Loading...
Clinton News-Record, 1972-12-21, Page 19The Vanastra Optimist of Clinton stopped long enough last week during a meeting to pose for the photgrapher, Left to right standing are Vince Fowlie, Robin Gates, Peter Barnard, Jim Thomas, and Norman Lacroix, Seated are Lloyd Garland,Peter Brown and Andy Thomp- son. Adoption picture continues change - provincially and locally 'Tis the season of peace and good will. To friends, neighbors, sincere thanks. peace at ristmas The HORBANUIK FAMILY AT THE NORTH END STORE Reatirgour wgje with 000 to all our cUsionlers, Sirxerest Wikhes for 0 Christmas that hams with complete joy anti happiness. And for the pleasure of having' served you, our thanker STAFF OF Brussels Motors Our wish is sinwie but sintere , Matt tioU e njoq a Mehrti Christmas. Chilton Electric Shop Erie Sehellenberger Proprietor YOUR WESTINGHOUSE DIEALM 91 Albert St, CLINTON 482-6646 means most at home and hearthside. Thanks for letting us help make yours beautiful. DOUG BALL — CLARENCE DENOMME MAC CAMERON — NORMA STREETS BILL GRIGG BALL MUTC H LTD. HOME FURNISHINGS ALBERT ST.. canifonr / 0,10$0,•;"' 724:961(4 emegemetei MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY ANDEAW YEAR We Plan To Serve You Better In 1973 ABBEY CANADA DIVISION OF I.T.T. FINANCIAL SERVICES From Robert P. Kopf and His Staff Walkerton, On tario F rom my window 1 Deck the Halls with boughs f holly, la! Yes, its Christmas, the trees are glowing with lights and laden with gifts. Freshly baked cookies are in readiness on the shelf beside fruity, nutty Christ- mas cake and the turkey is just about to be popped into the oven, The table has been spread with your best linen, the good china and the best silver are waiting in the wings and the guest list has been checked and double checked. Truly the stage is set for a wonderful Christmas Day, That's the way it is in most homes across our nation, Not at our home. Not for the last two or three years since grandma decided to hold our big family celebration of Christmas on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. Our grandma is a great woman, She is perhaps the dearest, sweetest, most thoughtful mother in the whole entire world, And she's ,got a lot of mothering to do, because she has eight sons and three daughters living, among whom to divide her attentions. As each in turn grew up, got married and had a family, it became more and more difficult to select a time on Christmas to have the family dinner. Somebody was always missing. So we devised this mar- vellous system by which we rent the town hall - all two floors of it - for Boxing Day, Everyone arrives in the mor- ning. The kids spread out in the basement for their fun, the ladies congegrate in the kitchen to complete the meal preparations and the men set up tables in the main hall for the noon meal. About 12:30, all 60 of us sit down to a full course Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. And after an afternoon of fun and frolic family-style, we have a lunch on the leftovers from dinner and go home about 8pm feeling happy and very, very satisfied. That's a Keller Christmas these days. Since that custom evolved out of necessity, the Christmas we have at our own home is a bit different. Unlike many folks who suffer through fowl din• ners for four or five' days because of tradition, we make Christmas day the one time in the year when we try to fulfill everyone's wish where food is BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER concerned. We have no pride about traditional food at our house at Christmas. We eat exactly what we want,...just because we like it best, A great deal more preparation goes into that kind of a meal than anyone would suspect. For instance, son num- ber one wants fish and chips, Son number two likes ham- burgers and frenehfries, Daughter wants pork chops, mashed potatoes and Salad. Dad, who says he really doesn't care, prefers a nice lean ham laced with mustard and brown sugar, vegetables, salad and lots of blueberry pie, For me, I guess my favorite food is a good juicy steak with mushrooms on the side and a tossed salad, The most simple answer would be to go out for dinner, but then we still feel that we want to be at home on Christ- mas, with all the hustle and bustle that goes with the day, the' bumping into and excuse- me-please atmosphere which makes home somewhere special. And do you know that on Christmas Day now, we ac- tually have a family game with everyone participating? Usually it is rummy of the simple variety. Sometimes it is dominoes or one of the games someone has found under the tree. Occasionally it is a word game like "I Spy". But the im- portant thing it is done together and because love for family abounds at Christmas more than any other time of the year, it is great fun. We may go our separate ways throughout the day sometime. The kids may call their friends. Their friends might drop in. I and my spouse might go visiting. We might have visitors, It is all very informal and impromptu.' But it is Christmas the way we do it these days. At this point friends, I want to wish each of you the very merriest and cheeriest Christ• mases you have ever had. I want you to know that Christ- mas isn't a day in the year....it is a state of mind which could remain in our hearts all year round if we would give it a chance. For the new year, I wish each of you health, wealth and hap- piness without measure. God bless you, every one. In the past two years there have been decreases in the number of children on adoption placement in the province - 7,227 in 1971, a decrease of 27% from 1970. The 4,756 adoption orders completed in 1971 represents . a decrease of 9% from 1970 when there was 5,327. Within the County of Huron, finalized adoptions decreased almost one third in the same period, and both placements and completions of adoption have continued to decrease during 1972 due in most part to the lack of infants being placed for adoption. Adoption applications provincially • peaked in 1970 at 7,881 but decreased 10% to 7,121 applications in 1971. The County Society reports a similar reduction in applications and with approved homes now standing at forty, a much longer wait for placement of a child is - anticipated. In 1971 there was a decline of 33% in the number of unmarried mothers seeking CAS service in the prnyince. In two years, this_ decline .tntals „40% . For the first time in many years, the number of unmarried mothers retaining their child exceeded the number who relinquished the child for adoption - 3,322 were retained; 3,052 were taken into care, Also related to the number of infants available for adoption is the rate of therapeutic abortions. Thirteen women graduated as Certified Visiting Homemakers Thursday at a ceremony held at Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology, Huron Centre, Vanastra. Three graduates were from Seaforth--Mrs. Peter Malcolm, Mrs, Michael Williams and Mrs. Donald Hoffman. Other graduates were: Mrs. Marie Kumm, Brussels; Mrs. Mildred Welsh, Wingham; Mrs. Shakunpala Jain Wingham; Miss Hazel Sperling, Wroxeter; Mrs. Della Pocaluyks, Wroxeter; Mrs. Jane Pullman, Bluevale; Mrs, Valentina Galachiuk, Clinton; Mrs. Jessie Although the number of therApeutic abortions related to Unmarried Mothers is not available, the total abortion rate per 100 live births rose from 4.1 in 1970 to 12 in 1971 in Ontario. The reduction of infants available for adoption has allowed the Societies in Ontario to make greater strides in placing the physically and emotionally handicapped child, the child of mixed racial background, and the older child. In 1971 in Ontario there were 4,049 new adoption placements, with 3,052 infants of unmarried mothers taken into care. The balance of placements of 997 would indicate that the number of Older Children on adoption placement has grown, and many children for whom homes could not be obtained, or who were classified as unacloptable, are finding permanent homes. At the 1972 annual conference of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies, the Honourable Rene Brunelle, Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services, noted .the continuing partnership. of government and the local Children's Aid Society in the Ontario adoption programme. "Increasingly Government and the Children's Aid Societies have been working together. You are in the front line, dealing at first hand with the problems and the , needs of Naylor, Auburn; Mrs. Olga Davis, Exeter and Mrs. Bernice Gregg, also of Exeter who was valedictorian. The instructor for the course, Mrs. Gordon McKenzie of Seaforth, presented each graduate with a pin and Mr. Ross Milton Administrator, Clinton Centre, Conestoga College, presented the diplomas. Mrs. Betty Cardno, of Seaforth, Supervisor-director of the Home Care Program for Huron was the guest speaker. A reception at the school followed the graduation ceremony. The annual candle-lighting service of the Auburn CGIT was held last Sunday evening in Knox United Church.. Christ- mas hymns were played by Doris Naylor on the organ and Lorraine Chamney on the piano while the guests were coming into the Sanctuary, Arva Ball presided for the ser- vice and gave the call to wor- ship. After singing the hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy'.", Jayne Ar- thur gave a reading "What is Christmas?" The scripture lesson from John's Gospel was read by Sherry Plaetzer, Lorraine Chamney read a reading entitled "The Bethlehem Road, Trudy Machan gave a reading "Can- dlelight" and Yvonne Bean "The Christmas Candle", Those taking part in the can- dle-lighting service were Arva Ball, Sherry Plaetzer, Lorraine Chamney, Doris Naylor, Wanda Plaetzer, Lynn Turner, Jayne Arthur, Yvonne Bean and Trudy Machan, A duet was sung by Doris Naylor and Lorraine Chamney accom- panied by Wanda Plaetzer. Mrs. Alffed Fry pronounced the benediction. A delicious lunch was served by the girls in the Sunday School room after the service. Mr. Ronald Hallam thanked the girls on behalf of those assembled. Miss Cynthia Perry, Reg. N.P.G. of Calgary, Alberta was a recent guest with Miss Judy Arthur Reg. N. Miss Perry was en route to Sussex, England to spend Christmas with her parents, Mr. and Mrs, H, Perry. Mr, and Mrs. Bill Lapp are visting with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Lapp, having arrived home from a trip through Europe for several months. Mrs. Harry Arthur visited on the weekend with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Keller at Dublin. The Auburn librarian requests all county books be in on December 12th. Congratulations to Mrs. Jessie Naylor on graduating from the Clinton Centre of the Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology last Thur- sday ,evitning in the Certified Homemaker's Course where she had Attended classes for the past 12 weeks,. Mr, Robert Chamney is a patient in Hotel Dieu Hospital, Windsor; his many friends in this community wish him a speedy recovery, Mr, Elmer Tromrner and daughter, Miss Connie Trono- Tiler, visited Victoria hospital, London on Sunday with Mrs, Tremmer who is a patient there, Philip Arthur captain a the Biyth PoeWe/e's /and the manager, Charlie Bromley were guests At a babquet in the Main Dining room in Queen's Park when the Ontario Govern- ment gave them a citation for winning the All-Ontario Cham- pionship, Over 400 attended the banquet, Clinton News-Record, TintroclaY, T;.ocernber 172•-'-M What's happening Auburn thousands of children in our Province. We provide the support services - money, training courses, seminars, advise on anything from budgets to programs. In the last few years, one of your new directions has been the task of interpreting to the public the changed picture in adoption. My ministry helps you in this through its two mass media programs, Today's Child in the press, and the Family Finder on television. We have always fully backed these two programs, and were delighted when their originator, Helen Allen, joined our staff last Fall. Today's Child and the Family Finder have now become Government programs." Locally many children have been placed because of the impact of both these programmes in bringing - adoption needs before the public. The Huron CAS will be glad to receive enquiries concerning children for adoption, and actively pursuing am adoption placement of any tilild -appearing on "Fa'mily Finder" or in "Today's Child," Thirteen women graduated recently.