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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. limmommisinmeamiimOnn‘ SITAI4101401 'In 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!