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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-01-13, Page 1PUBLISHED IN LUCKNOW, ONTARIO Wednesday, January 1..3,.."993 50°G,S..T. Included 471 plus 3f G.S.T. b • University art gallery named for Lucknow man The art gallery at Wilfrid Laurier Universitywill be named for retired Professor Robert Langen, of Lucknow, who fos- tered the fine arts at the univer- sity and helped to unearth the once "buried treasure" of its collection. A reception to celebrate the' naming of the Robert Langen.. Gallery; will be held January 21,' at 7:30 p,m. On exhibit will be Kurelek prints from the private collection of a faculty member and indigenous art acquired by the university when Professor Langen chaired the art commit- tee. A • professor of philosophy since 1955 and department Chair at the time of his retirement in 1985, . Professor Langen . • is credited with establishing the fine arts program, buildingthe university's collection,. and quiet- ly persisting for a .permanent gallery. He was also responsible for establishing . the library's collection of art slides and bring- ing the first guest visual artists to campus.' "Those who cherish and, even more, promote the . beauty of ideas and the idea of beauty are rare," says Michal Manson, a fine arts .professor and chair of the art and acquisition cominittee that recommended the gallery be named -for Professor Langen. . "As a passionate advocate for the visual arts, Professor Langen • has created a` lasting legacy for • ,Laurier." Insisting on greater visibility . for the university's art, which.,' was then' displayed' only in offices and halls, Professor Langen used space in the Con- . course of the Student Union Building. While it provided . • greater exposure, the Concourse was less than .ideal for art and Professor Langen continued to press for a permanent gallery,. Realized four years ago with. the, opening of the John Aird Centre, the ' 900 -square -foot gallery hosts 'eight shows during the academic year and features • opening • receptions with the artists. • A climate controlled storage area and a computerized .. inventory system for the perma- nent collection were added ih 1991. • "I hope the gallery exhibits will catch the attention of stu- . dents and ,further intrigue them with the • fine arts," Professor Langen says. "The fine arts are ' so much a reflection -of culture. The liberal' arts would be trun- cated without them." As the fust chair' of the . university's art .committee from `1968 to 1977, Professor Langen • worked to encourage .younger. artists and build a well-rounded Professor Robert Langen collection representative of Ontario and Canada asa whole.. The university's collection now comprises 400 pieces of mostly Canadian artists in a variety of media: About 95 per cent of the collection is in circulation on campus. . The largest assortment is that of the: indigenous people includ- ing representative pieces of artists who have received Cana- • dian and international acclaim: Chee Chee, Morrisseau, Odjig, Robinson, Shilling, Qumaluk; Parr and Pitseolak. Other large assortments are the prints and watercolors, of Toni Onley, ,now. recognized -as a West Coast artist; those of Woldemar Neufeld, an alumnus of Waterloo College; the paint,-,,,. ings of Paul Fournier of O'ntario;. and those , of Quebec artist Bellefleur.) Believing that students should wrestle to create what they study, Professor Langen intro- duced a studio complement to a philosophy of art • course he taught. Later, he organized art history lectures by professors, developed a credit course in art history, and established an inter- departmental major in fine arts. Today's fine arts program has 21 • majors and. 200 students enrolled in its history, theory and studio courses. A native of Torquay, Saskatchewan, ProfessorLangen received a bachelor of arts degree in 1948 and a bachelor of divinity degree in 1952, both from Waterloo College. Later, he earned a master of arts degree in philosophy from the University of Toronto. In 1984, the university recog- nized his varied contributions by awarding him the rank. of pro- fessor emeritus. Professor and Mrs. Langen spent 22 summers at their R.R. 5 Lucknow residence. Two years\ ago, they took up permanent residency: -- Library has served community for by Pat Livingston If Andrew Carnegie were, alive today, he would no doubt puff up with pride upon viewing the.presti- gious building, in Lucknow; that continues to bare witness to his generous. $7500 donation in 1910. • The building is Carnegie Hall, or today, more commonly referred to' as the Town Hall, which houses the. Lucknow Library. Historical records,show that intim early 1900s, Mr. Carnegie, a wealthy philanthropist, was donat- ing money for libraries: Although negotiations began in 1906; it was not until June 6, 1910 that the $10,000 building was officially opened by Reeve John Jbynt: In his dedicatory remarks, Reeve Joynt said, "...I hereby officially and finally declare open and dedicated for civil, moral and educational pur- poses, the Town hall and Public Library, hoping, tftgt.wisdom, har-,, mony and justire;'shall prevail in all deliberations held within its.. walls, """that the influence of'thd:good books which it contains shall go forth more and more to the betterment of all who embrace the privileges here offered them; and that this building itself shall stand through long years to' come, a monument to him whose liberality rendered it possible and to those whose public spirit carried it to its completion." In earlier days, it is recorded that "Lucknow's fust library was a branch of the Mechanic's Institute, which was an organization primar- ily for study " purposes." It was located where a W.J. Spindler's home stood, and above it was the Oddfellows Hall. When a board was formed, the library was moved to the Old Town Hall, where the Luckitow Service Centre stands today. It was sustained by readers' fees and municipal grants. Following relocation to the Carnegie Hall, support .came by are several "speciality" type items way of grants from the provincial available. Among these are a siz- government, the village, Bruce and able collection of large print. books; Huron Counties, membership fees talking books used by" a present and fines from -overdue books. core of seven patrons; and local Because Lucknow is strategically archives, which must be used in the situated on the border of Bruce and library. A • wide selection of reference material continues to' be enlarged upon.., Although 16 mm films are avail- able, Claudia said they are getting less and less, due to the fact most. libraries are nomlonger, purchasing Huron Counties, the local library had the privilege of being a mem- ber of both County Associations; thus a greater number of books were available to the public. In January of 1967 the local. library joined the Bruce County "1..declare open and dedicated fi cert, rrr rail and educational 1,406$0S, t e Town Hall and Public Ltbr`t wisdom, harmony and Justice shall aft deliberations held within fts walls, that theinfluence of the Rood bores which it cont ins $ 00Tort more and mom to rhe better era of all what embrace the privileges here a,�r�ed' therm; and that this band ins itse shat! stand through tong years to carne, a monument to him. whose liberainy rendered it possible and;ta those those public spirit carried on." it on to its camplet .Reeve John loyal' Library and since then has fallen under its jurisdiction. ' Services Claudia•Baskerville, library super- visor, says that between 9,000- and 10,000 books are housed in the local library. Currently 1,000 patrons take advantage cif the many services offered. Claudia is -assisted by Lynn Peck, oho works one day per week.. In addition to the regular fiction, non-fiction and reference books one expects to lind in a library, there them - videos are taking over: In keeping with the swing in that direction, videos are available on such subjects as How To,. • Children's Classics etc. However, 'Claudia said, "We are not in com- petition with the local video stores." Dear to her heart is a special section • - The Classics - which Claudia is "slowly developing" as she comes upon the treasures, which include as an/ example Dick- ens, Twain and Steinbeck. A favourite program for the 82 years . younger patrons and their parents is the Story Hour, which runs in the fall, winter and spring. Each session•. is open to 20 three -to -five year olds, and there is always a waiting list. The Summer Reading Program is "extremely popular" said Claudia, and annually involves anywhere from 60 to 80 youngsters. Claudia fumly believes in the value,of these two programs; saying, "They are very worthwhile. Quite often it is the child's fust experience with books. and the library, and. it will often start' them as library users. .Another service provided by the local library is that of delivering around 25 books every 10 weeks to Pinecrest . Manor and. Maple Breezes. Bruce County Museum - provides very interesting displays on a six- month rotation. Currently featured is "Dolls Shop" from the Victorian era: PAC In June of 1990, a computerized Public Access Catalogue. (PAC) system came oh -stream at' th library: The branch library's share in the amount of $1,500 was raised locally, through donations from individuals and, various organiz- ations. The other half of the $3,000 came from the Ontario Library Consortium. • The PAC allows library users direct access to. the entire holdings of the collection of books through- out Bruce County, in addition to 20 other library systems in soutli�erri Ontario, which make up the Ontario Library Consortium. Touted as• "user-friendly", the PAC has been invaluable to the library workers and users. Claudia said, "Prior to the PAC we were working without a card file, which would have required a lull time West Wawanosh baby is first born in 1093 The Township of West Wawanosh takes the honors this year for having the fast baby born in the Wingham and bis - via Hospital. William Met arrived Jaanuary 2 at 1101 hours, tipping the scales at 8 lbs. 4 oz. He is a son of John and Emma Miller of RR 2, Auburn. William is welcomed by sib- lings Martha, Lydia, Annie, Edna, Melvin, Alvin and Jacob. Before going home, he was the recipient of special gifts from the Hospital Auxiliary, his reward fel-being the 1993 New Year Baby for the hospital. Pick up of blue boxes remains b-weey The Bruce Solid Waste Recycling Assaciation'sboardof management has decided to continue. with the every other week pickup of . blue boxes in_ Lucknow. The board believes that bi- weekly collection will not ce thelevet f' se re p(o ' „ .. average sizeddf sh , Cake twq *MOW* mote iii `PILL its blue box,. Late in December each house- hold should have received, through the mail, a calendar showing the collection schedule for 1993 - Locally, our first pickup was today (January 13) and progresses every other week. 1f you did not receive, or have misplaced, the calendar, copies of it are available at the Town Hall. Collection' dates are Jan- uary 13, 27, February 10, 24,. March 10, 24, April 7, 21, May 5, 19, June 2, 16, 30, July 14, 28; August 11,25, September 8, 22, October 6, 20, November 3, 17, December 1, 15 and 29. Either pick up your copy of the calendar at the Town Hall or circie.:the dates listed above on your calendar denoting them as -- Blue Box Day. Please remember to have your box at tip curb no later than 7 a.m. and to remove lids from all containers and place separately in the blue box. 1 V+A appoints° new GM Ross Duncan, .of Wingham, is .the new general manager for the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. MVCA director of operations Dave Grummett said the decision was made in, mid-December following the advertisement and interview .process. Mr. Duncan's position was effecdve January 4. On October 21, the MVCA board made the decision to search for a. new general man- ager. The board had operated for several months utilizing a team management committee and had recommended hiIg a general manager as it felt a fttf time man et; .a would 1e+u»rlisdpprmt>etreauh e,ffect. ti`v�e ,