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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-04-27, Page 4Times-Advocate, April 27, 1978 Remarkable record When people normally envision Canada’s leading manufacturing firms, they think of big, impersonal businesses operated by nameless ex­ ecutives who have little except their own interests and those of the company in mind, and quite often in that order. It is not a particularly enhancing image. This area is home to one of those firms, and certainly the image is just the opposite for it, as it probably is for many similar companies operating across this nation. That firm is Dashwood Industries Limited, which this week marked its 50th anniversary. Thomas Klumpp no doubt had dreams when he embarked upon his new career in Dashwood in 1928, but obviously he could not envi­ sion the scope which his fledging plan­ ing mill would reach in the com­ paratively short span of five decades. Today, Dashwood Industries is Canada’s leading manufacturer of wood windows, hitting a sales record last year of $32,000,000. It certainly does not owe its success to nameless executives. It was built on the dreams, hard work and shrewd management of people such as Maurice and Howard Klumpp and a couple of other brothers, Jim and Jerry Finnen. However, they are the first to note that their success was also depen­ dent upon many area residents whose dedication and craftsmanship enabled them to reach such pinnacles. Modern engineering, technology and computers are all part of today’s market place, but they go for naught unless they are backed by people with foresight and dedication to the task. Dashwood Industries has always been a good corporate citizen of this district as well, and its employees have also taken a keen interest in many of the activities which make it a better place to live and play, Many projects that have bettered the South Huron community have received sizeable cash donations from DIL and certainly it is a major contributor to the general economic well-being of the area. A 50th anniversary is always cause for celebration, but it assumes even greater proportions when the achievements of those five decades are as momentous as recorded by DIL. But it is obviously only a milestone that will provide the foundation for even greater accomplishments in the decades ahead. Work ethic dead A great many eulogies to the work ethic are finding their way into the media these days. While unemploy­ ment insurance and other social welfare measures are usually given credit for delivering the death blow, such explanations are far too simplistic. The work ethic proclaims labor as a wholesome, rewarding activity. “If you work hard, you’ll get ahead,” etc. Modern times have reduced the validi­ ty of that philosophy to a great degree, however. In pioneer days, when much of the work was related to farming and skilled crafts, a person could derive some satisfaction from an individual job well done. Today, all sociologists recognize the difficulty of obtaining the same glow of achievement from work­ ing at a rapid fire, food store check-out counter or a GM assembly line. While creative and stimulating jobs do exist in our society, most peo­ ple are not fortunate enough to find themselves in such occupations. They work because they need the money. With bigness and impersonality having taken much of the job satisfac­ tion out of people’s lives, the major reward comes in plain dollars and cents. What our present reward system shows us, however, is that working hard has absolutely nothing to do with getting ahead. You can wear your knuckles to the bone in some fume- filled mine shaft all your life, hacking away relentlessly at the mountains of ore, day in and day out, and 20 years later you’ll be lucky if you can still claim ownership to two healthy lungs, let alone a fat bank account. By contrast, a guy in California decides to market “pet rocks” and in three months, he’s a millionaire. Convicted criminals (the Watergate conspirators) write best­ selling books and go on $5,000 per ses­ sion speaking tours. A motorcycle stunt-man gets a million bucks to jump the Grand Ca­ nyon. Xaviera Hollander publishes juicy accounts of her numerous and varied exploits, instantly becomes a 20th cen­ tury heroine, and laughs all the way to the bank. Meanwhile, the farmers, miners, nurses, medical researchers and bank tellers continue to plod along in life, do­ ing far more for society, for far less. Is it any wonder that the virtue of hard work is in serious doubt? In today’s quick-thrill, consumer society,the guy with the gimmick is the guy most likely to come out on top, not the guy who works hard. Look at the statistics on the decline of net farm in­ come over the past few years and you’ll see what hard work gets you. You’re better off making K-Tel record selec­ tors than feeding the nation. We can utter all the noble sen­ timents we want about the work ethic. Our pocketbooks talk louder. The way we financially reward the hookers, hoodlums and hucksters in our society has contributed, as much as any other factor, in hoisting the work ethic on its funeral pyre. Tilbury Times with the editor» a • * » ■; t» Say Ralph — do we take blood in payment? Local developer Len Veri no doubt echoed the thoughts of most local merchants when he noted last week there is a limit to the commercial development that Exeter can handle. The big question, of course, is just what that level may be. The community is experiencing an unprecedented growth in commercial businesses, and with no comparable residential boom, it could well be that the level has already been reached, or perhaps even exceeded. It’s doubtful if there is any communi­ ty in Ontario witnessing such rapid growth on a per capita basis. The major development is the new shopping centre now under construc­ tion at the north end, which is adding about 35,000 square feet of retail space to the community. Mr. Veri’s mall will have 11,000, with about two-thirds of that being new commercial space. Several other businesses have ex­ panded or been established in recent years. Among the list of “newcomers” are the Stedmans, Becker’s and Dixie Lee stores in the mall at the former Cann’s Mill site. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a new office and this has opened up one more commercial outlet as well. All three furniture stores have ex­ panded considerably and other outlets adding space include G & G Discount, Jerry MacLean & Son, and the Pizza Factory. The Royal Bank is comparatively new and the town hall restoration has brought enlarged headquarters for the Credit Union and the establishment of the Heritage shop, which in turn led to more spacious offices for Fred Eyre Real Estate and the establishment of a new craft shop. A..................local builder approached council this week about the possibility of erec­ ting a commercial building across from Les Pines Motel and a permit has . already been approved for a chicken take-out outlet on the site of the old Chuckwagon. Mr, Veri has also indicated he’ll attempt to commercially develop the residential site north of the former Bank of Nova Scotia building. No doubt there have been some new developments we’ve missed, but the list is certainly lengthy already. * * * The question now, of course, is in try­ ing to figure out where all the customers will come from for “the rapidly increasing commercial development. First of all, retailers expect that the addition of new stores will make Ex­ eter a more viable shopping area and will entice area shoppers to stay at home rather than heading for the Lon­ don malls. A sizeable amount of money goes out of the area each week, and certainly if it can be coaxed into Exeter, it will go a long way to provide the additional revenue required to sustain the growth. However, there is little doubt but what Exeter retailers will have to ex­ pect additional business from customers who now shop in smaller area communities, such as Grand Bend, Zurich, Dashwood, Hensall and Lucan, as well as those on the fringes who may now be shopping in other larger communities such as Clinton, Seaforth and St. Marys. Certainly, some of the new stores will be expecting to take business away from existing outlets in Exeter. It will be a matter of “survival of the fittest’’in some cases, while in others 5k there will be benefits derived shoppers come to Exeter to take ad­ vantage of the increased selection, and possibly decreased prices as the com­ petition becomes more intense. * * * There will certainly be new challenges for the local business peo­ ple, not only on an individual basis, but as a group. Many will face the prospect of ad­ ditional store hours to meet the new competition, and hopefully that can be accomplished with some sense of unity and not the confusing hodge-podge that now is evident in the core area. Combined efforts in promoting retailing in Exeter will also have to take on a new sense of direction. Fewer merchants will find it economically feasible to ride on the coat-tails of others and there should be increased enthusiasm and participa­ tion in the present downtown develop­ ment group. It is certainly not a time to be talking about disbanding that organization, but rather strengthening it. While some merchants will see the new north end mall as direct competi­ tion, others will see it as an ally help­ ing to attract more customers to the community as a whole and that will open up the question of whether the merchants’ promotion group should be extended to include all businesses, and not just the core area. Because additional business must be attracted if all outlets are to remain viable, it would appear that the entire business area should be joined in one organization with that goal in mind. as more memory Igne 55 Years Ago At the Quarterly Official Board meeting of the James St. Church, it was decided to engage Mr. Roy Goulding of St. Marys as organist to succeed Mr. Gray. The ladies of Caven Presbyterian Church put on an entertainment in the church on Thursday that was laugh provoking from beginning to end. It was called “The Spinster’s Convention”. On Sunday morning last while Mr. and Mrs. George Ferguson and their two grandchildren were at­ tending church, fire broke out in their home on the 2nd concession of Usborne completely destroyed building, Most of the niture was saved. A large portion of business section of Ailsa Craig was wiped out by fire Tuesday afternoon. Eight stores, five residences, skating rink, telephone office and several barns were destroyed. others saw themselves in the movies at the Exeter Opera House Friday evening. Support idea The kids are lying around the house driving mom and dad nuts. The teachers are spending extended Christ­ mas vacations in Florida or taking on part time jobs. The schools are shut tight while the snow swirls around them. What is this, another teachers’ strike? No, it’s Grey and Bruce counties, in January if an idea being considered by the Bruce-Grey Separate School Board is developed. That forward looking and sensible body obviously knows that the key to survival is adaptability. So it’s study­ ing the possibility of closing all its schools in January, when most of the days are missed because of winter weather and students and teacher absenteeism due to illness is at its highest. The board would open its schools one week earlier, at the end of August and adjust the mid-winter break to maintain a school year with 185 in­ structional days. The January closing would save on heating costs and eliminate the disrup­ tions to school life that come one after another every January, the Bruce-Grey board feels. Ministry of Education officials at the London regional office are reported to be enthusiastic about the plan and well they might be. It’s a terrific idea. It’s the sort of fresh, intelligent idea that’s enough to restore the faith of the general public in the education bureaucracy. Huron’s board and the Huron-Perth Separate School Baord should look at closing in January too. — Huron Expositor Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley Kids make time crawl and the fur- the 30 Years Ago An inspection tour of the RCAF Station at Centralia on Thursday was made by a number of weekly newspaper men of the district in a large Dakota Airplane. Rev. ” ~ ‘ minister for the past six years Evangelical U.B, Church at Crediton has been tran­ sferred to the New Hamburg charge. A deputation of residents on Main Street waited on council, complaining of continued noise late Saturday and Sunday nights Council promised action. John A. Cowan, Blyth, has been appointed police chief for the village of Grand Bend and began his duties May 1. Students of the Exeter schools, business men, clerks, pedestrians and M. E. Reuber, of the Zion Times Established 1873 f .................... Vi Advocate Established 1881 Iimes - Advocate I Wrving {otHh Huron, North Mlddteses X North UmtHon Jlrwe U7J •• 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 Composition Manager —> Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 (*CNA SUBSC........ Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning af 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 •.............-• .......................• •• :••••..................... • • . ■ ;■■■’ ■ ■■ .......... Once upon a time I spent the best part of a year in a prison camp. The days went by very slowly. Later, I spent a year in bed in a sanatorium, and the days dragged even more slowly. A week seemed like a month. Recently, I spent only two weeks in another situation, and the time snailed so slowly that it seemed longer than prison camp and san put together. We had our grandboys for two weeks. Migawd, the days seemed endless. I’m sure you’ll say: “Nonsense. Dear little chaps. I’ll bet they were a lot of fun. How can he say that?” Sure they were a lot of fun. Or let’s switch that to they had a lot of fun. But who wants fun for 16 to 18 hours a day? Not a middle-aged couple, one with a bad back, the other with jangled nerves to the point of screaming when the toast pops up in the toaster. We weren’t like that when they arriv­ ed, but we were close to stretcher cases by the time they left. And I’m not exaggerating one whit. It all started when my wife got sen­ timental and decided to help our daughter, who is in the final throes of studying to become a teacher, and was getting behind in her work. “Bill, we’re going to take the kids for two weeks and give Kim a break. It won’t hurt us and it might even be fun. We may never have the chance to have them like this, all to ourselves, again,” Well, I’ve got news for her. We not only might not. We will not. Not unless it’s over my dead corpus. That’s a lot of nots, but I’m in a rather negative mood. It doesn’t help that I get a pain like a knife in the back when I reach for a fag or a beer. Yep, they’ve sprung my discs again. Just for example, as I write, the TV repairman is working behind me. My wife got a terrible scare today. The littlest tad, who is as destructive as a bull elephant at a quilting bee, got in behind the TV when her back was turn­ ed for a second. There was a hiss and a terrible stench of something burning. She snatched him away^ tore the plug out of the wall, and, much to their dis­ gust, pushed the two of them out of< the room. They weren’t a bit scared, as older kids might be, but kept trying to push by her to see the fun. Right now, Tom the TV man looked up, grinning, and holding a half­ scorched piece of Canadian Cheddar. The little b...oy had tossed his after­ noon snack, which had purloined lord knows where, into the innards of the machine. Ever dropped some cheese on to a burner on the stove? It stinks. No wonder the old lady panicked. That’s just a sample. Here are some miscellaneous items. One floor lamp with dangling crystals, replacement value about $160, flattened with a great clanging of chandelier-like glass. Frame bent, shade broken. We sat with a bare light burning, as though we lived in a cheap hotel room. One Indian rug, recently cleaned at considerable outlay, looking as though a tribe of baboons had been playing football with their own excrement. One chesterfield suite, smeared with jam, honey, toothpaste, and various other indescribable but sticky substances. One hardwood floor, recently refinished, looking as though the Canadiens hockey team had been prac­ tising on it. I could go on and one. but it makes me mad, and it makes my wife cry. And that’s not to mention all the lit­ tle stuff, broken, bent out of shape, rendered hors de combat by jumping on it or hitting someone over the head with it. The day begins about 6:30, with the sound of one small boy babbling happi­ ly to himself. A few minutes later, there is a thump as he hits the floor, the padding of bare feet, and you look up to find the tiny turkey by your bed­ side grinning hugely, probably with your shaving cream in one hand, top off, something dangerous, like a leg off a stool, in the other, and his diapers hanging down to his knees, reddy for some action. From there on it’s sheer horror, as the biting and the fighting and the dan­ cing and the shouting commence. Try to iron, one of them is attempting to pull the iron on his head. Try to vacuum, and they pull it apart in the middle and use it as a voice tube. Try to sew and the smaller one is stuffing his mouth with pins. Try to read a paper and a body conies hurtling across the room and leaps on to your groin, scattering the newspaper. Even worse than the racket are the silences. If there isn’t any sound, you leap to your feet and run to where the silence is. They are inevitably pulling the knobs off the TV, tearing up a manuscript, or stuffing their mouths — Please turn to Page 5 20 Years Ago Highland Hill Dairy, Exeter, has amalgamated with Exeter Dairy Ltd. The new plant will operate under the name of Exeter Dairy Ltd. William D. Schaefer of Newton graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph and will be associated with the practice of Dr. Norman Amos at Kirkton. Exeter’s grand old lady, Mrs. Ann Carling, died quietly in her sleep Monday mornjng in her 97th year. She was Exeter’s oldest resident. A federal health grant of $7,000 has been approved toward the cost of con­ struction of the new nurses’ residence for South Huron Hospital. 15 Years Ago South Huron District High School Board will receive an increase in grants from the Ontario government of at least $17,000 this year. Ontario Department of Highways will construct a new curve in No. 21 highway at Greenway, Stephen township council learned Tuesday night. PC C. E. Gibbons, who has been in charge of the OPP here for the past nine years has been promoted to cor­ poral and transferred to Lindsay. PC George Mitchell will take over the detach­ ment,, Jerry Hoffman, 20, of RR 3 Zurich, died 13 hours after his car wrapped itself around a stout maple tree east of Kippen Saturday evening. Dashwood Men’s Club has raised $152 for the cancer campaign this year, more than 50 percent over the previous year. Think small by Jim Smith Blackmail Taxes, in case you haven’t heard, can be levied rather arbitrarily by the authorities concerned. Once they have been levied, it’s tough to fight back. But, increasingly, gov­ ernment seems to be making the fight more one-sided than ever. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has recently received complaints from small businesses con­ cerning government collec­ tion tactics for past due taxes. One firm is involved with the federal government as a supplier of goods and servi­ ces. Traditionally, the firm has been required to complete the work, then wait while the relevant bureaucrats sit on the bill. Eventually, the gov­ ernment pays up - but it can be a long, expensive wait. One day, this same firm found that it was being hounded to pay up a few thousand dollars in back tax­ es. The firm figured it was cheaper to pay the taxes con­ cerned than to try to fight back; but the firm was tem­ porarily impecunious (a con­ dition attributable to the government’s failure to have paid for many thousands of dollars in services rendered by the firm). The firm told the tax collectors (who, lest we forget, are employed by that same federal government which was behind in paying its own bills) that it would pay up when the government made good on its own debts. The tax collectors res­ ponded quickly and brutally by sending garnishee orders to the firm’s own clients. The amount involved in back tax­ es was relatively small, the amount frozen by this action was relatively enormous and the firm’s owner-manager was relatively furious. No at­ tempts were made to speed up processing of the govern­ ment’s own payments to this firm. A similar incident took place in Alberta recently, ex­ cept the dispute was with the provincial government. The firm had paid the taxes in­ volved several days before the provincial tax department sent out garnishee orders to the firm’s clients. These incidents are becom­ ing far too common. And they are taking place because of bureaucrats who have never operated a legitimate private business. In their zeal to protect the state, these bureaucrats forget that the state is too often the reason for the initial difficulties. A garnishee order is a se­ rious business. Many firms involved in this sort of action find that they lose valuable customers who do not wish to become involved in the paperwork associated with these garnishee proceedings. Some potential clients mere­ ly feel that the order itself is sufficient proof of the firm’s lack of ethics. And, of course, there is the small matter of the firm’s entire working capital being tied up while some bureaucrat narrow­ mindedly protects what he perceives as the nation’s interests. Tough, efficient bureau­ cracy undoubtedly has its place. So, however, does hu­ manity and respect for the public that our bureaucracy was established to serve. "Think small" is an editorial message from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business<s> Cancer can be A beaten’