FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (30th AUG. - 5th SEPT. 1971)
This week's many stories include the dilemma of the Haydock hole-in-the-heart dad, why youths misbehaving in Sefton Place were giving police a dog's life, the Pilkington Sub Aqua Club diver who almost died, the failing St Helens car washes and the expanding Lennon's supermarkets and off-licences.
We begin on the 30th, which was August Bank Holiday Monday. Rainford Parish Hall hosted an exotic bird show organised by the oddly named Foreign Fanciers Alliance. On view were 200 colourful birds from all over the world ranging from tiny humming ones to big talking parrots from Australia. Show manager John Long of Green Lane in Rainford (off Derby Drive) said: "We've also got the pygmy hermit, reputed to be the smallest humming bird in the world. "They have these kind of shows in London and Leicester, but not this area. So we thought we would put one on ourselves for the public."
Fifteen skin divers from the Pilkington Sub Aqua Club spent the Bank Holiday off Anglesey and Peter Schwarz discovered a sunken wreck. However the find almost cost the 29-year-old his life. After being hit by a terrific underwater current, Peter required hospital treatment for shock, exposure and exhaustion. The Echo wrote:
"At his home in Wyresdale Avenue, St. Helens, Peter is keeping a careful eye on the “prize” he brought back – the brass hinge from a rudder estimated to be 300 years old. He is keeping it in fresh water to dissolve any soluble salts, in order to preserve it. “I shall be notifying the Receiver of Wrecks about the find,” he said. “But I am keeping the exact location of the wreck secret for the time being. I know it is dangerous, but I shall be going back there in the next few weeks.”"
On the 31st Kenneth Foster of Victoria Place in Rainhill died in Whiston Hospital from the injuries that he'd received in a traffic accident. The 16-year-old's motor scooter had smashed into a telegraph pole in Millbrook Lane in Eccleston. Then during the evening of the 31st, Robert Walker of Mereland Way in Parr was admitted to Providence Hospital with a broken leg after a collision involving a car.
On September 1st the Liverpool Echo wrote: "Lennons Supermarkets, the St. Helens-based group with shops in the Merseyside area, keeps growing and growing". A month earlier the chain's chairman, Terence Lennon, had anticipated in his annual report that fifteen additional wine and spirits outlets would be operating before Christmas. At the company's annual meeting of shareholders held on the previous day, Lennon reported that this target was being exceeded.
Of the fifteen, five were already open and trading licences had been obtained for another eight. In addition licensing applications were being made not just for the other two but also for five more. In all, the group would soon boast more than fifty off-licences. As regards supermarkets, Lennons had two large ones in the process of development, and two further stores of conventional size were to be leased.
A century ago St Helens police were prosecuting youths for blocking pavements in the town centre – mainly in Church Street. And fifty years later lads were still forcing passers-by into the road – with Inspector Tom Mather telling St Helens magistrates on the 2nd that the teenage gatherings were giving police a "dog's life".
However, Sefton Place in St Helens (pictured above) was now the youths' favoured spot and as a result of a police crackdown, William Hay of Surrey Street, Peter Taylor of Hillside Avenue and James Haggerty of Rivington Avenue were each fined £10.
Automatic car washes were still quite new – having seemingly only arrived in St Helens in 1969. But it does not appear that customers had immediately taken to them, considering the number of promotions that were advertised. Last November Carr Mill Motors had made their car wash free for a whole week and just a few months ago the Four Acre Service Station in Clock Face Road was offering theirs free with a purchase of 2 gallons of petrol.
In the St Helens Reporter on the 3rd it was revealed that Hardshaw Garage's 5-minute car wash in Corporation Street had closed down for "business reasons". However, its sudden shut down six months earlier had left the town's mayor hopping mad. Cllr. Charles Martin of Windle Street had paid a £10 subscription for a year's washes but complained to the paper that he received little value for his money: "I was amazed. I had used the 25p car wash only twice . . . and it had cost me £5 a time." However, after six months of pestering, the Stoke-based owners of the car wash had now sent Cllr. Martin a refund cheque.
Tobacconist Peter Dewar had founded his business in Tontine Street in 1876 and after nearly a hundred years the firm was diversifying into men's fashions. A new shop opened in Church Street on the 3rd and a full-page advertising feature appeared in the Reporter. One of the reasons for its customer appeal – said the piece – was that there would be ashtrays "placed at strategic points" round the store. Probably not a great selling point today! The old figure of a leprechaun known as "Paddy" – which had adorned the frontage of Dewar's shop since 1876 – had been moved to the outside of their new shop.
The autumn season of the Theatre Royal in St Helens began on the 3rd and 4th with two sell-out concerts featuring the Liverpool folk group The Spinners. Theatre manager Jim Lovelace said: "All seats had gone for both performances within hours of our opening up the booking office."
In May I wrote how Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had written to Dr Christian Barnard in South Africa pleading with the heart pioneer to help save the lives of her two young nephews. John Bickerstaffe and his brother Harold of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock both suffered from holes in their hearts. Last week 13-year-old John underwent a major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital after preferring not to travel to South Africa – but sadly died.
On the 3rd his father Terence Bickerstaffe told the Echo: "We knew the operation was a risk, but it was one we had to take because he kept getting weaker. He put up a terrific battle to pull through the operation. He was very brave and we will always be proud of him." Now the couple had the dilemma of deciding whether to allow their nine-year-old son Harold to undergo a similar operation. "He is due to have his operation later this year," said Mr Bickerstaffe. "At this stage I do not know what we will do."
On the 5th regulars from the Golden Lion in Church Road in Rainford went on a 20-mile charity walk to raise funds for mentally handicapped children at Rathbone Hospital in Liverpool. The route started at Ashurst Beacon and the walkers then passed through Billinge and Crank back to Rainford. The treasurer of the Golden Lion charities committee, Alan Davies, told the Echo: "From a football match, a dance and sponsored walk last year we raised £600 for cancer research, and so far we have £75 towards our effort for the hospital."
The Western 'Big Jake' starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara began 7 days of screenings at the ABC Savoy on the 5th. "They wanted a ransom in gold. He gave ‘em lead!", was the film's strapline in the Reporter. Meanwhile the Capitol began a double-bill of 'You Only Live Twice' and 'A Fistful of Dollars'.
And finally, St Helens town centre had in 1968 come close to having parking meters installed, after the council's Works Committee had granted provisional approval – which they later rescinded. That led to a person using the pseudonym "Robbery in Silence" writing this to the St Helens Reporter: "One-armed bandits are a racket, but no bigger racket than parking meters which are placed there to rob the motorist still more. Of course, motorists will pay up and park their cars in front of one of these evils instead of keeping away like I would. They would soon take them away if no one used them."
Perhaps the council's change of mind over meters had also been due to the Liverpool experience – as well as hostile public opinion. This week this article appeared in the Echo: "Thieves have stolen about £10,000 [around £160,000 in today's money] from Liverpool parking meters since they were introduced in 1965 – and it has cost the Corporation £40,000 to repair the meters after the raiders have struck.
"The shock figure was confirmed to-day by the city's chief engineer, Mr. lan Cucksey, who said they had 100 new, extra-tough steel meters on order. The Corporation bought 50 of these meters from America last year at a cost of £1,800. Said Mr. Cucksey: “Not a single one of these special cast steel meters has been broken into successfully. We did order them from America and this took about six months, but they are now made in Britain.”
"Normal meters are made of alloy cases and this was thought strong enough for Britain. Most of Liverpool's 2,600 meters are of this sort. But Liverpool's experience of vandalism of meters – probably greater than any other city in Britain – has convinced meter manufacturers that there is now a demand for the tough American type, said Mr. Cucksey.
"At one time the Corporation considered a special “secret device” to deter meter vandals. Explained Mr. Cucksey: “We were thinking in terms of a sound device like a klaxon. It would be wired into the meter and would be set off if the cash box was opened without a special key. It is unlikely that we will proceed with this plan now since extra-tough meters have proved successful.”"
Next week's stories will include the severe Eccleston school blaze, the priest at the Capitol who walked out of a sex film, an investigation into the Dobsons Lane gipsy camp, Pilks win big South American orders and the Vicar of St Mark's criticises tardy brides.
We begin on the 30th, which was August Bank Holiday Monday. Rainford Parish Hall hosted an exotic bird show organised by the oddly named Foreign Fanciers Alliance. On view were 200 colourful birds from all over the world ranging from tiny humming ones to big talking parrots from Australia. Show manager John Long of Green Lane in Rainford (off Derby Drive) said: "We've also got the pygmy hermit, reputed to be the smallest humming bird in the world. "They have these kind of shows in London and Leicester, but not this area. So we thought we would put one on ourselves for the public."
Fifteen skin divers from the Pilkington Sub Aqua Club spent the Bank Holiday off Anglesey and Peter Schwarz discovered a sunken wreck. However the find almost cost the 29-year-old his life. After being hit by a terrific underwater current, Peter required hospital treatment for shock, exposure and exhaustion. The Echo wrote:
"At his home in Wyresdale Avenue, St. Helens, Peter is keeping a careful eye on the “prize” he brought back – the brass hinge from a rudder estimated to be 300 years old. He is keeping it in fresh water to dissolve any soluble salts, in order to preserve it. “I shall be notifying the Receiver of Wrecks about the find,” he said. “But I am keeping the exact location of the wreck secret for the time being. I know it is dangerous, but I shall be going back there in the next few weeks.”"
On the 31st Kenneth Foster of Victoria Place in Rainhill died in Whiston Hospital from the injuries that he'd received in a traffic accident. The 16-year-old's motor scooter had smashed into a telegraph pole in Millbrook Lane in Eccleston. Then during the evening of the 31st, Robert Walker of Mereland Way in Parr was admitted to Providence Hospital with a broken leg after a collision involving a car.
Of the fifteen, five were already open and trading licences had been obtained for another eight. In addition licensing applications were being made not just for the other two but also for five more. In all, the group would soon boast more than fifty off-licences. As regards supermarkets, Lennons had two large ones in the process of development, and two further stores of conventional size were to be leased.
A century ago St Helens police were prosecuting youths for blocking pavements in the town centre – mainly in Church Street. And fifty years later lads were still forcing passers-by into the road – with Inspector Tom Mather telling St Helens magistrates on the 2nd that the teenage gatherings were giving police a "dog's life".
Automatic car washes were still quite new – having seemingly only arrived in St Helens in 1969. But it does not appear that customers had immediately taken to them, considering the number of promotions that were advertised. Last November Carr Mill Motors had made their car wash free for a whole week and just a few months ago the Four Acre Service Station in Clock Face Road was offering theirs free with a purchase of 2 gallons of petrol.
In the St Helens Reporter on the 3rd it was revealed that Hardshaw Garage's 5-minute car wash in Corporation Street had closed down for "business reasons". However, its sudden shut down six months earlier had left the town's mayor hopping mad. Cllr. Charles Martin of Windle Street had paid a £10 subscription for a year's washes but complained to the paper that he received little value for his money: "I was amazed. I had used the 25p car wash only twice . . . and it had cost me £5 a time." However, after six months of pestering, the Stoke-based owners of the car wash had now sent Cllr. Martin a refund cheque.
Tobacconist Peter Dewar had founded his business in Tontine Street in 1876 and after nearly a hundred years the firm was diversifying into men's fashions. A new shop opened in Church Street on the 3rd and a full-page advertising feature appeared in the Reporter. One of the reasons for its customer appeal – said the piece – was that there would be ashtrays "placed at strategic points" round the store. Probably not a great selling point today! The old figure of a leprechaun known as "Paddy" – which had adorned the frontage of Dewar's shop since 1876 – had been moved to the outside of their new shop.
The autumn season of the Theatre Royal in St Helens began on the 3rd and 4th with two sell-out concerts featuring the Liverpool folk group The Spinners. Theatre manager Jim Lovelace said: "All seats had gone for both performances within hours of our opening up the booking office."
In May I wrote how Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had written to Dr Christian Barnard in South Africa pleading with the heart pioneer to help save the lives of her two young nephews. John Bickerstaffe and his brother Harold of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock both suffered from holes in their hearts. Last week 13-year-old John underwent a major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital after preferring not to travel to South Africa – but sadly died.
On the 3rd his father Terence Bickerstaffe told the Echo: "We knew the operation was a risk, but it was one we had to take because he kept getting weaker. He put up a terrific battle to pull through the operation. He was very brave and we will always be proud of him." Now the couple had the dilemma of deciding whether to allow their nine-year-old son Harold to undergo a similar operation. "He is due to have his operation later this year," said Mr Bickerstaffe. "At this stage I do not know what we will do."
On the 5th regulars from the Golden Lion in Church Road in Rainford went on a 20-mile charity walk to raise funds for mentally handicapped children at Rathbone Hospital in Liverpool. The route started at Ashurst Beacon and the walkers then passed through Billinge and Crank back to Rainford. The treasurer of the Golden Lion charities committee, Alan Davies, told the Echo: "From a football match, a dance and sponsored walk last year we raised £600 for cancer research, and so far we have £75 towards our effort for the hospital."
The Western 'Big Jake' starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara began 7 days of screenings at the ABC Savoy on the 5th. "They wanted a ransom in gold. He gave ‘em lead!", was the film's strapline in the Reporter. Meanwhile the Capitol began a double-bill of 'You Only Live Twice' and 'A Fistful of Dollars'.
And finally, St Helens town centre had in 1968 come close to having parking meters installed, after the council's Works Committee had granted provisional approval – which they later rescinded. That led to a person using the pseudonym "Robbery in Silence" writing this to the St Helens Reporter: "One-armed bandits are a racket, but no bigger racket than parking meters which are placed there to rob the motorist still more. Of course, motorists will pay up and park their cars in front of one of these evils instead of keeping away like I would. They would soon take them away if no one used them."
Perhaps the council's change of mind over meters had also been due to the Liverpool experience – as well as hostile public opinion. This week this article appeared in the Echo: "Thieves have stolen about £10,000 [around £160,000 in today's money] from Liverpool parking meters since they were introduced in 1965 – and it has cost the Corporation £40,000 to repair the meters after the raiders have struck.
"The shock figure was confirmed to-day by the city's chief engineer, Mr. lan Cucksey, who said they had 100 new, extra-tough steel meters on order. The Corporation bought 50 of these meters from America last year at a cost of £1,800. Said Mr. Cucksey: “Not a single one of these special cast steel meters has been broken into successfully. We did order them from America and this took about six months, but they are now made in Britain.”
"Normal meters are made of alloy cases and this was thought strong enough for Britain. Most of Liverpool's 2,600 meters are of this sort. But Liverpool's experience of vandalism of meters – probably greater than any other city in Britain – has convinced meter manufacturers that there is now a demand for the tough American type, said Mr. Cucksey.
"At one time the Corporation considered a special “secret device” to deter meter vandals. Explained Mr. Cucksey: “We were thinking in terms of a sound device like a klaxon. It would be wired into the meter and would be set off if the cash box was opened without a special key. It is unlikely that we will proceed with this plan now since extra-tough meters have proved successful.”"
Next week's stories will include the severe Eccleston school blaze, the priest at the Capitol who walked out of a sex film, an investigation into the Dobsons Lane gipsy camp, Pilks win big South American orders and the Vicar of St Mark's criticises tardy brides.
This week's many stories include the dilemma of the Haydock hole-in-the-heart dad, why youths misbehaving in Sefton Place were giving police a dog's life, the Pilkington Sub Aqua Club diver who almost died, the failing St Helens car washes and the expanding Lennon's supermarkets and off-licences.
We begin on the 30th, which was August Bank Holiday Monday. Rainford Parish Hall hosted an exotic bird show organised by the oddly named Foreign Fanciers Alliance.
On view were 200 colourful birds from all over the world ranging from tiny humming ones to big talking parrots from Australia.
Show manager John Long of Green Lane in Rainford (off Derby Drive) said: "We've also got the pygmy hermit, reputed to be the smallest humming bird in the world.
"They have these kind of shows in London and Leicester, but not this area. So we thought we would put one on ourselves for the public."
Fifteen skin divers from the Pilkington Sub Aqua Club spent the Bank Holiday off Anglesey and Peter Schwarz discovered a sunken wreck. However the find almost cost the 29-year-old his life.
After being hit by a terrific underwater current, Peter required hospital treatment for shock, exposure and exhaustion. The Echo wrote:
"At his home in Wyresdale Avenue, St. Helens, Peter is keeping a careful eye on the “prize” he brought back – the brass hinge from a rudder estimated to be 300 years old. He is keeping it in fresh water to dissolve any soluble salts, in order to preserve it.
"“I shall be notifying the Receiver of Wrecks about the find,” he said. “But I am keeping the exact location of the wreck secret for the time being. I know it is dangerous, but I shall be going back there in the next few weeks.”"
On the 31st Kenneth Foster of Victoria Place in Rainhill died in Whiston Hospital from the injuries that he'd received in a traffic accident.
The 16-year-old's motor scooter had smashed into a telegraph pole in Millbrook Lane in Eccleston.
Then during the evening of the 31st, Robert Walker of Mereland Way in Parr was admitted to Providence Hospital with a broken leg after a collision involving a car.
On September 1st the Liverpool Echo wrote: "Lennons Supermarkets, the St. Helens-based group with shops in the Merseyside area, keeps growing and growing".
A month earlier the chain's chairman, Terence Lennon, had anticipated in his annual report that fifteen additional wine and spirits outlets would be operating before Christmas.
At the company's annual meeting of shareholders held on the previous day, Lennon reported that this target was being exceeded.
Of the fifteen, five were already open and trading licences had been obtained for another eight.
In addition licensing applications were being made not just for the other two but also for five more. In all, the group would soon boast more than fifty off-licences.
As regards supermarkets, Lennons had two large ones in the process of development, and two further stores of conventional size were to be leased.
A century ago St Helens police were prosecuting youths for blocking pavements in the town centre – mainly in Church Street.
And fifty years later lads were still forcing passers-by into the road – with Inspector Tom Mather telling St Helens magistrates on the 2nd that the teenage gatherings were giving police a "dog's life".
However, Sefton Place (pictured above) was now the youths' favoured spot and as a result of a police crackdown, William Hay of Surrey Street, Peter Taylor of Hillside Avenue and James Haggerty of Rivington Avenue were each fined £10.
Automatic car washes were still quite new – having seemingly only arrived in St Helens in 1969.
But it does not appear that customers had immediately taken to them, considering the number of promotions that were advertised.
Last November Carr Mill Motors had made their car wash free for a whole week and just a few months ago the Four Acre Service Station in Clock Face Road was offering theirs free with a purchase of 2 gallons of petrol.
In the St Helens Reporter on the 3rd it was revealed that Hardshaw Garage's 5-minute car wash in Corporation Street had closed down for "business reasons".
However its sudden shut down six months earlier had left the town's mayor hopping mad.
Cllr. Charles Martin of Windle Street had paid a £10 subscription for a year's washes but complained to the paper that he received little value for his money:
"I was amazed. I had used the 25p car wash only twice . . . and it had cost me £5 a time."
However after six months of pestering, the Stoke-based owners of the car wash had now sent Cllr. Martin a refund cheque.
Tobacconist Peter Dewar had founded his business in Tontine Street in 1876 and after nearly a hundred years the firm was diversifying into men's fashions.
A new shop opened in Church Street on the 3rd and a full-page advertising feature appeared in the Reporter.
One of the reasons for its customer appeal – said the piece – was that there would be ashtrays "placed at strategic points" round the store. Probably not a great selling point today!
The old figure of a leprechaun known as "Paddy" – which had adorned the frontage of Dewar's shop since 1876 – had been moved to the outside of their new shop.
The autumn season of the Theatre Royal in St Helens began on the 3rd and 4th with two sell-out concerts featuring the Liverpool folk group The Spinners.
Theatre manager Jim Lovelace said: "All seats had gone for both performances within hours of our opening up the booking office."
In May I wrote how Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had written to Dr Christian Barnard in South Africa pleading with the heart pioneer to help save the lives of her two young nephews.
John Bickerstaffe and his brother Harold of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock both suffered from holes in their hearts.
Last week 13-year-old John underwent a major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital after preferring not to travel to South Africa – but sadly died.
On the 3rd his father Terence Bickerstaffe told the Echo: "We knew the operation was a risk, but it was one we had to take because he kept getting weaker.
"He put up a terrific battle to pull through the operation. He was very brave and we will always be proud of him."
Now the couple had the dilemma of deciding whether to allow their nine-year-old son Harold to undergo a similar operation.
"He is due to have his operation later this year," said Mr Bickerstaffe. "At this stage I do not know what we will do."
On the 5th regulars from the Golden Lion in Church Road in Rainford went on a 20-mile charity walk to raise funds for mentally handicapped children at Rathbone Hospital in Liverpool.
The route started at Ashurst Beacon and the walkers then passed through Billinge and Crank back to Rainford.
The treasurer of the Golden Lion charities committee, Alan Davies, told the Echo:
"From a football match, a dance and sponsored walk last year we raised £600 for cancer research, and so far we have £75 towards our effort for the hospital."
The Western 'Big Jake' starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara began 7 days of screenings at the ABC Savoy on the 5th.
"They wanted a ransom in gold. He gave ‘em lead!", was the film's strapline in the Reporter.
Meanwhile the Capitol began a double-bill of 'You Only Live Twice' and 'A Fistful of Dollars'.
And finally, St Helens town centre had in 1968 come close to having parking meters installed, after the council's Works Committee had granted provisional approval – which they later rescinded.
That led to a person using the pseudonym "Robbery in Silence" writing this to the St Helens Reporter:
"One-armed bandits are a racket, but no bigger racket than parking meters which are placed there to rob the motorist still more. Of course, motorists will pay up and park their cars in front of one of these evils instead of keeping away like I would. They would soon take them away if no one used them."
Perhaps the council's change of mind over meters had also been due to the Liverpool experience – as well as hostile public opinion. This week this article appeared in the Echo:
"Thieves have stolen about £10,000 [around £160,000 in today's money] from Liverpool parking meters since they were introduced in 1965 – and it has cost the Corporation £40,000 to repair the meters after the raiders have struck.
"The shock figure was confirmed to-day by the city's chief engineer, Mr. lan Cucksey, who said they had 100 new, extra-tough steel meters on order.
"The Corporation bought 50 of these meters from America last year at a cost of £1,800. Said Mr. Cucksey:
"“Not a single one of these special cast steel meters has been broken into successfully. We did order them from America and this took about six months, but they are now made in Britain.”
"Normal meters are made of alloy cases and this was thought strong enough for Britain. Most of Liverpool's 2,600 meters are of this sort.
"But Liverpool's experience of vandalism of meters – probably greater than any other city in Britain – has convinced meter manufacturers that there is now a demand for the tough American type, said Mr. Cucksey.
"At one time the Corporation considered a special “secret device” to deter meter vandals. Explained Mr. Cucksey:
"“We were thinking in terms of a sound device like a klaxon. It would be wired into the meter and would be set off if the cash box was opened without a special key. It is unlikely that we will proceed with this plan now since extra-tough meters have proved successful.”"
Next week's stories will include the severe Eccleston school blaze, the priest at the Capitol who walked out of a sex film, an investigation into the Dobsons Lane gipsy camp, Pilks win big South American orders and the Vicar of St Mark's criticises tardy brides.
We begin on the 30th, which was August Bank Holiday Monday. Rainford Parish Hall hosted an exotic bird show organised by the oddly named Foreign Fanciers Alliance.
On view were 200 colourful birds from all over the world ranging from tiny humming ones to big talking parrots from Australia.
Show manager John Long of Green Lane in Rainford (off Derby Drive) said: "We've also got the pygmy hermit, reputed to be the smallest humming bird in the world.
"They have these kind of shows in London and Leicester, but not this area. So we thought we would put one on ourselves for the public."
Fifteen skin divers from the Pilkington Sub Aqua Club spent the Bank Holiday off Anglesey and Peter Schwarz discovered a sunken wreck. However the find almost cost the 29-year-old his life.
After being hit by a terrific underwater current, Peter required hospital treatment for shock, exposure and exhaustion. The Echo wrote:
"At his home in Wyresdale Avenue, St. Helens, Peter is keeping a careful eye on the “prize” he brought back – the brass hinge from a rudder estimated to be 300 years old. He is keeping it in fresh water to dissolve any soluble salts, in order to preserve it.
"“I shall be notifying the Receiver of Wrecks about the find,” he said. “But I am keeping the exact location of the wreck secret for the time being. I know it is dangerous, but I shall be going back there in the next few weeks.”"
On the 31st Kenneth Foster of Victoria Place in Rainhill died in Whiston Hospital from the injuries that he'd received in a traffic accident.
The 16-year-old's motor scooter had smashed into a telegraph pole in Millbrook Lane in Eccleston.
Then during the evening of the 31st, Robert Walker of Mereland Way in Parr was admitted to Providence Hospital with a broken leg after a collision involving a car.
A month earlier the chain's chairman, Terence Lennon, had anticipated in his annual report that fifteen additional wine and spirits outlets would be operating before Christmas.
At the company's annual meeting of shareholders held on the previous day, Lennon reported that this target was being exceeded.
Of the fifteen, five were already open and trading licences had been obtained for another eight.
In addition licensing applications were being made not just for the other two but also for five more. In all, the group would soon boast more than fifty off-licences.
As regards supermarkets, Lennons had two large ones in the process of development, and two further stores of conventional size were to be leased.
A century ago St Helens police were prosecuting youths for blocking pavements in the town centre – mainly in Church Street.
And fifty years later lads were still forcing passers-by into the road – with Inspector Tom Mather telling St Helens magistrates on the 2nd that the teenage gatherings were giving police a "dog's life".
Automatic car washes were still quite new – having seemingly only arrived in St Helens in 1969.
But it does not appear that customers had immediately taken to them, considering the number of promotions that were advertised.
Last November Carr Mill Motors had made their car wash free for a whole week and just a few months ago the Four Acre Service Station in Clock Face Road was offering theirs free with a purchase of 2 gallons of petrol.
In the St Helens Reporter on the 3rd it was revealed that Hardshaw Garage's 5-minute car wash in Corporation Street had closed down for "business reasons".
However its sudden shut down six months earlier had left the town's mayor hopping mad.
Cllr. Charles Martin of Windle Street had paid a £10 subscription for a year's washes but complained to the paper that he received little value for his money:
"I was amazed. I had used the 25p car wash only twice . . . and it had cost me £5 a time."
However after six months of pestering, the Stoke-based owners of the car wash had now sent Cllr. Martin a refund cheque.
Tobacconist Peter Dewar had founded his business in Tontine Street in 1876 and after nearly a hundred years the firm was diversifying into men's fashions.
A new shop opened in Church Street on the 3rd and a full-page advertising feature appeared in the Reporter.
One of the reasons for its customer appeal – said the piece – was that there would be ashtrays "placed at strategic points" round the store. Probably not a great selling point today!
The old figure of a leprechaun known as "Paddy" – which had adorned the frontage of Dewar's shop since 1876 – had been moved to the outside of their new shop.
The autumn season of the Theatre Royal in St Helens began on the 3rd and 4th with two sell-out concerts featuring the Liverpool folk group The Spinners.
Theatre manager Jim Lovelace said: "All seats had gone for both performances within hours of our opening up the booking office."
In May I wrote how Elizabeth Livesey of Clarkes Crescent in Eccleston had written to Dr Christian Barnard in South Africa pleading with the heart pioneer to help save the lives of her two young nephews.
John Bickerstaffe and his brother Harold of Bishop Reeves Road in Haydock both suffered from holes in their hearts.
Last week 13-year-old John underwent a major operation at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital after preferring not to travel to South Africa – but sadly died.
On the 3rd his father Terence Bickerstaffe told the Echo: "We knew the operation was a risk, but it was one we had to take because he kept getting weaker.
"He put up a terrific battle to pull through the operation. He was very brave and we will always be proud of him."
Now the couple had the dilemma of deciding whether to allow their nine-year-old son Harold to undergo a similar operation.
"He is due to have his operation later this year," said Mr Bickerstaffe. "At this stage I do not know what we will do."
On the 5th regulars from the Golden Lion in Church Road in Rainford went on a 20-mile charity walk to raise funds for mentally handicapped children at Rathbone Hospital in Liverpool.
The route started at Ashurst Beacon and the walkers then passed through Billinge and Crank back to Rainford.
The treasurer of the Golden Lion charities committee, Alan Davies, told the Echo:
"From a football match, a dance and sponsored walk last year we raised £600 for cancer research, and so far we have £75 towards our effort for the hospital."
The Western 'Big Jake' starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara began 7 days of screenings at the ABC Savoy on the 5th.
"They wanted a ransom in gold. He gave ‘em lead!", was the film's strapline in the Reporter.
Meanwhile the Capitol began a double-bill of 'You Only Live Twice' and 'A Fistful of Dollars'.
And finally, St Helens town centre had in 1968 come close to having parking meters installed, after the council's Works Committee had granted provisional approval – which they later rescinded.
That led to a person using the pseudonym "Robbery in Silence" writing this to the St Helens Reporter:
"One-armed bandits are a racket, but no bigger racket than parking meters which are placed there to rob the motorist still more. Of course, motorists will pay up and park their cars in front of one of these evils instead of keeping away like I would. They would soon take them away if no one used them."
Perhaps the council's change of mind over meters had also been due to the Liverpool experience – as well as hostile public opinion. This week this article appeared in the Echo:
"Thieves have stolen about £10,000 [around £160,000 in today's money] from Liverpool parking meters since they were introduced in 1965 – and it has cost the Corporation £40,000 to repair the meters after the raiders have struck.
"The shock figure was confirmed to-day by the city's chief engineer, Mr. lan Cucksey, who said they had 100 new, extra-tough steel meters on order.
"The Corporation bought 50 of these meters from America last year at a cost of £1,800. Said Mr. Cucksey:
"“Not a single one of these special cast steel meters has been broken into successfully. We did order them from America and this took about six months, but they are now made in Britain.”
"Normal meters are made of alloy cases and this was thought strong enough for Britain. Most of Liverpool's 2,600 meters are of this sort.
"But Liverpool's experience of vandalism of meters – probably greater than any other city in Britain – has convinced meter manufacturers that there is now a demand for the tough American type, said Mr. Cucksey.
"At one time the Corporation considered a special “secret device” to deter meter vandals. Explained Mr. Cucksey:
"“We were thinking in terms of a sound device like a klaxon. It would be wired into the meter and would be set off if the cash box was opened without a special key. It is unlikely that we will proceed with this plan now since extra-tough meters have proved successful.”"
Next week's stories will include the severe Eccleston school blaze, the priest at the Capitol who walked out of a sex film, an investigation into the Dobsons Lane gipsy camp, Pilks win big South American orders and the Vicar of St Mark's criticises tardy brides.