HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1973-05-31, Page 44...C1,0111701N MOWS-RECORD, TilitilAPAY, MAY 41, 1913
Editorial comment
Onwatched children and water don't mix
Formula for tragedy; take children
near water and turn your back for a
moment.
These words may sound all too
familiar: "When I looked back my two-
year old son was gone, The wind had
carried his red and white beach ball
some fifty or sixty feet pasethe markers.
The shore was full of children, but
noinot Michael. I ran to the water's edge.
Frantic, I yelled for help. A crowd
gathered. Someone shouted 'There he
ist' and an arm's length from shore was
the motionless body of my son. A
lifeguard dashed through the crowd and
gave mouth-to-mouth respiration. After
what seemed like a century of night-
marish waiting, Michael coughed up
water and began to cry,"
Formula for tragedy: take children
near water and turn your back for a
moment.
The formula works.
There is a way to prevent this kind of
horror. There is a formula for an en-
joyable day at the beach: vigilance,
more vigilance, and constant caution.
Brian Paterson, Director of the Canadian
Red Cross Water Safety Service in On-
tario has this sound advice:
"Supervise stare at -- paste your
eyes on -- small children and non-
swimmers of any age whenever they are
in or near the water. Even in supervised
areas guard your children yourself.
"If you take family picnics in unsuper-
vised areas, or go to a cottage, always
check the water and the shore very
carefully for broken glass, sharp rocks
or holes. Throw twigs in the water to see
if there is a strong current.
"Swimming lessons under a Red
Cross Water Safety instructor will give
your child safety knowledge as well as
swimming techniques. The badges he
earns for the different levels are a
challenge to acquire more training."
During Water Safety Week, June 3 to
9, and all summer long, remember the
formula for an enjoyable day: vigilance
more vigilance and constant caution. It
won't spoil your day.
The high cost of food
A new water hazard
"Here's something in the price-range you mentioned."
we get
letters
In the last year concern has steadily
grown over the high cost of food. Recen-
tly housewives boycotted meat for a
week in both the U.S. and Canada. Food
producers from farmers to supermarkets
including manufacturers, claim to be in-
nocent of profit.
Where has the money gone? On a
recent radio interview program, a
representative from one of the meat
processing companies revealed that
despite increased costs in labour,
machinery arid other things, profits for
his company had gone up steadily in
recent years thereby benefiting the
shareholders.
A research professor interviewed
suggested the only permanent solution
to increasing food costs is to quit lum-
ping food with other consumer products
operating on the profit principle. Quality,
he said, should be the first consideration
of all involved, from grower through to
retailer. He suggksted governments may
have to buy into food companies to exer-
cise control, phasing out unnecessary
packaging as well as unnecessary
preservatives used in the industry which
are not conducive to good health, may
be harmful, and add to the cost of
production. Those engaged in the food
field would have to be compensated for
their work but should not expect to
make large profits at public expense.
It is certainly an encouraging idea. We
just might get a return to what was once
called "good wholesome food" with a lot
more nutrition to it than we get now.
Modern chemistry has made possible
thia doctoring of fresh fruits and
vegetables as well as'processed foods
to the extent that we may be eating half-
rotten foods and never know it. Con-
sumer groups might urge the govern-
ment to get a new perspective on food,
collaborating with environmentalists, the
medical profession, as well as growers
and processors for more healthful and
cheaper food in Canada. (Contributed)
Smiley suddenly aged
second class Mail
registration number — 0817
'SUBSCRIPTION RATES; (in advance)
tAilada, $8.00 per year; U.S.A., $9.50
rHE CLINTON VIEW ERA Amalgamated THE HURON NEWS-RECORD
Established 1865 1824 Estiblishicl 1881
Clinton News-Record
A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association,
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau
of Circulation (ARC)
Published every Thursday at
the heart of Huron County'
Clinton, Ontario
Population 3,476
THE HOME
OP RADAR
IN CANADA
' JAMES E. FITZGERALO--Editor
J. HOWARD AITKEN — General Manager
One minute you are a Dad, in
your prime, just a broth of a
boy taking a breather after
raising a family. The next, you
are a Grandad, doddering,
heading into the lean and slip-
pered pantaloon stage.
That's what happened to me
this week. Over the phone,
long-distance, a familiar and
dear voice asked with a giggle,
"Hi, Dad; how'd you like to be
a grandfather?"
Immediate reaction was,
"Oh, no!" Followed at once, as
I realized the enormity of my
mistake, by, "Oh, yes!. Great!"
The kid then talked to her
mother, but for some reason,
didn't mention the main item
on the agenda. She left that to,
me.
When I'd picked the Old
Lady off the floor, fanned her
back into consciousness, and
wiped away the tears, the
whole thing struck me in its
bleak truth.
Here we were. Not even mid-
dle-aged, except by the calen-
dar. My wife still attracts
whistles. I still have an eye for
a thigh at the beach. And we're
about to be plunged back into a
World of bottles and nappies
and colic and constipation and
talcum powder.
At first it seemed as though
someone was playing a prat'
tidal joke. But fortunately, the
resilience of human nature
tame into play and we bounced
back to not only acceptance,
but anticipation,
"That girl should be right
here with me." announced her
mother. "If she's as sick as I
always Was And wee she
aickl She threw up every day,
all day, until you could See the
insides of her heels. This lasted
kit *boa four Months, with
MIA of them. It runt in the
family. Her mother was the
same.
• I used to bring my wife tea,
and soup, cold drinks and hot,
and everything came up. You'd
think the babies would appear
looking like something out of
Belsen or Buchenwald. But
then she'd settle down, eat like
a hyena for three months, and
produce a little fatso.
However, maybe the child
will escape this. Modern girls
don't seem to do anything the
way their mothers did. Last
night she was eating beef as
though the last steer .in the
world had been slaughtered,
and today she was out raking
the lawn.
Anyway, I'm now looking at
the positive side, I can hardly
wait for the kid to arrive. I've
been watching the television
commercials for those
disposable diapers, and am
keen to have a go at them,
I've told everybody so often
about how I won the war prac-
tically singlehanded that all I
get now when I casually men-
tion the Normandy campaign
and the Falaise Gap is a rolling
of eyes, which then become ut-
terly apathetic, }ere comes a
new listener.
And then there are the bed-
time stories., There's nothing
finer hi life than to blow and
burble in the stomach of a
fresh-bathed child, bundle it
into its nightwear, then launch
into a story, with its eyes wide,
the occasional chuckle, then the
eyelids falling and the gentle
breathing of deep sleep.
So I must dust off some of
rriy dandies, They were a Mix,
hi
,
re of Mowgli and Tartati ario
Kea the Snake and Munkle-
Uncle-I./Inky, the oldest and
wisest monkey in the whole
jungle.
They might have been a little
confusing to the adults who
had read the books, but the
kids loved them. Geography got
a bit mixed. Tigers turned up in
'Africa, and gorillas in India,
but nobody cared.
Sometime I must tell you
about how Mowgli, the wolf
boy, after seeking the advice of
Munkle-Unkle-Unky, scattered
a band of marauding elephants
by swinging through the tree-
tops and sprinkling the ground
with thumb-tacks. It was a real
gas to see those elephants hop-
ping around on two feet, trying
to pick out thumbtacks from
the other feet with their trunks.
Then there's going to be the
fun of teaching the little
blighter all sorts of things. If
it's a boy, teach him to fish
and swim, If it's a girl, I'll
teach her to swim and fish.
Their grannie can teach them
all the other things, everything
from playing Mozart sonatas to
making out the income tax
return. She's much better at
practically everything than I.
So she says, anyway.
Maybe it'll be twins, I have a
vision of the Old Lady and me,
she sitting with the boy on het
lap, I with the girl on mine,
burping them on a Saturday
night while their mother is out
'on the town.
One thing worries me. What
kind of a world is the little
stranger going to grow up in? I
hope the general outlook im-
proves by about 300 per cent in
the next ten years, or it's hot
going to be a pretty place to be
young in,
There's only seven and a half
months to go, Wouldn't it be a
real bummer, after I've ad-
justed so well. and made all
these plans, if it turned out to
be a false alarm?
A reader of this column who
is a fellow lover of small sailing
boats has sent me a newspaper
clipping of nearly 10 years ago
with this paragraph underlined
in red pencil; "If the trend con-
tinges the day isn't far off when
we'll have nautical traffic cops
in control of boating for
pleasure and every quiet cove
and waterway will know the
menace of the sea-going Sun-
day driver."
Not bad, if I say so myself, as
a bit of insignificant prophecy,
for my prediction has come all
too true.
All across Canada the
authorities are cracking down
on dangerous drivers behin I
the. Wheels of the water-born
version of hot rods. The war-
nings are falling to right and
left that the summer ahead
could be our grimmest year in
drowning casualties.
The "trend" that I wrote
about 10 years ago is more than
that now. Pleasure boating has
gone through a revolution
because of the improvements
and the stepped-up horsepower
potential of the outboard
10 YEARS AGO
May 30, 1963
It will be "hi, ho, come to the
fair" this weekend in Clinton,
and judging from the amount
of work the directors and of-
ficials of the Central Huron
Agriculture Society have been
putting in, it should be one of
the better ones staged in town.
Sunday was a "red-letter"
day in the life of Wesley-Willis
United Church, In the morning,
the congregation marked the
church anniversary and then in
the evening witnessed one of
their young members, Donald
R. Cornish being licensed to
preach in the United Church of
Canada.
In a move directly contrary
to an earlier announcement,
councillor George Wonch
stated this week he has decided
not to resign from his seat on
Clinton council.
15 YEARS AGO
May 29, 1958
Strange animals are about
Lorne Jervis shot a por-
cupine in-the backyard of his
home at R.R. 3, Clinton The
animal was grey with white
quills, large eyes and heavy
padded feet The porcupine
is not very common in these
parts,
Many track and field cham-
pions were discovered cluiing
the Field Day competitions
held by Clinton District
Collegiate Institute, Boys'
champions were; seniors,
Clayton Groves, with 25 points;
intermediates, Grahli McDon-
nell, 14; juniors, David Naish,
28 and juveniles, Donald
Elliott, 18. Girls' champions
are: senior, Marion Turner; in-
termediates, Jean Booth;
junior Carob Oattinger,
Russell R. Holmes was dee-
tett president of the Clinton
Lions Club, Vice-presidents are
J.B. TVIeneies, Miteheal
McAdams and William MOJA;
treasurer, F.B. Pehuebaker;
Lion tamer, Leslie Hall; tail
twister, Hugh Hawkins;
motor.
Go to any marina on salt
water or fresh water and you
will see gigantic parking lots
for souped-up water-bugs, frail
plastic hulls propelled at
speeds that are bound to make
a few widows ere the summer
ends. The grand old sport of
boating has clearly fallen on
evil times. Certainly the
prospect of traffic patrols, some
already in operation, is cause
for gloom.
Ordinarily I'd concede that
anything that attracts people
into the sun and to the water
playgrounds with which this
country is blessed would
automatically be. e' good 'thing.'
But even a cursory 'ire-
vestigation' reveals that the
great majority of the new boat-
ownere are novices who have
the joys of yachting all mixed
up with ' a desire for more
knots-per-hour than the next
one,
It is not so much recklessness
or thoughtlessness that have
caused the police to move in. It
is more a blissful unawareness
that even protected waters
secretary, John Livermore;
directors, Herb Bridle and
John Anstett.
25 YEARS AGO
May 29, 1948
Fifteen war veterans with
one or more children have been
leased local "war-time" houses
by Central Mortgage and
Housing Corporation, the
Crown-owned company which
operates them. Of the fifteen
men, nine are Clintonians and
the remaining six are members
of R.C.A.F. Station, Clinton.
The Clinton group consists of
the following: Kenneth W,
Coiquhoun (the first man, an
R.C.A,F. fighter veteran, to
secure a house); Elliott Bar-
tliff; Richard Dixon; Donald
Colquhoun; Thomas O'Con-
nell; Joseph Murphy; Arthur
Woodcock; Jack Stein (Bell
Telephone London); Wilfred
Denomme.
Gliddon's Press Shop has
moved to a new modern shop
on King Street, east side, south
of Wesley-Willis Church.
40 YEARS AGO
June 1, 1933
A very severe storm just
before one o'clock on Monday
had its centre in the vicinity of
Stapleton. On Bert Gibbings
farm, the old frame building
formerly used by the salt
manufacturers was blown
down. The building was old, of
course, but it was a solid frame
structure and had weathered
many a storm in the past. The
hail also did considerable
damage oh the Gibbings' farm,
cutting the tender leaves from
the alfalfa until the field
looked like a field ofstubble,
The local boys have begun to
practise lacrosse.
The A,Y,P.A. of St. James,
Middleton, St. John's, Varna
and Trinity Church, Bayfield,
enjoyed a banquet in the Town
Hall, Bayfield on Friday May
26th, Taking part in the
program were Mies Ethel Cook,
Hoes Middleton, Carl
Clayton Elliott, Mies Lucy
demand respect if they're to be
enjoyed safely.
The idea, encouraged by
some of the motor and boat
manufacturers, that taking to
the water is just as simple as
taking to the open road is, I
fear, lining up some highly
likely candidates for Davey
Jones' Locker.
The simple fact is that the
potential of excessive speed,
which is threatening to make
boating a pursuit of thrills in-
stead of a. pursuit of relaxation,
can turn the grandest of
pleasures into a fatal one, as
we saw only too graphically
last summer. The ,present
discm4nary action and the
.
warnings: are'
prelude to a wider recognition
of that.
To those who've never owned
a boat before and are
contemplating buying one I'd
tell them to look for comfort,
seaworthiness and reliability
and to forget all about how fast
she'll go.
I'd tell them to look at every
boat in terms of what will hap-
pen to her if she hits a
Woods, Miss Nina Heard,
Stewart Middleton, Miss
Marion Forbes, E.W. Patchell,
Wm. Cameron and Rev. F.H.
Paull.
55 YEARS AGO
May 30, 1918
' A recent provincial order-in-
council increases the fees of
county constables. The order
provides that county constables
will receive $2.50 a day for at-
tending high and county court
sessions and $2 a day for atten-
dance at county magistrate's
courts. This is an increase of 50
cents a day for each court. In
future the fee for serving sum-
mons will be 50 cents for the
service of each document in-
stead of 25 cents, the present
charge made by county con-
stables.
William Moon had a hog
delivered to him by Mr. Taylor
the other day which tipped the
scales at 690 pounds and for
which he paid the handsome
price of $117.30. Don't let
anyone say it doesn't pay to
raise hogs.
75 YEARS AGO
May 27, 1898
S,S, Cooper completed his
work in connection with the
new Doherty factory yesterday.
There were about 30 full
working days, making
allowance for wet weather, oc-
deadhead or runs into those
surprisingly sudden and unex-
pected storms that so often hit
the most serene of waterways.
I'd urge them particularly to
investigate the small and
reasonably-priced sailing boats
that, with a five-horsepower
outboard as auxiliary, seem to
me the best of all combinations
for those of us with moderate
means.
Sailing gives what the slap-
bang, hang-on-for-your-life
bombs can never give.
Under canvas, embraced in
the whim of the wind, a man
gets that affinity with the
elements, the .tranquillity and
unhurried Invitation to enjoy
the sun and the water, the true
pleasures of being afloat.
Go to any bay where small
boats are berthed. Size up the
people you see coming and
going on craft of all descrip-
tions. And you'll find that what
I say is true, that there's more
fun at five knots than at 30 and
that the difference between the
water as a gentle friend or a
cruel enemy may be determined
by the hand on the throttle.
cupied in getting the buildings
up. The machinery is beginning
to arrive and some of it in
position. The brick chimney,
which is nearly 100 feet high,
required nearly 60,000 brick for
its completion.
Mrs. Pennebaker, of
Goderich township, left some
rhubarb here on Thursday that
beats anything yet grown
hereabouts; it was of mammoth
proportions.
Cantelon and Wallis shipped
a lot of hogs on Monday; the
price was $4.75 to $4.80;
Messrs. Mitchell and Elliott
also shipped a car on Wed-
nesday afternoon.
"When we do it, we do it
well" was the motto adopted
some time ago for a celebration
here, and it has been lived up
to for each succeeding event of
a similar nature. The obser-
vance of the 24th of May here
was voted by all who enjoyed
it, as a "mighty good show - in
fact too much for the money."
A number of old Clintooians
were here, among them being
W. McTaggart and H.R. Sharp,
of Toronto; Dr. Newton arid
wife, Lucknow; Joe Holmes,
Sharon; Jas Rennick, Kincar-
dine; George Emerson,
Goderich; J.H. Worsell and
family, Goderich; Frank Turn-
bull, Waterloo,
Dear Hell*:
"All's well that ends well!"
These are my feelings concer-
ning our series of Folk • Square
Dance Workshops held at St.
l3oniface School, Zurich, St.
Patrick's School, Dublin, and
Northwestern Secondary
School, Stratford, There are so
many people to thank and I
hope that I will miss no one.
My appreciation to Sister
Louise Lowry, St. Booiface
School, Zurich, Mr. Francois
Lavictoire and his Ecole Ste
Marie Square Dancers, Miss
Pat Rowe, South Huron
District High School, Exeter,
Mr. and Mrs. David Zyluk,
Precious Blood School, Exeter,
Sister Florence Kelly, St.
Patrick's School, Dublin and
her class of square dancers,
Sister Jean Doyle and her
Grade 2 and 3 Folk and Square
Dancers, Mr. Peter James, Nor-
thwestern Secondary School,
Stratford, Mr. Peter Catania,
Perth County Board of
Education, the Public School
Teachers and Stratford
Teachers' College Skidents
that attended, Mr, Lawrence
Mitchell, Professional Square
Dance caller, St. Marys, and all
the teachers in the Huron-
Perth Separate School system.
In conclusion, but certainly
not least, the communication
media, for the fine coverage:
Zurich Citizen News, Huron
Expositor, Seaforth, Clinton
Record, Goderich Signal Star,
Exeter Times Advocate, Strat-
ford Beacon Herald, London
Free Press, Stratford, CJCS
Radio, CKNX Radio and
Television, CKCO Television,
and CFPL Television.
Thanks to everyone who
heard the call - "To Dance Is
To Live",
Yours sincerely,
J.B. McCarroll,
Physical Education Consultant
and Public Relations,
Huron-Perth
Seperete 13,o,erd.
Dear Editor:
You are cordially invited to
attend the Official Opening of
our Headquarters. This
building was purchased in 1972
and we took occupancy in July.
During the past winter it has
been renovated to suit our pur-
poses.
Open House will be from 1 -
5 p.m. on June 9th, 1973, with
the official opening ceremonies
taking place at 2 p.m.
The program will include,
besides the official ceremonies,
a tour of the buildings, a con-
tinuous slide presentation, a
tree planting demonstration
with the Authority's tree spade,
plus other displays and
exhibits,
Light refreshments will b
served.
We hope you will be able to
attend this Open House to
learn more about the
Authority's programs and ac-
tivities at 175 Thames Rd.
West,—(Highway 83) Exeter.
Elgin Thompson, Chairman
AUSABLE-
BAYFIELD CONSERVATIO
AUTHORITY
Opinions
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 1:0, The
News—Record.