HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1971-02-19, Page 2ro
$inee 1960, Serving the Community First
Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, gym Thursday morning by McLEAN imps.. Publishers Ltd.
ANDREW Y. McLEAN, Editor
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SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, February 18, 1971
A Change In Leadership
• „
(Nositor
Not the least of these
was the fact that nearly
half the Conservative
delegates wanted somebody
else as leader. They
-made it very apparent
'that they, as members of
the Tory Party, wanted a
change from the type of
leadership -that has been
Presc'nt during' recent
parTiefits,,. a 'continua-
tion of which was repre-
-Within a few days
Ontario will have a new.
premier-. .The transfer of
power from Premier Robarts
to the new leader of the
Ontario Progressive Con-
servatives is set for
March 100.
Under our democratic
system the path by which
William Davis would be-
come premier was mapped.
some weeks ago with the
announcement by Premier
'Roberts that he was' re-
signing as leader of the
party. The party would
choose a newleader who
in turn would become
Premier.
While the path to 'the
premiership' was apparent,
what Wasn.'t foreseen-were
the pitfalls and troubles
time, through his many
years in aovernment, has
a broad grasp'of the vast
and costly structure that
it hes come to be" 'Under
conservative leadership.
He is careful and
practical and undoubtedly
will carry forward into
his leadership much of the
approach that character-
ized the Robarts years. At
the same time he is bUr-
dened in his new respon-
sibilities -with many of
the problems which were .of
such conern to all those
hundreds of delepates who
wanted chance and who
voted aaainst him and to
the many thousands of
conservatives at home for.,
whom they Were represent-'
atives,
with which it was cluttered. The concern of the con-
vention - and a'similar
concern extends through-
out the. province - perhaps
was best expressed by Bert
tawrence, one of the
-leadership candidates, who
'told the delegates "our
people are not content
with Patchimg".
- As a Roberts protege
and a member. of the govern-
ment for so many years,
Mr. Davis must take with .
him responsibility for the
Mr.','DaviSTwill be a
com'peten't premier. While
Predominately concerned'
with educational matters,
having been Minister of
this Department for nine
years he, at the same
sented by
wanted ch
is calot,se
14ntkM.ID
marain of
Lawrence,
c6'anoe, q
Mr. Davts.'Tney
ange. Mr. Davis',
,
won the con--
ut by a slim.,
44 Votes—Allen
the voice of
ained -768 votes.
"natcliina" that. in recent
...years .has„ featured so h
many gecisioffs. " "4 ; ; %;14
Lacid.ng Iona range
policies -government in
Ontario,as Mr. Lawrence
pointed out,has been by •
patchwork --on farm in-'
come, on education', on
assessment, on regional-
ism: H.
'These.are the problems
Mr. •Davis must face and
overcome.
Sometimes I feel nothing but 'pity for
those timid wretches who scurry to south-
ern, warmer climes at the first fall of a
flake. They have betrayed one of the
greatest aspect of the Canadian
character - the stubborn, tenacious
stupidity that makes.., the rest of us en-
dure through the winter,
This last week has been a grand one,
and let me hear no old-timer snorting
contemptuously that "The winters ain't
what they used to be."
It started off ordinarily enough -
colder than a tax collector's heart. In
mid-week things warmed up, figuratively.
Out of the west came a howling blizzard,
winds gusting from 40 to 60 m.p.h.,
spow that cut like a razor-blade, and a
wind-chill-factor temperature of 60 below
zero.
Somehow, it was all fun. I ,got up,
looked out the window, and saw nothing
but white. The house was creaking and
groaning like an arthritic climbing a rope
ladder.
Didn't even put on my long underwear.
Took a look at the cat, whose green eyes
balefully threw back, "Just try and throw
me out in that, buddy.'; Didn't. Plunged
out the back door in great spirits and
sank to the navel in snow.
Made 'it to the garage because I knew
there'd be no cabs on the road. The darn
car started. Then the big decision.
With the eye 'of a•Fomputer I judged the
snowbank. Decided to use the bombing
attack. Closed.my eyes and set her back-
wards at full„.bore. Wound up like a
stranded whale: four wheels in the air,
body sitting high and dry on the snowbank.
Did I quit? Not., on your life. A
savage, gleeful mood took hold of me.
Shovelled, wept, called up on the Lord in
no uncertain turns. Nothing doing. Com-
mandeered two high-school boys coming
by. One had his nose frost-bitten right
back to his cheeks. Put him in the car,
at the controls. We rocked and shovel-
led and shoved, and made it.
Crept to school through the. white,
,rage of the storm. Felt triumphant:
What a peaceful plaCe; There were
140-odd kids (and they had to be odd
to walk it on a day like that), and 50-
odd teachers (same comment). Normal
numbers, 1300 kids, 80 teachers.
We enjoyed the best "school spirit"
in years., We felt like a doughty band of
the chosen: The kids played games or
received tuition. The teachers joined
them in the games, or gave tuition:
Unfortunately, the weather cleared a
bit next day, and routine resumed. How-
ever , all were cheered by the principal's
announcement that the lieutenant-gover-
nor had been visiting the county and had
declared a school holiday for the following
day, FrIday. •
Won a curling game Thursday night
on the, last shot. This somewhat made
up for losing my car keys in the swirling
snow just before I left for curling.
Things remained on the up-swing.
Long, luxurious sleep Friday morning.
There's nothing ' sweeter than sleeping
in on a day on which you'd normally be
working. Found the keys (my only set)
by a miner miracle.
•.
And it's been going well ever since.
This morning it was 32 below, but one
of those perfect winter days;"bright sun,
smoke curling up like musical notes from
all the chimneys, snow crunching, eyes
watering, lungs hacking.
Don't tell me Canada isn't a great
place to be in winter. It is. Unless you
have enough money to get out.
I have a friend, in his. seventies.
Captain Dalton Hudson, retired Great
Lakes captain. He's a salty raconteur,a
frightening opponent at bridge or poker,
and a deadly billiards player. But he
is living 'refutation of my last statement.
He could go to Florida,
And 'he does. In spring -he pilots. a ;
yacht to Florida, comes home and fishes
here in summer, returns to fetch 'the
yacht in fall, and says, as he stomps
off into 'a blizzard, pipe clenched,"Holy
old Hughie, who'd want to live in Florida
in the winter, when you can live here?"
A real Canadian.
And to top off the week, a pleasant
and warming letter from Mrs. Mary
Bellavance of Lake Lenore, Sask., who
claims, "I still' think you ran into a •
door to get your 'black ,eye . . keep up
the good work."
I didn't, Mrs. B., but I'll try.
in the Years
Agone
FEBRUARY 2 1 st;- 1896.
Mr. and Mrs. Mo. Pollard of Leadbury,
passed through here on their way home
from London. They drove down and back,,
Sunday and Monday were two-of the
coldest days of the year. Sunday, at
10 o'clock It was 14 degrees below; early
Monday it had dropped to 20 below and
Monday evening it was 13 below zero.
Thos. Case, has rented his farm,
1 1/4 miles east of town to Arch Mc-
Gregor.
The sale of stock, etc. of Robert
ChartersMill Road was well attended
and good pric.es were realized.
G. C. Petty of Hensall had the mis-
fortune to lope a horse, through rheuma-
tism reaching the heart.
Miss Bella McLean, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs:James McLean of Tuckersmith,
has been made the recipient of a beautiful
organ from her aunt, Miss M. McLean of
Kippen.
An ex...Ling adventure happened to a
sleigh load of young people from town
who were driving out to Wm, McGeoch's.
They were making rather too fast time
around the corner at the tannery. The
precious freight was dumped in a heap
in the snow.
FEBRUARY 25, 1921.
Harry Stewart has sold his farm on
the 2nd concession Tuckersmith to James
Dallas.
A new and very valuable addition 'has
been added to the choir of Brucefield
Church ip the persons pf the you”:•er girls
from this district.
Rev. McConnell, of Hensall, accom-
panied by his son Gordon left for Toronto
and will attend the great Temperance
Convention being held there.
Miss Nellie Carmichael of Hensall has
taken a position- with A, W, E. Hemphill in
'his drug and fancy goods store.
Arnold Westcott has taken a position
with J. F. Daly in his jewellery store.
There is a large stock of timber being
hauled to the McDonald saw mill ate
Walton.
• 'FEBRUARY 22, 1946.
A happy evening was spent at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. David Papple of the Mill
Road; Tuckersmith, when neighbors and
friends gathered to honor them prior to
their departure to their new home in
Seaforth. Mr. Papple had sold his farm
to Geo. Armstrong.
Trying to find a shovel olr two of
coal by- scraping out the bin is a popular
town pastime these days. And you are
lucky if you find it, because coal is a
scarce commodity. Dealers are spread-
ing it out pretty thin - a bag or two to a,
customer.
teaforth has been singularly fortimate
in escaping the crime wave, but we haVe
not been entirely passed up. Over the
week end ,the residence of Mrs. W. J.
Walker, ,High Street, was entered and
thoroughly ransacked.
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Daer of Hullett,
observed their. 40th wedding anniversary.
?W.
Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley
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From My Window
— By Shirley J. Keller --
•
My little Oxford dictionary says that
• humanity means ,"human nature, human
race, humaneness". I guess when you
get right down to it, humanity can mean
many things, depending on what you would
consider normal behaviour for human
beings.
The, great snowstorm of '71 which
hit the area of Ontario where I reside
brought out the humanity in many folks:
Now almost one Month after the week-
long blizzard, I am hearing more and
more tales of good deeds and plain old-
fashioned compassion than I would have ,
dreamed possible. It took near disaster
to bring 'people together ,. . but the
citizenry did come through with some
truly wonderful examples of humanity.
It is a simple matter to become cynical,
so hateful of the community in which you
reside that you become unable to'function
as a human being. You learn that it takes
back-biting and. cheating to get to the top;
and it takes some clawing and digging to
stay on top once you are there.
Truly, it is. entirely posiible for one
to lose every, shred of decency he ever
possessed just because there is, so
precious little of it around to be observed.
When the „big snowstorm closed•in, it
was as though a huge steel band had been
Wrapped around thepopulus. People forgot
their petty differences and began to see
each other as human beings in distress.
The little things which seem so important
• in ordinary circumstances like a person's
name or his, position in the Community k,
or his reputation, became incidental. The
bickering, the gossiping,'the name-calling
died for a few hours and people began to
work together just the way God intended
them to. -
I Was not stranded during the storm.
Neither was any member of my household
caught. away from home. We were to-
iether•under one .roof, safe, warm and well
fed., Even we Were-renftnded of what it can
Mean to be pert of a family . and we
were fprced to recall how pleasant it
Can be tb, shut everyone out for a time and
just be a family.
Many, Many women have remarked to
Me .ititietrthe great Sterin that their family
is closer now than it has.ever been. One
man reports that for the firSt time, in his
life, he actually found a moment to play'
games with his children.' He was shocked
to learn that his teenagers were so well
versed in the rules and regulations of
poker playing. He was surprised his kids
were as knowledgeable as they were on
many subjects, in fact. You see, it was the
first time in a long time lie had even sat
down to talk to themi
Another woman told me her family was
forced to spefid three days together. At
first, they were' like strangers, each
family 'n-rember straining at the leash to get
out of the house and back into the familiar
routine,
But the weather prevented that from
happening. They were stuck together ...
so slowly, ever so slowly, they began to get.
acquainted. At first it was just conver-
sation . . more than "131,ease pass the
toast" and "May I have two bucks to
go to the movie?" No, it'was real,.honest
to goodness conversation . . . like a talk
about the war in Vietnam and the political
situation in Canada and legalized abortion
and on and on and on.
She said they began to show each other
things nobody had known was in the house.
They played each others records, read
each others books, saw each others col-
lections.
And when the weather cleared, no-one,
was anxious to leave the house to go back
to woZk -or return to school. The joy
,of a family had been discovered and it
was unthinkable to get back in the old
routine again.
At our house, we're not that far apart
that we used the snowbound hours to gel
to know each other. We just welcomed
the excuse to sit at home and be together.
There just was no outside pressure lur-
ing us out and away from those • things
which are dear to us. There was just
no way that we could leave the house . . .
and we were glad it was so.
Many lessons were learned that week
when snow fell and blew in such quail,.
title's that every movable thing was stalled..
-Punny how fate has a way at keeping us
in some kind of human order.
A Class n Seaforth Public School 1925
.....
of. , ........ 410.+