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The Huron Expositor, 1971-12-16, Page 2'Om liuran Since 1860, Serving the Community First INigish0 at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, every Thursday morning by McLEAN BROS., Publishers Ltd. ANDREW Y. McLEAN. Editor Member Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and Audit Bureau of Circulation Newspapers Subscription Rates: Canada (in advance) $8.00 a Year Outside Canada (in advance) $ moo a Year SINGLE COPIES — 20 CENTS EACH Second Class Mail Registration Number 0696 Telephone 527.0240 SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, December 16, 1971 Huron Leads the Province or (fxpasitor to one such project that was refused unless all houses in the proposed "strip" were "fed" by a secondary road which in turn led out onto the main thoroughfare and adds, "This, to our mind, is an example of straight think- ing-on the part of town- ship councillors." "A factor much to the fore recently, which we — 'could call "smell pollut- ion" has led numerous rural councillors into the think- ing that prospective rural residents should be en- couraged to build in the. area of existing villages rather than out in the farming areas. .nTownship councillors, mostly practical farmers themselves, have the good sense to realize that farming, paxtioularly the mass production unit type of farming now in vogue, is almost certain to cause assorted odours. The rural ,councillor takes the view , that farming comes first, and the urban dweller who 'gets into such a fix should realize the facts of life before he makes his move," the Journal Argus says. This is what planning is all about and s4ppbrts the view thLt by good pla,n- ninq municipalities.can acc'ommod'ate varying activ- ities and types of usage without one intruding on the other. 1 S • , 1 1 1 1 1 Christmas at Northside United Church From My Window — By Shirley J. Keller Sugar and Spice Huron, by adopting an official plan, has led the province in taking action to ensure that the natural features that make the county such a pleasant place in which to live,will not be spoiled by greedy and unthinking over devtl- op ent. While the official plan s is long term objectives, i s intent can only be a hieved through action by i di vi dual municipalities in adopting zoning bylaws. Some townships and most towns and villages either have or are considering such bylaws; others have shown littleconcern. In Perth County there appears to be a greater 'appreciation of, the prob- lem,at the municipal level than in Huron. A number of neighbouring townships in the St. Marys area have Adopted a series of practical zoning by- laws, taking into account a few rel.evant factors about which e urban dwel- lers tend to g ve little concern. Comment in- Marys Journ,k1 terest in tha pla,uds the mo ve toward t re,A, he St. Argus ,ap- "string" de- discouraging ng the rural velopment alo umpteen lanes roadways with popping out a nd consequent e ih traffic great increas paper refers Jlaiards. The DECEMBER '18, 1896. G. W. Holman has served the West Huron teachers so faithfully as secretary- treasurer, that at the recent meeting he was re-elected for the -13th year. W. W . Cooper'of Kippen, attended the- fat stock show at Guelph last week and pronounces it a big success. We are sorry to learn that James Neville, of the Seaforth Marble Works, met with an accident. He struck his knee on a large stone. He will be for- tunate if he escapes having a stiff knee. A. Ingram, manager of the electric works in Seaforth, returned from St. Marys where he had been erecting an electrical plant for the lighting of that town. • Fred Davis, who has been conducting a 'jewellery business in Counter's old stand has purchased a grocery stock in Mitchell. Alex Wilson has announced himself a candidate for the deputy-reeveship. A young son of George Fitzgerald of town met with a painful accident. He, with some other children, was playing with a wheelbarrow. They had a string attached to the wheel and young Fitzgerald got his finger in it and before the wheel was stopped the top of, the finger was severed. Miss Jessie Bethune, who has been the popular teacher in Ayr public school has handed in her resignation. John Shepherd and A. Cosens of Tuckersmith are to be the candidates for the reeveship. John McCloy , an old councillor is a candidate for the deputy. Thos. Leamington of the 13th con- cession of McKillop, has a contract for getting out 5 or 6 thousand cedar posts for M. Kelly wh is running a saw mill on the Leadbury line. DECEMBER 16', 1921. Dr. H. J. Simpkins, medical prac- titioner is now settled in the Village of Dublin. He has hid a number of years experience and a wide range of hospital experience. The home of Mrs. John Dayman, Second concession of Tuckersmith, was the scene of a very pleasant gathering recently When a few of her fridfids assem- bled to extend congratulations on the occasion of this fine old lady's 86th birthday. While driving • with Thos. Archibald of McKillop, Mr. Somerville received a bad shaking up. The horse took fright and the line broke, which resulted in a runaway. Mr. Somerville was picked up unconscious. The want of a skating rink is _much felt, not only by the young people for skating but also by the curlers. Messrs. Drummond and son have chased D. Urquhart's stable on side of Richmond St., Hensall. M. -Kerr of Hayfield, who has been our efficient constable and caretaker at the Town Hall and Trinity Church, left for Whitby where he has accepted a position. .William Aikenhead of Brucefield has been named president of the U.F.O. and Scott Davidson, secretary-treasurer. DECEMBER 20, 1946. A 60 mile-an-hour gale which early Thursday evening cut a swath across Western Ontario caused damage estim- ated in excess of $100,000 in the Dublin area. No lives were. lost, but several farmers had a-narrow escape. The toll of livestbck was heavy as barns collapsed. Recent weddings of two well known Egmondville brothers, Harold Finnegan and Grant Finnegan were marked when friend's held a reception in the Oddfellows Hall ih their honor. Dancing was enjoyed during the evening and later Edwin P. Chesney read an address and Alex Boyce, Alex Lillico, Andrew Moore and Mer- vyn Lane presented each couple with a lazy boy chair and stool, end table and lampshade. Murdock's Orchestra fur- nished the music for dancing. Mayor John .1. Cluff was host at a pleasant affair when he entertained mem- bers of the Council, Public Utilities and Board of Health in the Qneefi's Hotel, to ' turkey dinner. The occasion marked the completion of ten years as mayor of the town. Operation of the sawmill at Walton commenced, the mill being operated by the Palmer Brothers of Walton. The operators are sawing logs from their own bush and as well as doing custom sawing. J • -• - .. ... I've noticed that Christmas has been deteriorating now - from an overall point of view, of course - for a few years. People are bec9rpIng more and more hard and callouai..out what used to-be considered the most joyous season of the year. In fact, it isn't easy for those of us who still love Christmas to remain untouched by all the cynicism which ac- companies the modern Yuletide. The Scrooge which appeared that Christmas long ago was just a'big old softie compared to the people who cele- brate Christmas these days. Just the other day I was reading about an incident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It seems that Santa Claus was arriving by helicopter at a shopping centre in that • City and as the Old Elf disembarked, a crowd of about 600 youngsters rushed him, knocked him down and stole his bag of I. goodies. "I thought°I was going to be killed,". Santa told the newsmen later. "They broke down the barriers and rushed me. I got knocked to the ground and couldn't Olen move. I finally managed to- get up and I yelled 'Get ,back! Get back!' and kept most of them off me until the police could get through." That's really typical of our gener- ation, othough. We're too civilized now to enjoy simple pleasures such as Christmas carols and gift giving and dinner among ' Never fails. Had barely written a column extolling the grand, mild weather we'd' been having, when the wind came out of the .north with a bone in his teeth, and the snow flew, ajid the car and I both started coughing. And almost before I'd begun ruing, the writing of such a jinx column, my wife yelped something like, "Holy Old Whackers! It's almbst Christmas." And sure enough, it almost is. Christmas, when we were all young, was something. There Was looking forward to school holidays, associated with sleighs and toboggans and skating and coming in soaking wet, rosy as a cherub, hungry as a hyena. There was the anticip.ation of decor- ating, hanging stockings, rustling paper, and a vast, magnificent turkey dinner, a once-a-year treat. Christmas shopping Was no problem. Nobody had any money. Of course, the agonizing decisions were there, even then. For adults: should it be something prac- tical - a new sweater or long underwear; or should, it be something magic and en- chanting - a game or a book? No question of both. For kids, with maybe 85 hard-earned pennies to spend., there was no problem. A bubble-pipe for your brother (100 and supply his own soap); a colouring book for your sister (154 and find her own crayons; a twautiful cup and saucer for your mother at 350; and a purple and yelloW tie for you dad, at 250. If the family Were Bigger, you cut your cloth. And you did all your shopping on the day before Christmas. ;There was never good friends. We have to be sauve and `sophisticated and introduce Santa Claus dnto the scene at every possible junc- ture, i making him the patsy for our own failures to 'recognize the real joys of Christmas. And poor bid Santa does take a beat- ing, doesn't he? He's not loved by the children... He's used miserably to fulfill selfish dreams which would be better off unfulfilled: He's a pawn in the game of making children go to bed early for a month before Christmas so 'moms and dads can get out to' the big, bash next door or at the club. Every year Santa loses more favor with the kids, probably because he didn't produce the full order the previous Christmas. It really takes a level- headed set' of parents to keep a young= ster on an even keel at Christmas time with television and yadio and posters and storekeepers constantly whispering in their ear, "Just tell Santa Claus what you want for Christmas. It's sure to be under the tree on Christmas morning." It isn' any wonder then, the 600 little monsters in Fort Lauderdale whip•-• pied St. Nick to within an inch of whiskers and made off with all the goodies he had in his bag. After all, Santa is for one pur- pose and one purpose only - to shell out. There's no rule that says you have to wait ,your turn nice little ladies and gentlemen. el\ SMilv a frantic thought that the stores might be sold out of bubble-pipes or long under- wear. Then there was the symbolic signific- ance, though we didn't even know the meaning of 'either word then. There was the church concert, usually held in the Sundayoschool hall. There were games and carols and choirs. There were the telegram's from Santa Claus, read aloud periodically, and with mounting excite- ment, to say that he was getting closer and closer, from ,the North Pole, though Donner had come up lame. Then the entry of himself, the wild clam. r, and the dispensing of gliese string .,p with candy and an apple in each. And the Christmas pageant in the church, the nativity scene, invariably broken up by a tiny angel piping, Mommy. Looks me, I'm a angel," while Mom my blushed deeply between enbArras- sment and pride. I still look forward to Christmas, but there's a difference. R es about the dif- ference with which a prisoner 'would look forward to (a) getting out of jail, or (b) going to the electric chair. s Nowadays we anticipate Christmas, all right. But what we look forward to is a hectic, expensive scramble, with precious little of the mystery and delight remain- ing. The Christmas turkey is now just a dirty great bird that has 'to be stuffed and then stuffed into us, and then cleared up atter. As turkey today is not grue- some, fascinating thing hanging head down in the woodshed, by its claw-like feet. It's just something you buy and stick in the freezer, anytime during the year, in The adult's of this continent can feel proud that we've taught our children just how to enjoy Christmas. The modern interpretation of goodwill is to get what- ever you want however you can . . . but with a smile on your, face and a cheery tune on, your lips. Our offspring have learned fast and well. • we shouldn't be 'astonished that they would mug poor Santa Clues for a few candies. For as many years as I've been writing this column I've been saying that Santa Claus is not. revered at our house. He is simply a lovely character from a story- book, a kind of mythical spirit which'has no real meaning except in games of make- believe. I've taken all kinds of abuse from all kinds of people through the years because of my stand on this matter,. but I remain firm in my conviction that-Santa Claus should not be the heartof Christmas in our home. And do you know what? I'll bet my 'children love Santa Cl ats as much as - maybe even more than your children do because they know he's a happy side of Christmas which will provide excitement only as long as we want to pretend that he does. He's any way we want him to be because he's only in our imagination . . . and imag4nation, as everyone knows, is one of the most versatile partsof the human mind. But our mind came from God and so did Christ . . and so did Christmas. case you have unexpected weekend guests. Shopping has changed immeasurably. The panic button is pushed about the end of October and we are warned, shouted at, and scorned by the various media until we have a tremendous guilt feel- ing if we're' not Christmas shopping- by mid-November. The agonizing decisions are still there, but most people have some money now, which quadruples the decisions. Every year, at Our' house, we firmly decide, about Dec. 1st, that there will be no gifts or cards this year. t.And every year, at the last minute, we plunge into an orgy of both- and wind up Christmas Day feeling that we were right in the first place. . Every year, the big problem is What to Buy Grandad. It's not that he 'is The Man Who Has Everything. The trouble is that he's ,The Man Who Doesn't Need Anything. He doesn't smoke or drink. His slippers are good as new. And he has at least six shirts ,in his bottom drawer, not even unwrapped, bought on previous desperate birthdays and Christmases. , The , symbolic significance is still there, of course. And the Christmas concerts and pageants. But what's a bag of candy to a kid to-day? He probably collected eight times that amount on Hallowe'en, and also has an allowance, so that he can key his own, not that cheap stuff in the Christmas bag. And the pageants, more's the pity, tend to become second cousins to lashings of liquor, phoney TV Christmas programs, and sheer greed; "I Wanna snow-mobile!" • •.4.16.MUMMSNIONDMMI.MMEMMENWMOMMIUMN •A In the Years Agone liafffiallartOSOW:§:61•10403MMOMMV:segVAMEMMIKIMAKMWA. outh minammummegnammonown 4.041$40244MIMAMMONAMIUMLICANNWOMMS4 4104181fREMNIIMNE.44=114014MINIXXXX.efirOMMIMSNMMOWOMpeo 4 • • te I 0