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