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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1982-05-05, Page 7editorial The ILUCKNOW SENTINEL ,"The Sepoy Town" Established 1873 SHARON, J. DIETZ . Editor PAT LiViNGSTON - Office Manager MERLE ELLIOTT • Typesetter JOAN HELM . Compositor Lucknow Sentinei, Wednesday, May S, 1982—Page 6 Business and Editorial Office Telephone 528,2822 Mailing Address P.O. Box 400, Lucknow, NOG 21-10 Second Class Mail Registration Number Q847 Subscription rate,, $14.50 per year In advance Senior Citizen rate, $12.00 per year In advance U.S.A. and, Foreign, $38.011 per year In advance Sr. Cit. U.S.A. and Foreign, 536.00 per year In advance i 1 Peace is everybody's business Ryon always thought Mother's Day was invented .by the greeting card industry, you're mistaken. Most people don't know that the first international Mother's Day was a festival of mothers advocating peace. It was Julia Ward Howe, a prominent U.S. suffragette, who called the first Mother's Day on June 2, 1872. It, was "a mighty and .august Congress of mothers,without limit to nationality", to promote the amicable settlement of inter- national questions. "Arise •allwomen who have hearts,". her cry went out across North America and Europe. "Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters to prevent the waste of human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?" That Mother's Day was celebrated in many cities, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Rome, and Constantinople. • Some groupscontinued to observethe day for several years, but when the second Sunday in May was officially proclaimed Mother's Day by the president of the United States in 1914, Ward Howe's peace promoting intention was not formalized. Toronto Women have celebrated Mother's Day for peace since they attended the World Congress of Mothers •in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1955. With little money and few resources they worked through local churches. picking . a different ' area of Toronto each • May. In the '60's mothers brought their cause out of the churches. They held vigils on University Avenue, standing there quietly with their banners. • Until recently, the peace -oriented celebrations of , Mother's Day in Toronto was conspicuously absent from the movement, but this year there is a resurgence of interest among mothers in their '20s and '30s. A rally is planned at Toronto City Hall this ' Sunday, The peace movement has arrived and people from all ages and all walks oflife are forming or joining peace groups. The. Toronto Disarmament network is planning a Toronto Peace Weekend June 4 - 6 and a Parade for Peace which will ,be held'June 5, is expected to be the biggest demonstration 'in the history of the city. While many of us will not attend a rally or a parade, we can do our part to celebrate the real theme of Mother's Day. We can phone our member of parliament to ask that he or she become involved in the movement towards disarma- ment. We can voice our support by writing letters and speaking with municipal politicians encouragingthem to make it a local issue. -Perhaps local churches will make this Mother's Day special for all families. While the blessings of good_ mothers should not be set aside or forgotten, it is mothers who bear human life, who know the human • waste created by war. Peace is everybody's business. Let's celebrate the real theme of Mother's Day this Sunday. letters to :the editor To the Editor: 0 The members of the Whitechurch Women's Institute wish to thank The following .ladies who canvassed for the Canadian Cancer Society. They collected $439.25 for the , Cancer fund: Mrs. Don Rose, Mrs. John. de Boer, Mrs. Fred Tiffin, Mrs. Bill Gibson, Mrs. Agnes' Farrier, Mrs. "John Currie and Mrs. Galbraith. Valetta Emerson, Whitechurch Women's Institute. To the Editor: The Wingham. and District Branch of the Canadian Diabetic Association wishes to thank all those who contributed to the March campaign, which realized $1,700 through canvass and bubble contributions. Locally the CDA thanks the Dungannon Kinsmen for collecting in that area and in ' Lucknow the following canvassers, Sally Ritchie, Ferne MacDonald, Bruce MacKenzie, Vi Arnold, Anne Austin, Susan Moffat. Bev Thompson, Marie Scott, Mildred Loree, Carroll McKim, Mary Henderson, Betty Emberlin and Lloyd Hall, Signed on behalf of, ist,bel Burke, pres., Audrey MacDonald Grant Farrish. redtrees by don carnpbell "In • spring a young " man's fancy turns to love!" Chippy Chisholm was no longer a young man and the spring of 1843 had been fully occupied by the migration of the Friends of Skye. It would appear therefore, that the .sum- mer was a more appropriate time for Chippy's mind to wander on the thoughts which occupy young men in the spring. . . The most observant of the pioneers would have perceived that Chippy's beard was, in an excellent state of preservation. It may havebeen observed "too that his balding head had been anointed with some type of dressing, (perhaps lard) to make it more attractive and to keep what remained of his hair shiny and fasten- ed down in place. His old clay pipe had been abandoned and he had purchas- ed a clean new replacement from the few which Ian Jamieson kept in stock. Anyone who observed the twinkle in his eye, could have been left in no doubt as to its origin: Chippy . was in love! The only mystery which remain- ed was with whom!' Despite his worldly ways, Chippy had little experience of sparking a fire in the ladies. His brief encounters with women in the scattered .ports of the world, had not equipped him with the necessary "expertise for courting on a more respectable plane. Nevertheless, he was determined that he would try to bring the "lass" of his fancy around to his way of thinking, and if she was willing, to share with her, whatever remained of the fast waning sunset of his life. One hot summer's day a certain Mrs. Brodie brought a bucket of spring water for the carpenter engag- ed upon building her sons's cabin. She had no ulterior motive and was just a kind, thoughtful soul, who considered that any man employed on such a task, should at least be given the means . of refreshing himself. ' Mrs. Brodie was a widow, somefifty or more years of age, who had chosen to immigrate with her ` son ' and daughter-in-law, rather . than be left behind, at the mercy of the conditions prevailing in the Highlands of Scot- land. ; She may have considered herself to be beyond that delightful stage which aroused young men's fancies , in the spring, or even ' old men's fancies in the summer! Certainly she was "the. last one to have expected a confronta- tion with Chippy Chisholm, especially if such an incident was concerned with the affairs of the heart. When one .is•►oung, courtship can be a long and uplifting prelude to ultimate surrender, but Chippy did not have time on his side. 'He realized it was doubtful if his; opportunity . would ever come again and he looked intently and longingly at the buxom woman who offered him the dipper of water. "I hae .a mind tae build a place o' my ain," he told her. "One wi' a braw coloured stone hearth. It would hae planks tae cover, the logs, planed and finished wi' my ainhands. On winter's nights i could fashion furniture fit frae a queen." He took a long drink from the dipper whilst ' stealing a crafty glance in her direction. "That's if I coulda bonny woman "like yesel, tae ,share such a place wi' 'me." one foot In the furrow In ,spite of her fifty or more years, Mrs. Brodie grasped the full meaning of his ,words. She was not too old to blush, and she snatched up the bucket , and left the half built cabin in a pretended huff, in case old Chippy Chisholm might see the embarrass- ment upon her face. Once outside she paused, and lifting her apron, wiped the sweat of excite- ment from her brow. Out of Chippy's presence, she allowed herself to think more clearly, and she pondered on a life in the same cabin with her son, and the unenviable future of . two women .sharing the same domestic duties for a man whom they both loved. Such a life she knew only too well, was never successful. Could the. oki carpenter be really serious? As these thoughts crossed her mind, she was totally unaware that Chippy's' cheeky face was poking around the door, to see the effect of his words. "And I'll no be waitin' too long Mrs. Brodie! I. ; no -have the time to waste. If ye ken what I've been tryin' to tell ye, maybe next time ye'll no be awa in such " a hurry." • But hurry she did, back -to the wagon and behind the canvas where the prying eyes of Chippy Chisholm could no longer see her. "The very idea," she said to herself. "Gaping at me as if I were a young lass ready tae be chased into the heather." Mrs. Brodie did not sleep that night and her mind was filled with fantacies. There was no heather in Canada, but maybe at her time of life,• she should allow Chippy. Chisholm to chase her! by bob trotter. The first few days of May always reminded me of a housecat coming outside for the first time, wide-eyed and uncertain about whatto do next. it is a timid time of the year. The days may be warm but the nights can be chilly. If a few snowflakes fall, they rarely last long. My father used to call it robin snow because it disappeared with the morning sun and the robins We have seen and, even more exciting, heard, the flocks of geese heading ndrth for theirsummer nesting places. All of nature is wide and awake now and alert because the growing season in this country is short and summer, hot from hurrying, is bustling along to get on with the business of growing things. It is an exciting time of year for farmers in this country. They ; are, itching to get 'on the land, to get the seeding done. Suddenly, the leaves are out. The tender plants and wild flowers that hid in the dark ground push their way to the sun without fear of a killing frost. Farms where considerable tile drainage has been done allow owners to cultivate earlier. This can give the farmer another three weeks on the growing season. I have been a bird lover for many years and. have learned to admire almost all species, even the ugly turkey vulture which acts as a garb- ageman from the skies. Gulls have been a favourite even before Jonathon Livingstone but recently, ,any com- piaints have been registered by farm- ers when cultivating. Hundreds of gulls -come streaming in from miles away. Unfortunately,'they ."feed on earth- worms and those worms. do far more good for the land than the gulls. 1 have heard some farmers in recent. years suggest that they should be allowed' to kill these graceful flyers but. surely another method can be devised to keep them from fresh -plowed fields: Surely, though, everything, spirit- ual as well as material, proceeds out of the earth. I have watched my' grand father, a dour Yorkshireman, almost weeping when he picked up a handful of soil in the springtime. He would sift it through his fingers, smell it, almost fondle its My father, ' with Irish Ind Scots blood coursing through his veins, would seekout wildflowers in the spring. Not" pulling them, of course, he would place his, hands tenderly under a bloom ,r,nd a great look of wonder would come over his face as he stared at the beauty in the bloom. Neither one of them was a farmer but they worked in the good solid earth throughout their lives and I cannot help but believe they Were both glad to return to the soil when they died. '1 Human happiness, .it seems to me. is the true odour of growth, the sweet smell of freshly -turned earth and the joy of seeing seeds planted, sprouting and growing as the miracle repeats itself, year after year. Those with- a little grey up top can rememberspringtimes when small schoolhouses were still in use, when the breath of spring . overcame the odours of chalk, sweaty children and sticky varnish. The good earth and its odours would steal through the open Windows and we would long to be any place except stuck in that stuffy school. . Those feelings still overcome all of us at some time during this merry month of May: