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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-01-05, Page 4Times-Advocate, January 5, 1978 O P I N I O IM Standing at the portals Well, here we §re embarking upon a brand new year, and as usual it will be met with varying hopes by the residents of the area. There will be those who will be hop­ ing for a repeat of their good fortune over the past 12 months, while others will want to see something entirely different. The past year was certainly one of many ups and downs. Among the high points were the open­ ing of the new rec centre in Exeter and a swimming pool at Kirkton. In fact, recrea­ tion facilities consumed a considerable amount of everyone’s time as canvasses were conducted in Hensail and Lucan and progress on those two facilities is progress­ ing as planned. Exeter continued to experience a building boom, in sharp contrast to most areas of the nation. Two new wells were also opened in Usborne to provide for more growth in the future. Among the projects approved in Ex­ eter, of course, is the new shopping plaza. That in itself may be considered as a high point for some and yet get a marking on the other end of the scale from others. It certainly ranked closely behind the new rec centre in the area of public debate. The citizens of Grand Bend started the past year off with banner headlines and finished in much the same way as dis­ cussions got underway for “boundary ad­ justments’’. That too constituted a high or low point, depending on one’s position in the debate. Among the Iqw points, the weather again took top honors. Area residents battl­ ed one of the most severe winters on record to start off the year and then saw crops rot in the fields as rains inundated the area in the fall. It was not a good year for the majority of farmers, and because the economy of the area hinges on their success, everyone was affected by their adversities. * But all that is now history and we must turn our attention to the future. What will it hold for the area in 1978? For the residents of Hensall and Lucan, it should see the official opening of their completed recreation centres. Certainly that will be a proud moment in the life of those two communities. Among the major events for the com­ ing year will probably be the disposition of the annexation discussions in Grand Bend. Those talks could suffer a slow death or by Richard Charles I they could result in some controversy which will affect residents in Bosanquet and Stephen. This will also be an election year for municipal councils and school boards and those usually prove to be interesting events. But basically, little is known of the year that is ahead. The pessimists have all sorts of predictions of doom and gloom, while those who are more optimistic suggest that the economy should show slight signs of recovery. In this area, residents will realize again just how much their fortunes swing on the whims of the weather and making predictions in that area are impossible. Hopefully, there will be a vast im­ provement over last year, although cer­ tainly farmers will have to make some monumental decisions in the next couple of months as they attempt to guess what crops will pay the biggest dividends with < the least risk come harvest time. Some will. suggest that they may as well flip a coin, indicating that it is an industry which re-' quires as much luck as good business sense. There is also an indication that we could see a federal election some time in the next 12 months, although most people have come to the conclusion that it matters very little which party holds the balance of power in Ottawa. Out taxes keep going Up regardless, and there are the usual con­ troversies and scandals. However, one of the most important votes in this nation’s history could also take place. That, of course, would be the Quebec referendum on separation. Debate con­ tinues on what effect that would have on Canada and Quebec, but it appears general­ ly agreed by most experts that it would do irreparable damage to both. It will be an issue everyone will be watching with con­ siderable interest. On the international scene, there is strengthening hope for peace in the Middle East, but this could be offset by more problems in Africa. It always seems that what is gained on one hand is often lost on the other, and perhaps that will be a continuing situation in the 12 months ahead. However, we trust it will bring you peace, good health and happiness . . . and remember, you may have more opportuni­ ty to shape the course of events than you realize. After all, solving the problems of the world often starts right at home. IL > r _ . Are you sure this is the way to go ice fishing? The writer was among those who looked proudly upon the opening of the South Huron rec centre. After all, it was a magnificent facility and would serve the area well for years to come. However, our opinion of the structure changed drastically last week after completing our duties as director for the annual novice hockey tournament. In short, the damn thing much too big! That conclusion came in is Touchiness of modern society Don’t you get a little tired of the touchiness of modem society in which, no matter where you step, it’s on somebody’s toes, no matter what you say or write, it’s a slur on someone’s background, color, creed or con­ victions? About the only areas left in which one may chance a remark without fear of inflicting abound are politics and sex. It’s extremely difficult to in­ flict even a bruise on a politician. He must have a fat ego in the first place, and he quickly ac­ quires a brass hide to go with it. Add an ability to talk out of both sides of the mouth at once, and a certain skill in straddling fences, and you have cabinet material. In the field of sex, there don’t seem to be any limits any more to what can be said, presented or simulated. Movies, magazines and theatre club us over the head with raw, unembellished sex, or seek to titillate the spook in each of us with highly-embellished, freaky sex until the whole once- exciting subject has become a crashing bore. Aside from sex and politics then, there is scarcely an aspect of the human scene where even angels fear to tread, lest they step on someone’s sensibilities. Ethnic jokes are out, black is beautiful, gefillte fish is glorious, Rhodesia is rotten, poor people are more noble than rich people, gay is gorgeous, and the only real sin is to be old. Lord forbid that we should ever go back to the days when a Catholic was a “mick” or a "dogan,” a black person was a “nigger,” an Italian was a “wop,” a Chinese was a “chink,” and so on. But I do get heartily sick of a society in which you have to tippy-toe all the time for fear of offending some touchy minority, or trespassing inadvertently on someone’s weird religious af­ filiations. We are developing into a socie­ ty with a snobbish sort of reverse prejudice in which everybody is leaning over backwards in order to appear not even to be breathing on anyone else. As a result, we are losing much of that good old Canadian crustiness and turning into a na­ tion of nice nellies in whose mouths margarine wouldn’t melt. Even our media reflect this trend in our society. With few ex­ ceptions, our newspapers are as bland as blanc mange. The letters to the editor have more bite, than are often better written, than the editorials. Our magazines are either tiresomely “liberal” or narrowly nationalistic, or both. Tied in tight bundles, they make better firewood than they do reading matter. Television and radio news reporting, most of it culled from the late editions of newspapers, is incredibly unimaginative and repetitious. TV programs, on the whole, are pure pap, offensive by being so inoffensive. Public figures are so frighten­ ed of offending somebody or los­ ing a few votes, that their public utterances come out as mush wrapped in marshmallow. What this country, and this society, need is a good dash of cold water from somewhere, to wake us from our mind-numbing, paralyzing “niceness.” We need a Bob Edwards or a Grattan O’Leary to jolt us with some honest vituperation, some colorful name-calling, some hard facts, and some common sense. We need some politicians with guts, who don’t give a diddle for the popularity polls, and who would give us the facts of life ' without any sugar coating, We need some educators with backbone to tell the people who ; claim that Huckleberry Finn is racist and The Merchant of Venice is anti-semitic and Catch- 22 is dirty and The Diviners is disgusting, to go fly a kite. We need about 10,000 fewer smart-ass commentators on what is wrong with this country, and few hundred honest men or women to tell us what is right with it. We need far fewer "reasonable” people arid a heck of a lot more “unreasonable” people, who would refuse to accept something just becausq it’s always been done that way, or someone might be upset if things were changed. We need some thundering editorials, some pulpits pounded, some stiff jail sentences for racism, some honesty in high places. We certainly don’t need a “good war’’ or a “good depression” to make Canadians stop whining and bitching and mealy-mouthing, but we certain­ ly need a “good” something to turn us back into the sturdy, in­ dividualistic people we used to be. I haven’t the answers. I’m no prophet. But I’m sick to the ears of a society that thinks: old peo­ ple are a nuisance; young people are never a nuisance; super markets are sexy; social workers can make miracles: and everybody is as good as everybody else. Perhaps if you agree with me to some extent, you would enjoy reading The Golden Age of B.S. by Fred C. Dobbs. It’s rambling and it’s coarse in spots, but it’s right on. a stiffening message from our legs. They had been required to walk up and down the dressing room corridors about four times during each of the 25 tournament games, plus additional trips through the auditorium where the young hockey players were being fed. Alvin Willert tells us that the ice surfacing equipment travels about half a mile each time it prepares the ice and while we questioned his mathematics at one time, we now realize he was probably underestimating the distance. However, area residents will be happy to know that most of the 700 people who attended the tournament were high in their praise of the facility. They came from throughout Western On­ tario and as far away as Burlington and most comments indicated they had never been in a facility that could equal ours. The look of envy on the faces of the many visitors made one realize that the hard work under­ taken by so many area residents was certainly worth the effort. see or hear a coach or manager raise a serious objection, although obviously in that many games there had to be occasions on which the refs missed a few calls. All the players behaved themselves remarkably well in their off-ice time as well and some of the ladies who prepared the meal report that some of the' youngsters went out of their way after eating to say a word of thanks. All in all, it was a thrilling ex­ perience to see hockey played in the true sense of sportsmanship. Perhaps the most disappoin­ ting aspect of the event was the fact that so few area people attended any of the games. We can advise them they missed some excellent hockey and some of the most exciting games we’ve seen in some time. Many of the games went into overtime and the ability displayed by these seven and eight year olds is simply astounding. * * * ..Times Established 1873 * * * While those comments were encouraging, they had to take a back seat to the general health of minor hockey on the whole, it’s a sport that has been much malign­ ed at times, but our faith was completely restored after work­ ing with some 300 boys, eight referees and about 75 coaches and managers at the tourna­ ment. It may come as a surprise to some people, but the entire 25 games were played without one argument or altercation, on or off the ice. The only injury that resulted in a player having to leave the game was a simple case of “cold feet” with a goalie who didn’t get enough action to keep the blood flowing properly. Naturally, there were a few “cat calls” from the stands for the referees, but never did we While our legs deserved a long rest after the event, that unfor­ tunately was not to be. Our teenage Sunday school class had planned a snowshoe outing to Archie Webber’s bush on the day after the tournament. For people who may not have been out for a walk on Wednes­ day, we can advise them that there was a strong wind blowing to add to the rather cool temperatures and it was not a day on which anyone in his right mind would consider hiking for some two miles. However, accompanied by 11 teens and the better half, we urg­ ed our tired legs on against the wind and finally made it to the destination where a warm fire in a snowmobile shack was one of the most welcome sights we’ve seen for some time. Displaying his bushman’s talents, Bevan Shapton soon had a roaring fire outside as well and it wasn’t long before our appetites were rewarded with some hot dogs cooked (or in most cases, ■ charred) over an open flame. The real treat was yet to come as the gals set about making some taffy for an old-fashioned taffy pull. It was the writer’s first experience with this delicacy, and despite the lack of all the modern conveniences to which they are normally ac­ customed, the cooks performed their duties to the ultimate degree. Such fun we had! Playing tug of war with the sticky taffy until it tuned milky white and then laying it in the cool snow to harden into long strings that were simply mouth watering. It’s an experience everyone should undertake. The only unfortunate aspect of such outings is the fact that one must retrace his steps to get back to his point of departure. Fortunately, the wind helped blow us along and we’re certain we wouldn’t have made it home without that assistance. It’s certainly great to be back sitting at our typewriter. Now if there was just a motor on the wheels of this chair we could possibly get our copy to the back shop for typesetting. How come we don’t have any copy boys around here, Mr. Publisher? Some of us are begin- ing to show our age! How are you doing? You heqr a lot nowadays about the need to save energy. So, what do you think? Perhaps you are bothered by what you might ge* into if you become serious about saving energy. A few short questions printed below may help you to sort out your ideas. But first, we need one answer before the rest can make sense. What do we mean by energy? It’s the source of heating and cooling, lighting and motive power on which our homes, transportation, industries, farms and businesses depend in everyday life. We draw it mainly from fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal), water power and nuclear reactors: to a lesser extent from wood: and to a small but increasing extent from sunshine, wind, tides and hot springs. Of course, almost all of this energy originates from the sun. Now for some yes-and-no questions that you might ask yourself. (No prizes: we’re trying to save, not spend, remember? ) ■ Do you think the talk about an energy shortage is a lot of nonsense? - Can we go on using more and more energy as long as we can pay for it? If we soon use up the world’s available stock of fossil fuels, can we just switch to other sources of energy and continue as before? - To make a worthwhile saving in energy, do we have to ruin our standard of living? - Is the call to save energy aimed only at “the little guy”, while big users like industry and government go free? If you have answered “no” so far, you must be on the right track. - Can you save money through saving energy? Is it enough if you save energy simply by finding ways to stop wasting it? Can you save energy without making your home too cold (or too hot)? - Are there ways of driving a car without being considered a waster? a Can labour-saving devices be used in conjunction with energy-saving ideas? You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the best answer to those questions is “yes”. - If your home insulated at least to the minimum recom­ mended level? - Is your home heating system cleaned and serviced at least once a year? Do you draw only the amount of hot water you need when you do the washing, take a bath or shower, and so on? Do you make a habit of switching off lights that are not in use? - Are you prepared to give up your bid for the local championship in the amount of garbage you throw out? Do you try to save energy away from home: on the job, at school, wherever you go? Only a saint or a born liar could give a solid “yes” to this last group of questions, but perhaps you haven’t said a flat “no” either. This interrogation may have raised still more questions ' in your mind. Don’t worry. You can get answers by sending for a copy of 100 ways to save energy and money in the home to Box 3500, Station C, Ottawa, Ontario, K 1Y 4G 1, and by looking out fo- this series of newspaper columns called “Energy Savers”. One question you don’t need to ask is: “Who, me?” This is for the young, old, married, single, property owners, tenants ■ the lot. . ... ,-fr ........... y..: Advocate Established 1 881 Iimes - Advocate Serving South Huron, North M;ddlesev K A North Umbton Since 117) 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 EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Plant Manager— Bill Weekley Composition Manager —- Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 (♦CNA subsc....... HELLO 1918-^ ... -J We're popping up with warmest wishes to all for the Year. Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00 down memory lane 55 Years Ago A local hockey league of six teams has been formed to play a series of gardes. They will go by the ngmes of High' School, cap­ tain W. Lawson; Midgets, cap­ tain E. Wells; Alerts, captain, C. Davis; Stars, captain, V. Pin- combe; Maple Leaves, Captain, L. Hill; Rovers, captain, E. Preszcator. A new cafe has been opened in Exeter in the building south of Lawson’s jewellery store and formerly occupied by Miss •Armstrong. The building has been fitted"up in a very at­ tractive style and is in charge of two Chinamen. Mr. Theodore Grey, London, has been engaged as organist of ' James St. Methodist Church. Mr. Silas McFalls of the Molsons Bank staff, St. Marys, has been transferred to the branch of that bank at Centralia. 30 Years Ago Elmer D. Bell was appointed a King’s Council in the New Year list. He was recently elected president of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce. Several residents, who spent the New Year holiday in other centres experienced great dif­ ficulty in returning home owing to the violent storm which swept through Western Ontario on New Year’s Day. At the inaugural meeting of the fOY\E5TKr inpustcial □ a 0 public school trustees held in the office of the secretary, W. H. Hodgson, W. E. Middleton was re-elected chairman with R. E. Russell, vice-chairman. A capacity crowd packed the convention hall at Hensall on Wednesday afternoon and chose Thomas Pryde as the standard bearer for the Progressive- Conservative party in the by­ election for the Huron riding on February 16. 20 Years Ago Attending in a body the funeral of the late Thomas Pryde, Huron MLA who died in Victoria Hospital, London, on Sunday were Premier Leslie Frost and members of his cabinet, mem­ bers of Huron County Council, Exeter Council and Exeter Lions. Premier Frost paid sincere tributte to Tom Pryde in which he Snowmobiles are heavy I Keep them on land surfaces! said “He was a man of great integrity and sound principle”. Over 120,000 cards and letters were handled by the Exeter post office during December. A $3,000 loss in the operation of SHDHS cafeteria was discussed by the School Board at the first meeting of the year Tuesday night. 15 Years Ago Mr. 1963, the first New Year’s baby at South Huron arrived at 4:14 New Year’s morning. He is Trevor Glenn English 6 lb. 14 and three-quarter oz. son of LAC and Mrs. Ronald English, Exeter. A member of last year’s Bid- dulph township council, John Bryan, RR 3, Granton, has challenged the incumbent reeve, Harold Wallis, RR 1, Granton, who has held that position for two years. Zone commander Doug Andrews, Clinton, installed the new executives of Hensall Legion and ladies’ auxiliary Wednesday night. The new Legion president is Jack Simmons and auxiliary president is Mrs. William Smale. Exeter Pee-Wees defeated Wheatley 7-2 to bring home the “C” title from the fifth annual international puck tourney at Leamington last week. A memorial window was dedicated recently at Holy Trinity Church, Lucan, by D. A. Ashworth in memory of his Wife.