HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1974-01-24, Page 164,-CLINTON NEWS-RECORD, THLIFIsmy, JAM-TAW 31, 1974
Editorial Comment
week for the blind
Loss of sight should not stop anyone
from being handy around the house,
Most of the newly blinded adults who
take Instruction on hoMe management
through their CNIB office have operated
homes before. "It's a matter of getting
their confidence back," said CNIB
,District Administrator, Wally Kentiedy„ at
a White Cane Week discussion about
teaching blind people day to day skills
required in the home.
Many who have just lost their sight
easily recognize by touch -ipipes, plum-
bing fixtures and wires.' Locating circuit
breakers, changing fuses, repairing kitT
chen utensils and doing general home
maintenance are taught when requested.
"Women as well as men should know
how to repair a kettle or tighten loose
screws," Mr. Kennedy saia.
At CNIB centres, newly blind persons
learn how to manage a kitchen; use a
stove and plan and cook meals. They are
taught methods to make things simpler.
For example, an easy way for a blind
person to poach an egg is to crack the
egg into a saucer and slide it into a
metal ring which has been placed in a
pan of water, That way the egg stays in
one spot and is easily removed.
Apartment living, which involves
Making beds, cleaning and doing the
laundry as well, is for men too. Home
management is only one part. of a
piPgram in the skills of daily living.
Braille, typing and white cane mobility
are also taught. Last year 7,300 newly
blind people in Canada took training to
adjust to their families, homes and com-
munity.
This is White Cane Week, from Feb. 3
-'9, sponsored by The Canadian Council
of the Blind and The Canadian National
Institute for the Blind. While they are
stressing what training means to blind
Canadians, they remind us that volun-
teer assistance will always be welcome.
On the street, offer your arm and a frien-
dly greeting.
The windmills of mankind
Around the world, the energy crisis is
having a varied impact,. In the small Arab
state of Abu Dhabi, for instance, people
must be wondering what to do with all
the millions that will be coming their
way. Economists have estimated that if
present energy trends continue, Abu
Dhabi will enjoy a per capita income of
as much as $200,000 annually by the
year 1980.
In many poorer lands, the oil shortage
will create hardship, and perhaps even
food shortages and starvation. In the af-
fluent nations, there will be more unem-
ployment than before, more problems,
more cases of frayed tempers.
But in the long term, humanity will,
overcome the energy :crunch, Austas4t
has past criteth There'ere rnatiii4ayilek
generate energy, some of whiCh Seerried -''-""-
'uneconomical because Of low oil prices
- but which today are more attractive.
Poor as well as richer lands could
build more power plants using water to
turn the turbines. The • potential of
nuclear energy; of power created by
ocean .tides, of wind-propelled
generators is being studied by scientists
in many countries. Fermentation of
animal waste has been found to be an
excellent source of methane gas' in
some developing nations. Taiwan has in-
stalled thousands of simple power -plants
costing only $100 per family.
The windmills of the human mind are
forever turning, far more rapidly than did
the old windmills that provided energy in
the past, Mankind need look only up at
the sun to see the vast reserves of
energy that exist. If to some, 1974 will
to ` thers it will tea
'tifi4Ofii'OV6f*44tr4iih4-:WtWiritdif
--iTelkiiiiiithods, new -itieehinet that will ."
help us produce energy for the world's
four billion inhabitants:. •
Sugar and Spice/By Bill Smiley
We should have filmed it for TV
The Jack Scott Column - IN MO
aG• • • and this is our latest and most ex pensive line—it smells like gasoline."
Looking backward
- we get
letters
From our early files . 0 • 0
•
Editor Jamas E. trItagatald
464
Ganaral Manager,
J. Howard Alta,
1140441d Ci100 MaO
fitiab'F'..14UitoN• tOaltit " MOW" 00,111117.
TIM HURON NEWS-RECORD
Established 1*81
Amalgamated
1924
THE CLINTON NEW ERA
Established 1065
ter i4001
Of iA0Ait
CANO0A"
Clinton News- Reeon
PubNstwd ovary Tharaday
at Clinton, Ontario
Mails Wesley Member, Canadian
CC emenanity Newspriest
Austeistien
Mr. Ormiston, my old age
pensioner friend who has a
yellowed, crumbling clipping
from a Cobh newspaper of more
than 60 years ago to prove that
he was once the fourth-best
amateur lightweight boxer in'
County'Cork, was my guest for
last night's late movie.
The picture was Stanley
Kramer's Champion, starring
Kirk Douglas, a more durable
film, than most.
When it was over I made us
some cocoa and Mr. Ormiston
discoursed briefly on Douglas'
ring style which, he said, was of
such a nature that Kirk
might have , ' !been put han-
dily on his backside by any
small. boy having a. rudimen- t
I' must confess, hoWever,,,
he said, "that my mind was not
entirely on the manly science.
Old movies on television affect
me in a very odd way. I often
feel that even the worst of them
offer us lessons of great
historical and philosophical
significance. Do you remember
that verse about the King in
Persia who had a reminder
engraved on his signet ring to
give him 'counsel at a
glance'?"
"Can't say I do," I said.
"How'd it go?" Mr. Or-
miston. "Fit for every change
10 YEARS AGO
January 30, 1964
Mr. and Mrs. J. E. "Cap"
Cook celebrated their 60th
wedding anniversary. Only a
few of their many friends ,were
notified due to the fact that
Mrs. Cook is confined to the
hospital with a broken hip.
The hospital staff and members
of the Rebekah Lodge arranged
a tea.
The Huron County, Pioneer
Museum is overcrowded with
no space remaining for articles
available throughout the • county. Mr. J. H. Neill has
recommended that an addition
be built. There was a total of
22,088 visitors in 1963. Of the
exhibits, 5,888 were donated,
are on loan and 741 were
bought, made or otherwise
acquired. -
Mrs. Harold Simpson, San-
, dra, Cathie and Jack, London "
accompanied Miss Jacqueline •
Cluff, Toronto, to Bayfield on
Saturday evening and visited
her sister, Mis. Alf Scotchrner
arid family until Sunday. They
returned to' London with Bob
Cluff who was here over Satur-
day,
The Clinton squirts made it
to the finals of the annual Kin-
smen tOurnatneht with a 3-0
win over Exeter. Tom Murch,
Clinton's goalie recorded his
first shut-out with an excep-
tionally fine game as Exeter
outshot Clinton 2.1 .• In the
game against Goderich, the
final game, Clinton lost by a 5-
1 verdict to the defending
charripions. This loss was due
mainly to "harcl-lucli" shots as
Goderich only had one more
shot on net.
25 YEARS AGO
February 3, 1949,
The bridge over the hayfield
River south of Clinton was
rebuilt on Saturday and Sinn-
day of last Week 'by CINIR con-
You'd think the Smileys
could have one tiny grandchild
with no more than the usual,
anxiety and expectancy.
Not a chance. They had to
turn it into a three-ring circus,
Just about the time the wee
lad was due to arrive, I
provided the first ring. I
racked up my car. Not
seriously. Just enough so it
couldn't be driven. It was
during the holidays, and bet.'
ween these and► relentless
storms, day after day, the
repairs took twice as long as
they would have normally.
No transport. But we had to
be there when his nibs arrived.
It's a hundred miles away.
Result was a nightmare of taxis
and buses.
, There's nothing more dismal
than riding a bus in mid-
winter.' It's either a, super-
modern one, with the heat tur-
ned up so that you are gasping
for breath and sweating like a
wrestler, or it's an old-tither,
.vith no heat and a draft that
would freeze the brains of a
brass monkey coming in around
the window.
There's ,nothing more
frustrating than waiting for a
cab. It's no problem down-
town in the city. You can flag
one down on the street. But
when you are in a remote
suburb, you'd be better off with
a dog team, We waited 55
minutes for a cab one night, of-
ter five phone calls, on each of
which / was assured "He's on
the way," a pure and
downright lie.
My daughter, true to family
form, provided a ring two Of the
eircus. I'm only glad Y wasn't
there, or you'd be reading my
obituary instead of a ;column
this week. •
She began getting signs that
the little stranger Was
developing claustrophobia and
Wanted to see the light of day.
Nothing violent, but enough to
Send My wife into action, with
0,11 guns,
";slang on, We'll be right
it.," lip meant, up to the
university apartment where
she and her husband are living.
It's right out in the country
and a brute to get at, unless
you have a car.
My wife commandeered my
'bother-in-law, and he droVe her
there. Naturally, the young
couple doesn't have a car.
Potential Granny dashed
into the building, and was just
starting up on the elevator,
4, when she heard a disembodied
voice asking, "Is there anyone
there?"
She was ,more than a little
startled. It was the voice of
her son-in-law, and it seemed
to' be coming out of the walls.
It was. He and my
daughter, the pregnant kid,
were stuck in the adjoining
elevator, between floors. They
weren't ;trick because she was
pregnant, ; butt because the
eleOator had r ceased
to descend. They'd been on
their way down.
Well, hovi does that grab
you, as melodrama? It's like
something you'd see on one of
those medical series on TV.
If I'd been there, I'd have
fainted dead away and been
carted off. My wife is made of
Sterner stuff. She can get
hysterical about a cat crapping
on a carpet. But when it
, comes down to real trouble,
she's right on.
And thy brother-in-law is a
great man in a crisis. He
posted my wife where she could
talk to the two kids trapped in
the elevator. Then he rounded
up the troops: security guards,
superintendents, and elec-
trician,
They tried 'everything, A
half hour, passed, Nothing,
An hour, Nothing Worked,
They called the elevator corn-
party, It watt New Year's Day,
A recorded message. Tension
grew, It was like a Wake.
Pregnant wbinan trapped in
stalled elevator.
After nearly an hour and a
half, my son‘in,law, one 'of the
01000, hscl an idea. There
was a small riPece 'at the hot-
tom of their elevator car, but
Kim, with her bulging belly,
couldn't get through it. There
was a little more room at the
top,
If they could get through,
from one elevator car to the
other, maybe...
The rescuers found a panel
between the elevator cars. It
was removed. The electrician
was skinny. He was hoisted up
and crawled through the hole.
A ladder was hoisted and
`passed to him. Silence.
After a few minutes of this,
the rescuers started pounding
the wall and shouting, No an-
swer. Panic. They were just
about to call the fire depart-
ment when the kids and the
electrician walked down the
stairs, into the lobby,
Using the ladder, they had
climbed out of the elevator and
crawled through that just,big-
enough hole, onto the second
floor.
Needless to say,, joy reigned
supreme. • Laughing and
hugging and kissing.
Nobody had gone haywire in
a nasty situation. The kids
had not panicked. In fact,
Kim sat on the floor and
almost went to sleep. My wife
kept her head, through' an hour
and a half of mental anguish,
My brother-in-la* came out
feeling like Horitius at the
bridge.
Well, all turned out fine.
But the third ring of the circus
was supplied to my Wife. First
day the baby was home, she
was going up to see him, and
her own child,
A young woman had thrown
herself in front of a subway
train, and it took my wife three
hours to get there.
Why can't we have a grand..
child without all this fooferaw?
Oh, well. At least, the first
time he crosses the border into
the States, when he's about six-
teen, and one or those snarly
U,S, immigration officers says,
"Where were you born1", he
won't have to answer, "Dtih, in
an elevator',"
struction gangs from Stratford
and Montreal. Two 52-foot gir-
ders were lifted from the ends
of the bridge and placed in the
middle. Timber roadway was
put in place at the ends to
replace the steel. The new Steel
piling will do the work
previously done by six sets of
timber trestles and the timber
trestle work can •now be
removed, thus eliminating an
annual spring "headache" for
:the C.N.R,
C. Bruce Symonds, Brant-
ford, has been appointed
manager for the Bell Telephone
,Company at Goderich, with
supervision over the surroun-
'ding area including Clinton,
Seaforth, Hensel', Exeter and
Crediton. He is succeeding J.
Murray Goodwin , manager
since September 1945, who has
been transferred .,.to Owen
Sound as manager,
The livestock branches of the
Ontario Department of
Agriculture have tabulated
'some interesting comparisons
about hog raising costs. So far,
net returns have indicated all
the way from a' total loss to a
total gain of $2,500 for the
year. Farm operators were
producing 100 pounds of pork
with anywhere from 314
porinds of grain plus concen-
trates to 621. They are plan-
ning on making a further study
to introduce modern methods
to reduce the amount of feed to
a minimum.
50 YEARS AGO'
.JAnyary 31, 1924
Mr, James Snell, Hullett'S
'veteran stockman, was invited
to the Lieut.-Governor's Lun,
cheon on Tuesday, when
leading breeders of the
'Province were entertained at
the Government House, Mr,
-Snell did hot avail himself of
the opportunity, but many did
.4 aiid it Was considered a most
successful affair, '
"Sure," I said. "The con-
tinuing -crisis in the Middle
East is another good example,
We've come to learn to live
with it, just as those people
who live in the villages under
Mount Vesuvius live with its
eruptions. There's a kind of
fatalism about the familiar,
even when it may erupt all over
you. Yes, I think that slows
evolution, if that's what you
mean."
"It dignifies the status quo,"
Mr. Ormiston elaborated.
"Politically or economically or
sociologically we're inclined to
be unquestioning about the
most preposterous conditions
that prevail. It dOesn't matter
- how Jowly we gap if ,a thing is
Douglas or with old movies on
television is beyond my com-
prehension at the moment."
Mr. Ormiston finished his
cocoa, marshalling his
Mr. Athol McQuarrie who
has been the editor of the
Goderich Signal Star, is
retiring and Mr. W.H. Robert-
son, who has formerly held that
position for a good many years
is returning. Mr. McQuarrie
has decided to try new fields,„
Mr. Robertson retired mainly
because of indifferent health
but the freedom from the grind
during the past couple of years
has done much for him so feels
he can take up his old job
again.
A year ago last Friday, Clin-
ton opened an up-to-date
Hydro shop which has been
pronounced by those who travel
as one of the best in Western
Ontario. The venture has been
very successful since there is a
surplus on merchandise ac-
count of seven hundred dollars.
A few years ago the monthly
account for power was only
about $250, but last month it
amounted to over $1,400 and
the demand is still increasing.
ago. Those suits that Douglas
wore, the length of the women's
dresses and their hairstyles, the
automobiles, everything was
comically old-fashioned and,
so, open to our ridicule and
derision. Why, even the moral
values were so out-of-date they
seem to us now to be foolish
and pathetic, though at one
time we accepted them as
gospel."
begin to see the light," I
75 YEARS AGO
February 2, 1899
Dr. Giinn has a horse which
has beaten all records. While
he was calling upon a patient
at the south end of town
Tuesday forenoon it ran away,
ran to Seaforth, from there to
Brucefield and when seen at
Bayfield was still galloping
hard. It left the cutter at
Bayfield but continued run-
ning. The horse was located in
Goderich township yesterday.
Mr. Oliver Johnstone is ac-
ting mayor in place of Dr. Shaw
who resigned both from the
pbsition of mayor and medical
health officer. Dr. Shaw
resigned after Mr. W.0 Searle
stated that the electionowas not
legal because Dr. Shaw was
medical health officer and also
a trustee of the Collegiate In-
stitute at the time of his
nominations. Mr. Johnstone
was chosen on a motion of
Councillors Plummer and
Ford.
Religion
Dear. Editor;'
From a newscast on
C.K.N.X., I understand the
Huron County Board of
Education is planning to in-
troduce to the Central Huron
Secondary School a course on
the five major religions of the
world,
I for one am extremely in-
terested in the thinking behind
this dedision. When- probably
75 percent of the students of
C.H.S.S. have a very limited
knowledge of the Bible and the
fundamental beliefs of
Christianity, it is beyond me
why they should be confused by
four other religions.
I can hear someone say: "He
is very narrow in his thinking."
Shouldn't students have a
broad knowledge of world
religions?
Let me use an illustration as
to how I see it. If a student is
weak .in the English language
would it be a good idea if this
student was taught four foreign
languages along with English?
This is only an illustration as I
believe knowing Christ is far
more important than
languages.
I would like to suggest that a
course on Christianity be
taught, then once the students
have a sound understanding on
this subject and feel a need to
compare religions they will at
least have a good foundation
from which to start.
It would be very interesting
and worthwhile to hear from
members of 'the Huron County
board, parents and students
concerning this plan of
religious instruction in Central
Secondary School
Yours sincerely
Hank Gelling
Pioneers
Dear Editor:
Jonas Gibbings and wife,
Bond, ere the first set- arah
'at "The' Corners", now
Clinton; we read, "their eldest
child was born there in 1833
being the first white child born
at the Corners - namely,
William Gibbings who married
Mary Ann Phillips of Hullett
Twsp., and married at Clinton,
Ontario, 1859—February 17,"
The 1879 Belden Atlas
records that these folk lived on
a farm at "Alma" east of Clin-
ton—It is said that William
was instrumental in helping to
build the little white church at
Alma, built across the road
from his home and that the
Sunday School was conducted
by this very earnest and en-
thusiastic gentleman, William
Gibbings„
Is it possible that any of the
readers of the Clinton News
Record could provide me with
the following information con-
cerning above? Did Mr. and
Mrs. Gibbings have a family?
Where were they buried, and
the deathdates of these people?
I would appreciate your co-
operation very much.
Most sincerely,
Mrs, W.F. Strangway
338 London Road
Sarnia, Ont.
. . . News-Record readers are en-
couraged to express their
opinions In letters to the editor,
however, such opinions do not
necessarily represent the
opinions of the News-Record:
Pseudonyms may be used by
letter writers, but no letter will
be published unless It can be
verified by phone.
More than 2,600,000
Canadians now suffer from
some type of heart disease.
and chance. Solemn words,
and these are they: Even this
shall pass away.. Do you
remember it now?"
"At this time of night," I
said, "I've trouble remem-
bering my-own name. But if
you'll spell it out for me in
words of. one syllable I'll try
not to interrupt more than
every 30 seconds."
Mr. Ormiston took a reflec-
tive sip of his cocoa, accepted a
cigarette and settled back in
what I've come to recognize as
the pre-ruminative position.
"It is my belief," he said,
"that a great- deal of the
trouble in the world comes
from our easy acceptance of the
tatus quo. Almost everyone,
,,.becauseof this.alone. because
things are the way they are we,
assume that they must
somehow be right or logical.
'Situations may amuse us or
alarm us, but because they
exist we feel that they're
natural."
"Interesting point," I said.
"Take the so-called energy
. crisis," l'Ar. Ormiston went on.
"It offends every sensibility of
man. But the great mass of
people are able to live with it.
It has happened. . It is the way
things are. Do you follow
this?"
"I
said.
"I hoped you would," Mr.
Qrmiston said. "They're
reminders, you see. Just as
those styles and fashions and
outlooks of 30 years ago are
merely laughable so, in another
„
$0 years time, our inconstant
ti.'.-Sitoeti on s and ,iiiitittides,v. All agreed, I said, but today will seem what this has to do with Kirk hurnerous—perhaps even
tragically humorous, That's
the lesson I get from these old
movies, the reminder that the
status quo is quite probably
ridiculous and that what we
thoughts, and began very cherish or just put up with in carefully to spread them before its name is', going to make us me. seem dam'd silly if we're lucky "We'Ve seen here a movie of enough ever to look back."
more than 30 years of age and
one that's stood up pretty "Even this shall pass away,"
well," he said. "But all I quoted back at him. "I'll
through this picture you and I never see a late night movie
have been laughing at our- again without remembering
selves as we were 30-odd years that."
. .st. Apt