club and the comics were Colin Crompton and Tom O’Connor.
The latter had performed a lot in St Helens over the last few years, mainly as a support act.
However, the former Bootle maths and music teacher's exposure on TV was turning him into a star attraction.
'The Summer of ‘42' had been the film shown at the Capitol for much of this week. Then for four days from the 16th, the Duke Street cinema began screening 'Catch-22' starring Alan Arkin.
Meanwhile, down Bridge Street at the ABC Savoy, 'Up The Chastity Belt' starring Frankie Howerd was the film being shown for a week.
Next week's stories will include the shock closure announcement of Greenall's Hall Street brewery, the Bold Colliery pitman's pittance, a bus crashes in Prescot Road, plans for Rainford's linear park and Saints successfully trial the six tackle rule.
We begin on the 10th with a visit to Prescot Employment Exchange by local MP Harold Wilson.
The Labour Party leader's Huyton constituency also included the Whiston, Eccleston and Windle districts.
Wilson was pictured in the Liverpool Echo puffing away on his trademark pipe while talking to jobless Francis Murphy of Stanhope Drive in Prescot.
Since losing last year's General Election, the leader of the opposition was now in a position to criticise the jobs crisis in the country and during his visit, Wilson described the unemployment situation on Merseyside as the worst since pre-war days.
During the evening of the 10th, there was more damage done to schools by vandals.
Both Maryville Road Junior and Bryer Road Primary schools in Prescot had windows smashed and other vandalism done.
The DaSilva puppet company returned to the Theatre Royal from the 10th to perform 'Treasure Island' for a week.
The show was advertised in the Reporter as: "A new giant sized puppet pantomime spectacular".
Ray and Joan DaSilva's 20-foot high puppet stage was claimed to be the largest in the country and allowed simultaneous operation of marionettes from above, as well as glove and rod-type puppets from below.
The house-building and slum demolition situation within the St Helens district was revealed this week when new figures were released.
In the first nine months of 1971, 543 new homes had been built in the town itself and a total of 2,252 were under construction.
A further 229 houses had been demolished in clearance areas and another 908 new homes had been approved but work on building them had not yet begun.
During the same 9-month period at Billinge, 80 homes had been built and 91 were under construction and at Rainford 47 houses were under construction and 125 built.
Whiston Rural District (including Eccleston) completed 314 new homes and had 341 under construction by the end of September 1971.
A meeting to set up a St Helens and District Civic Society took place this week. Over 100 people attended the gathering at St Helens "Tech" and heard that members could plant trees, mount exhibitions, undertake research and publish reports.
Brian Wilson of Peebles Avenue in St Helens was one of the organisers of the meeting and said a steering committee would be tasked with approving a constitution for the new society.
Three Sutton youths were each fined £10 in the magistrates' court this week after admitting stealing small statues from St Helens Hospital on Christmas night.
After stealing glasses from local pubs, one lad had cut his hand while walking home and so had called in to the hospital's Casualty Department.
Upon seeing their Nativity Crib, the 17 and 18-year-olds took six statues out of it and ran off.
PC Raymond Danton apprehended the threesome in Warrington New Road but only three of the statues could be recovered.
The story described the annoyance of cleaners at Pilkington's HQ in Prescot Road when they saw how they'd been depicted in the company's newspaper. The Echo wrote that the cartoon used:
"…a “Mrs. Mop” character complete with turban, bedraggled hair, wrinkled stockings and “Old Mother Riley” boots."
Alice Platt of Nutgrove Hall Drive told the Echo: "The cartoon character went back over 40 years. Those days have long gone. Cleaners are now much smarter in appearance and we use sophisticated cleaning equipment."
And supervisor Edith Gordon commented: "Women can afford to come to work well-dressed these days. There is no scrubbing by hand and the mops they have are specially treated to pick up dust at floor-level instead of causing it to rise."
The women's protests against the cartoon had now prompted Pilks to run a competition for the most glamorous cleaning lady on their books – and there were 70 of them.
However, the prize for the winner was not going to be particularly glamorous. It was a vacuum cleaner or floor polisher!
I find saying "shoe shop sale" quite tricky. After a few drinks I expect saying it would be impossible!
But that's how Clinkards styled their New Year bargains at their Westfield Street store. Their Reporter advert announced that their shoe shop sale would start on January 14th, with special children's bargains available on the following Tuesday.
"Closure Threat Faces 25 Schools", was the headline to the lead story on the front page of the St Helens Reporter on the 14th.
It was the national coal strike that was threatening the education of 7,000 local children at schools reliant on solid fuel.
The stoppage had begun on the 9th and seventeen schools were in danger of imminent closure, with the rest set to shut once their fuel stocks had run out.
John Deane, headmaster of St Anselm's in Blackbrook, told the paper that he expected to close his school by the end of the week, as they had not received any deliveries of coal since before Christmas.
However, the miners at Bold Colliery (pictured above) were refusing to allow safety work to take place, although at Sutton Manor, fifteen pitmen were being permitted to keep the mine in good order.
On the 16th a mass meeting of strikers took place at the Bold Miners Institute in Parr to discuss the present situation with the strike.
The Reporter also described how Jimmy Savile had been invited to judge Haydock's inaugural "Glamorous Grans" competition.
The event in June – organised by the local Old Folks Treat and Welfare Committee – was connected to the Donkey Derby that was held every year to raise funds for Haydock's old people.
The paper also revealed that the town's last trolleybus had been saved from the scrapyard after a group of enthusiasts had paid £180 to Bradford Corporation.
St Helens Corporation had sold the bus to the Yorkshire town after the number 7 on the Rainhill circular route had been removed from service in 1958.
David Ashall of Calderhurst Drive in Windle told the Reporter:
"The old trolley bus has so much character than the modern diesel monsters. Two pedal controls – one for stop, one for go – no pollution from fumes, no noise from the engine and a comfortable ride at speeds up to 50 mph. They are perfect in every way."
The bus would now have its old red and cream livery restored and be preserved at a museum in Doncaster.
The Reporter also praised Alfred Houghton for helping his twin brother when badly injured by fire after some other children had been playing with paraffin.
The 13-year-old slung Andrew over his back and carried him 300 yards towards their home in Forest Road in Sutton Manor before dialling 999 for an ambulance.
There was an advertising feature in the paper on Westfield Street that focussed mainly on Harold Stott, the TV, radio and hi-fi dealer.
Harold had been the service manager at Rothery Radio before starting his own business in 1961.
The firm's service department was situated on the corner of Windle Street and North Road in premises formerly occupied by shirt manufacturer's Barron Walton.
"Stereo Sound Is Stott Sound", said one headline. "We Are Not The Cheapest In Town" admitted another, before explaining: "But what we offer is honest advice, attention and service. So seldom obtained in this day and age."
Other Westfield Street businesses advertising in the feature included Pimbletts ("Fresh pies daily"); Eversons ("Fresh bread baked daily, continental gateaus [sic] and pastries, also fresh cream fancies, our speciality"); Prescotts ("Do-it-yourself headquarters") and Haywards ("End of season sale commences Saturday, Jan. 22 – final clearance of all ladies' knitwear").
There was also St Helens Aquarium ("Hundreds of tropical and coldwater fish and an excellent selection of aquatic plants") and Courtman Master Tailors ("Sale must finish Saturday evening to allow work to continue on shop extensions").
At lunchtime on the 16th, two of the stars of the new TV show called 'The Comedians' performed in St Helens.
The venue was the St Helens Town Social Club and the comics were Colin Crompton and Tom O’Connor.
The latter had performed a lot in St Helens over the last few years, mainly as a support act.
However, the former Bootle maths and music teacher's exposure on TV was turning him into a star attraction.
'The Summer of ‘42' had been the film shown at the Capitol for much of this week. Then for four days from the 16th, the Duke Street cinema began screening 'Catch-22' starring Alan Arkin.
Meanwhile, down Bridge Street at the ABC Savoy, 'Up The Chastity Belt' starring Frankie Howerd was the film being shown for a week.
Next week's stories will include the shock closure announcement of Greenall's Hall Street brewery, the Bold Colliery pitman's pittance, a bus crashes in Prescot Road, plans for Rainford's linear park and Saints successfully trial the six tackle rule.