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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-09-23, Page 4Page 4 Tirpes,AcIvecate, September 23, 1976 Sege,;(19 Var€44 9,44vg 7e4d4sard ,WOMAgW.MWAAW^~-X,',"`WWWWWWIWWWW,WW41,3",,....-wwW0AWAWAW.GMAZWA,WA.WAW,,W,WA,M.Mwdwnwoww;gamegOWRWARDWN,,,=041,10, let's finish it quickly Old clothes, broken bottles The news that the South Huron Recrea- tion Centre will receive n percent funding from various provincial sources makes the project well within the capabilities of the community. The target to be reached through donations has been sliced in half. Use of tax money should not be necessary. However, area residents should not assume that the balance of the funds will arrive without a concerted effort and a con- tinuance of the generosity displayed by those who have already contributed. From the outset, most observers con- sidered that the first $100,000 would be the easiest to attain. The longer the campaign drags on, the more difficult it will become. There is still a sizeable sum to be rais- ed. It is now a realistic target, but only if the averages set forth at the outset are maintained and if canvassers quickly fulfill their responsibility to make their calls. Let's get the job completed quickly with the support it deserves. Needs your consideration Municipal nomination time, is just around the corner and indications are that there will be several vacancies to fill within the area. Under the present legislation, the onus is on candidates to present themselves. This precludes the opportunity that existed in previous years for people to talk their neighbours into running for office during those nomination meetings. However, the changes under which nominations have been conducted in the past few years, does not eliminate the need for people to get together to consider con- testants they think would serve well on There's room for improvement municipal councils and school boards. Many prime candidates are hesitant about presenting themselves because they feel they are being too forward. As a result the potential service of, those people is denied the communities. Stop and consider the names of some people you think would make good can- didates. Approach them and urge them to seriously consider the challenge. Your en- couragement may just be the motivation they need. It's too late to take action after nominations have closed and you see the slate is not as strong as it should be to operate such important business. Clear the air Last week, if you read this column, I was having a time of putting off for tomorrow 'what might have been done that day. Well, tomorrow did come and as I predicted the housecleaning chores were still there. Tuesday morning, found me standing in front of the hall closet, will power in my hands and a deep resolute breath in my lungs. Some of you will remember Fibber McGee and Mollie's closet, the contents of which cascaded over them like an avalanche every time they open- ed the door. Our's had almost reached that state. With no hesitation I chose what would go into the waiting rum- mage sale box first . . . my husband's old Harris Tweed, moth eaten jacket. I have placed that jacket in a similar box on at' least ten other occasions only to have him retrieve it indignantly with "how could you throw out that good tweed jacket." This time it went in at the very bot- tom where he wouldn't even catch a glimpse of it. Next, my hand reached for a box on the shelf containing 13 scarves and five unmated gloves. Surely three people couldn't possibly wear 13 woollen scarves . I kept four and dropped the rest into the box. And since we have no one armed people in our family I parted with all the gloves. So it 'went. Decisions, decisions. What to throw out and what 62 keep? It was hard going even when I tried to envision all the space we'd have for nice new clothes. I was often torn between' common sense and nostalgia. I ran a loving hand over my favorite green velvet dress (15 years old), This is perhaps the most beautiful garment I have ever owned but it has mysteriously shrunk two, or maybe three, sizes in the past ten years. I've always let it hang there, however, sure some day, somehow it would stretch to fit over my hips again. "Maybe today," I mused as I pulled it over my head. It didn't get much further. Looking in the mirror it was hard to know whether to cry or laugh. The seams of my lovely dress were literally bursting, I couldn't even begin to get the zipper up! The thought came into my head, "You can't put new wine into old skin bottles." I started to chuckle, "Right, and you can't squeeze and old fat body into a dress meant for a young slim one!" I pulled it off and let it fall intq the box, The rest of the closet cleaning went like a breeze. "Here's an old skin bottle," I'd say a I viewed some wretched thing no one had worn for years and add- ed it to the heap of discards. Then, I'd come upon something like my husband's warm, soft blanket coat. Old, yes, but cer- tainly not to be thrown out, for cold, wintery blasts are just around the corner and it will soon be a welcome and needed friend. I'm sure what Jesus was say- ing when he told that story about the old wine skin bottles (Matt: 9:17) was that not all old bottles must be, broken and all the old wine spilled out. Not at all. What he meant was that the bottles which have become empty and dried up and useless, those are the ones to be discarded. But those still filled with good wine are still useful and should not be thrown out. He was speaking to the orthodox Scribes and Pharisees, but in the 20th century there are Christians so tied to their orthodoxy and old formal, dead dogmas they have become like shrivelled, cracked skin bottles with no elasticity in them anywhere to allow for new, bubbling, fermenting wine. It often seems the more sincere in , belief and devoted these religious people are the more suspicious they are of opening themselves up to greater light, They are determined to accept nothing which they so far have not understood and believ- ed. Then, on the other hand, there are those modern Christians who seem to have a passion for sweeping away all that had been lovingly preserved by past generations. They tend to lump all the traditions together, denouncing them as outworn, lifeless, old bottles fit only for the trash heap. They are en- dangered to losing a great deal of priceless and mellowed old wine which might still be invaluable to them,. So, just as one must decide what to keep, what to throw out, and what new to put in, when one goes about clearing the front hall closet, so it is a wise person who knows' to discard the old wine skins, who thankfully retains all that is enriching of the good old, and who just as thankfully accepts the new wine. Canadians are being put in the position of being able to deal with the federal govern- ment — and some provincial governments — in the official language of their choice. This means that a considerable number of civil servants must learn a second language. Even that modest aim will take a number of years to achieve but it is a small price to pay for Canadian unity. No doubt some of the bilingualism programs in Canada have not worked or have been implemented in a bungling bureaucratic fashion but that must not be the central issue. The issue for English- speaking Canadians is simple — do we sup- port bilingualism as a national policy and are we prepared to support it as a way to broaden our.nation's unity and to support those people in Quebec who are fighting separatism? It is time for the many English- speaking Canadians who support unity to speak out on the issue of bilingualism and not allow the bigots to monopolize air time and letters-to-the-editor. Not long ago, Prime Minister Trudeau said that Canadians still have a deep and underlying mistrust of bilingualism. The Prime Minister, we suggest, should be commended for the moderation of his language. That issue —bilingualism — has brought to the surface more open ig- norance and bigotry than anything in re- cent memory. English-speaking Canadians at best seem neutral to a policy — in fact a law un- der the Official Languages Act — that may very well be the cement that can keep this nation unified. Bilingualism in Canada does not mean that the residents of Come By Chance or Burnaby will have to speak French. Some will and do and their children are thankful- ly getting a chance to learn French at school so that some day, hopefully, most Canadians will be able to speak the two of- ficial languages of Canada. But bilingualism is not being forced down anyone's throat. All that is happening is that both English and French-speaking A few weeks ago, we had occa- sion to note that Exeter's Main St. was looking better than ever before, as most stores were sparkling with new paint jobs or / redecoration of some nature. In addition, several merchants had planted flower boxes and the street was benefitting from this extra color. However, Wednesday night we viewed a color film of the street and it looked a little drab. That is, it looked a little drab in com- parison to some of the other photos which had been shown of communities where major down- town redevelopment projects had taken place. Judging from the overwhelm- ing support given by the merchants to further consider such a scheme in Exeter, they too must have realized that the street could still benefit from some additional beautification. This is not the first time that they have greeted such an idea with enthusiasm. Several years ago, the benefits of the Norwich Plan for downtown restoration were explained to them, and while the response was positive, the ensuing action was far from , it. In fact, the idea died before it got off the ground. Hopefully, this will not be the case this time around, and one of the benefits of the provincial government plan for beautifica- tion and promotion is that it is backed by local bylaw making participation mandatory for all r OTTAWA and Small Business By KENNETH NieDoNALD The present combination of big institutions, big cities and big welfare rests on a myth — that bigness provides economies of scale: On the contrary, except in special cases, bigness results from mergers and acquisitions -- organizing small and medium-sized enterprises under common ownership. 11... 8 _1 power, prestige and con- trol of markets. • • • Public policy should be directed toward insuring that the advantages enjoyed by multi-plant or conglomerate farms of en- terprise are equally avail- able to owner-managed firms. • • • • nouncement of a new govern- ment program will make note of a costlier alternative that has been rejected. Furthermore, extra copies are to be made of all restraint- oriented government speeches to make sure that the austerity message gets around. Ottawa, it seems, is prepared to do almost anything to promote restraint except practise it, Prime Minister Trudeau's ex- tensive cabinet shuffle is unlike- ly to have any noticeable benefits on his party's sagging appeal with Canadian voters. The move is strictly political, and most people are tired of this type of game that politicians play at the expense of good government. Can you imagine anything more complex than being in charge of this nation's external affairs . . or the post office department . . . or any other cabinet position? And yet, no sooner does a cabinet Minister start to get a feel for his job and to know and understand some of the complex- ities than he is handed another portfolio. That change is in- variably not made in the interest of the Canadian economy, but rather in the interest of political ..expediency. What government leaders are telling the taxpayers is that the nation is run by civil servants and it doesn't really matter which politician is set in the . department as a figure-head. There is a weekly newspaper publisher out in Alberta who has decided to ignore° the human rights legislation regarding the wording of help wanted ads. He believes that if a restaurant wants to hire a waitress rather than a waiter, they would be able to say so. And there should be no reason why a mining company should have to say they are tak- ing applications from men and women to work in the mine. While many newspapers would agree with his contention that advertisers should be allowed to specify the sex of job applicants, there are some who don't. . Take the case of a newspaper which received an advertisement from a man seeking a wife. They made him insert "male or female" to comply with the regulations. businesses in the designated area. Experience in the past few years has shown quite clearly that some form of forced par- ticipation is the only way, that local businessmen will get together and give their support to programs to aid themselves. Projects in the past have been weakened as some wouldn't pay their share, choosing rather to ride along on the coat-tails of those who were interested. Differing opinions on what should be undertaken resulted in some others opting out. All that would be changed with mandatory participation, although it appears rather strange that something under- taken to stimulate business in Exeter should require laws to gain support from those who would benefit. Another meeting will be held on the subject in the immediate future (see announcements elsewhere) and hopefully all businesses will be represented to air their views at the outset, rather than bickering after the fact. If the project proceeds, we wonder if the terms of the bylaw will allow for the establishment of store hours. Seems that that , too will only be settled by legisla- tion. The federal government will soon be embarking on that ex- pansive (and expensive) public relations campaign to convince taxpayers that they're serious about restraint. They should also examine why taxpayers need convincing. Perhaps it's because govern- ment spending continues to rise much more rapidly than either inflation ,or the gross national product. Or because the increase in the current federal budget ex- ceeds the 12 percent ceiling on wage increases, Or because Ot- tawa is running another deficit. Or because the civil service is still expanding, though at a slower rate. Maybe it's none of these things. Maybe Canadian tax- payers are just instinctively, suspicious of government pledges. Anyway, to show that the Trudeau government is serious when it talks about austerity, the treasury, board has suggested that every ministerial speech contain a reference to spending restraint. In addition, every an- nose out of the way, and go to it, My heart goes out to those peo- ple whose teeth are so worn down or so insecure that they can't eat corn off the cob. The only thing worse would be to be impetent. Some of my most treasured memories are connected with corn. When I was a kid; we used to steal it. Over the fence into somebody's garden, stuff the shirts with corn, and back over the fence, hearts pounding, waiting for the shout or the shotgun. Then off to the sand-pit, build a fire, and gorge. We didn't use a knife to spread the butter on. One of the gang would have filched a pound of butter from the family fridge. Put the butter in an empty can, melt it over the fire, then just stick the whole cob into the can. Another memory is of swiping corn from our own gardens, and taking it down to the "jungle" by the railway tracks, where the hobos lived in summer. Then a royal feast, lying back afterwards and choking over the handrolled smokes the un- employed rail-riders would give us kids. strawberries, and the mouthwatering raspberries a bit later, and right along, the crunch green and yellow beans, fresh- picked. And then, perhaps the greatest treasure of them all, real tomatoes, plump and firm and sun-kissed, with a flavor surely designed by the gods themselves, They are no more like that im- ported trash than a sexy kiss is like a pat on the back. Had I the talent,I would write an ode to the lowly tomato. A friend of ours who has a small farm brought a basket of his beauties around the other day,I put them in the kitchen, went out to his truck to chat for a minute. Came back in and caught my wife leaning over the kitchen' sink, slobbering as she wolfed them down, a tomato in one hand, salt shaker in the other. I had to lock her in the basement for a while, or she'd have clean- ed up the whole basket. And then, of course, there are the cucumbers, so fresh they almost snap back at you when you bite into a slice. Into August and the piece de resistance — ear-to-ear sweet corn. It must be fresh picked, and not boiled too long. Lather it with butter, get your head down, END of summer,and it's piggy time in most of Canada. You know what I mean. Don't tell me you haven't laid a cob of corn, slathered in butter, across your face recently. For most of the year, in this northern clime, we must content ourselves with produce grown either in greenhouses or in the States, and it's about as tasty as an old rubber boot. Oh, it looks great on the super- market stands. Sock the sprinkler to it several times a day, and the junk looks crisp and fresh. But the celery tastes much like the lettuce, the turnips much like the potatoes, the oranges, picked green, much like the grapefruit, And those pale pink tomatoes, in their neat cellophane packages, taste like nothing at all, But for one glorious, short burst, Canadians can live like gourmets, gourmands, or glut- tons, as they choose, First come those slim green onions, fresh out of the soil. They are so crisp and zingy they don't even seem to be distant relatives of the limp bunches we buy in the winter. Then the trickle turns to a stream as the baby potatoes appear, and the fat, juicy VOINEMESSEEZNENBSIMARTANT Wrgi;ONEEMPPRONEWSeggiNCROMMMIa, Times Established 103 ' Advocate Established 101 Amalgamated 1924 exeferZimetplbucacafe music at Centralia United Church, Monday evening. The home of Clarence Martin, Main Street, has been sold to Amiel Willard of Hay township, it was announced this week by Realtor John Burke. Mrs. Wm. French, Whalen, was proclaimed champion cook at Exeter Pair this week, Ray Jory, Exeter, landed a 411/2 lb. lake trout during a recent fishing trip in the Lake Simcoe district, A recent U.S. Senate study shows that, though large multi-plant U.S. corporations provide 73 per cent of all manufac- turing employment, they constitute only 3 per cent of aft corporations. The average work force in each of the pants is 203 people. Take out the obvious big auto, defence and electrical equipment plants, and the average drops to 100. • • • In Japan, 69 per cent of all manufacturing workers are employed by small and medium-sized independent businesses. In the U.S. it is the big multi-plant corpo- rations that employ 73 per cent of all manufacturing workers; only 27 per cent work for owner-managers. SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EERY, PUBLISHER Editor -- Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Plant Manager —Jim Scott Composition Manager -- Harry DeVries.. Business Manager — Dick Jorigkind Phone 235-1331 For example, service bureaus can provide com- puter services; consortia of small firms can provide efficiencies in purchas- ing or in negotiating consulting services; trade associations can provide economies in promotion, training and standardiza- tion: and special financial institutions can offset the natural bias of the capital markets against small enterprises. And, of course, institutions like the Cana- dian Federation of Inde- pendent Business can provide the collective political muscle. • • • The enterprising Japa- nese have also destroyed the North American myth that bigness is needed to compete in export markets. Forty-nine per cent of Japan's export sales come from small and medium- sized businesses. • re • 30 Years Ago About three hours after Mr. Earl Morley, Brinsley, had finished filling his silo with corn Wednesday it burst open from top to bottom spelling corn over the ground to a considerable depth. Milk is now selling in Exeter at fifteen cents a quart and eight cents a pint. The increase is due to a discontinuance of the subsidy The first public library to be formed in Stephen township was opened in Centralia in the room in the building in which Fred Warner's barber shop is situated. 4 • • ciGNA fIlUt RIEIP04 AWARD 1974 +CNA Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Humber 03 66 Paid in Advante Circulation September 30,1975 5,420 Canada $9,40 Per Year; USA $11.00 SUBSCRIPTION RATES.. • As a skinny 13-year-old, I set a family record by going through 13 cobs of corn at a single sitting. In those days, you didn't fool around with corn, using it as a side-dish, along with cold meat, potato salad and other nonsense. If you had corn for supper, you had corn — until it was coming out your ears. The only thing that interfered with the eating was having to come up for air once in a while. Before this column gets too corny, ha-ha let's get back to that cornucopia of succulence the average Canadian can slurp through for a couple of ineffably delirious months of gluttony. Right along with the corn come the peaches, I just had three for breakfast, peeled, sliced, sugared and covered with cream, My wife worked as a peach-picker when she was a stu- dent, and she has an eagle eye for the best, firm, ripe, juice- spirting. And what is more delectable than a fresh, ripe pear? You need a bib to eat them, and I say "them" advisably, Anyone who eats only one pear at a time is not a true Canadian. Plutts. Buttered beets. Boiled new potatoes. Buttered squash. If you see a few stains on the paper as you read this, don't be alarmed. It is just drool. You can take your grapes and squash them. You can take your bananas and stuff them, Who needs meat? Just set me down at a table, preferably the picnic table in the backyard, with the sun slanting in from the west. Then set before me a plate of new potatoes, boil- ed in their skins, and half a dozen cobs, of just-shucked corn, and a pound of butter. On a side plate, one ripe tomato, cut in thick slices, half a young cucumbers cut in thin slices, six or eight slim green onions, the whole resting on a bed of that dark-green lettuce fresh from the garden. Salt and pepper and a little vinegar within reach. Then stand well back. Or better still, doh your sou'wester, There is going to be a lot of juice flying. Show me a dinner of Canada's finest produce about the end of August and I wouldn't trade it for the most exotic meal in the most elegant restaurant in Paris, Evert the mind slobbers a lit- tle, in retrospect. 20 Years Ago A red-haired dancer from Xirkton, Rosemary Dobson, became the second huron Agricultural queen during the Junior Farmers variety show at Exeter Pair last week. It snowed in, the morning, rained in the afternoon, the grounds were a muddy sea and the Wind was bitterly cold, but it didn't stop young and Old from having fun at Exeter Fair, Thursday, 15 Years Ago Dominion Life Choir of Waterloo presented an evening of 5 Years Ago A 17-year-old Ailsa Craig youth, David Priest Was killed and his father injured, Saturday, when the tractor on which they were riding was involved in a collision with a car. The only twins entered in Pricley's baby show were Michael and Brenda, children of Mr. & Mrs. Tom Hem, Jr. For the first time in many years Exeter Fall Pair was completed in excellent weather conditions. The afternoon show at the fairgrounds was long and varied. The grandstand was packed for the five heats of ex- citing harness racing with local horses making a good showing. In other words,- the majority of plants ope- rated by the largest U.S. firms would be classified as small businesses if they were independently owned. • • • The phenomenon is duplicated in Canada. Yet there are no 'inherent advantages to common ownership. It confers neither efficiency nor eeenotnies of scale, but rather the artificial econo- mies that come from Bigness is really a philosophical question — Whether power and control Should be centralized or decentralized. By their very nature, small and medium-sized enterprises distribute power and control. But their social effect is far reaching. As they prosper, they develop regions, build comrriuni- ties and provide opportu- nities for individuals, It's piggy time in Canada mettle, MO!