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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1972-07-13, Page 4Simple request If enthusiasm alone was the criteria for success, the Huron Country Playhouse would be ensured of capacity audiences for their six-play season this summer. James Murphy, the personable founder of the playhouse has been working feverishly for the past few weeks to get the necessary approvals for the site near Grand bend and to also line up the necessary acting. and supporting casts to present the plays. It's been an uphill battle and un- fortunately he has not received the type of support and encouragement from the area populace that is required for such a venture. Hopefully, that will change now that the playhouse has become a reality and the season is scheduled. The plays chosen, and the calibre of the actresses, actors and others involved indicate that area residents will be treated to some top-notch en- tertainment at a comparatively low price. While such performances can not be prejudged, it's to be hoped area residents will be on hand at the initial production to judge for themselves whether further attendance is warranted, That's all that James Murphy and his supporters ask, So, who wants a holiday? filer Vines-ltwocate SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND e.W.N,A., O.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Editor — Bill Batten — Advertising Manager ASsistant Editor Ross Haugh Women's Editor -- Gwyn WhilsMith Phone 23S-1331 SUBSCRIPTION Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation, September BO,1971, 5,175 RATES: Canada $8.00 Per Year; USA $10.00 BANGI-IART, KELLY, DO IG & CO. Chartered Accountants 476 IVIain 8t, 8„ EXETER 235.0120 Kitchen Cabinets & bathroom vanities for new or remodeled homes CARDINAL SALES "ARP JOE ALBLAS 228-6447 HURON PARK Imiagoarmimmork MORTGAGE FUNDS Cottages Farms Homes for pebt Consolidation, Construction Refinancing Home Improvement Purchase or Sale Call Collect To: CHATTAN Realty Limited 322 Princess Ave.. London . 672-7200 Compare Our Discount Prices Effective This Weekend Only Listerine 8 QZ. Sugg List 95c 67' Ban Roll-On Deodorant 'I oz. Sugg 7 List$1.05 E Lady Patricia Hair Spray 151/2 Ounce Sugg List $1.59 77 Pepsodent Toothpaste Super Size Sugg 99 0 List$1.79 MIDDLETON Drugs , PHONE 235-1510 EXETER "Sorry — 1 didn't see that oil slick!" B ig increases Increasing costs of goods and services are taken for granted these days, but when they become excessive they should be examined more closely. A case in point is the monumental hike being experienced by municipalities to have their annual audits prepared. Huron County council learned last week their fee could double next year to $8,000, while Stephen were advised their costs would increase 40 percent to $1,750. Some increase is to be expected. The municipalities are involved in more complex transactions than they were and the auditing firms point out that the government now requires additional forms to be filled out. But surely, the work has not doubled in one single year! If it has, it's high time a review was made of the situation to determine if all the work is justified. If the increases continue at the present level, taxpayers will soon be paying as much to have someone check accounts as they do for the people who keep the accounts in the first place. The situation is even further compounded by the fact the provincial government also employs a myriad of inspectors who periodically check on road expenditures, pension deductions, unemployment insurance, etc. etc. And then, of course, there are those we hire to inspect the work of the inspectors. The merry-go-round is getting expensive. Drive carefully The year for his non-novel Don't hold your breath waiting for its publication, but this is the summer I'm going to write a book, It's the tenth summer in a row that I've been going to write a book, but this year will be dif- ferent. It's the year in which I'm not going to write a novel. Other summers I didn't get around to writing a play, or an expose of the educational system, or a series of pungentessays,or an attack on marriage. This year it's the novel. That doesn't leave too much, does it? Maybe I'll write a "slim" volume of verse. Any dam' fool can write poetry these days. The secret is to avoid capital letters and punctuation, make your lines all different lengths, toss in a little erotic imagery, and make the end result a visceral experience which nobody un- derstands. Here, just to show you what I mean. If you don't get a real charge out of it, a profound emotional experience, that is, and haven't a clue what it's about, you're a connoiseur of modern poetry. Oh, one other thing: no rhyme please. We'll just call it Poem yesterday in the supermarket a fat lady or maybe she wasn't really a lady ran over my foot not really ran but walked I guess it was her buggy laden with a quarter-ton of cat food and orange juice and tide and glide and wax and snacks and four case of non- returnable bottles and twelve pounds of pallid meat two bags of spuds 16 cans of chunky soup that ran over my foot (not the soup) driving my seed wart into my metatarsal I wept not because it hurt like hell but for lovable fat ladies and unlovable super- markets and because I couldn't do a thing, Now, don't tell me that's not a poem. It was a vivid personal experience which I attempted to convey to the reader. It's got everything. There's sex in it: a secret yearn for fat ladies; the word metatarsal. There's plenty of concrete images. There's symbolism: fertility symbol if I ever saw one, There's masochism, social criticism and a deep personal sense of futility and frustration. It's what I would call universal in its appeal. They won't all be so deep and bitter, of course. There'll be the hearty bucolic touch: The garden ain't hoed The lawn ain't mowed But I'll be blowed If she's going to goad Me into doing any of them. Then there'll be the fragile, tender little lyric that makes real poetry lovers just wriggle and almost turn themselves inside out. Something like: love myself more than anyone but you sorry baby but maybe it's not even trite. Sorry about that rhyme, but sometimes it just comes so automatic-like you can't hold it back. And of course there'll be some We've come up with a rather good plan-diabolical as it may be - to make the time before our annual holiday less of a grind. With the continued cooperation of the weatherman, we don't mind working these days (or at least no more than usual). For instance, last week we conjured up in our mind an image of a chap who has scrimped and saved for the previous 51 weeks so he could realize a life-time ambition of chartering a cruise ship to ploy the waters of one of Canada's great waterways. Imagine the poor chap looking out over the bow of his expensive "home-for-a-week" watching the wind lashing the waters into mountainous waves which kept him tied up along some muddied and polluted dock. Obviously, it's not difficult to assume that one's own week is going to meet with a better fate and so waiting is quite easy. Your imagination can run wild to dream up situations that you would hate to duplicate. Think about some housewife who rented a lush cottage at the seashore so she could let her offspring run wild while she bathed in the sun and did nothing but relax. Then think about her plight as the cold, wet weather kept her indoors, along with the kids, There is a slight problem with the plan. We've started to think maybe we should cancel our vacation for this year just in case we meet with some similar problems, + ' + + Things are never so bad that they couldn't be worse. For in- stance, while the spring and summer to date have been less than enjoyable, they could be worse. We could have a duplication of the summer of 1816. Norm Jaques wasn't around then, but he did find an old newspaper which carried an account of what has been described as "the year without a summer." Norm sent it into the office and the write-up indicates that the summer was characterized by such adverse weather conditions as snowstorms, killing frosts, days of freezing temperatures and droughts. There was a general snowstorm on June 17 and 19, a killing frost on June 28, a definite freeze productive of ice the night of July 4 and one of equal severity during the first week of August, The year was known as "poverty year" because of the wide-spread damage to crops and along the New England coast it was referred to as "mackerel year" because the population had to augment the scanty food supply with fish. In those days, they didn't even have hydrogen bomb tests to blame. This year may not match the dire straits of those who came through 1816, but it's certainly putting up a good challenge to date, + + + The paper Norm found was printed on November 20, 1926 and we note that an experiment being attempted at that time ap- parently met with failure. A small item indicated a rich Hindu was trying to develop a breed of non-meat-eating dogs. The animals were being weaned from their instinct of killing and eating meat and were being fed a strict diet of wheat, rice, milk and butter. Special care was taken to stop up all rat and mouse holes in order to remove all strong temptations from the dogs. 50 YEARS AGO A mean act was perpetrated at Dashwood on Monday evening of last week when some person or persons entered the garage of Rev. W. Yaeger, pastor of the Evangelical church, and slashed ten auto tires and in addition cut the guy wires letting down an aerial for a wireless radio. Damage amounted to about $200. A number of Boy Scouts under the charge of Troop Leader Stuart Stanbury enjoyed a hike to the lake Monday, taking along with them a trekking cart con- taining provisions and a sleeping tent. Miss Cowan, who has spent the millinery season with Miss Yelland has returned to her home in Atwood. Mr. S. Pollen, of the Ford garage had a bone in his wrist fractured Sunday morning when a car he was cranking backfired. Rose Lamport and Dorothy Balkwill are attending Summer School at Alma College, St. Thomas. Messrs. S, M. Sanders and James Brintnell have sold the Exeter Evaporator to Mr, A D. Clapp, Dutton, who will install new equipment, This will furnish a local market for the apple crop, 25 YEARS AGO Exeter's newest venture in the entertainment field will have its grand opening tonight — the new roller skating rink, put up by Mr. Earl Neil. Exeter Band has been engaged to play at, the Teeswater fair. Thomas Appleton, 92, was the oldest Orangeman at the Milverton walk, July 12, A number of farmers in the Chiselhurst area had their entire crops wiped out Sunday in one of the worst hail storms in this section. Approval has been received from Ottawa to proceed with the construction of 25 war-time houses in Lucan, known as Lucan project No. 1. Rev, Ernest Grigg was honored by friends before his departure from Exetor, He was presented with a traveling set and cash, 15 YEARS AGO Juliette, CBC-TV star, became the first person to receive the We've never known a dog yet to turn down a meat dinner, so apparently the experiment failed. Perhaps they didn't get all the mouse and rat holes stopped up tightly enough. + + + Despite adult imaginations, kids keep coming up with stories to prove once again that childhood truth is often stranger than fiction. Over the weekend, the kids were eating some potato chips and our five-year-old was advised it was lucky to get a chip with an air bubble. He was told to make a wish before biting into it.. No sooner said than done. Then he jumped up from the picnic table in the back yard and raced out to the front of the house where his bicycle is parked (or drop- ped). He returned with a rather glum look. "It doesn't work," he said, "my new bicycle isn't there yet." Oh well, the potato chip manufacturers couldn't keep up to the demand if things worked out that quickly. keys to Grand Bend Wednesday when she was welcomed at a civic reception on the beach. Thousands lined the street to see her parade in a convertible, Wednesday night, she performed at a benefit dance sponsored by Grand Bend Lions to raise funds for the youth centre. The Liquor Licence Board of Ontario has approved dining lounge licences for two Grand Bend restaurants, the Dawn Tavern, and Monetta Menard's Tavern, providing they meet building and fire safety stan- dards. The most successful summer camp conducted by leaders of RCAF Station Centralia Cub packs was held at Camp Everton near Guelph last week. It was attended by 54 boys, including six from Exeter. The air base is under new command. New CO of RCAF Station Centralia is Group Captain Arthur G. Kenyon, CD, a graduate of Royal Military College. 10 YEARS AGO Work on No. 4 Highway at Clandeboye and Centralia which has been progressing slowly was suspended indefinitely this week when the Langton Contracting Co. Ltd. went bankrupt. The town's asphalt emulsion and chips paving program, beset by many delays, is expected to be completed Thursday. Caswell Paving Co. Ltd., arrived here Saturday to do the work but didn't get started until Tuesday afternoon. Area members of the Bluewater Shrine Club took part in the huge Shrines' parade in Toronto Thursday. Close to 150 acres of the bog land on the Haig farm is burning out of control and has been since early spring when the dry peat moss caught fire from a rubbish pile being burned by workmen at the farm south of Grand Bend, Manager Bill Schlegel reports that a deep trench encircles the fire and it cannot spread farther, 13iddulph Township Council has given tentative approval to the school board's plan to erect a $200,000 central school, D'& .1 RIDDELL AUCTION SERVICES * Licensed Auctioneers and Appraisers * Complete Auction Service * Sales large or small, any type, anywhere * Reasonable — Two for the price of one Let our experience be your reward. Phone Collect 'Doug' 'Jack' 237-3576 237-3431 Hugh Tom FILSON and ROBSON AUCTIONEERS 20 years' experience of complete sale service Provincially licensed. Conduct sales of any kind, any place. We guarantee you more. To insure success of your sale or appraisal Phone Collect 666-0833 666-1967 TRI - TOWN BOOKKEEPING SERVICE INCOME TAX RETURNS RECORD PREPARATION LAWRENCE BEANE Brucefield, Ont. 482-9260 PEGGY CUNNINGHAM 229 James St., Clinton, Ont. 482-7988 Grand Bend 238-8050 BRING YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS ' to MIDDLETON'S Drug Store Ltd. 359 Main St. Exeter Phone 235-1570 NORM WHITING LICENSED AUCTIONEER & APPRAISER Prompt, Courteous, Efficient ANY TYPE, ANY SIZE, ANYWHERE We give complete sale service. PROFIT BY EXPERIENCE Phone Collect 235-1964 EXETER PERCY WRIGHT LICENSED AUCTIONEER Kippers, Ont. Auction Sale Service that is most efficient and courteous. CALL THE WRIGHT AUCTIONEER Telephone Hensall (519)262.5515 R. D. BECK LICENSED AUCTIONEER AND APPRAISER for Complete Sales Service That Satisfies, Call 294-6578 or 228-6829 GET ACTION BY AUCTION MAKE SURE THE ONLY RED IN THE SKY.. IS THE SUNSET PREVENT FOREST FIRES VSEMMartZUZg:raatmetwaliZATOXIMMITYWISSAMEMMVAIMMORCMast Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1801 Amalgamated 1924 dramatic narrative stuff, I'm working on a sort of epic called The Day I Shot the Black Squirrel Thinking It was a Black Bear. But it still needs a little polishing in the last twelve cantos. Maybe you think this is just advance publicity for my book. But I guarantee there'll be something for everyone, though some of it will be pretty strong stuff, and you may have to hide it from your teenage kids, I was thinking particularly of a couple: Down By the Old Gravel Pit, and Let Me Call You Meathead, BLit there's also some stuff coming up that is really haunting. One is entitled simply "Puke," It is based on a great storm on the Great Lakes, when I, as junior porter, did great things with a mop after people were sea-sick, It's been haunting me ever since, anyway. So, there's a delectable foretaste of my summer project. lean hardly wait to get started. Except that I have a golf date, then I'm going swimming, then there's a barbecue, and somehow after a day like that, the Muse and t are both ready for the sack.