20 - Southpoint Sun
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
1973 MGB: one owner since new! THE OLD CAR DETECTIVE Bill Sherk An email arrived from Ralph Poupard: “Hi Bill. I have enjoyed reading your Old Car Detective column every week for years in the Essex Free Press. “I am the owner of a 1973 MGB Roadster that I purchased new in June of 1973 from Downtown Motors on Wyandotte Street in Windsor, Ontario. I always loved British sports cars and as I went through the lot with the salesman, I saw a Damask red (maroon) MGB parked next to the fence. I was hooked and ended up buying that car. “When my wife and I got married in June of 1974, we took the MGB on our honeymoon to Muskoka, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal, and back home to Windsor. “For the first six years, I drove it daily from our home in Essex to Windsor, installing a fibreglass top on it for the winters. I didn’t know much about auto mechanics but I took a course at Essex High School and have performed all the maintenance on it after the one-year
warranty was up. “When our eldest daughter got married, I drove her to the ceremony in the MGB. “We have taken it on many road trips. On one trip to Reno, Nevada, in 2011, a large pickup truck backed into the front of our MGB while waiting in line at US Customs. The hood (bonnet in Britain) and grille were bent, but since the hood would still open and close properly, we continued on and finished the trip, getting it repaired when we got home. “In 2019, I decided to restore it by replacing the complete unibody structure and new floors, etc. since the originals were getting very rusty. With many new body parts, new paint and interior, it feels like a new car again. “It has the original 1798 cc 4-cylinder engine with 189,000 miles on it. It has been extremely reliable over the years and it has never let me down. It is a mechanical part of our family. “I wonder how many other people have owned a car this long.” I’m always looking for stories. Email billtsherk@sympatico.ca.
Ralph Poupard’s 1973 MGB bought new 48 years ago.
Yes, our printing department is open for business!
The Heinz ball team after a game at Jack Miner’s, with Mr. Miner on the far right.
Heinz ball team remembered
By C. Scott Holland A little known fact about the former Heinz Canada factory in Leamington, is that they had their own baseball team, as well as a diamond on which they played their home games. A century ago, the northwest corner of the factory’s property was developed into a top-notch baseball diamond, situated at the corner of Sherk and Oak streets. The Heinz team began playing exhibition games, but by 1920, were involved in a league that featured teams sponsored by various businesses in Essex and Kent counties. Among their opposition were squads from Windsor and Chatham. They would often play a special contest against a team from Detroit - usually called the Stars. In 1921, the Heinz players complained to the company that they needed a clubhouse and change room. The company had one built and this move certainly raised the ire of the vis-
DELIVERY or CURBSIDE SOCIAL DISTANCING WITH YOUR FAMILY RESTAURANTS IN LEAMINGTON, KINGSVILLE AND WHEATLEY
ERY TAKE OUT & DELIV
SPRINTING UTHPOI NT & PROMO www.southpointprinting.ca
EMAIL US AT:
print@southpointsun.ca
iting teams. So the company rectified that the following year, when a similar facility was erected for the visitors. For just over a decade, the Heinz 57s were as powerful a team as the town’s junior squad and often the two would play one another. Some of the players actually played on both squads during a season until formal rules curtailed that around 1924. One can only imagine watching the weekend contests while work continued at the factory on Saturdays. With the expanding tomato production and perhaps a lack of interest in the ‘business league’, the Heinz team played their final games in 1932, although an alumni team would play occasionally usually during the Heinz picnic weekends in later years. Those young men — most of whom slaved at their Heinz jobs during the week — became stars and heroes in games on the weekends and their skill is now just a footnote in lost time.
WED-FRI 12-8PM TUE, SAT & SUN 4-8PM armandospizza.com
519-322-2266
R PICK UP OR DELIVERY FULL MENU AVAILABLE FO ORDER ONLINE FOR PICK UP OR DELIVERY AT
CRAVELEAMINGTON.CA
26 ERIE ST N, LEAMINGTON Or Call
L O CA L S CRAFT BEERE L B A IL AVA ! FOR PICK UP
519-322-0032
