HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1979-05-30, Page 22AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR WEATHERMAN — This weatherman
came complete with his own weather apparel when the. Grade 8 class
presented the 9 p.m. news report from station DUMB as part of the
spring concert at Grey Central School in Ethel on Thursday night.
Behind the scenes
MUNE LS
°WAN O.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 1979
Serving Brussels and the surrounding community.
Published each Wedgesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
By McLean Bras. Publishers Limited
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Pat La nglois - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $10.00 a Year.
Others $20.00 a Year. Single Copies 25 cents each.
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4Brussels Post
The clout of grey hair
For those who despaired of the constant fawning on and attention
paid by merchandisers to youth during the past ten or so years - those
who were sidelined because their maturity prevented them from
participating - it seems a new day is here.
At long last, those who are no longer considered teenagers, or in the
youth bracket, are about to come into their own. One impressive
statistical note says it all. One-third of all Canadian adults are now.
more than 50 years old, and their numbers are grdwing in relative and
absolute terms. Statistics Canada estimates that the over-50
population will total more than 2.6 million by the end of this century.
What's more, this age group controls more than 30 per cent of the
disposable income in Canada. They often own their own homes, travel
more frequently and spend more on consumer goods and services.
Retailers are just now becoming aware of this market.
It is unfortunate that the worth of those with graying tops has to be
recognized initially for the monetary impact but perhaps this
break-through will lead to the discovery that the not-so-young have
more going for them than dollar muscle.
For the present, it is interesting to note that a consumer show and
conference - billed as "the world of action and opportunity for people
over 50" - is to be held at the Queen Elizabeth Building in Taranto
from June 7 to 10. It is probably the first of its kind and between
'100,000 and 150,000 people are expected to attend.
People will be able to shop for everything from hearing aids to estate
planning service, from new business opportunities to retirement
properties. And so it goes. The age of gray hair is dawning. There is
just one black cloud on the horizon. Given the known ingenuity of
youth, who will do the policing to assure that under-50's wearing gray
wigs do not infiltrate the affair in the hope of sharing in the glory of
being a member of the gray power movement?
Port Elgin—The Beacon Times
To the editor:
Seek Otterbein history
Dear Sir:
I am presently collecting data for an
"Otterbein Family History" and would
appreciate any help readers could give. It
is believed that at one time, Joseph and
Caroline (Otterbein) Querin were
proprietors of a hotel in Brussels, Ontario.
They had a family of four -- Oliver,
"Christian, Henry, and Maude. Caroline
was a daughter of Caspar and Margaret
Hahn Otterbein (the Winterbourne, Ont,
area), and was likely born about 1860-1863.
humours about a number of robberies
in the Walton-Winthrop area seem to be
exactly that-rumours.
A story which has been circulating in the
area says that a man or men driving around
the country in a van have been entering
vacant farmhouses and stealing whatever
cash they can find.
The only factual incident of this nature
which occurred in the area Was three Weeks
ago at a Walton area farm. The farmhouse
was left unlocked when the farmer and his
wife were working in the fields. A cat was
spotted pulling Out of the driveway, and the
Mr. Querin died April 12, 1934. (Mrs.
Querin was the second youngest of a family
of 8 — Conrad, Christian, John, Elizabeth,
Margaret, Henry and Catharine.) If anyone
has any knowledge of these people their
descendents or their hotel proprietorship, I
would appreicate hearing immediately.
Sincerely
Mrs, Betty Lou Robbins,
R .R .#1 ,
Glanworth, Ont.
NOL 1L0
couple discovered a wallet and Money was
missing when they returned to the house.
Neighbours told them two rhen were seen in
the car leaving the house.
The Wingharn 0,P.P. are still
investigating the Matter. The wallet was
recovered, but the cash it contained was not.
Corporal Bill Skelding of the Vtritighatt
O.P.P. said the only other recent theft in the
area was a calf that was reported stolen. The
constable added there is "no pattern or
anything as far as thefts in our area," He
said the O.P.P. detachment didn't have any
information on a gang operating in the area,
BY KEITH ROULSTON
Around the world this weekend, thous-
ands of people were out protesting the
continued use and growth of nuclear
power.
They were the biggest demonstrations
since the days of the anti-war protests
when the United States was involved in
Vietnam and many people noted the
similarities. Even some of the old slogan
were revamped to• serve the new cause.
"Hell no we won't go" became "Hell no,
we won't glow " and so on.
Are we in for another turbulent time like
the Vietnam protest years? Well it's
perhaps too early to tell. The current
protests may swell as they did in the
Vietnam years or they may slowly die out
as the memory of Pennsylvania nuclear
accident recedes and the film, the China
Syndrome dies at the box office. The
potential for growth is certainly there,
perhaps even more so than with the
Vietnam years because it's a worldwide
problem. During the Vietnam years Can-
adian activists felt left on the sidelines
because we really weren't involved in the
fight. We are in this one as are the British
and the Japanese and the people of nearly
every industrialized country in the world.
This protest though is different. The
fatalities of the Vietnam war were very
real. People could see the bodies every
night on the television news. The issue this
time is much trickier. There are no bodies
to be seen, only the fear that someday
there may be more bodies than in Vietnam.
As usual the protests bring a polarization
of opinion that leave many ordinary
citizens left not knowing what to believe.
There's a certain distrust on one hand of
the overt activists, people who seem to be
waiting for some cause or other so they can
get out their plac cards and march in a
picket line. On the other hand there's a,
huge distrust of government and utility
officials. One would be hard pressed to find
anyone around here who believes that
Ontario Hydro tell the whole truth about its
activities. According to Hydro officials,
everything is always hunky dory even when
it appears anything but, Two men get an
overdose of radiation at the Bruce plant
and hydro assures uS that everything is all
right. Heavy water is released into public
waterways and Hydro assures us there is
no danger-. It's that kind of "assurances"
that could Make the protests grow and
grow.
Behind all the protests 1 think is the fear
on the part of ordinary people that the
world has been seized by a technology that
is out of control. This isn't just involved in
the fear of nuclear power but in the use of
additives in foods, the use of chemicals to
control every kind of pest whether insect,
animal or vegetable and a dozen other
areas where people are concerned today.
There's a whole new industry in catering to
those fears from "natural" food stores to
magazines like Harrowsmith that cater to
the people who want an alternate lifestyle.
Somewhere along the way our view of
technology has changed. People who came
to this country lived about as natural a
lifestyle as there wasThey had to struggle
against nature with very few aids. For
them the coming of technology_ was a
blessing. A scythe was an improvement
over a sickle, a binder a huge step over the
scythe and so on. The inventions that
revolutionized the world at the end of the
last century were looked on as blessing
from God.
Probably there were those in that age
who shook their heads and wondered what
the world was coming toy but for the most
part, people looked forward to the changes,
changes that freed them from the drugery
of their work. While the mechanical
changes were coming research in chem-
istry was also going on, research that
provided new drugs to save lives.
People came to accept all these changes
as progress. For a long time itwasprogress,
something that really improved the lives of
the people. Through the 1950's and into
the 1960's there were few doubts that each
new scientific breakthrough was of benefit
to us all.
It was in the 1960's and 1970's however
when some people began to realize that
every change wasn't necessarily progress.
We got so hooked on change that we got
carried away. Science was the glamour
subject of education, particularly after the
Russians launched their first satellite and
the race to the moon was on. We
constructed huge research facilities filled
with scientists bent .on inventing, even if
we didn't really need the inventions. And
of course once the inventions were made,
there were executives and salesmen dedi-
cated on selling the invention even if
people didn't really need it and public
relations men Whose goal was to explain
away any doubts might be developed.
Hopefully what will come out of the
current doubts is a new realistic age, an
age where we realize that technology is not
bad thing but must be used Carefully.• It
Must once again be Made the servant of the
people, not the master. We must get to the
stage of saying "Well, do We realty need
that new chetuical or electronic gadget?" If
through all these protests and feats we can
reach that age of cdmthon sense, then it
will all have been Worth it.
Robbery rumours just that!