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
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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: