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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1964-03-26, Page 44) Simplify Spring House Cleaning with... OR9 CrinninG Have All Your Easier Clothes prycleaned Here USE NIGHT, DEPOS- IT BOX AT OUR STORE 63 ALBERT STREET FOR DRY CLEANING OR LAuNbtly. DROP YOUR t3UNoLE tN BETWEEN A.M. AND 12 PA. Let Us Do Your Spring Housecleaning Laundering k A AERIAL VIEW OF RCAF STATION CLINTON SUGAR and SPICE (By W. B. T. SMILEY) st4,44Nee‘eaheArew.dr#94.44.40.1Ke44KorowsoNowkA Editorials Visitors Show Us Ourselves Page 4 -PlintP0 .News-Reccrci Thgrs,., .March fib, 1904 RCAF Marks 40th. Anniversary ..edn(tsday, History Shows i,61 Role f ..Chnton .Station AN .FXCI-ANGE visit of students, such as Cl-l$S and a Milwaukee school are conducting this year, will probably have incalculable far reaching hene- - fits, but even if they remain at their present plateau, the Project can in all sincerity be termed unqualified success. And what is even more encourag- ing is the fact that the success of the Venture not only touched a great many people, but was also brought about th- rough the efforts-.of .a great many peo- ple. Any words of commendation on our part are unnecessary for those who made this venture such an overwhelm- ing success, because they surely received enough appreciation from the courteous Milwaukee youngsters and from the fine publicity that was bestowed upon this community for the co-operation and friendly atmosphere which was display- ed, In fact, when all the "thank you" exchanges had been made, it was evid- ent that the kids from Milwaukee are those to whom this community should be indebted, rather than the other way around. A sincerely enthusiastic and exub- erant group they hit Clinton .and area in a manner that won't be forgotten nuick- ly. HINDSIGHT ALWAYS comes so much easier than foresight and there is little difficulty in sitting down and figuring out how you would act under unusual cirdrnstances that have be- fallen others. However, there is no sure way in which a person can determine how he would act in case of any emergency until such time as he is faced with that emergency. But . this does not imply that a person can not . prepare himself for any type of emergency; and in fact such planning may well be the one thing that could save your life or get you out of a serious predicament. This argument can be backed up by the fact that people who are trained • to handle emergent situations--such as policemen, firemen, doctors, nurses and others—can generally be counted on to take control of situations in which most other people would, become. helpless through losing their ability to think clearly and not maintaining the pre sence of mind that is so necessary to cope with unusual circumstances. These aforementioned people are trained to expect the unusual and there- fore are not at a complete loss in 'know- ing what to 'do when they tackle any. emergencies. We don't wish to belabour the point, but the crux of the preceding is to note that people who are prepared for emergencies can generally cope with them. And while we all live with the hope that we Will never be faced with extreme emergencies, the fact remains that many people are daily called upon to face such situations and it could .as easily. be you as your neighbor. Therefore is it not wise to prepare ourselves for emergencies? Emergen- cies that do occur to "ordinary" people! THE CLINTON NEW ERA Est.• 1865 .parliament president noted last week, the schoOl spirit at .CHSS reached A peak that has been undiiPlicated for some years. This was brp-ttglIt about AS, the local students .realized that the compli- ments the Milwaukee studentS were pay- ing the lieeel, facilities were quite true, • .P44 it WAS indeed an institution of wh- ich they should feel proud to Attend. AS the kids frotn the big city tray-. elled around the countryside they carne back with reports of how beautiful it was and how much there was to see And visit. - The area rea kids then realized the pro- verbial • grass was just ,as green in this district as it was anywhere. - And equally important was the fact the CHSS students learned they had as many benefits in all walks of life as their American "cousins" and it will be unfortunate if the sense of pride they were able. to garner in,: themselves and their surroundings is quickly dispelled One of the oddities of society is the fact it often takes sorrieOne else to point out to us how fortunate we really are, and 12 students from Milwaukee managed to do this most graciously and effectively, The benefits gained warrant serious consideration of repeat performances to keep. our inflated chests in that con- dition as we travel around this prosper- ous and proud countryside of ours. For instance; What would you do if ;you sudden- ly found out your house was on fire? Your child had just received an elec- trical shock from sticking a knife into an outlet? Your infant had swallowed some poison? You came upon an acci- dent and found a person bleeding pro- fusely from a cut wrist? Your car hit a hydro pole bringing live wires down on the roof? The examples could be continued on almost endlessly, but this short list provides situations where fast action of the proper kind is essential.. Minutes lost in taking these right steps, or thoughtless moves made, could well cost the life of the accident viotim—who all too often is someone dearly loved by the only person who could have averted the tragedy—you. There is nothing more tragic in life than to watch helplessly.as a human life ebbs slowly away, especially when lack of planning for emergencies is one of the main reasons why this should happen. It is not our intention to provide a list. of "do's" in regard to any emer- gency, because this information is readily accessible from experts whose training and experiences can be used to relate this information to you and your entire ,family. After digesting this information, it is a good idea to practice by setting up "imaginary" situations or even by read- ing news stories of tragedies and hav- ing a discussion as to how you and your family would act if such happened to them. Accidents do happen, and they can happen to you. Intelligent people take the neces- sary steps to PREVENT accidents if at all possible, but also knoW what to do if a CURE in needed. Est, 1881 CCNR ' On Wednesday, April 1, the ia9xal Canadian Air Force nierk it 44th anniversary. in conjunction with this event the Public Relations PffloOrs. at RCAF Clinton, With the help' of the pheteerephy eeetiore have Pempileti this intereptine feature on the history of the logai station. Aitheueh it is not a oglernorous" station with screaming jets, and acres of run- ways, it pfays a vital role in the training scheme and the following story bears this out. In the Blitz days of 1941 over e,000 miles separated the embattled, White Cliffs of Dov- er from the Cliffs -on the Lake Huron east west but in that. year the 'two became linked in D.- manner Which was to Prove vital to the final victory in the Second World War. In peacetime both echoed to the sound of birds and waves but echoes of a different type along the cliffs were to be the common denominator which tied the two places to the suc- cessful outcome of the war. These echoes were the inaud- ible refleetions of an •infant technique known at that time as "Radio Direction blinding" and later RADAR. In the' quest for a place re- mote from the actual battles in which thousands of men could be safely trained in the new science, it was found that the 'cliffs on the Lake Huron shore and their surrounding terrain closely resembled those over which the aerial armadas relight in South East England. Thus the first radar train- ing establishment in North America came into being in the early 'summer of 1941. This establishment was later to be known as RCAF Station Clin- ton and was destined to become one of the largest and most important stations in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Met Requirements In the April of that critical year of the war, a team of experts searched for a suit- able location, Among the re- quirements were adequate powr,, er facilities, reasonable prox- imity to good sources of sup- ply, transportation and prefer- ably a not too prominent loca- tion. Last but not least it was essential that it be near a large body of water to approximate conditions in besieged England. All the requirements were met in a location two miles south of Clinton in Huron County and construction was begun immediately. . The accent was on speed. Photographs taken on May 27, 1941, show a gently rolling area of farmland bisected by a highway with a silo promin- ently displayed in a field near- by. By June 30 and Air Force Station had, arisen and only the silO remains to show where a farm once stood. This was the initial No. 31 Radio School and one of its most outstanding characteris- tics was •secrecy.• As soon as classroom buildings were erect- ed they were surrounded by electrically charged fencing, patrolled by armed guards. At that time 'RDF' was one of the most carefully guarded secrets of the war. History has proved that a secret it was for surely, if the RAF Fighter Command was Britain's sword in those difficult days, radar was the shield with which the Nazi blows were parried. A great load has been lifted Because of RDF, the hard from my mind. For a while pressed fighter pilots of the there, I thought that chap Allied Commonwealth Air For- Richard Burton, was not going ces were able to conserve their to do right by our Liz. Now striking power for the critical I can sleep o' nights. moments an the struggle rather And I was delighted that than to waste their effort in they were married in Canada. constant patrolling or to ar- rive at the battle scene too Even though it took place in Montreal, and everybody is late, aware that Montreal is a wick-It was against this pilot' ed, wicked place, being married technician combination that the Luftwaffe saw its efforts shat- in Canada is a pretty serious tered in the late summer and proposition,. as we all know, early autumn of 1941. don't we? I wonder if 'anyone pointed Indebted To Canada out to the happy couple that a During the initial days of the Quebec marriage can be dis- Battle of Britain, on July 20,- 1941, Wing Commander H. W. solved only 'by an act of Parlia- 3. Cocks (RAF) became the ment. There could be some first Commanding Officer of mighty excitiing times in the No. 81 Royal Air Force Radio House of Commons in -a couple of years. Or six months. School at Clinton. Oddly enough, although. Britain's need Can't you just hear, the sep- for trained technicians in this aratists bellowing that the Eng- field was se great, the first lish are trying to ram this trainees to be put on course divorce down the throat of La were men of the United States Belle Province, and thereby in-, suiting her sacred traditions, Navy and Marine Corps. Although complete historical detaining her ancient glory and information is not on hand with honor? g, regard to U.S. Forces it •is al- most certain that graduates of Anyway, it was a fine- cere- Clinton took part irk every maj- mony: the English-born Ameri- or Campaign of the Second can film star of Jewish faith, married to the Welsh Presby-World War, from the South West Pacific to the North East- terian stage actor by a Unitar- ern Arctic. ian minister in a French-Cana- Soon after 'its inauguration, dian city. On Sunday. a steady how of trained radar A pretty select company at technicians was being graduat- the wedding, too, A few friends, ed by the school, most of whom a gaggle of lawyers, and a subsequently served with the brace of public relatfiens inert. RAF in all theatres. bue to None of those maiden aunts the secrecy attached to the weeping all, over the brides base and its work, 'it was after Make-up. the end of the war before most people knew just how import- ant the station was or its' ac- complishments. 1-Towever, after the War, the nlaudits came Welt and fast, Ina release from the United Kingdom Air Ministry in 1945, Air Commodore C. P. Director of Racial', revealed just hew cleapertite Britain's les could never be made known public in Canada. at that time, of course, but Se enthusiastie have RCAF .personnel' been. since the earliest -days that their role in the unseen strug- gle throughout the years of tile -war one that Britain will never forget, Often Canadians fermed as much as half of the technician strength op the mobile radar units which were doing field training in England -before ern, barking for abroad. Wingate's Chinchts in Burma and the RAF Wing in Russia were just two of the spots ern- bracing the whole world in which Clinton graduates saw service. Others played a distinguish- ed role in radar research at Malvern, Worcestershire in England where development work was \done on equipment SUCh as '1-1?S' which later permitted Commonwealth Air, crews to gorrib unseen targets -at night and 'through clotd. Change of Commepd From the time of its, opening until 1943, Clinton was under RAF direction, but at that time it was decided that 'it would be taken over completely by the RCAF. In' the process, the station was redesignated No. 5 RCAF Radio 'School with The Silo Wing Commander (later Group The famous RCAF Clin- Captain) K, R, Patrick as its ton landmark is the sole first Canadian Commander. Distinguished people visiting reminder that the station the station included Sir 1.1:tert was once lush farmland. Adastral Park Social Notes News Editor: Anne Aileron — Phone HU 2-7349 The Adastral Park bantam hockey team visited Wingham on Saturday, Mardi 21 for a double-header; their first en- counter was with WrOxeter whom they defeated by a score of 4-0, Stars for the Adastral Park steam were Bob Spam, scoring two goals; Melvin Hohner, net-, tiirg one, and Peter Bingham, also getting one goal l„ The second game was closely fought but Jamestown came out victorious by a 24 margin. Bob Spann scored the lone point for our lads. The 'boys wore under the supervision of )'fill Wiekware, aided by jack Fehr And Ross Adams. Among those who went to Wingham with the bantams Were ebbing-Manager I-t, Obscure far a time. RCAF elee- tropics men were convinced that the tremendous advances made during the War required a permanent RCAF training establishment, It was something of a shack when a message was received from Air Force Headquarters on September 4, 1945, ordering the station to prepare to dis- band, The reaction, led by W/C Patrick, was swift and hurried conferences h al d through Air Force echelons and finally in the )pefenee Commit-, tee of the Cabinet. As a result, a second message was received. on September 20 which stated that an RCAF signals school would form on a peacetime basis at Clinton, This decision proved wise with the development of the complex radar defence wstem initiated and built in the 1950's. Shortly after its establish- ment as a regular peacetime station, the training phases were again redesignated and No. 1 Radar and Communica- tions. School came into being. This desiguation still exists on the principal unit at RCAF Sta- tion Clinton, The first post war Com- manding Officer was Group Captain E. A. McGowan who served in this capacity until 1947. Subsequent Commanding Officers have been: Gram) Cap- tain A. C, Hull, DFC, CD (1947- 50); Wing Commander R. F. Miller, AFC, CD (1950-51); Group Captain E, A. D. Hutton, OBE (1951-53); Group Captain H. C. Ashdown, MBE, CD (1953-56); Group Captain K. C. Cameron, MBE, CD. (1956e60); Group Captain J. G. Mathies- on, MBE, CD (1960-63) and Group Captain .te, R. Green- away, CD, the present CO. In the• period since the Sec- ond World War, Officers Com- manding No. 1 R&CS have been Wing Commander R. D. „Car- ter, CD (1946); Group Cap- tain S. R. Burbank, MBE, CD (1947-51); Wing Commander B. G. Millar, CD, (1954-59); Wing Commander R. R. B. Hoodspith, MBE, CD (1954-59); Wing Commander I. Gillean, CD and Wing Commander B. R. Refuse, CD, the present OC. Expand To Meet Threat In the spring of 1946 re- cruiting for the RCAF Was re- sumed and several s end or NCO's were sent to Clinton for a course in pedagogy prior to activating the facilities of R&CS. Training in the electronics field has expanded continuously since that time. The outbreak of the Korean War in the summer of 1950 meant serious thought of Can- adian Defence policy and to satisfy a growing demand for trained technicians a large building program was initiated at Clinton. New buildings such as the Stipply and CE Sections-, Of- ficers, Senior NCO and other ranks messes and R&CS Spec- ialized Training building were constructed for accommodation and training. The present Radar and Com- munication School building was completed in 1953, at a cost of -over $2 million, and has a total floor area of 33/2 acres. A total of 23 new buildings were constructed during the years 1950-54 to satisfy both immediate and future 'require- nients. With the development of the thermo-nuclear threat, it be- came evident that Canada and the United States must work closely together in the air de-, fence of North America and in 1957 the announcement was made of a new integrated de- fence command NORAD, to provide operation control over the air defence forces of the two countries, A vital part of the North American air defence is the radar network consisting of the Pine Tree line for aircraft con- trol and the Distant Early Warning and Mid Canada lines foe early warning, These three lines are formed by rows of radar bases stretch- ing across the length of Can- ada at various latitudes. The manning requirements for the bases once again brought pressure to bear on Clinton and until recently the station was accommodating over 1,400 trainees at one -dine, who were taking various Cours- es in radar and ,doMmtmica- time. The resources were tax- ed to a point where some radar students Were being trained in three six-hour shifts throughout the clay, Eighty- three trainees graduated in 1963 having completed various courses 'in radar lasting ap-, proximately 40 Weeks. Training' 'Today .Many training courses other Air Forc e trades have come and gone from Clinton— Guided Missiles, Aeronautical trigineering, Veletormyrunica- (Continued on page 10) shown, and refreshments Weee Served at the tonchiskei Of the meeting, Personals Cpl. and Mrs. R, H. Dobsott have"indettl 1b 'rorottto, As Bonnie Homuth, CHSS student Be Prepared Is Good Motto Clinton News-Record Amalgamated THE CLINTON NEWS-RECORb 1924 Published every Thursday at the 0 S 0 Heart of Huron County • Clinton, Ontario -- Population 3,369 • A. L. COLOUHOLIN, Publisher 0 WiLLiAM BATTEN,, Editor Signed contributions In this publication,' are the opinions of fhe writers only, and do not necessarily express the views of the newspaper. Authorized as second doss mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa, end for payment of postage in cash SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Payable in advance — Canada and Great Britain: $4.00 a yoon United States and cireign: $SA; Single Copies Ten Cents ,cam 4 need had been end how ably the new station had filled it.. Train -0,000 He disclosed that early in 1941., when the station was be, gun, Britain had sent an urgent message' to Canada stating that recruiting of RDF mechanics in England bad practically ceased and that by the end of that year 1,000 • would he re., quired from Canada. From that time on Canadiap. and Cana- dian-trained radar men provid- ed the ,backbone of the RAF's radar system. From 'the time the first contingent of RAF men arrived at Clinton on July 20, 1943., until the end of the war, nearly 9,000 radar tech-. nielans were turned out by the another. news release after t11cile wa Brown stated "it would$ool nlo;t have been possible to -meet the vital and increas- ing demands of radar in the latter part of 1940 and the fol- lowing years without the know- ledge that Canada was under- taking the recruiting of men to help us handle this immense weapon. Thex. act nature of the clut- I'll bet that, even if the groom was a little rusty, Lis knew' her lines, This was her fifth appearance in that partic- ular scene. She'd scarcely heed prompting, The groom had been through the ropes only once befote. Thais ettitbineted in a kodean orce last DeteMbei", which is Watson,Watt who is credited with the invention, of radar, At the close of the .Second World War 'the future of Clin- ton, as Was the case with most wartime RCAF Statiens,. was reported to have cost him $1,500,000. Question: Would you pay that to get rid of your wife? Depends on whether you had it, you say? Sorry I asked. I'll bet I know what you're thinking. You're thinking T am writing this snidely, with tongue in cheek, You're wrong. I'm just glad things are settled so my wife can get back to the ironing. A lot of people, including some who wouldn't give a nick., el to their blind leper cousin if he ran around with girls,. have taken a very dim view of the behaviour of the glamorous pair, People have told me, with great satis- faction, that Toronto's uppet crust deliberately ignored them. Admit it, girls. Who would you rather be than Liz Taylor? Four husbands behind you, four kids, a couple of million bucks in the bank, and Richard Burton and a ring, all at the age of 32. Admit it, chaps. Where is the hardship in get- ting hoMe from work and hav- ing Miss Taylor throw herself on your bosom? * They may not be Abelard and Heloise, Charles II and Nell Gwyn, or Napoleon and Josephine, but they have given us a love story with enough color, clash and flair to stir even Canadians in the grip of Meech. Mr. Burton is the most elec- tric actor I've ever seen. Miss Taylor is a lady I would def- initely cross the street to chat with, Good luck to them. And if it's any help, my wife says, "This will definitely last, She's found the right man," Strienonds, Bob Petersen, Mrs. Sheewood, Mrs. MacKay, Mrs, Wickware and several other patents of the boys; Protestant VOnng People The YPA held their meeting Sunday evening and took this opportunity to present one Of their monitors with a farewell gift. 8/t, Betty Bell who will go on assignment to iVietv., Prance, received a gift of, jewellery from the president, Lynn Rees- Oh behalf of the members. Miss Bell was delighted With the pleasant surprise- and thanked tie young adults for their thoughtfulness, fttliolle Youth 'The Catholic youth Organ, itation met March 22 and toed,. Mations were called for the fleet elections., A film was