FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 27 JULY - 2 AUGUST 1976
This week's many stories include a rejection of fluoride being added to the water supply, the prospect of Newton becoming the oil capital of the north, the back to Lancashire campaign gathers pace, how sunshine boosted attendances at the St Helens Show, the opening of a new nightclub and why Manweb and Merseyside Transport were both losing money.
One of the big issues of the seventies was whether fluoride should be added to the water supply to reduce cases of tooth decay. Opposition to fluoridation was centred on fears of potential health risks and claims of violating people's individual rights. At a meeting of St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council on the 27th, its members agreed by 12 votes to 7 to oppose proposals by the Area Health Authority to fluoridate water.
That was in spite of a warning from Anthony Crawford, the Area Dental Officer, that hundreds of St Helens' children's teeth were rotting because their parents could not afford dental treatment. Mr Crawford was in favour of fluoridation as he said that only four people out of ten currently received dental care and fluoride was one way of providing some kind of dental treatment to the majority of the community.
Could Newton-le-Willows become the oil capital of the north? The Newton Guardian was posing that question on the 28th, after revealing how BP had named the town as one of the places in the North West where it was hoping to find oil. A spokesman for BP told the paper: "The area was chosen after a study of its geological structure, and if the preliminary tests are encouraging, large-scale drilling will commence within six months".
On the 29th the Capitol Cinema, on the corner of North Road and Duke Street, began a Clint Eastwood double-bill with showings of 'Joe Kidd' and 'High Plains Drifter'.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 30th and described how sunshine had boosted attendances at the previous week's St Helens Show: "All records were shattered by this year's bumper Show, reputed to have cost ratepayers about £35,000, and described by Councillor [Harry] Williams as “the greatest ever”.
"One record to be smashed was the attendance: 250,000 people flocked to Sherdley Park for the three-day spectacular. With 120,000 people there on Saturday alone, the scores of traders were said to have “made a killing”."
There were a couple of Merseyside stories in the Reporter that affected St Helens and had been partly driven by the recent recession in the country and high levels of inflation. It was revealed this week that Merseyside County Council was facing a transport deficit of £24 million, which was an increase of £2 million on the previous year.
Increasing bus fares to address inflation and the ongoing losses was proving to be counter-productive, as it was leading to what the Reporter called "massive passenger resistance". In other words, higher fares were deterring passengers from travelling and so a cut back in the bus fleet was being considered.
And the MANWEB electricity board this week announced a loss of £9 million during the past year. Electricity sales in the Merseyside and North Wales area had suffered what was described as the first really substantial setback ever encountered. However, not only were people using less electricity but the board was losing at least £1.5 million a year from slot meter theft.
Some 6,000 locks on slot meters had been broken and the cash inside extracted during the last year and there was also an increasing issue with people tampering with meters to make them register less electricity usage.
"Helena House Back To School With Co-Op Stamps", was the headline to the Baldwin Street superstore's full-page advert in the Reporter. As examples, Helena House was selling boys' blazers from £6.95 for which a divi of 500 stamps was available and duffle coats from £10.50 came with 1,000 stamps.
Ian Brandes in his weekly 'Municipal Matters' column in the Reporter was the scourge of St Helens councillors, who, at times, were infuriated by his comments. This week Ian began his controversial column by saying: "Does the phrase ‘Open Government’ really have any meaning at the Town Hall?"
That was a popular topic at the time and became the subject of a classic episode of TV show 'Yes Minister'. Ian answered his own question by describing how openness varied depending on the council committee, with the Education Committee particularly prone to secret sessions being held by its sub-committees.
"Parking space, whether public or private, seems to be in great demand in the St. Helens area," wrote the paper as their intro to a long list of planning applications that had been made to the council. An increasing number of people were buying cars and then had the problem of deciding where to keep them. Many people wanted local authority permission to add a garage to their house and Greenall Whitley had applied for a 12-space car park at the Cricketers Arms in Peter Street.
There was a major incident this week at Rockware Glass in Pocket Nook (pictured above) when a 160-ton container of molten glass within their tank section sprang a leak. Firemen from all over the eastern section of Merseyside were called in and they managed to seal the leak by continuously spraying water upon it. But the heat was so intense that the crews had to be changed every 10 minutes. It was hoped that the damage could be repaired and the tank made fully operational again by the weekend.
The Geraldo Club in Lord Street reopened on the 30th under new ownership and a new name. Tom Keeley was the new owner and he had renamed it the he Club and told the Reporter: "We are hoping to bring good cabaret entertainment to St. Helens, with good quality acts. The town already has an abundance of Labour clubs, but no good nightclubs." Mr Keeley had previously been a professional boxer and in 1951 had emigrated to the USA where he ran his own clubs and also helped stage Broadway shows.
In June I wrote how resentment was building against St Helens having in 1974 been removed from Lancashire and placed in Merseyside. Residents were not being assuaged by being told the change was purely for administrative purposes and they could continue to use Lancashire as part of their address.
During that month delegates from the General and Municipal Workers Union at Pilkingtons Sheet Works had held a meeting with Merseyside County Council leader Bill Sefton to discuss the issue. However, they had been unconvinced by his arguments of the benefits for St Helens of remaining in the county and they were calling for a referendum on the issue.
St Helens people were not on their own in expressing dissatisfaction with the new arrangement, as Southport folk were also distinctly unhappy. On August 2nd the Liverpool Daily Post revealed how it had taken a survey in both towns and found that 76% of St Helens people and 67% of Southport folk wanted out of Merseyside. The vast majority wanted to return to Lancashire.
And in St Helens only one in three could name their new local authority, which was St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council. The paper wrote how that was not surprising, as so many signs were still in place referring to now redundant councils within the district.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the disabled drivers protesting against the possible loss of their invalidity cars, Rainhill Village Hall is saved from closure, Lennons announce a big rise in profits and the Reporter's Autumn Bride feature.
One of the big issues of the seventies was whether fluoride should be added to the water supply to reduce cases of tooth decay. Opposition to fluoridation was centred on fears of potential health risks and claims of violating people's individual rights. At a meeting of St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council on the 27th, its members agreed by 12 votes to 7 to oppose proposals by the Area Health Authority to fluoridate water.
That was in spite of a warning from Anthony Crawford, the Area Dental Officer, that hundreds of St Helens' children's teeth were rotting because their parents could not afford dental treatment. Mr Crawford was in favour of fluoridation as he said that only four people out of ten currently received dental care and fluoride was one way of providing some kind of dental treatment to the majority of the community.
Could Newton-le-Willows become the oil capital of the north? The Newton Guardian was posing that question on the 28th, after revealing how BP had named the town as one of the places in the North West where it was hoping to find oil. A spokesman for BP told the paper: "The area was chosen after a study of its geological structure, and if the preliminary tests are encouraging, large-scale drilling will commence within six months".
On the 29th the Capitol Cinema, on the corner of North Road and Duke Street, began a Clint Eastwood double-bill with showings of 'Joe Kidd' and 'High Plains Drifter'.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 30th and described how sunshine had boosted attendances at the previous week's St Helens Show: "All records were shattered by this year's bumper Show, reputed to have cost ratepayers about £35,000, and described by Councillor [Harry] Williams as “the greatest ever”.
"One record to be smashed was the attendance: 250,000 people flocked to Sherdley Park for the three-day spectacular. With 120,000 people there on Saturday alone, the scores of traders were said to have “made a killing”."
There were a couple of Merseyside stories in the Reporter that affected St Helens and had been partly driven by the recent recession in the country and high levels of inflation. It was revealed this week that Merseyside County Council was facing a transport deficit of £24 million, which was an increase of £2 million on the previous year.
Increasing bus fares to address inflation and the ongoing losses was proving to be counter-productive, as it was leading to what the Reporter called "massive passenger resistance". In other words, higher fares were deterring passengers from travelling and so a cut back in the bus fleet was being considered.
And the MANWEB electricity board this week announced a loss of £9 million during the past year. Electricity sales in the Merseyside and North Wales area had suffered what was described as the first really substantial setback ever encountered. However, not only were people using less electricity but the board was losing at least £1.5 million a year from slot meter theft.
Some 6,000 locks on slot meters had been broken and the cash inside extracted during the last year and there was also an increasing issue with people tampering with meters to make them register less electricity usage.
Ian Brandes in his weekly 'Municipal Matters' column in the Reporter was the scourge of St Helens councillors, who, at times, were infuriated by his comments. This week Ian began his controversial column by saying: "Does the phrase ‘Open Government’ really have any meaning at the Town Hall?"
That was a popular topic at the time and became the subject of a classic episode of TV show 'Yes Minister'. Ian answered his own question by describing how openness varied depending on the council committee, with the Education Committee particularly prone to secret sessions being held by its sub-committees.
"Parking space, whether public or private, seems to be in great demand in the St. Helens area," wrote the paper as their intro to a long list of planning applications that had been made to the council. An increasing number of people were buying cars and then had the problem of deciding where to keep them. Many people wanted local authority permission to add a garage to their house and Greenall Whitley had applied for a 12-space car park at the Cricketers Arms in Peter Street.
The Geraldo Club in Lord Street reopened on the 30th under new ownership and a new name. Tom Keeley was the new owner and he had renamed it the he Club and told the Reporter: "We are hoping to bring good cabaret entertainment to St. Helens, with good quality acts. The town already has an abundance of Labour clubs, but no good nightclubs." Mr Keeley had previously been a professional boxer and in 1951 had emigrated to the USA where he ran his own clubs and also helped stage Broadway shows.
In June I wrote how resentment was building against St Helens having in 1974 been removed from Lancashire and placed in Merseyside. Residents were not being assuaged by being told the change was purely for administrative purposes and they could continue to use Lancashire as part of their address.
During that month delegates from the General and Municipal Workers Union at Pilkingtons Sheet Works had held a meeting with Merseyside County Council leader Bill Sefton to discuss the issue. However, they had been unconvinced by his arguments of the benefits for St Helens of remaining in the county and they were calling for a referendum on the issue.
St Helens people were not on their own in expressing dissatisfaction with the new arrangement, as Southport folk were also distinctly unhappy. On August 2nd the Liverpool Daily Post revealed how it had taken a survey in both towns and found that 76% of St Helens people and 67% of Southport folk wanted out of Merseyside. The vast majority wanted to return to Lancashire.
And in St Helens only one in three could name their new local authority, which was St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council. The paper wrote how that was not surprising, as so many signs were still in place referring to now redundant councils within the district.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the disabled drivers protesting against the possible loss of their invalidity cars, Rainhill Village Hall is saved from closure, Lennons announce a big rise in profits and the Reporter's Autumn Bride feature.
This week's many stories include a rejection of fluoride being added to the water supply, the prospect of Newton becoming the oil capital of the north, the back to Lancashire campaign gathers pace, how sunshine boosted attendances at the St Helens Show, the opening of a new nightclub and why Manweb and Merseyside Transport were both losing money.
One of the big issues of the seventies was whether fluoride should be added to the water supply to reduce cases of tooth decay.
Opposition to fluoridation was centred on fears of potential health risks and claims of violating people's individual rights.
At a meeting of St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council on the 27th, its members agreed by 12 votes to 7 to oppose proposals by the Area Health Authority to fluoridate water.
That was in spite of a warning from Anthony Crawford, the Area Dental Officer, that hundreds of St Helens' children's teeth were rotting because their parents could not afford dental treatment.
Mr Crawford was in favour of fluoridation as he said that only four people out of ten currently received dental care and fluoride was one way of providing some kind of dental treatment to the majority of the community.
Could Newton-le-Willows become the oil capital of the north?
The Newton Guardian was posing that question on the 28th, after revealing how BP had named the town as one of the places in the North West where it was hoping to find oil. A spokesman for BP told the paper:
"The area was chosen after a study of its geological structure, and if the preliminary tests are encouraging, large-scale drilling will commence within six months".
On the 29th the Capitol Cinema, on the corner of North Road and Duke Street, began a Clint Eastwood double-bill with showings of 'Joe Kidd' and 'High Plains Drifter'.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 30th and described how sunshine had boosted attendances at the previous week's St Helens Show:
"All records were shattered by this year's bumper Show, reputed to have cost ratepayers about £35,000, and described by Councillor [Harry] Williams as “the greatest ever”.
"One record to be smashed was the attendance: 250,000 people flocked to Sherdley Park for the three-day spectacular. With 120,000 people there on Saturday alone, the scores of traders were said to have “made a killing”."
There were a couple of Merseyside stories in the Reporter that affected St Helens and had been partly driven by the recent recession in the country and high levels of inflation.
It was revealed this week that Merseyside County Council was facing a transport deficit of £24 million, which was an increase of £2 million on the previous year.
Increasing bus fares to address inflation and the ongoing losses was proving to be counter-productive, as it was leading to what the Reporter called "massive passenger resistance".
In other words, higher fares were deterring passengers from travelling and so a cut back in the bus fleet was being considered.
And the MANWEB electricity board this week announced a loss of £9 million during the past year.
Electricity sales in the Merseyside and North Wales area had suffered what was described as the first really substantial setback ever encountered.
However, not only were people using less electricity but the board was losing at least £1.5 million a year from slot meter theft.
Some 6,000 locks on slot meters had been broken and the cash inside extracted during the last year and there was also an increasing issue with people tampering with meters to make them register less electricity usage.
"Helena House Back To School With Co-Op Stamps", was the headline to the Baldwin Street superstore's full-page advert in the Reporter.
As examples, Helena House was selling boys' blazers from £6.95 for which a divi of 500 stamps was available and duffle coats from £10.50 came with 1,000 stamps.
Ian Brandes in his weekly 'Municipal Matters' column in the Reporter was the scourge of St Helens councillors, who, at times, were infuriated by his comments. This week Ian began his controversial column by saying:
"Does the phrase ‘Open Government’ really have any meaning at the Town Hall?"
That was a popular topic at the time and became the subject of a classic episode of TV show 'Yes Minister'.
Ian answered his own question by describing how openness varied depending on the council committee, with the Education Committee particularly prone to secret sessions being held by its sub-committees.
"Parking space, whether public or private, seems to be in great demand in the St. Helens area," wrote the paper as their intro to a long list of planning applications that had been made to the council.
An increasing number of people were buying cars and then had the problem of deciding where to keep them.
Many people wanted local authority permission to add a garage to their house and Greenall Whitley had applied for a 12-space car park at the Cricketers Arms in Peter Street.
There was a major incident this week at Rockware Glass in Pocket Nook (pictured above) when a 160-ton container of molten glass within their tank section sprang a leak.
Firemen from all over the eastern section of Merseyside were called in and they managed to seal the leak by continuously spraying water upon it.
But the heat was so intense that the crews had to be changed every 10 minutes.
It was hoped that the damage could be repaired and the tank made fully operational again by the weekend.
The Geraldo Club in Lord Street reopened on the 30th under new ownership and a new name.
Tom Keeley was the new owner and he had renamed it the Glass Bridge Club and told the Reporter:
"We are hoping to bring good cabaret entertainment to St. Helens, with good quality acts. The town already has an abundance of Labour clubs, but no good nightclubs."
Mr Keeley had previously been a professional boxer and in 1951 had emigrated to the USA where he ran his own clubs and also helped stage Broadway shows.
In June I wrote how resentment was building against St Helens having in 1974 been removed from Lancashire and placed in Merseyside.
Residents were not being assuaged by being told the change was purely for administrative purposes and they could continue to use Lancashire as part of their address.
During that month delegates from the General and Municipal Workers Union at Pilkingtons Sheet Works had held a meeting with Merseyside County Council leader Bill Sefton to discuss the issue.
However, they had been unconvinced by his arguments of the benefits for St Helens of remaining in the county and they were calling for a referendum on the issue.
St Helens people were not on their own in expressing dissatisfaction with the new arrangement, as Southport folk were also distinctly unhappy.
On August 2nd the Liverpool Daily Post revealed how it had taken a survey in both towns and found that 76% of St Helens people and 67% of Southport folk wanted out of Merseyside.
The vast majority wanted to return to Lancashire.
And in St Helens only one in three could name their new local authority, which was St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council.
The paper wrote how that was not surprising, as so many signs were still in place referring to now redundant councils within the district.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the disabled drivers protesting against the possible loss of their invalidity cars, Rainhill Village Hall is saved from closure, Lennons announce a big rise in profits and the Reporter's Autumn Bride feature.
One of the big issues of the seventies was whether fluoride should be added to the water supply to reduce cases of tooth decay.
Opposition to fluoridation was centred on fears of potential health risks and claims of violating people's individual rights.
At a meeting of St Helens and Knowsley Community Health Council on the 27th, its members agreed by 12 votes to 7 to oppose proposals by the Area Health Authority to fluoridate water.
That was in spite of a warning from Anthony Crawford, the Area Dental Officer, that hundreds of St Helens' children's teeth were rotting because their parents could not afford dental treatment.
Mr Crawford was in favour of fluoridation as he said that only four people out of ten currently received dental care and fluoride was one way of providing some kind of dental treatment to the majority of the community.
Could Newton-le-Willows become the oil capital of the north?
The Newton Guardian was posing that question on the 28th, after revealing how BP had named the town as one of the places in the North West where it was hoping to find oil. A spokesman for BP told the paper:
"The area was chosen after a study of its geological structure, and if the preliminary tests are encouraging, large-scale drilling will commence within six months".
On the 29th the Capitol Cinema, on the corner of North Road and Duke Street, began a Clint Eastwood double-bill with showings of 'Joe Kidd' and 'High Plains Drifter'.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 30th and described how sunshine had boosted attendances at the previous week's St Helens Show:
"All records were shattered by this year's bumper Show, reputed to have cost ratepayers about £35,000, and described by Councillor [Harry] Williams as “the greatest ever”.
"One record to be smashed was the attendance: 250,000 people flocked to Sherdley Park for the three-day spectacular. With 120,000 people there on Saturday alone, the scores of traders were said to have “made a killing”."
There were a couple of Merseyside stories in the Reporter that affected St Helens and had been partly driven by the recent recession in the country and high levels of inflation.
It was revealed this week that Merseyside County Council was facing a transport deficit of £24 million, which was an increase of £2 million on the previous year.
Increasing bus fares to address inflation and the ongoing losses was proving to be counter-productive, as it was leading to what the Reporter called "massive passenger resistance".
In other words, higher fares were deterring passengers from travelling and so a cut back in the bus fleet was being considered.
And the MANWEB electricity board this week announced a loss of £9 million during the past year.
Electricity sales in the Merseyside and North Wales area had suffered what was described as the first really substantial setback ever encountered.
However, not only were people using less electricity but the board was losing at least £1.5 million a year from slot meter theft.
Some 6,000 locks on slot meters had been broken and the cash inside extracted during the last year and there was also an increasing issue with people tampering with meters to make them register less electricity usage.
As examples, Helena House was selling boys' blazers from £6.95 for which a divi of 500 stamps was available and duffle coats from £10.50 came with 1,000 stamps.
Ian Brandes in his weekly 'Municipal Matters' column in the Reporter was the scourge of St Helens councillors, who, at times, were infuriated by his comments. This week Ian began his controversial column by saying:
"Does the phrase ‘Open Government’ really have any meaning at the Town Hall?"
That was a popular topic at the time and became the subject of a classic episode of TV show 'Yes Minister'.
Ian answered his own question by describing how openness varied depending on the council committee, with the Education Committee particularly prone to secret sessions being held by its sub-committees.
"Parking space, whether public or private, seems to be in great demand in the St. Helens area," wrote the paper as their intro to a long list of planning applications that had been made to the council.
An increasing number of people were buying cars and then had the problem of deciding where to keep them.
Many people wanted local authority permission to add a garage to their house and Greenall Whitley had applied for a 12-space car park at the Cricketers Arms in Peter Street.
Firemen from all over the eastern section of Merseyside were called in and they managed to seal the leak by continuously spraying water upon it.
But the heat was so intense that the crews had to be changed every 10 minutes.
It was hoped that the damage could be repaired and the tank made fully operational again by the weekend.
The Geraldo Club in Lord Street reopened on the 30th under new ownership and a new name.
Tom Keeley was the new owner and he had renamed it the Glass Bridge Club and told the Reporter:
"We are hoping to bring good cabaret entertainment to St. Helens, with good quality acts. The town already has an abundance of Labour clubs, but no good nightclubs."
Mr Keeley had previously been a professional boxer and in 1951 had emigrated to the USA where he ran his own clubs and also helped stage Broadway shows.
In June I wrote how resentment was building against St Helens having in 1974 been removed from Lancashire and placed in Merseyside.
Residents were not being assuaged by being told the change was purely for administrative purposes and they could continue to use Lancashire as part of their address.
During that month delegates from the General and Municipal Workers Union at Pilkingtons Sheet Works had held a meeting with Merseyside County Council leader Bill Sefton to discuss the issue.
However, they had been unconvinced by his arguments of the benefits for St Helens of remaining in the county and they were calling for a referendum on the issue.
St Helens people were not on their own in expressing dissatisfaction with the new arrangement, as Southport folk were also distinctly unhappy.
On August 2nd the Liverpool Daily Post revealed how it had taken a survey in both towns and found that 76% of St Helens people and 67% of Southport folk wanted out of Merseyside.
The vast majority wanted to return to Lancashire.
And in St Helens only one in three could name their new local authority, which was St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council.
The paper wrote how that was not surprising, as so many signs were still in place referring to now redundant councils within the district.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the disabled drivers protesting against the possible loss of their invalidity cars, Rainhill Village Hall is saved from closure, Lennons announce a big rise in profits and the Reporter's Autumn Bride feature.