FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (3rd - 9th OCTOBER 1972)
This week's stories include Leathers' promised anti-pollution measures, the Capitol Cinema's all-night screenings, St Helens Council agrees to take in expelled Ugandan Asians, the mysterious Rainford explosions, the man who said St Helens folk were a scruffy shower and campaigners pack the council chamber to protest against the Fair Rents Act.
We begin on the 7th when the Dooley Family appeared at St Helens Town Social Club in Hoghton Road. The group was still five years away from having their first hit record under their shortened name of the Dooleys. Then on the following day Ralph McTell was in concert at the Theatre Royal in Corporation Street.
St Helens was one of the first places in the country to provide a permanent site for travellers – who in the 1970s were routinely referred to as gipsies. Those local authorities that had created such sites could now apply for authority to control unauthorised gipsy camps. Consequently, St Helens this week became one of only three places to be granted such powers, with Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent being the other two towns. So, from January 1973, it would be an offence for a traveller to park their caravan on land in St Helens without the consent of the owner. If that occurred St Helens Council could make an application to magistrates for an eviction order.
At St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 4th it was revealed that Leathers Chemicals were planning to spend £100,000 on anti-pollution measures at their sulphuric acid works in Lancots Lane. Representatives of the council had met up with Leathers and British Sidac to discuss the deteriorating situation in Sutton, after an action group had collated a petition calling for Government intervention.
Leathers estimated that their safety improvements would take 10 to 12 weeks to complete and the firm promised to shut down production if any leaks occurred during that period. Sutton councillor Ron Kerr said after the meeting that he was delighted that progress had been made but he would be keeping a close watch on the situation. The action group – led by Barbara Fairhurst of Hoghton Road and Mary Smith and Gladys Hartness, both of Massey Street – also decided to suspend their threatened plan to picket the plant.
However, as one group of angry women were placated (at least for the time being), so another lot expressed their fury. Irate housewives fuming about increases in their council house rents attended the meeting to lobby councillors. The rises averaged 80p per week (about £12 in today's money) and had been implemented as a result of the Corporation adopting the Housing Finance Act, or Fair Rents Act, as it was generally known. Placard-bearing women and children stood on the Town Hall steps and protestors packed the council chambers.
Of course, what one person considers fair as a result of some new measure being introduced, another may describe as unfair, particularly if they are worse off as a result! Margaret Marren, the secretary of the Parr Tenants Association, told the Reporter: "Ourselves and the committee, and the majority of people have no objection to the lower paid workers, the sick, and the genuinely unemployed paying less rent, but not at the expense of our rents going up."
The death was announced this week of Albert Hart of Hard Lane, the owner of Hart's large department store in St Helens. Albert passed away at the age of 76 and had begun his working life on a stall in St Helens Market. Then in 1934 he opened a small shop in Church Street and over the years the business was expanded until it now employed 100 staff. The two-storey premises covered 30,000 square feet with 44 departments and later in 1972 would be sold to Lewis's.
Two weeks ago the Reporter had announced council plans to pedestrianise parts of the town centre. On the 6th they described how the Borough Engineer had given further details to a meeting of the Chamber of Trade:
"The town centre should be a paradise for pedestrians in a few years, for St. Helens Council are planning to pave over Church Street, Bridge Street, Hardshaw Street, Barrow Street and Westfield Street to keep out the traffic. Details of a project to ban cars was revealed in full at a meeting this week between the Borough Engineer Mr. George James and local traders. He said this would remove the noise and fumes of traffic from the streets, and it was hoped that boxes of flowers would be placed there to make them pleasant. Among the facts he disclosed about the town centre redevelopment was that St. Helens could be getting a bus station in place of the numerous bus stops in the centre."
The floodgates opened after the editor of the Reporter had invited its readers to suggest improvements to St Helens. That was after a survey had revealed that local residents were highly critical of their own town. Graham Mercer from Derbyshire Hill wrote an essay on the subject, which began:
"I was surprised to read in last Friday's Reporter that 72 per cent. of the people interviewed in an opinion poll had a bad impression of St. Helens. I would have expected at least 92 per cent. (the remaining eight per cent. being made up of the blind, the completely mindless and the council). It is encouraging, however to see that more and more people are not only aware of the ugliness and tastelessness of their surroundings, but are taking positive action against it."
However, another correspondent felt that it was not so much the town that needed improving – but its people: "As a worker in St. Helens but fortunately not a resident, I entirely agree that the town is a disgusting shambles. Why? Because the inhabitants are a scruffy “shower” without any personal or civic pride. The men are only interested in the three Bs – birds, betting and booze. The women (the hair-roller brigade!), are only happy if they have their bingo, telly and priest.
"A large percentage of the young people are undisciplined and of low educational standard. Their idea of beautifying the town is writing rude works on walls. The answer – education. We must teach our children to have regard for their town, for other people's possessions and to have pride in themselves. It's about time parents thought more and teachers taught more!" – G. ALLEN
The Reporter described how the Capitol Cinema in St Helens was planning to cater for night owls and insomniacs. Manager Alan Peel had decided to introduce all-night screenings from 11 pm until about 7:30 am. The Friday night / Saturday morning shows would comprise five films for a 75p ticket and would be the first all-nighters in the North West.
"I encouraged it because I've seen it work in other parts," said Mr Peel. "If it's a success in St. Helens, it's going to be tried out in Manchester and Liverpool. I'm sure it will appeal to cinemagoers. I've chosen a varied set programme, so there will be something for everyone."
The Reporter was also able to describe how work on a new £500,000 mail centre for St Helens (around £7m in today's money) was set to begin towards the end of the year. It was expected that about 150 men would be based there. The complex in Liverpool Road would allow the Post Office to gather together its "scattered tribes" from various parts of the town and install them under one roof.
Letters were currently sorted in Lincoln House and parcels in a prefabricated building in Birchley Street. The new building would include a transport workshop and require special foundations to be dug because of the risk of mining subsidence. Work was expected to take about 18 months to complete.
It was now NHS policy that when a matron at a hospital retired, the post was abolished and a chief nursing officer took her place. Whiston Hospital's last matron had been Judith Graves who retired in November 1971. This week the last matron at Eccleston Hall Hospital retired. She was Mildred Walker who during her 26 years in St Helens had witnessed much change. Upon Miss Walker's arrival at Eccleston Hall in 1946, most of the inmates had tuberculosis – but now there was not a single TB patient in the hospital. When she was training to be a nurse, Miss Walker said her salary had been only £18 a year with just one afternoon a week off.
I recently described how Whiston Council were making ten of their houses available to Asian families that were being expelled from Uganda. This week St Helens Council followed suit and made a similar offer of ten homes to those Idi Amin was cruelly ordering to leave his country by November. However, Terence Dennier, the Director of Social Services, thought that the Ugandan Asians might be reluctant to move to St Helens.
That was because those that had already arrived in Britain tended to obtain a job first before relocating – and St Helens currently had a high unemployment rate. Mr Dennier added: "It appears that these poor people have left with very little and we'll be doing our best to help, but at the moment we know very little as to what will be required of us."
A mysterious blast was troubling the residents of Heyes Avenue in Rainford. On four occasions within a fortnight, explosions had rattled the windows of their homes. An electricity substation was initially thought the most likely suspect but was ruled out after an investigation by Manweb. Local farmers also denied using explosives for rodent control.
So the police were called in but were making slow progress, as a spokesman explained: "We are making enquiries into this matter, but up to now have not been able to find the cause for the explosions. It is a mystery at the moment." However, despite Guy Fawkes night still being a month away, ten bonfires had been prematurely lit in St Helens last weekend. And in a separate news story this week, St Helens Fire Brigade appealed to parents to keep a close watch on their children. That makes me wonder whether the mysterious Heyes Avenue blasts could simply have been mischievous kids setting off bangers outside windows?
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the new Giro orders for the St Helens unemployed, a complaint that the new market resembled the Black Hole of Calcutta, the Reporter calls for a clean up of the town and criticism of dangerous discharging of fireworks.
We begin on the 7th when the Dooley Family appeared at St Helens Town Social Club in Hoghton Road. The group was still five years away from having their first hit record under their shortened name of the Dooleys. Then on the following day Ralph McTell was in concert at the Theatre Royal in Corporation Street.
St Helens was one of the first places in the country to provide a permanent site for travellers – who in the 1970s were routinely referred to as gipsies. Those local authorities that had created such sites could now apply for authority to control unauthorised gipsy camps. Consequently, St Helens this week became one of only three places to be granted such powers, with Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent being the other two towns. So, from January 1973, it would be an offence for a traveller to park their caravan on land in St Helens without the consent of the owner. If that occurred St Helens Council could make an application to magistrates for an eviction order.
At St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 4th it was revealed that Leathers Chemicals were planning to spend £100,000 on anti-pollution measures at their sulphuric acid works in Lancots Lane. Representatives of the council had met up with Leathers and British Sidac to discuss the deteriorating situation in Sutton, after an action group had collated a petition calling for Government intervention.
Leathers estimated that their safety improvements would take 10 to 12 weeks to complete and the firm promised to shut down production if any leaks occurred during that period. Sutton councillor Ron Kerr said after the meeting that he was delighted that progress had been made but he would be keeping a close watch on the situation. The action group – led by Barbara Fairhurst of Hoghton Road and Mary Smith and Gladys Hartness, both of Massey Street – also decided to suspend their threatened plan to picket the plant.
Of course, what one person considers fair as a result of some new measure being introduced, another may describe as unfair, particularly if they are worse off as a result! Margaret Marren, the secretary of the Parr Tenants Association, told the Reporter: "Ourselves and the committee, and the majority of people have no objection to the lower paid workers, the sick, and the genuinely unemployed paying less rent, but not at the expense of our rents going up."
The death was announced this week of Albert Hart of Hard Lane, the owner of Hart's large department store in St Helens. Albert passed away at the age of 76 and had begun his working life on a stall in St Helens Market. Then in 1934 he opened a small shop in Church Street and over the years the business was expanded until it now employed 100 staff. The two-storey premises covered 30,000 square feet with 44 departments and later in 1972 would be sold to Lewis's.
"The town centre should be a paradise for pedestrians in a few years, for St. Helens Council are planning to pave over Church Street, Bridge Street, Hardshaw Street, Barrow Street and Westfield Street to keep out the traffic. Details of a project to ban cars was revealed in full at a meeting this week between the Borough Engineer Mr. George James and local traders. He said this would remove the noise and fumes of traffic from the streets, and it was hoped that boxes of flowers would be placed there to make them pleasant. Among the facts he disclosed about the town centre redevelopment was that St. Helens could be getting a bus station in place of the numerous bus stops in the centre."
The floodgates opened after the editor of the Reporter had invited its readers to suggest improvements to St Helens. That was after a survey had revealed that local residents were highly critical of their own town. Graham Mercer from Derbyshire Hill wrote an essay on the subject, which began:
"I was surprised to read in last Friday's Reporter that 72 per cent. of the people interviewed in an opinion poll had a bad impression of St. Helens. I would have expected at least 92 per cent. (the remaining eight per cent. being made up of the blind, the completely mindless and the council). It is encouraging, however to see that more and more people are not only aware of the ugliness and tastelessness of their surroundings, but are taking positive action against it."
However, another correspondent felt that it was not so much the town that needed improving – but its people: "As a worker in St. Helens but fortunately not a resident, I entirely agree that the town is a disgusting shambles. Why? Because the inhabitants are a scruffy “shower” without any personal or civic pride. The men are only interested in the three Bs – birds, betting and booze. The women (the hair-roller brigade!), are only happy if they have their bingo, telly and priest.
"A large percentage of the young people are undisciplined and of low educational standard. Their idea of beautifying the town is writing rude works on walls. The answer – education. We must teach our children to have regard for their town, for other people's possessions and to have pride in themselves. It's about time parents thought more and teachers taught more!" – G. ALLEN
"I encouraged it because I've seen it work in other parts," said Mr Peel. "If it's a success in St. Helens, it's going to be tried out in Manchester and Liverpool. I'm sure it will appeal to cinemagoers. I've chosen a varied set programme, so there will be something for everyone."
The Reporter was also able to describe how work on a new £500,000 mail centre for St Helens (around £7m in today's money) was set to begin towards the end of the year. It was expected that about 150 men would be based there. The complex in Liverpool Road would allow the Post Office to gather together its "scattered tribes" from various parts of the town and install them under one roof.
Letters were currently sorted in Lincoln House and parcels in a prefabricated building in Birchley Street. The new building would include a transport workshop and require special foundations to be dug because of the risk of mining subsidence. Work was expected to take about 18 months to complete.
It was now NHS policy that when a matron at a hospital retired, the post was abolished and a chief nursing officer took her place. Whiston Hospital's last matron had been Judith Graves who retired in November 1971. This week the last matron at Eccleston Hall Hospital retired. She was Mildred Walker who during her 26 years in St Helens had witnessed much change. Upon Miss Walker's arrival at Eccleston Hall in 1946, most of the inmates had tuberculosis – but now there was not a single TB patient in the hospital. When she was training to be a nurse, Miss Walker said her salary had been only £18 a year with just one afternoon a week off.
I recently described how Whiston Council were making ten of their houses available to Asian families that were being expelled from Uganda. This week St Helens Council followed suit and made a similar offer of ten homes to those Idi Amin was cruelly ordering to leave his country by November. However, Terence Dennier, the Director of Social Services, thought that the Ugandan Asians might be reluctant to move to St Helens.
That was because those that had already arrived in Britain tended to obtain a job first before relocating – and St Helens currently had a high unemployment rate. Mr Dennier added: "It appears that these poor people have left with very little and we'll be doing our best to help, but at the moment we know very little as to what will be required of us."
A mysterious blast was troubling the residents of Heyes Avenue in Rainford. On four occasions within a fortnight, explosions had rattled the windows of their homes. An electricity substation was initially thought the most likely suspect but was ruled out after an investigation by Manweb. Local farmers also denied using explosives for rodent control.
So the police were called in but were making slow progress, as a spokesman explained: "We are making enquiries into this matter, but up to now have not been able to find the cause for the explosions. It is a mystery at the moment." However, despite Guy Fawkes night still being a month away, ten bonfires had been prematurely lit in St Helens last weekend. And in a separate news story this week, St Helens Fire Brigade appealed to parents to keep a close watch on their children. That makes me wonder whether the mysterious Heyes Avenue blasts could simply have been mischievous kids setting off bangers outside windows?
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the new Giro orders for the St Helens unemployed, a complaint that the new market resembled the Black Hole of Calcutta, the Reporter calls for a clean up of the town and criticism of dangerous discharging of fireworks.
This week's stories include Leathers' promised anti-pollution measures, the Capitol Cinema's all-night screenings, St Helens Council agrees to take in expelled Ugandan Asians, the mysterious Rainford explosions, the man who said St Helens folk were a scruffy shower and campaigners pack the council chamber to protest against the Fair Rents Act.
We begin on the 7th when the Dooley Family appeared at St Helens Town Social Club in Hoghton Road.
The group was still five years away from having their first hit record under their shortened name of the Dooleys.
Then on the following day Ralph McTell was in concert at the Theatre Royal in Corporation Street.
St Helens was one of the first places in the country to provide a permanent site for travellers – who in the 1970s were routinely referred to as gipsies.
Those local authorities that had created such sites could now apply for authority to control unauthorised gipsy camps.
Consequently, St Helens this week became one of only three places to be granted such powers, with Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent being the other two towns.
So, from January 1973, it would be an offence for a traveller to park their caravan on land in St Helens without the consent of the owner.
If that occurred St Helens Council could make an application to magistrates for an eviction order.
At St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 4th it was revealed that Leathers Chemicals were planning to spend £100,000 on anti-pollution measures at their sulphuric acid works in Lancots Lane.
Representatives of the council had met up with Leathers and British Sidac to discuss the deteriorating situation in Sutton, after an action group had collated a petition calling for Government intervention.
Leathers estimated that their safety improvements would take 10 to 12 weeks to complete and the firm promised to shut down production if any leaks occurred during that period.
Sutton councillor Ron Kerr said after the meeting that he was delighted that progress had been made but he would be keeping a close watch on the situation.
The action group – led by Barbara Fairhurst of Hoghton Road and Mary Smith and Gladys Hartness, both of Massey Street – also decided to suspend their threatened plan to picket the plant.
However, as one group of angry women were placated (at least for the time being), so another lot expressed their fury.
Irate housewives fuming about increases in their council house rents attended the meeting to lobby councillors.
The rises averaged 80p per week (about £12 in today's money) and had been implemented as a result of the Corporation adopting the Housing Finance Act, or Fair Rents Act, as it was generally known.
Placard-bearing women and children stood on the Town Hall steps and protestors packed the council chambers.
Of course, what one person considers fair as a result of some new measure being introduced, another may describe as unfair, particularly if they are worse off as a result!
Margaret Marren, the secretary of the Parr Tenants Association, told the Reporter:
"Ourselves and the committee, and the majority of people have no objection to the lower paid workers, the sick, and the genuinely unemployed paying less rent, but not at the expense of our rents going up."
The death was announced this week of Albert Hart of Hard Lane, the owner of Hart's large department store in St Helens.
Albert passed away at the age of 76 and had begun his working life on a stall in St Helens Market.
Then in 1934 he opened a small shop in Church Street and over the years the business was expanded until it now employed 100 staff.
The two-storey premises covered 30,000 square feet with 44 departments and later in 1972 would be sold to Lewis's.
Two weeks ago the Reporter had announced council plans to pedestrianise parts of the town centre.
On the 6th they described how the Borough Engineer had given further details to a meeting of the Chamber of Trade:
"The town centre should be a paradise for pedestrians in a few years, for St. Helens Council are planning to pave over Church Street, Bridge Street, Hardshaw Street, Barrow Street and Westfield Street to keep out the traffic.
"Details of a project to ban cars was revealed in full at a meeting this week between the Borough Engineer Mr. George James and local traders.
"He said this would remove the noise and fumes of traffic from the streets, and it was hoped that boxes of flowers would be placed there to make them pleasant.
"Among the facts he disclosed about the town centre redevelopment was that St. Helens could be getting a bus station in place of the numerous bus stops in the centre."
The floodgates opened after the editor of the Reporter had invited its readers to suggest improvements to St Helens.
That was after a survey had revealed that local residents were highly critical of their own town.
Graham Mercer from Derbyshire Hill wrote an essay on the subject, which began:
"I was surprised to read in last Friday's Reporter that 72 per cent. of the people interviewed in an opinion poll had a bad impression of St. Helens. I would have expected at least 92 per cent. (the remaining eight per cent. being made up of the blind, the completely mindless and the council).
"It is encouraging, however to see that more and more people are not only aware of the ugliness and tastelessness of their surroundings, but are taking positive action against it."
However, another correspondent felt that it was not so much the town that needed improving – but its people:
"As a worker in St. Helens but fortunately not a resident, I entirely agree that the town is a disgusting shambles. Why? Because the inhabitants are a scruffy “shower” without any personal or civic pride.
"The men are only interested in the three Bs – birds, betting and booze. The women (the hair-roller brigade!), are only happy if they have their bingo, telly and priest.
"A large percentage of the young people are undisciplined and of low educational standard. Their idea of beautifying the town is writing rude works on walls.
"The answer – education. We must teach our children to have regard for their town, for other people's possessions and to have pride in themselves. It's about time parents thought more and teachers taught more!" – G. ALLEN
The Reporter described how the Capitol Cinema in St Helens was planning to cater for night owls and insomniacs.
Manager Alan Peel had decided to introduce all-night screenings from 11 pm until about 7:30 am.
The Friday night / Saturday morning shows would comprise five films for a 75p ticket and would be the first all-nighters in the North West.
"I encouraged it because I've seen it work in other parts," said Mr Peel. "If it's a success in St. Helens, it's going to be tried out in Manchester and Liverpool. I'm sure it will appeal to cinemagoers. I've chosen a varied set programme, so there will be something for everyone."
The Reporter was also able to describe how work on a new £500,000 mail centre for St Helens (around £7m in today's money) was set to begin towards the end of the year. It was expected that about 150 men would be based there.
The complex in Liverpool Road would allow the Post Office to gather together its "scattered tribes" from various parts of the town and install them under one roof.
Letters were currently sorted in Lincoln House and parcels in a prefabricated building in Birchley Street.
The new building would include a transport workshop and require special foundations to be dug because of the risk of mining subsidence. Work was expected to take about 18 months to complete.
It was now NHS policy that when a matron at a hospital retired, the post was abolished and a chief nursing officer took her place.
Whiston Hospital's last matron had been Judith Graves who retired in November 1971.
This week the last matron at Eccleston Hall Hospital retired. She was Mildred Walker who during her 26 years in St Helens had witnessed much change.
Upon Miss Walker's arrival at Eccleston Hall in 1946, most of the inmates had tuberculosis – but now there was not a single TB patient in the hospital.
When she was training to be a nurse, Miss Walker said her salary had been only £18 a year with just one afternoon a week off.
I recently described how Whiston Council were making ten of their houses available to Asian families that were being expelled from Uganda.
This week St Helens Council followed suit and made a similar offer of ten homes to those Idi Amin was cruelly ordering to leave his country by November.
However, Terence Dennier, the Director of Social Services, thought that the Ugandan Asians might be reluctant to move to St Helens.
That was because those that had already arrived in Britain tended to obtain a job first before relocating – and St Helens currently had a high unemployment rate.
Mr Dennier added: "It appears that these poor people have left with very little and we'll be doing our best to help, but at the moment we know very little as to what will be required of us."
A mysterious blast was troubling the residents of Heyes Avenue in Rainford. On four occasions within a fortnight, explosions had rattled the windows of their homes.
An electricity substation was initially thought the most likely suspect but was ruled out after an investigation by Manweb. Local farmers also denied using explosives for rodent control.
So the police were called in but were making slow progress, as a spokesman explained:
"We are making enquiries into this matter, but up to now have not been able to find the cause for the explosions. It is a mystery at the moment."
However, despite Guy Fawkes night still being a month away, ten bonfires had been prematurely lit in St Helens last weekend.
And in a separate news story this week, St Helens Fire Brigade appealed to parents to keep a close watch on their children.
That makes me wonder whether the mysterious Heyes Avenue blasts could simply have been mischievous kids setting off bangers outside windows?
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the new Giro orders for the St Helens unemployed, a complaint that the new market resembled the Black Hole of Calcutta, the Reporter calls for a clean up of the town and criticism of dangerous discharging of fireworks
We begin on the 7th when the Dooley Family appeared at St Helens Town Social Club in Hoghton Road.
The group was still five years away from having their first hit record under their shortened name of the Dooleys.
Then on the following day Ralph McTell was in concert at the Theatre Royal in Corporation Street.
St Helens was one of the first places in the country to provide a permanent site for travellers – who in the 1970s were routinely referred to as gipsies.
Those local authorities that had created such sites could now apply for authority to control unauthorised gipsy camps.
Consequently, St Helens this week became one of only three places to be granted such powers, with Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent being the other two towns.
So, from January 1973, it would be an offence for a traveller to park their caravan on land in St Helens without the consent of the owner.
If that occurred St Helens Council could make an application to magistrates for an eviction order.
At St Helens Council's monthly meeting on the 4th it was revealed that Leathers Chemicals were planning to spend £100,000 on anti-pollution measures at their sulphuric acid works in Lancots Lane.
Representatives of the council had met up with Leathers and British Sidac to discuss the deteriorating situation in Sutton, after an action group had collated a petition calling for Government intervention.
Leathers estimated that their safety improvements would take 10 to 12 weeks to complete and the firm promised to shut down production if any leaks occurred during that period.
Sutton councillor Ron Kerr said after the meeting that he was delighted that progress had been made but he would be keeping a close watch on the situation.
The action group – led by Barbara Fairhurst of Hoghton Road and Mary Smith and Gladys Hartness, both of Massey Street – also decided to suspend their threatened plan to picket the plant.
However, as one group of angry women were placated (at least for the time being), so another lot expressed their fury.
Irate housewives fuming about increases in their council house rents attended the meeting to lobby councillors.
The rises averaged 80p per week (about £12 in today's money) and had been implemented as a result of the Corporation adopting the Housing Finance Act, or Fair Rents Act, as it was generally known.
Of course, what one person considers fair as a result of some new measure being introduced, another may describe as unfair, particularly if they are worse off as a result!
Margaret Marren, the secretary of the Parr Tenants Association, told the Reporter:
"Ourselves and the committee, and the majority of people have no objection to the lower paid workers, the sick, and the genuinely unemployed paying less rent, but not at the expense of our rents going up."
The death was announced this week of Albert Hart of Hard Lane, the owner of Hart's large department store in St Helens.
Albert passed away at the age of 76 and had begun his working life on a stall in St Helens Market.
Then in 1934 he opened a small shop in Church Street and over the years the business was expanded until it now employed 100 staff.
The two-storey premises covered 30,000 square feet with 44 departments and later in 1972 would be sold to Lewis's.
On the 6th they described how the Borough Engineer had given further details to a meeting of the Chamber of Trade:
"The town centre should be a paradise for pedestrians in a few years, for St. Helens Council are planning to pave over Church Street, Bridge Street, Hardshaw Street, Barrow Street and Westfield Street to keep out the traffic.
"Details of a project to ban cars was revealed in full at a meeting this week between the Borough Engineer Mr. George James and local traders.
"He said this would remove the noise and fumes of traffic from the streets, and it was hoped that boxes of flowers would be placed there to make them pleasant.
"Among the facts he disclosed about the town centre redevelopment was that St. Helens could be getting a bus station in place of the numerous bus stops in the centre."
The floodgates opened after the editor of the Reporter had invited its readers to suggest improvements to St Helens.
That was after a survey had revealed that local residents were highly critical of their own town.
Graham Mercer from Derbyshire Hill wrote an essay on the subject, which began:
"I was surprised to read in last Friday's Reporter that 72 per cent. of the people interviewed in an opinion poll had a bad impression of St. Helens. I would have expected at least 92 per cent. (the remaining eight per cent. being made up of the blind, the completely mindless and the council).
"It is encouraging, however to see that more and more people are not only aware of the ugliness and tastelessness of their surroundings, but are taking positive action against it."
However, another correspondent felt that it was not so much the town that needed improving – but its people:
"As a worker in St. Helens but fortunately not a resident, I entirely agree that the town is a disgusting shambles. Why? Because the inhabitants are a scruffy “shower” without any personal or civic pride.
"The men are only interested in the three Bs – birds, betting and booze. The women (the hair-roller brigade!), are only happy if they have their bingo, telly and priest.
"A large percentage of the young people are undisciplined and of low educational standard. Their idea of beautifying the town is writing rude works on walls.
"The answer – education. We must teach our children to have regard for their town, for other people's possessions and to have pride in themselves. It's about time parents thought more and teachers taught more!" – G. ALLEN
Manager Alan Peel had decided to introduce all-night screenings from 11 pm until about 7:30 am.
The Friday night / Saturday morning shows would comprise five films for a 75p ticket and would be the first all-nighters in the North West.
"I encouraged it because I've seen it work in other parts," said Mr Peel. "If it's a success in St. Helens, it's going to be tried out in Manchester and Liverpool. I'm sure it will appeal to cinemagoers. I've chosen a varied set programme, so there will be something for everyone."
The Reporter was also able to describe how work on a new £500,000 mail centre for St Helens (around £7m in today's money) was set to begin towards the end of the year. It was expected that about 150 men would be based there.
The complex in Liverpool Road would allow the Post Office to gather together its "scattered tribes" from various parts of the town and install them under one roof.
Letters were currently sorted in Lincoln House and parcels in a prefabricated building in Birchley Street.
The new building would include a transport workshop and require special foundations to be dug because of the risk of mining subsidence. Work was expected to take about 18 months to complete.
It was now NHS policy that when a matron at a hospital retired, the post was abolished and a chief nursing officer took her place.
Whiston Hospital's last matron had been Judith Graves who retired in November 1971.
This week the last matron at Eccleston Hall Hospital retired. She was Mildred Walker who during her 26 years in St Helens had witnessed much change.
Upon Miss Walker's arrival at Eccleston Hall in 1946, most of the inmates had tuberculosis – but now there was not a single TB patient in the hospital.
When she was training to be a nurse, Miss Walker said her salary had been only £18 a year with just one afternoon a week off.
I recently described how Whiston Council were making ten of their houses available to Asian families that were being expelled from Uganda.
This week St Helens Council followed suit and made a similar offer of ten homes to those Idi Amin was cruelly ordering to leave his country by November.
However, Terence Dennier, the Director of Social Services, thought that the Ugandan Asians might be reluctant to move to St Helens.
That was because those that had already arrived in Britain tended to obtain a job first before relocating – and St Helens currently had a high unemployment rate.
Mr Dennier added: "It appears that these poor people have left with very little and we'll be doing our best to help, but at the moment we know very little as to what will be required of us."
A mysterious blast was troubling the residents of Heyes Avenue in Rainford. On four occasions within a fortnight, explosions had rattled the windows of their homes.
An electricity substation was initially thought the most likely suspect but was ruled out after an investigation by Manweb. Local farmers also denied using explosives for rodent control.
So the police were called in but were making slow progress, as a spokesman explained:
"We are making enquiries into this matter, but up to now have not been able to find the cause for the explosions. It is a mystery at the moment."
However, despite Guy Fawkes night still being a month away, ten bonfires had been prematurely lit in St Helens last weekend.
And in a separate news story this week, St Helens Fire Brigade appealed to parents to keep a close watch on their children.
That makes me wonder whether the mysterious Heyes Avenue blasts could simply have been mischievous kids setting off bangers outside windows?
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the new Giro orders for the St Helens unemployed, a complaint that the new market resembled the Black Hole of Calcutta, the Reporter calls for a clean up of the town and criticism of dangerous discharging of fireworks