HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1970-06-18, Page 4OUR POINT OF
The Huron County Health Unit has
come up with some recommendations
which will not prove popular with local
youngsters attempting to beat the heat
this summer.
The health officials have
recommended toExeter's RAP committee
that the Victoria Park wading.pool not be
opened this summer unless automatic
filtration and chlorination equipment is
added,
Cost of these items is rather high and
it is doubtful if RAP can come up with the
required cash to meet the
recommendations.
There's no reason to criticize the
County Health Unit. If in fact bacteria
counts at the wading pool were at
dangerous levels last year, the facility
should not be opened without steps taken
to ensure that the pool is safe for
youngsters.
It's unfortunate that RAP officials
did not consider the need for action last
fall when the problem was outlined to
them by rec director Alvin Willert.
As one member noted at last week's
meeting, money spent on the heater for
the pool at Riverview Park could have
been used to provide the necessary
equipment for the wading pool.
There's no question that the pool
heater will prove an asset and increase the
amount of use for the swimming pool, but
the advantages to the swimmers may not
be as great as the loss of facilities for the
small fry in the community.
There was a suggestion at last week's
meeting that perhaps the health officials
would be less stringent if RAP officials
could indicate that future consideration
would be given to the purchase of the
required equipment.
However, RAP officials must realize
the potential dangers in opening the pool
and the responsibility they must assume
in making certain it is safe for toddlers.
If this can not be guaranteed, then
the pool should be kept closed for the
summer. To follow any other course of
action would be irresponsible.
Remestem de 60'a?
Must be certain
Has some merit
There are many ways to enjoy a
holiday better, but one simple idea is that
being promoted by the Ontario Safety
League.
They suggest both employers and
workers should consider the advantages of
starting vacations in mid-week, rather
than the usual practice of starting on
Friday night or Saturday morning after
the normal work week has been
completed.
The drive to and from vacation areas
is both pleasanter and safer on a weekday
when traffic declines considerably in
comparison to weekends.
In addition to the safety element,
which most people should be able to
comprehend, accommodation is also
more easily found during the week before
weekend holidayers arrive on the scene.
This is an added advantage for
people not certain of accommodation
before their departure. If they're not
satisfied when they arrive, they still have
time to look around for something else.
On busy summer weekends, it is
often necessary to take what is available
with no opportunity to pick and choose.
For some, leaving on a holiday
during the middle part of the week would
break up two work weeks as well, in that
they would only work two or three days
and then take off and upon their return,
only have to work two or three days
before getting another weekend off.
There are certainly advantages and
where possible, it would appear to be
worth a try in this day and age when
summer traffic continues to increase.
Man's home his prison
—7440, s. • ,
Times Established 1873
Advocate Established 1881
Amalgamated 1924
SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A., 0.W.N.A.„ CLASS 'A' and ABC
Editor — Bill Batten — Advertising Manager
Phone 235.1331
Published Each Thursday Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Registration Number 0386
Paid in Advance Circulation,
September 30, 1969, 4,751
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $6.00 Per Year; USA $8.00
.....
We Are Pleased
To Announce .
The Appointment
of
RICHARD
SHOEBOTTOM
To Our
SERVICE
STAFF
We're Overstocked ... $AVE
on Our
Special Discounts
on
RIDING LAWN MOWERS
SAVINGS
UP TO 207 0
PLEASE NOTE
We Will Be Closed
Saturday, June 20
Milt Robbins 81 Son
LTD,
Make sure
what
you leave
ends up
where
you want it!
The safest :way to ensure that your
heirs will get everything you intend
for each of them is to appoint
Victoria and Grey Trust
to administer your estate.
VG The senior Trust Company
devoted entirely to serving
the people of Ontario.
VICTORIA and GREY
TRUST COMPANY SINCE 1889
425 Main St. Exeter
235-0530
H & 1..Arrow Gas Bar:
And. Variety
Now Open At Corner Of Highway 4 and
Huron Park Sideroad
OPEN UNTIL 10:00 P.M. EACH NIGHT
PHONE 228-6285
:t'%*•;••••
Public Notice
HURON-PERTH ASSESSMENT REGION
TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION WITH OFFICES AT
GODERICH & STRATFORD CAN BE MADE AS FOLLOWS
IF YOU LIVE IN HURON COUNTY
If long distance Zenith 6.6500, Goderich Office
If local . 524-7326, Goderich Office
IF YOU LIVE IN PERTH COUNTY
If long distance Zenith 6-6500 Stratford Sub-office
If local 273.0570 Stratford Sub-Office
SHOULD YOU WISH TO REACH GODERICH OFFICE
FROM POINTS IN PERTH COUNTY
CALL COLLECT (AREA CODE 519) 524-7326
Throughout the past decade, area residents displayed their talents in many ways and provided many hours
of enjoyable entertainment for their friends and neighbors. Students at SHDHS performed on numerous
occasions and these six gals were naturally crowd-pleasers at the 1962 Hi-Time Revue in December. From
the left are: Valerie Gibson, Linda Kraft, Sue Ann Lindenfield, Ann Fairbairn, Mary Ann Hayter and Iris
Becker.
Lived up to their nicknam e
Few visitors to Exeter have
departed with more friends and
admirers than the campers who
invaded the community park in
large numbers over the weekend.
Perhaps the most shocked
people were Alvin Willert and
Gary Middleton, who normally
have to set about the tedious task
of cleaning up mounds of debris
following most activities at the
park.
However, the campers left the
grounds cleaner than when they
arrived and the ladies in the group
even scrubbed up the arena floor
prior to their departure.
Residents living in the area of
the park were also pleasantly
surprised. Many had thought they
would face many sleepless hours
due to the revelry of the campers,
but such was not the case.
The only big noise they
created came Saturday afternoon
when practically all members of
the weekend crew donned their
colorful vests and grabbed
anything that would make a noise
and paraded through town.
It was one of the longest
parades this community has
witnessed for some time and
shows what can be accomplished
with a little imagination and a
great deal of enthusiasm. * * *
Enthusiasm appeared to be
one of the main attributes of
most of the campers and our tour
of the camping area Saturday
indicated that most of the visitors
join whole-heartedly into the
various activities staged on the
grounds for their amusement and
enjoyment.
There were groups of
youngsters playing ball on two
diamonds, while a large crowd
gathered around to
enthusiastically cheer the ladies
entered in the log-sawing contest.
Another large contingent
played horseshoes and beside
them were several teams enjoying
jarts, a new game to the writer. It
is played similar to horseshoes,
with the competitors tossing
over-sized darts into a small
circle.
Some of the kids were out
fishing at Morrison dam, others
watched movies or roller skated
and a few of the visitors were
downtown shopping. * * *
During the morning tour, we
had a long chat with Stan and
Betty Burr from Sarnia, two avid
campers.
Along with their two children,
the Burrs spend practically every
weekend on the camping circuit
from the early part of February
to the latter part of November.
If you think camping in
February could be a little cool,
you're right, Betty pointed out a
plaque on the wall listing the Burr
family as Polar Bear Club campers
and she reported the temperature
was a chilly 13 degrees during
most of the weekend in which
they earned the title.
Their camper was covered
with frost, and while heaters
helped take some of the chill off
the air, Betty reported that cans
of vegetables she opened for
meals Were partially frozen.
Stan and Betty point to the
large number of friendships they
have generated as the main reason
for their interest in camping out
at the special weekend events
staged by member groups of the
National Campers and Hikers
Association,
No matter where they go to
camp, the Sarnia family generally
meets up with some former
acquaintances or quickly makes
new friends by the fact their
trailer insignia readily identifies
them to fellow members of the
Association.
Each member's camper has
numbers on the back which
indicate to which club in North
America he belongs, so even when
they meet on the highway, the
members know something about
the people they pass. * * *
Each of the 1,500 plus clubs in
North America have special
officers. There's a conservation
officer who spearheads the club's
conservation project, one of their
annual undertakings. Stan
showed us a picture of the Sarnia
group out on an afternoon of
picking up debris along one of the
area highways as part of making
their surroundings more
beautiful.
Most clubs join with
conservation authorities to help
plant trees or undertake similar
tasks to create a more beautiful
outdoors — which of course, is a
requirement for campers.
There are communications
officers in each club and each
year they hold a special camp-in
to arrange for the
communications network set up
each season for members of the
NCHA.
Stan said there were 10 of the
50 Sarnia members with two-way
radios in their cars or campers.
A communications camper
was set up at the local event and
they started chatting with some
50 YEARS AGO
Mr. A. McKay, Hensel', has
again been successful in winning
another scholarship. At the
recent examinations in Toronto
University he was awarded the
McColl scholarship for classics.
Mr. Luther Penhale and Jack
Elliott returned from Hamilton
where they were taking a short
course in learning to operate the
closing machines at the Exeter
Canning Factory.
W. J. Heaman and It. N.
Creech attended the Seaforth
Bowling Tournament and won
the Merner trophy.
The mill of the Canada Flax
Company, of Seaforth, is again in
operation having been rebuilt
since the recent fire. They are
now operating with hydro power.
25 YEARS AGO
Three Exeter airmen returned
from overseas this week. They are
Flying Officer Robert Dinney,
Flt. Lieutenant Ted Buswell, and
Flying Officer Marvin Howey.
Mr. & Mrs. A. 0. Elliot, Mr. &
Mrs. J. P. Bowey and T. 0.
Southcott will leave Saturday to
attend the Lions Convention at
Quebec City.
Fit. Sgt. Leonard Harvey, who
has spent the past four months at
Nassau in the Bahamas, has
returned to his home in Exeter
and is taking a course at No. 9
SFTS, Centralia,
The newly established labor
camp for German prisoners of
war, opposite the Eden
schoolhouse, is now in operation,
Most of the prisoners at the camp
are from the German merchant
marine.
15 YEARS AGO
Bill Batten, son of Mr. & Mrs.
Ralph Batten has been awarded
two scholarships by the Ryerson
of the visitors as they crossed the
U.S.-Canada border.
One lady at the local camp-out
had an epileptic seizure, and a
nearby camper radioed the main
gate of this fact. The
communications officer on duty
then called the local police and by
the time the lady was brought to
the main gate, a police escort was
ready to take her to South Huron
HoSpital.
Campers know which call
letters reach any particular
camping event and also the call
letters of some of the members
across the country.
One man in Toronto spends a
great deal of his time-with his
radio giving assistance to campers
from across the nation who are
motoring in the Toronto area and
wish information regarding
routes, camp sites, etc.
When clubs start out for
weekend jaunts, they often travel
in caravan style with a
radio-equipped vehicle in the
front and one in the rear. If any
members experience trouble and
have to pull out of the caravan,
radio contact is made to
determine what course of action
the remainder of the caravan will
take. * * *
While NCHA is national in
scope, it is composed of
— Please turn to page 5
Institute of Technology where he
'is a student in the graphic arts.
Beta Sigma Phi Sorority is
proceeding with its plans to
construct a wading pool in
Victoria Park.
Town Council Monday night
endorsed South Huron District
High School Board's plan to
construct an $85,000 addition
next year.
Over 80% of students in grades
9 to 12 at SHDHS were pomoted
this year. This is believed to be
the best passing percentage in the
school's history, according to
Principal H. L. Sturgis.
From the last municipal
assessment Exeter shows the
largest gain with a total
assessment of $2,352,483.00. It
remains the second wealthiest
town in the county, next to
Goderich.
10 YEARS AGO •
This year Huron County had
the highest count of confirmable
cases in animal rabies in the
province.
At the anniversary service of
Kirkton United Church, Rev. R.
S. Hiltz, Exeter, delivered an
inspirational address.
James Street Woman's
Association highlighted the June
meeting by visiting the rose
garden of Mr. & Mrs. C. V.
Pickard,
Mr. John Goman, public
school inspector for South Huron
addressed the Exeter unit of
FWTAO at the annual banquet.
Mrs. C. A. MacNaughton, Mrs.
Fred Dobbs, and Mrs. Richard
Dickins attended the June
meeting of the Women's
Auxiliary to the Huron County
Home to plan for the Christmas
Fair for the residents.
There's something basically
piggish about man.
He wants to get his snout into
that trough, and devil take the
runt who can't wiggle his bum in
there, because the landscape in
front of him is one of solid bums,
harder to break through than a
cement wall.
When you look at the size of
Canada, and then at the
population figures, it's difficult
to believe that Canadians feel
they can't get at the trough, that
many of them feel like the runt of
the litter. Yet thousands do.
Many of them feel, as the old
rural expression has it, that
"they're sucking the hind tit." Tit
is a short, but perfectly decent
synonym for teat. The hind one is
the one the runt gets, if he gets
any.
This is rather a long-winded
prelude to my major proposition:
That thousands of city-dwellers
are desperate to get away from it
all, out of the smog and the
concrete canyons, into the wild
green yonder.
For practical reasons, they
must, in most cases, live in the
city, or exist there. That's where
they make a living, where their
children will have the best
schools, where their friends are.
But they don't like it.
Obvious solution. Buy a
summer cottage. Many do.
But even there, one does not
escape from the throngs, the
cramped feeling. Cottages are,
mainly stuck cheek by jowl.
Boats and motorcycles in
summer, snowmobiles in winter,
pollute the air with stink and
noise. Added hazards in winter
are the roof breaking in under
snow, and local hoodlums
breaking in under booze.
Also, for many, the costs of a
waterfront lot and cottage are
simply out of reach. Have you
tried to pick up a nicely-treed,
sand-beach water lot lately?
Figure of $50 a foot for anything
decent. Add a cottage, drill a well,
pay taxes and upkeep, and you
have to be pretty well-heeled even
to consider it.
Accordingly, many city
denizens of modest means are
buying a chunk of land right in
the country, anything from 10 to
50 acres. In some areas within a
couple of hours drive, one can
still buy "land" for $50 an acre.
Thus, instead of socking $5,000
into a 100-foot water lot, you can
have your own ten-acre empire
for $500.
European immigrants are
particularly interested in such
land, because they didn't have a
hope of buying an acre at home,
unless wealthy.
This land is usually
sub-marginal, or worse. But there
seems to be a basic instinct to
own some land, even though it
won't grow anything but rocks
and Christmas trees. Just to be
able to pace around and say:
"This is mine. Nobody can take it
away from me." And the sheer
delight of posting "No
Trespassing" signs around your
domain!
A man's home used to be his
castle. Now it's his prison. But he
can have an estate in the country.
It's an ideal set-up for a man
with a young family. Preferably
he should be handy with tools. He
can buy his chunk of junk and
spend a couple of years just going
up on weekends and vacations,
tenting and clearing a hole in the
scrub brush for his shack.
And if he's smart, it will be, at
first, just that — a shack. Never
mind the three bedrooms. Bang in
some bunks. Never mind the big
stone fireplace. Get a good wood
stove.
Over the years, he can add to
the place, until, eventually, he
will have a snug retirement home
No traffic problems. No
pollution. No punks. No people.
Small tax bills. A place to putter,
to meditate.
Sound silly? Maybe. But with
the new leisure age creeping upon
us, it makes more sense than
taking on a huge mortgage at 10
per cent, which will be paid off
eight years after you die.
Ideally, the property would
have a small stream loaded with
fat trout, a deer run, huge patches
of wild berries. Realistically, it
will be impossible to get water
when you drill your well, the land
will be infested by rattlesnakes or
rodents, and smothered in nettles
and poison oak. But we can't have
everything.
I'm tempted myself. Any
chuckling, gleaming-eyed farmer
want to get rid of 50 acres of rock
and swamp for $10 an acre.
c