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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1961-12-14, Page 2Since 1860, Serving the Community First Published at SFAFORTH, ONTARIO, every Thursday morning by McLEAN BROS., Publishers ANDREW Y. MCLEAN, Editor Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association i Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association 'R / A fl n \ b Audit Bureau of Circulations Subscription Rates: 4 Canada (in advance) $2.50 a Year 4 `�� o Outside Canada (in advance) $4.00 a Year , SINGLE COPIES — 10 CENTS EACH Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, DECEMBER 14, 1961 Need No Apology As a result of further nominations this week, Seaforth's Council is now complete. The two new members, Earl Dinsmore and Angus MacLean, have had a broad experience in private busi- ness, which will be most helpful in council deliberations. At the same time, the fact that six members of last year's council, includ- ing Mayor Daly, are again serving, means that there will be no break in continuity insofar as plans under way are concerned, and the knowledge gain- ed during service in previous years continues to be available to the town. The retiring members, Dr. J. 0. Turnbull and Thorpe Rivers, made a major contribution during their years of service, Dr. Turnbull having given leadership in the development of an overall sewer plan for the town.. Council should Iose little time in get- ting down to business in the new year. During 1960, far-reaching administra- tive changes were introduced that as yet have not been fully reflected in the town's financial picture. But the groundwork has been laid and first re- sults already are apparent. With basic administrative decisions taken, there should be time in the new year to con- sider more objectively the town prob- For Having Election lems as a whole. There will be an op- portunity to look into additional hous- ing and to establish a program—ex- tending over several years perhaps—by which town streets may be brought up to present-day standards. While Council has been returned by acclamation, there will be an election for Public Utility Commissioner. Sometimes there is hesitation on the part of candidates to qualify, if by qualifying an election is made neces- sary. There should be no such hesita- tion. The very essence of our system is that the person holding office is he, who, in the eyes of the electors, is best suited. Too frequently the electors are denied their right of choice because there is fear of criticism for having caused an election. This should not be the case. The cost of an election—in Seaforth, a little over $100—is a small price to pay for the precious privilege of the bal- lot. The election for a P.U.C. Commission- er is just as important as if the elec- tion had included the Mayor and Coun- cil as well. We each have a responsi- bility to vote on Monday. We owe it to ourselves to take advantage of the opportunity given us. Compare Hospital and County Accommodation Needs (Wingham Advance -Times) At its recent November session the Huron County Council gave serious consideration to plans for an enlarge- ment of the space available for county offices. The plans call for either an addition to the present county build- ings or, more probably, a new build- ing at some other location in the town of Goderich. If carried out, the build- ing program will, presumably, run to several hundred thousand dollars. There is no doubt that the county is badly in need of more office space. County services have increased rapid- ly during the past few years. More business is handled by the county and consequently there are many more em- ployees than there were ten years ago. Thus the need for more commodious accommodation is self-evident. However, there is another aspect which we feel should be given serious consideration. During the past year representatives of the hospital boards in Huron County spent many evenings discussing the needs of these institu- tions for more rooms. Every hospital in the county is drastically overcrowd- ed . . , to the degree that in some cases, of which Wingham is one, some patients are being looked after in out- dated portions of the hospital build- ings which have long" since been con- demned for reasons of safety. The hospital boards suggested to the county council that a debenture issue be approved, so that the necessary money for expansion would be avail- able, or within the next very few years, when it is needed and before building costs have risen to new levels. County council turned down this pro- posal and instead decided to continue to set asid a given sum of money each year for h ;,ital airroses. Though the amount requi"'�- --' an " ally to meet such a debenture would have been about the same as the present annual set-aside, the latter plan was the one approved. Thus, it will be several years before more than one or two of the hospitals can even think of adding to their facili- ties—and, of course, the set-aside must be re -confirmed each year by new coun- cils which may well decide to discon- tinue the practice. If the county council decides that the hospitals in Huron are not their par- ticular concern—that is their business. But somebody, at some level of gov- ernment must soon do some clear think- ing about where the money is coming from for hospital buildings. The On- tario government and the Federal gov- ernment allow grants, but these total only a fraction of actual building and equipment costs. Since the county does not want to get too deeply into hospi- tal financing, the only source left is donations available from individuals in the areas served by the hospitals. There is, however, one great draw- back to getting the money locally. First of all, the patients in any of our hos- pitals come in from a wide area. A hospital district cannot be set up like that of a high school. Therefore it is impossible to get the money from the entire area served. That is why financ- ing at the county level appeared the most equitable method of distributing the cost. The final arguments is that the amounts required for hospital con- struction are simply beyond the means of most local areas—particularly the Wingham district, where some resi- dents are still paying for the last addi- tion to the hospital. We freely admit that the county needs more office space—but the needs of the hospitals are more urgent than those of the county employees. The of- fice workers in Goderich can, after all, get by for a while longer in less than perfect quarters. We cannot put our hospital patients into the vacant rooms over stores. THE YEAR-LONG GIFT! A One - Year Subscription to THE HURON EXPOSITOR $2.50 per Year Whoa, there! Slow down. Re- lax! Get that frown off your face. Don't look so strained. It's not a funeral or a wedding, or even a threshing you're get- ting ready for. It's Christmas. Remember? I know. I know. "It's a try- ing time for all of us" and "Christmas is getting too com- mercialized" and "it's not what it used to be" and "we can't afford all those presents" and "Christmas is just a big pain in the neck" and "I don't en- joy Christmas any more. I'm simply worn' out." I've heard them all, * * Poppycock! Piffle! It's not Christmas that's a big pain in the neck. It's some of the so- called Christians who celebrate it—worrying, complaining, grab- bing, sweating, pushing, whin- ing—in a perfect frenzy as the glorious day approaches. For myself, I find Christmas, and the weeks approaching it, a demanding but exhilarating experience. Each Christmas sea- son, around our house, presents a challenge that brings out the best in me. And don't anybody, please, remark that the best is none too good. * * * The reason is that, each year, about the time other people are wrapping gifts and addressing Christmas cards, we are up to our ears in a Domestic Project. For some reason, we become in- volved, annually, in the most stupendous household upheav- al, just before the festive sea- son. It's not my doing. Every year, about the first of Decem- ber, the Chief Engineer gets hallucinations of grandeur, and we're for it. One year, it was a new sink in the bathroom. Translated, this means I wound up with a complete new bathroom which took me about two years to pay for. Another year, she thought we'd sand all the floors. The result looked like Lake Super- ior on a choppy day. One pre - Christmas, we got into the painting and whenever the fam- ily met at mealtime, it resem- bled a war -gathering of the Six Nations. * * * On still another occasion, we had to build a chimney a cou- ple of weeks before Christmas. (No, Virginia, it wasn't for San- ta Claus to come down. It was for the smoke to go up, for a change, instead of just hanging there.) Anyway, the man said the bricks were too wet, or something, so we wound up with about 8,000 bricks piled, to dry, in the kit hen. During these ordeals, the old Trouble 'n Strife is about as easy to get along with as a cobra with a hangover, That's why I look on the annual Pro- ject as a challenge. If we can get through a couple of weeks of this without anyone picking up an axe, Christmas is a breeze. * When the last snarl of the sander fades, or the last brick is slapped into place, or the last splatter of paint is turpen- tined off, I know that Christ- mas, peace on earth, and good- will toward me and the kids, are practically upon us. Each year the Project has acted as a safety valve for the Old Girl. You know what wo- men are like with Christmas coming on, normally. They run „round in ever -decreasing cir- cles as they try to cope with turkey and tree and trimmings, pudding and presents and pies. After a couple of weeks of painting, or running around the brickpile, my old lady was al- ways so whacked out that get- ting ready for Christmas was a pleasant change, in comparison. * * * That's why I was a mite alarmed this year. You see, we're living in a rented house, and there's no outlet for that pre - Christmas project. T h e lady is restrained by law from ripping off all the wallpaper or launching into a linoleum -lay- ing orgy. All she can do is eye it longingly. But I needn't have worried. Unable to create alarm, confu- sion, chaos and open warfare in the house, she has gone further afield. To church. As organist, she's facing her first Christmas with all the extra and special services. There's panic aplenty. That kid spends more time at church than at home. We have carols coming out our ears: * * * But it's a good thing, I say. Here's the program: Three serv- ices the day before Christmas, including a midnight: a service Christmas morning: then jump into the car and go haring off a hundred miles across country to Granny's, for Christmas dinner. With a session like that to get frantic about, she hasn't time to drive us all crazy "getting ready for Christmas." (Prepared by the Research Staff of Encyclopedia Canadians) What Territory of France Lies West of Canada's Eastern Limits? Three Islands, Great Migue- lon, Little Miguelon and St. Pierre in the Gulf of St. Lawr- ence, just 15 miles from the south coast of Newfoundland, are possessions of France. First settled more than three centur- ies ago, the islands were a re- sort of the Basque and Breton fishermen working off the Great Banks. Sovereign control chang- ed back and forth between the British and French in the 18th century but their possession by France was finally recognized by the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. Since then they have been a landing place for the French fishermen on the Banks of New- foundland; and during the per- iod of prohibition in the Unit- ed States they were an impor- tant centre for "rum -running." The permanent population is about 500, swelled in the tour- ist season b visitors, who trav- el there a taste of French living. * How Was Montreal Founded? The site of the island city was visited by Jacques Cartier on his voyage of exploration up the St. Lawrence in 1535-36. There he found the village of Hochelaga where more than 1,000 Indians celebrated his ar- rival with bonfires anti feasting. Cartier named the maintain, or the slopes on which the village was located, Mont Royal. Sam- uel de Champlain first visited the site in 1603 but by then Hochelaga seems to have dis- appeared. In 1611 Champlain founded a settlement there that he named Place Royale, but strife between the Huron and Iroquois tribes did not permit NThe Week "Oh, Knock it off—I've had a rough day, too!" By REV. ROBERT H. HARPER REFUGE Many years ago, as a mighty hurricane came up from the Gulf of Mexico to devastate the low-lying Louisiana coast, it brought a great tidal wave to add to the havoc that the roar- ing winds had wrought. On the day of the great storm an employee of a gas company was at a well a half mile or so from the front, when he decid- ed he had better leave for a safer place. He had travelled but a short distance when the tidal wave struck him and rose to his knees, and soon to his waist. The waters rising higher, the man climbed upon a stretch of floating prairie—a piece of land formed of water plants and flot- sam and jetsam matted together and buoyant enough to float. His hand fell upon something and he found it was a mattress, and then he found a quilt. Both were wet and soggy but he lay upon the mattress, pulled the quilt around him as a slight defense against the driving wind. And he actually went to sleep. Tired, wet, exhausted, he had reached the end of his endurance. When he awoke, the winds had ceased and there was a glorious moon shining over the water. Soon after dawn, he saw a pirogue driven swiftly by lo- cal Indians, who came to take him off his piece of floating prairie and to safety. I sought the man out later and asked about his experience. He said he regarded it as a natural hap- pening; others had regarded it as a remarkable instance of Providence taking care of a lone man in a dread situation. The reader . is left to decide what he thinks. it to be maintained. Thirty years later, Paul de Chomedy, Sieur de Maisonneuve arrived to found a permanent settlement named Ville Marie de Montreal, with dwellings, chapel, hospital and other build- ings protected from Indian at- tack by a stockade. In 1644, Louis XIV granted the settle- ment its first charter and Chom- edy was appointed its first gov- ernor. During the first Mass said to mark the foundation, these prophetic words were ut- tered by Father` Vimont . "What you see is only a grain of mustard seed . . . but it is so animated by faith and re- ligion that it must be that God has great designs for it." Almost 300 years after Car- tier first set foot on the island, Montreal was incorporated as a city—in 1832—with a popula- tion of 40,000. Man may criticize woman's extravagant spending, but we know at least three things in her favor: She never wastes $2 worth of shotgun shells trying to shoot a 25 -cent rabbit. You never heard of her giving a waiter a four -bit tip because he smiled at her. And no one ev- er heard of a woman who would hire a boat for $25 to get where fish are not, A MACDUFF OTTAWA REPORT FULTON'S FOLLY? OTTAWA—In the afterm of the latest political explos over the Columbia River, politicians are ' taking a look at Justice Minister Davie Fulton. Mr. Fulton has been unde tremendous strain for mon now. After the Columbia er treaty was signed, back January, the Justice Minis was lauded for a good job w done. His stock with Pri Minister Diefenbaker was hi and he was ready to move to new projects. Then the house caved in. Premier Bennett, all swe ness and light during the p longed treaty negotiations, s denly balked at signing a ancial agreement on the C umbia. He and his ministe started making headlines c demning the treaty, condem ing Mr. Fulton, even sondem ing the entire Columbia dev opment. As the months went by, M Bennett's position clarified the point where today the iss is simple, uncluttered by t plethora of statistics that a pear to intrude in every d cussion of what will be t greatest hydro -electric develo ment on the continent. Mr. Fulton's position has al been clarified, not to the sam degree, since he is hampere by a certain inconsistency o the part of his Cabinet co leagues. Here then is the issue: Under the Columbia treat B.C. is entitled to one-half th additional power that will b generated in the U.S. as a r stilt of water storage provide by dams built on the Columbi in Canada. Premier Bennett wants to se all of his one-half of the extr power, for a period of 20 year or more. Mr. Fulton says th Federal Government insists th downstream benefit power mus not be alinated for long pe iods; that it should be used i B.C. On the face of it, these tw "hard" positions appear incom patible. But, in fact, the tw men are so close to agreemen that there is more hope for th Columbia than ever before. For Mr. Fulton says he woul be willing to sell power surplu to B.C.'s needs on a "rollin five-year basis". Any good engineer should b able to come up with a sale contract incorporating the 2 years required by Mr. Bennet and the "rolling five years" ad vanced by Mr. Fulton. What is needed now is for one of the two men to make an approach. And the feeling here is that an approach will not be long in coming. For both politicians have suffered from their running battle. Perhaps Mr. Fulton has suffered the most. It is worthy of note that in the latest flareup not one Fed- eral Cabinet Minister spoke up in support of the Minister of Justice. External Affairs Min- ister Green and Finance Minis- ter Fleming, both very much involved in the dispuite, have been remarkably silent. The Prime Minister has not publicly supported the position taken by Mr. Fulton.. There ap- pears to have been a deliberate decision to isolate him, to turn him out of the fold until such time as he emerges as a goat or a hero. In this atmosphere, Mr. Ful- ton went out to Prince George ath ion the new E. ra the Riv- in ter ell me gh, on et- ro- ud- fin- ol- rs on- n- n- el - r. to ue he p- is - he p - so e d n 1- 31, e e e- d a 11 a s e e t r - n 0 e d s g e s 0 to present what` has been de- scribed as the most important political speech of his career. He was in a tight spot. He had a choice between surrendering completely to Premier Bennett, or going on the offensive. He decided to attack, and gave a blistering speech accusing Ben- nett of attempting, in concert with the Americans, to sell B. C.'s resources down the river. "The sell-out, the squeeze play" —he had a dozen catch -phrases to describe the Bennett pro- posal. The Americans couldn't quite understand how they had been dragged into a Canadian politi- cal dispute, despite the fact they had made themselves avail- able for Mr. Fulton's purposes through a number of indiscreet remarks. The Minister of Justice sat back then to await the reaction to find out if he had, in fact, made a recovery. So far, it appears his efforts had some effect, in terms of public opin- ion, but little practical effect in terms of bringing the Colum- bia dispute to an end. And that is what Mr. Fulton . must do if he still harbors an ambition to one day become Prime Minister of Canada, The fight has dragged on too long, and the voters are tired of the bickering and battling; they want to see a start made on construction of the long delay- ed Columbia. The old hands here are wait- ing now to see if the Minister can pull it off, and start rebuild- ing his prestige, damaged by one of the most intemperate political fights we have seen in some time. .rt * * Capital Hill Capsules Political parties are engaged in pre-election pulse -taking on a professional basis. Tories and Grits have engaged services of outfits specializing in finding out what people really think. Some of the finds have been surprising. One came up with this public assessment of the Prime Minister: "Talks too much, good talker but no good at running things." Another found that New Democratic Party leader Tommy Douglas, in the public's eye, is merely "entertaining". Liberal Leader Pearson's public image, accord- ing to the gospel of the poll - takers, hasn't leaked out yet. Party officials guard their poll reports with their lives. * * * One of the Liberal's big hopes for the coming election could have trouble winning a nomin- ation. He is Mitchell Sharp, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce under the late C. D. Howe. Mr. Sharp announc. ed to the world that he was going to contest the nomina- tion in Eglington, Finance Min- ister Fleming's riding. But an unknown young doctor is work- ing hard to wrest away the nomination. * * * NDP officials in Ottawa still upset at new leader Douglas for failing to establish himself in the capital. Mr. Douglas in- sists on working out of Regina. Some harsh words being ex- changed on this one. 4b . Insurance Salesman: "Don't you want your office furnishings insured against theft?" Manager: "Yes, all except the clock. Everone watches that," IN THE YEARS AGONE Interesting items gleaned from The Expositor of 25, 50 and 75 years ago. From The Huron Expositor December 11, 1936 The Hon. William Aberhart, Premier of Alberta, addressed the congregation of First Pres- byterian Church here Sunday evening. King Edward VII, in a per- sonal message to his ministers on Thursday, stated that after long and anxious consideration he has determined to renounce the throne, to which he succed- ed on the death of his father. At Hensall, Ernest Shaddick was elected over Owen Geiger, and in Goderich, R. E. Turner defeated Reeve J. J. Moser at the election on Monday for the Huron County Council. Joseph Dantzer and Clarence Malone, of St. Columban, have returned home after enjoying a hunting expedition in North- ern Ontario. Last Sunday's rain settled the snow so we will have no more drifts until we get some more fresh snow, but the roads are now passable for wheels. A steam heating system is be- ing placed in St, Thomas' Church and is to be completed for use by next Sunday.' Lieut. B. J. Duncan, of Sea - forth, was in Strathroy on Sun- day attending the organization meeting of the recently formed Huron -Middlesex Regiment. * * * From The Huron Expositor December 5, 1911 Mr. Amos Townsend, of Tuck- ersmith, has sold his farm in Tuckersmith to Mr. Thomas Townsend, who had It leased for some years. As this farm adjoins his own, it makes it more convenient for work. New fall wheat remains at 90 cents per bushel and oats at 42 Cents per bushel. Mr. J. B. Thompson was dig- ging a flower bed in front of the Methodist Church on Tues- day morning, Dec. 12. Mr. Alex Broadfoot, of Tuck- ersmith, was plowing on Tues- day last and says it worked all right. Mr. Robert Winter, of town, has been awarded first prize at the Toronto Fat Stock Show last week for a pen of three wethers or ewes, under one year, short -wooled. Receipts of choice butter con- tinue small and prices are firm with a good demand. Inferior qualities are generally dull, selling at 77 to 78c per tub, whereas choice in wrappers sells at 26 to 28c per pound. Mr. Hugh McGregor was very successful at the Guelph Fat Stock Show, having carried off the first and second prizes for his heifer of $10 and $15. Eggs are selling at 30c per dozen at the store in Kippen, which is an indication that the farmer has much the best of it compared with the poor fel- ow who has to buy them. From The Huron Expositor December 17, 1886 Mr. John McMurray, of Eg- monville, has removed to Clin: ton and has gone into partner- ship with Mr. John Cunningham of that town, in the grocery business. McBride & Smith, of the Red Mill in this town have dissolv- ed partnership, and the business will henceforth be carried on by Mr. Smith. Mr. J. Sutherland, of the post office bookstore, Hensall, has this week purchased Mr. A. Kelly's large and complete stock of fancy goods, statibnery and Christmas goods, which togeth- er with his own, present a large assortment in those lines, will make his stock one of the largest in the country. Mr. William M. Gray, of Sea - forth, who is a large property holder in Toronto, has sold two lots of property in that city this week, realizing for the two $31,500. Wheat has taken another slight bound upwards, reaching 771c and 78c per bushel. THE HANDY FAMILY LOOK AT THIS NICE IT'S A BEADY VINE, HAROLD - OUR NEIGHBOR SADIE &AVE IT TO ME MbEAR-I'LL PLANTER FOR it s0 YOU CAN FUTIT RIGHT HERS IN NE KITCHEN a BY uun DIRMINONAM 10 MAKE AWAU. PLANTER DAD USED A PLA$TI PLATE AND BOWL. HE CUTOFF OF THE BOWL AND CEMENTED IT TO THE PLATE THEN DRILLED A HOLE THROUGH THE PLATE 50 THE PLANTPR COULD BE MAC, ON THE WALL CEMENT BOWL. 1,0 PLATE HOLE FOR HANC7NO ON WALL. • r 4 r 1 M t IP a r • •r i A 4 1 s a a