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535-03 Page 491:0 0 ma,q ll- 476'� Beachville's firehall, Free Press. Woodstock Bureau BEACHVILLE — This village of 980 was 1 t without local- fire protection when a 1 aze destroyed the fireball and firefighting quipment ear Sala do o t e fire, in which damage is ex- pected to exceed $100,000, has not been de- termined. Destroyed were the fireball, two firefight- ing vehicles, a tractor and snow -removal equipment owned by South-West Oxford Township, a pool table, some Beachville Hy: dro Commission equipment and a utility shed. The blaze was discovered about 7:30 a.m. when an alarm in the firehall was triggered. A wall of fire met local volunteers. De. partments Woodstock, Fm­ b o, mountfrom Elgin and � and11Brownsville were called to help. Conn. Howard Cook of South-West Oxford Township said the combined fire depart. To most visitors to the new Beachville museum Saturda , this 'doll and cra- dle had antique vat -tie. To Lisa Cook, nine, of Ing-ersoF,and her six -year -old brother David, age made no difference. Just being a doll and cradle was enough. (Photo by Williams) 7 / F 76 following 8 yearswork Free Press Woodstock Bureau group that organized that display formed the BEACHVILLE — A church with 140 years historical society here to. establish a per- tm; hind it and a local effort with eight .years mGnent s museum. behind it combined Saturday to open the Grants from the local council, townships and Oxford County, with provincial aril <'oors of the Beachville District Historical . 5uciety Museum. federal .government support, provided the; In its first weekend, 500 visitors passed $10,000 required. through thoso doors. Current displays document. history here Renovation of the former Trinity Anglican dating back to 1791, with a religious room, C fmrch on Highway 2 got its impetus in 1967 an old store, an early Canadian kitchen and „hen 2,000 personssignedthe visitors' book an old school, as well as photographs of the at the "Old Beachville" display in the for- development of the area's unique limestone ,.ter 11rcker Genend Store. '[ It year, the t+Ii,1011- JId Ingersoll compa% wins firehall iob_f Free Press Woodstock Bureau BEACHVILLE — Robert Weigel Construc- tion Company of Ingersoll has been awarded the contract for construction of the new $46,- 707 Beachville area fireball. The two -bay fireball, including a meeting room, will be built on West Hill Road at the south edge of Beachville. South-West Oxford Township clerk Helen Prouse said work will start as soon as a "few minor details" are settled. The old fireball and two trucks were des- troyed in a fire May 17. The trucks were replaced and are being kept in a garage. firefighting gear go up The Beachville volunteer fire department recently joined with the Brownsville and Mount Elgin departments to form the South- West Oxford Township fire department. The Beachville unit is waiting for delivery of a. new 1,500-gallon tank truck. In the meantime one of the other South-West Ox- ford units is. expected to lend Beachville a vehicle for emergency use. ments saved neighboring homes ownedMby William Sutherland Jr., and James cA- dams. The Sutherland home was slightly damaged and a utility shed in the McA- dam's property was destroyed. Beachville United' Church, next to the fire - hall, was slightly damaged and Sunday ser- vices were held on the lawn. The fireball, a 50-by 150-foot single -storey building once served as a drive- shed for horses while owners attended the church. Thomas Williams of Sweaburg Qions of the Order of Icarus for advancement of manned flight. airman has flown between 6,00 n War and ■ ■ �V y in smoke Free Press Woodstock Bureau 0 has been honored by the Senior Compan- service of his aeronautical skills for the Since 1917, the Oxford County veteran and 7,000 hours, including First World test pilot service. only smiled at old flyero Free Press Woodstock Bureau SWEABURG—"They only smiled," said Thomas Williams, "when I asked for enough (air)time to get a helicopter licence." ' However, the Sweaburg resident, who at 86 is Canada's oldest licensed pilot, got to fly one recently and spent about an hour in the air at Calgary. Although he maintains that he would still like to have a licence to fly helicop- ters, he has "no serious intention to do it." Mr. Williams said the instructor had him fly the helicopter for most of the hour of instruction. The instructor land- ed the craft on a small pad and insisted that he fly it out. It had been 25 years or so, Mr. Wil. liams recalled, that he had flown in a helicopter and then he had only partial control of the craft. Over a three-week trip out west in late April and May, the Sweaburg pilot flew with friends in British Columbia and over his early homestead in Alberta. Although he's flown between 6,000 and 7,000 hours in the air by his own esti. mate, he describes a $12.50 railway trip from Vancouver to Lillooet, B.C., as his "best bargain in sight-seeing." His train trip also enabled him to visit with newspaper editor Margaret (Ma) Murray, whom he described as "a fabu• lous woman," herself having flown in the Arctic and China. "I do very little flying," Mr. Williams said, "generally 10 to 12 flights a sum- mer:. I do it once in a while —more for the pleasure of flying, not to just get somewhere. "I sort of do it for a little exhilara- tion." lie says the last time he flew his 1937 Fleet 21M biplane was last fall before it was put into winter storage. The craft was flown by a fellow mem. ber of the Woodstock Flying Club to Fort Erie for a fly -in planned for the July 1 weekend, postponed due to bad weather until last weekend. Plans were to have it back for a fly -in at the Woodstock club Sunday. The plane did not get back in time. Mr. Williams, whose first flights were in August, 1916, as an observer and in the spring of 1917 in Edinburgh as a training pilot, has had his licence re- newed until May, 1973. The First World War ace, who shot down "16 or 17" enemy planes by his own count-13 officially —said the big- gest improvement in aircraft "in my time" has been the jet engine. "There appears about no limit to the speed an aircraft can be flown at," he said. In 1967, he was honored by the Canadi- an Owners' and Pilots' Association who named him Canada's outstanding pilot of the year. His awards include Britain's Military. Cross and Italy's El Valor Mil- litaire.