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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-01-26, Page 5When being `first' was more than a heady issue By Marsha Boulton OTTAWA, March 22, 19112 -- What Member of Parliament was considered politically incorrect failure to wear a hat in the House of Commons? If you knew that Agnes Macphail, Canada's first female Member of Parliament was chided by the press for failing to wear headgear m the House, you may also know that Macphail's 19 years as an Honorable Member were charac- terized by such unfair derision. Agnes Macphail was born in a log cabin in Proton Township in Grey County, Ontario near the shores of Georgian Bay in 1890. She was always proud of her rural up -bringing, and spent most of her life speaking on behalf of farmers. After teaching school for several years, Macphail expanded on her rural interests as a member of United Farmers of Ontario. She defeated 10 men to become the U.F.O. candidate in the 1921 federal election. When losing nominees decided to stir up trouble by asking her to resign and call another convention "in which saner judgement would be possible," Macphail stood her ground. She was 31 when she won her first election. Women had been allowed to vote in federal elections since 1918, but Macphail was the first to take a seat in the House of Commons. Her presence create&quite a stir. While many members rose to greet her and welcomeher formally in speeches of flowery praise, Mac- phail discovered that a welcoming' bouquet of roses placed on her desk were, actually the penance of a man who was paying off an election bet that she would fail. Outside of the House . she was subject to constant staring. The ordeal of eating in the parliamen- tary restaurant caused such strain that she lost almost 10 kg during the first session. Above all her recollections of parliamentary initiation were of "a miserable time." In her own words: "Some members resented my intrusion, other jeered at me, while a very few were genuinely glad to see a woman in the House." The press was of no help. Reporters decided that Macphail was stiff and severe. They preferred analyzing her blue serge suit to the policies she pursued on protective tariffs, her investigation of labor relations and her commitment to penal reform. So hurtful were the attacks, that Macphail ensured that several love letters written to her be stored among her papers for eventual inclusion in the National Ar- chivives. She could not bear the thought of being remembered as the frigid '1i1 j } the contemporary press made her out to be. From 1935 to 1940, Macphail sat as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), which she helped to organize in Ontario'. However, when labor and farm issues . conflicted, Macphail maintained her independence to support her rural constituents. Macphail was a "feminist" for her time. She argued for equality and fulfillment for all, with the same vehemence that she argued in favor of world disarmament in a pro - military environment. "When I hear men talk about women being the angel of the home 1 always, mentally at least, shrug my shoulders in doubt," she told the House during a debate over the Divorce Bill. "I do not want to be the angel of any home; I want for myself what I want for other women, absolute equality. After that is secured then me"h and women can take turns at being angels. •from page 4 Howard is a real smoothy, with what sounds like an English ac cent. He's good at his job but never gets too excited. This type of employment is obviously for those with the "gift to gab." Really, how long could you talk, non-stop, about a corn- forter? Once you talk about the material, the size, the color, the pattern, the price and the g r e a t savings, what else is there to say? Tune in to Kellie someday when the linen section is up for grabs. She not only fills you in on the above details, she'll tell you how to make the ensemble even more beautiful, what color paint it would look good with, etc. She's RAMBLINGS by Pat Livingston such a verbalizer that I keep waiting for her to startgasping for aft! I have deduced that Kellie must be one of the fittest people on earth. Everytime I have seen some form or another of exercise equip- ment being promoted, she claims it's the best; she knows; she has it! The CHSC has been a tonic for me. After 10 minutes, I resort to ., cleaning out drawers or establishing a closer relationship with my cat. NOTICE Regretfully THE LUCI NOW AGRICULTLTRAL SOCIE'T'Y announces that it will no longer he sponsoring the ' MISS MLD -WESTERN ONTARIO PAGEANT If any local orgauizatious,are interested in carrying on the Pageant, please call the Secretary at 528-2576, by February 18, 1994. ******************************** The Lucknow Agricultural Society would like to thank fill the hard working and dedicated people who have served on the Pageant Conwiittee for '27 years. Tour coup nittnent. has always resulted ht a pro- fessional and effective presentation anal is greatly appreciated. Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, January 26, 1994 — Page 5 Son seeks memorabilia about his dad, Bill Chin To the. editor: My family and I were pleased to hear that you were preparing an article about my father, Wil- liam `Bill" Chin (formerly of Lucknow), who passed away recently. He was a very kind and loving man and will be missed dearly by many people. At his funeral, we found great comfort in hearing friends recount how he had shown kindness awl generosity towards them. I cherish my own memories of him and I hoped that some of your readers who remember him or the Chin family could provide me with a photograph or news article about them from the era 1942 to 1945. In particular, many people in Southwestern w 'r0 THE EDITOR Ontario may recalibrothers Bill, Albert and George Chin as a gifted forward line that played hockey for the Lucknow •Maple Leafs and the Lucknow Sepoys. Their names were often found in the sports pages of the Lucknow Sentinel. Others may recall Charles and Rose Chin, who ran a popular family restaurant in town. Please forward any information to me at this address: Richard Chin, 164 Cassandra Blvd., Don Mills, Ontario, M3A 1T3, Many sincere thanks, Richard Chin. No increases in Ashfield salaries or remuneration ASHFIELD - There will be no increases in staff salaries or coun- cillors' remuneration this year. The decision was reached at Ashfield Township council's meeting on Jan. 18. This is the second consecutive year for council and full time staff to receive a zero per cent increase. The reeve receives $90 per Appoints new canine control officer KINLOSS TOWNSHIP Council, at its Jan. 17 meeting, appointed ay. nnis Thompson, joint bylaw enforcement officer, as the new canine control of- ficer. He replaces Harry Hollands who resigned. Council is interested in promoting use of composters by residents in the municipality. A composter has been left on display at the township office to see how many people would be interested in purchasing one. Discussion took place on the 120 acres of land that C.N. Real Estate has offered for sale. Information on the cost of survey fees will be obtained, and letters sent to the affected property owners along the rail line, to see if they would be interested in attaining the portion of land going through their properties. meeting; deputy reeve $85 per meeting; and councillors $80 per meeting. Special meetings are paid at $65 for full meetings and $35 for those under two hours. Greg Alton, owner of Huron Landscaping Ltd., has requested approval to obtain a motor vehicle dealer licence. Mr. Alton will be informed that a zoning amendment yvould be necessary in order to comply with the provisions of the village commercial zone. Effective this summer, council will meet once per month during. June, July and August. All other months in 1994 will have two regularly scheduled meetings. 485 households reported back •from page 3 widowed and 70 were either single or divorced. In the census, 485 households were reported, with 175 being single person homes, 175 two per- son, 55 three person, 50 four per- son, and 30 households with five or more in them. ' Looking at family structure we see 295 families. One hundred and forty-five had no children, while 60 had one child, 55 had two children' and 35 had three or more children. In those family structures, 110, or 40' per cent of the children ranged in age from six to 14 years. Total dwellings reported num- bered 480, with 340 of them owned, the balance as rented Single detached dwellings number 350, with 125 termed as other. Don't close the book on your Child's future. Read together- today. ABC CANADA THE FOUNDATION TO PROMOTE LITERACY IN CANADA. 1), 1/1/, 1/ V"".rgr, mm m.ulr {.r1,thk by • 11. ,..,l A,1...r1,...1,g nr{atgm ine1 Birthday Club Klie Gommie January 25, 1992 2 Years Old • Natasha Stanley January 26, 1992 2 Years Old Jayne Smyth° January 28, 1982 12 Years Old McKenna Scott January 28, 1991 3 Years Old Adam Smyth January 29, 1984 10 Years Old Amy Knechtel January 29, 1984 10 Years Old Catherine Simpson January 30, 19 0 4 Years Old Ruth Montgomery January 30, 1989 5 Years Old Corey Hamilton January 31, 1987 7 Years Old Richard Stark. January 31, 1985 9 Years Old Rebecca Scott January 31, 1993 1 Year/Old Jennifer Logtenberg January 31, 1988, 6 Years Old After 50 Years ip the Jewellery business, 25 of Lucknow, we are clos our retail business. Our "Repair Business" *Watches *Mantel *Cocko *Grandfather Clocks ewellery, will continue 698 HavelC�ck Street, across from the Medical Centre. those ining o & *Jat • LUCKNOW �na.Se Agnew Jewellery and Gifts )/ 0/0 off 528-3532