HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-05-13, Page 4"You'd think people would learn it doesn't pay to be poor!"
New car wash for town
Take the grief
I accept and bear
for all the hungry
of the world
and somehow, use it too
But more than that, Lord,
give me the wisdom and courage
to fight for changes
which will bring
about the day '
when there will be
no more hunger
in Your world.
Witchcraft sabbats
By KIT SCHILLER
Smiley's
We wholeheartedly agree with an
editorial in the Rodney Mercury that says
the law is as difficult to understand as the
weather.
A few weeks ago Ontario Attorney-
General. Roy McMurtry charged three
Philadelphia Flyers for fighting in a game
against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the
three received front page coverage in the
three Toronto daily newspapers, as though
they were in the same calibre as the three
most wanted criminals in North America.
On the other hand Clarence Campbell,
president of the National Hockey League,
and some others involved in the Sky Shops
affair, who were charged with grave mis-
doings and were released on $100,000 bail
each, were given special consideration in
being able to side-step press photographers
on leaving court so their pictures would not
appear in the newspapers.
What kind of justice is that?
In our opinion it is just one more exam-
ple of how people in influential positions
always seem to receive preferential treat-
ment when they become involved with the
law,
It happens time and time again and
would happen even more often if the press
wasn't on hand to do the best job they can
of keeping the public informed of events of
this type.
Employees lose
Once again it appears that employees
will be the losers in a company bankruptcy.
Although employees at J.F. Farm
Machinery have been assured that they will
receive regular working wages and close to
half of their holiday pay by the receivers
for the bankrupt company, they will
probably lose out on the rest of the holiday
pay owing to them plus severance pay for
termination of employment without proper
notice.
Under the provisions, of the Employ-
ment Standards Act of Ontario, employees
are supposedly guaranteed not only their
wages but pay in lieu of work if their
employment ceases withbut proper notice
being given. The legislation was put' into
existence to soften the blow of sudden un-
employment and provide for the families of
employees for a minimum of time while
they seek new employment.
However, this legislation only seems to
apply if the company or employer is finan-
cially solvent at the time that termination
occurs. Under our present bankruptcy
laws, employees are not even considered as
secured creditors. In other words, they do
not have first priority to any company
assets at the time of bankruptcy.
New legislation in this area guarantees
that employees can be treated as preferred
creditors (next in line after secured
creditors have been paid off) for up to three
months of their working wages and holiday
pay, but there is a maximum on this of
$500, That averages out to a guarantee of
less than $200 a month for loss in wages,
and holiday pay resulting from a company
bapkruptcy, for work and time which has
already been rendered.
Employees are the backbone of any
company. Although computers and
automation are doing away with the need
for employees in some fields, most com-
panies and business could not operate
without them.
We suggest that there is something
amiss with the law of our land when the
employees of a company are not treated as
top priority when it comes to paying them
for services rendered after a business has
gone bankrupt.
Both the federal and provincial
governments should be involved in correc-
ting present legislation concerning com-
pany bankruptcy so that economic
tragedies such as those at Hall Lamp and
J.F. Farm cease to exist and employees no
longer have to play Russian Roulette with
their pay cheques.
Law not equal
What am Ito do with
this mail, Lord?
Ote, GOOD
OOLIT Demo r0Oft•
Irs aomisra
Lord, Lord,
what am Ito do with all this mail?
Letters from evangelists
imploring support
to preach to those
who hunger for
the bread of life
Pamphlets with pictures
of children, in lands swept with famine,
whose uncomprehending eyes
beg for food
for hungry stomachs
Brochures with stories
of hopeful young people
whose bright minds
hunger for knowledge and education
where there is none to be had
unless a teacher
gets support
Appeals for the lepers
the abandoned, all the outcast
who hunger for attention
and love
Urgent entreaties
to supply translations
for the growing numbers
of Your children
who hunger for Your Word
The hunger of the world
terrifies me
depresses me
stulifies me
overwhelms me
condemns me
What am Ito do, Lord,
I can't give to all?
How do I choose?
Which do I crumple up
and throw in the waste basket
and with which do I share?
Christ, take my pittance
I have chosen to place it
in 'this' envelope
Accept it and use it according to Thy will
In a recent issue of Canada's
so-called national magazine,
Maclean's, writer Walter Stewart
has an article trying to show that
Canadians are not the quiet,
sober, gray, decent people they
think they are.
I could have told him that year
ago, and have used it as a theme
in this column on some occasions.
Perhaps the self-perpetuating
myth, at home and abroad, that
we are sensible, tolerant,
respectable, and rather dull, has
been fostered by our generally
colorless press and equally
colorless politicians.
The facts, as Stewart pointed
out, in describing several brutal
and violent strikes, are other-
Canadians, on the whole, are
not tolerant. I am young enough
to remember when such ex-
pressions as "Jew him down"
"nigger in the woodpile" "dumb
}Wilkie" and "greasy wop" were
current in the home and on the
street .
If you came out with one of
those today, you might just be
looking for a purple eye or a fat
lip from a militant Jew, black,
Ukrainian or Italian.
As a result, Canadians have
switched their intolerance a bit.
We can tell Newfie jokes, because
the victims are a long way off, We
can tell Paki jokes, because the
victims are pretty helpless. And
if you are too "tolerant" to in-
dulge in either of these, you can
always run down the Yanks, and
feel like a virtuous nationalist.
Sober? Canadians are about
the worst drinkers in the world,
with the possible exception of
Scots, who get ugly, Irishmen,
who get belligerent, and Poles,
Times Established 1873
who get gloomy. Maybe we are
the worst. We get all three.
If you do happen to be a decent,
sensible, middle-aged person,
and you don't believe a word of
this slander, drop in to your local
bar or beer parlor on a Friday
night. There are scenes that
would make Hogarth, chronicler
of the 17th century gin places in
London, quail in his cravat.
I once sat in a beer parlor and
watched this scene. Four com-
mercial fishermen came in.
Tough, violent men. They sailed
into the beer as though there
were going to be a brewery strike
within the hour.
And within the hour they were
drunk and ugly and vicious. One
called another a "sonuvabitch,"
an old Canadian expletive often
used as a term of affection. The
other, in maudlin mood, retorted
"Don't you talk about my mother
like that," cracked his glass in
two on the edge of the table, and
jammed the ragged edge in the
first speaker's face. Blood and
language flowed freely, but there
wasn't even a fight. It was just
another Saturday night in
Canada, and not untypical of an
evening in that beer parlor.
"Putting the boots" to someone
who is down .is something you
might associate with the slums of
Glasgow or Paris or Hamburg. It
is not all that unusual on a
Canadian Saturday night.
Reasonable? Courteous?
Canadians? Don't make me
laugh. Just take a drive on a four
or six-lane highway. Admittedly,
most people fit those two ad-
jectives, but there is a large
minority who make Canada one
of the worst places in the world to
drive, as any American will tell
you.
Advocate Established 1881
Just the other day I was driving
on a three-lane, one-way high-
way. Solid old Bill was in the
middle lane, gauge right on the
60-mile per hour limit. Suddenly,
a car cut in front of me from the
left lane, and, simultaneously,
one from the right lane. Both
were trying to get into my lane,
about 50 feet ahead of me. They
almost collided, before veering
off like a couple of startled trout.
Neither had any reason for
passing me. I found myself
almost wishing they had crashed,
if it weren't for me being the
filling in the sandwich.
Ask the people of southern
England about the First Brigade
of Canadians in World War II.
Find out something about the
Halifax riots at the end of that
war. Ask your Dad if he was
among the Canadian troops who
booed their own prime minister
at Aldershot, in the same
struggle.
If I were in a tight spot, I'd just
as soon have a Canadian back to
back with me as anybody else.
We are tough and brave and
resourceful. We have a wry gift
for not swallowing BS, no matter
who is dishing it out.
But let's be honest. We are not
a nation of gentle, reasonable,
tolerant, dull, sober, clear-
thinking nambie pambies, as so
many nations, and and so many
of our own politicians, think us.
We have too much wild blood in
us, from all those immigrants
who have been pouring into this
paradise for 200 years.
We are intolerant, We are bad
drinkers and drivers. We have a
propensity for violence that may
explain our great reputation in a
couple of wars.
You can watch it all in the
hockey playoffs.
V!fOrArtteX
AmalgamatLd 1924
CCNA
BM AMON
o5V4 AO"
A new business may be starting
soon in Dow subdivision. On
Monday two enterprising young
boys came to my door and said
they were taking a survey to see
if a car washing and cleaning
service would be accepted by
subdivision residents. The boys
said they wanted to get an idea of
how many people would use the
service before making their
plunge in the business world.
Before school ends the car
cleaning service will be available
only on weekends but the boys
hope it will develop into a full
time job for the summer months.
One advantage the service
provided by the boys will offer
t hat there will not be any waiting
in line to have your car washed.
Just leave it in the driveway and
they'll come around and wash it
for you.
The price is right too. "Only 50
cents for a real good job," one of
the boys added.
It's encouraging to see young
people looking for ways they can
earn money for the summer. As
the driver of a car that seems to
be always dirty, this writer will
welcome this new service to the
neighborhood.
Campaign underway
The South Huron Recreation
Centre Committee will be con-
tacting other municipalities in
the area for financial support
after getting permission from
Exeter Council to begin the
project .
The committee's work is cut
out for them as they are shooting
for a target of $500,000., half of
the estimated cost of the new
structure.
The other half of the costs are
expected to be picked up by
government grants.
The town of Exeter has in-
dicated they are willing to sell
debentures to make sure the
project will continue if the
committee falls short of their half
million dollar goal. This is really
all the assurances the committee
needed to begin their task and
people who contribute to the
cause will feel better with the
knowledge that an arena actually
will be constructed,
I'm sure the fund raising
committee will be working as
hard as they can to raise the bulk
of the money through private
donations and keep the amount of
money that could be debentured
by the town to a minimum.
Council will appoint a building
committee that will have the
authority to hire an architect to
prepare plans for an arena and
hall,
Fund raising is expected to get
underway shortly and you can
look for a variety of projects the
committee will be using to raise
as much of that. $500,000 as
possible.
Name changed
officially
For almost 40 years Carl V.
Elliot has had to use the name of
Carl Carruthurs because he had
not been able to produce enough
evidence to the people in Ottawa
who issue birth certificates that
his surname was really Elliot.
Thanks to the advice and
assistance of two local people,
James Pickering of RR 3 Parkhill
and Donald Finkbeiner, principal
of Stephen Central School, Carl
now has a birth certificate that
shows his last name to he Elliot.
Carl was horn December 26,
11026, in .Goderich township, the
'son of Mr. and Mrs. Elliot.
A (ew years later his mother
remarried a Mr, Carruthurs of
Shipka and from then on Carl
said he was known as CrOttie
Carruthurs, The name seemed to
stick with him and when he tried
to have it legally changed back to
Elliott he ran into problems.
Carl visited the T-A office
Monday afternoon with his story
of how he managed to get a birth
certificate with his correct name.
He said originally he could not
get the document because there
was no record of his name ac-
tually being Elliot anyplace. It
was later that James Pickering
who went to school with him in
the little school about a mile
outside of Crediton suggested
that he check the school records.
He contacted Donald Fink-
beiner, school principal, who
managed to find the documents
showing the names and ages of
all the people who attended the
school in that year.
„Although Carl was enrolled as
Carruthurs, the name Elliot was
`In,brackets as well and this was
just the amount of evidence
needed for Carl to become of-
ficially known as Carl V. Elliot.
This is a happy conclusion to a
project that has taken Carl
several years and he credits the
results to Mr. Finkbeiner and Mr.
Know how to care for your boat.
Make sure the hull is sound and
you have an anchor and a
paddle on board at all times.
40 Years Ago
Fourteen of Exeter's leading
business men have joined
together to put over a Community
Boosting Campaign that
promises to be one of the biggest
things of its kind that has ever
been attempted here to advertise
Exeter to the people of the
surrounding district.
Mr. Harry Hoffman of Dash-
wood won his fourth gold medal
for vocal solo at the Stratford
Musical Festival last week.
The roof was blown off a barn
belonging to Mr. Noble Scott, 2nd
concession of Stephen, during a
severe rain and wind sorm on
Saturday afternoon. A wagon
loaded with seed grain which
stood on the hayloft floor was
blown out over the building into
the mud. In the granary over a
thousand bushels of grain were
soaked by rain.
Seeding is exceptionally late
this year and farmers are getting
anxious.
25 Years Ago
Gerald Lawson of Exeter was
the lucky winner of a pony in a
draw in Zurich last week.
There was plenty of action on
the farm of Norman Jaques, in
the Woodham district, Monday
when friends staged a farming
bee and seeded his land.
One of Murray Stephen's
paintings was chosen for the
Western Ontario Art League
exhibition at the London Library.
Stephen resides at ttt 2, Exeter.
A concert was presented in the
auditorium of the United Church
Friday evening by the pupils of
Ilensall Public School who took
part in the Huron County Music
Festival held at Goderich
recently.
Pickering. He is also a firm
belieVer in the importance of
keeping records.
Students fortunate
The school bus accident on
Huron St. East last week in which
31 students were injured could
have been much worse.
Apparently one of the passengers
opened a window and dust was
blown into the driver's eyes. A
few seconds later the bus was in
the ditch and many of the
students were injured.
Although opening a window on
a bus will be seen by many as a
minor action that resulted in an
unfortunate accident it could be
used to demonstrate the im-
portance of not doing anything in
the future that could take the
driver by surprise and cause
another accident.
A few years ago when I was
riding to school I learned quickly
that the driver is in complete
charge of the vehicle and that
disturbances are not tolerated. A
group of us were making a lot of
noise and generally distracting
the driver when the bus stopped
suddenly and he ordered us
outside.
It was about three miles from
home and pouring rain at the
time. I can still remember him
saying that we could make all the
noise we wanted to . . . but not
on his bus, We were angry at the
time but looking back it can be
seen that he wasjust doing his job
which was to provide safe
transportation to his passengers.
20 Years Ago
Barbara Hodgson, eighth grade
pupil of Principal A. B. Idle won
the trophy in the final public
speaking contest at the Home
and School Association meeting
Tuesday evening.
Contract for erection of the
addition to Exeter Post Office has
been let to C, A. McDowell Co,,
Centralia, for $36,000.
Rev. Walter E. Strangway of
the United Church Chisamba
Mission, Angola, Africa, will visit
James Street UC this Sunday to
receive proceeds from
"Operation Brown Cow" — a
campaign sponsored by church
organizations to raise funds for a
dairy herd for the mission.
Huron County's impressive
new $700,000 court house will be
opened by Premier Leslie Frost
in a special ceremony Tuesday
afternoon,
10 Years Ago
Gilbert Dow is president of the
Exeter Kinsmen Club following
election of officers at their recent
meeting. He replaces Claire
Hoffman who has served in that
capacity for the past year.
Six directors have been added
to the Exeter Board of Trade to
give it a full slate of officers. John
Burke, Ray Murley, Fred Dobbs,
Harvey Pollen, William Smith and
I)on Wester have been appointed
for the balance of the year.
Following a trend set in earlier
months the employment picture
in most of Huron County con-
tinued to show noticeable im-
provement during April ' 1966
when compared to the same
period in 1905,
Mr. Ron fleimrich and his T-A
choristers again entertained the
Senior Citizens at their meeting
Tuesday night.
The MC has planted 16 trees
for council this year, only half as
many as usual.
Of course I don't believe in
witches. Yet I was struck by the
strange co-incidence that May
Eve which falls on April 30 is one
of the four annual witchcraft
Sabbats. And next morning, May
First, every year all hell breaks
loose as moving vans juggle for
room on narrow streets with
other moving vans, and other-
wise clean-living, tidy, orderly
souls get wild glints in their eyes,
as they order movers about —
"the chesterfield does NOT go in
the bedroom'", scrub cupboards,
rake yards and bring down every
curse word they ever heard on
the heads of the previous oc-
cupants of their new abodes.
Why is May First such a
popular moving day? Why not
June First when the weather is
more predictable, or July First
when the kids are out of school?
(Hmm, the last part of that
question sort of answers itself,
doesn't it?) If witches aren't
behind all this curious mayhem
I'd like to know what is. I am now
writing from the pinnacle of
bitterness because this year the
great moving spirit caught me
too.
The new natives have been
friendly. A young man strolled in
with his Siamese cat the second
day I was here, and gave me the
lowdown (good word — that) on
who was living with whom. He
also knew the names of some
twenty kids on the block, His cat
was named 'Tarot' which he
explained was the name of fur-
tune-telling cards which witches
and other people use. He seemed
a sensible fellow until he 'phoned
his mother collect on my 'phone,
saying he had rented the house
for Tarot to live in while he spent
the summer in Manitoba, He
was now looking around for a sub-
tenant to care for Tarot. He
hasn't succeeded yet.
Of the twenty kids, one elfin
child, a girl of about five years,
has taken to dropping in. One of
these days though, if she doesn't
change her tune, she'll wear out
her welcome, After a few polite
niceties, she says "aren't you
EVER going to clean up this
mess?" Then follows a childish
eulogy about how clean and tidy
her Mamma is. I bet her Mamma
never gets such praise at home.
But really I have never lived in
quite such a mess before — with
everything where it oughtn't to be
— and living this way seems to
make you do strange new things.
As an example — inspired by the
handiwork of a clever friend I
bought a roll of that decorative
sticky stuff. It says on the back of
the scroll what you can do with it.
There were two tables looking
slightly the worse for wear, I
thought I'd tackle them, then
graduate to lampshades, waste
baskets — who knows maybe
even walls.
It's lucky I didn't start on the
walls. It would have been a sticky
end, quietly expiring behind a
sheet of Wack-Tack. Years later,
on some other May First,
someone might move into the
house and wonder vaguely what
the lump in the wall was.
I have a system for gimmicks
like this, I use my commonsense,
and when that fails I read the
directions. First I read them in
English, and when I don't un-
derstand them, I read them in
French. I believe this is how
Trudeau would want a true
Canadian to be — bilingually
bewildered.
But this May First com-
monsense was nowhere to be had.
After following directions in two
languages, I now have two
"occasional" tables — and they
certainly will be — with the kind
of wrinkles that do not bespeak
character or age. Did you ever
try to rip this stuff off and start
over again? The manufacturers
should give directions for what to
do when things go wrong. But do
they know?
My other momentarily un-
necessary project, in the way of
priorities, is getting the cellar re-
organized. The previous owner
left all sorts of goodies— old
bedsteads, half-finished rocking
chairs, dressers of uncertain
vintage, It all looks so
challengingt The witches can
clean up the mess.
'As exeleaimesainiorafe
SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A., 0.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC
Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited
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Published Each Thursday Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Registration Number 0386
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September 30, 1975 5,420
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