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. \] \--\ L fi--/---fll [ ~ & said it would be of no help in selecting the Iumber as you -- ' : The Walker M.l" couldn't tell the required quality by looking at the ash. . | & The mill was locat.ed on Lot 15, Concession 3. It was However, Robert was insistent and sure that he knew | lbmlt after the great windstorm in 1913. The storm had quite a bit about wood. He was finally taken and shown | c blown the roofs off many houses and barns which had to _ samples and given the explanation of why one piece was | ! be replaced. Bushes had been blown out by roots and the * accepted and the other rejected. He must have gained . trees needed to be cut into logs and timber. The mill was . some knowledge from this exercise as no future ash that -- built by John Davidson who ran it for four years. It was he delivered was returned. : then sold to J. J. Tyson, _ The main markets for lumber from the Mill were the ! ' many furniture factories in the area. National Table, | A couple of years later the mill was bought by Owen Sound, Fitton & Parker, Southampton and | Robert Walker, Allenford. He paid Mr. Tyson $400 for Hepworth Furniture, Southampton, bought maple, ash, | the mill machinery. Eight to ten men were required to elm and birch. Mr. Walker was a Director of Hepworth | operate the mill. Sid Duffy, Hepworth, was foreman, Furniture for many years. | Jack Reid, fireman, and Tom Reid, Will Chambers, | Graham Chambers and Harvey Beirnes were sawyers. Another market for 11_1mbcr was Sauble .Beach. Mr. | Mr. Reid also had a threshing machine and during Walker leased a large tract Qf beafh f.rom .Indxan Affairs. . harvest Bill Askin replaced him as fireman. He then leased the lots which ranged in price from $20 to | . . j $40 in later years to people wishing to build cottages. The | The property on which the mill was located was same lots now cost over $700 and $800 to lease per year. ) leased first from Jack Davidson, then his nephew Alpine, . ol and later from Jim Davidson, grandson of Jack Gerald, th; younger Walker son, worked with h.ls ! Davidsos. father at the mill and trucked for several years. The mill / . operated until 1951. There were few days in his life when ; The mill was run by a steam--powered plant and Robert. Walker wasn't up early and out working -- often | required ninety pounds of steam to run. The huge furnace until late at night. He thoroughly enjoyed "doing | was fired with sawdust and edgings. An old log book business". He died in 1954 at 75 years of age. ; 3showed 560M was sawn in 1932. The logs came from ' wood lots bought in the area and loads of logs purchased a ! ! on the Peninsula. The logs were cut into timber and the The George Walker Family ! {sawn-off edges were used for slabs. A big truckload of George Michael Walker (1822--1892) came from ! slabs sold for $18 or $20. Minto Township with his family George, Robert and | The mill was quite a profitable venture and was a Mary to Amabel Township in 1852. He got a farm on Lot | busy place for many years. Lumber from the mill was sold 15 , Concession 2fror_n the Crown, now the home of Mr. | over a big radius. Railway ties (various sizes 8"x8"x10' and Mrs. Charles Mizen. His son George continued to and 8"x8"x1?, etc) were sawn at the mill and sold live on this far.m where .he raised a family qf ten children. through a tie broker to the C.N.R. The ties were loaded He was married to Elizabeth McKiddie in 1875. They | onto flat cars at the railway station in Allenford. replaced the log cabin with a large cement block house in ' ; . 1908, the home still occupied by the Charles Mizen | | Many of the local barns were constructed from family. | timber and Iumber sawn at the mill, Lumber was sold to . I Massey Ferguson, Toronto to be used in the manufacture George sold the farm to Joseph Blakely in 1923, and | of threshing machines and other farm machinery. received the hotel in Allenford as part of the deal. George | . . and Lizzie lived in the hotel for several years before | Elm was -truf:ked to Breslau to be used in making purchasing a small house on Alice Street {now owned by | hockey sticks. Knights at Mgaford bought hard maple for Marian Shirreff). Their family consisted of: ' flooring. Squares (various sized 2" x 4", 2" x 6" and 2" x: | 8") were sold to the Polymar plant in Sarnia to be 1. George (1876--1946) who married Ina Gowan in 1908 | . 'used for pipe bridging. The shipyard at Collingwood and farmed for many years. Later he moved to Allenford I' | purchased basswood for patterns. Timber from the mill and was a mail carrier. His children were John and ; 'twas sppplied for the L'ion's Head dock and the Big Bay Alberta who were both teachers. : | dock in the Bruce Peninsula. . 2. Robert (1 §78--195 4. 0 | One contract during the Sécond World War was to . deliver ash to Weston to be used in making airplane 3. Eleanor (1880--1967) who married John Vert. I wings. The ash had to be of excellent quality and had to 4. Mary (1882--1948) who married James McIntosh. (See | pass five tests. The price was $250 per M, a high price at E Lot 11, Concession D for their family.) } the time. 5. Wellington (1896--1933) ; Mr. Ken MacKinnon told of going down to Weston . s a 1 on the truck with Robert Walker to deliver a load of ash. 8. Malicl £1590--1938) who rrTamed Charles.Askm. | Any lumber not passing the five tests was returned. Mr. 7. Alberta (1888--1907) who died of pneumonia at 19 years | ! Walker wanted to see samples of ash that had passed the of age. , | tests and samples of ash that hadn't passed the tests. The. . _ 8. Harold who married Hughena MacGregor in 1925 and | { plant manager was reluctant to go to all that trouble and _ _ farmed north of Elsinore. Their eight children were Roy, | L._----'------\__/-----------'.--_____.__(--/'---- o. oommmunindtnimpnmimmmmrmnsnnite itc t roomemid