PAGE 8, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1979, WHITBY FREE PRESS F Ul I Brian Winter's Historie ai Whitby j M THE OGNFACTORI Last week this column told the story of the Whitby Piano Factory. This week we look at the history of the town's other musical instrument manufacturer, the Mudge and Yarwood Organ Factory. In 1872, the. Joseph Rainer piano company moved from EEINNS 7:30 P.M. QNLY ENDT ,MET jATINhES FRI..MSAT. SUN, MON*' 1:30 PMI BM ýPUBLISHING Corne in& look around ut our selectin FEATURING HUNDREDS> 0.F DIFFERENT PAPER BACK NOVELS & ~ MAGAZINE TELE VISION » ÂDVERTISED ~~MYSTIQUE BOOK NOVELS 0F ROMANCE &SUiSPENCE BUY ONE & GET ODNE FREE! Limit one per customer! HNOURS: Mon - Wed 9:00- 6:00 hn - Fd 9:00 -8:00 Sotmrdsy10:00 --5:00 MBM PUBLISHING' 131 Brock St. Ne doctor on board of association Dr. Don Greenwood, a psychologist at the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, has heen clectcd to the Board of Jirectors of the Ontario Psychological Association. rhis is a voluntary profes- sional association represent- ing more than 900 providers cf psychological services in Ontario. Dr. Grcenwood represents the Central Region, which includes .York, Durham, Muskoka, Simcoc, Victoria, Haliburton and Dufferin. $4495 Whitby to Guelph, and a year later the Mudge and'Yarwood Organ Company rnoved from Guelph to Whitby. One, wonders ifteeWs somne reciprocal greement bctwcen the two towns regarding an exchange of industries. The Mudge and Yarwood Organ Company commêeed business in June, 1873 in a building located on the east side of Brock Street, nearly opposite Centennial Park. The owners of the company were Fred Mudge, the business manager, and R.J. Yarwood, who was likely responsible for the actual manufacturing of the company's products--organs, melodeons and'piano-fortes. The main building of the organ factory, which stood in the *centre of a five-acre block, Was. 85 by 40 feet, the Iower floor rbeing divided into a spacious show roomn, stock room, tuning *room, packing room, carving roomn, and "coal box" a fire-proof kiln for dryîng the works for the musical instruments. In the latter department there was also an immense and powerful iron press, with a pressure of several tons, used in joining together more firrnly and strengthening the several parts of the instruments. On the second floor there werc also two other tuning rooms, a roomn where the "action" was placed in readiness for tuning, other rooms containing bcllows and turning machinery,- and rooms for varnishing, polishing, finishing and stencil work. The third» storey was used entirely for drying lumber, thousands of feet of which werc stored on the premises. In its first three months the company spent $11,000 building and equipping its factory. In Septfember there were 30 instruments ready for shipment. At that time there we re 25 employees and the company was paying out $1,000 a month in wages. The Mudge and Yarwood Organ Company manufactured al kinds of reed instruments from the lowest to. the highest priced. Their factory was a convered carpenter building which had been an eye-sore -in the community until it was refurbished. The Town of Whitby offered the company $2,500 in bonus debentures to attract it to the community, and the proprietors promised to build a number of dwellings for their workers. A furthcr bonus of $2,500 came later. Because the piano factory was des troyed by fire, the Mudge and Yarwood Organ Company set up a fire safety, program with a number of pails of water placed in each department, rýady at a moment's notice. Among the products of the Mudge and Yarwood Organ. Company were "The American Organ," which was produced in a black walnut case, and -"Yarwood's Melodeon Organ ", in a roésewood piano case. Patented in 1873 and made exclusively in Whitby, it was warrented for five years. Hospwital An accident f requency award was presenhcd by the Electric Utiiity Safety Aýso- ciation Association (EUSA) to Gerald Cox, chairman of the Whitby Public Utilities Commission at a meeting held in the Royal York'Hotel, Toronto, in March. The Elcctric Utility Safety Association embraces Ont- ario Hydro and ail electric utilities in Ontario in addi- tion to. the majority of lune construction firms in the province. This particular award is presented to the member that has no accidents within the year and has worked up ho 60,000 man hours within that period without a com- pensable injury. The Whitby PUC has a total in cxcess of 51,000 hours worked wihhout an accident. At a dinner held on April 4 at which the Commission and ail employecs attended, Mr. Cox outlined the cost, loss of time, and anguish of compensable injuries ho workers and industry. Mr. Cox congratulated al the PUC employees on their safety record and presented the plaque to Office Manager Rex Hopkins, Meter Superin- tendent Harold Watters and Line Superintendent David McKeag, on behalf of ail the emplloyees. The employees in thee une and meter departments were presented with decals to, wear on their hard hats showing the number of years each had safely worked with the Whitby Public Utilities Commission without an injury. The office staff were pre- sentcd with pins showing the number of. years each had worked without loss of timeé causcd by accidents. Mayor Jim Gartshore stated that it was a pleasure- to attend a gathcring on such a pleasant occasion and praiscd the PUC employecs for working in excess of 50'000 hours in such hazar-, dous work as clectrie distri- bution, without receiving any injuries. Moe Sheppard, represen- tative of the Electric Utili- tics Safety Association also congratulated ail depart- nients and employees on their excellent record and stated they sbould be very proud of their achievement. u 7" Scope Test end Adlust " Shampoo Motor " Brake Inspcionm " Front End Inspectio>n la Lubr Cil & Filtor Tune-Up Parts Extra ýK vi n O'Connor's > W H1TB3Y" 200 DUNDAS ST. W., WHITBY 668-611'1 SPRING c TUl~P SPECIAL One of Mudge and Yarwood's melodeons is on display in the Lynde Flouse Museumi, operated by the Whitby Historical Society.. A label inside the melodeon bears the date "Feb. 23, 1875." This melodeon was purchased by the historical society from an antique store in-Barrie in June 1976. It was formerly in a house in Orillia. In February, 1875 the company held its annual mneeting and declared a dividend at a rate of eight per' cent per year. Directors of thé company elec ted at' this meeting wcrc Fred Mudge, A. Yarwood, G. Young Smith, Yeoman Gibson, and R.J. Yarwood. A.J. Wright was secretary. In September 1875, as part of its agreement with the town,, the Mudge and Yarwood company erectcd two two-storey brick dwellings for its workers on Green Street. Thomas Deveraîl and George Cormack, Whitby craftsmen, were the builders. The company also crected a two-storey brick dwelling on Athol Street. In November 1875, a correspondent of the Whitby Gazette complained that the organ company had not fulfilled the conditions under which it had received a bonus of $5,000 from the town. He said the company was to hire 50 mnen, but was not emfploying more than one tenth that number. The company rcplied that the tcrms were to employ 50 men or have a paid up capital of $25,000. Since the capital was paid up, the town could not compel the company to employ the 50 men. Although information is lacking, it is known that the company ran into difficulties and closcd its Whitby factory by 1880. Where the organ factory went from here,-we do not know. The Yarwoods appear to have left town, but !Fred Mudgc remaincd in Whitby until his death in 1908, holding the position of Recorder (Secretary) of a lodge called the Ancient Order of United Workmen. The organ factory, was'abandoned again, and was not put to use until a woolcn miii was established on the prmssi 1887. Whitby PUC..TP. gets award for no accidents at work m 668-6881 MOREI