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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-06-22, Page 4Times-Advocate, June 22, 1978 Ii’i’cgnlar indeed Exeter council may be excused for wanting to do their utmost to accom­ modate the local Masonic lodge in their plans to build a new hall, but the method used to pursue that goal makes a mockery of their sworn respon­ sibilities. By the admission of Mayor Bruce Shaw, council’s action in giving third Nothing Despite the millions spent in producing movies and television ex­ travaganzas, there’s no doubt that they still fall short in providing the type of entertainment available at a lively public meeting. While many of those in attendance at last week’s session to discuss con­ troversial books were possibly too in­ volved on one side or the other to get any entertainment value from the Clin­ ton meeting, the people in attendance as “onlookers” were well rewarded in that regard. The session covered almost every conceivable aspect of human emotions. At times it was downright hilarious, while at others it was appropriately serious. However, in the final analysis, it did nothing to resolve the debate. Some attitudes may have been moderately mellowed, but none was changed. In fact, the discussion wandered so far from the issue at hand on so many oc- and final reading to a bylaw that wasn’t even written was “highly irregular”. It was the type of action that prompts suggestions that there are varying degrees of law for different people in a community, and members jeopardize the faith placed in them by ratepayers when they side-step accep­ table procedures. resolved casions, that it served very little useful purpose. Unfortunately, it probably deepen­ ed the rift between the two sides to the point that a decision on the matter will become even more difficult. Ex­ aggerated statements have made a mockery of the positions of those who want the books removed from the school lists and those who want them retained. However, in essence, the objec­ tions arise from parents whose religious convictions are offended by the books, and subsequently they do not want them included in the course of study for their children. Those convictions may be difficult for some to comprehend, but they can not be lightly dismissed as being fanatical or an extremely small minority group. It is a problem with which the board and its staff must grapple, and on those terms. "Each year, I spend half my time getting the lawn to grow fast and the other half cutting it, because if grows so fast! BATT’N AROUND Poor ratings Would you buy a used car from your friendly, neighbourhood politician? No way — at least if you are like the more than 650 people surveyed in Kitchener-Waterloo by Dr. Steven Brown, an assistant professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University. The survey indicates that people rank politicians 12th on a list of 13 oc­ cupations in terms of their likelihood of selecting principles over career ex- pediencey when the two conflict. In this respect, politicians as an occupation group rank just ahead of used car salesmen. Clergymen, physicians and policemen in that order are seen as most likely to follow their principles when forced to choose between the two courses of action. Among those further down the list are dentists, professors, auto repairmen and retail merchants. In a second question, Dr. Brown asked people whether the motives for the actions of a typical member of each occupation could be taken at face value, or whether his motives must be viewed with some suspicion. Once again, only the actions of used car salesmen were viewed with greater suspicion than those of politicians. On the other hand, physicians and clergymen were seen as most straightforward. Reacli out June 18-24 is Senior Citizens’ Week. This year, the theme of Senior Citizens’ Week is “Reach out”. This theme is in­ tended to convey a threefold message: actively seeking and enjoying the challenges of giving and accepting; go­ ing out into the community and bring­ ing people closer together; and making this helping and sharing an ongoing part of community life. Companies and institutions are recognizing the special needs of seniors. They are also recognizing that this segment of Canada’s population are increasing in number more rapidly than any other age group. The Ontario Federation of Labour has issued a Proclamation of Seniors’ Rights. Our parents and grandparents have endured global war and economic depression to build the prosperity we enjoy. They have invested their lives in our future. In return, we maintain a pension system which degrades their lives of hard work with a final chapter of humiliating poverty and dependen­ cy. Government and business leaders justify below-poverty public pensions, saying working people must learn to save, but they allow inflation to ex­ propriate the value of saving from the few who have been able. Parents and grandparents have been deprived of our personal support in daily life because we are forced to chase jobs right across the country. Corporations demand mobile labour but offer empty promises in place of mobile pensions. Even the employee who stays for life is. likely to see his pension eroaed by inflation. Our seniors have become depen­ dent on our generosity while we con­ tinue to treat them as a burden. A civilized society would recognize the contribution made by its elders by guaranteeing their share of prosperity and the means to enjoy life in retire­ ment. ,We hereby undertake to establish for seniors, within our own organiza­ tion and society generally, the follow­ ing rights which are necessary for the retirement we expect ourselves: • To be known as seniors or elders in recognition of their contribution to our collective well-being. • To define their own needs in retire­ ment through representative organizations. • Public financial support for seniors’ representative organizations and programs which they design to meet their own needs. • Guaranteed income sufficient to secure balanced diet, comfortable shelter, freedom of movement, regular recreation, social life and entertainment. • To have the value of this income maintained throughout retirement and to share improvements in our standard of living. • The opportunity to acquire an ade­ quate pension as a right flowing from a lifetime of work rather than on a means-tested basis. • Free access to the care and facilities required to sustain good health without confinement to institutions wherever possible. HK» Time$ Established 1073 naemory RCAF now stationed at Lethbridge, Alta, has been awarded his LAC. 25 Years Ago Nearly 200 rural public school ’ pupils and their teachers travelled to London in four chartered buses to view a circus parade, and the circus and have picnic supper at Springbank Park to celebrate the Coronation. Huron County Council let a $348,472 contract to Ellis- Don Ltd., London, for the 64- bed addition and renovation of the Huron County Home. April 3, 1930 following the first Great War. an Exeter branch of the Canadian Legion was organized and given its charter the follow­ ing month. Kirkton-born Ward Allen, 28, was chosen grand cham­ pion fiddler of Western On­ tario at the Championship Fiddlers’ contest held in the Hensail Arena Friday night before an estimated crowd of 1.200. 20 Years Ago Rev. H.J. Snell, Exeter, who has been president of London Conference United Church during the pqst year, presented the staff of office and chairman’s gavel to his successor, Rev. Gordon W. Butt, Windsor, when the four-day annual meeting in Chatham drew to a close. Pride of Huron Rebekah Lodge celebrated its eleventh birthday in the form of a friendship night June 4. Mass production poultry building on the Alcantuc farm west of Exeter on Highway 83 is rapidly taking shape. The structure which will house 10,000 turkey broilers or 20,000 chicken broilers is 384’ x 56’ with no windows. Rev. Alex Rapson of Main Street United Church accepted a call to Hyatt Ave. United Church, Lon­ don, Sunday. 60 Years Ago The Exeter Canning and Preserving Co. assisted by the good offices of Mr. Haviland and the teaching staff of Exeter High School succeeded in inaugurating the farmerette movement in Exeter. Rev. S.W, Muxworthy, pastor of Main Street Church, who has completed five years in Exeter and is being transferred to Forest, will preach his closing ser­ mon next Sabbath. Lieut. Harold Swann who, for three years taught at Eden School and who recent­ ly returned from overseas, visited with friends this week in the community and residents were entertained in his honor at the home of Alfred Coates. Rev. Ernest Grigg, mis­ sionary to Burma, who spent the past year in YMCA work in France, has arrived in Montreal on furlough and will shortly visit his sister. Miss Grigg of town. 35 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. M.W. Telfer moved Thursday to Parkhill where Mr. Telfer has been transferred after the closing of the Bank of Commerce in Crediton. Mr. and Mrs. Telfer were residents of Crediton for the past 17 years. Wednesday the ladies of the Exeter branch of the Red Cross met in the kitchen of James Street UC and made 104 pounds of strawberry jam. In a few days they will be making gooseberry jam, Conveners are Mrs. Wib Martin, Mrs. L. Kyle and Miss Laura Jeckell. Wednesday, August 4 the Ontario electors will go to the polls to elect a new government. The editor of this paper has been ap­ pointed Returning Officer for the electoral district of Huron. Eldrid Simmons of the Kids were different then In September, 1948, the writer was one of 107 grade nine students entering the halls of learning at Exeter High School, thereby swelling the total enrolment to a record 292. For graduates of Exeter Public School, the move to the high school was not a particularly exciting change. It merely meant a move from the ground floor of the old school to the classrooms on the second floor. The teachers didn’t even provide much of a change of pace in view of the fact they were familiar faces to local youngsters. However, we were among the more fortunate in that regard, as the home room teacher for the 37 students in our grade 9A class was a new arrival, an enthusiastic young physical education specialist by the name of Glen Mickle. .Last week, we had an opportunity to sit down with Glen and recall some of the events of, the past 30 years at the high school oh the eve of Glen’s retire­ ment. As a sports nut, it was probably only natural that Glen was our favorite teacher through five years of high school, although with a small enrol­ ment and only a dozen teachers, students enjoyed a more personal relationship with all the teaching staff. It is interesting to note that the staff in 1948 included principal H. L. Sturgis, Lauretta Seigner, Eugene Howey, Joe Creech, Ernie Jones, Andy Dixon, Gor­ don Koch, Sandy Ness, Morley Sanders, Cecil Wilson and D. Ferguson. The majority of those remained in Exeter through to their retirement. Glen joined the staff at a salary of $2,200, which he recalls, aggravated a couple of the other members because it was $100 more than they were receiv­ ing. H. L. was getting a whopping $3,- 600 for his added responsibilities.“If I could ever get to $3,600, what would I do with all that money?” Glen recalled thinking at the time. * * * Glen’s arrival at South Huron was marked by one of the major high school sports dynasties of all-time, as he and Miss Seigner annually led local teams to WOSSA basketball and volleyball championships. The school was dubbed “the one from the hinterlands” by a WOSSA official and the teams ended up at the annual basketball tournament in London with a teddy bear mascot nam­ ed “Hinterland Harry”. Glen took his first team to WOSSA in the spring of 1949, losing to Tillsonburg in the final by the narrow verdict of 24- 22. Members of that team included Murray May, Bill O’Brien, John Rether, Ivan Hunter-Duvar, Fred Dobbs, Gord Cann, Bill Mickle, Grant Morgan and George Dobbs. The following year, many of those players were on hand as South Huron won the title. The lineup was Roger Vd'ndenbussche, Ken Moir, Murray May, Glenn Schroeder, Gerald Webb, Paul Durand, Fred Dobbs, Gord Cann, Bill Mickle, Cam Krueger and Grant Morgan. In 1951, Sbuth Huron successfully defended the title through the efforts of Ron Heimrich, Durand, John Haberer, Cann, Bill Gilfillan, Moir, Schroeder, Bill Maybe and Ian McAllister, A year later, the junior boys won their first WOSSA title with a lineup of John Hicks, Gary Middleton, Bill Yungblut, Ron Rowcliffe, Jim Sturgis, Bill Batten, Bev Heywood, Richard McFalls, Chuck Parsons, Bob Robert­ son. The seniors were nipped 36-33 in the WOSSA final the following year, although they did manage to win a volleyball crown, one of two recorded by the school. In 1954, both junior and senior teams were again in the championship, .... .... .. 7^.. although neither was successful. Glen also had three football teams in WOSSA championships, their closest effort being a loss in the final minutes when a penalty nullified what would have been the winning touchdown. ★ * ★ In his first year as coach and head of the phys ed department, Glen con­ ducted classes in the old arena gym­ nasium, recalling on many occasions that, the students had to wear their coats due to the lack of sufficient heat in the winter time. However, a couple of his ardent basketball stars found life more en­ joyable curled up on the couch down beside the basement furnace. The par­ ticular habits of that pair prompted Glen to lock his team in a room at the Hotel London in their first WOSSA tournament. Keeping tabs on players became most difficult when he had both junior and senior teams in the finals. “I had to run like heck between gyms,” he recalled, with those games taking place in two different locations. He finds the attitude of students has changed considerably since those early days in his teaching career. “In those days we didn’t have to coax kids to come out and play on school teams. They wanted to play and they wanted to support the school.” Students who participated in school sports also had to make many sacrifices. There were no late buses to take them home and most of the students from the country or neighbor­ ing villages had to hitch-hike after games and practices. He recalled one father phoning him to say his son would have to quit basketball, because for two nights in a Please turn to Page .5 The readers write Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley Don't let it get to you Dear Sir: “Archie Bunker” was in Clinton on Tuesday night; his strident “stifle” rang raucously throughout the High School Auditorium: “Ban the books; don’t corrupt our youth!” The best known con­ temporary bigot and anti­ intellectual paraded his fears, his intolerance and his hostility before four famous Canadian writers of distinction; English teachers; senior students; and parents and citizens opposed to the efforts of organized pressure groups to suppress novels of literary merit on the Grade 13 curriculum. Probably the most baffled and frustrated were the students. They had known that “Archie” had existed throughout the ages, but they had not before met a com­ pletely closed mind face to face. Deeply involved in having their own minds opened up through the educational process, they could not understand an “Archie” whose only response to liberal and rational concerns was “Meathead.” Unable to see beyond his own self-righteousness, he labelled dissent as blasphemy. The 18 year old students said: “We can handle the dirty words; trust us; trust our judgement.” Archie said: “I can’t trust you.” The “Archies” of this world, however, can’t protect themselves by professing to protect their own children. They can’t push onto them their own anxieties and insecurities, in an attempt to cope with their own perceptions of threats. The threats that Archie perceives have been ac­ cepted for many years by 18 year olds as part of the normal verbal world of growing up. Secure in his own fan­ tasies, Archie has blocked out the reality of the elementary school bus and school yard, where in a few minutes he could hear more four letter dirty words than are printed in the three novels he is concerned about. We don’t completely disapprove of children because of the dirty words they use. To ban good books because of dirty words is to ban good children for the same reason. To condemn these books is to condemn an eight year old child. “Archie Bunker” the adult and parent has insulted the school trustees and teachers; his own children and perhaps most of all himself. If students are going to be corrupted by j dirty words they will have | been corrupted long before 1 Grade 13 and if so, only poor parental training would permit such corruption. In our free society, we . must tolerate the “Archie J Bunkers”o “Archie Bunker” the adult and parent has insulted the school trustees and teachers; his own children and perhaps most of all himself. If students are going to be corrupted by dirty words they will have been corrupted long before Grade 13 and if so, only poor parental training would permit such corruption. In our free society, we must tolerate the “Archie Bunkers” of this world, but we must not run scared from their fears. The young people in our high schools are free of such weaknesses; they have the strength of good judgement. Let’s trust our young people. Sincerely, C. Ken Lawton. # # Dear Editor My first trip to Exeter was on a Saturday night in September 1943, a time when, the farm people used to come to the Village to do the weekly shopping to meet friends or take in a movie. I was with a family from Crediton, their son and I were both stationed at Wolseley Barracks, London. Over the years I have been in three places called Exeter; this one, New Hampshire USA and “The Sister City” in England. Crediton is not very far from it either just like here in Ontario. I later lived in Exeter for a year back in 48-49, and I enjoyed it very much. We used to share the water with the turtles at the old dam site if it’s still here. Oh yes, my first sight of Grand Bend was in 1943. Then it had very few cot­ tages and a wooden wharf out from the main beach area and nothing else. Now it puts Atlantic City in second place for tourists. I wonder if they ever cleaned up the poison ivy along the beach!! When I read of Exeter in the news, I remember all those Old yesterdays and the memories I have of it. Lovely ones! This place has a special place in my heart, forever. Mrs. Barbara C. Douglas, 83 Loyalist Ave. Amherstview, Kingston Ontario K7N 1K9 Canada Despite my fairly often encounters with snarly misanthropes who seem bent on convincing me that the human race is a nasty lot, I keep coming back to the good, warm feeling that, on the whole, people are a pretty good lot, as far as they go. They are kind and concerned, despite the evidence to the contrary. When I wrote something about my wife’s in­ somnia and how she dreads our up­ coming trip to Europe — trying to sleep on boats, buses and a strange bed every night — a lady reader sent me a long letter filled with ideas on how to cope with the situation. One time, in a real cri de coeur, I mentioned that our daughter was very ill, and asked readers to say a prayer. We received dozens of letters and phone calls, from friends and strangers, assuring us that they would do just that. An elderly lady from Alberta wrote me a long and involved letter offering a solution, when I once complained of arthritic agony in this space. I’m going to take her up on it one of these days. I’ve tried wearing a phony bracelet and carrying a potato around in my hip pocket, and they were slightly less than successful. Turned to write somethng on the blackboard a few weeks ago, my old friend Arthur nailed me in the hip, and I almost fell down in front of the class. Headline: English Department Head Drunk On Duty; Angry Parents Demand Dismissal. Wrote a column recently asking for someone, somewhere, to give my daughter a job. It was written in jest. But any day now, I expect an old friend, or a complete stranger, to give me a call and offer her a job as a chicken plucker or a go-go dancer or a cosmetician in a mortuary, or something equally exotic. Years ago, I had to go off to the San, with a shadow on my lung. I left behind a young, pregnant, bewildered, and scared wife. My friends, young and supposedly callous, spent their scanty money on visits to me, and supported and solaced my bride, without ever try­ ing to take a pass at her, to my astonishment and enlightenment, for they were a pretty unscrupulous crowd, and she was a raving beauty, and human nature being what it is . . . Just recently, a colleague died of leukemia, after a comparatively short illness. He was in his prime, a nice guy, generally liked, full of life. And he died bravely, without any whimpering, still making plans for next year. A couple of days later, one of his mates was around with a piece of paper, looking for signatures for work parties at Paul’s place. He and his wife owned a summer resort, into which they’d poured a lot of money and energy, planning for his retirement. They had neglected the place, natural­ ly, during his last illness. The weeds and grass had grown, and they had to open soon for the summer season. There was no lack of signatures, and we all piled in, even the old decrepits like me, who usually leave the menial labor for the kid next door, to clean up the place. During the war, I found the same kindness and concern among the enemy. A young German paratrooper who had watched coldly while some older German chaps kicked me about rather badly for something naughty I'd done, came into the box-car in which I was tied up that evening, bloody and well-bowed, threw his camouflage cape over me — it was October — and talked to me in halting French. I sorely needed both the cape and the company. A few weeks later, with other prisoners, I was sitting out an air raid (ours) in the basement of a German railway station. We were half-frozen and hungry as hell. Some middle-aged German ladies came down with a huge basin of hot coffee (ersatz) and motherly looks (real) in the middle of that air raid. I blessed their good hearts, and hoped my mother would do the same, in the same situation. Arrived at my first prison camp, I couldn’t believe it when the in­ habitants, Australians and New Zealanders, captured at Crete three years earlier, gave us a hot meal from their own meagre rations. We were cold, exhausted and half-starved. If anything gave me a faith in the innate decency of the human race, it was that. Those are clear-cut examples, but there are hundreds of others, less easy to describe. The neighbor who slips over with a jar of hot, homemade soup when your wife is away. The other neighbor who feeds your cat when you’re off on a trip, or who fixes your shutters or your plumbing and forgets to send a bill. The doctor who calls, after an ungodly long day, to check on the state of your sick child. The quiet concern in the eyes of your students when they know you are really too ill to be up there teaching. It’s a cynical age, and it’s an easy age to be a cynic, but don’t let it get to you. When the chips are down, when there’s fire or flood or famine, blizzard or blast or bats in the attic, people will respoiid with a kindness that will blind you with tears. 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 Advocate Established 1881 fcnesrj 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 d vacate 8 * Nfcrth UmMm Vrct H7]