HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1978-02-02, Page 2An Oxford County Red Cross
official has sugg,esteg, that county
council there set up an emergency
planlo handle the crises that go with,
;big snow storms.
Perhaps Huron and Perth counties
could takce a look at the idea too.
Granted individuals and local
governmmt9. muddle along.ver well
helping each other, and diving
informal .mutual aid. People put up
complete strangers who ,get storm
stayed at their gates.
CB'ers get messages all over the
''''',-.4..countrysiiie and ownerS.. of 4 wheel
drive vehicles and snowmobiles are
quick to volunteer for ernergenCy
transportation and: delivery duty,
Farrners,plow-•each other out, and on
occasion, township ,roads.
But there is a lack of co-ordination
Of all these - Valtiable efforts.
SoMetimes, duplication, 'confusion
and. loss of time. results.
It wouldn't hUrt at all if eVeryonain
one county knew they could call a..
central emergency number to report a
road impassable, a driver lost or a
senior citizen needing medicine.
We're not talking about another
empire, with permanent offices
employees and budget. But perhaps
' each cotinty_council could simply work
Out a plan so at all the equipment,, •
supplies , an v luinteers fre•itte.„,, area
„could• tie put to best use once a bad '
Storm hits. ,
We're thinking of a plan •that would ,`
inventory emergency supplies and
pOblic places where, storm stayed
travellers could be put up 'around thA
county. A plan could also 110' firaand
police chiefs, Red Cross and. St.
Johi.Vs—Ambulance heads-'in 'each
`dbrnmunity who could co-ordinate ,
storm relief.
' Some-_ thought and time given• to
developing an emergency snow storm
plan need not cost a great deal. It
should be a case of having one
person, or perhaps an existing county
committee, pull together information
that's already available in bitS and
pieces. /
County road departments already
have emergency plans that they put
into action once it's apparent that
another storm is. upon us. A plan that
took in the plight of storm stayed
dri,vers, -medical and faren
emergencieS would.take that one step
further: '
We -don't want a snow emergency
plan that 'adds another layer 'of
bureaucracy. But a" short, sensible
directory sort of plan could make our
snow s relief efforts more efficient
while in no way discouraging' their
volulnteer, character.
Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley
Winter blues
W.O.Mitchell, well-known and
respected Canadian writer came out with
something on a national TV "interview with
which I wholeheartedly, concur.
He suggested, more or less, that
everything that is wrong with the Canadian
character can be blamed on our Canidian
winters.
After a couple of months •of minter, we
feel harassed, persecuted, and vaguely,
wronged. We became insular, grumpy,
gloomy-and generally, unfit to .live with.
When it has snowed and blowed for a
couple of weeks on end, or a.,,couple of
months on end, as it has around our place,
you are ready to kick td cat, Complain
about the cooking. sn at your children,
or quietly climb into the bathvb and open'
your wrists.
I haven't any figures. but I'll bet our
-„ suicide rate.soars after the holiday season,
when xiie face three months of being cold
and being, broke. (i wouldn't insult
anybody by making this bet in Canadian
dollars. Make it yen or marks or francs.)
would like to expand on this and make
the bet on divprces a'nd deaths. People get
to the point, about the end of January,
where they. can't 'stand' themselves, let
alone thier spouse's, so they split up. Old
people-and sick people, huddled at home or
in hospital, get so sick of living that they
just up and die.
You wjll retort that a lot of affairs begin in
mid-winter. This is true. But it's not love.
Most of. them are among,- the apres-ski
crowd, and it's sex or a deiperate measure
to keep warm.
-
I can't imagine anyone falling in love
while Whizzing through farmers' fences, on
a snowmobile or shoving a car out of a
snow-bank.
What I can imagine is a sober, decent
citizen, perhaps a kindly- retired
clergyman, committing murder with a
shovel after the town plow has refilled his
driveway for the fourth time in 24 hours.
I can comtemplate, with some sympathy,
the ordinarily happy housewife and loving
mother being hauled into court for child
battering just after her kids, with friends,
have tropped in with half a ton of snow and
slush on their boots and marched across
kitchen floor she has scrubbed three
days in a row.
You May think I exaggerate. I 'do not. I,.
one 'of the , sweetest chaps, you'd
ever et-wonder, have seriously considered
mayhem when some turkey with bald tires
starts up ati iby hill ahead of me, skids
sideways across the road and leaves the
there with M'y wheels spinning and smoke
corning out 'rot edit.
'not against winte in principle', I'm
just against: Winter in Canada. They can
have all the Winter they liken
Nor am 1 unaware that then is. a tiny.
benighted portion of our. populace that -
thoroughly enjoys winter.
Children on the whole,. love it. Instead of
going .through red lights on their bicycles
and being-killed by cars. they can dart out
from between'two snow banks into theoath
,of a car that is sashaying along on glare ice.
Teenagers: another notoriously unstable
group,.also seein to like winter. Instead of
breaking 'their legs riding motorbikes, or
their necks in speedboats. they can break
their legs 'riding snowmobile's and: their
necks on ski hill, At any given time in
any given winter, half a dozen ski bums are
clumping around_ hi, the .average high
school with casts on their legs.
Curlers, too, don't seem to mind the
winter. They drive in a heated car to a
heated and often luxurious curling club,
where they can run up and down the ice for
two hours in their beaptiful tight pants,
and then sit around drinking and
discussing every rock thrown ad nauseant'.
The only 'thing more, boring is a golf
• foursome going over every shot•in the bar.
But at least they have the sense to do it in
summer.
d One other segnient that .professes, to'love .
winter is the swinging singles.' Every
weekepd they pile out of the' city in their
thousands.. heading for the -ski hills. And
. the chalets: And the big drinking sessions.
And-the chance of meeting Mr.' Big or Ms,
Boobs. And on Sunday night, after
spending perhaps two hours skiing. often
none, they pile back in.their fast cars and
head for home, a menaeeto -everything on"
the road.
They're in the same category at the
.,, sane singles who do , the same thing in
suinmer,„except that the ski mob,' the city
slickers, don't know how to drive in snow.
'But .ask anybody sensible if he love;
`winter. •'Ask a hydrO • lineman. ' Ask a
snowplow operator who has to work a
double shift. Ask a cop. It's not necessary,
I believe, to ask a guy whp has a fuel oil
franchise.
Aside from the sights of winter c- red,
runny noses, shish and salt all over your
front lawn, 800 pounds of icicles from your
eaves there are the sounds.
, -
Hacking coughs on every side. The clunk
,,and..rattle and slant of the snow:plc& under
your window at 4 a:m. The sweet howl of
the wind about your windows. The crash of
falling ice. .The thump and .gulp of the
furnace its life bloat:" -
114 y solution? Either site it back to the
• IndiartS, poor deVils, or send everybody
over 40 sob* for sik. inotiths, and let the
other idiots revel in it. And pay the bills..
We're ilette,r off for our storms
It never ceases to amaze me the changes
that a big winter storm can bring to' humanity.
We missed most of what the press has been .
labelling the "most intense storm of the
century" (now don't you feel left out), but we
did get enough to slow things down.and make
us think. And just to the south of us, in the
London area they'wele in a state of near panic.
Yeticipitkitt fear that was with- many
peopl P, there are some Marvellous heart-
warming stories that came out of the' storm as
there have been after every.: storm in the past
few yearS. '
In fact it, leads. me to wonder, how much' w •
• worse a plate might this be if it weren't' for our
frequent storms. People tend to be pretty
wrapped up'in their own pro.blents these days,
not caring about other people around them r
It's a 'world where everyone seems to be
grasping, grafting all the time. It's every man
for himself. ,
'Yet in the midst of,,an eMergency like a
storm, the beSt side of • people seems to
- re-emerge. It's mindful of the old' time stories
of,pioneers where, if a titan lost his barn in a
fire, the neighbour's would get together and
- rebuild it for. him.
The problem seems to be that human
beings can't stand comfort. When there is
danger all around, they wo'fle ingether for the
'common good but when everything is going
well, they bicker.and fight with one another.
We seem to need to go bock- to the old
situation of.fighting to survive before we can
bring, out the best in .humanity again. Thus'
when we have 'a war or a famine we see the,
better side of human beings than when we
have prosperity.
Maybe if we had more emergencies, we'd
be better off as a' nation. If we could get all
Canadians, French speaking and English__
speaking, 'easterner and westerner, native and
immigrant, storm stayed in one sma9 part of
the--country=-I--think -a•-lot -of our-present
problems 'might be solved. People would be
faced then with a common enemy and they
would work together to survive and in doing so
:would gain a greeter understanding of and
respect for each other. Lacking that common
enemy, as we do now in Canada, we become
enemies of each other.
The effect, of a threat to survival was
graphically shown a ,couple of weeks ago by
Alice Munro'S script for The Newcomers
series on CBC television. Her Irish immigrant
came from a highly. structured society where
there were owners and tennants, lords and
peasants and never the gap between the two
was breached. But when he arrived in Canada
there was tixeL^cornmen job to be done of
clearing the land, surviving the horribly cold
- inters, and scraping out a living from he
gin soil. Suddenly, the immigrant noted in
is letters home' to ,Ireland, the divisions that
had formerly divided them ^began to
evaporate. Oh things didn't completely
disappear. There was still emnity between the
Orange and Catholic .Irish and other petty
enmities but the whole clasS system. that had'
been.. so evident in the homeland quickly
disappeared in North America.
PrObably one of the things that 'has kept
Canada front being a truly united country as
some such as the U.S.' have been is not so
Much the fast that we have a small' population,
• and huge distance assorhewould point out, or
that .We have two official languages and still
keep many others in various parts' of the
country, but' that we have been a peaceful
nation. We have faced few crisis in 'our
history. Once the pioneers survived the
arduous yeare'of settlement, they settled back,
• to a relatively' comfortable and enjoyable life.
That life was only jarred by such huge events
as: the two world wars where,peeple felt theys'..,-,
mast work together. Even theser , however, did
not seen a real threat to survival to some ,
people, particularly Quebec residents who
saw it as a far off war .in Europe, not a
Canadian war. if 'the Germans had been
invading Canada we might really have seen ,a
tenting factor in the country but a EUropean
war seemed a far off, unreal threat 'to some
and thus proved divisive rather than some-
thing to make all Canadians 'pull toget
By comparison, ever since the 13 colonie
' decided to unite in the.,U.S., that eountry,has
z..never been,far away from a wan. Since 1776, •
semeMber, the U.S. 'has twice attacked
Canada. It has battled' Britain, Spain, Mexico,
• Italy, Germany, the Chinese and Koreans in
the Korean. war, the Chinese, Vietnamese. and
Cambodians in south east Asia and even set
orie part of the country against another in a
bleOdy war. . The feeling of unity that this,
sense of common d,anger has brought-eannot
be' discounted in watching the 'way the two
---north-Ameriean-nations-have-taken -different--
paths.
_ , The present crisis in Canada might have,
been ...easily solved by our leadership in-
another 'country at , another time, They would
simply have engineered a war that seemed a
very/ just cause .to fight. The "fervour of the '
crisis would haVe quickly made us forget our
petty bickerings within the country and pull
together to survive.
Canada has, of course, 'never been very
warlike and this is not an age where wars are •
conveniently begun and stopped as in the
past. So we're left only with natural dangers
and .lately the powers seem. to be doing
their best to provide. enough of these to make
people react as if they were in as much danger
•aS a war. And AO knows, maybe if we get
•enough.otorrns the milk of human 'kindness
will flow enough to help us realize that most of
our problems are caused by ourselves.
Amen
by Karl Schuessier
Riding the roads
A.hh! There'S nothing . like tiding__11
roads in the United States -again. I s like
being back home in a comfortable r t.
When the radio announeersays it's •Ding to.
by 17 degrees outside today, 1 know xactly .
what he means. And when he says the winds
are coining at.you at SO miles an hour. I know. •
what to expect.
And whetiThe says 10 inches of snow are
going to fall, I know how much snow is going •
to layer the ground.
That's the way.it is when vou travel in New
York State. They tell it like it is--or was-- in the-
good old da . s in Canadai-When pints were vio
pints and gal ns were-gallons and we all
knew what w were talking about.
The State s'de is a straight talking bunch of.
people. That's what I've noticed while I've
been travelling the States for the last couple of
weeks. They not Only give it to you in. familiar
measures, but they hand , lt out in plain
ts
Engl ish.
itake ,,those Signs on the streets in
Harlem
h
. in New York City, 'Littering is selfish
andltithy. Don't do it," ' )
You can't get any more direct than that, tap
you? There's no clever .double , meaning
slogans like we see on our . trash cans
on downtown sidewalks--signs like "Pitch in"
or "Put litter in its place". Those kind of signs
' just riudgeyou alone. Humor y ou into doing
the right thing. But I wonder if it keep's the
streets as cleans as that bold "Don't do it."
In South Carolina there wa's no. don ..Aree,
how fast you should driye. Every few mil a
sign said it all in three words. Three bigs
words. 55 the Law. , • , .
Then there was this guy On the radio. He's
New York City's Ann LandeiVof the airwaves.
I heard him allThe "Way from New York to
Georgia. Yes, dear friends, it's true. I am on
•;.
my way to Florida. NoW. Now. None of that
green envy stuff, I'm working. I'm working.
This is business. Honegt...1-have ten hours of
taped interviews already from New York City
and Washington D.C.'
Can I help it the man I have to interview is
in Key West Florida? .‘?- .
But, you say, in Key West, Florida? One of
(Continued on Page 3) .:
• v
tl~e.years ag
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SEAFORTH; ONTARIO, FEBRUARY' 2,' 108
Do•we ne.-04-a Man?
elund the scenes.
By Keith Roulston
nollowyo, 108
The contract far the OreetiOn of the tew Presbyterian
Church in. EgOtondville has been awarded to John H.
BroadfOt MeSSts,'Corip and Shaw, the W6lOd work
-to the former and the stone and brick work to the atter,),
• for the sum of $3,251,
Miss Kate O'Donahoe of Lucan has been engaged
teacher,of the No. 6 Hullett school, near Clinton, at a
.salary of $340 a year.
' A Wise has sold his farm of 50 acres en the 8th
concession of Hullett to Robert Taylor for $3,000.
pn.,the oecasion, of, a regular. weekly prayer meeting.
in ' Duff's Church,MCKkhop, the pastor, Rev, Mr. -
Musgrove presented Mr. 'Andrew, Henderson With a
Valuable silver watch as' a alight i'eepgnittien of his'
rvices on behalf of the church.
JANUARY 39,1903
At. a meeting of the County Council which opened at
Goderich, Reeve W, H.' Kerr of Brussels was elected
Warden.
R. Crawford has sold his 150 acre farm on the.13th
concession in Hullett to 'his son George for 57 non
The balloting for four new elders in C.armel Church,
Hensall, resulted in- the following being elected:
William Dougall, John McArthur, James A. Bell, and
Peter Moir Sr. . ,
' Enoch Parker of Dikie, had the misfortune to have his
house'destroyed by fire 'which was caused by, children
playing with matches. .
Mr. William Ament had an experience, one that he
would not care to go through again. Mr. Antent had laid
down on the couch with his young son and was wakened
by a Strange. noise. He noticed that the hall lamp had
exploded but it did not take long to extinguish the
blaze.
'A rink from the SeaforthTs Curling Club went to
• Stratfor to play a match with 'the rink 'of the Scotch
Curlers. is composed, of George Patterson, 3.
S. Roberts, F. mstead, and Alex Wilson.
Last Friday night s the coldest night of the season;
fortunately there, was of a high wind or it • would be• , . •
almost inbearable.
Mr, Dick of To on o. the purchaser of . the. Van
Egmond, Woolen was in town last week. .
William,Ament is having a lot of logs delivered at his
saw mill and Stave factory.
W. H. Willis of town is carrying his arm in a sling. He
fell' on the ice on.. the, rink injuring it. A few nights
afterwards while returning from Gorrie, his rig upset
going .through a pitch hole and, being-thrown out, he
had his .shoulder dislocated.
Robert' Devereaux of the Seaforth Carriage Works,
has been given the job to paint a hearse for My Alex
Broadfoot of Listowel. r
John A. Wilson won' the handscmetrophy donated by
Alex Wilson to the curling club fora point competition.
.1: A. Wilson and R. S. Hayes tied.,IvIk. Wilson coming .
out victorious. ,
A week ago, we had weather cold enough to freeze
the nose off a brass monkey; •the beginnieg of the week'
it was balmy as April and on Thursday.we were treated
to the novelty Of a January thunderstorm..
On Wednesday. of this week, John Hinehley, an
employer of the. Broadfoot and Box Furniture Factory
had the misfortune to have two of his fingers taken off.
The reads are again being•Made passible for loads to
be drawn upon them at Walton. Below the snow there is
a considerable depth yet the pitch holeS are less
numerous.
FEBRUARY 3,•1928
Owing to advancing years and. other' infirmities,
William Gillespie has• resigned the position„of Chief
Constable in Seaforlh,For 38 years by' day 'and' night,
Mr. Gillespie was responsible for law and order on the
streets and in"-public places and no man has ever
• performed his dutiarlii-cife conscientiously or more
efficiently.
One of Bayfield's oldest land, marks.was razed a, week
or so ago. It was the harness.shop occupied •for some 60
years'...br the ' late ThomaS Cameron.
George Coleman of :St anley shipped a fine car load of
cattle• from Kippen• station.
Messrs. William Dietz and Cooper of
Kippen who were 'at Sarnia attending the Thresher-
, .men's Convention have returned home. .
The coldest snap of the winter was felt on, Sunday of
this week.
• ,We believe that George Hud
received the contract for the caretaking of the. HenSall
school.,
._so has rt . of Hensall
' ' ,
Mr. 'and Mrs. David Robinson of ,Millbroelc have
purchased the property of Miss Jean Kerr on 'Brock
Street, Hensall.
Miss Ella Turnbull who has been convalescing at the
'home of her mother, Mrs. G.' T. Turnbull, frpm the
effects of an operation, has returned to TOronto:
Monday was the coldest of the winter, , the
thermometer registering 14 beloi zero. •
Miss Dorothy Gemmell of Tuckersmith had' the
misfortune to fall and fracture her arm.• ,
Oswa Walker of Cromart'y is at present getting
lumber. on the old store grounds as the bricks are
already on the ground..
Harold AfrnStrong and Bill fotheringham of •••-•t-
Brucefield are cutting wood for Hugh Aikenhead.
:FEBRUARY 6, 195Y
Mr.-and Mrs. Henry Weiland of Egmcindville marked`'
their 63rd wedding anniversary, Other than a few visits
from pear friends and telephone calls from members of
the family, they participated in no celebration. Mr.
Weyland is 95 and his wife 85. •
'In less than .2 hours, Allister Broadfoot. Tuckersmith,
•-witnessed his entire crop, several implements, a
number of pigs, and chickens, and his recently
remodelled and modernized barn destroyed hy flames.
The loss is estimated at over $110:000. The. barn was
reported 'to be one of-the best and most _cenveniently
laid out in this district. The loss was partly covered by
insurance.
Twenty-two male Members of St. Thomas Anglican
Church met last week to organize a men's club. Gordon
A. W right was elected president of the new group. Dr.
J.W. McCabe was named Vice President, and George
Kruse.' was elected Secretary-Treasurer.
Mr. and Mrs. George Fee . of 'Hensall, quietly
celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary. They
Were the recipients of many articles of silver and spring
flowers from. friends who called during the day. Their
son., Charles, was presented with an engraired
telegraph ey by his parents. Cecil Van Horn, his
ipstru , made the presentation..
Mr. and Mrs. William Stapleton of Dublin Celebrated
their 40th wedding anniversary. The family and ,
immediate ,relatives marked the event with dinner at '
Fairview Farm in Seaforth.
Howard Hartry formerly of town and the brother of ,.
Miss Maude Hartry, was honored by the co-workers of
Lawson Jones Limited in London at a retirement
dinner. Mr. Hartry who left here 38 years ago marks 37'
years in the firm's accounting section. Mr.Hartry was a
former bookkeeper in the_Robert Bell Engine Company
here. •
Messrs. A, F. Cluff and HowardHartry of London left
Saturday for Halifax where they will sail to British
Guiana and South America.
Miss Helen Horan of KeKillop had the misfortune to
fractttre a bone in her foot while Stating on the ice at
school last week.
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