FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (26th DEC. 1972 - 1st JAN. 1973)
This week's stories include the new Lewis's store in St Helens, the stolen poison at Rainhill, the St Helens MP calls Sacred Heart School a Dickensian workhouse, there are complaints over undelivered Christmas mail, the people who took their lives in their hands crossing Dragon Lane, a call for community service to be introduced as a result of park vandalism, the Reporter's New Year baby contest and the old wives' tales hindering the take-up of a distemper vaccine.
We begin with the traditional Boxing Day battle between Saints and Wigan, which ended 15 - 15. The St Helens Reporter wrote: "In the final analysis the draw was a fair result. Both Saints and Wigan were as bad – and as good – as each other."
On the 28th the Pilkington Musical Society began nine nightly performances of 'Jack & The Beanstalk'. The "grand family pantomime" – as described in the Reporter advert – was performed at the Theatre Royal.
The lead story on the front page of the paper on the 29th described how Education Minister Margaret Thatcher was being urged to visit St Helens to "investigate the scandal of a “workhouse” school". The primary school in question was Sacred Heart in Banner Street, which the town's Labour MP Leslie Spriggs described as "like a Dickensian workhouse".
Mr Spriggs had been invited to inspect the conditions at Sacred Heart by its headmaster Stan Holland. After his tour the St Helens MP said: "Tiny tots had to use toilets out in the yard. Coats had to be hung so clustered they had no chance to dry. The windows were so high that the children couldn't see out. There was no proper dining hall, no school field, no shower facilities, no proper library – the school lacked practically all modern amenities.
"Children and teachers shouldn't have to endure conditions like these. When a school gets into a state like this, it should be replaced with no questions asked." The headmaster Mr Holland said he was glad that Mr Spriggs was trying so hard to help his school but he thought comparing it to a workhouse was "a bit strong".
There were complaints in the Reporter about the late arrival of some Christmas mail, which the Post Office blamed on a last-minute rush. That had led to a day's delivery still being in the sorting office on Saturday 23rd when the depot shut down for the holidays. One man reported finding a pile of mail on the pavement in Prescot Road – and promptly delivered it all himself!
The Reporter also described bitter opposition to plans to extend a housing estate in School Lane in Rainhill. Developers wanted to add 48 new houses to the existing 24-home estate but the residents claimed the development would create traffic hazards – and they'd won some support from members of Whiston Rural Council.
The paper was once again running its New Year baby contest, with the first twelve born in St Helens after midnight on December 31st set to receive a 30-shilling gift. Just whether the prospect of thirty bob would induce prospective Mums to somehow have their babies a bit quicker, I rather doubt! However there were other prizes too.
Cholerton's of 166 Duke Street would present the mother of the first born baby with a framed full-size photo of her child and Practical Credit Services of College Street would give her a £5 voucher. And all mothers of New Year's Day babies who bought their prams from Prestts of Duke Street would get a pram canopy free – although I expect the pram would have cost a lot more than the canopy!
Also, Nevins said the mothers of the first five New Year babies would be presented with a voucher worth £1: "Which, as everybody knows, is worth £1.50 at Nevins Superstores". I wonder if the food chain would be able to make such a claim under today's advertising rules?
The Reporter also described a rush for vaccinations since the paper had recently disclosed that a distemper epidemic was threatening to wipe out many St Helens' dogs. However, what they described as "old wives tales" were hindering further take up of the vaccine. Local vets stated that some people thought mongrel dogs were immune from the disease and that only young dogs caught it. "They are both dangerously untrue," explained one St Helens vet. "To a virus, a dog is a dog."
And addressing owners he said: "If you care anything at all about your dog, have it protected. The suffering is appalling." And a spokesman for another veterinary practice said: "We have had 160 animals brought in for vaccination. This is tremendous, but we're still only scratching the surface. There must be hundreds, even thousands, which have never been vaccinated. I don't know how we can bring it home to people. But vaccination is vital."
The Reporter also quoted a Whiston councillor who claimed that crossing Dragon Lane near to the new entrance to Whiston Hospital was "practically impossible" during peak hours. Cllr. Rita Lamont asked Whiston's Highways Advisory Committee to make an application for a zebra crossing at the site, saying:
"People take their lives in their hands crossing – they're largely going to the hospital to work. During clinic times there are a lot of people who are very slow at crossing. It takes them ages to get across because they can't run among the traffic." The committee agreed to apply for a zebra crossing, although there was no guarantee that one would be allowed, as the Lancashire county authority was then reluctant to stop the traffic flow on busy roads.
There was also an advertising feature in the paper for the new Lantern Restaurant in Eccleston Street in Prescot, which was located next to Woolworths and above Conroy's wallpaper shop. As usual when new premises were opened, the Reporter would contact the business's contractors and suppliers for a "best wishes" advert. So furnishers Ena Shaw of Duke Street, carpet fitters Smith & Sons of Church Street in St Helens and the joinery division of Rainford Metals were offering their congrats to the new restaurant.
On the 29th police using tracker dogs began an extensive search of Rainhill for a batch of stolen poison. Six polythene containers filled with a dangerous insecticide – whose ingredients included a paraquat-based substance – had been taken from a barn on a local farm. A senior Lancashire police spokesman warned anyone who may have come into contact with the brown coloured liquid to go to their nearest hospital for immediate treatment – although paraquat had no known antidote.
Norman Cook's column in the Echo lamented the rise of park vandalism but offered a solution – what might be called community service: "See, for instance, what is happening at St. Helens where rangers are being equipped with guard dogs as a defence against young thugs who prowl the parks. Gangs of these hooligans are said to be getting out of hand. The park ranger who tries to stop them is likely to be threatened with a studded belt or the boot.
"A guard dog may well be an effective deterrent. But there is an even better one, as I have suggested before. The fact is that we continue to be too soft on young thugs. Magistrates should be empowered to sentence these hooligans to a week of useful and healthy work clearing up an area of derelict land, for instance. That would take a bit of the aggro out of them and would at the same time have certain practical benefits for the community." Later in 1973 the Powers of Criminal Courts Act included provisions for community service orders.
The Echo also reported that Lewis's were negotiating to buy Hart's Department Store in Church Street in St Helens. The Liverpool firm was planning to spend thousands of pounds on modernising Hart's premises over the next three months and the store was expected to start trading as Lewis's from the end of January 1973. What was described as a vast new range of merchandise was going to be introduced to the two-storey store that had 44 departments covering 30,000 sq. ft.
On the 30th the Echo reported that Sir Alastair Pilkington's son, James, was to marry typist Joan Thompson of Doulton Street, the daughter of a Pilkington canteen waitress. The deputy-chief of the multi-million-pound glass empire and inventor of float glass told the newspaper: "Joan's mother works in our canteen. But I'm afraid I don't know her too well. She works in the general canteen not the executive canteen. We know Joan well. She's a nice quiet girl. We're very pleased."
And finally, a what's on guide. 'Where Eagles Dare’, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, began six days of screenings at the Capitol Cinema from the 31st. Meanwhile at the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street, Disney's 'Bedknobs & Broomsticks' was shown for a second week, along with 'Wind In The Willows'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the St Helens New Year Euro-tot babies, a council U-turn over a free vasectomy service, the Grange Park blaze hero and the race against time to alleviate school shortages in the Sutton and Sutton Manor districts.
We begin with the traditional Boxing Day battle between Saints and Wigan, which ended 15 - 15. The St Helens Reporter wrote: "In the final analysis the draw was a fair result. Both Saints and Wigan were as bad – and as good – as each other."
The lead story on the front page of the paper on the 29th described how Education Minister Margaret Thatcher was being urged to visit St Helens to "investigate the scandal of a “workhouse” school". The primary school in question was Sacred Heart in Banner Street, which the town's Labour MP Leslie Spriggs described as "like a Dickensian workhouse".
Mr Spriggs had been invited to inspect the conditions at Sacred Heart by its headmaster Stan Holland. After his tour the St Helens MP said: "Tiny tots had to use toilets out in the yard. Coats had to be hung so clustered they had no chance to dry. The windows were so high that the children couldn't see out. There was no proper dining hall, no school field, no shower facilities, no proper library – the school lacked practically all modern amenities.
"Children and teachers shouldn't have to endure conditions like these. When a school gets into a state like this, it should be replaced with no questions asked." The headmaster Mr Holland said he was glad that Mr Spriggs was trying so hard to help his school but he thought comparing it to a workhouse was "a bit strong".
There were complaints in the Reporter about the late arrival of some Christmas mail, which the Post Office blamed on a last-minute rush. That had led to a day's delivery still being in the sorting office on Saturday 23rd when the depot shut down for the holidays. One man reported finding a pile of mail on the pavement in Prescot Road – and promptly delivered it all himself!
The Reporter also described bitter opposition to plans to extend a housing estate in School Lane in Rainhill. Developers wanted to add 48 new houses to the existing 24-home estate but the residents claimed the development would create traffic hazards – and they'd won some support from members of Whiston Rural Council.
The paper was once again running its New Year baby contest, with the first twelve born in St Helens after midnight on December 31st set to receive a 30-shilling gift. Just whether the prospect of thirty bob would induce prospective Mums to somehow have their babies a bit quicker, I rather doubt! However there were other prizes too.
Cholerton's of 166 Duke Street would present the mother of the first born baby with a framed full-size photo of her child and Practical Credit Services of College Street would give her a £5 voucher. And all mothers of New Year's Day babies who bought their prams from Prestts of Duke Street would get a pram canopy free – although I expect the pram would have cost a lot more than the canopy!
The Reporter also described a rush for vaccinations since the paper had recently disclosed that a distemper epidemic was threatening to wipe out many St Helens' dogs. However, what they described as "old wives tales" were hindering further take up of the vaccine. Local vets stated that some people thought mongrel dogs were immune from the disease and that only young dogs caught it. "They are both dangerously untrue," explained one St Helens vet. "To a virus, a dog is a dog."
And addressing owners he said: "If you care anything at all about your dog, have it protected. The suffering is appalling." And a spokesman for another veterinary practice said: "We have had 160 animals brought in for vaccination. This is tremendous, but we're still only scratching the surface. There must be hundreds, even thousands, which have never been vaccinated. I don't know how we can bring it home to people. But vaccination is vital."
The Reporter also quoted a Whiston councillor who claimed that crossing Dragon Lane near to the new entrance to Whiston Hospital was "practically impossible" during peak hours. Cllr. Rita Lamont asked Whiston's Highways Advisory Committee to make an application for a zebra crossing at the site, saying:
"People take their lives in their hands crossing – they're largely going to the hospital to work. During clinic times there are a lot of people who are very slow at crossing. It takes them ages to get across because they can't run among the traffic." The committee agreed to apply for a zebra crossing, although there was no guarantee that one would be allowed, as the Lancashire county authority was then reluctant to stop the traffic flow on busy roads.
There was also an advertising feature in the paper for the new Lantern Restaurant in Eccleston Street in Prescot, which was located next to Woolworths and above Conroy's wallpaper shop. As usual when new premises were opened, the Reporter would contact the business's contractors and suppliers for a "best wishes" advert. So furnishers Ena Shaw of Duke Street, carpet fitters Smith & Sons of Church Street in St Helens and the joinery division of Rainford Metals were offering their congrats to the new restaurant.
On the 29th police using tracker dogs began an extensive search of Rainhill for a batch of stolen poison. Six polythene containers filled with a dangerous insecticide – whose ingredients included a paraquat-based substance – had been taken from a barn on a local farm. A senior Lancashire police spokesman warned anyone who may have come into contact with the brown coloured liquid to go to their nearest hospital for immediate treatment – although paraquat had no known antidote.
Norman Cook's column in the Echo lamented the rise of park vandalism but offered a solution – what might be called community service: "See, for instance, what is happening at St. Helens where rangers are being equipped with guard dogs as a defence against young thugs who prowl the parks. Gangs of these hooligans are said to be getting out of hand. The park ranger who tries to stop them is likely to be threatened with a studded belt or the boot.
"A guard dog may well be an effective deterrent. But there is an even better one, as I have suggested before. The fact is that we continue to be too soft on young thugs. Magistrates should be empowered to sentence these hooligans to a week of useful and healthy work clearing up an area of derelict land, for instance. That would take a bit of the aggro out of them and would at the same time have certain practical benefits for the community." Later in 1973 the Powers of Criminal Courts Act included provisions for community service orders.
The Echo also reported that Lewis's were negotiating to buy Hart's Department Store in Church Street in St Helens. The Liverpool firm was planning to spend thousands of pounds on modernising Hart's premises over the next three months and the store was expected to start trading as Lewis's from the end of January 1973. What was described as a vast new range of merchandise was going to be introduced to the two-storey store that had 44 departments covering 30,000 sq. ft.
On the 30th the Echo reported that Sir Alastair Pilkington's son, James, was to marry typist Joan Thompson of Doulton Street, the daughter of a Pilkington canteen waitress. The deputy-chief of the multi-million-pound glass empire and inventor of float glass told the newspaper: "Joan's mother works in our canteen. But I'm afraid I don't know her too well. She works in the general canteen not the executive canteen. We know Joan well. She's a nice quiet girl. We're very pleased."
And finally, a what's on guide. 'Where Eagles Dare’, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, began six days of screenings at the Capitol Cinema from the 31st. Meanwhile at the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street, Disney's 'Bedknobs & Broomsticks' was shown for a second week, along with 'Wind In The Willows'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the St Helens New Year Euro-tot babies, a council U-turn over a free vasectomy service, the Grange Park blaze hero and the race against time to alleviate school shortages in the Sutton and Sutton Manor districts.
This week's stories include the new Lewis's store in St Helens, the stolen poison at Rainhill, the St Helens MP calls Sacred Heart School a Dickensian workhouse, there are complaints over undelivered Christmas mail, the people who took their lives in their hands crossing Dragon Lane, a call for community service to be introduced as a result of park vandalism, the Reporter's New Year baby contest and the old wives' tales hindering the take-up of a distemper vaccine.
We begin with the traditional Boxing Day battle between Saints and Wigan, which ended 15 - 15. The St Helens Reporter wrote:
"In the final analysis the draw was a fair result. Both Saints and Wigan were as bad – and as good – as each other."
On the 28th the Pilkington Musical Society began nine nightly performances of 'Jack & The Beanstalk'.
The "grand family pantomime" – as described in the Reporter advert – was performed at the Theatre Royal.
The lead story on the front page of the paper on the 29th described how Education Minister Margaret Thatcher was being urged to visit St Helens to "investigate the scandal of a “workhouse” school".
The primary school in question was Sacred Heart in Banner Street, which the town’s Labour MP Leslie Spriggs described as "like a Dickensian workhouse".
Mr Spriggs had been invited to inspect the conditions at Sacred Heart by its headmaster Stan Holland.
After his tour the St Helens MP said: "Tiny tots had to use toilets out in the yard. Coats had to be hung so clustered they had no chance to dry. The windows were so high that the children couldn't see out.
"There was no proper dining hall, no school field, no shower facilities, no proper library – the school lacked practically all modern amenities.
"Children and teachers shouldn't have to endure conditions like these. When a school gets into a state like this, it should be replaced with no questions asked."
The headmaster Mr Holland said he was glad that Mr Spriggs was trying so hard to help his school but he thought comparing it to a workhouse was "a bit strong".
There were complaints in the Reporter about the late arrival of some Christmas mail, which the Post Office blamed on a last-minute rush.
That had led to a day's delivery still being in the sorting office on Saturday 23rd when the depot shut down for the holidays.
One man reported finding a pile of mail on the pavement in Prescot Road – and promptly delivered it all himself!
The Reporter also described bitter opposition to plans to extend a housing estate in School Lane in Rainhill.
Developers wanted to add 48 new houses to the existing 24-home estate but the residents claimed the development would create traffic hazards – and they'd won some support from members of Whiston Rural Council.
The paper was once again running its New Year baby contest, with the first twelve born in St Helens after midnight on December 31st set to receive a 30-shilling gift.
Just whether the prospect of thirty bob would induce prospective Mums to somehow have their babies a bit quicker, I rather doubt! However there were other prizes too.
Cholerton's of 166 Duke Street would present the mother of the first born baby with a framed full-size photo of her child and Practical Credit Services of College Street would give her a £5 voucher.
And all mothers of New Year's Day babies who bought their prams from Prestts of Duke Street would get a pram canopy free – although I expect the pram would have cost a lot more than the canopy!
Also, Nevins said the mothers of the first five New Year babies would be presented with a voucher worth £1: "Which, as everybody knows, is worth £1.50 at Nevins Superstores".
I wonder if the food chain would be able to make such a claim under today's advertising rules?
The Reporter also described a rush for vaccinations since the paper had recently disclosed that a distemper epidemic was threatening to wipe out many St Helens' dogs.
However, what they described as "old wives tales" were hindering further take up of the vaccine.
Local vets stated that some people thought mongrel dogs were immune from the disease and that only young dogs caught it.
"They are both dangerously untrue," explained one St Helens vet. "To a virus, a dog is a dog." And addressing owners he said:
"If you care anything at all about your dog, have it protected. The suffering is appalling." And a spokesman for another veterinary practice said:
"We have had 160 animals brought in for vaccination. This is tremendous, but we're still only scratching the surface. There must be hundreds, even thousands, which have never been vaccinated. I don't know how we can bring it home to people. But vaccination is vital."
The Reporter also quoted a Whiston councillor who claimed that crossing Dragon Lane near to the new entrance to Whiston Hospital was "practically impossible" during peak hours.
Cllr. Rita Lamont asked Whiston's Highways Advisory Committee to make an application for a zebra crossing at the site, saying:
"People take their lives in their hands crossing – they're largely going to the hospital to work. During clinic times there are a lot of people who are very slow at crossing. It takes them ages to get across because they can't run among the traffic."
The committee agreed to apply for a zebra crossing, although there was no guarantee that one would be allowed, as the Lancashire county authority was then reluctant to stop the traffic flow on busy roads.
There was also an advertising feature in the paper for the new Lantern Restaurant in Eccleston Street in Prescot, which was located next to Woolworths and above Conroy's wallpaper shop.
As usual when new premises were opened, the Reporter would contact the business's contractors and suppliers for a "best wishes" advert.
So furnishers Ena Shaw of Duke Street, carpet fitters Smith & Sons of Church Street in St Helens and the joinery division of Rainford Metals were offering their congrats to the new restaurant.
On the 29th police using tracker dogs began an extensive search of Rainhill for a batch of stolen poison.
Six polythene containers filled with a dangerous insecticide – whose ingredients included a paraquat-based substance – had been taken from a barn on a local farm.
A senior Lancashire police spokesman warned anyone who may have come into contact with the brown coloured liquid to go to their nearest hospital for immediate treatment – although paraquat had no known antidote.
Norman Cook's column in the Echo lamented the rise of park vandalism but offered a solution – what might be called community service:
"See, for instance, what is happening at St. Helens where rangers are being equipped with guard dogs as a defence against young thugs who prowl the parks.
"Gangs of these hooligans are said to be getting out of hand. The park ranger who tries to stop them is likely to be threatened with a studded belt or the boot.
"A guard dog may well be an effective deterrent. But there is an even better one, as I have suggested before. The fact is that we continue to be too soft on young thugs.
"Magistrates should be empowered to sentence these hooligans to a week of useful and healthy work clearing up an area of derelict land, for instance.
"That would take a bit of the aggro out of them and would at the same time have certain practical benefits for the community."
Later in 1973 the Powers of Criminal Courts Act included provisions for imposing community service orders.
The Echo also reported that Lewis's were negotiating to buy Hart's Department Store in Church Street in St Helens.
The Liverpool firm was planning to spend thousands of pounds on modernising Hart's premises over the next three months and the store was expected to start trading as Lewis's from the end of January 1973.
What was described as a vast new range of merchandise was going to be introduced to the two-storey store that had 44 departments covering 30,000 sq. ft.
On the 30th the Echo reported that Sir Alastair Pilkington's son, James, was to marry typist Joan Thompson of Doulton Street, the daughter of a Pilkington canteen waitress.
The deputy-chief of the multi-million-pound glass empire and inventor of float glass told the newspaper:
"Joan's mother works in our canteen. But I'm afraid I don't know her too well. She works in the general canteen not the executive canteen. We know Joan well. She's a nice quiet girl. We're very pleased."
And finally, a what's on guide. 'Where Eagles Dare’, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, began six days of screenings at the Capitol Cinema from the 31st.
Meanwhile at the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street, Disney's 'Bedknobs & Broomsticks' was shown for a second week, along with 'Wind In The Willows'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the St Helens New Year Euro-tot babies, a council U-turn over a free vasectomy service, the Grange Park blaze hero and the race against time to alleviate school shortages in the Sutton and Sutton Manor districts.
We begin with the traditional Boxing Day battle between Saints and Wigan, which ended 15 - 15. The St Helens Reporter wrote:
"In the final analysis the draw was a fair result. Both Saints and Wigan were as bad – and as good – as each other."
The "grand family pantomime" – as described in the Reporter advert – was performed at the Theatre Royal.
The lead story on the front page of the paper on the 29th described how Education Minister Margaret Thatcher was being urged to visit St Helens to "investigate the scandal of a “workhouse” school".
The primary school in question was Sacred Heart in Banner Street, which the town’s Labour MP Leslie Spriggs described as "like a Dickensian workhouse".
Mr Spriggs had been invited to inspect the conditions at Sacred Heart by its headmaster Stan Holland.
After his tour the St Helens MP said: "Tiny tots had to use toilets out in the yard. Coats had to be hung so clustered they had no chance to dry. The windows were so high that the children couldn't see out.
"There was no proper dining hall, no school field, no shower facilities, no proper library – the school lacked practically all modern amenities.
"Children and teachers shouldn't have to endure conditions like these. When a school gets into a state like this, it should be replaced with no questions asked."
The headmaster Mr Holland said he was glad that Mr Spriggs was trying so hard to help his school but he thought comparing it to a workhouse was "a bit strong".
There were complaints in the Reporter about the late arrival of some Christmas mail, which the Post Office blamed on a last-minute rush.
That had led to a day's delivery still being in the sorting office on Saturday 23rd when the depot shut down for the holidays.
One man reported finding a pile of mail on the pavement in Prescot Road – and promptly delivered it all himself!
The Reporter also described bitter opposition to plans to extend a housing estate in School Lane in Rainhill.
Developers wanted to add 48 new houses to the existing 24-home estate but the residents claimed the development would create traffic hazards – and they'd won some support from members of Whiston Rural Council.
The paper was once again running its New Year baby contest, with the first twelve born in St Helens after midnight on December 31st set to receive a 30-shilling gift.
Just whether the prospect of thirty bob would induce prospective Mums to somehow have their babies a bit quicker, I rather doubt! However there were other prizes too.
Cholerton's of 166 Duke Street would present the mother of the first born baby with a framed full-size photo of her child and Practical Credit Services of College Street would give her a £5 voucher.
And all mothers of New Year's Day babies who bought their prams from Prestts of Duke Street would get a pram canopy free – although I expect the pram would have cost a lot more than the canopy!
I wonder if the food chain would be able to make such a claim under today's advertising rules?
The Reporter also described a rush for vaccinations since the paper had recently disclosed that a distemper epidemic was threatening to wipe out many St Helens' dogs.
However, what they described as "old wives tales" were hindering further take up of the vaccine.
Local vets stated that some people thought mongrel dogs were immune from the disease and that only young dogs caught it.
"They are both dangerously untrue," explained one St Helens vet. "To a virus, a dog is a dog." And addressing owners he said:
"If you care anything at all about your dog, have it protected. The suffering is appalling." And a spokesman for another veterinary practice said:
"We have had 160 animals brought in for vaccination. This is tremendous, but we're still only scratching the surface. There must be hundreds, even thousands, which have never been vaccinated. I don't know how we can bring it home to people. But vaccination is vital."
The Reporter also quoted a Whiston councillor who claimed that crossing Dragon Lane near to the new entrance to Whiston Hospital was "practically impossible" during peak hours.
Cllr. Rita Lamont asked Whiston's Highways Advisory Committee to make an application for a zebra crossing at the site, saying:
"People take their lives in their hands crossing – they're largely going to the hospital to work. During clinic times there are a lot of people who are very slow at crossing. It takes them ages to get across because they can't run among the traffic."
The committee agreed to apply for a zebra crossing, although there was no guarantee that one would be allowed, as the Lancashire county authority was then reluctant to stop the traffic flow on busy roads.
There was also an advertising feature in the paper for the new Lantern Restaurant in Eccleston Street in Prescot, which was located next to Woolworths and above Conroy's wallpaper shop.
As usual when new premises were opened, the Reporter would contact the business's contractors and suppliers for a "best wishes" advert.
So furnishers Ena Shaw of Duke Street, carpet fitters Smith & Sons of Church Street in St Helens and the joinery division of Rainford Metals were offering their congrats to the new restaurant.
On the 29th police using tracker dogs began an extensive search of Rainhill for a batch of stolen poison.
Six polythene containers filled with a dangerous insecticide – whose ingredients included a paraquat-based substance – had been taken from a barn on a local farm.
A senior Lancashire police spokesman warned anyone who may have come into contact with the brown coloured liquid to go to their nearest hospital for immediate treatment – although paraquat had no known antidote.
Norman Cook's column in the Echo lamented the rise of park vandalism but offered a solution – what might be called community service:
"See, for instance, what is happening at St. Helens where rangers are being equipped with guard dogs as a defence against young thugs who prowl the parks.
"Gangs of these hooligans are said to be getting out of hand. The park ranger who tries to stop them is likely to be threatened with a studded belt or the boot.
"A guard dog may well be an effective deterrent. But there is an even better one, as I have suggested before. The fact is that we continue to be too soft on young thugs.
"Magistrates should be empowered to sentence these hooligans to a week of useful and healthy work clearing up an area of derelict land, for instance.
"That would take a bit of the aggro out of them and would at the same time have certain practical benefits for the community."
Later in 1973 the Powers of Criminal Courts Act included provisions for imposing community service orders.
The Echo also reported that Lewis's were negotiating to buy Hart's Department Store in Church Street in St Helens.
The Liverpool firm was planning to spend thousands of pounds on modernising Hart's premises over the next three months and the store was expected to start trading as Lewis's from the end of January 1973.
What was described as a vast new range of merchandise was going to be introduced to the two-storey store that had 44 departments covering 30,000 sq. ft.
On the 30th the Echo reported that Sir Alastair Pilkington's son, James, was to marry typist Joan Thompson of Doulton Street, the daughter of a Pilkington canteen waitress.
The deputy-chief of the multi-million-pound glass empire and inventor of float glass told the newspaper:
"Joan's mother works in our canteen. But I'm afraid I don't know her too well. She works in the general canteen not the executive canteen. We know Joan well. She's a nice quiet girl. We're very pleased."
And finally, a what's on guide. 'Where Eagles Dare’, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, began six days of screenings at the Capitol Cinema from the 31st.
Meanwhile at the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street, Disney's 'Bedknobs & Broomsticks' was shown for a second week, along with 'Wind In The Willows'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the St Helens New Year Euro-tot babies, a council U-turn over a free vasectomy service, the Grange Park blaze hero and the race against time to alleviate school shortages in the Sutton and Sutton Manor districts.