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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-09-07, Page 4Page 4 - Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, September 7, 1994 SENTINEL MEMOIRS 4.£`°2'•N•r:%ti""!"I.'r.•is�:,%J'yr Sr,/;••.i%7,.i,`;.�£:i8:i.,/.,;'.,�:'.:n•:,:7.:.:i:ii`%y�i/.'.i ��. f'%rr'/.'.:J ri:::.x.... i.s.'�::•:.•:•l: Published weekly by Signal:Star Publishing Ltd. at 619 Cainpbell Street Lucknow, Ont. P.O. Box 400, Lucknow, Ontario NOG 2H0 528-2822: Fax (519) 528-3529 Established 1873 Thomas Thompson - Advertising Manager Pat Livingston - General Manager/Editor Phyllis .Matthews Helm - Front Office Subscription rates advance: Local Regular $2000 within 40 •ni radius G.incl. Local Senior $1 T00 within 40 all radius G.S.T. incl. Out -Of -Area (40 miles) - Regular $32.24 - Senior $29.24 G.S.T. incl. Foreign + U.S.A. $9669 Publications mail registration no. 0847 held at Lucknow, Ont. • Changes of ,address, orders for subscriptions, and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to Lucknow Sentinel at the above address. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the •advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates. Quebecers .hit .Mondayptills On Monday, September 12, eligible voters In Quebec will go to the polls to elect a new provincial government. Very likely, they will choose Jacques. Pari;eau and his ,Parti Quebecois over Daniel Johnson and his Liberals. Parizeau has successfully convinced Queblecers they can have their cake - and eat it too. Parizeau has soldthe notion he can stop the drain of Quebec dollars to the federal coffers while maintaining the flow of federal dollars to the Quebec treasury, whether Inside or outside Canada. Warnings like the one from Peter C. Newman In his column "The Nation's Business" (September 5 Maclean's) fall on deaf ears. Writes Newman, ' "His (Parizeau's) party platform is crystal clear about the details of his intentions. Quebec's Incumbent lieutenant -governor would be fired and replaced by a "ceremonial head of state" all federal property inside Quebec (presumably including the $460 million St. Lawrence Seaway) would be seized without compensation, and so on. the Quebec Republic would of course get to keep such Canadian advantages as our currency and passports. Fat chance." Newman went on. }'Many Canadians still believe that If Parizeau Is elected, we'll promptly sink 'into yet another constitutional talk - fest....," he wrote. "No way. Once Parizeau's In, Quebec's out." Even warnings from within Quebec are discarded as sour grapes. Consider this recent quote from Daniel Johnson, "It's the best -kept secret In Quebec that It's Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia that pay for the seven (other provinces). The reality Is that we're beneficiaries. By getting out of Canada we'll be missing that, so he (Parizeau) either makes cuts or increases taxes." • , ° There's little the ROC (Rest of Canada) can do but wait - and get prepared for some big changes that will affect us all. -SJK ucknow's darkest day 113 years ago • September 5, 1881 Lucknow's Darkest Day The afternoon and evening of Monday' last are long to be remembered as the occasion of one of the strangest sights ever witnessed in the village. The morning of the day was an ordinary one, with nothing to excite the attention further than the smoke that beclouded the horizon and hung like a pall over the country. Between 1:00 and 2:00 pm, a yellowish cloud appeared on the southern horizon, and a smart breeze which was then blowing caused it to loom up to higher proportions, and gradually overspread the sky. As it spread over the face of the sun, that luminary assumed the appearance of a huge ball of fireand it soon became obscured from view, The sky then turned a greenish, yellowish tint and this changed into a fiery red. It was a most strange and unnatural site and soon the streets were filled with wondering and excited crowds.Various and often comical were the conjectures as to the cause of this strange appearance. In answer to, the frightened query from an excited lady, one of our villagers asserted that "alot of those old astronomers who had been fooling with the sun lately, had put it out and couldn't light it again." 'Business .was almo.,t brought to a standstill in the village. In almost every window in the village the lighted lamps shed a blue, 'weird -looking light, by its unnatural appearance adding to the fright of the timid ones. About 4 o'clock a dark cloud appeared in the sky and quickly overspreading the sky "the blood red canopy" was changed to midnight darkness. It was a' ' truly awe inspiring sight. A dead calm fell , and the air was so close and oppressive and the smell of smoke so strong as to render the heat almost un- bearable. This state of things continued, with an occasional crash of thunder, until about seven o'clock when the clouds partly dispersed,. showing gleams of red here and there till night spread its mantle o'er the scene and nature was once again shrouded in darkness. It was a time never to be forgotten by those who witnessed this singular revulsion of nature.. To add to the horrors of the scene, thick clouds of ashes filled the air, and bespattered -and dirtied everything they came in contact with. - The excitement was .intense. Ladies fainted, men buried white and many believed that the "crack of doom" had come. Nothing could .be gained by the wires as to the cause of this phenomena. The only conjecture that could be arrived at as to the strange appearance of the sky was that the sun shining through the smoke caused the strange light and the change to darkness was a thick thundercloud enshrouding the sky. Editor's note: The preceding story was reprinted in the Sept. 7, 1944 issue of the Sentinel, 63 years after 'The Dark Day'. It was later discovered that the smoke was due to a huge bush fire in Michigan. 70 years ago September 4, 1924 The Lucknow school presented a much improved condition when teachers and classes assembled for the re -opening on Tuesday morning. For various reasons nothing more than a makeshift renovation was possible this summer, but the Board saw to it that there was a general cleaning an a making of small repairs from basement to tower so that the whole place looked brighter and more inviting than it has• in years. There was a general scrubbing of all the woodwork and a mending of all the windows, floors and doors. Plans and estimates for a general re -modeling of the building have been secured and with the approval of those who must foot the bill, this work will be carried out next year. t present the Huron County Jail has a "boo - Atleg" prisoner named Pat Hamilton who gives Stratford as his home address. Pat had ar- ranged to meet another friend by the same name near Clinton. The two men failed to connect and Hamilton drove on to Clinton and made inquiries as to where "Pat" lived. In doing so he aroused suspicions and County Constable Wallis was notified. Wallis arrested "Pat" and his friend in their new sedan.. The constable also took charge of 24 bottles of G&W whiskey which were in the car. In Magistrate Reid's court Hamilton pleaded guilty and was fined $500 under. the Ontario Temperance Act. Due to the fact he was unable to pay the fine Hamilton was put in jail and his car was confiscated. Sisters had it rough by Lionel Kearns The Strickland sisters, Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr TrailI, arrived in Canada in 1832. These educated and refined young women were displaced members of the English gentry. Their husbands, former British Army officers, believed` the gentle life, which was increasingly difficult' to attain in their home country, might be found in the colony. Life in Canada, however, proved somewhat less than 'gentle. Faced with a decidedly unglamourous routine in the back- woods of Upper Canada (now On- tario), the two sisters began to exercise talents they had developed in more civilized circumstances. In place of the romantic novels they had been writing, they turned their attention to the trials and hardships of their current lives, writing about their experiences in letters, journals, I 11 I i�,..�o 4A:�t novels, and, guidebooks. It/ is through these writings that we can appreciate the difficulties, disap- pointments and accomplishments of pioneer women in Canada during the last century. The Strickland' girls were/ op posites in personality and attitude. Catherine took to her Canadian `adventure' with an undaunted sense of optimism. She adapted quickly to pioneer life, recording every stage of building, planting and .homemaking in an autobiographical • account, 'The Backwoods of Canada(1836)'. "Cheerfulness of mind and ac- tivity of •body" are the emigrants best means of adjustment to this new land, according to Catherine, who became Upper 'Canada's best known housekeeper. In 'The Female Emigrant's Guide (1854)', she instructs other initiate homesteaders how to bake bread, (homesteaders wool, mould candles, raise poultry and grow vegetables. Sister Susanna, on the other hand, began life in Canada hating everything. Her first/ attempts at baking .bread produced flat loaves, burned to a crisp! When she tried to heat water to wash clothes, she smoked her family out of the house. She lost her whole crop of apples in a pathetic attempt to dry them. In `Roughing it in the Bush (1852), a slightly fictionalized account of her first eight years in the new land, her heroine cries out longingly for "dear, dear England" •turn to page 5 It's' back to school time, whether you like it or not Labour Day. Back to school. Even though I haven't had to go back to school in four years I still . get this queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach around Labour Day. It's not like I was the worst student in the world (although I was runner-up one year)• but school never seemed too enticing to me, even at the best of times. And early September was never the best time for me. Not only did i regret giving up the carefree, lazy days of summer but back -to -school for me also meant back -to -hayfever. If you suffer from allergies you would understand that while other. kids worried about what they were going to wear to school I was wor- ried about trying to steer my hur- ricane like sneeres away from large crowds of people and poorly 'constructed buildings. Needless to say, I usually wore something green. Trying to look good was impos- PET PEEVES by John Peevers sible when you have allergies. I devoted all my energies into trying to make myself resemble a normal human being. These attempts a ly failed and I ended up looking like a cross between Andy 'Capp and a ferret that just ate a dozen lemons. By the time 1 got into high school i had environmental activists picketing my locker because they said 1 went through kleenex so fast 1 was destroying more trees than a beaver on steroids. Bruce County high school' students are facing a work -to -rule situation as they head back to school. Phis is no laughing matter especially for students heading off to college or university. The pos- sibility of a strike looms on the horizon and if it turns into a long one it could cause a myriad of problems. When I was in grade nine I was lucky enough, I mean unfortunate enough to have to go through a strike and I tell you it was awful. Sleeping in late, hanging out with my' friends, playing football every day and staying up late watching TV. It was pure .hell. If it would have gone on any longer it might have ruined me. But I was tough and I survived and so will today's students if a walk -out or a lock -out happens to occur. As I got older I realized the hostility towards school is mis- directed and is more of a backlash against the inevitable advancing of time than it is an actual dislike of education. Eventually, we realize that the years we spend in school are some of the most enjoyable, carefree years of our lives. Now I am perfectly aware, that /there are hundreds of teens out there choking on their cereal this very minute, thinking, "who is this joker? and how did he get loose?" I know school life certainly seems stressful or perhaps boring at the time and probably nothing anyone has to say will change that. But don't forget to enjoy yourself, get involved and don't take things too seriously, oh yeah one other. thing, watch out for the kids with allergies. John Peevers, the editor of the Shoreline News in Port Elgin, was filling in last week for Sentinel editor Pat Livingston who is on holidays.