FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (2nd - 8th MARCH 1970)
This week's stories include the 6-year-old Thatto Heath housing estate that was turning into a slum, the "devilish" noise from British Sidac, the new Rivington Road School, the Fleet Lane factory strike and a councillor's claim that the town was still living in the days of the horse and carriage.
We begin with the Sutton Parish Magazine for March, which was published this week. The vicar, the Rev. Paul Conder, announced that the restoration of St Nicholas Church would begin after Easter and continue throughout the summer. The church had been badly damaged by subsidence and the National Coal Board had agreed to undertake the repairs. Once they had finished painters would move in. It had also been decided to rewire the church, provide new lighting and install a new choir vestry. This would cost over £2,000 and the vicar said the church was trying to raise the cash through donations.
Three hundred and fifty of the workers at Crosby Spring Interiors were still on strike this week. The firm made spring seating for the motor industry and the men had walked out of their Fleet Lane factory over a pay dispute. There was concern that production at Ford's Halewood plant could be threatened if the strike dragged on. On the 3rd the striking workers received letters from the company stating their employment "was deemed to have ceased". However when some of them turned up at the Employment Exchange in College Street, they were told that strikers were not entitled to benefit despite the men's insistence they'd been sacked.
Alderman William Burrows officially opened the new Rivington Comprehensive School in Rivington Road on the 3rd. It had cost £350,000 (about £6m in today's money) and headmaster William Garner invited parents to come in by appointment to be shown round. The school integrated the former primary, secondary boys' and secondary girls' schools but wasn't completely new. However the old buildings had been modernised and a new three-storey science block with five laboratories had been built. The block also included a language laboratory and library.
Snow began falling during the late evening of the 3rd and by 3am on the 4th it had begun to thicken. Having been criticised for their slow response during snowfalls in February, the council had dozens of men equipped with spades working through the night spreading salt and grit on the main roads. During the early morning four gritting machines supported by a small fleet of lorries and over 100 men worked tirelessly to clear the snow.
At St Helens Town Council's meeting on the 4th Councillor Allan Lycett asked what was being done to reduce the noise that came from British Sidac in Sutton. He described the din as "devilish", adding that a stringent watch should be kept on the Lancots Lane plant. The sounds were caused by a safety valve that alleviated a high pressure of steam and although silencers had been added, it was still very noisy. Alderman James McDonnell was chairman of the Health Committee and said they would keep an eye on the situation.
Also at the meeting Councillor Bill Shepherd claimed the town was still living in the days of the horse and carriage as he attacked parking charges and waiting restrictions. He said motorists had shown their hostility to the recently introduced charges on the Birchley Street, Water Street and Inner Ring Road car parks by not using them. In addition the "no waiting" period on many town centre roads between 8am and 8pm was too long and some small shopkeepers were losing £25 a week as customers could not find places to park.
Councillor Shepherd also complained about the general condition of the roads and called for a "pot-holes squad" to tour the streets filling in holes. A resolution proposing that the council should do all in its power to meet the challenges and listen to any responsible person with constructive solutions was carried.
Reeco's electrical shop in Elephant Lane was broken into on the morning of the 5th, with the raiders taking £500 worth of goods, including six television sets and six radios.
St Helens Council of Social Service revealed this week that there were people in St Helens that were completely illiterate. However they did not know how many individuals could neither read nor write, as those uneducated were too embarrassed to admit it. So their secretary Ronald Kershaw appealed for those who needed help to come forward, saying illiteracy badly damages an individual's ability to communicate and can be worse than blindness or deafness.
A big story in the Reporter on the 6th was a claim that a Thatto Heath housing estate built just six years earlier was already being labelled a slum. The estate off Elephant Lane comprised Canberra Avenue, Adelaide Avenue and Dorothy Street. The residents' main complaint was dampness, with wallpaper, carpets and skirting boards ruined by moisture. Marlene Whitfield from Canberra Avenue told the Reporter: "This estate was built on what was a mushroom field, and dampness still strikes up through the walls."
Eunice Ellison of Dorothy Street said her dining room linoleum had rotted and the wallpaper was peeling away. "My sewing machine and knitting machine are rusting in the dining room because of the damp air," claimed Mrs Ellison. "Two dining chairs are saturated." The 36-year-old described green mould on walls and said she had had three carpets in five years as they soon became ruined.
Louisa Leonard had lived in Adelaide Avenue for four years and told the Reporter: "My bedroom is not fit for a dog to sleep in. You can feel the dampness rising up the walls. I have had to buy a special food container because food kept in the cupboard got covered in green mould." Eunice Ellison claimed the Corporation would not undertake any repairs, although Housing Manager Harold Kay said he was unaware of any complaints, adding that the estate was a very popular one.
The Reporter had an extensive feature on the mining disease pneumoconiosis with hopes rising that a Government review would lead to increased pensions for the widows of sufferers. The paper said the killer pit disease had widowed forty St Helens' women in 1969 and the case of Jack Williams was highlighted. Jack was sixty-seven and for the last twenty years his breathing had gradually been getting louder. The Reporter wrote:
"Now, he cannot breathe like a healthy man, and has to take great desperate gulps of air into his tortured lungs." Mr Williams had been forced to retire in 1962 but during his last twelve months at Bold Colliery (pictured above) had hardly been to work because of the disease. "I started at Sutton Manor and later went over to Bold", said Jack. "We had two lads but I would not let them go down the pits. The young ones who are going down are making the biggest mistake of their lives."
An advertising feature on hair stylists was in the Reporter with the Cut an' Curl Boutique of 460 Fleet Lane announcing their ideal spring and summer style. This involved "a low nape, forward swinging sides and back-swept fringe, with a little bounce on top." The Hairport of 86 Eccleston Street wanted to give their customers a new look for Easter with a new stylist called Barbara Hughes having just joined their staff.
Vogues Hairfashions at 77a Church Street (above Coombes) had a special offer of a perm for £1. Fozard's Hair Fashion and Wig Boutique in Bickerstaffe Street was promoting L’Oreal's new Demi Wave, which gave six to eight weeks of "lift and movement to your style." Describing themselves as "St. Helens most with it wig boutique" was Toni Wigs. They had only just opened at 11 Baldwin Street and special opening offers were available.
Other advertisers included Barbara Punshon at her new salon at 64 Dentons Green Lane; Chadwick's of North Road ("crown your beauty with a new hair style"); Lockhart's at 119 Duke Street ("established for 50 years") and Louise Holland at 143 Boundary Road ("gentlemen, we can now offer you our services"). There was also Barbara of 57 Peter Street; Ann's Waverley, 283 Derbyshire Hill Road ("latest styling, cutting, colouring techniques"); R. Du-Fay of Oxley's Department Store, Barrow Street ("special perming offer 21/-") and the Hair Boutique, 15 Prescot Road ("why not bring your man to Sweeney's Den").
There was also an advertising feature on Duke Street in the Reporter with the advertisers including Prestts Toys, Bartons Carpets, Russons Shoes, the Comfort Carpet Co., Shaws Carpets, the Christian Book Shop, St Helens Business Equipment Co., F & H Warehouse and Grosvenor House ("manshop").
Mr T. Jones of Reginald Road was complaining in the Reporter about the "disgusting conditions" in the gipsy camp that was less than fifty yards from residents' homes. Mr Jones quoted the council's Health Department who had stated that there was no immediate danger to public health and then said: "If only we tenants had such a wonderful sense of smell and wore rose-coloured spectacles."
A Mrs Knowles wrote a letter on behalf of the residents at the end of Webb Street, just off Baxters Lane. She said: "I have never seen anything as atrocious in my life. You can't get in or out of the houses for holes filled with water and slush. I've seen some bad streets and roads but never more like this at present."
The St Helens Camera Club's annual exhibition was held in the Gamble Institute from the 6th until the end of March. The club was founded in 1900 and still exists. And finally on the 7th the semi-final of the under 19s Rugby League Cup between Pilkington Recs and Warrington was abandoned by the referee seven minutes from time. This was after a brawl took place between the players and spectators. The fracas began after a Warrington player was sent off for kicking an opponent. But then he walked back onto the pitch and kicked the same Pilks' player again!
Next week's stories will include the Black Horse's ban on longhaired drinkers, the Sutton Wheatsheaf's ban on gipsies, a claim of ghetto conditions in Parr, the ice-cream salesgirls at the Savoy and a profile of Jacobs clothing factory on the Parr Industrial Estate.
We begin with the Sutton Parish Magazine for March, which was published this week. The vicar, the Rev. Paul Conder, announced that the restoration of St Nicholas Church would begin after Easter and continue throughout the summer. The church had been badly damaged by subsidence and the National Coal Board had agreed to undertake the repairs. Once they had finished painters would move in. It had also been decided to rewire the church, provide new lighting and install a new choir vestry. This would cost over £2,000 and the vicar said the church was trying to raise the cash through donations.
Three hundred and fifty of the workers at Crosby Spring Interiors were still on strike this week. The firm made spring seating for the motor industry and the men had walked out of their Fleet Lane factory over a pay dispute. There was concern that production at Ford's Halewood plant could be threatened if the strike dragged on. On the 3rd the striking workers received letters from the company stating their employment "was deemed to have ceased". However when some of them turned up at the Employment Exchange in College Street, they were told that strikers were not entitled to benefit despite the men's insistence they'd been sacked.
Alderman William Burrows officially opened the new Rivington Comprehensive School in Rivington Road on the 3rd. It had cost £350,000 (about £6m in today's money) and headmaster William Garner invited parents to come in by appointment to be shown round. The school integrated the former primary, secondary boys' and secondary girls' schools but wasn't completely new. However the old buildings had been modernised and a new three-storey science block with five laboratories had been built. The block also included a language laboratory and library.
Snow began falling during the late evening of the 3rd and by 3am on the 4th it had begun to thicken. Having been criticised for their slow response during snowfalls in February, the council had dozens of men equipped with spades working through the night spreading salt and grit on the main roads. During the early morning four gritting machines supported by a small fleet of lorries and over 100 men worked tirelessly to clear the snow.
At St Helens Town Council's meeting on the 4th Councillor Allan Lycett asked what was being done to reduce the noise that came from British Sidac in Sutton. He described the din as "devilish", adding that a stringent watch should be kept on the Lancots Lane plant. The sounds were caused by a safety valve that alleviated a high pressure of steam and although silencers had been added, it was still very noisy. Alderman James McDonnell was chairman of the Health Committee and said they would keep an eye on the situation.
Also at the meeting Councillor Bill Shepherd claimed the town was still living in the days of the horse and carriage as he attacked parking charges and waiting restrictions. He said motorists had shown their hostility to the recently introduced charges on the Birchley Street, Water Street and Inner Ring Road car parks by not using them. In addition the "no waiting" period on many town centre roads between 8am and 8pm was too long and some small shopkeepers were losing £25 a week as customers could not find places to park.
Councillor Shepherd also complained about the general condition of the roads and called for a "pot-holes squad" to tour the streets filling in holes. A resolution proposing that the council should do all in its power to meet the challenges and listen to any responsible person with constructive solutions was carried.
Reeco's electrical shop in Elephant Lane was broken into on the morning of the 5th, with the raiders taking £500 worth of goods, including six television sets and six radios.
St Helens Council of Social Service revealed this week that there were people in St Helens that were completely illiterate. However they did not know how many individuals could neither read nor write, as those uneducated were too embarrassed to admit it. So their secretary Ronald Kershaw appealed for those who needed help to come forward, saying illiteracy badly damages an individual's ability to communicate and can be worse than blindness or deafness.
A big story in the Reporter on the 6th was a claim that a Thatto Heath housing estate built just six years earlier was already being labelled a slum. The estate off Elephant Lane comprised Canberra Avenue, Adelaide Avenue and Dorothy Street. The residents' main complaint was dampness, with wallpaper, carpets and skirting boards ruined by moisture. Marlene Whitfield from Canberra Avenue told the Reporter: "This estate was built on what was a mushroom field, and dampness still strikes up through the walls."
Eunice Ellison of Dorothy Street said her dining room linoleum had rotted and the wallpaper was peeling away. "My sewing machine and knitting machine are rusting in the dining room because of the damp air," claimed Mrs Ellison. "Two dining chairs are saturated." The 36-year-old described green mould on walls and said she had had three carpets in five years as they soon became ruined.
Louisa Leonard had lived in Adelaide Avenue for four years and told the Reporter: "My bedroom is not fit for a dog to sleep in. You can feel the dampness rising up the walls. I have had to buy a special food container because food kept in the cupboard got covered in green mould." Eunice Ellison claimed the Corporation would not undertake any repairs, although Housing Manager Harold Kay said he was unaware of any complaints, adding that the estate was a very popular one.
The Reporter had an extensive feature on the mining disease pneumoconiosis with hopes rising that a Government review would lead to increased pensions for the widows of sufferers. The paper said the killer pit disease had widowed forty St Helens' women in 1969 and the case of Jack Williams was highlighted. Jack was sixty-seven and for the last twenty years his breathing had gradually been getting louder. The Reporter wrote:
An advertising feature on hair stylists was in the Reporter with the Cut an' Curl Boutique of 460 Fleet Lane announcing their ideal spring and summer style. This involved "a low nape, forward swinging sides and back-swept fringe, with a little bounce on top." The Hairport of 86 Eccleston Street wanted to give their customers a new look for Easter with a new stylist called Barbara Hughes having just joined their staff.
Vogues Hairfashions at 77a Church Street (above Coombes) had a special offer of a perm for £1. Fozard's Hair Fashion and Wig Boutique in Bickerstaffe Street was promoting L’Oreal's new Demi Wave, which gave six to eight weeks of "lift and movement to your style." Describing themselves as "St. Helens most with it wig boutique" was Toni Wigs. They had only just opened at 11 Baldwin Street and special opening offers were available.
Other advertisers included Barbara Punshon at her new salon at 64 Dentons Green Lane; Chadwick's of North Road ("crown your beauty with a new hair style"); Lockhart's at 119 Duke Street ("established for 50 years") and Louise Holland at 143 Boundary Road ("gentlemen, we can now offer you our services"). There was also Barbara of 57 Peter Street; Ann's Waverley, 283 Derbyshire Hill Road ("latest styling, cutting, colouring techniques"); R. Du-Fay of Oxley's Department Store, Barrow Street ("special perming offer 21/-") and the Hair Boutique, 15 Prescot Road ("why not bring your man to Sweeney's Den").
There was also an advertising feature on Duke Street in the Reporter with the advertisers including Prestts Toys, Bartons Carpets, Russons Shoes, the Comfort Carpet Co., Shaws Carpets, the Christian Book Shop, St Helens Business Equipment Co., F & H Warehouse and Grosvenor House ("manshop").
Mr T. Jones of Reginald Road was complaining in the Reporter about the "disgusting conditions" in the gipsy camp that was less than fifty yards from residents' homes. Mr Jones quoted the council's Health Department who had stated that there was no immediate danger to public health and then said: "If only we tenants had such a wonderful sense of smell and wore rose-coloured spectacles."
A Mrs Knowles wrote a letter on behalf of the residents at the end of Webb Street, just off Baxters Lane. She said: "I have never seen anything as atrocious in my life. You can't get in or out of the houses for holes filled with water and slush. I've seen some bad streets and roads but never more like this at present."
The St Helens Camera Club's annual exhibition was held in the Gamble Institute from the 6th until the end of March. The club was founded in 1900 and still exists. And finally on the 7th the semi-final of the under 19s Rugby League Cup between Pilkington Recs and Warrington was abandoned by the referee seven minutes from time. This was after a brawl took place between the players and spectators. The fracas began after a Warrington player was sent off for kicking an opponent. But then he walked back onto the pitch and kicked the same Pilks' player again!
Next week's stories will include the Black Horse's ban on longhaired drinkers, the Sutton Wheatsheaf's ban on gipsies, a claim of ghetto conditions in Parr, the ice-cream salesgirls at the Savoy and a profile of Jacobs clothing factory on the Parr Industrial Estate.
This week's stories include the 6-year-old Thatto Heath housing estate that was turning into a slum, the "devilish" noise from British Sidac, the new Rivington Road School, the Fleet Lane factory strike and a councillor's claim that the town was still living in the days of the horse and carriage.
We begin with the Sutton Parish Magazine for March, which was published this week.
The vicar, the Rev. Paul Conder, announced that the restoration of St Nicholas Church would begin after Easter and continue throughout the summer.
The church had been badly damaged by subsidence and the National Coal Board had agreed to undertake the repairs.
Once they had finished painters would move in. It had also been decided to rewire the church, provide new lighting and install a new choir vestry.
This would cost over £2,000 and the vicar said the church was trying to raise the cash through donations.
Three hundred and fifty of the workers at Crosby Spring Interiors were still on strike this week.
The firm made spring seating for the motor industry and the men had walked out of their Fleet Lane factory over a pay dispute.
There was concern that production at Ford's Halewood plant could be threatened if the strike dragged on.
On the 3rd the striking workers received letters from the company stating their employment "was deemed to have ceased".
However when some of them turned up at the Employment Exchange in College Street, they were told that strikers were not entitled to benefit despite the men's insistence they'd been sacked.
Alderman William Burrows officially opened the new Rivington Comprehensive School in Rivington Road on the 3rd.
It had cost £350,000 (about £6m in today's money) and headmaster William Garner invited parents to come in by appointment to be shown round.
The school integrated the former primary, secondary boys' and secondary girls' schools but wasn't completely new.
However the old buildings had been modernised and a new three-storey science block with five laboratories had been built.
The block also included a language laboratory and library.
Snow began falling during the late evening of the 3rd and by 3am on the 4th it had begun to thicken.
Having been criticised for their slow response during snowfalls in February, the council had dozens of men equipped with spades working through the night spreading salt and grit on the main roads.
During the early morning four gritting machines supported by a small fleet of lorries and over 100 men worked tirelessly to clear the snow.
At St Helens Town Council's meeting on the 4th Councillor Allan Lycett asked what was being done to reduce the noise that came from British Sidac in Sutton.
He described the din as "devilish", adding that a stringent watch should be kept on the Lancots Lane plant.
The sounds were caused by a safety valve that alleviated a high pressure of steam and although silencers had been added, it was still very noisy.
Alderman James McDonnell was chairman of the Health Committee and said they would keep an eye on the situation.
Also at the meeting Councillor Bill Shepherd claimed the town was still living in the days of the horse and carriage as he attacked parking charges and waiting restrictions.
He said motorists had shown their hostility to the recently introduced charges on the Birchley Street, Water Street and Inner Ring Road car parks by not using them.
In addition the "no waiting" period on many town centre roads between 8am and 8pm was too long and some small shopkeepers were losing £25 a week as customers could not find places to park.
Councillor Shepherd also complained about the general condition of the roads and called for a "pot-holes squad" to tour the streets filling in holes.
A resolution proposing that the council should do all in its power to meet the challenges and listen to any responsible person with constructive solutions was carried.
Reeco's electrical shop in Elephant Lane was broken into on the morning of the 5th, with the raiders taking £500 worth of goods, including six television sets and six radios.
St Helens Council of Social Service revealed this week that there were people in St Helens that were completely illiterate.
However they did not know how many individuals could neither read nor write, as those uneducated were too embarrassed to admit it.
So their secretary Ronald Kershaw appealed for those who needed help to come forward, saying illiteracy badly damages an individual's ability to communicate and can be worse than blindness or deafness.
A big story in the Reporter on the 6th was a claim that a Thatto Heath housing estate built just six years earlier was already being labelled a slum.
The estate off Elephant Lane comprised Canberra Avenue, Adelaide Avenue and Dorothy Street.
The residents' main complaint was dampness, with wallpaper, carpets and skirting boards ruined by moisture. Marlene Whitfield from Canberra Avenue told the Reporter:
"This estate was built on what was a mushroom field, and dampness still strikes up through the walls."
Eunice Ellison of Dorothy Street said her dining room linoleum had rotted and the wallpaper was peeling away.
"My sewing machine and knitting machine are rusting in the dining room because of the damp air," claimed Mrs Ellison. "Two dining chairs are saturated."
The 36-year-old described green mould on walls and said she had had three carpets in five years as they soon became ruined.
Louisa Leonard had lived in Adelaide Avenue for four years and told the Reporter:
"My bedroom is not fit for a dog to sleep in. You can feel the dampness rising up the walls. I have had to buy a special food container because food kept in the cupboard got covered in green mould."
Eunice Ellison claimed the Corporation would not undertake any repairs, although Housing Manager Harold Kay said he was unaware of any complaints, adding that the estate was a very popular one.
The Reporter had an extensive feature on the mining disease pneumoconiosis with hopes rising that a Government review would lead to increased pensions for the widows of sufferers.
The paper said the killer pit disease had widowed forty St Helens' women in 1969 and the case of Jack Williams was highlighted.
Jack was sixty-seven and for the last twenty years his breathing had gradually been getting louder.
The Reporter wrote: "Now, he cannot breathe like a healthy man, and has to take great desperate gulps of air into his tortured lungs."
Mr Williams had been forced to retire in 1962 but during his last twelve months at Bold Colliery (pictured above) had hardly been to work because of the disease.
"I started at Sutton Manor and later went over to Bold", said Jack.
"We had two lads but I would not let them go down the pits. The young ones who are going down are making the biggest mistake of their lives."
An advertising feature on hair stylists was in the Reporter with the Cut an' Curl Boutique of 460 Fleet Lane announcing their ideal spring and summer style.
This involved "a low nape, forward swinging sides and back-swept fringe, with a little bounce on top."
The Hairport of 86 Eccleston Street wanted to give their customers a new look for Easter with a new stylist called Barbara Hughes having just joined their staff.
Vogues Hairfashions at 77a Church Street (above Coombes) had a special offer of a perm for £1.
Fozard's Hair Fashion and Wig Boutique in Bickerstaffe Street was promoting L’Oreal's new Demi Wave, which gave six to eight weeks of "lift and movement to your style."
Describing themselves as "St. Helens most with it wig boutique" was Toni Wigs.
They had only just opened at 11 Baldwin Street and special opening offers were available.
Other advertisers included Barbara Punshon at her new salon at 64 Dentons Green Lane; Chadwick's of North Road ("crown your beauty with a new hair style"); Lockhart's at 119 Duke Street ("established for 50 years") and Louise Holland at 143 Boundary Road ("gentlemen, we can now offer you our services").
There was also Barbara of 57 Peter Street; Ann's Waverley, 283 Derbyshire Hill Road ("latest styling, cutting, colouring techniques"); R. Du-Fay of Oxley's Department Store, Barrow Street ("special perming offer 21/-") and the Hair Boutique, 15 Prescot Road ("why not bring your man to Sweeney's Den").
A feature on Duke Street was also in the Reporter with the advertisers including Prestts Toys, Bartons Carpets, Russons Shoes, the Comfort Carpet Co., Shaws Carpets, the Christian Book Shop, St Helens Business Equipment Co., F & H Warehouse and Grosvenor House ("manshop").
Mr T. Jones of Reginald Road was complaining in the Reporter about the "disgusting conditions" in the gipsy camp that was less than fifty yards from residents' homes.
Mr Jones quoted the council's Health Department who had stated that there was no immediate danger to public health and then said:
"If only we tenants had such a wonderful sense of smell and wore rose-coloured spectacles."
A Mrs Knowles wrote a letter on behalf of the residents at the end of Webb Street, just off Baxters Lane.
She said: "I have never seen anything as atrocious in my life. You can't get in or out of the houses for holes filled with water and slush.
“I’ve seen some bad streets and roads but never more like this at present."
The St Helens Camera Club's annual exhibition was held in the Gamble Institute from the 6th until the end of March. The club was founded in 1900 and still exists.
And finally on the 7th the semi-final of the under 19s Rugby League Cup between Pilkington Recs and Warrington was abandoned by the referee seven minutes from time.
This was after a brawl took place between the players and spectators.
The fracas began after a Warrington player was sent off for kicking an opponent.
But then he walked back onto the pitch and kicked the same Pilks' player again!
Next week's stories will include the Black Horse's ban on longhaired drinkers, the Sutton Wheatsheaf's ban on gipsies, a claim of ghetto conditions in Parr, the ice-cream salesgirls at the Savoy and a profile of Jacobs clothing factory on the Parr Industrial Estate.
We begin with the Sutton Parish Magazine for March, which was published this week.
The vicar, the Rev. Paul Conder, announced that the restoration of St Nicholas Church would begin after Easter and continue throughout the summer.
The church had been badly damaged by subsidence and the National Coal Board had agreed to undertake the repairs.
Once they had finished painters would move in. It had also been decided to rewire the church, provide new lighting and install a new choir vestry.
This would cost over £2,000 and the vicar said the church was trying to raise the cash through donations.
Three hundred and fifty of the workers at Crosby Spring Interiors were still on strike this week.
The firm made spring seating for the motor industry and the men had walked out of their Fleet Lane factory over a pay dispute.
There was concern that production at Ford's Halewood plant could be threatened if the strike dragged on.
On the 3rd the striking workers received letters from the company stating their employment "was deemed to have ceased".
However when some of them turned up at the Employment Exchange in College Street, they were told that strikers were not entitled to benefit despite the men's insistence they'd been sacked.
Alderman William Burrows officially opened the new Rivington Comprehensive School in Rivington Road on the 3rd.
It had cost £350,000 (about £6m in today's money) and headmaster William Garner invited parents to come in by appointment to be shown round.
The school integrated the former primary, secondary boys' and secondary girls' schools but wasn't completely new.
However the old buildings had been modernised and a new three-storey science block with five laboratories had been built.
The block also included a language laboratory and library.
Snow began falling during the late evening of the 3rd and by 3am on the 4th it had begun to thicken.
Having been criticised for their slow response during snowfalls in February, the council had dozens of men equipped with spades working through the night spreading salt and grit on the main roads.
During the early morning four gritting machines supported by a small fleet of lorries and over 100 men worked tirelessly to clear the snow.
At St Helens Town Council's meeting on the 4th Councillor Allan Lycett asked what was being done to reduce the noise that came from British Sidac in Sutton.
He described the din as "devilish", adding that a stringent watch should be kept on the Lancots Lane plant.
The sounds were caused by a safety valve that alleviated a high pressure of steam and although silencers had been added, it was still very noisy.
Alderman James McDonnell was chairman of the Health Committee and said they would keep an eye on the situation.
Also at the meeting Councillor Bill Shepherd claimed the town was still living in the days of the horse and carriage as he attacked parking charges and waiting restrictions.
He said motorists had shown their hostility to the recently introduced charges on the Birchley Street, Water Street and Inner Ring Road car parks by not using them.
In addition the "no waiting" period on many town centre roads between 8am and 8pm was too long and some small shopkeepers were losing £25 a week as customers could not find places to park.
Councillor Shepherd also complained about the general condition of the roads and called for a "pot-holes squad" to tour the streets filling in holes.
A resolution proposing that the council should do all in its power to meet the challenges and listen to any responsible person with constructive solutions was carried.
Reeco's electrical shop in Elephant Lane was broken into on the morning of the 5th, with the raiders taking £500 worth of goods, including six television sets and six radios.
St Helens Council of Social Service revealed this week that there were people in St Helens that were completely illiterate.
However they did not know how many individuals could neither read nor write, as those uneducated were too embarrassed to admit it.
So their secretary Ronald Kershaw appealed for those who needed help to come forward, saying illiteracy badly damages an individual's ability to communicate and can be worse than blindness or deafness.
A big story in the Reporter on the 6th was a claim that a Thatto Heath housing estate built just six years earlier was already being labelled a slum.
The estate off Elephant Lane comprised Canberra Avenue, Adelaide Avenue and Dorothy Street.
The residents' main complaint was dampness, with wallpaper, carpets and skirting boards ruined by moisture. Marlene Whitfield from Canberra Avenue told the Reporter:
"This estate was built on what was a mushroom field, and dampness still strikes up through the walls."
Eunice Ellison of Dorothy Street said her dining room linoleum had rotted and the wallpaper was peeling away.
"My sewing machine and knitting machine are rusting in the dining room because of the damp air," claimed Mrs Ellison. "Two dining chairs are saturated."
The 36-year-old described green mould on walls and said she had had three carpets in five years as they soon became ruined.
Louisa Leonard had lived in Adelaide Avenue for four years and told the Reporter:
"My bedroom is not fit for a dog to sleep in. You can feel the dampness rising up the walls. I have had to buy a special food container because food kept in the cupboard got covered in green mould."
Eunice Ellison claimed the Corporation would not undertake any repairs, although Housing Manager Harold Kay said he was unaware of any complaints, adding that the estate was a very popular one.
The Reporter had an extensive feature on the mining disease pneumoconiosis with hopes rising that a Government review would lead to increased pensions for the widows of sufferers.
The paper said the killer pit disease had widowed forty St Helens' women in 1969 and the case of Jack Williams was highlighted.
Jack was sixty-seven and for the last twenty years his breathing had gradually been getting louder.
The Reporter wrote: "Now, he cannot breathe like a healthy man, and has to take great desperate gulps of air into his tortured lungs."
"I started at Sutton Manor and later went over to Bold", said Jack.
"We had two lads but I would not let them go down the pits. The young ones who are going down are making the biggest mistake of their lives."
An advertising feature on hair stylists was in the Reporter with the Cut an' Curl Boutique of 460 Fleet Lane announcing their ideal spring and summer style.
This involved "a low nape, forward swinging sides and back-swept fringe, with a little bounce on top."
The Hairport of 86 Eccleston Street wanted to give their customers a new look for Easter with a new stylist called Barbara Hughes having just joined their staff.
Vogues Hairfashions at 77a Church Street (above Coombes) had a special offer of a perm for £1.
Fozard's Hair Fashion and Wig Boutique in Bickerstaffe Street was promoting L’Oreal's new Demi Wave, which gave six to eight weeks of "lift and movement to your style."
Describing themselves as "St. Helens most with it wig boutique" was Toni Wigs.
They had only just opened at 11 Baldwin Street and special opening offers were available.
Other advertisers included Barbara Punshon at her new salon at 64 Dentons Green Lane; Chadwick's of North Road ("crown your beauty with a new hair style"); Lockhart's at 119 Duke Street ("established for 50 years") and Louise Holland at 143 Boundary Road ("gentlemen, we can now offer you our services").
There was also Barbara of 57 Peter Street; Ann's Waverley, 283 Derbyshire Hill Road ("latest styling, cutting, colouring techniques"); R. Du-Fay of Oxley's Department Store, Barrow Street ("special perming offer 21/-") and the Hair Boutique, 15 Prescot Road ("why not bring your man to Sweeney's Den").
A feature on Duke Street was also in the Reporter with the advertisers including Prestts Toys, Bartons Carpets, Russons Shoes, the Comfort Carpet Co., Shaws Carpets, the Christian Book Shop, St Helens Business Equipment Co., F & H Warehouse and Grosvenor House ("manshop").
Mr T. Jones of Reginald Road was complaining in the Reporter about the "disgusting conditions" in the gipsy camp that was less than fifty yards from residents' homes.
Mr Jones quoted the council's Health Department who had stated that there was no immediate danger to public health and then said:
"If only we tenants had such a wonderful sense of smell and wore rose-coloured spectacles."
A Mrs Knowles wrote a letter on behalf of the residents at the end of Webb Street, just off Baxters Lane.
She said: "I have never seen anything as atrocious in my life. You can't get in or out of the houses for holes filled with water and slush.
“I’ve seen some bad streets and roads but never more like this at present."
The St Helens Camera Club's annual exhibition was held in the Gamble Institute from the 6th until the end of March. The club was founded in 1900 and still exists.
And finally on the 7th the semi-final of the under 19s Rugby League Cup between Pilkington Recs and Warrington was abandoned by the referee seven minutes from time.
This was after a brawl took place between the players and spectators.
The fracas began after a Warrington player was sent off for kicking an opponent.
But then he walked back onto the pitch and kicked the same Pilks' player again!
Next week's stories will include the Black Horse's ban on longhaired drinkers, the Sutton Wheatsheaf's ban on gipsies, a claim of ghetto conditions in Parr, the ice-cream salesgirls at the Savoy and a profile of Jacobs clothing factory on the Parr Industrial Estate.