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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1972-08-17, Page 4Editorial commeit t Thanks, but no looks! It's hard to know whether to disbelieve some small news items or to smite the paper with, a mallet. Such was the item from London, Egland, which quoted Defense Minister Edgar Benson as saying Canada expects to sign a $40-million contract for 100 tanks. Tanks! Canada needs British tanks like it needs a trans-Atlantic suspension bridge for driving them over here. Has the government learned nothing from the money it wasted on the Barnarc; on the refitting of the Bonaventure; on the Bobcat vehicle which never worked; on the Bras d'Or hydrofoil; on those jet fighters that go directly from the assembly line into mothballs? Mr. Benson also suggested in London that' the government may order $600 - $700-million worth of long-range patrol •aircraft to replace the Argus planes now in service. Some of these could watchdog for violations of Canada's anti-pollution regulations, especially in the Arctic, But those assigned, like the Argus, to anti- submarine patrols are essentially part of the U.S. Cold War establishment, Their purchase and operation would be a waste of tax money And would not even have the virtue of creating employment for Canadians. • At a time when George Ignatieff, Canada's Ambassador to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva, is pressing for general disarmament at the 25-nation disarmament conference, our government should be cutting back on purchases of these expensive military toys. Together these orders would total nearly $1-billion! The Canadian public should tell Mr. Benson and the government: thanks, but no tanks. Or planes if they're going to be used to prolong a Cold War "which benefits only munitions makers. — Contributed Rock music and flowers Among the many noise contributors to our noise pollution must surely be included rock music which some parents think they have to endure in order to be "with it". But dear parents, you need no longer pathetically put up with that loud sound from your children's radio, stereo, or rock group. If you've felt an inward revulsion to it, your sensitivity has now been scientifically proven sound. A series of experiments carried out over the past two years by Temple Bell College, Denver, has revealed that three hours of rock music a day "shrivelled young squash plants, flattened philodendron and crumpled corn", all in less than a month. Experiments with hundreds of plants from geraniums to beans showed the plants tried to escape the inharmonious sound by leaning away from it. Petunias and zinnias refused to bloom, leaned away from the radio blaring rock music, and finally died. Other petunias "listening" to semi-classical or church music blossomed and zinnias taking part in the experiment grew straight and tall, In every case rock music proved harmful. Some time ago a study undertaken by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company showed that at 90 decibels of noise, the human blood circulation decreases, the flow of saliva and gastric juices is reduced, and the adrenalin flow increases, preparing the body for "emergency". Ninety decibels is the level of kitchen noise at. its peak which is presumably somewhat lower than the vibrational impact of rock music. Needless to say this level of noise is destructive to the human body and subjection to this kind of sound is bound to contribute to unrest, turmoil and violence that breaks out periodically in society. Parents would be doing their children, themselves and the world a good turn by "turning off" rock music. This is one instance where parents should forget about being "with it" and take the lead in protecting children who haven't yet the sense to protect themselves from destructive influences in the "now" scene. Girl on the tee • My big toe and world hockey THE CLINTON 41 Amalgamated EW ERA THE HURON NEWS-RECORD Established 1865 1924 Established 1881 Clinton News-Record A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) second class mail registration number 0817 SUBSCRIPTION RATES; (in advance) `Canada, $B.00 per year; U.S.A., $9.50 JAMES E. PlfZGERALb—Editor J. HOWARb AITKEN — General Manager ;011111,110101111111/' PubliShed the heart every Thursday at of Huron County' Clinton, Ontario Population 3,475 THE HOME OF RADAR IN CANADA 4--,Chntoh fqews-Record, Thursday, August 17, 1972 Random notes this week. Could there be anything more silly than writing a column about your silly old wife breaking her silly old ankle, and four days later going out for a swim and breaking your own silly old big toe? Well I did both. And boy, it hurts, boy. Trouble is, there's not much the doctor can do about it. Had it X-rayed. He took a look at the plate, didn't even look at the toe, and cheerfully informed, "Yes, Bill, you've broken a chip of bone off it, but you can't put a cast on one toe, so just wear a comfortable shoe, wiggle the toe so it won't get stiff, and sweat it out," I'm sweating with every step. I didn't realize how many things you could bump your toe against. It hurts even when I kick the cat, which I don't do, but will, if she comes near my toe. Enough about toes. Watch out for those bees. While waiting for the doe to talk about (guess what) my toe, two large and husky men came into emergency ward swelling like balloons from bee stings. One was the local veterinarian, six feet six and about 280, His right hand and arm were almost completely nand) and it was spreading into his chest. 1-10 was disgusted. How could a silly little thing half an inch long do this to him? And speaking of bees, how about those two headliners, Bobby Hull and Bobby Fischer, hockey player and chess master, in that order? Has ever so much media space been devoted to a couple of guys who are doing Well What they enjoy, and getting -rich at it? And speaking of Bobby Hull, what do you think of the World Hockey Association? It has stolen Hull and another half- dozen top hockey players from that far-from-benevolent monopoly, the N.H.L. Good luck to the W.H.A. I love to see a big organization kicked in the groin, or the pocketbook, in this case. Particularly by its own slaves. Why shouldn't a hockey 'player, a good one, make more money than a movie star? He's often a better actor. And speaking about hockey, which is rather silly in this weather, have you ever read or heard anything more silly than the bleating of sports-writers, and even editorial writers, about the series with Russia? The whole thing is getting rather sickening. It's just another symptom of our inferiority hang-up. We can't beat the U.S. at money. We can't beat the Chinese at ping- pang. We can't beat anybody at the Olympics, except maybe North Wales or West Tanzania. (With the notable exception of those horse-jumpers, who are pretty good.) Why don't we just relax and enjoy it, as Confuscius did not say? Why don't we forget the' years when other countries were wobbly-ankled on skates and every red-blooded Canadian boy had a Simpsons catalogue on one leg and an Eaton's catalogue on the other and could shoot a frozen horseball through a hairnet, and we won the world championship twenty- eight to one every year? Except, Remember that dreadful year (about 1938) When the British, of all people, beat our team in the Olympics? Their team, of course, was made up of Canadians living in England, Or Englishnien who had 'grown up in Canada, One of them was an English kid l went to school with. Another, so he claimed, was an old friend of mine, Squire Tanner, attending Cambridge. Another was George Hees, doing much the same, before he got into politics. But, oh the shame of it! All this, of course, is prelude and masquerade to a secret hunch of mine that the Russians are going to lick us in the forthcoming series, if it ever forthcomes. My hunch is based on the fact that the games will be played under international rules. Take away the body-checking, high- sticking, elbowing, slashing, boarding and gouging from the game, and your average Canadian player is lost. I can visualize clearly five Russians descending on some hapless Canadian goalie, with all the other Canadians in the penalty box. Enough, This column is about summer silliness. How's this? An aunt of my wife, who was born and reared near Belfast, but has lived for a number of years in Canada, went, back to Northern Ireland for a visit this summer. We're watching the obituary columns. My kid brother, who is a colonel in the air force, is being posted to Germany in a few weeks. What, in the name of all that is silly, are Canadians doing in Germany? Who are they guarding? Against what? And with whist? I know tve come a long way from my broken too, but somewhere, in some secret little niche in my mind, there is a connection linking all these summer sillinesses. Or maybe I just got too much sun when I went to the beach the other day with Kim and her husband, And broke my toe.—ThA Argyle Syndicate I see where a committee of the United States' professional golfers, in collaboration with some non-golfing computers, has predicted that by 1985 as many women as men will be playing the royal and ancient game. By golly, I believe them, Even now, at our own modest links, we've had to make the ladies' locker room at our new clubhouse the same size as the men's, a cause for considerable grumbling by the older and braver members who think that a woman's place is in the nest and not in a bunker. It's curious that women should be flocking to the game, I suspect that it may be a form of the modern feminine obstinacy which causes many women perversely to take up traditionally masculine pursuits, recreational and otherwise, even though they don't much enjoy them. Fishing is another. I really don't think there's a woman alive who genuinely likes fishing, but nowadays you have to fight them out of the boat. - "They think they're missing something if a man enjoys it," a fishing partner of mine observed 10 YEARS AGO August 16, 1962 With no hog cholera' cases reported since Friday evening, August 10, the epidemic in Ontario and Quebec appears to be on the wan report veterinarians of the Health of Animals Division, Canada Department of Agriculture. Up until August 13, some 17,700 hogs had been destroyed. The Clinton Citizens Horticultural Society, annual Flower Show, will be held in the Council Chamber, Town Hall on Friday August 24. 15 YEARS AGO AUGUST 15, 1957 Over 150 children and adults had their first dip in Clinton's new swimming pool on Saturday afternoon and evening, when it was opened for the first time to the public, Filtration equipment was turned on for the first time that morning. Local gardens in Clinton will be featured Monday, August 19, in a film on, "M'Lady" • CKNX TV at 4 p.m. The commentary will be given by Cliff Epps, Clinton. Advance tickets are now on sale for the Western Pair. Holders of advance sale tickets are eligible for a draw for a new sedan, The draw will be held Saturday, September 14, 25 YEARS AGO AUGUST 14, 1947 Two new cars in town recently are Russell L. Jervis' new 1947 super de luxe Fiord and W.L. Johnson's 1947 Plymouth sedan. the other day, bold as brass by virtue of being a bachelor of 78 years. Many excellent women golfers, of course, are utterly feminine, but it is 'not really a game that one would think suitable or attractive to the average female. I would doubt very much, for example, if Sophia Loren plays it though I was once in a foursome following Rita Hayworth at the Old Course at St. Andrew's and she was still good to look at, even with a handicap of 36. Basically, it seems to me, women are too sensible to like golf which is essentially a futile, silly sort of pastime if viewed in the practical way that women view most everything. The mystique of the game totally eludes them and I thought it downright significant the other . day when, in the telecast of the British Open, two women could be seen in earnest, absorbed conversation, utterly oblivious to the fact that Lee Trevino had just holed out a miraculous chip shot that won him the title. The roof of the town hall has been repaired with hot asphalt by a firm from London. They guaranteed the work for 12 years and agreed to repair the roof free of charge if it leaked. Grand Labour Day celebrations September 1, in Goderich, with hundreds of dollars available to entrants throughout Huron County. Names of successful writers of departmental exams will be published next week. 40 YEARS AGO AUGUST 18, 1932 Extra pressure in the water supply system, used to extinguish a fire at the residence of J.W. Treleaven, is believed to have caused burst water pipes in both the Rectory of St. Paul's and at the Wesley-Willis Church manse. H.13. Combo, manager of the Clinton Knitting Co., warned citizens that if Shipley Street were fixed before Mary Street, and if the latter remained unfixed for another year, he would move the firm to another town where they would be in more up-to-date surroundings. The street was so bad, he said, that their goods had to be carried to the highway to be put, on trucks. 55 YEARS AGO AUGUST 16, 1917 A mass meeting will be held in the town hall on Priday August 24, to which all women are urged to attend. It is being held at the request of the Pood Conservation Executive, Let every woman consider it a duty to come to this meeting to help "win the war", The regimentation required of golf, particularly the excessive demands of concentration, are beyond most women's grasp simply because it does not seem terribly important to them. Bob Foulis, who has been teaching some of our gals, noted only the other day the case of a pupil who refuses to keep her head down because, as she put it, "I like to lift my head." What bothered Bob about this was that his other lady pupils were quite sympathetic to this attitude and accused him of being a mean old bully because he was trying to do something she didn't want to do. What would really seem to make the game loathsome to women is the need for the competitive spirit whether it is against par (Old Man Par, as the sports writers say) or against a flesh-and-blood opponent. Being competitive for something that doesn't much matter is simply not a feminine trait. We see this year after year at our place, particularly during the playing for the Shipley Cup, a mixed twosome affair in which Conscription will begin at once and Camp Borden will be the training centre for Canada. Miss Katie McGregor, student at Clinton Collegiate Institute, has won the Edward Blake scholarship in modern languages and mathematics in Toronto University. Opinions I n order that News—Record readers might express their opinions on any topic of public interest, Letters To The Editor are always welcome for publication. But the writers of such letters, as well as all readers, are reminded that the opinionS expressed in letters published are not necessarily the opinions held by The News—Record. male and female alternately strike the ball. The rules for this were changed, after some truly dreadfull scenes, and now instead of man and wife being partners we draw lots. This has substantially cut the divorce rate hereabouts, but, even so, the ladies are still ill at ease, anticipating criticism and undergoing a form of anxiety in trying to take the whole thing seriously and stop giggling. I was delighted, therefore, on that occasion when my partner turned out to be an attractive matron and, moreover, completely relaxed. Indeed, there was something radiant about her. Her eyes were as round and as calm as Little Orphan Annie's eyes. Her devil- may-care insouciance on the first tee was such that here, I thought, is a woman who genuinely loves the game. Then the darlin' turned to me, smiled an incredibly lambent smile and said, "I hope I won't let you down. I didn't sleep all night worrying about this and I'm just loaded with tranquillizers." Safety tips The uniformed St. John Ambulance attendants seen at public gatherings are all volunteers. They do not get paid for the first aid and nursing services that they provide. * * If an insect invades the ear channel, fill the ear with mineral oil or warm water containing a small amount of baking soda, St. John Ambulance advises, It' the insect does not float free have a doctor remove it. A . doctor should remove a foreign body in the nose, St. John Ambulance cautions. In the meantime the casualty should breathe through the mouth. Do not interfere With the foreign object. * Pins and other small objects such as coins or buttons may be accidentally swallowed, St. John Ambulance urges that nothing be taken by mouth, and medical aid should be obtained without delay. Dear Sir: I am writing this letter to thank you very much for putting my letter into the local paper, of me trying to trace my sister whom I have not heard from for nearly 40 years, I received the most pleasant shock of my life today, August 8, 1972, when on arriving home from work, I had a letter from my sister, who now lives in Goderich. Once again I must thank you. Yours Sincerely, Mr. A.E. Pedge (Ed's note: Both this letter and the first one were passed on to us by Chief Westlake of the Clinton Police.) August 14, 1972 Dear Editor: On Saturday August 12th, I was on Clinton's main street along with hundreds of others, watching a big parade. I enjoyed the bands, banners and costumes but I don't like to admit that I really didn't know the meaning of "Derry Days" and why the parade was held.. Several people I asked also didn't know and I wondered how many others were like me. Would it be possible for you to put a write-up about it in your paper? (If there was anything on the subject in previous issues, I missed it, and would read it if you let me know.) Sincerely, "An interested onlooker" (Eds. note: see front page.) Canoe with caution Canoeing, the most ancient form of transportation on this continent, is. rapidly becbming favouritemodern day outdoor recreation. The Ontario Safety League claims that canoeing warrants its popularity but should be approached with caution by the novice. The canoe is one of the safest crafts afloat in the hands of an experienced paddler but can be exceedingly dangerous for a beginner without training or supervision. It is advisable for a canoeist to be a good swimmer although many experienced guides and park rangers have used canoes all thiir lives and never swam a stroke. Get instruction from an experienced canoeist who has developed an effective style of paddling and can advise you on the type of canoe which you should purchase for your particular requirements, Never attempt to run fast water in a canoe unless you are with an experienced person or have acquired sufficient knowledge of the river and handling your craft to do so safely. Children and non-swimmers should. wear an efficient floatation device at all times while in a canoe. Without this protection, a capsizing could possibly mean a tragedy with the ensuing panic which frequently occurs in such situations. Stay with the canoe; it will support your weight even when capsized. It is most important for a beginner to familiarize himself with his canoe on a beach or shallow area by capsizing it, discovering the buoyancy which exists in the craft and how much weight it will sustain while awash. Under safe conditions try out your craft in every possible way until you are completely familiar with all its characteristics. Utters.,.. to the Edito 73 Sturla Road, Chatham, Kent, ENGLAND