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1172,
brussels Post
BRUSSELS
ONTARIO
WEPNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1.913
-Serving. Brussels and the surrounding community
published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
by,McLean Bros. Publishers, Limited. '
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Tom Haley - Advertising,
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association.
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $4.00 a year, Others
$5.00 a year, Single Copies 10 cents each.
Second class mail Registration No. 0562.
Telephone 887-6641.
Perseverance
Perseverance can pay off. It's
more than a year ago that Huron
Bruce MPP Murray Gaunt began a
campaign in which to draw attention
to the dangers that .existed through
the continued use of non returnable
bottles.
He made speeches in the legisla-'
ture, he compiled massive statistics
in support of his claim. He urged
the government to initiate action.
All he received for .his trouble were
a few favourable press releases and
patronizing comments from the Con-
servative powers that be,. Very com-
mendable, they said, but these
things take time and we are now
studying• the matter.
Now, more than a year later, En-
vironment Minister JaMes Auld has
taken one small step forward,"Some
retailers aren't really giving the
public a free choice between throw-
away containers and reusable con-
tainers for their soft drinks, beer,
ale, wine and spirits and the only
w,ay they are going to get that
choice is through Government action."
This doesn't Mean, of course, that
the government is taking anything as
drastic as action. What has hap-
pened is that the Environment On-
tario's' task force on solid waste,
has assigned one of its work groups
to study the regulations, outlined
in a position paper prepared by
members of the Ministry Staff. The
Minister made it plain there wasn't,
any particular hurry for the task
force to file a report until late
in the spring.
This should make it available
probably in May or June in time to
be put aside and pile up with all
those other importaht matters that
will await the return of holidaying
bureaucrats.
In the meantime the manufacturers .
of throwaway bottles and of soft
drink cans need have no immediate
concern. The kids playing in the
park, however, had better pay atten-
tion, There is a. pretty good chance
they may cut their feet on a rusty
can or a piece o'f broken bottles.
We guess there will be lots of
time to use those speeches again
this summer, Murray Gaunt, It
doesn't look as though Mr. Auld and
the Tory Government has much inten-
tion of taking any helpful action
again in the near future.
(The Huron EXpositor Seaforth)
00NAltic kR"ER
3.
CO
evfl'ro
•
-DOW t worry. I'm Wearing' my bullet proof
There are still a few\ of the old breed
left, thank goodness. And one of them is
my friend Ab Cordingley.
Received a letter from him this week,
and, as with everything he says and
writes, it was right to 'the point. He
doesn't waste any words. The letter ends
thus, "Hope U R OK".
He told me bluntly that he still reads
this column and "Sometimes think U R
OK, sometimes off base." He never
had any hesitation in telling me what was
wrong with my line of thought. To my
face.
I remember the last time we went
trout fishing together. I was to pick him
up at 5:30 a.m. or some such hour, and
have breakfast with him. I arrived at a
quarter to six and he gave me hell. Then
he forced me, a coffee-and-toast man, to
shovel down a huge breakfast of bacon
and eggs, enough fOr a logger, which he
had ready.
We had a good. day. I got thirteen
speckles arid a brown and he filled his
creel. The only untoward incident in
the morning's fishing was when he stepped
into a bog-hole, fell flat on his face
and hit his head on a rotten stump.
"Darn" good thing I had my hat on,"
he quipped, looking ruefully at his cigar,
whin had been mashed in the fall. of
course, he was just a spring chicken then,
at the height of his faculties. He was
only 80 years old.
We knocked off for lunch. I was glad.
I was pooped. I pulled out my two meagre
sandwiches, and Ab hauled out a lundh that
would stagger a truck driver. He forced
apples and bananas and great hunks of
Cheese on me until it was doming out
my ears.
I thought, fix the old devil,"
"I'd brought two beers along.. I knew
he was teetotal. It was a hot day; and
the beer was the colour and temperature
of you-know-what. Offered him one.
He was not only a teetotaller but a gentle-
man. He took it,drank dOwn the gaseous
horror and Said t s ,HaVen't. had
a beer and 20-80 Wears,"
A tOtiple Of years later we ecame
across-the- street neighbours. One
evening a few Months later, about 100ri1i,
there was a banging on our kitchen dott.
It was Abe-
“call the, fire brigade, giniley, the
darn' hotiS4 IS On fire,' 140 had his. pants
pulled on Oyer his flannel pyjamas. and
was in his bare feet:- ilad been 'going to
bed,
qfig gravel is hell on the feet ;”
he ObserVed, While I reached for the phone.,
the road between us was paved in gravel.
Try running across it in your bare 'feet;
at 8Z.
I got the fire brigade, and told therri
it was Ab cordingley's hot se, and hung
at•-.1.•
up. In a small town, you don't give
addresses, you just say whose house it is,
Unfortunately, the fire brigade went to
Ab's ol'd house and dithered about for
ten minutes before someone remembered
he'd moved.
Unaware of this, we two hustled across
the street and started carrying out of the
house such valuables as potted plants,
old pictures' worth about seventy-five
cents on the open market.
We'd been doing this for about five
minutes when Ab stopped at the bottorn of
the stairs and yelled up, "Dammit,
Annie, I told you to get down here."
The flames were roaring in the. roof by
now, I realized with horror that his
wife, who had bad legs and trouble walk-
ing was still up there.
Then the fire brigade arrived and
soon confusion became chaos. We got
his wife over to our hOtise and into a
hot cup of tea. Ab nipped around like
a ''twelve-year-old, telling people what
to carry out and driving kids back from
the flartes, I got our kids out of bed,
so that they could watch something they'd'
remember all their lives - a fine old
house going up in a glorious pyre of
blaze and smoke. There's something
heart-wrenching and at the same time
thrilling in such a sight.
Many peOple of 82 would have been
utterly daunted by Such a set-back.. Not
'Ab.. He'd have been more disturbed .if
the Tories had lost a by-election.
Quite a guy. He's 93 or 94 now,
and Still has a min d that would Make
many fifteen-year-olds look senile. Ile'S
a walking encyclopedia. He doesn't pretend
to be an' intelleCtual., 'but haS read then ,
Sands of WAS arid can Still recite poetry
he learned in publin school,
He's everything yotere riot supposed,
to be these days. He's prejudiced. He's
100 per cent opposed tO OritS, booze and
laziness. Re believes in hard, work,
making money, arid leaving something'
worthwhile behind ; like a first-rate
hOSpital.
But there's something endearing about
his prejudines, They are right out the
open, NI bet he believes in capital
Godi and IheaVenJ, en take
away ahead of your smarmy liberals
any day.
And he has a Sense of humour; He
used to Winter in. Texas and took great
delight in, telling the proud tekanS that
their mighty State' could be dropped into
one of Obi' Canadian lakes and riot even
dada& ripPlee.
It seems to Me that brie Winter he
tkink some eiripty bottles to teitasi told
the natives the bottles were hill of truce'
peninsula air', and suggeSted it was worth
at least One dollar a bottle fOr its purity,
dddd health,. Ab, and long lives
Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley
A