HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1981-04-29, Page 2St±bscrilition rates.
Canada $.16 a year fiat advance),
nutsider.anacia533 a Year in aelVeneei-
' 5ingle CAptes - 40eants each
• .
.$geeedeetst Mae reg(straette rtem Per 069 .
SEA-FORTH. ONTARIO, APRIL 2g, 1.981
ke' liuron fxpositor
Since 1860. Serving the Community first
12 Main St. 527-0240
Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO every Thursday morning by
McLean Bros. Publishers Ltd.
Andrew V. McLean, Publisher
Susan White. Editor
Alice Gibb, News Editor
.1 A..- ,A • •
Member Canaprien Community Newspaper association, Onto.° Weekly
Newspaper Association aria Audit Bureau of Circulation
To the editor:
Ruining a clean, fresh
stream that's progress?
9Pel°8Ctf trout '4g4i4*-4 usually
01led -witko.x0rommt:010,411100. for
anglers -11Ww.4 the -ease
-,•far • a 'W0110;1004 44: me. bttt 44..thR"
g'at'e we passed •'.004 and 1''
strOnl*P9*".**: r$(4,'11.041#4itir,
"Na .04r .4to find 1~een
4c.0400.1e it-became••06401y evident that;
speckled trout 'fiShing. tould-lieenme a thing -
of the past. We stopped at one,s,trea9t, and
the ;bottles, bait -eorttainers, etgarette pack-
ages and general refuse left behind by a few
thoughtless fisherman made the signs '
posted seem pretty "just." •
The. streams. (or a lot of them) that were
not posted have been dredged out and the.
trees along the banks either bulldozed or cut
down -in the name of progress 'for agricul-
ture.
I wonder how much is gained by ruining a
nice clean, fresh, cool running trout brook
that probably,, took untold. decades or
possibly centuries to develop. Of course I'm
only looking at it from-a fisherman's point of
view, maybe a ditch with warm, scummy
slime is more attractive and beneficial to
society.
0*MQ044'04.044)%att#r. derby
iN004.9*0 to Silver 4.0*(p.tty, nay lurk at
•
any' ):eft oyA ' rainbows : ft • seems .alit Kt0.
vLi#4,0):StAng'00,0PrO)00)4 4410-*04 to,
vimAtu ,-1904 :1010, • .into "such; •,#t . .
405.0001 74$•:•Sit#r''PFCS4'.*.Y0 .
'Pgt#Tollit • stagnate • =e5rogo..0p*•.,
tOightening.-oot the btedsnear thellOSPital
'should -take' a .look at the, river. bottom: and
slime that once were at teist deep pools AO.
few' batik undercuts- again, progress Iteess. - •
It seems sad that the conditon of this. once
clear, pretty and productive creek has fallen
so low due to continued abuse from industry
and poor ideas. Since theereek is spring fed •
I think there is a chance it could be reclaimed
through time- but this is only my opinion.
If anyone has any knowledge of govern-
ment grants or resource programs that could
put Silver Creek back into shape or possibly
even a stocked stream once again please
write and let others with interest know.
We applaud
his courage
Perth County archivist Jim Anderson's hunger strike and sit-in on the
roof of the courthouse in Stratford last week was an unusual gesture.
In fact anyone who knows the scholarly,„reserved Mr. Anderson was
probably astounded by his action.
But if you've been following the historical hassles of the last year or so
in Perth County, 'Mr. Anderson's protest, the move of a man who loves
history and sees irreplaceable parts of it disappearing in front of his eyes,
makes sense. ,
Mr. Anderson, who spent a great deal of his own1ime and money
helping, to restore the Fryfogie Inn east of Stratford, says the county and
the city Of Stratford reneged on commit ments to make the inn a vibrant
attraction in the cbunty again. The same bodies backed out of a plan to
reorganize, open and operate the Thomson Museum. Finally ,the'Perth
County Historical Board, frustrated that most of its recommendations to
senior governments went unheeded, was disbanded. •
We understand that local governments must set priorities and guard
taxpayers' funds with extreme care; especially as times get rougher and
funds, tighter. Tough choices must be made and Perth and Straford have
obviously decided to eliminate a concern for our heritage from their lists
of priorities.
In the long run, when ourchitdren look arc:cunt:land are able, to find very
little evidence of how 'their pioneer ancestors lived and worked, those
decisions will be seen as unfortunate and -short-sighted. F.
Jim Anderson knows that and felt so strongly about it that he stopped
eating and climbed up on the courthouse roof. •..
We applaud-his courage. If you do too, let Perth County 'and Stratfcird.
city council know.
/0 011••• .17
a.
NO FISH . HERE, BUT . — These four ex-fishermen (er,
fisherpople?) gave up trying to catch fish in the fish derby at the Lions
Park Saturday, and turned ;their efforts `to trying to catch the
photographer's eye. The four, from top to bottom, are Linda Ellis,
Andrea Pinder, Ann Wilson and Chris Campbell. (Photckby Ellis)
. .
.i;ten to some of C tnada-s -
prominent civil rights advocates Like June
Callwood and you would -think that Canada
was 'right up therewith Mitzi -Gerniany and -
Soviet Russia in terms The • inhumanities
perpetrated on its citizens by 'government.
Ms. Calhwood'in particular, often %%rites or
speaks about. the flaw inSanadian nationa l
character which. has people accept , the
authority of theoggovernment, our w ish for
law and order that makes the population in
generahaceeptgovernment Lord police action
woUld, she feels. bring open rebellion in
a place like the United States. to listen to
her one would' think there were soldiers in
the streets with guns five days a w eek ire
Canada. -
Certainly democracy is such a fragile thing
that we must stand on guard for it at all
But on,. the, other hand there is a
certain quality of crying •wolf on the part of
Ms. 'Callwod and others' that if anything
endangers democracy even more. !Uhere
have been very Ww.incidents %%hen human
`rights. were generally, in danger iii Canada. an ogre just waiting to turn, the country into a'
Certianly the interiiihent sit
Canadians and German- Canadians during FREEDOM,OF THE PRESS
Freedom of the press is another of our
lights ue arc constantly being warned is in
danger. Every time a politician, particularly
the Prime Minister.' refuses to isnewer a
question or say, something a reporter finds
insulting., or es cry time someone talks about
the war is not something to be proud of and
yet it is, easy. 40 years, later to condenin ,
those who did it. War, however, does'Initily
things AO people's minds. Far nurse
,atrocities here committed by the Clerniaits!
and Japanese: While that does not make
ights• are not in danger here
Behind the scenes
by Keith Rouiston
e hat Canadians did alt right, it does put
things in a little better perspective. '
One at the km - other real occasions of
government action to'quash civil rights came
with the mass arrests under the War
Measures Act at the time of the 1970 F.L.Q.
crisis. In the clear light of hindeight. police
and _government certainly did overreact.
Civil 'righis often claim non, that
the government keen all the time there n as
no serious cfianger. or they claim, if the
government kdidn't "then-"the RCMP wasn't
doing its .1613 in getting the goVerninent the
information it should have had. At the same
time they complain about the actions the
RCMP did take to gather information on
-people it considered dangerous . Whether
right or n tong a government which-has used
the W ar Measures Act only once in peace-
time and that for only a short period hardly is
the irresponsibility of the media. !media
people start screaming about the threat to
freedom • of the press. A look • at other
.euntries adds a tittle perspeetis c. Yalu diitt .t
have to look to the Soviet Union where all Ills'
press is a gos ernMent propaganda machine.
or South Africa here the government has
closed SOVV—ir papers that • (loot' support
.goecrimieut poliCies and dims+ n journalists
in jail.
TakCitoolt for instance at France, out. in
the bastions'of.desnovrav'y. An article in
Globe and Mail ort the° ueekend gas
picture of gosernment control of the instil.'
there. While the media in Canada strenuous
1) attempts to give equal eoserage to all
parties- during an election, 'in 'Fr:uict.
statistics showed that -during—the recent
election campaign incunibent • President
Giscard d'Estaing received three times more
air time than other candidates.•
gosernment in France controls most radio
stations and all three telesision nets\ orks,
gives subsidies to the treiS papers uhich arc
said to be the only thing that keeps inam of
them alive: on ns an advertising agent.% thm
doesn't ()lacy adf, in papers hostile to On.
government and pros ides 00 per cent of the
ies cubes to Agence France:I'rescc.' thv
Yours truly.
George Kruse .Ir:
Seaforth.
4 Legion honours
qt. Archibald
BY LARRY DILLON
"Lieutenant Colonel. S. Wallace Archibald,
a patient in St. Marys Hospital, London was
honoured Saturdayby his comrades from te
Seaforth branch of The Royal Canadian.
Legion: At-'86 years of age he has given 55
years of service .to the local branch.
Colonel Archibald served Ins country in
both world War I and Wort War II. During
World War Ii, he commanded the Second
Battalion of the Royal Canadian Engineers.
Thew-job-was te-construct-airfiettis7.-army
camps au& other support facilities l'or the
coinbit traelpi. He and his men did their
work Under a variety of conditions not
encountered in civilian practice. They learn-
ed to cope with problems such as machine
'gun fire from enemy aircraft while they
worked.
with-the. Colonel_ during the .coestruction of
Dunsfold Airfield in . England. He described
hint as "A soldier and gentleman, who, was a
friend and a commander to the' men." He
has a ,special reason to remember his
service there. Forty years agoe he had , to
%obtain COIOnel Archibald's permission,
before he and his wife Peg could be
married. The couple had stayed in touch
with the Colonel since that day.
Cleave's brother Ken Coombs, who also
served-in the unit, remembers Colonel
Archibald as a man who believed in working
-with and socializing with his enlisted, men.
Rather than use his Staff car exclusively, the
Colonel would often don a helmef and ride a
motorbike on effkaaj errands. His informal'
method of travel left Ken' and the other
soldiers not knowing whether alt approach-
ing moturbike would be a dispatch rider or
their commanding officer.
Elizabeth Carruthers. the Colonel's daugh-
ter. explains that her father was "mad as the
devil - when the army chain of command
decided Colonel Archibald was too valuable
to risk on etitotorciele. He 'was ordered to
use his staff car. The driver he selected was
our own Cleave Coombs.
The Seaforth branch of The Royal
Canadian Legion was formed in 1929 and
Colonel Archibald was the man responsible.
At his own expense, he attended convent-
ions in Regina and Sault Ste. Marie to gather
information; He returned to Seaforth with a
determination to act, That .year the branch
was 1-iiirrtz7—&--a-no Colonel Arctubald was —
elected its first president. He •,hits remained
a Member for 55 years, and is -now thebnly
surviving charter member of the Royal
.Canadian Legion, Branch 156, Seaforth.
• At 66 years of age he became a mountain
climber; He, was selected, because of his
extensive experience in bush surveying, to
accompany a British army mountain climb-
ing expedition. He helped six English soldier
iers scale thirteen different peaks in the '
rugged Canadian Rockies. 'Because of his
help he w4S'named an honourary member of
the 'Royal Fusiliers, City of London Regi-
went.
In civilian life. Colonel Archibald farmed
the London land surveying firm Archibald,
Grey and McKay Limited: He worked there
Until his retirement. He suffererd a stroke
over eight years ago and has been
hospitalized since that time:
His Legion comrades • stay in touch with
him.' They are proud to have • Colonel
Archibald as one of their members, On
Saturday, April 25 a' delegation of members
met with him at St. Marys hospital. Peter
Malcolm, Gord Deiong, and Larry Dillon
watched as Henry Ziler presented a long
service award. They were recognizing the
many • years of service • COlonel Wallace,
Archibald was given both to his country and
to his community.
Major iiews gathering. agency in the country.
The president has, also been known to call
the editor of a' newspaper which prints
something he doesn't -like , to register - a -
personal protest. The hit goes on.
Defenders ofcivit rights and of freedom of
the 'press are right when they warn that
there is not . something spe'cial abOtit
Canadians ,that means- we don't haVe to
worry about people abasing their power in
government or police. We have . seen'
instances where people have gotten carried
away in their zeal and trampled on people's
rights and we must stand ready to fight to
keep our rights.
MI things, hoe ever should be looked at in
perspective. Despite die, temptation sdnie
people feel to describe our current Prime
Minister as a dictator (lascist or communist
depending OW your On it political +ben point)
'Canada is one of the must free countries in
the uorldi--1 he -nen ' ehartet.. al. rights...will
imbed sonic of those rights es en more
strongly than in the past. Canada is not, a -
utopia overseen by angeliv gosernors who
would ties el' think ul going a gainst-our right
••but neither is him the edge dictatorship.
(lie !greatcSt 'danger may be Iron, the
userreaction from cis it rights aetis ists to the
slightest problem. By -screaming wolf too
often alley linty deaden our-tin n an areness to
the point n e don't listen When there is a real
danger to• Ireedoin,
e three ways yon gel to moosonee
Sugar and spice
By Bill Smiley
There are three ways of getting to
Moosonee. You can fly; attach is expens-
ive. You can walk, which s lengthy, or you
earl take the train, which i Something else.
9 I took the train because I was a bit broke
after a major decorating job, because my -
goui was acting up and'i coMdn't have
made it walking in two yeats, and because I
'wanted the experience.
It was an experience I will never forget.
Or repeat. When I think , that my daughter
Mede the same trip two years ago. with two
small boys, my heart bleeds for her. It's
almost twenty-four hours' from Toronto,
and she refused to -get sleeping berths.'
against my advice.
But She's a very adaptable, strong-heart-
ed and generally clear-headed young
woman, and has made not oily a go of it,
but a success of coping with a frontier
town, if there's such a thing left in Canada.
AU"COdlYane, you change 1'ti5111 a -fast
transCanada train to the self-styled Polar
Bear Express. somewhat of a misnomer, as
it has nothing to do. even peripherally,
with. polar beers, and is the exact opposite
Of an expyeSs:r It stops whenever it feels
like it, backs up for a while, sits for a 'while,
then jogs off again.
Sitting in a coach surrounded by fat.
Middle-aged Indian ladies who' chuckled
and gossiped in Ott, I felt much like a
Russian aristocrat who had been banished
to Siberia for supposedly plotting against
the Chu% The train rolled on hour after '
S
-hour through the taiga. skinny evergreens
too useless even for pulpwood. burnt-out
patches every so often, snow out both
windows, and no sign of human life. All we
needed' was a samovar at the end of the.
coach, and the Siberian image would have
been complete.
Bat eal_warm welcome, with some hugs
and kisses from grandboys dispelled the-,
first impressions.
There seems little real reason for
Moosonee to exist, except that it is the end
of steel. Yet it's a thriving little town, with
all the requisites: liquor store. post office,
police station, churches, The Bay store,
with a monopoly on most food and clothing.
a meat market, two hardware stores, one
garage, a Mac's Milk sort of place. a
Chinese restaurant, magnificent schools, a
really splendid. small art gallery featuring
the works of Indian eflists and three taxis,
What more could a' man want? Well.
-maybe a poolroom. Or a massage parlor.
Or a movie house. But these are sybaritic
southern frills. No violent movie could'take
the place of a dash across the mighty
/Moose River just before break-up. with the--„,
water flying as though you were a ship in a
stiff gale,
It's an odd community, geographically.
' It looks as thoUgh God or somebody had
flown over the place. dumped opt a fess
handsful of- buildings. and let them fall
where they might. I can find my 'way
around in most major cities, but I was
constantly getting lost in Moosonee..
Something else that made me" wonder
Was what people did for a living. There is
,no' industry, yet everybody seems to have
Money. Nobody looks even vaguely
hungry. Perhaps it's a matter of taking in
each other's washing.
But I have h suspicion that if all the
government money. railway, liquor store,
schools, police. welfare, old age pensions,
baby bonuses and so on were suddenly
withdrawn. ,the place would collapse. and
be remembered as a sort of rough-hewn
Camelot.
there is, efseurse, the tourist industry.
but that's OM negligible except foya
couple of months in summer. and during
goose-hunting season..
On the other-hand, the gbvernnient was
left with a pretty sizeable investment'. and
has used it with some common sense. The
town used to be an army base, and many of
the buildings have been put to use as
schools. housing. administrative offices,
Better than 'leaving theni to rot.
For example, the hOuses on the base are
now rented to teachers and other officials.
The barracks are used to house the Indian
kids from Moose Factory. across the river,
in spring and fall. when it's unsafe to cross
the river. The recreation building is used
for school-rooms. It still ha s1 a bowling.
alley. There is a curling rink, where kids-
also learn to skate. At the school there is a
fine cafeteria, with food that would -make
the habitu. ees of our school cafeteria drool.
But this is beginning to sound like a
travelogue, not my intention, I had a grand
visit with my only daughter. without the
constant interruptions of her mother.
I played chess with my grandson, 7, and
barely escaped With my 'hide. Twice he
forced me to stalemate. instead of check-
mate, a humiliating experience. And I
played without mercy. regardless of age.
Most days I picked up the other little guy
5, at his dayeare., and he gave me
directions for home when I got lest.
I got through six' novels iii_six2days. and
didn't mark a single exam paper. That's
what I tali a holiday.
We had. music, and read poetry, and
played dominoes, and ate like kings. I
ripped off three greedy! Meesonee geese,
handcrafted by tire, natives, And I came
home with a better Sunburn than confreres
who's gone south for their holiday.
( 4
LAST'CHARI'ER MEMBER — Seaforth Legion members visited charter
member Col. Wallace Archibald at $t. Marys Hospital in London
Saturday. From left are Gord De Jong, Sergeant at Arms; Colonel
Archibald; Peter Malcolm, 1st Vice-President; and Henry Ziler who
organized the visit.. Colonel Archibald, who organized the Seaforth
Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion 55 years ago, is the only surviving
charter member. (Photo by Dillon)
--•
Al.......„....„._.,_,....,,...,4„,k ,...,,,„__ •