The Huron Expositor, 1975-05-01, Page 2•
tiro
Since ltifk, Serving the Comniunt
Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, every Thursday morning by
ANDREW Y. McLEAN, Publl er
SUSAN WHITE, Edi
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SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, MAY 1, 1975
A burning question
"The city says I overpaid traffic tickets so I have a
violation coming to me."
Stones and ice
Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley.
When people ask me about my column,
at one point or another, they usually say:
"Boy, I bet you get a lot of mail."
Well, yes. I do. But I don't exactly have
to hire a secretary to send out answers,
along with 'an autographed picture.
I solve the problem by not answering
most of my mail. As a result, I frequently
feel guilty, for as long as three or four
minutes.
Ninety-five, per centcif nay mail is , •a.
garbage, and IS disposed of.as sucji. Along
with the junk mail fly' erKI, broadsides
and special offers that everyone gets —I
get quite a few letters from nuts.
Atikokan, Ont., seems to be' a breeding
place of. this species, with apologies to all
the fine Atikokans who, I 'm sure, abound
in that fine, fresh, northern community.
Years ago, I had a running battle with
some kooky minister from Atikokan, who
accused ,tne of things I'd have been
delighted to be able to do. As I recall, he
thought I thought I was a rake, and I had to
convince him that, I was a hoe.
Then one summer evening, a stranger
walked into my backyard and introduced
himself to the former linotype operator
from the Atikokan paper. He wanted a
reference for a job, and he wanted us to
join forces and bring down the free
enterprise system, or the Women's
Christian Temperance Union, or something
of the sort. He got a local job, lasted a few
weeks, and the only thing we managed to
put down were a couple of beers.
Recently, I received another letter from
an Atikokan. For eight and a half pages he
belabored me about the inefficiency of
private enterprise, because of a remark I'd
made, suggesting the 'Canadian postal
service be turned over to same.
This guy agreed that the postal service
was rotten,' but he told me, with many
examples, that private industry, also, is
completely inefficient. I agree, man. It's
lousy., I know, I once worked for a summer
in one of North America's great industries,
and I have never, before or since, seen
such skullduggery among the workers and
stupidity in management.
But what hurt was when he called my
remarks a "figment of the imagination of a
naive, inexperienced, sheltered academic,
such as yourself". All the nasty words
were underlified.
Well, I've got news for y ou, boyo. Any
guy who has worked on the lake boats, in
industry, gone through a war, engaged in
that toughest of all free enterprises, the
weekly newspaper business, and staggered
through nearly 30 years of marriage and
child-raising, is not exactly naive,
inexperienced , or sheltered. He may be a
shattered wreck, but.
And I resent being called an academic.
I'm a school teacher. Neither proud of it
nor ashamed of it. I don't try to mold little
twigs in the way they should bend. Nor do I
try to turn out a "product" that our society
will be proud of. I just try to teach younger
ifeople something of what I have learned
about life.
The letter mentioned was signed, but
above the signature was a fairly desperate
"You can't use my name," with the
"can't" underlined three times. I should,
and have you fried as an atheist,
womanizer, boozer. and Marxist, but I
won't "It "isn't impprtant.
Boy, here's another letter I don't quite
know what to do with. It's from a chap who
tells me I'm all wrong about the Post
Office, and then proceeds at length to tell
me what a dirty deal he got as an employee
of that moribund corpse. File it, I guess
He, too„ can't 'be named.
Here's a pleasant one from a lady whose
daughter must live in sin, or lose her
university grant. If she gets married, her
husband will have to pay her fees. This is a
blatant inequity, in my eyes, but a subject
for Women's Lib, which could certainly
use some intellige.1 causes, for a change.
And here's a' dandy, from a fellow who
has written a'book. He sent me a copy, and
says: "After you have read it, would you
consider thing it the same mention in your
column as was done with Ten Lost Years?
He says: "This book is similar, perhaps
more profound,"
At least, he's honest. "If you would, it
may give it some extra sales impact
required at this time." Sorry. No way. It is
a dull, book.
Ah. Here's a lively bit of correspon-
dence. It's my weekly news sheet from
Imperial Oil. Fifteen years ago, at a rather
bibulous reception, met a charming
young lady who worked for that company's
public relations department.
When she learned I wrote a syndicated
column, she wanted to know if I'd like to
receive the regular Imperial Oil •news.
"Sure," I gestured expansively. "Send
along anything. A' quart of oil here, a
gallon of gas there, your sister if she's not
busy."
Ever since, I've been getting that hot
little item from Imperial Oil, the weekly
news release. And it ,inevitably kindles a
little glow. In my fireplace.
Oh, Lordy. Here's another great sheaf of
correspondence from that perpetual
nuisance, the guy Who had his name
changed officially to Mr. Midwife.
He is now President of an organization
called International Scientific Lay Non-
Medical Midwives,
Now, I can swallow Non-medical
Midwives. But I find it harcl to conjure up
an International Scientific Lay.
And that's the Correspondence dealt
with for another week.
To the Editor
Why not name apartments?
Since the Town of Seaforth is celebrating
its Centennial, would it not be appropriate
at this time for an official name to be given
to the new senior citizen apartment
building.
May I suggest that suitable naives be
submitted by the senior citizens
themselves and other interested residents
of the community. A committee, including
some of the senior citizens, could be
chosen to select an appropriate name from
those submitted.
From conversations with some of the
residents of this apartment building, I am
led to believe that they would appreciate
such a name rather than their building
being referred to as "the senior citizen
apartment building on the corner of Market
and Jarvis Streets,"
Mrs. Oar Baker
In tite eats Agone
MAY 7,18(75
We 'have been informed that Thos. Adams, known as "old
Tom Adams" has accomplished a feat which has not been
done in this section before. lie sawed 150 cords of wood at the
Carronbrook station during last month, commencing April 1st
and ending May 1st.
D. D. Rose, proprietor of Sharps Hotel, Seaforth, returned
from his trip to the Old Country.
John Campbell of town has purchased the draying business
of Hiram Callady and intends running a double and single
vehicle.
A meeting of farmers was held in the Thames Road cheese
. factory for the purpose of organizing a Grange. James
'Hackney was called to the chair.
Dr. Fmk of Marmora has opened a new drug and grocery
store inICarmichaels block.
. The weather, thus far, this spring has been anything but
' favourable. The first of May,wp4 ushered in by a heavy snow
storm.
S. G. McCaughey of town has recently purchased the farm
adjoining the village of Blyth, formerly owned by M. Tucker,
APRIL 27, 1900
An accident occurred near Londesboro. Chas. Bambridge
and his eldest son were cutting down a tree and the tree
turned and fell on the boy's head. He was rendered
11;
unconscious and passed away the next night.
Hugh McCartney of Brucefield shipped a Tamworth pig to
• a breeder in Ohio.
Alex Sparks of Hillsgreen heads the list for early sowing
having sowed oats on the 16th inst.
Wm. Fowler departed this life 'at his residence in
Harpurhey at the age of 72 years. He came here from the old
country and settled on the Huron Road.
Miss Lillie Bristow and Miss Annie Bubolz, Egmondville
are learning the dressmaking in Seaforth.
Henry Colbert of EgmOndville has the timber all hauled for
his new barn and the work will soon be in progress,
The Kruse Brothers of Egmondville started their brick yard
last week. .
James Stewart of the Seaforth Milling Company has
purchased the brick residence in Egmondville of James
Land sberough a •
Geo. Beattie of town has had one of his stores in the
Carmichael block refitted and will shortly open a restaurant.
The Bell Engine works, Seaforth, shipped a short time ago,
three engines and a lathe to a large wholesale firm in
Toronto.
Messrs.W. Freeman and F. Payne, who have been
employed at the Ogilvie Mill here, have gone to Winnipeg.
A subscription list was passed around in Zurich for the
purpose of raising money to have the telephone there,
Wm. Sturgeon, Albert Woods, Wesley Erwin and John
Bailey left for South Bay to fish.
MAY 1st, 1925
Robert Scarlett of McKillop disposed of his farm on the 4th
Concession to Mr.Thos. Pryce of Seaforth, the price being
$12,000.
Wm. Benneweiss of McKillop is at present suffering with
several broken ribs, having been kicked by a horse.
Fishing seems to be the order of the day in McKillop.,ser
• who have been out report great success.
A prominent young life was brought to a close when Wm,
A. Kerr of McKillop passed away at the home of his parents
in his 28th year.
Stephen Eckart of Manley has gone to Northerri Ontario
where he has setured a position in the gold fields.
Walter Eaton of Winthrop captured an owl that measured
58 inches froth tip to tip.
Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Reed of Staffa have leased a house in
Mitchell:
The friends and neighbors of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell of
V,arna,, had a bee and finished putting in the crop.
AA miscellaneous shower was Oven to Annie May
Stephenson prior to her marriage to Lee McCOnnelL1,—,,,„
Edward Haberer, apiarist of Zurich, is erecting a building
on his property, and will use it for extracting honey, store
room, etc.
Word was received here of the death at Los Angeles; Calif.
of Harriet Wilson. She was the daughter of Col. Alex Wilson
of Toronto and, the late Mrs. Wilson. She spent several years
as a war 'nurse in France and England.
Miss Olive McCormick who h as been confined to her home
with a broken ankle has resumed her duties at the telephone
office.
Dr. ScOtt on Goderich Street and will m ove his family there.
/
Ben Johnston of town has leased the residence of the late
APRIL 28, 1950
')rant Chesney of Tuckersmith celebrated his birthday on
Saturday and on Sunday he was still receiving
congratulations. The highlight came when his aunt, Miss
Bertha Chesney, telephoned from St. Petersburg, Fla,
wishing him may happy returns of the day.
-Russel H. Sproat purchased the apartment on High Street
from Dr. E.A.McMaster and will occupy the one being
vacated by P.D.McCepnell on May 1st.
Al' a recent meeting of the Board of Seaforth Public School,
Miss Winnie Savauage was engaged to teach Art, throughout
the school.
Gordon McKinds"a.y, a grade 12 student at the Seaforth
District High School, has been selected by the school for the
Leaders Club.
Employees
and fellow workers of Bert Haney, an employee
of the Robert Bell Engine Industries Ltd. for 15 years,
honored him when they presented him with a ring. Robt.
Smith read the address and Clayton Horton made the
p r eTsheen tsaetai of on r
h Fire Department answered a call to the home
of Wm. Forrest, Tuckersmith.
Ivan Wren of Kippen has secured a job with the
Construction crew on the new hydro line from Seaforth
toExe tei.
Jack Christie left Tuesday to assume his new duties with
the Dominion Bank at Guelph.
F. J. Snow of ,Sarnia has assumed his new duties as
accountant at the Bank here.
Miss Janie Moffatt has accepted a position on the staff of
the Province of Qntario Savings Office.
About Z5 members of the Eastern Star motored to London
to attend the ,Forest City Lodge,
Oban McTavish of Toronto spent a week here prior to'
going to London where he will spend the summer,
oiv
Leaf disposal. in Seaforth is (pardon
the pun) a burning question. Last tall
town council looked at the problem of
acrid smoke from leaf burning that
some people in town said was a
hazard to their health.
At that time council 'concluded that
a town had no power under the"
Municipal Act to prohibit leaf burning
and suggested to the complainants
that they call the Ministry of the
Environment office in Sarnia.
Fall is the big time for burning
leaves but we have noticed some
pretty heavy smoke around Seaforth
these days as residents clean up their
lawns and burn the refuse that has
been hidden by the snow all winter.
Even though falling leaves are
scarcely a problem this time of year, it
might be time for our council to take
another look at the -problem.
It appears that town councils can
indeed pass by-laws to prhibit open
fires. Exeter already has such a
by-law and the town of Goderich
passed one by a close vote last week,
The Goderich councillor who
authored the by-law said the police
chief there told him that his
department could and would enforce
the anti-burning law:
We don't doubt that our police
chief here would have his department
do the same thing, once the by-law
was in effect.
Most people who burp- leaves, do
not do so out of spite tOwarde thbee
who are bothered by the smoke. They
burn leaves because they have no
other way of disposing of them. As
one Goderich councillor put it "I
raked up a lot of leaves and I have no
intention of putting them ail in bags
and carrying them to the garbage."
In Goderich though, they've solved
this problem. The town owns -a leaf
shredder, which according to the
Amen
by Karl Schuessler
Mix 24 excited three and' four-year-old
children. Add "four even more excited lambs.
Let them all run loose for an hour. And What
do you get?
Bedlam? Frolic? Fun? Chaos? Lambie pies?
Raisin pies'ilneWorks? Water works?
You'd expect a bit Of each. And you're
right.
I know. I tagged along the day the lambs
went to school.
Those lambs didn't follow Mary to school
that day. They were driven. In high style. In
the back of the car.
And the driver—someone like Sharon
Rau--doesn't mind transporting lambs to
school.. She likes lambs, those little wooly
lambs. And she likes other kinds of lambs,
too. She often brings her own two to nursery
school in the United Church in Clinton each
week.
But the day she drove the four wooly lambs
to school was different. She had to admit. She
got up earlier, than usual that morning.She
drove the extra miles to her father's- farm.
, And gathered up the four lambs she'd pic
out days before from her father's floc
P Now she piled up all seven in th A f car.
Herself. Her two children. And the four
lambs.
"And when just the right time came for the
nursery school 'surprise that morning, Sharon
Went ottt to the car, and brought in--one by
one— in her antis' 'the lambs.
And thettfillaten gathered All around. They
felt the lambs.They petted them. Hugged
them 11eld them. Carried them. One got a
ride in tt Wtigiati. One played house. One
kicked up its' heels-performing one of those
Signal Star, will no along the streets
of Goderich, vuuuu, uiJ leaves that
have been placed there by
homeowners and chop them up, Then
the leaves can easily be hauled away
by garbage trucks.
Seaforth, to our knowledge, doesn't
have a leaf shredder, but then
Seaforth isn't nearly as big as
Goderich. And by extension, it likely
doesn't have nearly as many leaves.
Surely a special leaf pick up day or
week could be organized using town
and private garbage co 1 I ecto rl-fruCks
to carry our leaves away. Most people
wouldn't gripe about spending a bit of
money on garbage bags to put their
leaves in if it meant sparing
neighbours, the annoyance or danger
of leaf :.smoke.
- Then too, there are other ways of
getting rid of leaves. A lot more
people are growing vegetable
gardens these cost watching days.
Leaves when piled and allowed to sit
for several months make fintastic
compost. Leaves will return nutrients
to the lawn if you mow right through
them when you're cutting the grass.
If worst comes to worst, you could
even let them sit on the lawn where
they fall. What's wrong with an
accumulation of leaves anyway?
It's too bad in0 way that those who
look forward to the burning leaf smell
(yes, there are some) and the
treditilonal ay.p.i mrp-,:bonf ires have, to
be deprived ther pleasure by law.
But the smoke from burning leav,es
chokes some people up so badly that
they can't breathe. The dense smoke
that covers this , town during the
heaviest bonfire days makes it hard to
'see cars at intersections and kids
playing on the street near the bonfires.
All in all it's in the best interest of
Seaforth if we settle the burning
question by prohibiting open fires.
famous lamb jumps when sheep spring and
jump over fences that aren't even there.
The lambs didn't seem to mind. Oh, they
bleated and ba-a-ed. And if one escaped tiny
fingers, it didn't run far. It always came back
to the others. Lambs, I learned that morning,
do like to stick together.
Each child had his turn. At holding and
feeling. S 'roking and petting. At looking
inside and seeing the large bottom milk teeth.
At exploring long tails and perky eats. Cloven
hooves.
This was better than any African safari--this
new idea in zoo s where the animals run free
and you drive your car through the bush and
look for animals. But there , you don't touch.
You wouldn't want to touch in most casesl
But being able to touch the lambs • is
important to Sharon. She doesn't like the idea
of children, standing in lines and looking at
lambs in boxes or cages.Lambs are animals to
feel' and touch and smell. To explore.
She wants to give the children direct contact
experience. To her that makes all the
difference in the world.
And it is different. Nursery school teachers
running around with broom and dust pan. •
Sweeping up lamb raisins as fast as they
appear. And wiping, up water spills whenever
:their occur.
Thank heavens for paper towels and cement
floors in church basements used for nursery
schools. Maybe that's the only place—the ones
with cement floors—where lambs can go to
school.
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