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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1961-12-07, Page 2Since 1860, Serving the Community First Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, every Thursday morning by MeLEAN BROS., Publishers ANDREW Y. MCLEAN, Editor s O�<! Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association r Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association es Audit Bureau of Circulations Subscription Rates: = Canada (in advance) $2.50 a Year Outside Canada (in advance) $4.00 a Year (1 L14 SINGLE COPIES -- 10 CENTS EACH Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, DECEMBER 7, 1961 Hydro Was Major Decision in 1911 For those of us who have experienc- ed the benefits of Hydro power for so many years, it is difficult to realize the nature of the decision which Seaforth municipal representatives took in en- dorsing an alliance with Hydro. Electricity as a servant in homes and stores was relatively new. It was dif- ficult enough for many people to un- derstand how light could be brought into their homes over wires. It was al- most impossible for them to believe that light could be 'brought all the way from Niagara Falls. Added to the problem was the fact a private organization, who had been serving the town with electrical power for some years, would be put out of business if Hydro was endorsed. In the face of these difficulties and the skepticism which they generated, those favoring Hydro perservered and the groundwork for improved electrical service in Seaforth was laid. We who have come to regard the ready availability of Hydro power as a matter of course, can lay at rest small doubts hidden in an Expositor com- ment of fifty years ago, which referred to the turning on of the new Hydro power. "The work was one of considerable magnitude and has been carried out thus far with reasonable expedition. It is said that the cost to the users of light under this system will be at least 25 per cent less than the old system, and that later on the reduction will reach 50 per cent. Should this expec- tation be realized, the taxpayers will be reimbursed for the heavy liability they have assumed in having the system in- stalled. In addition to this, the reduc- ed rates will bring the light within the incomes of many who can not now af- ford to use it. This electrical develop- ment will, we hope, mark another ad- vance step in the development and pro- gress of the town." The editorial went on to express am- azement at the skill which made pos- sible the transmission of electrical en- ergy and assessed its importance in re- lation to other developments, such as the gramophone and telephone, which at that time were relatively recent in- troductions. "The transmission of electrical en- ergy is certainly a great triumph of scientific skill. That the streets and residences of Seaforth are lighted and the machinery of our factories driven by power generated at Niagara Falls, and conveyed for over a hundred miles over a small copper wire, seems almost among the marvellous. But such is one of the triumphs of the twentieth cen- tury. Next to the telephone and the gramophone, it is one of the most won- derful achievements of modern skill and ingenuity. In our judgment, t h e gramophone, which accurately repro- duces the human voice, is perhaps the greatest achievement, while the tele- phone, which conveys the human voice for such long distances, comes second, and the transmission of electrical en- ergy should come at least third, al- though some lnifht replace it by wire- less telegraphy," Il'. conclusion the editorial agrees that "this is a wonderful age in which we live," and asks: "How much better are we than our predecessors, who en- joyed no such privileges and bless- ings" The answer to the question asked 50 years ago would be much more easily answered then than now, before such a scientific discovery as the atom bomb. as :naso «r:.> r�/v/ »;.tet Y.,.rd /N.•I,G,•'.i.C✓Nirn?.ii%/:ii,>�tU.y�::�/.wc•,/r�rii.'.}iz',�• FAMOUS BOSHART CEDAR CHESTS Store your dreams of future happiness away in a lovely hope chest. Elegant, traditional and modern styles. These Boshart Features make it the World's Finest Cedar Chest: 1. Rubber sealed lids are an exclusive registered patented feature assuring most air -tight construction yet known. 2. Only 13/16 solid aromatic Tennes- see cedar is used in interior of Boshart Cedar Chests. 3. All Boshart Cedar Chests carry $250 moth insurance policy, giving three years guarantee. 4. The interiors of all Boshart Cedar Chests are treated with a patented chemi- cal to prevent interior oiliness and sticki- ness so often found in other chests. 5. Especially designed mitre lock corner construction gives greater strength. They cannot come apart. 6. Only specially selected choice veneers are used on Boshart chest exteriors, 7. All drawers are made of 7/16 Ten- nessee cedar on sides and back with three- ply Tennessee cedar bottoms. 8. All backs of cedar chests are stained and varnished—an exclusive feature found only in Boshart Chests. Priced from $59,00 BOX FURNITURE t=r Do you know something? We haven't any national character. There's no such thing as a "typ- ical Canadian." We're just a vague, unformed glob of human beings who happen to live in the same vast hunk of geogra- phy. Isn't that a fine state of affairs, with Christmas coming on, and everything? I learned this while reading a couple of new books about Canada this week. The authors seemed not only disturbed but displeased because they were unable to put down a list of adjectives, point- triumphantly and say, "There you are! A typical Canadian!" * * * This search for a Canadian identity has become a regular parlor game among writers and intellectuals. I find the whole problem remarkably undisturb- ing. I'd rather be a typical human being than a typical Canadian. Have you ever no- ticed that when people say, "He's a typical American" (or Englishman, Frenchman, Ger- man), they don't mean it as a compliment? However, in the interests of pure truth I thought I'd look back through a number of friends and acquaintances and see whether I could come up with a typical Canadian, after more than 40 years of consort- ing with the species. * * * There was a huge, happy, lively -tongued, quick-witted fel- low with whom I once trained as a pilot, in the dead of a typical Canadian winter, He didn't have any special ad- vantages of wealth, schooling or social position. But Jake Gaudaur, president of the Ham- ilton Tiger -Cats football club, is doing all right these days. A typical Canadian? There was a skinny, starved - looking little guy at college who was so shaky, physically and financially, that I didn't think he'd graduate. But he had a wicked wit and a wonderfgl way with words. His name was Jamie. As Professor James Reaney, poet, playwright, nov- elist and editor of a new maga- zine, he's doing all right. A typical Canadian? * * * There was the French-Cana- dian kid who worked with me as bellhop on the lake boats, before the war. When he start- ed that summer, he knew only three words of English, all of them bad. I couldn't help hoot- ing when I saw his name in the paper the other day—a distin- guished member of the clergy in Quebec. A typical Canadian? There were a couple of young screwballs who wrote and play- ed in comedy skits when I was at university. Next time I saw them was in a troop show, ov- erseas. They had improved. I saw them on television the oth- er night.ht. They're re gettin gby, as Wayne and Shuster. Typical Canadians? * * * Then there's Dutch, Once a wild and woolly Australian, he taught me to fly Spitfires, in England. He came here after the war and is happy as a trout, hotly pursuing his first million in Toronto. A typical Cana- dian? And Chuck. His old man was a Ukrainian. We were in prison camp together and when the Russians were getting close he taught me to say, "Don't shoot!", in Russian. He was a first-rate cartoonist and last I heard he was in Vancouver. A typical Canadian? And three Georges. One was By Bill Smiley a quiet student, who bought a Belgian pistol from me after the war and paid me $10 more than it was worth, because I needed the money. He's man- aging these days, between di- recting pays at Stratford and on television. A typical Cana- dian? Another George repaid the Yanks for burning York in the war of 1812. He went over to Wall Street, made a million be- fore he was forty, and carried it gleefully back to his north- ern lair. A typical Canadian? * * * The third George used to be a Czech. He was in a concen- tration camp during the war. Now he's a dentist in Canada, has a split-level home, a two - car garage, and a real aversion to paying so much income tax. A typical Canadian? I can think of a dozen oth- ers. The country is full of char- acters, but there's no such thing as a "typical Canadian" any more than there is an "aver- age man." I, for one, am heart- ily glad of it. Who wants to be a "typical"? Do you want to be a typical farmer, or typi- cal merchant, or typical labor- er, or typical housewife? Or even a typical millionaire? Not a bit of it. No more than I want to be a •typical school teacher. * * The only thing the characters above have in common is that they live in this country and love it. And that goes for me, too. How about you? (Prepared by the Research Staff of Encyclopedia Canadiana) What Bird Calls "Teacher"? The Ovenbird, which derives its name from the shape of its nest — a domed -over structure with the opening at the side like an old-fashioned oven, re- peats two notes in its song re- sembling "teacher." It begins softly and rapidly increases to a remarkable volume. The bird is partial to deciduous wood- land and ranges in Canada from the Atlantic to the foot of the rockies. * * What Causes Aurora Borealis? Aurora Borealis, more gen- erally known as Northern Lights, is a phenomenon fre- quently seen in Canada, Cree Indians thought they were camp fires lit by the ggf)s. To the Eskimo they were -spirits play- ing ball with the skull of a walrus. Norsemen believed they were reflections of sunlight flashing on the armour of the Valkyries as the maidens car- ried the dead to valhalla. Mod- ern-day scientists believe them to be caused by the emission from the sun. * * * How Did Nova Scotia Gets Its Name? In 1621 the suggestions of a Scot was adopted for the found- ing of New Scotland in the New World. In that year New Scot- land was granted to Sir Wil liam Alexander and its name to the form of Nova Scotia in his Latin charter. Two settlements were established by the Scots in 1629. One of those was Charlesfort, near the French exaii ei lite Week t ..:.. ............'::lis �:.:t I,.;:;: • •• ty':�::%}:int"✓' "Sure looks like whatever it is, doesn't It." By REV. ROBERT H. HARPER PICTURES OF FANCY In the gloaming, as the dim light formed a background for object in the fore, I became in- terested in the widely swaying and antastic-looking branches of an immense oak that over- hangs my line in the back yard. For in the fading light a stiff wind was causing the swaying leaves of a great branch to as- sume in my fancy curious im- ages, with an emerging human figure with small branches seeming to form hands and moving fingers. In a plane over Oklahoma, I saw light banks of summer clouds about us and they seem- ed like valleys and hills as we sped on. And I indulged the fancy that we were travelling through a luminous landscape. Perhaps you can recall times when real situation and experi- ences lifted you on the wings of fancy. Let us be thankful for the power of imagination which is surely one of the best gifts God has made to men. And by its cultivation and use, great achievements a n d blessings have been possible to men. Let us so nurture the power of the imagination that it will bring forth fair images of the pure and good. For as a man think- eth in his heart, so is he. Just a Thought: The man with a will to win is so busy working at the prob- lem that he seldom has time to waste considering the possi- bilities of eventual success or failure. Port Royal, by then abandoned by the French; the other was Rosemar at Baleme Cove near Louisbourg in Cape Breton Is- land. Following the treaty, restoration of Port Royal to France in 1632, most of the Scots returned to Scotland, but a few remained, married Aca- dian girls and raised families whose descendants are to be found in Nova Scotia today. * * * Who Designed the First Canadian Stamp? The first Canadian postage stamp, known as the three -pen- ny beaver, was designed by Sir Sandford Fleming and issued on April 23, 1851. The resource- fulness and industry of the beaver, the ramifications of the fur trade, the wealth of lum- ber and the potential for water power development are all sug- gested in the design—a fitting commencement for the philate- ly of the Dominion. The postage stamp was first introduced in Great Britain in 1840 by Sir Rowland Hill. It was adopted as a means of col- lecting a small postage fee in advance of the mailing of let- ters, replacing the older meth- od of collecting high postage charges on delivery. On the in- troduction of stamps in Canada it was not compulsory to use this means of prepaying post- age; they were not used to any until great extent nt l 185 5 when there was a great increase in the percentage of mail prepaid With them. The use of stamps gave a tremendous impetus to the use of postal services and today the modern postal ser- vice could not function on a paying basis .without them. Hu- man ingenuity has not been able to devise a better, cheaper or more convenient means of prepaying and accounting for postage, for the vast majority of people. A MACDUFF OTTAWA REPORT CANADA—THE OUTER ONE OTTAWA—"Nobody in Lon- don wants to quarrel," com- mented the staid old Sunday Times a few weeks ago, "but nobody seems able to keep on terms with the Canadian Gov- ernment." By the end of last month the observation was all too true. As a result of a series of Cana- dian antics, the temper of the British Government with their colleagues across the ocean was at a white heat. In Washington, the Kennedy administration had been given its own cause for fury as Jus- tice Minister Davie Fulton lash- ed out at one of its members in one of the most vituperative attacks on the United States since the days of battling over reciprocity. The Canadian Government, with less at stake from Bri- tain's entry into the common market of Europe than virtual- Iy any other member of the Commonwealth, has long irritat- ed the United Kingdom as the most outspoken and obstructive. The situation climbed to something of a climax in No- vember as the Canadian minis- try pressed its demand for a full and official copy of the op- ening statement made to the common market by Edward Heath, Deputy Foreign Secre- tary, on October 10. The fight first broke out in- to the open early in the month when Canada's high commis- sioner in London, George Drew, failed to attend a briefing ses- sion on the common market talks called by Mr. Heath and Commonwealth Relations Secre- tary Duncan Sandys. At the time an official of Mr. Drew's office, undoubtedly act- ing on instructions, let it be known this was a deliberate re- buff intended to express Can- ada's displeasure at not being fully informed on the outcome of the talks with the common market. The story of the diplo- matic snub was only belatedly and unconvincingly denied by Mr. Drew, In retrospect it became clear that Mr. Drew was using this plot to try to smoke out the full text of the Heath statement which the British contended could not be made available because of the confidential na- ture of the talks, But Britain did offer to make available a slightly abridged and unofficial, but very accurate summary of what was said. All other Com- monwealth countries were hap- py to accept information on this basis. Canada, which is after all not a party to the negotia- tions, insisted nevertheless on its right to a true copy. . Mr. Drew's gambit having failed, the Canadian govern- ment decided to tackle the problem from a different angle. It dispatched Finance Minister Donald Fleming for a dramatic and rather pointless series of talks with President De Gaulle of France and Prime Minister Macmillan of Britain. Following the latter visit, Mr. FIeming revealed at a press conference for the first time that Britain had not been will- ing to make available the for- mal text of Mr. Heath's re- marks, despite the fact Canada considered it a matter "of the utmost importance". Mr. Flem- ing managed m a to g stir up a cer- tain fuss in the British House of Commons and among the British Press, with the result that the U.K. government de- cided to yield. In some quarters this was be- ing hailed as a great Canadian victory, but time may prove that Canada in fact lost far more than it could possibly have gain- ed. Canada learned nothing from the statement it did not know before. It did not establish the principle that the Common- wealth has a right to be con- sulted on every phase of the talks with the common market. And it exhausted still more of its already badly depleted stock of goodwill with the British government, which undoubted- ly recalls its own publicly un- spoken complaints about Can- ada's failure to keep it inform- ed on three important develop- ments recently. The fight with the United States broke out over the de- velopment of the Columbia Riv- er and was an offshoot of B.C.'s Premier W. A. C. Bennett run- ning battle with Ottawa to se- cure the right to sell electrical power to the U.S. for an extend- ed term, contrary to long-stand- ing federal government policy. Justice Minister Fulton, the chief federal spokesman on the Columbia River project, un- doubtedly had some just cause for annoyance at the U.S. be- cause of statements by Interior Secretary Stewart Udall putting the Kennedy administration on the side of Premier Bennett in his quarrel with Ottawa. It was certainly none of Mr. Udall's business to express con- fidence the federal government would 'give Premier Bennett the right to export power which he had long been refused and a sharp rebuke was well deserv- ed. But Mr. Fulton went much further than the situation justi- fied to launch an attack on the United States which is being interpreted in Ottawa as yet another federal electoral man- oeuvre. "Secretary Udall knows what our stand has been—it has been no secret, yet he presumes to forecast a change in our pol- icy. Why the pressure play?" asked Mr. Fulton. "The Americans haven't of- fered such a windfall since the purchase of Manhattan Island, unless, of course itas the Bennett -Kaiser deal the"ederal government stopped in 1954. Now the pattern is repeating it- self and the sellout will have to be prevented again," he con- tinued. "The Bennett -United States squeeze play won't work; the power sellout has to be resist- ed." Of such stuff is politics in British Columbia made. But when Mr. Fulton carries over this brand of politics in his dealings with the United States that is something else again. Even if Mr. Udall had said all that he was representing as having said, it would not be- gin to justify the outrageous abuse from the Canadian min- ister. In 1957 Mr. Diefenbaker, found it good politics to berate the United States for many al- leged sins of omission and corn - mission. It is dubious whether it is still good politics in 1961, now that the United States has a new and very popular admini- stration in office. By the same token, it is ques- tionable whether it is even good domestic politics for the Canadian government to con- tinue acting like a spoiled child in its approach to Britain. The most recent storm involv- ed a story in the respected Guardian of Manchester deal- ing with Mr. Fleming's visit which Mr. Fleming immediate- ly and publicly characterized in a formal statement as a com- plete fabrication. The Guardian published Mr. Fleming's state- ment in full on the front page, and then went on to say, in effect, that it did not accept as true what the Finance Minister of Canada had said. It seems strange that Canada should be going out of its way to alienate its closest friends and allies at a time when it probably has greater need of them than ever before. IN THE YEARS AGONE Interesting items gleaned from The Expositor of 25, 50 and 7S years ago. From The Huron Expositor December 4, 1936 Fred Harburn, of Cromarty, Saturday night won the singles horseshoe pitching champion- ship at the Royal Winter Fair, and has held the championship for some years now. A new record for November storms was set in this district over the weekend, when the temperature dropped to 18 be- low zero and all roads, except No. 8 Highway, were closed. Mr. George Daly, formerly of Seaforth, designed the set- ting for the Dicken's Fellow- ship play, "The Chimes," which was presented in Eaton's Audi- torium, Toronto, recently, and also took part in the play. St. Andrew's Night was cele- brated in true Scottish style on Monday evening by a banquet in the schoolroom of Egmond- ville United Church. The 13th annual commence- ment of Seaforth Collegiate In- stitute was held on Friday night with an audience that filled Cardno's Hall to capacity, when Miss Dorothy Golding received the SCI Alumni Memorial Schol- arship, value $25; the Profici- ency Scholarshop of the Uni- versity of Western Ontario, value $25, and the Third Car- ter Scholarship for Huron County, valued at $40 cash, Mr. Bernard Nott is again in the village of Constance, ready to do custom chopping this win- ter. From The Huron Expositor December 8, 1911 Mr. W. M. Ingram, formerly of Seaforth but now of Winni- peg, has resigned his position as superintendent of Dominion School Lands, which he has held for the past seven years, to become the Winnipeg repres- entative of the North Coast Land Company. Wholesale prices of dressed poultry in Toronto this week are: Chickens, 12 to 13c per pound; fowl, 9 to Ilc; ducks, 12 to 14c; geese, 11 to 12c; turkeys, 8 to 20c. The reports of the principal and teachers of Seaforth Pub- lic School show the attendance of pupils for November to be the largest on record of late years, which is a good sign. Forbes Bros. of this town, have been awarded the contract for completing the wiring in connection with the new elec- tric lighting system in town. Mr. Ed. Mole, who has been chief electrician with the old company for several years, has been engaged to take charge of the Hydro System. Mr. A. Crich, of Tuckersmith, has disposed of the old home. stead farm to his brother, Mr. John G. Crich, of Toronto, for a sum in the neighborhood of $6,000. * * s From The Huron Expositor December 10, 1886 Mr, James Hyslop, of Sea - forth, has taken possession of the store in Cromarty, vacated by Mr. Williams, who has gone to Dublin. The Seaforth Curling Club. have purchased the roller rink building and intend converting it into a curling and ice skat- ing rink. New fall wheat is selling at the Seaforth markets for 73c - to 77c per bushel. The Rev. W. Torrance, Hen- sall, and his assistant, Mr. Barn- aby, were this week made the recipients of a fine large load' of oats by the Chiselhurst con- gregation. Ronnie & Urquhart, enterpris- ing townsmen of Hensall, have just completed the addition and improvements being made late- ly in their sawmill. They now have one of the largest and best -equipped mills in the county, having added a new en- gine, boiler and shinge and lath saws. Just a Smile it was discovered that a par- cel of twenty $100 bills was missing at the bank. The staff worked all night trying to find them. Next day, Sally, a girl clerk, walked into the bank to com- mence her daily duties. An of- ficer asked her: "Sally, did you see a parcel of $100 bills?" "Oh, that! Why I just took them home to show mother they kind of work I'm doing."