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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-07-14, Page 4By Vol Baltkalns %v. eeeex ieeigi •• eeseeeeeeee eeeeeieeeeieteeeieiMiiieekne- Sailing is deadly dull r;, n VrexeferZintesaknoocafe SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND Member: C.W.N.A., O.W,N.A., C,C,N,R, and ABC Publishers: J. M. Southcott, R. M. Southcott Editor: Bill Batten Advertising Manager: Val Baltkalns Phone 235-1331 -• . • „. ,• eeee.eeeeeeezeleiee: They're tempting fate Concern for humanity i People of all ages can be excused for some of their actions during the heat wave, but there can be little ex- cuse for one of the dangerous practices evidenced at Riverview Park Sunday afternoon. For there, just about 100 yards from Exeter's popular swimming pool, we spotted several youngsters swim- ming in the weedy confines of the river just above the dam. There is no need to reiterate the dangers that exist in this practice be- cause they were gone into fully in the past few years when the citizens of this area were given the "sales pitch" as to why a swimming pool was need- ed. Admission to the pool is nominal indeed, and it is doubtful if a lack of finances was the reason for the young- sters using the river as a means of cooling off; although the fact that they may halve invested then' admission fee in ice cream or a cooling soft drink is not unrealistic. However, parents should be made aware of the fact that it may have been their youngsters who were engag- ing in this hazardous pastime. Certain- ly, a stern reminder that the river is now out of bounds is warranted. All too often news stories contain accounts of tragedies that occur just a short distance from supervised areas, and while they provide us with just an- other of the ironical circumstances that leave people with their heads shaking in disbelief, they are tragedies that can be avoided with strict parental. direction. Many risk one-way trip quest article by The Rev, Harold F. Currie The return of Jesus 'to His native Nazareth was more than the nostalgic revisit of a famous man to the familiar scenes of boyhood. days. There was, no doubt, in His mind the thought He would like to give His own home town the first opportunity to hear what decision had come forth from the souleseerchirig experience on the desert. He must have been aware, however, that His pronouncement would not be favorably received, There was a deeper reason for His return. It was to reaffirm from the vantage point of His formative years the mission and message which was His and His alone. His were not the idealistic and visionary presumptions of a un- informed though devout peasant. When He spoke with authority on the great issues of personal and the inner conflicts of society, he spoke as one who had par- ticipated in and had been a party to those issues and conflicts. He had been no spectator to life or to the burning questions which vexed His day, this extensive check, but unfortunately, such is not the case. Only a small por- tion of the cars that daily traverse our busy highways can be checked. Therefore, it must be assumed that those not checked out come up with a similar average, with only 68 out of every 401 being fit to be on the road, What is the solution? That's the question that has to be answered, and the sooner the better. Obviously, while this responsibility should rest with each automobile own- er, it is a proven fact that owners have not lived up to this responsibility and there is nothing to indicate that they ever will, even though their lives de- pend on it. It would appear that the only sen- sible solution is for the Department of Transport to increase their amount of mobile equipment substantially so checks can be carried out more fre- quently throughout the province. While frequent checks may incon- venience drivers to an extent, it's still a better fate than a one-way ticket to the grave yard. Opte dewed If a major league ball player found his batting average dipping to a .169 figure, he would probably soon find himself with a one-way ticket to the minor leagues. Well, that average was established in this area recently, and unfortunately the resulting action indicates that some one-way tickets may be issued. Unfor- tunately, those one-way tickets may be for the grave yard. That's the stark message contained in the results of the recent car checks conducted by the Ontario Department of Transport. Out of 401 cars given the 38-point check only 68 were classed as fit for the road with another 74 given that approval after defects had been repaired by the drivers. The fact that 16 percent of the cars were found to be in sufficiently bad shape to have their license plates removed and ordered off the roads en- tirely is most shocking and provides us with an answer as to the reason for the mounting death toll on our high- ways. It would be reassuring to an ex- tent if every car in Ontario received eekeeekeekeeeeeieSeekkeeeme:Seeei*ife:i8i:i:i*XI eeee. eye' °Axes' efeeetee'ree"veny'efe/' „eceseeeeeeeiixeli...eeeeieeeekeeike:::Seetegiee No more bare knees? NOT ISOLATED Nazareth was not a small iso- lated village buried away from the rest of the world. It was a town or city of about 20,000 inhabit- ants. It was in touch with the trade and commerce of the day. From the hillside up which its houses clustered could be seen the far-reaching trade rout e, "the way of the nations." There were two great trade routes:One which linked the wealth of Egypt with that of the Asiatic prov- inces and which ran through Palestine, touched Capernaum and passed through the busy city of Damascus. The other left the former road by the junction of ancientJesreel in the plain of Esdraelon and made its way by Nazareth to the port of Acre, thus pouring the com- merce of Egypt and Syria into the swollen storehouses of the city of Rome, In His youth Jesus would be familiar with the trade and com- merce of the ancient world. He would be aware of the continual exploitation of the provinces bya rapacious empire, All this would have been dis- cussed in the workshops of Naz- areth with growing indignation as also would be the rebellions brought on by this state of affairs. Soon after starting His mission Jesus made Capernaum His head- quarters. Capernaum being the principle market town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Trouble is brewing in Britain. The old guard in the Boy Scouts movement is up in arms, or perhaps out in legs is the more correct expression. For what the senior Scouts are or- ganizing to fight is a movement to put the Scouts in modern trousers. Resig- nations are being received, and the whole movement is being threatened, as the attempt of 24 leaders to devise a new uniform is being bitterly op- posed. The short pants style, which dates back to Boer war days, is unpop- ular with boys. and is held to be partly classes: He Himself was later to become a carpenter, His parables everywhere por- trayed the life of the workman. He is at home in those poor Syrian windowless ho v el ei„ in which a housewife must light a candle in the daytime to find her lost piece of silver. lie was acquainted with the Secrets of the bakehouse, the gardener and the builder. He had seen the rotten leaking skins of the wine-dealer. He saw at first hand the brutal treatment of the upper servants to the lower and many other in- justices of the social order. His parables are replete With illus- trations which drew attention to inequalities, discriminations and hardships of the poor and needy. Jesus had a profound knowledge of nature and the pastoral oc- cupations of His day, He did not overlook the hopes and fears and hazards common to the farmer and the sheep herder, All these who were weary and heavy laden were the objects of H is concern. An economic system where the rich became richer and the poor became poorer fell beneath His scathing rebuke. The plight of the unemployed did not escape His notice. The troubled in body, mind and spirit were objects of His living concern. Jesus had a deep sense of history. He lived in the very path where the nations of the world passed by. More than this He was a part of a nation whose education was broad and deep. From an early age He was made acquainted with the patrio- tic literature of His people; its poets, lawyers and lawgivers and its prophets. His education would include other great peoples be- side the Hebrew nation. The empires of Egypt, Assyria. Babylon, Syria and Rome were not unknown to Him. Jesus along with other Galilean youth would be quick to respond to such litera- ture for they had in them the blood of a pilgrim nation. They would couple a sympathetic understanding of the history of other nations with a lively patrio- tism for their own. Jesus brought to all this a deeper sense of destiny than that of His own people. His patriot- ism was a world patriotism. He foresaw a world in which its varied races, its commerce, its industry, its politics, its econom- ics, indeed its whole social struc- ture were caught up in the pur- poses of the living and eternal God whom He proclaimed as the Father of all mankind, He saw, too, that the brave new world was to be born much in the old must die. A new sense of the dignity and worth of each in- dividual man was an integral part of His teaching. No man, no matter what his station in life, was beyond the Father's notice nor should he be beyond man's own concern. FRUGAL LIFE The home life of Jesus was frugal. The language of His dis- courses indicated He was born and raised among the laboring responsible for a serious decline in numbers. But tradition dies hard. And the defenders of the status quo are nu- merous and bitter. The display of male knees and legs which some think child- ish is held by the old guard to be an essential part of Scouting, and they are not having any change. It all seems like a tempest in a teapot in a Nvorld with far bigger prob- lems. It would be a pity if a row over short or long pants wrecked one of the finest organizations for boys ever de- vised. —The Trentonian woe, that does little to get a holiday off on an enjoyable start, However, it was quickly decided it had not been their fault and the matter was to be dismissed so as to not dampen the enthu- siasm for the enjoyable days ahead. This worked fine until we ar- rived to find that 1966 is known in the north as the "year of the mosquito". Why it is only singu- lar we will never know, because they were as thick as freckles on a 10-year-old redhead. Mr. Webster defines a mos- quito as an insect, having in the female (who else?) needlelike organs in the proboscis with which they puncture the skin of animals (always humans) to suck their blood. One thing Mr, Webster appar- ently didn't know about mosqui- toes is the fact they all appear to have at least a dozen of those proboscis things from which hang those needlelike organs--and the female species outnumber s males by slightly under 200 to one. (That figure was based on only a short study of the matter.) The pesky critters took a strong liking to junior and it wasn't long before he looked much similar to a well-used pin cushion- -with all the accompany- ing displeasures. This threw him entirely off schedule for the first four days, although by the end of the week he was quite content to go to bed at around 10:00 and not be up and at it until at least 7:00. To make a long story even longer (I forget how much I need to fill this space) yours truly managed to rip all the skin off his big toe in the first dive into the lake, and as al- ways happens, that toe was the repeated target for every rock, stick, clump of dirt and any- thing else on which a person can successfully stub a toe. This finally managed to heal, just in time to restrict our suf- fering to a bad case of over- exposure to the sun's rays, and had time permitted we would have conducted a survey on why it is only the moveable parts of one's anatomy that attract sun burn. That sun burn fortunately turned to a golden brown a few days later and we became much similar in appearance to a Greek god, But then, that was too much of a good thing, and it has now neatly peeled off so that we can commence the painful pro- cedure again. Fishing turned out to be a very time consuming pastime, — Please turn to page 7 Taxes on easy payments Town council should certainly be giving some thought to the idea of stag- gering tax bills through the year rather than waiting until the mill-rate has been established and sending the bills when half the year is almost gone. In line with several other cities, we note that St. Thomas has decided to issue an interim bill early in the year. This will be followed by a defini- tive bill after the mill rate has been struck. This means taxpayers will be able to pay in four, rather than three, in- stallments. It will soften the blow by keeping them in a punch-drunk condi- tion all year rather than letting them go soft and relaxed from December to June. More important, earlier payments will reduce the city's borrowing re- quirements with savings on interest. We believe most people prefer to pay as they go on such inescapable items as taxes. Several small install- ments are easier to face than one or two big ones. That is why we never have been able to understand the prac- tice of most townships in having all their taxes come due at one time, about the middle of December. —The Aylmer Express gEMMOVAIRWORAMWEiWkwtwagew IFIBMPOWMEtian eeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeee.,,q, Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1929 50 YEARS AGO Pte. E. Harness, who was wounded in both legs by shrapnel at Ypres about a month ago, is now at Katesgrove Hospital, Rea- ding, Eng. and expects to be confined there for at least four months. Messrs. Wallace and Harry Fuke left Tuesday for a trip up the lakes sailing from Sar- nia. Old Sol has been interfering with production in the factories and shops and the output has been a few stages below normal. A number of the boys were home from Camp Borden on weekend passes. They wereSgts. W.J.Mallet, 114.13faff, Ptes.S.J.V, Cann, W. Stewart, Rus and Earl Southcott, Jas. Marshall, Bert Rivers, Sid West, Eric Hurdon and W.G. Birney. 15 YEARS AGO Mr, Fred Cole, who, for the past seven and a half years, has conducted a jewelry busi- ness which he took over from James Lawson, has disposed of the business to J.IVI„ Smith of Burlington who has already ta- ken possession. Herman Gill, the man who was largely responsible for Grand Bend's incorporation and its clean-up campaign, deserved- ly won the distinction of being the summer resort's first reeve. Princess Elizabeth will make her first visit to Canada on a three-week coast to coast tour in October, Her husband will accompany her. Reformation of the recreation- al council was tentativelyap- proved by town council Monday night to help Exeter Kinsmen proceed with their playground project. Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ont. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Dept, Ottawa, and for Payment of Postage in Cash Paid in Advance Circulation, March 31, 1966, 4,180 SUBSCRIPTION RAtES; Canada OA Per Year} USA $7.00 It was with mixed emotions that we read in this newspaper two weeks ago that yours truly was returning as editor. The fact that bothered us most was in the statement: "His humor- ous editorial column, Batt'n Around, will return with him". Naturally, we were quite pleased to learn that the author of those words noted it was one of the features during our pre- vious term in this office, but what did he mean by humorous columns? For one entire year we had spent countless hours in deep meditation and thought to come up with the profound thinking that weekly fills this spot, We had imagined ourselves solving all the world's problems--some- thing akin to Ann Landers. Imagine the shock to find that all along it was regarded as humor! That, of course, leaves us with the difficult decision as to the future content of this column, and we've finally decided to let the chips fall where they will with no prearranged schedule. If we decide to be witty, we will. If the urge to delve into the realm of seriousness over- takes us, we will not fight it. This too offers the same oppor- tunity for readers. If they want to laugh, they may. If they want to read the words affixed in an air of deep concentration, they may do that too. The only favour we ask is that you don't tell us which avenue you have taken. It may turn out to be just the opposite from the way it was intended and that would make either one of us look rather foolish. * * * * Having taken an enjoyable week's vacation prior to return- ing to Exeter, we are naturally filled with the vim, vigor and vitality that always accompanies such a rest. A couple of things went wrong but they are hardly worthy of mention. However, perhaps we should mention one or two tidbits, if for no other purpose than to fill the space which we have been alotted-- and for which we were totally unprepared upori arriving on the scene Monday morning. With another couple from our apartment in picturesque Thorn cliffe Park (which contains about 25 apartment buildings and has a population of some 14,000 peo- ple) we headed out for a cottage in the Haliburton region, just south of Minden. Due to the fact the other couple knew the exact location, it had been prearranged that the gals would travel together and we men would enjoy the unusual pleasures of no back-seat dri- vers. Unfortunately, shortly after getting into the steady stream of traffic on Highway 401, some chap managed to smash into the rear of the gals' car While we men merrily proceeded on our way with no thoughts other than the large bass that were hungrily waiting for the fine collection of lures we had in our tackle boxes. The gals were shaken up and badly unnerved, bilt did manage to finally arrive at our meeting place to unleash their tale of I was reading the other day an interview with a Canadian seaman. He was telling a report- er why he, and so many other sailors are not happy with their lot. He mentioned a lot of things that seemed petty at first glance: coarse sheets on the bunks; crowded quarters; not enough showers; cheap soap; scanty re- creational facilities. Not much of the spirit of Drake and Nelson and rounding Cape Horn there? Not much. But then the truth came out. These were only the minor irritants, the lit- tle, concrete manifestations of a deeper discontent. A sailor's pay is good, com- paratively. Most boats feed their crews well. What really gets the sailor down are frustration, boredom, monotony and loneli- ness. They suffer from the mod- ern malaise of the spirit that of-' Poets many segments of our so-, clety. As I read the article, I couldn't help comparing the sailor's Job today with that of the 1930's, when I spent a spell on the Great Lakes. Today he works a 40-hour Week, has a basic pay of nearly $400 a month, and is protected by a tough union. In those days, he worked a 50 to 60-hour week, picked up a handsome cheque for $40 at the end of the month, and could be fired if he even looked Unhappy. And perhaps that's why, if memory serves, the sailor of those days was a pretty happy character. He did a lot of grous- ing, as sailors have done since ulyses and his crew left Troy, but he else did a lot of horsing around, arid took life very un- seriously. Not many were Married in those days. They couldn't afford it, They'd blow their 40 bucks on beer arid girls and poker in a couple of days, and then it was 10 YEARS AGO Members of Exeter Legion, who have been working in gangs nights and holidays for weeks On the addition to their memorial hall, hope to have the building Completed In time for the open- ing dance in September. Friday night's Cowboy and In- dian parade organized by Exeter Kinsmen Playground supervisors Was the largest in the history of the four-year-old playgroOndi Exeter Boy Scouts presented a first aid demonstration on CKNXeTV Tuesday afternoon. cOU ters Doug Kelton, bon Thomson and Dori Scott partici- pated, 25 YEARS AGO Exeter's victory flag with six pennants i$ now floating in the breeze across Main St. The pen- nants are due to the fact that Exeter raised 264 per cent of its quota in the Victory Loan. Instead of James Street United Church Sunday School holding a picnic this year $20 was donated to the Queen's fund for air raid Victims. Miss Mary Borland has accep- ted a position as teacher at Hurondale School. Reg Wtierth, who has been ere- pleyed at LInderifield's Hard- ware, MS enlisted in the RCAF and left Thursday for Manning pool, Toronto. and practical jokes arid "makings" for the rest of the month. Today's sailor is a much glum- mer individual. He's more likely to be married and have children. He has a mortgage and insur- ance and income tax and dental bills, like all the other Suckers in society. Theoretically, he's 10 times better off than the deck-hand of the 30's. lie works a whole lot less and makes a great deal more. He is better fed and quar- tered. He can watch television. He has 10 months away from the old battleaxe and the kids, two months holidays in winter, dur- ing which he is paid unemploy- ment insurance, What's wrong then? Why is he griping, threatening to strike every so often, wishing he had a shore Job? It's simple enough. Sailing is deadly dull. For offic- ers and engineers, it's lively enough. They have delicate ma- chinery, decisions, resporisibili- tieS, special skills. But the deck-hand is the Poor Bloody Infantry of the inland seas. His work is often dirty, nearly always monotonous, oc- casionally dangerous, but hardly ever heroic, There's no going aloft to reef the mainsail in the teeth of a gale. He's more likely chipping paint. There's no landing at exo- tic foreign ports, hiring a rick - Oa and heading for the high spots. He's more likely picking his way across the railway tracks in a dirty dock area, heading for a beer parlour. Ile Spends most Of his waking hours with a crowd jnst es brown- ed off as he. And they curse and play poker and grouse and watch television crud and brag about the shore job they Could have had. Not much for the soul there, And he's lonely. Lonely for his family. And'Maybe hO's --Please turn to page 7 Wini:WMAPSOMatariliti atisaranw- rob