FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 9 - 15 JUNE 1975
This week's many stories include the Thatto Heath newsagent's impact-absorbing glass fibre bales for use in motor racing, the festival of joy in Queens Park, the sackings at Grange Park Golf Club for going on strike, there's more concern over the Holiday Moss tip in Rainford and the baby nurse who had brought 10,000 children into the world.
It was a busy seven days at the Theatre Royal this week with the Oldham Tinkers presenting their brand of Lancashire folk music on the 10th. Then on the 11th "the latest singing star" Stuart Gillies was their "special attraction" with the Mutton Chop Band in support.
On the following evening the Hillsiders were back at the Theatre Royal performing their Liverpool brand of country music. And on the 13th and 14th the Rajko Hungarian Gypsy Company appeared "direct from Budapest".
During the 1960s St Helens-born Frances Lee had been regularly seen on TV as a member of the Vernons Girls. The St Helens Reporter on the 13th described how Frances from Edge Street would be giving up show business when she married a Shopshire businessman called Vincent Greenhous. The couple's wedding was due to take place at Nutgrove Methodist Church on the following day.
Grange Park Golf Club made the news this week after sacking all their greenkeeping staff after going on strike for a day. The five men had put in claims for better working conditions and improved pay but after getting nowhere with the club decided to down tools. Head greenkeeper Michael Hudson from Beth Avenue said their base had been an old barn where they ate meals and used a toilet but it was in a dangerous state:
"There are fungicides, and deadly weedkiller only feet away from where we are supposed to eat our lunch. Another few feet away we are expected to exercise bodily functions. All we wanted were better facilities and a pay rise. The two boys [aged 16 and 17] take home less than £16 a week and the other two men's take-home pay is under £20. I get £29 and the club pay the rent and rates for my council house."
Asked by the Reporter to comment, the club said it was a matter for their council to discuss. The five sacked men said they had contacted the Department of Employment who had promised to send a public health inspector to investigate the club.
There was a lovely article and photo in the paper about Sister Hilda Bown, who reckoned that she had delivered more than 10,000 babies in her career. For the last eight years Hilda had been sister-in-charge of the premature babies unit at Billinge Hospital and this week she was presented with a bouquet by Catherine Ogden. The six-year-old had handed over the flowers at a gathering to mark Sister Bown's forty years as a baby nurse.
When little Catherine had been born she had weighed only 1lb 8ozs and while in the unit her weight dropped to just 18 ounces. Her life hung in the balance but Sister Bown's nursing had pulled her through. The 60-year-old told the Reporter:
"The most rewarding moments of my career have been when the babies you nurse walk in to the unit years later. It is always touch and go the first month a premature baby is born. They are very prone to infection, so it is wonderful to see them walking and talking. Many of them visited me when it was their birthdays."
The Holiday Moss tip in Rainford was back in the news this week. In April 1973 when the tip was being developed, Ted Rosbotham of the neighbouring Bridge Farm expressed concern that rats could spread into surrounding areas and the place become an eyesore. Soon Rainford Council were worried about heavy lorries going to the tip endangering children's safety, with up to 200 trips being made each day.
Residents said the vehicles were destroying their village but those concerns had now spread to worries over drainage. Earlier in 1975 tests had showed that watercourses from the tip were polluted and threatening Carr Mill Dam. This week Councillor Tony Brown told the St Helens Planning Committee that foul water that was building up at the tip site could flood acres of fields if heavy rain caused an overflow. The tip's operator Norwaste had been ordered to stop tipping until they complied with improvements but these had still not been undertaken.
Peggy McNamara, the Mayor of St Helens, was pictured in the paper signalling the start of a sponsored bike ride to Southport. The event was to raise funds for the Sunray Appeal and had been organised by Brian Bromilow, who was described as owning a cycle shop in St Helens. I think it was Brian's dad, Eric Bromilow, who owned the North Road shop, although Brian may have managed it.
The Reporter said that famous racing drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi could get a chance to try out a St Helens man's invention – but only if they crashed at the Dutch Grand Prix in nine days time! Thatto Heath newsagent Stuart Robinson had sent 200 of his impact-absorbing glass fibre bales to protect the drivers from an infamous bend.
"The bales are designed to cushion the impact of a crashing car," said Stuart. "They look like 4 ft high sugar bags. All the big names in Grand Prix racing will be in Holland so I hope to get their verdict after the race. I'm going over to Holland on Thursday with a couple of friends. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bales will be a success." But that would only be if the drivers crashed their cars!
This week's unhappy residents in the Reporter were living in Taylor Street in Sutton and were upset about proposals for the development of an industrial site on their doorstep. One of the residents was Alan Moore who said that when the houses had been built on one side of Taylor Street they had been given an assurance that there would be no industrial development on the other side. But garages for a builders' yard had sprung up and as a result of the residents' complaints the council said they would investigate.
The Reporter also described how ten churches in the town had organised a recent "Meet Your Friends" festival in which 500 people had attended. Held at Queen's Recreation Ground, the event had joy as its theme and apart from hymn singing and prayers, there had been performances from gospel singer Kevin Gould and others. United Reformed Church minister, the Rev Malcolm Hill, said: "It was a marvellous evening. People of all ages came into the park and the weather couldn't have been better."
The Liverpool Echo published this short piece on the 13th: "St. Helens firemen searched their fire station garden, to-day for a pair of false teeth. They belonged to a woman who lost them in some rose bushes. Firemen quickly recovered the missing dentures."
On the 14th St Julie's annual gala day took place in the school grounds in Brooklands Road in Eccleston. The events included an 'It's A Knockout' contest, which included a tug o’war and soap box racing. Ninety children from five schools took part with the winners being St Julie's. Later that day the Co-op Social Club in Washway Lane in Haresfinch had the Mayer Sisters, "television's teenage sensation", in concert.
The Echo on the 14th reported that Pilkingtons profits had slumped by £20 million, down from £43.8 million to £23.4. The company blamed the reduction on the recession, which had badly hit motor manufacturers and the construction industry.
On Sunday the 15th, Bold Miners Welfare Band gave a performance in Taylor Park as part of the council's "bands in parks" summer programme. And finally, on the 16th what was advertised as "The Tom O’Connor Show starring the one and only Tom O’Connor" was at the Theatre Royal – just in case anyone thought it might star someone else!
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the council's plans to buy a complete village, the bravery of a Billinge bobby, Sutton Parish Gala takes place and a councillor calls the St Helens Reporter the most irresponsible newspaper in the country.
It was a busy seven days at the Theatre Royal this week with the Oldham Tinkers presenting their brand of Lancashire folk music on the 10th. Then on the 11th "the latest singing star" Stuart Gillies was their "special attraction" with the Mutton Chop Band in support.
On the following evening the Hillsiders were back at the Theatre Royal performing their Liverpool brand of country music. And on the 13th and 14th the Rajko Hungarian Gypsy Company appeared "direct from Budapest".
During the 1960s St Helens-born Frances Lee had been regularly seen on TV as a member of the Vernons Girls. The St Helens Reporter on the 13th described how Frances from Edge Street would be giving up show business when she married a Shopshire businessman called Vincent Greenhous. The couple's wedding was due to take place at Nutgrove Methodist Church on the following day.
Grange Park Golf Club made the news this week after sacking all their greenkeeping staff after going on strike for a day. The five men had put in claims for better working conditions and improved pay but after getting nowhere with the club decided to down tools. Head greenkeeper Michael Hudson from Beth Avenue said their base had been an old barn where they ate meals and used a toilet but it was in a dangerous state:
"There are fungicides, and deadly weedkiller only feet away from where we are supposed to eat our lunch. Another few feet away we are expected to exercise bodily functions. All we wanted were better facilities and a pay rise. The two boys [aged 16 and 17] take home less than £16 a week and the other two men's take-home pay is under £20. I get £29 and the club pay the rent and rates for my council house."
Asked by the Reporter to comment, the club said it was a matter for their council to discuss. The five sacked men said they had contacted the Department of Employment who had promised to send a public health inspector to investigate the club.
There was a lovely article and photo in the paper about Sister Hilda Bown, who reckoned that she had delivered more than 10,000 babies in her career. For the last eight years Hilda had been sister-in-charge of the premature babies unit at Billinge Hospital and this week she was presented with a bouquet by Catherine Ogden. The six-year-old had handed over the flowers at a gathering to mark Sister Bown's forty years as a baby nurse.
When little Catherine had been born she had weighed only 1lb 8ozs and while in the unit her weight dropped to just 18 ounces. Her life hung in the balance but Sister Bown's nursing had pulled her through. The 60-year-old told the Reporter:
"The most rewarding moments of my career have been when the babies you nurse walk in to the unit years later. It is always touch and go the first month a premature baby is born. They are very prone to infection, so it is wonderful to see them walking and talking. Many of them visited me when it was their birthdays."
The Holiday Moss tip in Rainford was back in the news this week. In April 1973 when the tip was being developed, Ted Rosbotham of the neighbouring Bridge Farm expressed concern that rats could spread into surrounding areas and the place become an eyesore. Soon Rainford Council were worried about heavy lorries going to the tip endangering children's safety, with up to 200 trips being made each day.
Residents said the vehicles were destroying their village but those concerns had now spread to worries over drainage. Earlier in 1975 tests had showed that watercourses from the tip were polluted and threatening Carr Mill Dam. This week Councillor Tony Brown told the St Helens Planning Committee that foul water that was building up at the tip site could flood acres of fields if heavy rain caused an overflow. The tip's operator Norwaste had been ordered to stop tipping until they complied with improvements but these had still not been undertaken.
Peggy McNamara, the Mayor of St Helens, was pictured in the paper signalling the start of a sponsored bike ride to Southport. The event was to raise funds for the Sunray Appeal and had been organised by Brian Bromilow, who was described as owning a cycle shop in St Helens. I think it was Brian's dad, Eric Bromilow, who owned the North Road shop, although Brian may have managed it.
The Reporter said that famous racing drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi could get a chance to try out a St Helens man's invention – but only if they crashed at the Dutch Grand Prix in nine days time! Thatto Heath newsagent Stuart Robinson had sent 200 of his impact-absorbing glass fibre bales to protect the drivers from an infamous bend.
"The bales are designed to cushion the impact of a crashing car," said Stuart. "They look like 4 ft high sugar bags. All the big names in Grand Prix racing will be in Holland so I hope to get their verdict after the race. I'm going over to Holland on Thursday with a couple of friends. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bales will be a success." But that would only be if the drivers crashed their cars!
This week's unhappy residents in the Reporter were living in Taylor Street in Sutton and were upset about proposals for the development of an industrial site on their doorstep. One of the residents was Alan Moore who said that when the houses had been built on one side of Taylor Street they had been given an assurance that there would be no industrial development on the other side. But garages for a builders' yard had sprung up and as a result of the residents' complaints the council said they would investigate.
The Reporter also described how ten churches in the town had organised a recent "Meet Your Friends" festival in which 500 people had attended. Held at Queen's Recreation Ground, the event had joy as its theme and apart from hymn singing and prayers, there had been performances from gospel singer Kevin Gould and others. United Reformed Church minister, the Rev Malcolm Hill, said: "It was a marvellous evening. People of all ages came into the park and the weather couldn't have been better."
The Liverpool Echo published this short piece on the 13th: "St. Helens firemen searched their fire station garden, to-day for a pair of false teeth. They belonged to a woman who lost them in some rose bushes. Firemen quickly recovered the missing dentures."
On the 14th St Julie's annual gala day took place in the school grounds in Brooklands Road in Eccleston. The events included an 'It's A Knockout' contest, which included a tug o’war and soap box racing. Ninety children from five schools took part with the winners being St Julie's. Later that day the Co-op Social Club in Washway Lane in Haresfinch had the Mayer Sisters, "television's teenage sensation", in concert.
The Echo on the 14th reported that Pilkingtons profits had slumped by £20 million, down from £43.8 million to £23.4. The company blamed the reduction on the recession, which had badly hit motor manufacturers and the construction industry.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the council's plans to buy a complete village, the bravery of a Billinge bobby, Sutton Parish Gala takes place and a councillor calls the St Helens Reporter the most irresponsible newspaper in the country.
This week's many stories include the Thatto Heath newsagent's impact-absorbing glass fibre bales, the festival of joy in Queens Park, the sackings at Grange Park Golf Club for going on strike, there's more concern over the Holiday Moss tip in Rainford and the baby nurse who had brought 10,000 children into the world.
It was a busy seven days at the Theatre Royal this week with the Oldham Tinkers presenting their brand of Lancashire folk music on the 10th.
Then on the 11th "the latest singing star" Stuart Gillies was their "special attraction" with the Mutton Chop Band in support.
On the following evening the Hillsiders were back at the Theatre Royal performing their Liverpool brand of country music.
And on the 13th and 14th the Rajko Hungarian Gypsy Company appeared "direct from Budapest".
During the 1960s St Helens-born Frances Lee had been regularly seen on TV as a member of the Vernons Girls.
The St Helens Reporter on the 13th described how Frances from Edge Street would be giving up show business when she married a Shopshire businessman called Vincent Greenhous.
The couple's wedding was due to take place at Nutgrove Methodist Church on the following day.
Grange Park Golf Club made the news this week after sacking all their greenkeeping staff after going on strike for a day.
The five men had put in claims for better working conditions and improved pay but after getting nowhere with the club decided to down tools.
Head greenkeeper Michael Hudson from Beth Avenue said their base had been an old barn where they ate meals and used a toilet but it was in a dangerous state:
"There are fungicides, and deadly weedkiller only feet away from where we are supposed to eat our lunch. Another few feet away we are expected to exercise bodily functions.
"All we wanted were better facilities and a pay rise. The two boys [aged 16 and 17] take home less than £16 a week and the other two men's take-home pay is under £20. I get £29 and the club pay the rent and rates for my council house."
Asked by the Reporter to comment, the club said it was a matter for their council to discuss.
The five sacked men said they had contacted the Department of Employment who had promised to send a public health inspector to investigate the club.
There was a lovely article and photo in the paper about Sister Hilda Bown, who reckoned that she had delivered more than 10,000 babies in her career.
For the last eight years Hilda had been sister-in-charge of the premature babies unit at Billinge Hospital and this week she was presented with a bouquet by Catherine Ogden.
The six-year-old had handed over the flowers at a gathering to mark Sister Bown's forty years as a baby nurse.
When little Catherine had been born she had weighed only 1lb 8ozs and while in the unit her weight dropped to just 18 ounces.
Her life hung in the balance but Sister Bown's nursing had pulled her through. The 60-year-old told the Reporter:
"The most rewarding moments of my career have been when the babies you nurse walk in to the unit years later. It is always touch and go the first month a premature baby is born. They are very prone to infection, so it is wonderful to see them walking and talking. Many of them visited me when it was their birthdays."
The Holiday Moss tip in Rainford was back in the news this week. In April 1973 when the tip was being developed, Ted Rosbotham of the neighbouring Bridge Farm expressed concern that rats could spread into surrounding areas and the place become an eyesore.
Soon Rainford Council were worried about heavy lorries going to the tip endangering children's safety, with up to 200 trips being made each day.
Residents said the vehicles were destroying their village but those concerns had now spread to worries over drainage.
Earlier in 1975 tests had showed that watercourses from the tip were polluted and threatening Carr Mill Dam.
This week Councillor Tony Brown told the St Helens Planning Committee that foul water that was building up at the tip site could flood acres of fields if heavy rain caused an overflow.
The tip's operator Norwaste had been ordered to stop tipping until they complied with improvements but these had still not been undertaken.
Peggy McNamara, the Mayor of St Helens, was pictured in the paper signalling the start of a sponsored bike ride to Southport.
The event was to raise funds for the Sunray Appeal and had been organised by Brian Bromilow, who was described as owning a cycle shop in St Helens.
I think it was Brian's dad, Eric Bromilow, who owned the North Road shop, although Brian may have managed it.
The Reporter said that famous racing drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi could get a chance to try out a St Helens man's invention – but only if they crashed at the Dutch Grand Prix in nine days time!
Thatto Heath newsagent Stuart Robinson had sent 200 of his impact-absorbing glass fibre bales to protect the drivers from an infamous bend.
"The bales are designed to cushion the impact of a crashing car," said Stuart. "They look like 4 ft high sugar bags.
"All the big names in Grand Prix racing will be in Holland so I hope to get their verdict after the race. I'm going over to Holland on Thursday with a couple of friends. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bales will be a success."
But that would only be if the drivers crashed their cars!
This week's unhappy residents in the Reporter were living in Taylor Street in Sutton and were upset about proposals for the development of an industrial site on their doorstep.
One of the residents was Alan Moore who said that when the houses had been built on one side of Taylor Street they had been given an assurance that there would be no industrial development on the other side.
But garages for a builders' yard had sprung up and as a result of the residents' complaints the council said they would investigate.
The Reporter also described how ten churches in the town had organised a recent "Meet Your Friends" festival in which 500 people had attended.
Held at Queen's Recreation Ground, the event had joy as its theme and apart from hymn singing and prayers, there had been performances from gospel singer Kevin Gould and others.
United Reformed Church minister, the Rev Malcolm Hill, said: "It was a marvellous evening. People of all ages came into the park and the weather couldn't have been better."
The Liverpool Echo published this short piece on the 13th:
"St. Helens firemen searched their fire station garden, to-day for a pair of false teeth. They belonged to a woman who lost them in some rose bushes. Firemen quickly recovered the missing dentures."
On the 14th St Julie's annual gala day took place in the school grounds in Brooklands Road in Eccleston.
The events included an 'It's A Knockout' contest, which included a tug o’war and soap box racing. Ninety children from five schools took part with the winners being St Julie's.
Later that day the Co-op Social Club in Washway Lane in Haresfinch had the Mayer Sisters, "television's teenage sensation", in concert.
The Echo on the 14th reported that Pilkingtons profits had slumped by £20 million, down from £43.8 million to £23.4.
The company blamed the reduction on the recession, which had badly hit motor manufacturers and the construction industry.
On Sunday the 15th, Bold Miners Welfare Band gave a performance in Taylor Park as part of the council's "bands in parks" summer programme.
And finally, on the 16th what was advertised as "The Tom O’Connor Show starring the one and only Tom O’Connor" was at the Theatre Royal – just in case anyone thought it might star someone else!
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the council's plans to buy a complete village, the bravery of a Billinge bobby, Sutton Parish Gala takes place and a councillor calls the St Helens Reporter the most irresponsible newspaper in the country.
It was a busy seven days at the Theatre Royal this week with the Oldham Tinkers presenting their brand of Lancashire folk music on the 10th.
Then on the 11th "the latest singing star" Stuart Gillies was their "special attraction" with the Mutton Chop Band in support.
On the following evening the Hillsiders were back at the Theatre Royal performing their Liverpool brand of country music.
And on the 13th and 14th the Rajko Hungarian Gypsy Company appeared "direct from Budapest".
During the 1960s St Helens-born Frances Lee had been regularly seen on TV as a member of the Vernons Girls.
The St Helens Reporter on the 13th described how Frances from Edge Street would be giving up show business when she married a Shopshire businessman called Vincent Greenhous.
The couple's wedding was due to take place at Nutgrove Methodist Church on the following day.
Grange Park Golf Club made the news this week after sacking all their greenkeeping staff after going on strike for a day.
The five men had put in claims for better working conditions and improved pay but after getting nowhere with the club decided to down tools.
Head greenkeeper Michael Hudson from Beth Avenue said their base had been an old barn where they ate meals and used a toilet but it was in a dangerous state:
"There are fungicides, and deadly weedkiller only feet away from where we are supposed to eat our lunch. Another few feet away we are expected to exercise bodily functions.
"All we wanted were better facilities and a pay rise. The two boys [aged 16 and 17] take home less than £16 a week and the other two men's take-home pay is under £20. I get £29 and the club pay the rent and rates for my council house."
Asked by the Reporter to comment, the club said it was a matter for their council to discuss.
The five sacked men said they had contacted the Department of Employment who had promised to send a public health inspector to investigate the club.
There was a lovely article and photo in the paper about Sister Hilda Bown, who reckoned that she had delivered more than 10,000 babies in her career.
For the last eight years Hilda had been sister-in-charge of the premature babies unit at Billinge Hospital and this week she was presented with a bouquet by Catherine Ogden.
The six-year-old had handed over the flowers at a gathering to mark Sister Bown's forty years as a baby nurse.
When little Catherine had been born she had weighed only 1lb 8ozs and while in the unit her weight dropped to just 18 ounces.
Her life hung in the balance but Sister Bown's nursing had pulled her through. The 60-year-old told the Reporter:
"The most rewarding moments of my career have been when the babies you nurse walk in to the unit years later. It is always touch and go the first month a premature baby is born. They are very prone to infection, so it is wonderful to see them walking and talking. Many of them visited me when it was their birthdays."
The Holiday Moss tip in Rainford was back in the news this week. In April 1973 when the tip was being developed, Ted Rosbotham of the neighbouring Bridge Farm expressed concern that rats could spread into surrounding areas and the place become an eyesore.
Soon Rainford Council were worried about heavy lorries going to the tip endangering children's safety, with up to 200 trips being made each day.
Residents said the vehicles were destroying their village but those concerns had now spread to worries over drainage.
Earlier in 1975 tests had showed that watercourses from the tip were polluted and threatening Carr Mill Dam.
This week Councillor Tony Brown told the St Helens Planning Committee that foul water that was building up at the tip site could flood acres of fields if heavy rain caused an overflow.
The tip's operator Norwaste had been ordered to stop tipping until they complied with improvements but these had still not been undertaken.
Peggy McNamara, the Mayor of St Helens, was pictured in the paper signalling the start of a sponsored bike ride to Southport.
The event was to raise funds for the Sunray Appeal and had been organised by Brian Bromilow, who was described as owning a cycle shop in St Helens.
I think it was Brian's dad, Eric Bromilow, who owned the North Road shop, although Brian may have managed it.
The Reporter said that famous racing drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi could get a chance to try out a St Helens man's invention – but only if they crashed at the Dutch Grand Prix in nine days time!
Thatto Heath newsagent Stuart Robinson had sent 200 of his impact-absorbing glass fibre bales to protect the drivers from an infamous bend.
"The bales are designed to cushion the impact of a crashing car," said Stuart. "They look like 4 ft high sugar bags.
"All the big names in Grand Prix racing will be in Holland so I hope to get their verdict after the race. I'm going over to Holland on Thursday with a couple of friends. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bales will be a success."
But that would only be if the drivers crashed their cars!
This week's unhappy residents in the Reporter were living in Taylor Street in Sutton and were upset about proposals for the development of an industrial site on their doorstep.
One of the residents was Alan Moore who said that when the houses had been built on one side of Taylor Street they had been given an assurance that there would be no industrial development on the other side.
But garages for a builders' yard had sprung up and as a result of the residents' complaints the council said they would investigate.
The Reporter also described how ten churches in the town had organised a recent "Meet Your Friends" festival in which 500 people had attended.
Held at Queen's Recreation Ground, the event had joy as its theme and apart from hymn singing and prayers, there had been performances from gospel singer Kevin Gould and others.
United Reformed Church minister, the Rev Malcolm Hill, said: "It was a marvellous evening. People of all ages came into the park and the weather couldn't have been better."
The Liverpool Echo published this short piece on the 13th:
"St. Helens firemen searched their fire station garden, to-day for a pair of false teeth. They belonged to a woman who lost them in some rose bushes. Firemen quickly recovered the missing dentures."
On the 14th St Julie's annual gala day took place in the school grounds in Brooklands Road in Eccleston.
The events included an 'It's A Knockout' contest, which included a tug o’war and soap box racing. Ninety children from five schools took part with the winners being St Julie's.
Later that day the Co-op Social Club in Washway Lane in Haresfinch had the Mayer Sisters, "television's teenage sensation", in concert.
The Echo on the 14th reported that Pilkingtons profits had slumped by £20 million, down from £43.8 million to £23.4.
The company blamed the reduction on the recession, which had badly hit motor manufacturers and the construction industry.
On Sunday the 15th, Bold Miners Welfare Band gave a performance in Taylor Park as part of the council's "bands in parks" summer programme.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the council's plans to buy a complete village, the bravery of a Billinge bobby, Sutton Parish Gala takes place and a councillor calls the St Helens Reporter the most irresponsible newspaper in the country.