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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1969-09-18, Page 4One group overlooked Kids getting rough deal class community newspapers Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 /he ereferZimes-Usocafe Amalgamated 1924 SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Publishers: J. M. Southcott, R. M. Southcett Editor Bill Batten — Advertising Manager Phone 235.1331 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 03M Paid in Advance Circulation, September 30, 1968, 4,520 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada KO Per Year; USA $8.00 Some may argue that the list of speakers at most official openings is generally too lengthy, but usually there's one important group of people omitted. The recent opening of the Parkhill darn was a good example, There was no shortage of politicians on hand and their words became a little repetitious as they extolled the co-operation which had been shown among all levels of government in getting the project completed, Those who forgot to pat themselves on the back about their own contribution were not forgotten by their associates and one speaker even went so far as mentioning that the darn should have been named after one area parliamentarian and a nearby creek should have carried the name of another. He may have tossed the suggestions out facetiously, but those in the audience quickly got the message about how much the politicians had done for them. • Much of the, praise was deserved. Some of the area politicians did in fact work very hard on getting approval for the often stalled project and obviously they should be commended, However, somewhere on the agenda it would have been encouraging to have just one more speaker. Someone designated to stand up among the speakers and applaud the taxpayers for having supplied the money to the governments in the first place, Some of the students at the opening may have been more impressed and proud of the project if someone had pointed out their parents and neighbors had made the construction possible by providing the necessary tax monies. Vandalism of public property is an increasing problem, and some of the problem may be eradicated if the younger generation were told straight from the shoulder that the property and the advantages it brings to the community were provided by the taxes the people living in that community have to face each year. Some of the students probably left the proceedings with the idea that the Parkhill dam was provided by the politicians speaking at the event. Ballet Classes NEW CLASSES IN BATON and TAP AGES FROM 4 YEARS UP 10 GRADES IN BALLET EXAMINATIONS AT WESTERN ONTARIO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC Member of Associated Dance Educators of Ontario PHONE 482-7227 CLINTON A PUZZLER FOR THE TEACHER — Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Margaret Box at Stephen Central school has a problem identifying a couple of sets of twins in her class. Above Mrs. Box is puzzling over the identification of Ann and Ruth Ryan and Kevin and Keith Scott. T-A photo. Guess what kids like best The summer just past Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it. That's an old saying, one which we've heard a thousand times or more. Oddly enough, few people wanted to do anything about the weather this summer. It was perfect except we could have used a little more rain, here and there, to put some extra shekels in the pockets of the farmers. Very soon the evenings will be chilly, the days brisk. That autumn nip in the air will be unmistakable and as we draw our sweaters over our shoulders, we will think about the beautiful summer just past. If we are Campers, we'll remember the endless warm, sunny days that made summer 1969 an absolute delight. If we are children, we'll recall for years to come the "kind of summers we had when we were kids." If we are mothers, we'll appreciate the fact that rainy days didn't keep the little ones indoors this summer. If we are front-porch sitters, we will . be grateful that we were able to sit out, night after night in comfort, yet suffer just a few sleepless, humid nights. Now we must get in the swing of fall routines. It won't be easy after such a languid summer but somehow the cool days of late September and October give us the thrust we need this time of year. A wonderful summer behind us. An exceptional challenge ahead of us. Who could ask for more? Have you noticed what has happened to all those tense, harassed, haggard, harried, hysterical women who were around all summer? They've suddenly turned into fat cats, smiling, relaxed, ready to turn the other cheek rather than belt you on yours. Know why? Because their kids are back to school, that's why. Not that they don't love their children. No, no, no. All mothers love their children. But they can't STAND them after two months holidays. Paradise on earth is not the Isles of Greece, or two cars, or four credit cards, or a mink stole. It's sitting down with a cup of coffee after the kids are off to school and realizing that you won't see them for anywhere from three to six hours. Silence. Golden. No more of, "Jane's mean. Billy won't give back my bike. When are we going for a swim? I wanna popsicle. There's nothing to do. It's hot outside. How come we never have any cold pop?" And so on. Lucky ladies. No dirty bare feet tracking through the house. No whining. No demands for the impossible. No fighting. Nothing but an hour of blessed solitude, with a cup of coffee and maybe a cigarette for the depraved, and nothing to listen to except Jolly Jack, the disc jockey. Even getting at the dishes and the washing is a pleasure, when there's nobody there snivelling. "I fell and hurt my knee, Mum, Mum my knee hurts, Mum." Well, girls, I hope you enjoy it. You deserve it. But while you're lolling in this sybaritic splendor, let me remind you that I and all the other idiots who teach school are stuck with your rotten kids for ten months six hours a day. Keep this in mind when you scream at your horrendous education taxes. It's not that I don't enjoy getting back on the job in September. If I did, I wouldn't be right in the head. It's a pleasant change after two months of my wife and daughter driving me crazy, singly or in tandem. Instead of two women yattering and wheedling and scolding and nagging and cajoling and conning me, all I have to face is about 165 kids doing the same. But there's safety in numbers. And I have some authority at school. If a kid bugs me too much, I can threaten him with all sorts of dreadful punishments, like being sent to the principal's office, which terrifies him about as much as being attacked by a bunny rabbit. Or I can resort to the final edict, "Look, if you're 16 and you don't like it here, out, vamos, raus, get lost. There's the door. You're free." This is fairly effective, especially in winter, because they don't want to go to work. Another delightful aspect of getting to work is meeting all my old friends on the staff. There's the cut-and-thrust wit of the staff room at lunch hour, much like the atmosphere of the French salons of the 18th century. "Who's got the crossword puzzle? Gawd, my feet are killin' me. Jeez, I wish it was Friday." And there's the genuine thrill of staff meetings, where the real, gritty business of education is discussed with a dignity and decorum that would shame the Senate. Sometimes, in only 40 minutes, we decide whether gum-chewing is allowed daily or only during exams, to relieve tension. And often, with remarkable dispatch, say half an hour, we decide, within four inches, how long a boy's hair or how short a girl s dress must be. However, I do like kids, and it IS rewarding to watch them grope, then cope. And a few weeks ago a couple of former students, now at university, who were real hellers when I taught them, asked me out for a game of golf. And then a little girl called me up, and asked if she ' could be in my English class. And Jerry, a boy of whom I rather despaired, but a good lad, asked Kim what I wanted for a gift last June, When he graduated, magna sans laude. She replied, "Give him something he likes, and something useful." All on his own, he hustled downtown and bought me a bottle of good Burgundy and and three golf balls. When a chap shows judgment like that, you can't help feeling you've succeeded, somehow. After an absence of about five years, we made our way back to the Western Fair, Friday, the main object being to see the circus. As may be expected, our youngsters were thrilled with most of the activities, although the speed and excitement of a three-ring circus is difficult to follow. It's about the same as watching different programs on three television sets and your eye-balls have to move quickly to take in the highlights. Most tiny tots don't comprehend the dangers involved in many things they do, and therefore we found that our two lads weren't really impressed with the people who risked their necks in various acts high over our heads. They watched the high-wire artists with a rather ho-hum attitude while the older children and adults present gasped in awe at some of the precarious activities. It was the animal trainers with their tigers, lions and elephants who highlighted the show for the younger set, and they sat up and watched every move of the circus clowns. While it must take a great deal of practice and an equal amount of nerve to perform some of stunts, we couldn't help but think that some of the circus performers have a fairly easy job after they have perfected their acts. One performer was billed as an Indian performing a tribal ritual. The stunt consisted of climbing up a long ladder and then hurtling • back the same distance onto a large air-filled mattress on the ground. The stunt took less than five minutes, and while it was repeated at all three 50 YEARS AGO A team of horses attached to a wagon loaded with grain belonging to William Johns of Usborne made a dash for liberty on Friday last. The marriage took place at the parsonage, Bayfield, at half past three on Wednesday, of Miss Janet E. Green to Mr. F. Clayton Prouty of Exeter. I. James Weekes has sold his marble works in town to Messrs. Walter Cunningham and Thos. Pryde of London. Miss Vera Rowe of Exeter has been appointed Candidate in the Free Press European Trip Contest. Mr. Wellington Johns has been appointed Deputy Game Warden of this district. 25 YEARS AGO A rare event, which has just come to our attention, was the celebration on Sunday, Sept. 10 of the sixty-fifth wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. John Hunter of town. An esteemed resident of Exeter passed away on Monday in the person of Dr. David Alton Anderson, aged 77 years. Dr. Anderson was born at Brighton and graduated from the Toronto Dental College. Miss Mary Fletcher, graduate of the Exeter High School and daughter of Dr. M. C. and Mrs. Fletcher left last week for Toronto to continue her studies at Branksome Hall, a residence .school for girls. Mr. & Mrs. Edgar L. Wurm of Dashwood, Miss Jean Taylor of Hensall and Miss Jean Willert of town spent the weekend in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. 15 YEARS AGO Exeter's Centennial Fair will be the best in 100 years officials predicted this week after arrangements were completed performances, a 15-minute work day doesn't appear all that bad. So, those of you who may not enjoy the normal eight-hour work day have an easy escape. All you have to do is come up with some exciting- stunt and then run off and join the circus. It probably even beats the navy as a method of seeing the world. * * With two small youngsters in tow, our tour of the fair was rather limited, but of course had to include a trip to the livestock exhibits. Here we found one of the largest gatherings on the grounds. Surprisingly, it was not one of the death-defying or spine-tingling attractions that filled the circus and midway. In fact for most area residents it would have to be rated rather mundane. You see, we found dozens of people lined up to see the milking parlor in operation. For many of our city cousins, and no doubt to some extent a few of our rural cousins, it was ..the first time they had witnessed the operation of milking a cow. Farther along in the barn, one of the exhibitors was milking a goat, and again a rather large crowd huddled around outside the pen to watch the proceedings. The matter of milking a cow had been broached at the Batten family table just prior to our departure to the fair, as Scott came up with a large number of questions pertaining to the extraction of the commodity which he relishes each meal. Perhaps then, it wasn't too strange that he should list the milking parlor visit as the highlight of his trip to the Western Fair. Yes, even rated for the big exhibition next Wednesday and Thursday. Mr. Ira Marshall, while on vacation at the cottage at Red Bay, Lake Huron, was fortunate enough to land a 30-inch pike, weighing almost seven pounds. Miss Pearl Key's group of James St. W.M.S. took charge of the program for the September meeting. Pat Cann and Jeanette Taylor supplied the entertainment. The .'First Exeter Brownie Pack held its first meeting of the new season Monday under the leadership of Miss Isobel Granton, Brown Owl and Miss Sandra McKnight, Tawny Owl. Soon a new uniform will be seen in South Huron. Next Monday evening, at 8 p.m. in the Exeter Legion Hall, a meeting will be held to organize the First South Huron Land Ranger Company. 10 YEARS AGO The third annual reunion of the descendants of Mr. Sylvanus and the late Mrs. Cann of Bayfield, formerly of Exeter, was held at Queen's Park, Stratford, last Sunday with 42 in attendance. South Huron Hospital board announced at a special meeting Friday night that it was preparing plans for an addition to relieve congestion of the present quarters. SHDHS graduates of '59 has won more scholarships and bursaries than any other class in the schools history, Principal H. L. Sturgis reported to the board Tuesday evening. Mr. & Mrs. William E. Lee celebrated their golden wedding anniversary by holding open house for their many friends and relatives. Mr. & Mrs. Ross Ballantyrie returned home from their honeymoon Tuesday and on Saturday were treated to a rousing shivaree, higher than the tigers, lions and elephants! Just think! The day would have, been as exciting for him if we had stayed home and taken a short hop to a nearby farm to see cows being milked. It would have been considerably cheaper and a lot less tiring. * * We came away from the fair wondering what it is that makes people so hungry when they attend such events. Booths dispensing goodies of every imagineable type around at fairs and none of them appear to go lacking for customers. While they do their main business during the normal dinner and supper hours, there were still many customers throughout the afternoon and evening. We doubt that people normally eat that much, and while the walk works up appetites and the savory odors are hard to get past at times, we still find it difficult to comprehend why eating habits change so greatly at the fair. Another of the unanswered questions concerns the fact that people go on some of those nerve-shattering rides and appear obviously frightened and yet they get off and quickly rush on to the next one. Perhaps they just want to test their nerve or see how much punishment their bodies will withstand. The men who design the rides found on a large midway have to be part genius. And apparently, the rides have to be changed quite frequently to attract the customers. Only in the kiddies' midway did we see a ferris wheel. 4111A9 your interior decorator, my first suggestion would be . . ." Ready Mix CONCRETE Plant 235.0831 Residence 228.6961 C.A. McDOWELL Any Persons Interested In Forming an Alcoholics Anonymous GROUP PHONE 235.2784 or 235.2474 And live a little! All you need is an automatic washer and electric dryer. With one setting of a simple control, the washer fills itself, washes, drains, rinses, and damp-dries. Then the dryer takes over. Keeps your clean wash free from impurities in the air. Fluffs clothes into a natural shape for easier iron- ing. And takes special care of your permanent- press garments. There's no hard work. No watching. No waiting. Your time's your own. You've banished your washday blues! With an automatic washer and electric dryer, you don't have to do the whole family wash the same day. Do a little at a time. Whenever you feel like it. Even when it's pouring rain. Get yourself a new automatic washer and electric dryer from your local major appliance dealer, and live a little. your hydro Chosen — for its dependability — by commercial laundries everywhere Speed Queen Washer . . . . $295.50 Dryer $189.50 AVAILABLE AT FINK PLUMBING, HEATING AND ELECTHICAL Hensall Main St. PRESENTLY ON DISPLAY AT THE HENSALL PUG OFFICE