Looking Back – news from the John O'Groat Journal of yesteryear
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'Drastic measures' at riverside
From the Groat of February 9 , 1923
In his column Pulteney Notes, the writer "Cairndhuna" noted that the Riverside Committee in Wick was "at last to take drastic measures with the trees which obscure, especially during the summer months, the statue of the late lamented Dr John Alexander".
He wrote: "Trees are all right in their own places, but we can have too much of a good thing.
"I hope there will be no more nibbling at a branch here and there; let them all go, and as the committee are composed of the most artistic and aesthetic members of the community, we may rest assured that they will make it a place of beauty and an adornment to the town.
"By doing so, it is hoped they will manage to sweep away the unlovely mass of fungus which gathers on the bed of the river and forms not only an offence to the eye, but may also turn to be a menace to the health of the lieges."
Elsewhere, two schemes were discussed to improve the town's Harmsworth Park.
At a meeting in the Carnegie library, those who attended were told of plans to repair the park to allow the football association to complete the season's programme and the ploughing, levelling and sowing down of part of the park to be ready for sport.
A decision on the work was postponed and a committee and subcommittees were formed with a view to raising money for schemes to improve the park.
Oil project would employ 650
From the Groat of February 9, 1973
"A wide variety of information" was made available by Chicago Bridge Ltd at a public meeting about the proposed development of Dunnet Bay for oil-related work.
The Wick meeting was one of three held in the county, the others being in Thurso and Castletown.
The oil-rig structure which would be built at the bay was estimated to cost £20 million, while the site concept and buildings would cost £3m.
One-fifth of Dunnet beach would be required for the project, it was reported, and would be restored when the site was no longer required.
A labour force of 650 would be needed on construction work and, of these, between 400 and 500 would be local or recruited from elsewhere if local people were not available.
It was stated that "the company have taken the public into their confidence, thus allaying the concern that was felt regarding the lack of information about the project".
Elsewhere, the £30 million prototype commercial reactor at Dounreay was to be in operation by the end of the year, producing enough electricity to power a city the size of Aberdeen.
It meant that "Britain continues in the forefront of development of sodium-cooled fast breeder reactors" and "is now at an important stage in developing a future fuel policy. It could give relatively cheap energy for many years."
TV Hit Squad at school garden
From the Groat of February 13, 1998
A new unit for children with special needs at Thurso High School was to be set in grounds developed by a popular TV gardening show.
BBC Scotland's Beechgrove Garden had agreed to oversee the landscaping work as part of a feature for a forthcoming series.
TV gardeners Jim McKirdy and Walter Gilmour, who formed the show's Hit Squad, were to advise and monitor the progress of the project.
A video diary was to be recorded and screened once the garden scheme was finished.
The garden was to become part of the "educational experience" and form part of the entrance to the new unit for secondary-age children.
The area, which was currently just grass, was to become a resource for all people with special needs in the area.
Meanwhile, work to save a unique Caithness navigational aid which was built in the 19th century was due to get under way.
"Nicolson's Lighthouse" at Auckengill was constructed in 1883 to help boats get into the local harbour but it had not been used for many years and was in need of urgent repairs.
The task of restoring the stone structure was to be carried out by Wick Society members.
Chairman Iain Sutherland said that he and his colleagues would dismantle the "lighthouse" and rebuild it about 10 feet away from its current position to make maintenance easier in the future.
He added that the scheme involved working near a cliff with a 60ft drop, so "we'll have to be canny".
