FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (13th - 19th DECEMBER 1971)
This week's 16 stories include a shocking problem at St Helens Crem, disappointment for Rainhill's mad mile campaigners, the Marshalls Cross pigeon theft, a new nightclub opens in Carr Mill, St Helens Council is told to get a move on with its slum clearance and hopes are raised that the Haydock hole-in-the-heart boy could be home for Christmas.
We begin on the 13th when Rainford Council's Planning Committee decided to support Tom Prescott in his battle to save his joinery business. For two years the 48-year-old from News Lane had run a one-man workshop at the back of a Rainford farm in which he'd made doors and window frames and undertaken household joinery jobs.
However, ten yards of the building was situated on green belt land and the county planning authority had refused him permission to continue in business. Tom had now appealed against the decision and Cllr. George Friar gave him his support, saying: "The joiner's shop seems to have been providing a much wanted service to people in the village. I think we should help him as much as we can to keep his livelihood."
At the St Helens Health Committee meeting on the 15th a letter was read out from the Government, which told the council to get a move on with its slum clearance programme. Later, Thomas Taylor, the Town Clerk, explained what had been said in reply. The Housing Minister, Julian Amery, was told that the council had been forced to put a slum clearance scheme in King Street on hold for six months because the Government would not grant them a loan.
Also there had been issues with rehousing after homes had been demolished. For example, the new Liverpool Road development in St Helens had been delayed because of industrial disputes and there was currently an overtime ban in place. Another contractor had also gone bust. The committee also announced that 290 homes in the Napier Street area of St Helens town centre occupied by 745 people were to be knocked down under the slum clearance programme. The other nearby streets affected were Wilson Street, Talbot Street, Hope Street, Kirkland Street, Peter Street, Pigot Street and Eccleston Street.
A new nightclub at Carr Mill opened its doors on the 15th. It was called the Robinson Crusoe Club and replaced The Sands, which had closed its doors eight months earlier. The nightspot was co-owned by Mike Neary – the 27-year-old proprietor of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street. Adverts for its opening night said: "Starring the fantastic Al Showman. Featuring the Henderson Chamber Band, a 7 piece showband. Plus Johnnie McGee. Superb a-la-carte menu."
On the 16th eleven factory workers at the Sankey Sugar Company in Earlestown were rushed to hospital after being struck down by chlorine gas. The wrong valve had been opened on a cylinder and as a result deadly fumes escaped. Five of the workers were subsequently detained in Warrington General for observation.
For several years concerned parents had been calling for the lowering of the speed limit in Warrington Road in Rainhill (pictured above) and the installation of a pedestrian crossing. Matters came to a head in April 1971 when a six-year-old girl was killed and as a protest, pram-pushing mothers brought traffic to a halt between Rainhill village and the Ship Hotel. That stretch of Warrington Road was dubbed the "mad mile" and many other protests took place.
One demonstrator said: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 mph within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 mph." Well, it certainly did take longer than 24 hours. In fact it took eight months for the campaigners to be told that neither of their demands were going to be met.
This week the Department of the Environment stated that the number of vehicles and pedestrians on the road did not warrant the installation of a crossing and the existing 40mph limit in Warrington Road was considered appropriate. However, the secretary of the parents action committee, Peter O’Connor, vowed that the group would not give up their fight.
The St Helens Reporter's unusual lead story on the 17th began: "Young couples are stampeding for mortgages under a pay-without-pain deal which gives borrowers 35 years to pay for their homes. "Hundreds of inquiries have poured into a St. Helens agent's office which is offering a scheme unique in British building society history." The people offering these "miracle mortgages" and getting this massive free plug were the Alliance Building Society and their agent John Wood of Ormskirk Street. He must have thought Christmas had come a week early!
I preferred the smaller front-page story on Harold Bickerstaffe of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock who had undergone a major hole-in-the-heart operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital. The nine-year-old was making such a good recovery that there were hopes that he might be allowed home in time for Christmas. Three months earlier his 13-year-old brother John had died after undergoing an identical operation – making Harold's recovery even more special for his parents. The term "miraculous" was also used to describe the success of the heart operation – which I think works better when describing health matters rather than a mortgage!
Also pictured on the front page of the Reporter were Sutton boys Raymond Townsend (aged seven), Gary Thompson (six) and Andrew Hill (seven) in their Three Wise Men costumes for their school Nativity play. And inside the paper was a photo of a group of Cowley boys with the matron of the Orchard Dene Home in Rainhill. The 13-year-old lads in the school's art, metalwork and woodwork rooms had made many toys for what were described as mentally handicapped children at the home. Ninety pupils had spent a term making all the gifts – including a rocking chair, a miniature house and a football game.
Helena House's advert in the Reporter said: "There's still time to enhance the Christmas scene with a new three-piece suite." And they were available from "the home of good upholstery" in Baldwin Street for £44.95.
Last week's lead story in the paper said: "A mystery tycoon is master-minding a deal to build a giant night-life complex costing half a million pounds. A casino, luxury nightclub and monster motel will take the place of swings and roundabouts on the edge of Carr Mill Dam, St. Helens." Although the identity of the tycoon "Mr X" was still unknown, the Reporter was this week able to reveal the name of the go-between in the new venture. It was St Helens betting shop owner and former miner Matty Coan, whose real name was John Smith. He told the paper that the six-storey motel would be built by 1973, with the foundations having already been sunk.
The Reporter also revealed that a "prize racing pigeon" worth £100 had been stolen from an allotment in Marshalls Cross Road. Five other birds worth £10 each were also taken in the raid. The stolen pigeons belonged to an unnamed 82-year-old man who was understandably angry about his loss. However, a St Helens CID spokesman pointed out the obvious bright side to a theft of racing pigeons: "The owner is very upset over the loss of his birds. But there's every chance he will get them back. If the thief sets them free they will probably fly back to their home."
There were three Christmas parties pictured in the paper. The British Legion in Liverpool Road had hosted a celebration for 75 children of Post Office workers. And 100 kids of West Park rugby players had also enjoyed their Christmas "do", which included a display of magic and a film show – oh and lots of jellies and ice cream too! Meanwhile thirty children who attended St Helens Hospital's outpatients department had their own Christmas party with presents provided by the League of Friends. Four-year-old Barry Dawson of Tarn Grove in Moss Bank and three-year-old Marie Gordon of Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were pictured in the arms of Santa.
The Reporter also revealed that the staff at St Helens Crematorium (shown above) had a shocking problem on their hands. Their plush new nylon carpet was generating enough electricity to light a five-watt bulb and it was giving workers the tingles in their fingers. Every time someone walked across the deep pile flooring, static electricity collected in his or her body. If the individual then touched a metal surface, such as a door handle, a tingling shock was received.
The problem only occurred when the heating was turned on for the winter and so far experts from the Town Hall, the carpet makers and the Electricity Board had been unable to find a solution. Putting bowls of water around the crematorium chapel in order to earth the carpet's current had been the main advice – but it had not worked.
And my final snippet of news concerns the indebted Providence Hospital, which needed £25,000 to get its finances back into the black (that's around £400,000 in today's money). The community fundraising in aid of the Tolver Street institution was making great strides and this week passed the £15,000 mark.
Also making considerable strides had been the boys of Greenfield House School in Billinge who had run from Lands End to John O’Groats in aid of the Providence fund. Their relay run had brought in £1,000 of sponsorship cash and they were pictured in the Reporter handing some of the money over to the Mayor of St Helens, Charles Martin.
Next week's stories will include how Christmas was spent in St Helens, the babies born on the 25th, the telegraph pole trouble around Boundary Road, the New Year scheme to reduce the council house waiting list and the Dean of St Helens upsets ex-soldiers.
We begin on the 13th when Rainford Council's Planning Committee decided to support Tom Prescott in his battle to save his joinery business. For two years the 48-year-old from News Lane had run a one-man workshop at the back of a Rainford farm in which he'd made doors and window frames and undertaken household joinery jobs.
However, ten yards of the building was situated on green belt land and the county planning authority had refused him permission to continue in business. Tom had now appealed against the decision and Cllr. George Friar gave him his support, saying: "The joiner's shop seems to have been providing a much wanted service to people in the village. I think we should help him as much as we can to keep his livelihood."
At the St Helens Health Committee meeting on the 15th a letter was read out from the Government, which told the council to get a move on with its slum clearance programme. Later, Thomas Taylor, the Town Clerk, explained what had been said in reply. The Housing Minister, Julian Amery, was told that the council had been forced to put a slum clearance scheme in King Street on hold for six months because the Government would not grant them a loan.
Also there had been issues with rehousing after homes had been demolished. For example, the new Liverpool Road development in St Helens had been delayed because of industrial disputes and there was currently an overtime ban in place. Another contractor had also gone bust. The committee also announced that 290 homes in the Napier Street area of St Helens town centre occupied by 745 people were to be knocked down under the slum clearance programme. The other nearby streets affected were Wilson Street, Talbot Street, Hope Street, Kirkland Street, Peter Street, Pigot Street and Eccleston Street.
A new nightclub at Carr Mill opened its doors on the 15th. It was called the Robinson Crusoe Club and replaced The Sands, which had closed its doors eight months earlier. The nightspot was co-owned by Mike Neary – the 27-year-old proprietor of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street. Adverts for its opening night said: "Starring the fantastic Al Showman. Featuring the Henderson Chamber Band, a 7 piece showband. Plus Johnnie McGee. Superb a-la-carte menu."
On the 16th eleven factory workers at the Sankey Sugar Company in Earlestown were rushed to hospital after being struck down by chlorine gas. The wrong valve had been opened on a cylinder and as a result deadly fumes escaped. Five of the workers were subsequently detained in Warrington General for observation.
One demonstrator said: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 mph within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 mph." Well, it certainly did take longer than 24 hours. In fact it took eight months for the campaigners to be told that neither of their demands were going to be met.
This week the Department of the Environment stated that the number of vehicles and pedestrians on the road did not warrant the installation of a crossing and the existing 40mph limit in Warrington Road was considered appropriate. However, the secretary of the parents action committee, Peter O’Connor, vowed that the group would not give up their fight.
The St Helens Reporter's unusual lead story on the 17th began: "Young couples are stampeding for mortgages under a pay-without-pain deal which gives borrowers 35 years to pay for their homes. "Hundreds of inquiries have poured into a St. Helens agent's office which is offering a scheme unique in British building society history." The people offering these "miracle mortgages" and getting this massive free plug were the Alliance Building Society and their agent John Wood of Ormskirk Street. He must have thought Christmas had come a week early!
I preferred the smaller front-page story on Harold Bickerstaffe of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock who had undergone a major hole-in-the-heart operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital. The nine-year-old was making such a good recovery that there were hopes that he might be allowed home in time for Christmas. Three months earlier his 13-year-old brother John had died after undergoing an identical operation – making Harold's recovery even more special for his parents. The term "miraculous" was also used to describe the success of the heart operation – which I think works better when describing health matters rather than a mortgage!
Also pictured on the front page of the Reporter were Sutton boys Raymond Townsend (aged seven), Gary Thompson (six) and Andrew Hill (seven) in their Three Wise Men costumes for their school Nativity play. And inside the paper was a photo of a group of Cowley boys with the matron of the Orchard Dene Home in Rainhill. The 13-year-old lads in the school's art, metalwork and woodwork rooms had made many toys for what were described as mentally handicapped children at the home. Ninety pupils had spent a term making all the gifts – including a rocking chair, a miniature house and a football game.
Helena House's advert in the Reporter said: "There's still time to enhance the Christmas scene with a new three-piece suite." And they were available from "the home of good upholstery" in Baldwin Street for £44.95.
Last week's lead story in the paper said: "A mystery tycoon is master-minding a deal to build a giant night-life complex costing half a million pounds. A casino, luxury nightclub and monster motel will take the place of swings and roundabouts on the edge of Carr Mill Dam, St. Helens." Although the identity of the tycoon "Mr X" was still unknown, the Reporter was this week able to reveal the name of the go-between in the new venture. It was St Helens betting shop owner and former miner Matty Coan, whose real name was John Smith. He told the paper that the six-storey motel would be built by 1973, with the foundations having already been sunk.
The Reporter also revealed that a "prize racing pigeon" worth £100 had been stolen from an allotment in Marshalls Cross Road. Five other birds worth £10 each were also taken in the raid. The stolen pigeons belonged to an unnamed 82-year-old man who was understandably angry about his loss. However, a St Helens CID spokesman pointed out the obvious bright side to a theft of racing pigeons: "The owner is very upset over the loss of his birds. But there's every chance he will get them back. If the thief sets them free they will probably fly back to their home."
There were three Christmas parties pictured in the paper. The British Legion in Liverpool Road had hosted a celebration for 75 children of Post Office workers. And 100 kids of West Park rugby players had also enjoyed their Christmas "do", which included a display of magic and a film show – oh and lots of jellies and ice cream too! Meanwhile thirty children who attended St Helens Hospital's outpatients department had their own Christmas party with presents provided by the League of Friends. Four-year-old Barry Dawson of Tarn Grove in Moss Bank and three-year-old Marie Gordon of Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were pictured in the arms of Santa.
The problem only occurred when the heating was turned on for the winter and so far experts from the Town Hall, the carpet makers and the Electricity Board had been unable to find a solution. Putting bowls of water around the crematorium chapel in order to earth the carpet's current had been the main advice – but it had not worked.
And my final snippet of news concerns the indebted Providence Hospital, which needed £25,000 to get its finances back into the black (that's around £400,000 in today's money). The community fundraising in aid of the Tolver Street institution was making great strides and this week passed the £15,000 mark.
Also making considerable strides had been the boys of Greenfield House School in Billinge who had run from Lands End to John O’Groats in aid of the Providence fund. Their relay run had brought in £1,000 of sponsorship cash and they were pictured in the Reporter handing some of the money over to the Mayor of St Helens, Charles Martin.
Next week's stories will include how Christmas was spent in St Helens, the babies born on the 25th, the telegraph pole trouble around Boundary Road, the New Year scheme to reduce the council house waiting list and the Dean of St Helens upsets ex-soldiers.
This week's 16 stories include a shocking problem at St Helens Crem, disappointment for Rainhill's mad mile campaigners, the Marshalls Cross pigeon theft, a new nightclub opens in Carr Mill, St Helens Council is told to get a move on with its slum clearance and hopes are raised that the Haydock hole-in-the-heart boy could be home for Christmas.
We begin on the 13th when Rainford Council's Planning Committee decided to support Tom Prescott in his battle to save his joinery business.
For two years the 48-year-old from News Lane had run a one-man workshop at the back of a Rainford farm in which he'd made doors and window frames and undertaken household joinery jobs.
However, ten yards of the building was situated on green belt land and the county planning authority had refused him permission to continue in business.
Tom had now appealed against the decision and Cllr. George Friar gave him his support, saying:
"The joiner's shop seems to have been providing a much wanted service to people in the village. I think we should help him as much as we can to keep his livelihood."
At the St Helens Health Committee meeting on the 15th a letter was read out from the Government, which told the council to get a move on with its slum clearance programme.
Later, Thomas Taylor, the Town Clerk, explained what had been said in reply.
The Housing Minister, Julian Amery, was told that the council had been forced to put a slum clearance scheme in King Street on hold for six months because the Government would not grant them a loan.
Also there had been issues with rehousing after homes had been demolished. For example, the new Liverpool Road development had been delayed because of industrial disputes and there was currently an overtime ban in place. Another contractor had also gone bust.
The committee also announced that 290 homes in the Napier Street area of St Helens town centre occupied by 745 people were to be knocked down under the slum clearance programme.
The other nearby streets affected were Wilson Street, Talbot Street, Hope Street, Kirkland Street, Peter Street, Pigot Street and Eccleston Street.
A new nightclub at Carr Mill opened its doors on the 15th. It was called the Robinson Crusoe Club and replaced The Sands, which had closed its doors eight months earlier.
The nightspot was co-owned by Mike Neary – the 27-year-old proprietor of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street.
Adverts for its opening night said: "Starring the fantastic Al Showman. Featuring the Henderson Chamber Band, a 7 piece showband. Plus Johnnie McGee. Superb a-la-carte menu."
On the 16th eleven factory workers at the Sankey Sugar Company in Earlestown were rushed to hospital after being struck down by chlorine gas.
The wrong valve had been opened on a cylinder and as a result deadly fumes escaped. Five of the workers were subsequently detained in Warrington General for observation.
For several years concerned parents had been calling for the lowering of the speed limit in Warrington Road in Rainhill (pictured above) and the installation of a pedestrian crossing.
Matters came to a head in April 1971 when a six-year-old girl was killed and as a protest, pram-pushing mothers brought traffic to a halt between Rainhill village and the Ship Hotel.
That stretch of Warrington Road was dubbed the "mad mile" and many other protests took place.
One demonstrator said: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 mph within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 mph."
Well, it certainly did take longer than 24 hours. In fact it took eight months for the campaigners to be told that neither of their demands were going to be met.
This week the Department of the Environment stated that the number of vehicles and pedestrians on the road did not warrant the installation of a crossing and the existing 40mph limit in Warrington Road was considered appropriate.
However, the secretary of the parents action committee, Peter O’Connor, vowed that the group would not give up their fight.
The St Helens Reporter's unusual lead story on the 17th began: "Young couples are stampeding for mortgages under a pay-without-pain deal which gives borrowers 35 years to pay for their homes.
"Hundreds of inquiries have poured into a St. Helens agent's office which is offering a scheme unique in British building society history."
The people offering these "miracle mortgages" and getting this massive free plug were the Alliance Building Society and their agent John Wood of Ormskirk Street. He must have thought Christmas had come a week early!
I preferred the smaller front-page story on Harold Bickerstaffe of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock who had undergone a major hole-in-the-heart operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital.
The nine-year-old was making such a good recovery that there were hopes that he might be allowed home in time for Christmas.
Three months earlier his 13-year-old brother John had died after undergoing an identical operation – making Harold's recovery even more special for his parents.
The term "miraculous" was also used to describe the success of the heart operation – which I think works better when describing health matters rather than a mortgage!
Also pictured on the front page of the Reporter were Sutton boys Raymond Townsend (aged seven), Gary Thompson (six) and Andrew Hill (seven) in their Three Wise Men costumes for their school Nativity play.
And inside the paper was a photo of a group of Cowley boys with the matron of the Orchard Dene Home in Rainhill.
The 13-year-old lads in the school's art, metalwork and woodwork rooms had made many toys for what were described as mentally handicapped children at the home.
Ninety pupils had spent a term making all the gifts – including a rocking chair, a miniature house and a football game.
Helena House's advert in the Reporter said: "There's still time to enhance the Christmas scene with a new three-piece suite."
And they were available from "the home of good upholstery" in Baldwin Street for £44.95.
Last week's lead story in the paper said: "A mystery tycoon is master-minding a deal to build a giant night-life complex costing half a million pounds. A casino, luxury nightclub and monster motel will take the place of swings and roundabouts on the edge of Carr Mill Dam, St. Helens."
Although the identity of the tycoon "Mr X" was still unknown, the Reporter was this week able to reveal the name of the go-between in the new venture.
It was St Helens betting shop owner and former miner Matty Coan, whose real name was John Smith.
He told the paper that the six-storey motel would be built by 1973, with the foundations having already been sunk.
The Reporter also revealed that a "prize racing pigeon" worth £100 had been stolen from an allotment in Marshalls Cross Road. Five other birds worth £10 each were also taken in the raid.
The stolen pigeons belonged to an unnamed 82-year-old man who was understandably angry about his loss.
However, a St Helens CID spokesman pointed out the obvious bright side to a theft of racing pigeons:
"The owner is very upset over the loss of his birds. But there's every chance he will get them back. If the thief sets them free they will probably fly back to their home."
There were three Christmas parties pictured in the paper. The British Legion in Liverpool Road had hosted a celebration for 75 children of Post Office workers.
And 100 kids of West Park rugby players had also enjoyed their Christmas "do", which included a display of magic and a film show – oh and lots of jellies and ice cream too!
Meanwhile thirty children who attended St Helens Hospital's outpatients department had their own Christmas party with presents provided by the League of Friends.
Four-year-old Barry Dawson of Tarn Grove in Moss Bank and three-year-old Marie Gordon of Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were pictured in the arms of Santa.
The Reporter also revealed that the staff at St Helens Crematorium (shown above) had a shocking problem on their hands.
Their plush new nylon carpet was generating enough electricity to light a five-watt bulb and it was giving workers the tingles in their fingers.
Every time someone walked across the deep pile flooring, static electricity collected in his or her body.
If the individual then touched a metal surface, such as a door handle, a tingling shock was received.
The problem only occurred when the heating was turned on for the winter and so far experts from the Town Hall, the carpet makers and the Electricity Board had been unable to find a solution.
Putting bowls of water around the crematorium chapel in order to earth the carpet's current had been the main advice – but it had not worked.
And my final snippet of news concerns the indebted Providence Hospital, which needed £25,000 to get its finances back into the black (that's around £400,000 in today's money).
The community fundraising in aid of the Tolver Street institution was making great strides and this week passed the £15,000 mark.
Also making considerable strides had been the boys of Greenfield House School in Billinge who had run from Lands End to John O’Groats in aid of the Providence fund.
Their relay run had brought in £1,000 of sponsorship cash and they were pictured in the Reporter handing some of the money over to the Mayor of St Helens, Charles Martin.
Next week's stories will include how Christmas was spent in St Helens, the babies born on the 25th, the telegraph pole trouble around Boundary Road, the New Year scheme to reduce the council house waiting list and the Dean of St Helens upsets ex-soldiers.
We begin on the 13th when Rainford Council's Planning Committee decided to support Tom Prescott in his battle to save his joinery business.
For two years the 48-year-old from News Lane had run a one-man workshop at the back of a Rainford farm in which he'd made doors and window frames and undertaken household joinery jobs.
However, ten yards of the building was situated on green belt land and the county planning authority had refused him permission to continue in business.
Tom had now appealed against the decision and Cllr. George Friar gave him his support, saying:
"The joiner's shop seems to have been providing a much wanted service to people in the village. I think we should help him as much as we can to keep his livelihood."
At the St Helens Health Committee meeting on the 15th a letter was read out from the Government, which told the council to get a move on with its slum clearance programme.
Later, Thomas Taylor, the Town Clerk, explained what had been said in reply.
The Housing Minister, Julian Amery, was told that the council had been forced to put a slum clearance scheme in King Street on hold for six months because the Government would not grant them a loan.
Also there had been issues with rehousing after homes had been demolished. For example, the new Liverpool Road development had been delayed because of industrial disputes and there was currently an overtime ban in place. Another contractor had also gone bust.
The committee also announced that 290 homes in the Napier Street area of St Helens town centre occupied by 745 people were to be knocked down under the slum clearance programme.
The other nearby streets affected were Wilson Street, Talbot Street, Hope Street, Kirkland Street, Peter Street, Pigot Street and Eccleston Street.
A new nightclub at Carr Mill opened its doors on the 15th. It was called the Robinson Crusoe Club and replaced The Sands, which had closed its doors eight months earlier.
The nightspot was co-owned by Mike Neary – the 27-year-old proprietor of the Baccardi Club in Ormskirk Street.
Adverts for its opening night said: "Starring the fantastic Al Showman. Featuring the Henderson Chamber Band, a 7 piece showband. Plus Johnnie McGee. Superb a-la-carte menu."
On the 16th eleven factory workers at the Sankey Sugar Company in Earlestown were rushed to hospital after being struck down by chlorine gas.
The wrong valve had been opened on a cylinder and as a result deadly fumes escaped. Five of the workers were subsequently detained in Warrington General for observation.
Matters came to a head in April 1971 when a six-year-old girl was killed and as a protest, pram-pushing mothers brought traffic to a halt between Rainhill village and the Ship Hotel.
That stretch of Warrington Road was dubbed the "mad mile" and many other protests took place.
One demonstrator said: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 mph within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 mph."
Well, it certainly did take longer than 24 hours. In fact it took eight months for the campaigners to be told that neither of their demands were going to be met.
This week the Department of the Environment stated that the number of vehicles and pedestrians on the road did not warrant the installation of a crossing and the existing 40mph limit in Warrington Road was considered appropriate.
However, the secretary of the parents action committee, Peter O’Connor, vowed that the group would not give up their fight.
The St Helens Reporter's unusual lead story on the 17th began: "Young couples are stampeding for mortgages under a pay-without-pain deal which gives borrowers 35 years to pay for their homes.
"Hundreds of inquiries have poured into a St. Helens agent's office which is offering a scheme unique in British building society history."
The people offering these "miracle mortgages" and getting this massive free plug were the Alliance Building Society and their agent John Wood of Ormskirk Street. He must have thought Christmas had come a week early!
I preferred the smaller front-page story on Harold Bickerstaffe of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock who had undergone a major hole-in-the-heart operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital.
The nine-year-old was making such a good recovery that there were hopes that he might be allowed home in time for Christmas.
Three months earlier his 13-year-old brother John had died after undergoing an identical operation – making Harold's recovery even more special for his parents.
The term "miraculous" was also used to describe the success of the heart operation – which I think works better when describing health matters rather than a mortgage!
Also pictured on the front page of the Reporter were Sutton boys Raymond Townsend (aged seven), Gary Thompson (six) and Andrew Hill (seven) in their Three Wise Men costumes for their school Nativity play.
And inside the paper was a photo of a group of Cowley boys with the matron of the Orchard Dene Home in Rainhill.
The 13-year-old lads in the school's art, metalwork and woodwork rooms had made many toys for what were described as mentally handicapped children at the home.
Ninety pupils had spent a term making all the gifts – including a rocking chair, a miniature house and a football game.
Helena House's advert in the Reporter said: "There's still time to enhance the Christmas scene with a new three-piece suite."
And they were available from "the home of good upholstery" in Baldwin Street for £44.95.
Last week's lead story in the paper said: "A mystery tycoon is master-minding a deal to build a giant night-life complex costing half a million pounds. A casino, luxury nightclub and monster motel will take the place of swings and roundabouts on the edge of Carr Mill Dam, St. Helens."
Although the identity of the tycoon "Mr X" was still unknown, the Reporter was this week able to reveal the name of the go-between in the new venture.
It was St Helens betting shop owner and former miner Matty Coan, whose real name was John Smith.
He told the paper that the six-storey motel would be built by 1973, with the foundations having already been sunk.
The Reporter also revealed that a "prize racing pigeon" worth £100 had been stolen from an allotment in Marshalls Cross Road. Five other birds worth £10 each were also taken in the raid.
The stolen pigeons belonged to an unnamed 82-year-old man who was understandably angry about his loss.
However, a St Helens CID spokesman pointed out the obvious bright side to a theft of racing pigeons:
"The owner is very upset over the loss of his birds. But there's every chance he will get them back. If the thief sets them free they will probably fly back to their home."
There were three Christmas parties pictured in the paper. The British Legion in Liverpool Road had hosted a celebration for 75 children of Post Office workers.
And 100 kids of West Park rugby players had also enjoyed their Christmas "do", which included a display of magic and a film show – oh and lots of jellies and ice cream too!
Meanwhile thirty children who attended St Helens Hospital's outpatients department had their own Christmas party with presents provided by the League of Friends.
Four-year-old Barry Dawson of Tarn Grove in Moss Bank and three-year-old Marie Gordon of Woolacombe Avenue in Sutton Leach were pictured in the arms of Santa.
Their plush new nylon carpet was generating enough electricity to light a five-watt bulb and it was giving workers the tingles in their fingers.
Every time someone walked across the deep pile flooring, static electricity collected in his or her body.
If the individual then touched a metal surface, such as a door handle, a tingling shock was received.
The problem only occurred when the heating was turned on for the winter and so far experts from the Town Hall, the carpet makers and the Electricity Board had been unable to find a solution.
Putting bowls of water around the crematorium chapel in order to earth the carpet's current had been the main advice – but it had not worked.
And my final snippet of news concerns the indebted Providence Hospital, which needed £25,000 to get its finances back into the black (that's around £400,000 in today's money).
The community fundraising in aid of the Tolver Street institution was making great strides and this week passed the £15,000 mark.
Also making considerable strides had been the boys of Greenfield House School in Billinge who had run from Lands End to John O’Groats in aid of the Providence fund.
Their relay run had brought in £1,000 of sponsorship cash and they were pictured in the Reporter handing some of the money over to the Mayor of St Helens, Charles Martin.
Next week's stories will include how Christmas was spent in St Helens, the babies born on the 25th, the telegraph pole trouble around Boundary Road, the New Year scheme to reduce the council house waiting list and the Dean of St Helens upsets ex-soldiers.