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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-04-13, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, April 13, 2016 ■ J www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com iron Expositor PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 P.O. Box 69, 8 Main Street Seaforth Ontario NOK 1 WO phone: 519-527-0240 fax: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor �p] POSTMEDIA 11. NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca SHAUN GREGORY Multimedia Journalist shau n. gregory@sunmedia.ca DIANNE MCGRATH Front Office seaforth.classifieds@sunmedia.ca NANCY DEGANS Media Sales Consultant ndegans@postmedia.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O. Box 69 Seaforth ON NOK 1 WO For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: phone: 519-527-0240 Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to set and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Seaforth Huron Expositor is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For more information or to file a complaint go to www. mediacouncil.ca or call toll free 1-844-877-1163. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. CanaM end of Prohibition in Seaforth, 1959 Seaforth voted in favour of the Canada Temperance Actin 1914. The act prohib- ited the buying and selling of intoxicating liquors in hotels, taverns and public houses. Yet, one could always get a drink if one was willing to break the law to buy alcohol from local boot- leggers. In 1959, the great tem- perance debate was revived when Seaforth residents held a referendum on whether or not to repeal Prohibition. The push to end the drought began in August 1959 when 10,500 eligible Huron County voters petitioned the Secretary of State for Canada to allow a referendum on the issue. November 30, 1959 was the date set for a special election when voters would decide the Canada Temperance Act's fate in Huron. Both the `drys' who favoured Prohibition and the `wets' who favoured its repeal launched a highly charged 'crusade' to win the hearts and minds of voters. Frank Howson, Chair of the Huron CTA Committee in favour of retaining the act, declared that 'if all the facts can be ade- quately presented before polling day, the Canada Temperance Act should receive decisive endorsement through a majority of votes against revocation.' In an advertisement in the `Expositor,' the CTA committee argued that the major church denominations condemned the `liquor tyranny.' The CTA commit- tee argued that Huron County under the CTA had the 'lowest Huron History David Yates rate of alcoholics' and 'less juve- nile delinquency' than areas of the province without the act. 'Welfare workers' claimed that '75 to 80 percent of Children's Aid cases comes from homes affected by liquor.' Respected Seaforth Senator, William H. Golding, lent his support to the retention of Prohibition when he wrote the 'Expositor' that `I sincerely hope that the Act will be sustained.' The CTA raised the spectre of young 'hoodlums' running wild if the act were repealed. In one inci- dent, the CTA committee cited 'a gang' which the OPP said, held 'wild drinking bouts in Thedford and Forest' which 'descended on Arkona at Hallowe'en, started four fires in the street, hurled eggs at residents and stoned three polic- men: The juvenile crime spree was the work of 'a small but vicious gang of hard drinking hoodlums.' CTA supporters were concemed that making alcohol more accessi- ble would only increase incidents alcoholism, drunk driving and domestic abuse. These were all legitimate social evils that are still evident today. Yet, the 'wets' countered that the Canada Temperance Act was 'outmoded.' The CTA did not pro- hibit possession of alcohol, only the buying and selling of it. As lawyer James Donnelly writes in 'More on Huron' under the CTA `legally acquired' alcohol `could be, and was, consumed at drive- in theatres, on the golf course, at sports events, or, perhaps, the Court House Park.' In fact, under the CTA, it was perfectly legal to drink on the streets or even while driving a car. The CTA did not prevent bootleggers from bring- ing liquor into the county legally and then charging extortionate rates selling it illegally to their thirsty neighbours. The 'wets' also argued that if the CTA was repealed, the Liquor Control Act would automatically come into force. The LCA was a much more efficient way to regu- late the sale, control and distribu- tion of alcohol through govern- ment run beer and liquor outlets. The `wet Huron Citizens Legal Control Committee contended that under the LCA, the drinldng would be set at 21 years old to purchase alcohol. The LCA would enable the police to 'crack down' on teenage drinking unlike the CTA which had no age provisions for alcohol possession. The 'Expositor's editor weighed in on the side of the `wets' who wanted to repeal the CTA. The `Expositor' argued that there existed a 'double stand- ard.' Why was buying beer or whiskey legal a few miles away in London but a crime in Sea - forth? Yet, under the CTA, 'with a bottle on the Main Street, or at More than 17 years of writing columns For Such A Time As This It has been a few years since I sat down each week to write a column for a community newspaper after doing that for some 17 plus years. So I am looking forward to connecting with the readers of Seaforth and district over the next couple of years via this medium. First, let me introduce myself. I am a son, a brother, a husband [of one wife of 39 years], a father [of 4] and a grandfather [of 13 wonderful young-uns]. I have picked fruit, delivered newspapers, worked in steel mills, done night shift in assisted living facilities, driven cars [for dealers, not racing them], but the majority of my adult life I have pastored five churches in Column Pastor Laurie Morris sequence over 38 years. I have lived in small Southwest - em Ontario towns, in a Northern Ontario mining town, in a busy neighbourhood in Toronto and on the backside of the Niagara Peninsula. Today we live in the midsized city of Woodstock I went to elementary and high school in my home town of Grimsby, graduated from the last graduating class of Waterloo Lutheran University before it became Sir Wilfred Laurier Uni- versity and then spent three years studying at Gordon Con- well Seminary in Massachusetts during the 'Watergate' years with President Ford's son Michael as one of my classmates. Together with my wife we have been fortunate to be able to travel to some incredible places throughout North and Central America, Europe, The Middle East and a couple of places in Asia. With our children we have seen much of Eastem Canada as well as Westem Canada [two of our daughters ended up living out there] and an assortment of places in the United States and one spot in Mexico. What is fasci- nating is that all four of our daughters [grown, married and with children] have been to Africa, but we haven't. In the fall of 2014 we worked through a `transitioning' of a hockey game' someone 'can with impunity flaunt his free- dom' to drink what was illegal to purchase in Huron County. As voting day neared, the campaign's tempo increased. Both the 'wets' and the `drys' held rallies and delivered flyers door to door. On November 22, a 'splendid group' of local minis- ters gathered at First Presbyte- rian Church to hear Dr. John Linton, the Secretary of the Canadian Temperance Federa- tion, speak on the need to retain the CTA. Dr. Linton told CTA supporters that they had the 'opportunity' to 'remind people of the nature of alcohol' and how it had contributed to many of Canada's social evils. On election day, November 30, 1959, by nearly a three to one margin (718 for repeal; 241 against), Seaforth voters deci- sively swept away the old Can- ada Temperance Act and ended Prohibition. Well, sort of.... repealing the CTA only cleared the way for government con- trolled beer and liquor stores. A few clubs and patriotic societies, like the Seaforth legion, with fifty or more members could also qualify for a liquor licence, but hotels, restaurants, taverns and other beverage rooms were still not permitted to sell alco- hol. Under the Liquor Control Act, another referendum was required with a 60 % majority favouring issuing liquor licences to bars and restaurants before the long drought in Seaforth finally ended. leadership at my last pastorate of 15 years. Instead of 'retiring' I was 'recommissioned' to use my gifts in serving the broader Christian community, and now am in what is called 'an intentional interim pastorate' here in Seaforth at Bethel Bible Church. My wife Anne and I live in Woodstock and thus I commute to serve the peo- ple of that church and of this community. The opportunity came to me while we were living in Elliot Lake to begin writing a weekly column for the local newspaper and that continued there and in Dunnville, Ontario for some 17 years. The idea of the column entitled 'for such a time as this' is to find inter- esting items and happenings in the local community right up to world wide events and look at them in such a way as to reflect on what is valuable and uplifting.