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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1975-12-11, Page 4Smiley's Another lob well-done The Santa Claus parade is over for another year. If the expressions on the faces of hundreds of youngsters Saturday is any indication, the hardworking members of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce should all stand up and take a bow. In fact, all those who participated in making this year's event one of the most colorful ever deserve recognition for their efforts. The people who took the time to decorate their floats, design costumes and take part in the festivities all contributed to making this a successful community ven- ture. Despite somewhat chilly weather, many people gathered at the fair grounds to begin one of Exeter's better parades, Any chills suffered by the participants were offset by the warmth instilled in the hearts of well over a thousand young peo- ple. This is the purpose of the parade in the first place. The bulk of the work is done by businessmen who derive their living from the goodwill of the people who live in town or the surrounding area. It's their way of saying thank you and we believe they ex- pressed it beautifully. Plan deserves attention Although two weeks is certainly not an over-abundance of time for Exeter's citizens to consider a revised official plan for their town, it should be enough. Whether two weeks or two years, it is up to the people of Exeter to make sure they know what the plan is all about, There is no better way of doing this than by mak- ing a trip down to the new municipal building and taking a look at the maps il- lustrating the new plan as well as the proposed restricted area by-law. Both are available for public examination in the lob- by. Exeter is not so large a place that it would be impossible for each citizen to see the plan before the public meeting in coun- cil chambers on Dec. 18. Council cannot be,held responsible for the short time interval between the first reading of the plan and the public meeting because they are required by provincial law to hold the public meeting within that time span. The real question, however, is not the two weeks, but the number of citizens who will take the time and effort to make themselves aware of the plan. In a representative democracy, responsibility rests not only on the shoulders of elected of- ficials, but with those they represent. If enough citizens accept that responsibility and acquaint themselves with the facts, the public meeting would be an excellent forum for citizens to discuss their views with council. Those who do not take the time to participate will have nothing to complain about if they are later dis- satisfied with the plan. After the public meeting, the respon- sibility will rest pretty well with council. It will be up to our councillors to take careful note of any reasonable criticism of the plan and act accordingly. A quick second and final reading of the plan after receiving solid criticism of it from a number of in- formed citizens would be inappropriate. There is no reason to believe that coun- cil will not act responsibly. Hopefully, the citizens of Exeter will do the same. Some may say it is unfortunate that copies of the plan were not sent to every home in Exeter. On the other hand, costs incurred in doing this would have made the project all the more expensive, and we all know where the money to meet such ex- pense comes from. 4.5WA,WeIVAntlemv.veorreeretx."..n.wonveme........wee wAve. A rose by any other name . ,.. 4 art 4 11.k 11 4 1 -_,-- ' . .. ' • 'Ni . • ley , . .. ....... . , V t t 4 , .."-JII. •i, y, n • . .....i. A k ..1 1 ' ‘i &..., . .'t'. A . --zt : . A. \Olt IMf. 1'0 V‘Til NAV.NtGcoT 3 MORE FAVIt5 To NT1INP ITF• Honest shopper pays for thefts The day the dock stopped exeterV ma-Ikea& Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation March 31, 1975 5,249 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $9.00 Per Year; USA $11.00 SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by .1. W, Eedy Publications Limited Editor — Jim Beckett -- Advertising Manager Women's Editor, —Gwyn Whilsmith Plant Manager — Les Webb Composition Manager — Dave Worby Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 Our response to now By ELMORE BOOMER Counsellor for Information South Huron For appointment phone: 235-0560 Concept for desperate times What's in a name? Quite a bit, if you're going to be stuck with it for the rest of your life. When the young people were trying to think of a name for my new grandson, I started pon- dering on this whole business of Christian monikers. Naming of children seems to go in cycles. And the names in one generation seem either ugly or affected to the people of the next generation. There was a time when girls were quite happy to be called Pearl or Ruby, Mabel or Myrtle or Elsie. If a girl were given a name like that today, she'd run away from home at the age of five. The same period produced boys' named like Elmer, Horace, Marvin, not to mention those two great poets, one Greek, one Latin: Homer and Virgil. That was known as the bad period to be tagged. Before that was the romantic period. In my mother's family, the boys were dubbed things like Drayton, Emerson, Lionel, Ivan. On my wife's side, her mother was Sophia, and her mother's sisters were Charlotte and Esther. Those ladies wound up Sophie, Lottie and Acey, but the damage was done. My wife's mother named her Ivy and her sister Iris, but they didn't turn out to be a couple of clinging vines, My wife hates her name so I call her Suse, which seems to suit her. My own mother was on the ebb- tide of the romantic period, but she did name her daughters Florence and Norma. Theywound tip as Floss and The Brat, so it wasn't too bad. Times Established 1873 With the boys' names, my ma wasn't too bad, but my brothers are Byron Arnott Keith and Donald Allan Blake, and I'm William Bryant Thomson. Not too awful, really, but my brothers emerged as Blake and Arnott. I have been called Billy, Bill, Willie and Will, among other things, but have never been known as William, except in legal documents. I was the lucky one. I grew up in an age of Jacks and Bobs and Bills and Joes and Toms. A Gordon was suspect, and a Homer was hooted out of the gang, unless he could find a nickname like Stink or Piggy or Greaseball or some such af- fectionate nomenclature. In my group, there was a Harold, an Arnold and a Clayton. They were tolerated because they became Smokey Oakes, Goon Imeson and Pappy Warren. After my generation, a new wave of snobbery set in, as women started calling their kids after heroes in the Ladies Home Journal and British novels. There sprouted a whole crop of Peters and Stevens and Michaels and Jeffreys and Christophers and Marks and Matthews and Nicholases and Davids and Tans. There wasn't a George or a John in the lot. And the girls got it too. There were Samanthas and Natalies and Sonyas and Patrices .and Lises and Pamelas and Elizabeth Janes and Rh ondas and Deborahs. My God, were there Deborahs! I have five of them this year in a class with twelve girls in it. Finding a girl called Mary Advocate Established 1881 these days is just as tough as finding a boy called John. Oh, I'm not blaming the parents all that much. It's no joke, choosing a name. We were going to call our first-born Judy, because it was to be a girl. It didn't have the right plumbing, so we named it Hugh, after a Sir Hugh Smiley in' Ireland. And do you know, the old skinflint didn't even put our boy in his will? Second time around, we took no chances, The kid was to be called Kim, which would suit either sex. We thought it was different. The only Kim around was Kim. Novak. A dozen years later, there was .a Kim on every street- corner. Well, like all grandparents, not wanting to interfere, just trying to be helpful, we tried to ram a name down my daughter's throat for her infant. But most of the good ones were taken. Think about it! When we get sick, we want an uncommon doctor. If we have a construction job, we want an uncommon engineer, When we get into a war, we dreadfully want an uncommon admiral and an uncommon general. Only when we get into politics are we content with the common man. — Herbert Hoover. Those . who have sufficient grounds for divorce often didn't have sufficient grounds for marriage, . . .•aA Amalgamated 1924 This is the time of year when stores do their utmost to arrange their merchandise as attractively as possible to induce quick sales. According to comments from more than one merchant this week, they may have done too good a job. The hundreds of items displayed for Christmas 'selling are too tempting for some people to resist the urge to pick something up and take it out of the store without passing through the cash register. There's a word for this practice, and I'm sure you all know what it is. The term is "shoplifting", and in more cases than enough these people get away with it. In many other instances, even if they do get caught there is nothing more than a stern warning from the shop owner. At least this has been the habit of some businessmen because they don't want to get involved in prosecuting these shoplifters. Also, much of the shoplifting seems to be done by younger people and pressing the matter to the full extent of the law would undoubtedly cause hard feelings with the parents. Ron Cottrell of the Junction believes merchants will be forced to take a harder look at what is rapidly becoming an unbearable situation. "After all, whether you call it shoplifting, or in other cases taking something without paying, just for the thrill of it, it's still stealing." Those shops that are being hardest hit by thieves will be doing their utmost to catch these people with the goods and to see they receive a punishment to suit the crime. If an example is made of a few of these shoplifters, anyone else who may have the desire to steal from the stores will think twice before they do it.The fear of "what will happen if I get caught" will be impressed in their minds. In my opinion there is no reason to go easy on anyone caught stealing in this manner. If accurate records could be kept you would probably find some stores will be losing well over $1,000 per year in stock that leaves the premises without being paid for. Most businesses know they lose a certain amount of merchandise this way and build this an- ticipated loss into their retail prices. So, in the final analysis, the honest customer is paying for merchandise that has been stolen by someone else. + + Shopping fever hits home One of the best ways I can think of spending a Saturday is either in the company of good friends or just staying at home and relaxing. Last Saturday, however, was not to be one of those days, although I did manage to find time to enjoy the Santa Claus parade, My wife gets smitten with a certain kind of bug every two or three weeks and once it takes control of her there is only one cure and that is to let her have her way and take her shopping. r.` Only 1 4 DAYS until Christmas You do this even though you know it means tired feet and a lighter pocket book. Most married men will agree that shopping to women is practically the same as heroin to a drug addict. Now that the Christmas season has arrived women seem to get caught up in the spirit of the moment. They read the sale ads with the same enthusiasm as they would an original copy of the first issue of True Story or some other magazine that has been designed to guide the destiny of housewives. Therefore it was no surprise for me to come home Friday evening and find the newspaper ripped apart and spread all over the floor. My first impression was there had been a broken water pipe and my wife had been fighting a losing battle at cleaning up the mess. Closer examination brought out the truth. Barbara was planning a shopping expedition. She had the ads pulled out of the paper and had placed them in order ac- cording to which stores she wanted to visit first. Being a good psychologist, she did not mention shoppiong right away. Instead she used all the ingenuity of a Viet Cong guerilla fighter and waited until she could catch me at a weak moment. This failing of mine usually arrives at about 9.30 p.m. when I'm wat- ching television and the "hungries" strike. Before I could mention that a little snack (two or three grilled cheese sandwiches and a glass of milk, followed by a large piece of pie) would .be 50 Years Ago Mr. Robert Saunders returned from his annual hunting trip in Michigan and Lambton last week. Mr. Gidley.and sons, one of the oldest businessmen in town, disposed of their large furniture stock to Mr. Beverly and Mr. Hudson last week and having leased the opera block to the same firm will go out of business. 100 pair of men's plow shoes at 80 cents per pair are for sale at George Manson's. Mr. N. Contine, the founder of St. Joseph, is now in Montreal in the interests of that enterprising town. A big boom is looked for when he returns, 25 Years Ago It was announced that Santa Claus would make his annual visit to the area and would arrive by both train and plane as he tours about Huron County. The RCAF base in Grand Bend is being reopened as an auxiliary base to the one presently located in Centralia, Alonzo McCann bounced back to defeat three other candidates •for the position of reeve in the township of Stephen. His upset victory puts him in the Reeve's chair for the second time. 20 Years Ago Mayor R. E. Pooley celebrated his victory and election as mayor by bowling with his team the Tradesmen, It was the first time the mayor has been involved in an election campaign, He was elected reeve by acclamation in 1051 and has been returned without contest ever since, Miss Trudy Pickard of Exeter and Mr. Bill YungblUt of Zurich, Itudents at London Teacher's appreciated, she made her grand entrance from the kitchen. She was carrying a lunch fit for a king, or at least a hungry husband who thinks he is king of his own apartment. Still there was •no mention of shopping. Looking back I can see the plot was set and the lunch was just housewives' strategy, phase 1. After turning in for the night, I thought how wonderful my wife was to have made me lunch and to have catered to my every whim all evening. Because I am a person who is never too grateful, no matter what happens, I didn't give it much thought. It was time to go to sleep and I was tired after eating such a huge lunch. That was my first mistake. Sleeping in the vicinity of the enemy is usually followed by disaster — and this night was to be no exception. My wife, being one not to miss the slightest advantage, let loose with her heavy artillery. A small voice crept toward my ears from under the covers. At first it seemed so far away the words did not make any sense. The voice persisted until I was at least semi-conscious. "Jim, I have something very important I want to ask you, just a small favor . ." Not fully aware of what I was saying, I really put my foot in mymouth and replied, "anything you want dear is alright with me." "GOOD, THEN WE'RE GO- ING SHOPPING TOMORROW AT 9.00," she said, And so began our annual Christmas shopping assault. College, are practicing teaching at Centralia Public School this week. The freshmen councillors in- clude businessman Glenn Fisher and Bill Musser who are believed to be the youngest men to hold municipal office. The proposed dam in Usborne was dubbed "Morrison Dam" in honor of the chairman of the Ausable River Conservation Authority at the meeting in Parkhill on Monday. 10 Years Ago Things are starting to move rapidly for the proposed ex- pansion of SHDHS. Six councils have now approved their share of the cost in the expansion. Only Hay Township and Hensall have not agreed to their costs. Driver Training classes will be resumed in January at SHDHS it was announced last week. 22 students for Usborne Public School toured the T-A offices and plant last week, Ray Lamn)ie of Centralia has been installed as Master of Lebanon Forest Lodge, AF & AM. The ceremony took place before a packed hail on Monday night. 5 Years Ago Discussions were held at the Stephen Township council meeting on Monday night on whether or not snowmobiles should be prohibited. The Hon, Charles McNaughton announced that arrangements are being completed for the provision of flying services at Centralia Industrial Park, An 11 member committee Will be' in charge of arrangements to rebuild Brucefieid United Church, which was destroyed by fire November 20. No one can be bright and scintilating all the time, We have to have periods of rest and silence, Like the trees who throw off their bright gay colors in the fall to enter into a long period of colorless quiet until new life surges through them again, so, we too, must have times set apart for recuperation. Recently, I had a week that was particularly fast-paced. Work had been stimuating but demanding, home duties had been greater than usual. The days were crammed to capacity; sleep had been scarce, and with feelings of frustration I had had to cancel out several com- mitments previously arranged, By the end of the week, I was weary beyond belief, As I crept to my bed I was tempted to wish for sleep that would be uninterrupted for at least two weeks, when the busy-ness would be all over. On opening my eyes the following morning I was met with one of those kind of grey, pallid days when you can't tell whether you've wakened early or slept late, A glance at the bedroom clock revealed it had stopped in the middle of the night. I checked my watch but found I had forgotten to wind it, too. Getting up to make a cup of coffee, it was somewhat disconcerting to see that the hall and kitchen clocks, both of which are eight day clocks, had run down. So there I was with every time piece in the house stopped. Of course I could have turned on the radio and had the time in a few minutes but I didn't because it struck me forcibly that it didn't matter, What a luxurious feeling! After a hurried, hectic week I had this wonderful day when time wasn't important. There were no deadlines to meet, no meetings to go to, no dinner to prepare. Taking my coffee I returned to' bed, stretched back against the pillows and started to let the tension drain out. I reached for a book at my bedside, picked up Jane Scott's, 'Adventures with God' and flicking through the pages my eyes picked up a quotation from Isaiah, "In returning (to God) shall ye be saved; quietness and confidence shall be your strength." And there in the quietness of my room I realized how much I needed a 'be still' day, As Miss Scott says, "We sometimes get the mistaken notion there is something wrong with our faith if we cannot rise and shine at all times. But such is not the case. Even Jesus fell asleep in the boat and because he was human I think it's safe to assume he looked like any other worn out man who falls asleep." She goes on to suggest Jesus knew how utterly fatigued these human bodies of ours can become When he showed sympathy to his disciples who could 'not watch one hour'. "The spirit is willing but the body is weak," he said, On another occasion when there had been much activity he said to his disciples, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile." He knew the necessity of getting away from the crowds and of being alone with God in a quiet place where one can regain equilibrium and spiritual strength. We need to keep on learning this to combat the confusion of our age, We still need to hear his voice saying, "Come unto me, and ye shall find rest for your souls." We need it as never before. We have to make a conscious effort to shut out the blaring sounds and cut down our pace and build up our confidence in God if we hope to maintain our sanity and physical health. It's not necessary to have all the clocks in the house stop to remind us of this but we do desperately need quiet moments to bring us new courage and new strength, We need to get alone with God, of bringing some order to a very difficult subject. But it does seem rather dubious if we wish to help people. The task of prying aid from the world's wealthy, then, is to convince people that something can be done. The world doesn't need to starve, Psychology comes into its own along with our technical efforts to feed the world. The world food problem is generally looked upon as a distribution problem. If we could only find ways to cut red tape and overcome economic barriers to the flow of grain, North America could feed the world. This is not considered a valid concept anymore. A mere palliative! Some larger design must be worked out, Research is the necessary element in feeding the world. Better use of land and human effort is needed. Greater provisions of fertilizer and pace- setting innovations are called for. A tremendous educational push to save the world from its own ignorance is the demand of the hour. One of the crucial facts of our time is that research is largely in the hands of the developed nations. The Food and Agriculture Organization, a UN agency, was originally set up by 40 well-to-do countries for the development of new markets. A shift is now needed away from such one-way pipelines of wealth to programs of a serious problem-solving nature. Confrontation between developing and developed countries has been the pattern of recent years. Now there seems to be a tiredness with such fruitless expenditures of energy. Dialogue that gives the poorer nations ability to flex their own muscle now seems to be the order of the day. Some see the wars of the future as struggles over food and food- producing areas of the world. Others can foresee an Arab-oil type of market squeeze regarding food. In a desperate world of course, all sorts of dire weapons and savage reprisals can be discerned, imagined and, if we do nothing, brought to pass before Our very eyes, It is well for us to diffuse the situation quickly, working on valid answers to the puzzles of world-wide livelihood, Triage is a popular word now-a- days. It comes up during discussions of food shortages and poor countries, It is not a word to slip over, It needs to be defined. Its use is really symptomatic of present day moods. If the world was less pessimistic we would find little use for such a word. Triage is a concept born in the heat of World •War I battle-field desperation. Hard pressed surgeons and doctors had to decide which wounded they would care for. They couldn't look after the steady stream of casualties. It was no use wasting time on the dying. Leave them alone. Of course there were some who would pull through without special care. Put them over there. Then there were those who would live if they were looked after, So let's look after them. Of course this plan of action was splendid under battle con- ditions. But usually we look after and seek to comfort the dying. We spend our time also with people who are going to be well again, The concept of triage is for desperate times. And many feel that times are now desperate as far as feeding the world is concerned, Some nations will never make it. They can't possibly respond. So we should leave them. Actually to send food to such nations, to send expertise and technical aid is but to feed a problem which will overtake a well-meaning world. We wouldn't want those starving millions using their atomic bombs on us just to get our food supplies. There are some nations, of course, which while they are having their difficulties, can in the long run overcome their problems of over-population, food-shortage and famine. We'll give them a nod and help those . who really need our help, If we are inclined to pessimism then triage may be a very useful part of our theory. Populations are doubling at a time when food stocks are dwindling. Even the climate is that one or two degrees More inhospitable to bumper crops which we have taken for granted in the past, Most of us are weary of pic- tures of starving children, of statistics of gloom, of spending money on aid that doesn't seem to aid, Triage Seems to be one way tr