FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (4 - 10 SEPTEMBER 1973)
This week's many stories include the home classes for illiterate people in St Helens, anger over delays to classes at St Theresa's School, more criticism of the Chester Lane tip, the television that exploded in Haydock, the house squatting in Brynn Street, the free school milk scheme in Whiston, Eccleston and Bold and the sad plight of many elderly people in Rainhill Hospital.
We begin on the 5th when The Oldham Tinkers (pictured above) performed at the BICC Club in Scotchbarn Lane. One of the folk group’s most popular songs "A Mon Like Thee" had been written by Edmund Hill of St Helens just before the outbreak of WW1. He was a composer of Lancashire dialect poems and songs.
On the 6th an early morning fire at St Helens Rugby Union Club in Moss Lane severely damaged a building containing changing rooms and showers. A policeman spotted the blaze and firemen from Whiston using breathing apparatus fought the flames.
In October 1972 a 220-name petition protested about a St Helens Corporation rubbish dump in a disused clay quarry in Chester Lane. The petition organiser was Jim Scully, whose house in Heswall Avenue backed onto the quarry. He and his wife had only moved into their home two weeks before tipping had begun and they said they had no idea that household rubbish was going to be dumped at that spot.
"When the wind's in the right direction", explained Mr Scully, "the smell is terrible, and I can't describe the number of flies that get into the house. We moved here for a bit of fresh air, but I think we'd be better off back in Liverpool. We were not told of any plans to use the quarry as a refuse tip before we moved."
The council discussed the petition but upon hearing that the tip was being properly run decided to take no action. The story of the tip was back in the St Helens Reporter on the 7th of this week after the Chester Lane Residents Association had threatened a rates boycott over the issue. Nine of them had applied to the South-West Lancashire Valuation Panel for a discount on their rates and two of them – including Jim Scully – had been granted a £4 reduction.
But the 32-year-old felt that was only a "crumb" and described life on the estate as a nightmare through dust, flies and vermin emanating from the tip. Mr Scully was also angry with Wimpeys, claiming that the house builders had not warned him of the new rubbish dump and he said solicitors' searches had also failed to find the tip. The residents were now set to go on a rates strike unless the Corporation cut the rateable value of their homes by £25.
The Reporter’s front-page lead described how some parents were angry over the way a delay to their child's schooling had been handled. The only announcement that school for 5-year-olds at St Theresa's in Gartons Lane in Sutton Manor (pictured above) would not begin at the start of September had been made on the previous Sunday.
Then the Parish Priest Fr Cornelius McEnroe had told his congregation that their new classrooms would not be ready for at least three more weeks. Those parents that were not present at the service were left unaware of the delayed start and as a result several children were turned away at the school gates. One was five-year-old Paul Creedon of Ember Drive and his father Mike was described as "hopping mad", telling the paper: "Paul was really looking forward to starting school and he is very upset. He should have been told properly."
The son of Gwynn Jones of Hammersley Avenue in Clock Face was also sent home and Mr Jones told the Reporter: "I'm disgusted". However, Father McEnroe was unrepentant, seemingly feeling that the parents of children in his Roman Catholic school should be attending his services, saying: "When the classrooms are completed it will again be given out in church."
In 1970 the St Helens Council of Social Service had revealed that there were some people in St Helens that were completely illiterate. However, the organisation did not know how many such individuals there were in the town as people were too embarrassed to admit their illiteracy.
This week the Reporter described how "secret" classes were going to be organised to "free illiterate people from the anguish of being unable to read or write". I think "private" or "confidential" classes would be better word choices as volunteers were being recruited to help teach adults to read and write in their own homes.
In January 1973 Whiston Rural Council introduced their plan to circumvent the Government's axing of free school milk to children aged over seven. That was a decision that Education Minister Margaret Thatcher had controversially taken in 1971. Whiston Council's jurisdiction then included Eccleston, Rainhill, Bold, Whiston, Hale and Cronton.
And their intention was for the 8,000 children in the 36 junior schools within those areas to each morning receive a third of a pint of milk each. As Lancashire County Council had banned the distribution of milk on school premises, volunteers were forced to stand at the school gates doling out milk cartons to the children as they arrived. The scheme had limited success due to a lack of volunteers and Whiston Council's limited budget.
This week the Reporter described how the "rebel council" was planning to repeat the hand-out and it had earmarked £13,000 in its budget for free milk. However, the organisers only had 40 volunteers so far and so were only targeting 20 schools. If more people came forward then some or all of the remaining 16 schools would be added to their list.
The leader of the Labour-controller authority was Cllr Bernard Glennon who said: "We feel that the introduction of free milk into schools was good legislation – and to deprive children of this is wrong." Whiston Council only had sufficient money for 14 weeks and when local government reorganisation took place in 1974 it was expected that their milk distribution would have to stop.
I've commented on a few occasions about the difficulties that St Helens Council had in demolishing unfit homes and building new ones. There was often a time lag between the two that led to delays in rehousing. The problem was exemplified in the case of Ian Seymour as described by the Reporter.
The 48-year-old had been living in a decaying home in Central Street. St Helens Corporation had bought it under a compulsory purchase order with the intention of demolishing the house as part of their re-development scheme. However, Mr Seymour refused to budge until the council found him another house to live in. After an eviction order was served, Mr Seymour agreed to leave his home but only to take over an empty council property in Brynn Street – 100 yards from the Town Hall.
There he took his furniture and possessions and claimed squatter's rights, which meant that the council could not evict him without a possession order from the High Court or County Court. Mr Seymour claimed his new home in Brynn Street had been empty for a year – but as the Corporation refused to comment to the Reporter on the story, only one side of the dispute was told.
Rita Houghton explained in the Reporter how she and her two-year-old son Geoffrey had had a narrow escape. They had been watching television at their home in Poplar Avenue in Haydock and then decided to go out. After leaving their home the set exploded, wrecking their living room. The damage was so bad that the family had to move in with relatives in Nutgrove while a clean-up operation got under way. Mrs Houghton said: "We were all shocked. If my husband hadn't come home from work earlier than usual, my son and I may well have been killed."
There have been several stories in the Reporter over the last few years about the sad plight of many elderly people in Rainhill Hospital who never received visitors. This week social worker Charles Gordon called for young people to come forward to create a Junior League of Friends at Rainhill, saying:
"These patients have been forgotten. People have tried to hide them away as if they didn't exist. Some of them now have no living relatives so there is no-one to visit them. Some haven't had a visitor for 50 years. Now I'm appealing for young people to come and help them. You can't believe the effect youngsters have on old people. We would like people who could talk to the patients and entertain them – people who could lead a sing-song."
Helen Beech was crowned Pilkington Glass Queen 1973 by Mike Yarwood during the evening of the 7th after beating 12 other contestants. The 18-year-old from Hill Street in St Helens – who was a clerk-typist at the Cowley Hill works – received as her prize a 7-day sea cruise with spending money.
And finally a "what's on" (or "what was on") guide. On the 8th popular French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli performed at the Theatre Royal in St Helens. On the following day the musical '7 Brides For 7 Brothers' began a week's screening at the Capitol. And at the ABC Savoy, the Nanette Newman and Kenneth Haigh film 'Man At The Top' began its second week of screenings.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include another Sutton chemical pollution scare, victory for the mothers' campaign for a lollipop man in Chain Lane, a call for juggernauts to be banned from St Helens' roads and the stuck Sutton Manor Colliery pit cage.
On the 6th an early morning fire at St Helens Rugby Union Club in Moss Lane severely damaged a building containing changing rooms and showers. A policeman spotted the blaze and firemen from Whiston using breathing apparatus fought the flames.
In October 1972 a 220-name petition protested about a St Helens Corporation rubbish dump in a disused clay quarry in Chester Lane. The petition organiser was Jim Scully, whose house in Heswall Avenue backed onto the quarry. He and his wife had only moved into their home two weeks before tipping had begun and they said they had no idea that household rubbish was going to be dumped at that spot.
"When the wind's in the right direction", explained Mr Scully, "the smell is terrible, and I can't describe the number of flies that get into the house. We moved here for a bit of fresh air, but I think we'd be better off back in Liverpool. We were not told of any plans to use the quarry as a refuse tip before we moved."
The council discussed the petition but upon hearing that the tip was being properly run decided to take no action. The story of the tip was back in the St Helens Reporter on the 7th of this week after the Chester Lane Residents Association had threatened a rates boycott over the issue. Nine of them had applied to the South-West Lancashire Valuation Panel for a discount on their rates and two of them – including Jim Scully – had been granted a £4 reduction.
But the 32-year-old felt that was only a "crumb" and described life on the estate as a nightmare through dust, flies and vermin emanating from the tip. Mr Scully was also angry with Wimpeys, claiming that the house builders had not warned him of the new rubbish dump and he said solicitors' searches had also failed to find the tip. The residents were now set to go on a rates strike unless the Corporation cut the rateable value of their homes by £25.
Then the Parish Priest Fr Cornelius McEnroe had told his congregation that their new classrooms would not be ready for at least three more weeks. Those parents that were not present at the service were left unaware of the delayed start and as a result several children were turned away at the school gates. One was five-year-old Paul Creedon of Ember Drive and his father Mike was described as "hopping mad", telling the paper: "Paul was really looking forward to starting school and he is very upset. He should have been told properly."
The son of Gwynn Jones of Hammersley Avenue in Clock Face was also sent home and Mr Jones told the Reporter: "I'm disgusted". However, Father McEnroe was unrepentant, seemingly feeling that the parents of children in his Roman Catholic school should be attending his services, saying: "When the classrooms are completed it will again be given out in church."
In 1970 the St Helens Council of Social Service had revealed that there were some people in St Helens that were completely illiterate. However, the organisation did not know how many such individuals there were in the town as people were too embarrassed to admit their illiteracy.
This week the Reporter described how "secret" classes were going to be organised to "free illiterate people from the anguish of being unable to read or write". I think "private" or "confidential" classes would be better word choices as volunteers were being recruited to help teach adults to read and write in their own homes.
In January 1973 Whiston Rural Council introduced their plan to circumvent the Government's axing of free school milk to children aged over seven. That was a decision that Education Minister Margaret Thatcher had controversially taken in 1971. Whiston Council's jurisdiction then included Eccleston, Rainhill, Bold, Whiston, Hale and Cronton.
And their intention was for the 8,000 children in the 36 junior schools within those areas to each morning receive a third of a pint of milk each. As Lancashire County Council had banned the distribution of milk on school premises, volunteers were forced to stand at the school gates doling out milk cartons to the children as they arrived. The scheme had limited success due to a lack of volunteers and Whiston Council's limited budget.
This week the Reporter described how the "rebel council" was planning to repeat the hand-out and it had earmarked £13,000 in its budget for free milk. However, the organisers only had 40 volunteers so far and so were only targeting 20 schools. If more people came forward then some or all of the remaining 16 schools would be added to their list.
The leader of the Labour-controller authority was Cllr Bernard Glennon who said: "We feel that the introduction of free milk into schools was good legislation – and to deprive children of this is wrong." Whiston Council only had sufficient money for 14 weeks and when local government reorganisation took place in 1974 it was expected that their milk distribution would have to stop.
I've commented on a few occasions about the difficulties that St Helens Council had in demolishing unfit homes and building new ones. There was often a time lag between the two that led to delays in rehousing. The problem was exemplified in the case of Ian Seymour as described by the Reporter.
The 48-year-old had been living in a decaying home in Central Street. St Helens Corporation had bought it under a compulsory purchase order with the intention of demolishing the house as part of their re-development scheme. However, Mr Seymour refused to budge until the council found him another house to live in. After an eviction order was served, Mr Seymour agreed to leave his home but only to take over an empty council property in Brynn Street – 100 yards from the Town Hall.
There he took his furniture and possessions and claimed squatter's rights, which meant that the council could not evict him without a possession order from the High Court or County Court. Mr Seymour claimed his new home in Brynn Street had been empty for a year – but as the Corporation refused to comment to the Reporter on the story, only one side of the dispute was told.
Rita Houghton explained in the Reporter how she and her two-year-old son Geoffrey had had a narrow escape. They had been watching television at their home in Poplar Avenue in Haydock and then decided to go out. After leaving their home the set exploded, wrecking their living room. The damage was so bad that the family had to move in with relatives in Nutgrove while a clean-up operation got under way. Mrs Houghton said: "We were all shocked. If my husband hadn't come home from work earlier than usual, my son and I may well have been killed."
There have been several stories in the Reporter over the last few years about the sad plight of many elderly people in Rainhill Hospital who never received visitors. This week social worker Charles Gordon called for young people to come forward to create a Junior League of Friends at Rainhill, saying:
"These patients have been forgotten. People have tried to hide them away as if they didn't exist. Some of them now have no living relatives so there is no-one to visit them. Some haven't had a visitor for 50 years. Now I'm appealing for young people to come and help them. You can't believe the effect youngsters have on old people. We would like people who could talk to the patients and entertain them – people who could lead a sing-song."
Helen Beech was crowned Pilkington Glass Queen 1973 by Mike Yarwood during the evening of the 7th after beating 12 other contestants. The 18-year-old from Hill Street in St Helens – who was a clerk-typist at the Cowley Hill works – received as her prize a 7-day sea cruise with spending money.
And finally a "what's on" (or "what was on") guide. On the 8th popular French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli performed at the Theatre Royal in St Helens. On the following day the musical '7 Brides For 7 Brothers' began a week's screening at the Capitol. And at the ABC Savoy, the Nanette Newman and Kenneth Haigh film 'Man At The Top' began its second week of screenings.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include another Sutton chemical pollution scare, victory for the mothers' campaign for a lollipop man in Chain Lane, a call for juggernauts to be banned from St Helens' roads and the stuck Sutton Manor Colliery pit cage.
This week's many stories include the home classes for illiterate people in St Helens, anger over delays to classes at St Theresa's School, more criticism of the Chester Lane tip, the television that exploded in Haydock, the house squatting in Brynn Street, the free school milk scheme in Whiston, Eccleston and Bold and the sad plight of many elderly people in Rainhill Hospital.
We begin on the 5th when The Oldham Tinkers (pictured above) performed at the BICC Club in Scotchbarn Lane.
One of the folk group’s most popular songs "A Mon Like Thee" had been written by Edmund Hill of St Helens just before the outbreak of WW1. He was a composer of Lancashire dialect poems and songs.
On the 6th an early morning fire at St Helens Rugby Union Club in Moss Lane severely damaged a building containing changing rooms and showers.
A policeman spotted the blaze and firemen from Whiston using breathing apparatus fought the flames.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 7th and in a front-page article some parents expressed anger over the way a delay to their child's schooling had been handled.
The only announcement that school for 5-year-olds at St Theresa's in Gartons Lane in Sutton Manor (pictured above) would not begin at the start of September had been made on the previous Sunday.
Then the Parish Priest Fr Cornelius McEnroe had told his congregation that their new classrooms would not be ready for at least three more weeks.
Those parents that were not present at the service were left unaware of the delayed start and as a result several children were turned away at the school gates.
One was five-year-old Paul Creedon of Ember Drive and his father Mike was described as "hopping mad", telling the paper:
"Paul was really looking forward to starting school and he is very upset. He should have been told properly."
The son of Gwynn Jones of Hammersley Avenue in Clock Face was also sent home and Mr Jones told the Reporter: "I'm disgusted".
However, Father McEnroe was unrepentant, seemingly feeling that the parents of children in his Roman Catholic school should be attending his services, saying:
"When the classrooms are completed it will again be given out in church."
In October 1972 a 220-name petition protested about a St Helens Corporation rubbish dump in a disused clay quarry in Chester Lane.
The petition organiser was Jim Scully, whose house in Heswall Avenue backed onto the quarry.
He and his wife had only moved into their home two weeks before tipping had begun and they said they had no idea that household rubbish was going to be dumped at that spot.
"When the wind's in the right direction", explained Mr Scully, "the smell is terrible, and I can't describe the number of flies that get into the house. We moved here for a bit of fresh air, but I think we'd be better off back in Liverpool. We were not told of any plans to use the quarry as a refuse tip before we moved."
The council discussed the petition but upon hearing that the tip was being properly run decided to take no action.
The story of the tip was back in the Reporter this week after the Chester Lane Residents Association threatened a rates boycott over the issue.
Nine of them had this week applied to the South-West Lancashire Valuation Panel for a discount on their rates and two of them – including Jim Scully – had been granted a £4 reduction.
But the 32-year-old felt that was only a "crumb" and described life on the estate as a nightmare through dust, flies and vermin emanating from the tip.
Mr Scully was also angry with Wimpeys, claiming that the house builders had not warned him of the new rubbish dump and he said solicitors' searches had also failed to find the tip.
The residents were now set to go on a rates strike unless the Corporation cut the rateable value of their homes by £25.
In 1970 the St Helens Council of Social Service had revealed that there were some people in St Helens that were completely illiterate.
However, the organisation did not know how many such individuals there were in the town as people were too embarrassed to admit their illiteracy.
This week the Reporter described how "secret" classes were going to be organised to "free illiterate people from the anguish of being unable to read or write".
I think "private" or "confidential" classes would be better word choices as volunteers were being recruited to help teach adults to read and write in their own homes.
In January 1973 Whiston Rural Council introduced their plan to circumvent the Government's axing of free school milk to children aged over seven.
That was a decision that Education Minister Margaret Thatcher had controversially taken in 1971.
Whiston Council's jurisdiction then included Eccleston, Rainhill, Bold, Whiston, Hale and Cronton.
And their intention was for the 8,000 children in the 36 junior schools within those areas to each morning receive a third of a pint of milk each.
As Lancashire County Council had banned the distribution of milk on school premises, volunteers were forced to stand at the school gates doling out milk cartons to the children as they arrived.
The scheme had limited success due to a lack of volunteers and Whiston Council's limited budget.
This week the Reporter described how the "rebel council" was planning to repeat the hand-out and it had earmarked £13,000 in its budget for free milk.
However, the organisers only had 40 volunteers so far and so were only targeting 20 schools. If more people came forward then some or all of the remaining 16 schools would be added to their list.
The leader of the Labour-controller authority was Cllr Bernard Glennon who said:
"We feel that the introduction of free milk into schools was good legislation – and to deprive children of this is wrong."
Whiston Council only had sufficient money for 14 weeks and when local government reorganisation took place in 1974 it was expected that their milk distribution would have to stop.
I've commented on a few occasions about the difficulties that St Helens Council had in demolishing unfit homes and building new ones.
There was often a time lag between the two that led to delays in rehousing. The problem was exemplified in the case of Ian Seymour as described by the Reporter.
The 48-year-old had been living in a decaying home in Central Street. St Helens Corporation had bought it under a compulsory purchase order with the intention of demolishing the house as part of their re-development scheme.
However, Mr Seymour refused to budge until the council found him another house to live in.
After an eviction order was served, Mr Seymour agreed to leave his home but only to take over an empty council property in Brynn Street – 100 yards from the Town Hall.
There he took his furniture and possessions and claimed squatter's rights, which meant that the council could not evict him without a possession order from the High Court or County Court.
Mr Seymour claimed his new home in Brynn Street had been empty for a year – but as the Corporation refused to comment to the Reporter on the story, only one side of the dispute was told.
Rita Houghton explained in the Reporter how she and her two-year-old son Geoffrey had had a narrow escape.
They had been watching television at their home in Poplar Avenue in Haydock and then decided to go out.
After leaving their home the set exploded, wrecking their living room. The damage was so bad that the family had to move in with relatives in Nutgrove while a clean-up operation got under way.
Mrs Houghton said: "We were all shocked. If my husband hadn't come home from work earlier than usual, my son and I may well have been killed."
There have been several stories in the Reporter over the last few years about the sad plight of many elderly people in Rainhill Hospital who never received visitors.
This week social worker Charles Gordon called for young people to come forward to create a Junior League of Friends at Rainhill, saying:
"These patients have been forgotten. People have tried to hide them away as if they didn't exist. Some of them now have no living relatives so there is no-one to visit them. Some haven't had a visitor for 50 years.
"Now I'm appealing for young people to come and help them. You can't believe the effect youngsters have on old people. We would like people who could talk to the patients and entertain them – people who could lead a sing-song."
Helen Beech was crowned Pilkington Glass Queen 1973 by Mike Yarwood during the evening of the 7th after beating 12 other contestants.
The 18-year-old from Hill Street in St Helens – who was a clerk-typist at the Cowley Hill works – received as her prize a 7-day sea cruise with spending money.
And finally a "what's on" (or "what was on") guide. On the 8th popular French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli performed at the Theatre Royal in St Helens.
On the following day the musical '7 Brides For 7 Brothers' began a week's screening at the Capitol.
And at the ABC Savoy, the Nanette Newman and Kenneth Haigh film 'Man At The Top' began its second week of screenings.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include another Sutton chemical pollution scare, victory for the mothers' campaign for a lollipop man in Chain Lane, a call for juggernauts to be banned from St Helens' roads and the stuck Sutton Manor Colliery pit cage.
One of the folk group’s most popular songs "A Mon Like Thee" had been written by Edmund Hill of St Helens just before the outbreak of WW1. He was a composer of Lancashire dialect poems and songs.
On the 6th an early morning fire at St Helens Rugby Union Club in Moss Lane severely damaged a building containing changing rooms and showers.
A policeman spotted the blaze and firemen from Whiston using breathing apparatus fought the flames.
The only announcement that school for 5-year-olds at St Theresa's in Gartons Lane in Sutton Manor (pictured above) would not begin at the start of September had been made on the previous Sunday.
Then the Parish Priest Fr Cornelius McEnroe had told his congregation that their new classrooms would not be ready for at least three more weeks.
Those parents that were not present at the service were left unaware of the delayed start and as a result several children were turned away at the school gates.
One was five-year-old Paul Creedon of Ember Drive and his father Mike was described as "hopping mad", telling the paper:
"Paul was really looking forward to starting school and he is very upset. He should have been told properly."
The son of Gwynn Jones of Hammersley Avenue in Clock Face was also sent home and Mr Jones told the Reporter: "I'm disgusted".
However, Father McEnroe was unrepentant, seemingly feeling that the parents of children in his Roman Catholic school should be attending his services, saying:
"When the classrooms are completed it will again be given out in church."
In October 1972 a 220-name petition protested about a St Helens Corporation rubbish dump in a disused clay quarry in Chester Lane.
The petition organiser was Jim Scully, whose house in Heswall Avenue backed onto the quarry.
He and his wife had only moved into their home two weeks before tipping had begun and they said they had no idea that household rubbish was going to be dumped at that spot.
"When the wind's in the right direction", explained Mr Scully, "the smell is terrible, and I can't describe the number of flies that get into the house. We moved here for a bit of fresh air, but I think we'd be better off back in Liverpool. We were not told of any plans to use the quarry as a refuse tip before we moved."
The council discussed the petition but upon hearing that the tip was being properly run decided to take no action.
The story of the tip was back in the Reporter this week after the Chester Lane Residents Association threatened a rates boycott over the issue.
Nine of them had this week applied to the South-West Lancashire Valuation Panel for a discount on their rates and two of them – including Jim Scully – had been granted a £4 reduction.
But the 32-year-old felt that was only a "crumb" and described life on the estate as a nightmare through dust, flies and vermin emanating from the tip.
Mr Scully was also angry with Wimpeys, claiming that the house builders had not warned him of the new rubbish dump and he said solicitors' searches had also failed to find the tip.
The residents were now set to go on a rates strike unless the Corporation cut the rateable value of their homes by £25.
In 1970 the St Helens Council of Social Service had revealed that there were some people in St Helens that were completely illiterate.
However, the organisation did not know how many such individuals there were in the town as people were too embarrassed to admit their illiteracy.
This week the Reporter described how "secret" classes were going to be organised to "free illiterate people from the anguish of being unable to read or write".
I think "private" or "confidential" classes would be better word choices as volunteers were being recruited to help teach adults to read and write in their own homes.
In January 1973 Whiston Rural Council introduced their plan to circumvent the Government's axing of free school milk to children aged over seven.
That was a decision that Education Minister Margaret Thatcher had controversially taken in 1971.
Whiston Council's jurisdiction then included Eccleston, Rainhill, Bold, Whiston, Hale and Cronton.
And their intention was for the 8,000 children in the 36 junior schools within those areas to each morning receive a third of a pint of milk each.
As Lancashire County Council had banned the distribution of milk on school premises, volunteers were forced to stand at the school gates doling out milk cartons to the children as they arrived.
The scheme had limited success due to a lack of volunteers and Whiston Council's limited budget.
This week the Reporter described how the "rebel council" was planning to repeat the hand-out and it had earmarked £13,000 in its budget for free milk.
However, the organisers only had 40 volunteers so far and so were only targeting 20 schools. If more people came forward then some or all of the remaining 16 schools would be added to their list.
The leader of the Labour-controller authority was Cllr Bernard Glennon who said:
"We feel that the introduction of free milk into schools was good legislation – and to deprive children of this is wrong."
Whiston Council only had sufficient money for 14 weeks and when local government reorganisation took place in 1974 it was expected that their milk distribution would have to stop.
I've commented on a few occasions about the difficulties that St Helens Council had in demolishing unfit homes and building new ones.
There was often a time lag between the two that led to delays in rehousing. The problem was exemplified in the case of Ian Seymour as described by the Reporter.
The 48-year-old had been living in a decaying home in Central Street. St Helens Corporation had bought it under a compulsory purchase order with the intention of demolishing the house as part of their re-development scheme.
However, Mr Seymour refused to budge until the council found him another house to live in.
After an eviction order was served, Mr Seymour agreed to leave his home but only to take over an empty council property in Brynn Street – 100 yards from the Town Hall.
There he took his furniture and possessions and claimed squatter's rights, which meant that the council could not evict him without a possession order from the High Court or County Court.
Mr Seymour claimed his new home in Brynn Street had been empty for a year – but as the Corporation refused to comment to the Reporter on the story, only one side of the dispute was told.
Rita Houghton explained in the Reporter how she and her two-year-old son Geoffrey had had a narrow escape.
They had been watching television at their home in Poplar Avenue in Haydock and then decided to go out.
After leaving their home the set exploded, wrecking their living room. The damage was so bad that the family had to move in with relatives in Nutgrove while a clean-up operation got under way.
Mrs Houghton said: "We were all shocked. If my husband hadn't come home from work earlier than usual, my son and I may well have been killed."
There have been several stories in the Reporter over the last few years about the sad plight of many elderly people in Rainhill Hospital who never received visitors.
This week social worker Charles Gordon called for young people to come forward to create a Junior League of Friends at Rainhill, saying:
"These patients have been forgotten. People have tried to hide them away as if they didn't exist. Some of them now have no living relatives so there is no-one to visit them. Some haven't had a visitor for 50 years.
"Now I'm appealing for young people to come and help them. You can't believe the effect youngsters have on old people. We would like people who could talk to the patients and entertain them – people who could lead a sing-song."
Helen Beech was crowned Pilkington Glass Queen 1973 by Mike Yarwood during the evening of the 7th after beating 12 other contestants.
The 18-year-old from Hill Street in St Helens – who was a clerk-typist at the Cowley Hill works – received as her prize a 7-day sea cruise with spending money.
And finally a "what's on" (or "what was on") guide. On the 8th popular French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli performed at the Theatre Royal in St Helens.
On the following day the musical '7 Brides For 7 Brothers' began a week's screening at the Capitol.
And at the ABC Savoy, the Nanette Newman and Kenneth Haigh film 'Man At The Top' began its second week of screenings.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include another Sutton chemical pollution scare, victory for the mothers' campaign for a lollipop man in Chain Lane, a call for juggernauts to be banned from St Helens' roads and the stuck Sutton Manor Colliery pit cage.