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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1981-12-16, Page 26THE HURON EXPOSITOR Penpals meet after 45 years - BY litHEA HAMILTON It all started with a small toll sent out west close to 45 rears ago. Since then two ioung girls have grown up ogether while° exchanging etters. The year was 1936 and the Myth community was just one if many sending bales of 7100111g and food nut west to he farmers and communities suffering from the depression and drought. Mildred Charter's mother in Blyth packed a small doll of Mildred's to be sent to a . girl out west with note telling who the doll belonged to and, asking that the recipi- ient please write. And that was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted 45 years through the mail, Last week the recipient. Anne Gartner Swidrowich. visited Ontario for the first time and her pen sod. now Mildred McAdam of Clinton. While she was familiar with the scenes \from Mildred's letters and had noticed some of the goings on in pictures they exchanged. this was a first time experience for her. The depression and drought affected everyone differently then. While here in Ontario. Mildred noted thatthelamilies still had their farms to draw on for food, out west the drought made that upply almost non-existent. Anne remembers the bales t arrived by train for two or th years in Dilke. Saskat- chewan. The mayor was in thaegeof doling out the goods packed by church groups. As well as warm blankets and clothing there was, food. "I remember my mother boiling the salted fish, to take away some of the salty taste.•" said Anne. "but we sure enjoyed getting all the fish we could." The Gartner family re- ceived the Charter parcel and the doll packed within started the letters rolling. From that point Mrs. Charter. in Blyth. sent parcels directly to the Walter family ley-passing the community bale. Anne is the oldest of_ren children and they all remem- ber the homemade candy from Ontario that was packed with nuts. Anne recalls her grand- mother telling her about how the cows would bawl from lack of water and be forced to eat the Russian thistle grow- ing in the prairies. Her grandmother would cry too. just listening to them. But times have changed and Anne married Walter Swidrowich and lives near Bethune, Saskatchewan, not far from where she grew up. Fornbout 11 years Mildred and_ -Xnne lost track of 'each other while both women were .busy raising youngsters. Then Mildred travelled west in 1969- and sought out .her missing penpal. Since then they have written once a month what could be called a diary letter. They write ra bit down each day and then at the end of the month send it off. Anne. while only here a week. was amazed at all she saw, especially the old build- ings. "In Bethune they tore down an old office and store and can't afford a new build- ing right now." said Anne. "And there it sits. an empty lot. History is gaining some support in Ames area and a local history book has been published about the origins of depression affected them. To Anne the history of families is especially intrigu- ing. Her father and grand- parents were originally from Germany and had immigrat- ed to the Russian Steppes when the Catherine the Great opened _them. up for settle- ment. When the laws govern- ing the new immigrants were changed the family packed up and came to Canada to settle in the great west. Anne relates stories to her children of the songs that were made up to help make learning another language easier for the adults as well as the children. Anne's parents are still active and celebrated their anniversary recently with their extended family of 76. Anne enjoys the country- side and being part of a farming operation she has a keen eye for the crops grown here. She and her husband have five quarter sections out west (860 acres) and they harvest spring wheat. oats and barley as well as durham wheat. After her stay here she •intends.t,on going home to persuade her 'husband to come and visit. "It is just so lovely here." It is this kind of generous friendship that will keep Cenada together. IT STARTED 45 YEARS AGO — Penpals for so many years is a rare thing these days but Mildred McAdam, Clinton, and Anne Swidrowich, Saskatchewan have kept the pens flying for 45 years. (Photo by Hamilton) Your Personal WILL BE SURE To reach your friends, neighbours and relatives When ,you place them in kite Auron fxpositor Phone 527-0240 Bill and Wilma Jones and family extend Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season and the New Year. SEASON'S Greetings with best uishes for the Holiday Season and the coming year to all oui friends. — The Jones. Seaforth. Among the many sincere good wishes sent to you for a Merry Christmas please include ours! — Mary and Bill Jones. Greetings, will be published in the Eipositor *3.50 for 20 words December 23' Hildebrand Flowers 15 Main St. Seaforth ►es- 1.4111111111Y1a1 mr completell' li Christmas Floral Headquarters "041 111111 I t% I I • Gift Plants • Poinsettias • Azaleas Mums • Fresh Flower Arrangements • Artifical Christmas Trims ;41 0 /T1 66. rawtcL•10 1:11? Complete Floral Service with a personal touch • Dried & Silk Flower Arrangements Is your kitchen ready for a face lift ? CUSTOM KITCHENS AND VANITIES WSWAJVIEUrrEwalE NEW CONSTRUCT ON OR REMODELING COME IN AND SEE THE SPECIALISTS John Patterson 4824183 BALL-MACAULAY O LIMITED SEAFORTH CLINTON HENSALL 827-0910 482-3405 282-2418 THE HURON EXPOSITOR, DECE8115ER 18. 1981 Ensuring economic survival MVCA makes 1982 were informed that the glen will act as, a working guide from which the Authority can see where its priorities for the next fifteen to twenty years will will also assist staff to plan their yearly work schedules accordingly. Although not finalized as yet, the 1982 budget was Ions doubts as to how long this situation an continue. With all these changes in our economic environment. how can.a farmer or business- man safely budget for the future? It seems to me that a more cautious approach may be needed. Equity is going to be more important to your banker. If the cash flow you generate won't support the debt load-you undertake-re- financing may be a problem. The assets you purchase and the products you produce may not be gaining. value (inflating) as quickly as you'd like. Many of us have purchased land or buildings in the past few years, knowing that the first few years would produce negative cash flows. Inflation has pushed up asset, values and produced equity to refin- ance against. Product prices have usually climbed to more profitable levels. Aggressive borrowing has paid off with the help of inflation. - - What happens if inflation' slows down? What if prices go down? Your banker won't be receptive to additional financing' unless you've got good equity. In addition, he'll probably want - to see some way that you can generate more income. This could be a tough order. Buying land or buildings will require patience and planning. Aim for a level of equity that will make your project easier to carry. At current interest rates, sav- ings can grow fairly quickly. The more expensive credit you can replace with your own money, the better. Don't count on the asset you buy to hold their value the way they used to. Many of you have tractors that you bought 5,10 or even 15 years ago. You could sell them today for what you paid--or more. You've had all those years of use with very little depreciation. As inflation slows down, depredation will become more of a factor. Used machinery will tend to lose more of its original value. If you b'orrow a lot of money you should also have some contingency plans-- some things you can do to keep the operation going if business goes badly. Your main ohje i. five in to stay in business'- survival. For some ,,people this may mean selling off a machine or 'a piece of land during hard tithes. You may not want all your BY ART LAWSON_ The Economic Summit meeting may have been giv- ing us some signals of chang-. ing times. The message was --continued high and uncer-' tain interest rates and con- centration on reducing infla- tion. New government pro- grams requiring large at mounts of spending will pro- bably,be limited. Most gov- ernments are looking at ways to reduce spending. Farmers and other busi- nesses may have to adjust their management strategies to ensure economic survival. The climate for production. marketing and financings is changing. Ten years ago, if someone told you that Massey-Fergu- smear Ford or Chrysler Corp. might go broke--you'd have laughed. Today you'd admit it is possible. What has happened? interest rates have always been variable • Today's rates, however. wouldn't have been thought possible ten years ago. Historically, inflation rates have been about ifs of the prevailing prime lending rates. There were times in the past five to ten years when interest and inflation were about equal. Borrowing money, wasn't all that risky. Assets were often inflating in value at a rate equal to or greater than the cost of money borrowed to buy them. There was lots of incentive to borrow money. The outlook was generally good. While inflation was still fairly high, the cost of bor- rowing money now is about double the rate of inflation. Government policies in the United States and Canada are set out to reduce government spending and-the rate of inflation in the economy. Interest rates are probably going to remain high for the next few years. Many economists have been raised the possibility if deflation in the economy. It's a very real possibility. We are, after all, the only gener- ation in modern history to have experienced nothing but steady inflation. There are fied for several types of livestock. Marketing dill be challeng- ing in the coming years. Many market analysts predict violent fluctuations in com- modity prices. High interest rates deter suppliers from holding inventory. Prices will be very 'sensitive to interest rates as well as normal supply and demand factors. Govern- ment policies will -influence markets with possibly, greater frequency than in the past. The coming years will 'not be all gloom and doom, The economic environment for management and decision making is just changing a bit. The successful manager will recognize the changes and adapt. Twenty-nine municipal- ities of the Maitland and Lucknow River watersheds were represented at the 1981 general meeting of the Mait- land Valley Conservation Authority November 25th in Wroxeter. Other officials at the meeting represented the district and regional offices of the Ministry of Natural Re- sources in Wingharn and London, as well as Tom Prout, the General Manager of the Ausable Bayfield Con- servation Authority. Margaret Bennett of •Wing- hank was recently appointed as one otthe three Provincial Representatives to the Au- thority. The first item of business on the agenda wits the pre- sentation and approval of the Authority's' Advisory Reports. The Chairm of each of the four Advisory Boards (Water Management. Conservation Areas, Com- munity Relations and Land Management) summarized the work that has .been undertaken thus far in 1981. Some of the major projects which were highlighted were the installation of gauging and monitoring equipment as part of the Authority's new computerized flood forecast- ing system and the co-ordina- tion of Phase 111 of the Listowel Flood Control Pro- gram. This phase involves bank protection works to be completed on the portion of the Maitland River running from the Spinrite Yarns fact- ory to the C.N.R. bridge in the southwestern portion of the town. Phases IV and V are designated to be complet- ed in the next two years. Successes were also noted in the Authority's new mini- mum maintenance approach which was implemented on all Authority • conservation areas during 1981. The major portion of the meeting was devoted to an explanation and discussion on the "whits?" and "'howl?" involved in the development of the Author- ity's Watershed Plan. Al- though appearing as a some- what complex process, the end product can be easily understood. The members presented for approval in principal. With a total esti' Mated budget of $917,000. for 1982. the 1001 share is estimated at $246,000- which would mean an averaged general levy increase of 11.5 per cent. Classified Ads pay dividends. land in one parcel. Separate chunks 450 to 100 acres that could be sold in an emergency might be good insurance for your business. You may not want all your buildings on the same parcel of land. It's not hard to end ukwith a lot more money invested -if-I one parcel of land than could reasonably be recovered in the event of a sale. if it's practical to more than one land parcel to your building program, your business investment will be more secure,, Many people are looking at new buildings with the poten- tial for more then one applica- tion. For example--machine sheds that can ,double for grain and fertilizer storage or buildings that could be modi-