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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1973-08-16, Page 4Who has problems? Advocate Established Times Established 1873 1881 Amalgamated 1974 ZigiVe -4 v 1E1P•nottroN MUFitiA1-. "0, "Well, our financial worries are finally over — we're out of money." SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., 0.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Editor — Bill Batten — Advertising Manager Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Women's Editor — Susan Greer Phone 235.1331 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation, March 31, 1972, 5,037 Canada $8.00 Per Year; USA $10.00 1..444, WA) SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Batt'n Around with the editor In La Belle Province Visiting Canada's largest flea market • 0 • From all over the world, gloomy reports pour in about the food situation. The stories invariably are the same. Some nations are facing severe food shortages, and in some regions of Asia and Africa peo- ple are dying of hunger. The pessimists speak of the possibility of famine in a number of poorer countries. Today, these are not merely isolated reports that appear from time to time in the columns of the more concerned newspapers. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank all are issuing warning signals. According to one FAO report, global grain reserves are down to a mere 29 million tons, just enough to feed 750,000,000 Chinese for a few months. Among the causes for world-wide shor- tages are drought, disappointing wheat out- put by Austalia, the continuing failure of Soviet harvests, a shaky grain situation in China, floods in parts of the United States, the worst harvest in Chile since 1930, and an all-time low in world fish-meal production. But there is an additional factor that is not often mentioned; The fact that too much food is produced these days not mere- ly to feed people, but for plain profit. Some of the world's grain-producing nations have been paying farmers to let their fields lie fallow, have been paying them not to grow wheat. They did this mainly because the global economy is not yet geared to dis- tribute the world's wealth justly. At present, if the prices of basic food commodities fall, the poorer nations suffer even more than we in the Western world. And yet it seems criminal for Governments to encourage farmers to neglect their fields when countless millions are going hungry, when daily, thousands starve to death — those unknown, unmourned poor about whom one rarely hears on the evening news, Mankind must build for itself a better world. Men must have more wisdom, more understanding. Nations and governments must cooperate more closely in order to avoid future catastrophes. —Contributed Dogs of questionable parenthood are available in all sizes, shapes and colors at the Lachute Market. Eternal, yearning friendship Four boys try and convince mother one of those baby ducklings would be a great pet ... or perhaps a larger size duck or rabbit or small pup. There's nothing like seeing old friends. Or old fiends as it comes out sometimes when the linotype operator is not on his toes ha ha. I have a couple of old fiends who managed to drop in while I was getting ready to go to England. Between them, they almost aborted the trip, It's not that they bother me. I wouldn't say that. It's just that they cripple me for about two days each, by the time we finish reminiscing and get to bed as the robins begin to chirp. That's not so bad. A chap must expect that sort of ruin. But they brought with them a couple of other old fiends — their wives, That's what really put the tart on the griddle, as Lord Faversham said while he was roasting a well- known street-walker. We have all sorts Of friends, eh? There are the close chums of public school, with whom there is nothing in common by the time you are in Grade 11 except the fact that Old Lady Williams beat the hell out of you every second day, when you were in Grade 5. Then there are the bosom buddies of high school, This is an eternal, yearning friendship, often depending on the type of bosom. Ten years later you meet and there's not much to say after exchanging the number of children and wives or husbands you have had. College friends are even closer. I was looking at a picture of four of us the other day. We had in- jokes, We were inseparable. We would give our left arm for each other. I haven't seen one of them for twenty years, One is a drunk, a second is dead, and the third is an accountant. Not necessarily in that order. Then there are the friends you make on summer jobs. These are so intimate you can hardly wait to separate so that you can write each other. Once. And if you were in the service, there are all sorts of friends. There's Dutch Kleimeyer, the ubiquitous Australian, Jack Ryan, the unmitigated Canadian, Singh Thandi, the sinful Indian, and so on. A few of them still around, and you see them every five years, but that means only a couple of days of ruin. And, of course, you have made friends since you married. There are Shirley and Bill and Joan and Dick and Jack and Jill, and Humphrey and Ursula. Not to mention Humpty and Dumpty. Those named are carefully disguised, and the last two can figure out for themselves who they are. Nor should we forget professional friends, the people we work with. In my case, they range from someone like Miss S., who weighs 84 pounds after a steak dinner and has a laugh that would knock your fillings out, to Mrs. 0., who is "the sexiest broad in the school", according to the kids. As a gentleman, I can only agree with them. Yes, a chap gathers a lot of friends over a few decades. But the two I mentioned earlier on are a little special. Bub and Trap. We joined the air force together, drank beer together, sang bawdy songs together, and pursued the fair sex together. We learned to fly together. On one leave, we hitchhiked to New York together and I can still remember Bub, after a bit of intemperance or something, spewing all over Broadway from the window of a taxi. Broadway has gone steadily downhill since. We went our several ways — Please turn to page 9 English speaking and they started speaking in our native tongue when they approached us. The fact that we had four blonde-headed youngsters with us no doubt helped, because most French people are certainly much darker in complexion. Our 11-day stay in Lachute was a most interesting and enjoyable experience and we came away with an abundance of material and information about the community and its people, In the next week or two, we'll do a comprehensive report of the exchange visit, but for now we'll just hit on a few of the highlights. + + + Lachute is a city with a population of 12,500 and is nestled at the bottom of the Laurentian Mountains mid-way between Ottawa and Montreal, about six miles north of the Ottawa River. It was originally settled by Americans, who came to the area to cut down the huge timbers for the production of potash. When the industry slowed down, many left and the settlement was then augmented by the arrival of farmers from Scotland. For many decades the com- munity was primarily English speaking and some of our sources of information indicate that about 20 years ago, the ratio was about 80 percent English speaking. Today, that has become almost completely reversed. It is interesting to note that most of the French speaking population are bilingual, while many of the English speaking citizens have not undertaken to become proficient in 'French. + + + We arrived in Lachute on Friday, July 27 to find that the city was hosting the regional finals for the Quebec Games. So, much of our first weekend was spent on trips to the park to watch some of the many sporting events which attracted competitors from a wide radius. The age of participants ranged from 11 to 80 and the events in- cluded such things as softball, slow pitch, swimming, diving, water, skiing, archery, horse- shoes, track and field, etc., etc. One of the highlights was an appearance of the "O'Keefe Four', a four-man fastball team which challenged one of the local fastball teams. It was a most amusing and skillful display, and we quickly found that the Frenchman's sense of humor is quickly tickled and the audience was in a state of merriment throughout the entire contest. Competition was keen throughout the Quebec Games schedule and we think it is an event that we in Ontario would do well to copy to aid in community pride' as well as individual physical fitness. + + + Tuesday is a "big day" in Lachute as the city is the site of Canada's largest "flea market". The market started out a number of years ago as a horse auction and has progressed through several stages. Today, vendors set up booths offering everything imaginable. We were advised to be at the grounds early and it was good advice because by mid- afternoon, well over 10,000 people ate on hand to see what is available. When we suggest everything imaginable is offered for sale, we are not stretching the truth. There are rows of fruits and vegetables, clothing, yard goods, radios, furniture, hardware items, etc, etc. Some area farmers appear to search through their barns for whatever junk they have available and take it to the market. One vendor had his complete lot filled with nothing but hub caps. A couple of trucks pulled in and they had a variety of dogs for sale, while another displayed cages of cats, rabbits, chickens and even some baby ducklings. Cottagers from the Lauren- tians add to the normal crowds during the summer, many ob- viously coming to do their weekly shopping. For many, the fruits and vegetables are a main attraction. The area south-east of Lachute is prime garden land and buyers are assured of quality mer- chandise that is fresh from the field. The Batten family found the efrnujosyha bble lu+.eherr+ies particularly Another highlight of our jaunt was an airplane trip over the site of the new Montreal International Airport, which is being built about 15 miles east of Lachute. The government has purchased 91,000 acres of land for the air- port, and while the actual facilities will naturally only require a small portion of that land, the total acquisition was made to reduce any chances of complaints from neighboring property owners. Residents in the area surrounding the airport have had their lands purchased, but can now rent them back from the government. This includes farmland as well as entire villages. The result has been that many farmers who were finding it difficult to make a living have left the land and their neighbors have taken over their farms and have made their own operations much more viable. Lachute, of course, is expecting a boom with the coming of the airport and within the next decade the population could well double. + + + One of the most pleasing aspects of the trip was to ex- perience the friendliness of people. Bob and John Giles and their wives of the Lachute Watchman were most gracious, while Fernand Berthiaume of L'Argenteuil went above the call of duty in arranging interviews and suggesting jaunts for us. We were wined and dined and even enjoyed an evening with the Rotary Club of Brownsburg- Lachute when the international president from England was the guest speaker. It was rather thrilling to join in the singing of 0 Canada and hear the French and English versions blending together depending on the native tongue of the persons involved. Our general impression, although obviously over sim- plified, is that people aren't much different, whether they be living in Argenteuil County in Quebec or Huron County in Ontario. Bonjour! Comment c'est va? Woops, sorry, thought we were still in Quebec! Actually, the writer's French hasn't improved one single bit, and despite the suggestion by some that we should now be completely bilingual, we'll have to offer our apologies. It's a tough job teaching an old dog new tricks, and a two-week stay in Lachute did nothing more than emphasize the sad point that our ability to communicate in French is completely non- existent. Fortunately, we found that most people in Lachute are bilingual and communication was really no problem, Most of those who would normally speak French have the uncanny ability to quickly detect that the person with whom they are dealing is t 50 Years Ago A rink of bowlers from town won the first prize at the Blyth bowling tournament on Wed- nesday of last week. The prizes were silver cake dishes, The rink was composed of E.J. Wethey, George Snell, Dr. Roulston and C.B. Snell, skip. Miss Alice Handford and Miss May Jones have returned home after a delightful trip up the lakes on the SS Noronic. They went as far as Duluth. ' Messrs. J.G. Stanbury, R.N. Creech, Charles Pilon, Kenneth Stanbury and Tom Pryde motored to the Bigwin Hotel, Muskoka, where the latter two joined the Boy Scout camp there and will act as caddies on the golf course, Mr. S.A. Kehler, of Straford, has purchased Bett's Bakery business and has already taken possession. The bursting of the new Dunlop Extra Heavy tube by Mr. W.J. Beer in front of his store Satur- day evening attracted a large crowd, The bursting of the tube was the result of a guessing contest on how many strokes of a new pump it would take to burst it, The tube was placed on a truck and H. Bagshaw and A. Easton took turns in pumping. It took 761 strokes and was blown to con- siderable size before it burst. The winner was Theodore Walper, 25 Years Ago Messrs. Ross Tuckey and Eldrid Simmons were successful in passing their final exams from the Ontario School of Embalming at Toronto. They are now licensed embalmers and funeral directors, Almost 600 attended the reunion of former pupils and teachers at Winchelsea school. Messrs, William SvVeitzer, Sam Sweitzer and the Tuckey Tran- sport left for Toronto for the runways and equipment for the new bowling alley being built by William Sweitzer, Three txeterites motored to the West, Old the ear and returned individually by train, They were Glen McTavish, Eldrid Simmons and Donald Traquair. Around 2,000 people attended the Legion Frolic at the Exeter arena Friday night and $1,800 was realized for the building fund. 15 Years Ago A new body and paint shop was opened this week by Har Brint- nell, Exeter, who has 12 years experience in the business. The new building is located just off Waterloo Street at the south end of town. Billy Gossman, Dashwood, has just returned from a month and a half trip to the west coast which cost him less than $25. His scissor sharpener helped him meet expenses. The Exeter Bowling Lanes will be operated under new proprietors, Mayor R.E. Pooley and "Red" Scott of Exeter. The building was recently purchased from Len McKnight, At. St. James Church, Clan- deboye, the cemetery chapel is nearing completion . 10 Years Ago A crystal-controlled tran- smitter-receiver radio system was installed in the town police cruisers. The radio, operated through Harvey's telephone answering service has a range of 10 to 15 miles depending on weather conditions. Gail Farquhar, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Farquhar, Exeter, has won the UWO board of governors admission scholarship for South Huron District High School. She was second highest in this year's graduating class. The livery stable behind the Commercial Hotel in Hensall was torn down to make room for parking. The livery, which boasted individual box stalls was torn down in preparation for anticipated licenced operation of the hotel. Exeter's oldest resident, Mrs. John Fletcher celebrated her 98th birthday. Although she's given up her knitting recently, she enjoys reading and visits from her friends, Many of the stalls at the market appear to be stocked with junk, but much of it is sold before the day ends. nearby cottagers flocking into the Lachute Market, seen here just as wares. If you're looking for a wheel disc or hub cap, you may find some lock at the Lachute Market. Fresh garden fruits and vegetables the vendors complete setting up bring their 4