HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1983-08-10, Page 6editorial page
Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesda3 , August 10, 1983—Page 6
LUCKN
"The The Sepoy Town"
SENTINEL
Established 1873
1 HOMAS A. THOMPSON • Advertising Manager
SHARON J. DIETZ • Editor
PAT LIVINGSTON Office Manager
JOAN HELM - Compositor
MERLE ELLIOTT Typesetter
Business and Editorial OfTite Telephone 528.2822
Mahn Address P.O. Box 400. Lucknow, NOG 2H0
Second Cltss Mail Registration Number 0847
Subscriptldn rate, S15.25 per year In advance
Senior Citizen rate, S12.75 per year In advanee
U.S.A. and Foreign, 538.00 per year In advance
Sr. Cit. U.S.A. and Foreign, S36.00 per year in advance
Smith
residence
This picture, taken in the
early part of this century, is
of the house and grounds as
they were then at the
residence of Gordon
Struthers of Lucknow. In the
picture from the left are
back, Mrs. Alexander Smith,
Lizzie Smith, Alexander
Smith, Reta Smith and the
girl in front is Lottie Smith.
(Contributed by Alexander
W. Smith)
4,4
Scots the greatest
Editor's Notes This letter to the editor appeared in the
Toronto Globe and Mail recently and was submitted to The
Sentinel for the interest of our readers by Douglas Graham
of Lucknow,
Prides of Scotland
In Judy Steed's article Gather the Clans (July 16), the
statement is made that "the Scots were the greatest people
that ever inhabited the earth", For example, what would
our modern life be like if it were not that:
Television was invented by John Logie Baird of
Helensburgh, Scotland.
Tarmac roads were invented by John Macadam of Ayr,
Scotland.
Pneumatic tires were invented by John Dunlop of Dreg -
horn, Scotland.
The bicycle was invented by Kirkpatrick MacMillan of
Dumfries, Scotland.
The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell,
born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Adhesive postage stamps were invented by John
Chalmers of Dundee, Scotland.
The first anesthetic (chloroform) was discovered by Sir
James Simpson of Bathgate, Scotland.
Penecillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming of
Darvel, Scotland.
Radar was a product of the mind of Sir Robert Watson -
Watt of Brechin, Scotland.
The breech -loading rifle was an invention of Capt. Patrick
Ferguson of Pitfours, Scotland.
The waterproof coat was invented by Charles Macintosh
of Glasgow, Scotland.
In other fields, the U.S. Navy was founded by John Paul
(alias Jones), a native of Kirkcudbright. Scotland, and the
Bank of England was founded by William Paterson of
Dumfries, Scotland.
And, of course. the first man mentioned in the Bible is not
God, but King James Vi of Scotland, who authorized its
translation into English.
At one and the same time we had the Prime Minister of
Great Britain, the Governor of the Bank of England and the
Archbishop of Canterbury all three Scotsmen. Talk about
home rule for Scotland.
One could go on for ever. But why bother, other than to
recall those three great Scots benefactors of mankind, John
Haig, John Dewar and Johnny Walker, from Fife, Perth and
Ayr respectively.
What would our world have done without the Scots?
Strome Galloway
Ottawa.
redtrees
by don campbell
Elizabeth Chisholm awoke in the
rocking chair in which she had kept
her long night vigil in the hopes that
her husband would return to the
cabin. it was indeed only a hope that
any man could find his way through
the bush on such a fearful night, The
blizzard was so intense it was impos-
sible to see more than a few feet
ahead.
When the half light of a pre -dawn
sky penetrated the window of the
cabin, Elizabeth was able to determine
that the blizzard had ended just as
quickly as it had begun. She wrapped
one of Chippy's old coats about her
body and tied it in her middle with a
piece of twine. A woollen scarf, which
had survived the journey from Scot-
land, was wrapped around her head
and across her mouth to shield her
from the wind.
As she stepped from the cabin she
quickly realized that all was calm
outside, although the snow had drifted
like waves across the clearing. it took
Elizabeth longer than usual to reach
the MacCrimmon cabin. She walked
with difficulty, holding up her skirts
above the surface of the snow.
Through the drifts she had to lift her
old legs high so that the snow was
above her knees and as it melted. the
moisture was absorbed into het stock-
ings, to bring a wet, cold and
thoroughly uncomfortable feeling. At
that moment she wished she had
rekindled the fire in her cabin, for she
did not relish the thought of returning
so wet and uncomfortable into a cold
house.
Elizabeth found the MacCrimmons
at breakfast and without even asking
permission, she walked over to the
large stone fireplace for warmth and
comfort. As she recounted her news of
Chippy's disappearance, her clothes
steamed from the heat of the fire.
"Chippy is a stupid and stubborn
old man," Neil MacCrimmon said in
anger. "Now we hae to gae and look.
God knows where to see if we can find
him. it's a bad time o' day with the
animals wanting feeding and the
bairns awa through the snow to
school. Where can we look and how do
we even know if we shall find him
alive?"
Knowing the hurt he brought to the
heart of Elizabeth, he rose quickly
from the table to where she was
standing and put his arm around her.
"1 should'na hae said that, Elizabeth.
Old Chippy may be stupid and stub-
born but he's no saw daft that he
willna ken how to protect himsel.
Dinna fash. I'll awa and get the men."
There was no need for a large
search party. it was MacCrimmon's
intention that those who went into the
bush should stay together as a group.
This was not the time for losing more
men for the sake of one. MacCrim-
mon. Murdoch, Grant The Blacksmith
and Elizabeth's son, Brodie, went off
together. They headed in the direction
where Elizabeth had seen Chippy go.
It was difficult walking through the
snow because in spite of all the
preparation they had made for winter,
nobody had thought they might need
snow shoes.
Neil MacCrimmon was careful to
take his bearings so that they might
return in the same direction which
they had come. it was quiet in the
bush. Far above the treetops a hawk
glided in search of any creature which
moved in the forest below, They
walked for an hour and Neil MacCrim-
mon knew only to well that they had
undertaken a uselss task. There were
no tracks to follow and if Chippy was
alive, he could be anywhere in a circle
of 360 degrees from Redtrees.
"We should look nae mare," Neil
said sadly, "for we willna find him
though we search till nightfall." It was
unlike MacCrimmon to give up easily,
but one must realize that it is useless
to try to attain the impossible. There
was deep concern on the faces of the
other three men.
"Is there naught we can do?"
young Brodie asked, almost in a
whisper.
"Aye lad," MacCrimmon said.
"We can pray, for 1 fear that ye
mother's husband is now in the hands
o' God."
Neil MacCrimmon returned to his
cabin long before noon and the look on
his face told Elizabeth Chisholm that
his search had been fruitless.
"Ye'd best stay here a wee while,"
he told the woman. "There is nae
need to gae back hame the noo. Ye'll
be wantin' a woman's talk until we
know for sure where ye husband is."
Without another word MacCrimmon
left the cabin and made his way to the
barn. in the days of the pioneers. life
was cruel and hard, but still it was
worth living and to survive, a pioneer
had to continue with his work,