FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (21 - 27 AUGUST 1973)
This week's 14 stories include the dangerous concrete pipes in Ashcroft Street, the horror toy rattle of Hinckley Road, a setback for Sutton's hopes of a heli-pad, there's doubt over the future of the Newton Show, the inaugural Rainford Festival takes place, the vandalism and thefts at St David's Church in Carr Mill and concern that St Helens youngsters were buying puncture repair kits to get high.
This week St Helens Corporation and Norwest Construction issued a joint statement warning parents to keep their children away from a construction site in Parr. A new sewer-laying scheme was in progress and huge concrete pipes – each weighing 1½ tons – had been stacked on the bank of a brook near to Ashcroft Street.
Thomas Swift, Norwest's Chief Security Officer, said: "The pipes would be all right left alone but the site is often swarming with kiddies. I've seen about 30 of them at times and even though we have two security men there, the kiddies come back after they've been moved." A child had died in Skelmersdale last year when a stack of pipes on a site had rolled on top of him. "It could happen at Ashcroft Street if children aren't kept away," warned Mr Swift. "The ground under the pipes is a bit unstable and if enough kids were playing on the pipes they could be moved."
The town's Chief Librarian Geoffrey Senior announced an amnesty for overdue book borrowers this week. People who held on to books for too long could be prosecuted and so the 5-day amnesty in October would, as Mr Senior put it, be: "…a painless way of getting books back, and we do want them back."
Stephen Clarke of Birchfield Street in Nutgrove in St Helens was pictured in the Liverpool Echo on the 24th. The 16-year-old former Rivington Road Secondary Modern pupil was described as training as a cook in the Royal Navy.
The St Helens Reporter's lead story on the same day concerned a Japanese-made "horror toy" that contained seven long metal spikes. The rattle belonged to thirteen-month-old Karen Pilkington of Hinckley Road and had come apart while the little girl had been playing with it. "I had the shock of my life when it broke apart", said Karen's father Geoff who was able to take the rattle off her daughter before she could injure herself.
But none of the authorities that the Reporter spoke to appeared too concerned about the dangerous toy. The local Weights and Measures said there was no law to prohibit such toys and the Home Office said a complaint would first have to be made to them and then they would decide whether to take the matter up with the importer.
The Reporter also described how an old St Helens family firm had been sold after 96 years of trading, with furnishers Turley and Son of George Street having been bought by Rigby's of Duke Street.
Terence Hill was also featured in the paper. The 13-year-old had slipped an old key ring that he'd found in the street on his finger – but then couldn't get it off! He even tried a hacksaw on the ring but it stayed put. So Terence's father had to take his son to St Helens Hospital where staff used grease to try and slide the ring off. But it wouldn't budge and eventually St Helens Fire Brigade had to be sent for and they removed the ring using cutters. Dad Fred Hill told the Reporter: "He's always getting into scrapes."
Last week the Reporter predicted that helicopters "skimming low over rooftops" as they prepared to land at a "heli-pad" could soon become a common site in St Helens. That was because Sutton Transport was planning to build a landing area for two helicopters at the rear of their offices in Sherdley Road. The haulage contractors planned to run a commercial hire operation for firms wanting to cut down on their travelling times.
However, the land at the rear of Sutton's offices turned out to be part of Sherdley Park and had already been earmarked by the council as part of the their golf course expansion from 9 to 18 holes. And so Sutton's application to buy the land from the Corporation had been rejected and now the firm had to look for somewhere else to site their heli-pad.
St Helens motorcycle dealer Fred Hartley of Kirkland Street made the pages of the Reporter after banning the sale of puncture repair kits to young people. That was because he believed the rubber adhesive in the 12p kits was being used as a cheap means of getting high. Mr Hartley told the Reporter:
"I got suspicious when the same kids kept coming in the shop for them again and again. Then a lad who used to come in regularly told me he had been to Rainhill Hospital to try and get off sniffing. That was it for me. These kits give youngsters a cheap ‘fix’. Where else can they get high for just a few pence? We used to sell about 25 kits a week. Now it's dwindled right down." The article warned that such sniffers risked unconsciousness and death from suffocation and heart failure.
The Reporter also quoted the Vicar of Sutton from his parish magazine in which he claimed that a "blanket of apathy" now existed in industry when it came to attending both trade union meetings and church services. The Rev. Paul Condor said the trade union movement was suffering a "sad decline from its Christian origins", commenting how the Labour movement in St Helens and Wigan had originally contained a strong link between Christianity and the working class that was now gone, adding: "In their early days, trade union leaders received their training and first experience of public speaking as Sunday school teachers."
The Rev. Joseph Williams of St Mark's Church in North Road was appealing for people who spotted vandalism to contact the police. His parish also included St David's in Carr Mill where lead had been stripped from its roof and damage done to slates and the fabric of the church. The Rev. Williams said:
"This is particularly hard in view of the great expenditure on this church recently in repairs and renovations and particularly in decorating the interior. I would ask people to at least phone the police if they see anything suspicious about our church buildings. Thieves will get very little for their trouble but repairs may cost hundreds of pounds."
The 11th Newton Show had taken place last weekend and critics had complained that there had been too few attractions. This was echoed by its president in the Reporter with John Vardy concerned about the show's future when Newton-le-Willows was incorporated into St Helens:
"The show must go on. We cannot afford to lose our identity when St. Helens takes over. Newton must retain its own show on a bigger and better basis. I want to see this show made a family date, a once-a-year-outing for families that may be scattered. I am glad to say that even now friends and families do make it a place to meet once a year, and I want to see that spirit expand so that Newton never loses its town show."
And the post-mortem on the recently held St Helens Show was continuing in the paper's letters column. Philip Thomas, the secretary of Sutton Harriers whose members trained in Sherdley Park, complained about the damage that the event did to the grassland, writing that the park was still covered in "tin-cans, papers and so on" and was in danger of becoming a vast rubbish heap. A previous correspondent had claimed that since starting in 1969, the annual shows had cost ratepayers a total of £50,000 and were "a bonanza for the amusement, catering, ice-cream, candy floss merchants". Mr Thomas wrote:
"Instead of allowing the borough to subsidise an event characterised by candy-floss, profits to outsiders and damage to the natural environment, the council should help improve the general health of the town by providing adequate sports facilities. I am confident that the ratepayers would rather pay £50,000 towards such a worthwhile venture than give it to those whose interest in the town only lasts as long as the show itself."
Silcock's were a staple of the annual show and their "Grand Fun Fair" took place this week on Haydock football ground at Coopers Lane / Station Road. The event was held between Friday 24th and Monday 27th, with the usual day off on the Sunday. Their advert promised "waltzer, speedway, paratrooper, big wheel, flying chair-o-planes, children's corner – all the fun of the fair".
And the inaugural Rainford Festival also took place over the weekend with various events held to boost Parish Church funds. There was a tug o’ war, veteran and vintage car exhibitions, dog handling display, fancy dress parade and workout by St Helens Sea Cadets and the RAF. The day ended with a dance attended by 500 people. Earlier in the year it was decided that the annual Rainford Carnival should become biennial, with a smaller festival held on the alternate years.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the proliferation of hoax telephone calls in St Helens, the cheeky burglar who entered six homes in one Sutton Leach street, Kwik Save opens in Boundary Road and the new sports hall planned for Rainford High.
This week St Helens Corporation and Norwest Construction issued a joint statement warning parents to keep their children away from a construction site in Parr. A new sewer-laying scheme was in progress and huge concrete pipes – each weighing 1½ tons – had been stacked on the bank of a brook near to Ashcroft Street.
Thomas Swift, Norwest's Chief Security Officer, said: "The pipes would be all right left alone but the site is often swarming with kiddies. I've seen about 30 of them at times and even though we have two security men there, the kiddies come back after they've been moved." A child had died in Skelmersdale last year when a stack of pipes on a site had rolled on top of him. "It could happen at Ashcroft Street if children aren't kept away," warned Mr Swift. "The ground under the pipes is a bit unstable and if enough kids were playing on the pipes they could be moved."
The town's Chief Librarian Geoffrey Senior announced an amnesty for overdue book borrowers this week. People who held on to books for too long could be prosecuted and so the 5-day amnesty in October would, as Mr Senior put it, be: "…a painless way of getting books back, and we do want them back."
Stephen Clarke of Birchfield Street in Nutgrove in St Helens was pictured in the Liverpool Echo on the 24th. The 16-year-old former Rivington Road Secondary Modern pupil was described as training as a cook in the Royal Navy.
The St Helens Reporter's lead story on the same day concerned a Japanese-made "horror toy" that contained seven long metal spikes. The rattle belonged to thirteen-month-old Karen Pilkington of Hinckley Road and had come apart while the little girl had been playing with it. "I had the shock of my life when it broke apart", said Karen's father Geoff who was able to take the rattle off her daughter before she could injure herself.
But none of the authorities that the Reporter spoke to appeared too concerned about the dangerous toy. The local Weights and Measures said there was no law to prohibit such toys and the Home Office said a complaint would first have to be made to them and then they would decide whether to take the matter up with the importer.
The Reporter also described how an old St Helens family firm had been sold after 96 years of trading, with furnishers Turley and Son of George Street having been bought by Rigby's of Duke Street.
Terence Hill was also featured in the paper. The 13-year-old had slipped an old key ring that he'd found in the street on his finger – but then couldn't get it off! He even tried a hacksaw on the ring but it stayed put. So Terence's father had to take his son to St Helens Hospital where staff used grease to try and slide the ring off. But it wouldn't budge and eventually St Helens Fire Brigade had to be sent for and they removed the ring using cutters. Dad Fred Hill told the Reporter: "He's always getting into scrapes."
However, the land at the rear of Sutton's offices turned out to be part of Sherdley Park and had already been earmarked by the council as part of the their golf course expansion from 9 to 18 holes. And so Sutton's application to buy the land from the Corporation had been rejected and now the firm had to look for somewhere else to site their heli-pad.
St Helens motorcycle dealer Fred Hartley of Kirkland Street made the pages of the Reporter after banning the sale of puncture repair kits to young people. That was because he believed the rubber adhesive in the 12p kits was being used as a cheap means of getting high. Mr Hartley told the Reporter:
"I got suspicious when the same kids kept coming in the shop for them again and again. Then a lad who used to come in regularly told me he had been to Rainhill Hospital to try and get off sniffing. That was it for me. These kits give youngsters a cheap ‘fix’. Where else can they get high for just a few pence? We used to sell about 25 kits a week. Now it's dwindled right down." The article warned that such sniffers risked unconsciousness and death from suffocation and heart failure.
The Reporter also quoted the Vicar of Sutton from his parish magazine in which he claimed that a "blanket of apathy" now existed in industry when it came to attending both trade union meetings and church services. The Rev. Paul Condor said the trade union movement was suffering a "sad decline from its Christian origins", commenting how the Labour movement in St Helens and Wigan had originally contained a strong link between Christianity and the working class that was now gone, adding: "In their early days, trade union leaders received their training and first experience of public speaking as Sunday school teachers."
The Rev. Joseph Williams of St Mark's Church in North Road was appealing for people who spotted vandalism to contact the police. His parish also included St David's in Carr Mill where lead had been stripped from its roof and damage done to slates and the fabric of the church. The Rev. Williams said:
"This is particularly hard in view of the great expenditure on this church recently in repairs and renovations and particularly in decorating the interior. I would ask people to at least phone the police if they see anything suspicious about our church buildings. Thieves will get very little for their trouble but repairs may cost hundreds of pounds."
The 11th Newton Show had taken place last weekend and critics had complained that there had been too few attractions. This was echoed by its president in the Reporter with John Vardy concerned about the show's future when Newton-le-Willows was incorporated into St Helens:
"The show must go on. We cannot afford to lose our identity when St. Helens takes over. Newton must retain its own show on a bigger and better basis. I want to see this show made a family date, a once-a-year-outing for families that may be scattered. I am glad to say that even now friends and families do make it a place to meet once a year, and I want to see that spirit expand so that Newton never loses its town show."
And the post-mortem on the recently held St Helens Show was continuing in the paper's letters column. Philip Thomas, the secretary of Sutton Harriers whose members trained in Sherdley Park, complained about the damage that the event did to the grassland, writing that the park was still covered in "tin-cans, papers and so on" and was in danger of becoming a vast rubbish heap. A previous correspondent had claimed that since starting in 1969, the annual shows had cost ratepayers a total of £50,000 and were "a bonanza for the amusement, catering, ice-cream, candy floss merchants". Mr Thomas wrote:
"Instead of allowing the borough to subsidise an event characterised by candy-floss, profits to outsiders and damage to the natural environment, the council should help improve the general health of the town by providing adequate sports facilities. I am confident that the ratepayers would rather pay £50,000 towards such a worthwhile venture than give it to those whose interest in the town only lasts as long as the show itself."
Silcock's were a staple of the annual show and their "Grand Fun Fair" took place this week on Haydock football ground at Coopers Lane / Station Road. The event was held between Friday 24th and Monday 27th, with the usual day off on the Sunday. Their advert promised "waltzer, speedway, paratrooper, big wheel, flying chair-o-planes, children's corner – all the fun of the fair".
And the inaugural Rainford Festival also took place over the weekend with various events held to boost Parish Church funds. There was a tug o’ war, veteran and vintage car exhibitions, dog handling display, fancy dress parade and workout by St Helens Sea Cadets and the RAF. The day ended with a dance attended by 500 people. Earlier in the year it was decided that the annual Rainford Carnival should become biennial, with a smaller festival held on the alternate years.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the proliferation of hoax telephone calls in St Helens, the cheeky burglar who entered six homes in one Sutton Leach street, Kwik Save opens in Boundary Road and the new sports hall planned for Rainford High.
This week's 14 stories include the dangerous concrete pipes in Ashcroft Street, the horror toy rattle of Hinckley Road, a setback for Sutton's hopes of a heli-pad, there's doubt over the future of the Newton Show, the inaugural Rainford Festival takes place, the vandalism and thefts at St David's Church in Carr Mill and concern that St Helens youngsters were buying puncture repair kits to get high.
This week St Helens Corporation and Norwest Construction issued a joint statement warning parents to keep their children away from a construction site in Parr.
A new sewer-laying scheme was in progress and huge concrete pipes – each weighing 1½ tons – had been stacked on the bank of a brook near to Ashcroft Street.
Thomas Swift, Norwest's Chief Security Officer, said: "The pipes would be all right left alone but the site is often swarming with kiddies. I've seen about 30 of them at times and even though we have two security men there, the kiddies come back after they've been moved."
A child had died in Skelmersdale last year when a stack of pipes on a site had rolled on top of him.
"It could happen at Ashcroft Street if children aren't kept away," warned Mr Swift. "The ground under the pipes is a bit unstable and if enough kids were playing on the pipes they could be moved."
The town's Chief Librarian Geoffrey Senior announced an amnesty for overdue book borrowers this week.
People who held on to books for too long could be prosecuted and so the 5-day amnesty in October would, as Mr Senior put it, be: "…a painless way of getting books back, and we do want them back."
Stephen Clarke of Birchfield Street in Nutgrove in St Helens was pictured in the Liverpool Echo on the 24th.
The 16-year-old former Rivington Road Secondary Modern pupil was described as training as a cook in the Royal Navy.
The St Helens Reporter's lead story on the same day concerned a Japanese-made "horror toy" that contained seven long metal spikes.
The rattle belonged to thirteen-month-old Karen Pilkington of Hinckley Road and had come apart while the little girl had been playing with it.
"I had the shock of my life when it broke apart", said Karen's father Geoff who was able to take the rattle off her daughter before she could injure herself.
But none of the authorities that the Reporter spoke to appeared too concerned about the dangerous toy.
The local Weights and Measures said there was no law to prohibit such toys and the Home Office said a complaint would first have to be made to them and then they would decide whether to take the matter up with the importer.
The Reporter also described how an old St Helens family firm had been sold after 96 years of trading, with furnishers Turley and Son of George Street having been bought by Rigby's of Duke Street.
Terence Hill was also featured in the paper. The 13-year-old had slipped an old key ring that he'd found in the street on his finger – but then couldn't get it off!
He even tried a hacksaw on the ring but it stayed put. So Terence's father had to take his son to St Helens Hospital where staff used grease to try and slide the ring off.
But it wouldn't budge and eventually St Helens Fire Brigade had to be sent for and they removed the ring using cutters. Dad Fred Hill told the Reporter: "He's always getting into scrapes."
Last week the Reporter predicted that helicopters "skimming low over rooftops" as they prepared to land at a "heli-pad" could soon become a common site in St Helens.
That was because Sutton Transport was planning to build a landing area for two helicopters at the rear of their offices in Sherdley Road.
The haulage contractors planned to run a commercial hire operation for firms wanting to cut down on their travelling times.
However, the land at the rear of Sutton's offices turned out to be part of Sherdley Park and had already been earmarked by the council as part of the their golf course expansion from 9 to 18 holes.
And so Sutton's application to buy the land from the Corporation had been rejected and now the firm had to look for somewhere else to site their heli-pad.
St Helens motorcycle dealer Fred Hartley of Kirkland Street made the pages of the Reporter after banning the sale of puncture repair kits to young people.
That was because he believed the rubber adhesive in the 12p kits was being used as a cheap means of getting high.
Mr Hartley told the Reporter: "I got suspicious when the same kids kept coming in the shop for them again and again. Then a lad who used to come in regularly told me he had been to Rainhill Hospital to try and get off sniffing. That was it for me.
"These kits give youngsters a cheap ‘fix’. Where else can they get high for just a few pence? We used to sell about 25 kits a week. Now it's dwindled right down."
The article warned that such sniffers risked unconsciousness and death from suffocation and heart failure.
The Reporter also quoted the Vicar of Sutton from his parish magazine in which he claimed that a "blanket of apathy" now existed in industry when it came to attending both trade union meetings and church services.
The Rev. Paul Condor said the trade union movement was suffering a "sad decline from its Christian origins", commenting how the Labour movement in St Helens and Wigan had originally contained a strong link between Christianity and the working class that was now gone, adding:
"In their early days, trade union leaders received their training and first experience of public speaking as Sunday school teachers."
The Rev. Joseph Williams of St Mark's Church in North Road was appealing for people who spotted vandalism to contact the police.
His parish also included St David's in Carr Mill where lead had been stripped from its roof and damage done to slates and the fabric of the church. The Rev. Williams said:
"This is particularly hard in view of the great expenditure on this church recently in repairs and renovations and particularly in decorating the interior.
"I would ask people to at least phone the police if they see anything suspicious about our church buildings. Thieves will get very little for their trouble but repairs may cost hundreds of pounds."
The 11th Newton Show had taken place last weekend and critics had complained that there had been too few attractions.
This was echoed by its president in the Reporter with John Vardy concerned about the show's future when Newton-le-Willows was incorporated into St Helens:
"The show must go on. We cannot afford to lose our identity when St. Helens takes over. Newton must retain its own show on a bigger and better basis. I want to see this show made a family date, a once-a-year-outing for families that may be scattered.
"I am glad to say that even now friends and families do make it a place to meet once a year, and I want to see that spirit expand so that Newton never loses its town show."
And the post-mortem on the recently held St Helens Show was continuing in the paper's letters column.
Philip Thomas, the secretary of Sutton Harriers whose members trained in Sherdley Park, complained about the damage that the event did to the grassland, writing that the park was still covered in "tin-cans, papers and so on" and was in danger of becoming a vast rubbish heap.
A previous correspondent had claimed that since starting in 1969, the annual shows had cost ratepayers a total of £50,000 and were "a bonanza for the amusement, catering, ice-cream, candy floss merchants". Mr Thomas wrote:
"Instead of allowing the borough to subsidise an event characterised by candy-floss, profits to outsiders and damage to the natural environment, the council should help improve the general health of the town by providing adequate sports facilities.
"I am confident that the ratepayers would rather pay £50,000 towards such a worthwhile venture than give it to those whose interest in the town only lasts as long as the show itself."
Silcock's were a staple of the annual show and their "Grand Fun Fair" took place this week on Haydock football ground at Coopers Lane / Station Road.
The event was held between Friday 24th and Monday 27th, with the usual day off on the Sunday.
Their advert promised "waltzer, speedway, paratrooper, big wheel, flying chair-o-planes, children's corner – all the fun of the fair".
And the inaugural Rainford Festival also took place over the weekend with various events held to boost Parish Church funds.
There was a tug o’ war, veteran and vintage car exhibitions, dog handling display, fancy dress parade and workout by St Helens Sea Cadets and the RAF. The day ended with a dance attended by 500 people.
Earlier in the year it was decided that the annual Rainford Carnival should become biennial, with a smaller festival held on the alternate years.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the proliferation of hoax telephone calls in St Helens, the cheeky burglar who entered six homes in one Sutton Leach street, Kwik Save opens in Boundary Road and the new sports hall planned for Rainford High.
This week St Helens Corporation and Norwest Construction issued a joint statement warning parents to keep their children away from a construction site in Parr.
A new sewer-laying scheme was in progress and huge concrete pipes – each weighing 1½ tons – had been stacked on the bank of a brook near to Ashcroft Street.
Thomas Swift, Norwest's Chief Security Officer, said: "The pipes would be all right left alone but the site is often swarming with kiddies. I've seen about 30 of them at times and even though we have two security men there, the kiddies come back after they've been moved."
A child had died in Skelmersdale last year when a stack of pipes on a site had rolled on top of him.
"It could happen at Ashcroft Street if children aren't kept away," warned Mr Swift. "The ground under the pipes is a bit unstable and if enough kids were playing on the pipes they could be moved."
The town's Chief Librarian Geoffrey Senior announced an amnesty for overdue book borrowers this week.
People who held on to books for too long could be prosecuted and so the 5-day amnesty in October would, as Mr Senior put it, be: "…a painless way of getting books back, and we do want them back."
Stephen Clarke of Birchfield Street in Nutgrove in St Helens was pictured in the Liverpool Echo on the 24th.
The 16-year-old former Rivington Road Secondary Modern pupil was described as training as a cook in the Royal Navy.
The St Helens Reporter's lead story on the same day concerned a Japanese-made "horror toy" that contained seven long metal spikes.
The rattle belonged to thirteen-month-old Karen Pilkington of Hinckley Road and had come apart while the little girl had been playing with it.
"I had the shock of my life when it broke apart", said Karen's father Geoff who was able to take the rattle off her daughter before she could injure herself.
But none of the authorities that the Reporter spoke to appeared too concerned about the dangerous toy.
The local Weights and Measures said there was no law to prohibit such toys and the Home Office said a complaint would first have to be made to them and then they would decide whether to take the matter up with the importer.
The Reporter also described how an old St Helens family firm had been sold after 96 years of trading, with furnishers Turley and Son of George Street having been bought by Rigby's of Duke Street.
Terence Hill was also featured in the paper. The 13-year-old had slipped an old key ring that he'd found in the street on his finger – but then couldn't get it off!
He even tried a hacksaw on the ring but it stayed put. So Terence's father had to take his son to St Helens Hospital where staff used grease to try and slide the ring off.
But it wouldn't budge and eventually St Helens Fire Brigade had to be sent for and they removed the ring using cutters. Dad Fred Hill told the Reporter: "He's always getting into scrapes."
That was because Sutton Transport was planning to build a landing area for two helicopters at the rear of their offices in Sherdley Road.
The haulage contractors planned to run a commercial hire operation for firms wanting to cut down on their travelling times.
However, the land at the rear of Sutton's offices turned out to be part of Sherdley Park and had already been earmarked by the council as part of the their golf course expansion from 9 to 18 holes.
And so Sutton's application to buy the land from the Corporation had been rejected and now the firm had to look for somewhere else to site their heli-pad.
St Helens motorcycle dealer Fred Hartley of Kirkland Street made the pages of the Reporter after banning the sale of puncture repair kits to young people.
That was because he believed the rubber adhesive in the 12p kits was being used as a cheap means of getting high.
Mr Hartley told the Reporter: "I got suspicious when the same kids kept coming in the shop for them again and again. Then a lad who used to come in regularly told me he had been to Rainhill Hospital to try and get off sniffing. That was it for me.
"These kits give youngsters a cheap ‘fix’. Where else can they get high for just a few pence? We used to sell about 25 kits a week. Now it's dwindled right down."
The article warned that such sniffers risked unconsciousness and death from suffocation and heart failure.
The Reporter also quoted the Vicar of Sutton from his parish magazine in which he claimed that a "blanket of apathy" now existed in industry when it came to attending both trade union meetings and church services.
The Rev. Paul Condor said the trade union movement was suffering a "sad decline from its Christian origins", commenting how the Labour movement in St Helens and Wigan had originally contained a strong link between Christianity and the working class that was now gone, adding:
"In their early days, trade union leaders received their training and first experience of public speaking as Sunday school teachers."
The Rev. Joseph Williams of St Mark's Church in North Road was appealing for people who spotted vandalism to contact the police.
His parish also included St David's in Carr Mill where lead had been stripped from its roof and damage done to slates and the fabric of the church. The Rev. Williams said:
"This is particularly hard in view of the great expenditure on this church recently in repairs and renovations and particularly in decorating the interior.
"I would ask people to at least phone the police if they see anything suspicious about our church buildings. Thieves will get very little for their trouble but repairs may cost hundreds of pounds."
The 11th Newton Show had taken place last weekend and critics had complained that there had been too few attractions.
This was echoed by its president in the Reporter with John Vardy concerned about the show's future when Newton-le-Willows was incorporated into St Helens:
"The show must go on. We cannot afford to lose our identity when St. Helens takes over. Newton must retain its own show on a bigger and better basis. I want to see this show made a family date, a once-a-year-outing for families that may be scattered.
"I am glad to say that even now friends and families do make it a place to meet once a year, and I want to see that spirit expand so that Newton never loses its town show."
And the post-mortem on the recently held St Helens Show was continuing in the paper's letters column.
Philip Thomas, the secretary of Sutton Harriers whose members trained in Sherdley Park, complained about the damage that the event did to the grassland, writing that the park was still covered in "tin-cans, papers and so on" and was in danger of becoming a vast rubbish heap.
A previous correspondent had claimed that since starting in 1969, the annual shows had cost ratepayers a total of £50,000 and were "a bonanza for the amusement, catering, ice-cream, candy floss merchants". Mr Thomas wrote:
"Instead of allowing the borough to subsidise an event characterised by candy-floss, profits to outsiders and damage to the natural environment, the council should help improve the general health of the town by providing adequate sports facilities.
"I am confident that the ratepayers would rather pay £50,000 towards such a worthwhile venture than give it to those whose interest in the town only lasts as long as the show itself."
Silcock's were a staple of the annual show and their "Grand Fun Fair" took place this week on Haydock football ground at Coopers Lane / Station Road.
The event was held between Friday 24th and Monday 27th, with the usual day off on the Sunday.
Their advert promised "waltzer, speedway, paratrooper, big wheel, flying chair-o-planes, children's corner – all the fun of the fair".
And the inaugural Rainford Festival also took place over the weekend with various events held to boost Parish Church funds.
There was a tug o’ war, veteran and vintage car exhibitions, dog handling display, fancy dress parade and workout by St Helens Sea Cadets and the RAF. The day ended with a dance attended by 500 people.
Earlier in the year it was decided that the annual Rainford Carnival should become biennial, with a smaller festival held on the alternate years.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the proliferation of hoax telephone calls in St Helens, the cheeky burglar who entered six homes in one Sutton Leach street, Kwik Save opens in Boundary Road and the new sports hall planned for Rainford High.