A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE
1989
THE COUNCILS
JANUARY The West Yorkshire Police Authority had given £1,000 to Pontefract Crime Prevention Panel to provide better door locks and window catches on pensioners bungalows in the Huntwick area.. Featherstone Town Council also made a donation. Cr Keith Wilson said "It will give the elderly occupants a greater feeling of security and reduce their fear of crime".
MAY Cr Leslie Berry, head of history at Featherstone High School, was made the first female Town Mayor for Featherstone. Previously three women had been made chairman of Featherstone Urban District Council. She said "My main aim over the next 12 months is to promote the regeneration spirit which is typifying the town at the moment to try to get the place back on its feet again". Photo - The Express.
The Chamber of Trade and Commerce now had a chain of office to be worn by their president Roy Barker. They were working closely with Wakefield Metropolitan District Council on a £7,500 scheme for repairing roads and pavements in Station Lane, repainting shops and putting up hanging baskets.
JULY The district council offered grants of up to 50% to shopkeepers or businesses in Station Lane to have their shopfronts painted or even replaced.
DECEMBER A joint £25,000 package from the district council, Featherstone Town Council and commercial sponsors was announced for landscaping and environmental improvements. The first effort was new paving in Station Lane and at the first shopping precinct.
The new housing office in Wakefield Road was opened by Cr Graham Isherwood.
DR ROBERT FOSTER
Dr Robert Foster was born in Burma where his father worked as a hospital doctor. He studied medicine at Leeds University. After working on passenger liners in the 1950's he returned to Featherstone to join his father in his GP practice and took it over in 1952.
He was now newly retired and was named in April as the first honorary medical director of the Five Towns Hospice nearing completion in Halfpenny Lane, Pontefract. He said he had lived at Featherstone Hall for 50 years and intended staying there. Photo - The Express.
THE ROVERS
The club was concerned about the conduct of a section of fans whose behaviour had brought letters of complaints from opposition supporters as well as Rovers fans. A warning was printed in the programme in April which stated "We at Featherstone Rovers are determined to rid ourselves of this despicable group of louts and will ban for life any person who is arrested by the police and found guilty of unsavoury conduct". Chairman Richard Evans said "We are treating the problem with the utmost seriousness and are working closely with the police to wipe it out".
In May Anita Coultas of Pontefract was crowned as Featherstone Rovers Queen. She worked at Gaunsons clothing factory. Photo - The Express.
At the annual general meeting it was said the cashline scheme had made nearly £90,000 for the club, but the new contract scheme had increased payments to players from £69,378 to £167,387.
Secretary Terry Jones said the behaviour of a small section of fans had caused concern. Some had been convicted after arrest at Rovers games and had been banned from the ground for life. The club only wanted those willing to support it in a right and proper manner.
The Rovers got to the Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley in November against Bradford Northern and lost 14-20. There was a trouble on the terraces during the game. Rovers fans claimed the police over reacted about a bit of pushing and shoving, but the police said they only moved in after coins were thrown at them and there was danger of crushing. The Express photos show Rovers supporters' club vice chairman Des Waites appealing to the crowd, and a Rovers supporter being led away.
Rovers chairman Richard Evans resigned saying the Headingley trouble was the last straw. Eric Gardner, a committee member since 1978, was elected in his place.
THE EXPRESS BUS APPEAL
An Express appeal was launched in April to provide £14,000 for a minibus to take disabled pupils at Featherstone High School to sports events and spells of work experience. The school had hired transport from a local firm, but the bus was destroyed in a fire. The Express photo shows some of the disabled pupils with their medals.
Featherstone High School PE teacher Jeff Strut approached Featherstone Rovers' chairman, Richard Evans, in May to see if he could help with the provision of tracksuits for disabled pupils. Mr Evans had a word with the players and they donated £200 from their wages. The Express photo shows Peter Smith with head boy Lee Holmes and head girl Claire Sharp.
In July four disabled pupils from Featherstone High School took part in a national junior athletics meeting at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Lee Wells, Katie White, Paul Winstanley and Grant Cooper all won gold medals.
By September the minibus appeal had reached £6,000. The BBC's Children in Need Fund were impressed and made a larger than usual grant of £10,000 so the fund reached a satisfactory conclusion sooner than expected.
Mr Tom Watson, acting headmaster, said "When the Express launched our minibus scheme in April we thought it would be a long and difficult job to raise the money. It seems we greatly underestimated the generosity and good will in the community. Everyone is over the moon about the Children in Need contribution".
AMANDA HOLLIS
Amanda Hollis age 15 of Little Lane had been struck down by a rare blood disease and had undergone chemotherapy in St James Hospital, Leeds. The doctors considered a bone marrow transplant would help and her sister Tracy was found to be a match and she readily agreed. The photos of Amanda (top) and Tracy are from the Express.
The operation was done in October, and Amanda had to spend five weeks in an isolation ward. She returned home in November and told the Express "I couldn't wait to get home".
She had to avoid contact with other people as much as possible for 12 months because of the risk of an infection. An appeal was launched to help her through the tedium. Lin Pac donated £100, the North Featherstone Lane WMC held charity nights, and a collection at a Rovers game raised £239. Amanda was banned form going to Rovers games, so Rovers player Peter Smith went to her home in December to present her with a cheque for £1,000.
1989 NEWS ITEM
JANUARY After a spate of thefts and vandalism on the Girnhill Lane allotments all keyholders were asked to make sure they locked the gates after leaving. John Holt's loft was broken into and he lost two pigeons and corn valued at £180. Some sheds were also entered and gardening tools thrown around. He said the council had done a good job fencing off the site and providing strong gates. It was vital all key-holders realised the importance of locking up.
Featherstone Town Cricket Club was in trouble with the Pontefract and District League because its facilities were not up to standard. A development fund was set up to provide the necessary finance. One problem was the premises were shared with rugby league and football. Cub secretary Walter Wadsworth said "Sometimes when the rugby, football and cricket teams play at home, it gets very cramped and we have to change in the tea room".
All Saints' Church of England School had 70 pupils when opened 12 years ago and now had 143. A new mobile classroom housed 30 at a cost of £9,500, of which the school had to provide £1,500. The Parents' Committee had raised it in five months.
FEBRUARY Jeffrey Davis age 60 of Little Lane won a £5,500 Mini Mayfair in a raffle. He said he failed his driving test in 1960 and intended keeping his bus pass. His wife Eileen said they were going to sell the car and share the cash among the family. Photo - The Express.
Purston Infants' School was raising money to buy bricks for Prince of Wales Hospice. So far they had reached a sum of £200. To illustrate their progress they were building their own wall. The Express photo shows Mrs Margaret Sykes of the hospice Featherstone Support Group looking on as more bricks are added.
MARCH Lin Pac Plastics made expanded polystyrene packaging products and used chloroflourocarbon (CFC) gases in the process. These gases had now been found to adversely affect the earth's ozone layer, so Lin Pac devised a means of modifying their machinery so CFCs were not used. The managing director, Peter O'Shea, said "It has been very difficult to institute the change but we feel it has been the correct decision to take".
Ackton Hospital closed and the last patients were transferred to Pontefract General Infirmary. It would continue to operate as the administrative headquarters of the Pontefract Health Authority and one ward would be mothballed in case of future need.
Business men on the Ackton Hall Enterprise Park were upset at British Coal's decision to sell it off. They were hoping to get together and put in a bid. British Coal said they were selling the site because they hadn't the capital to develop it. It needed a new road, sewers and electrical sub station.
Chesney Youth Club had obtained a £1,445 Suzuki buggy to enable disabled youngsters to tear along over bumps and hills. A special obstacle course would be built for it. The centre had already obtained £1,500 towards the £18,000 needed to buy a minibus to bring the disabled to the centre. There was also a sound system where the choice of music was up to the members.
APRIL Chesney Youth Club celebrated its first anniversary. It catered for young people with disabilities as well as able-bodied youngsters. The facilities included, basketball, volleyball, snooker, pool, darts. ladies keep fit classes and air-rifle shooting under supervision. There was a gym, art and craft room and a coffee bar.
Ian Clayton published his book Mobile Memories - Looking Back and Forwards based on the stories and views of local pensioners. He said these are voices which should be heard. Their voices are this communities history. If they are not recorded they will be lost. What I tried to do is catch them while they were still fresh. Photo - The Express.
MAY West Yorkshire Fire Service appealed for more retained firemen for Featherstone. They would be on call by a paging system 24 hours a day for a retainer fee of £1,059.
Girls of 10 and 11 at North Featherstone Junior School in Gordon Street were playing rugby league in mixed teams at the school. The headmaster, Terry Hall, said "We have never had anything like this before and being in Featherstone where they are steeped in rugby, the girls think it's great". The Express photo shows Tony Marchant of Castleford RLFC giving some coaching.
Les Wagner age 92 who was the sole British Legion member in Featherstone, decided to resign because of his age. Members in other towns held a meeting to try and get the Featherstone branch going again.
A public meeting was held in Pontefract by West Yorkshire Transport Authority and Metro at which it was announced work had started on the reopening of the Wakefield to Pontefract railway line to passenger traffic. It was expected to be completed in 1991.
A consortium of businessmen were putting together a deal to buy Ackton Hall Enterprise Park. They feared if it was sold to a large developer the rents could increase dramatically and force the small businesses out.
JUNE Teenage vandals broke into Gordon Street Junior and Infants School one weekend and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage. They ransacked teachers' offices, smashed bottles of booze, damaged furniture, daubed graffiti on walls, broke instruments, let off fire extinguishers and ripped pupils paintings from walls. Mrs Lynne Thomas, who was a cleaner at the school, said girls were involved because they found lipstick scrawled all over the place. There were beer cans and glue pots near the benches outside.
JULY Police were searching for a teenage prowler in the Halfpenny Lane area who had molested two women and exposed himself to two teenage girls. Det Insp Barry Jewitt said one local youth was probably responsible for all four incidents. He was sure someone knew the identity of him and appealed for information. The photo of the police on door to door inquiries is from the Express.
AUGUST The Central WMC Funshow won a Bass North-East 1989 Community Award and £1,000. In four years they had raised more than £3,500 for local charities.
A hot water tank valve at the library sheared and 1,000 gallons flooded the exhibition area. Pontefract firemen pumped the water away before it damaged books on the shelves.
The children at Purston First School were raising money for the Five Tos Hpslice. For each 25p They wrote their name on a paper brick and watched as the wall grew. Their combined total had now reached £325.50. Photo - The Express.
John Fox of Leatham Park Road made models of things from ornamental wells to a copy of St Thomas's Church which was on view in the library. He donated them to charity, and one was auctioned and fetched £410. The Express photo shows Joanne Dean of Katrina Grove admiring John Fox's model.
SEPTEMBER Workers at Lin Pac numbering 180 voted 98% in favour of industrial action. The General Municipal and Boilermakers Union said Lin Pac had refused to discuss the introduction of a pension scheme and an improved sick pay scheme.
OCTOBER The Central Funshow charity gave their brewery award cheque to Stanley Royd Hospital. The Express photo shows (at the front from the left) nursing assistant Mary Firth, Funshow organiser Moir Taylor, charge nurse Max Parking, and Funshow members Margaret Westwood and Keith Taylor.
The Springfield opencast site held an open day attended by thousands of visitors. Land Rover rides around the site were laid on to show how the coal was dug out and the land restored. The photos are from the Express.
Purston Infants School won an award in the first schools primary group in the council's environment competition. Their project was developing a conservation area in the school grounds, an anti-litter campaign and bulb planting at Ferndale Old People's Home.
NOVEMBER There were rumours, described as wild and malicious, that Cr Graham Isherwood had used his position to gain a council house in Ackton Lane, and taken on men on the dole to refurbish it. The rumours got so widespread that he was contacted by researchers for the BBC television programme That's Life. The local Labour Party interviewed him and agreed it was a lot of nonsense. He told the Express "It's unbelievable how stories like this are created. My name isn't even on a council house waiting list, so I don't have any intention of moving into a council house". Cr Steve Vickers, chairman of Featherstone Labour Party said Cr Isherwood had the unanimous support of members.
DECEMBER Paul Maw of Went Avenue had an Alsatian dog. It got tangled up in a length of electrical cable tied to a dog chain outside the house and became distressed. His mother, Sharon Hodgson, was in the house with his two young children and she called the fire brigade. The dog refused all attempts to aid it and tried to bite anyone who came near. Eventually fireman Phil Bailey managed to lie on top of it and pin its head down. Then it was a simple matter for other firemen, wearing gloves just in case, to untangle the cable.