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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-05-16, Page 90 NNW Belgrave Will Get Support It is reasonably certain that the public will give strong support to the canvass for funds to rebuild the Belgrave arena. The house-to-house collection is being made only in the immediate Belgrave district, but we do know that many business men in Wingham and other near- by centres will be glad to lend a helping hand. The Belgrave people have long since demonstrated a unique quality of en- thusiasm and energy in providing for their community needs. Even in this pro- ject, the committee does not intend to make widespread requests for financial assistance beyond the area of their own district. The donations which are receiv- ed from farther afield will be largely voluntary. We can think of no other arena in Western Ontario where more benefit derives to• the community, and particu- larly its children. The community centre committee does not confine its activities to the mere financial management and physical upkeep of the property. These men take on the sponsorship of hockey and ball teams, they provide free Sat- urday skating for dozens of Belgrave and district youngsters. They make the arena and adjoining hall available for all manner of community activities from In- stitute meetings to the famous Belgrave School Fair. The spirit of community co-operation which is so evident in Belgrave and the surrounding area is a contagious sort of thing—the type of activity in which their neighbors and friends like to participate. We have not been asked by the com- mittee to make any special appeal on their behalf, but if you want to participate, send your donation to the treasurer, Lawrence Vannan, at Belgrave. Situation Still Serious Two weeks ago The Advance -Times published an editorial titled "A Problem for Pearson," which pointed out certain weaknesses in the Unemployment Insur- ance protection offered to Canadians under the present Act. We have received a letter from James McGregor, Ottawa, Director of Unemploy- ment Insurance, which points out an error in our statements. We had stated that the unemployment insurance fund had reached a high of $100 million. The director points out that the high figure was actually ten times higher—$1 billion, to be exact. Our editorial also raked the question about what portion of the unemployment premium is left available for the bene- ficiary. The director replies as follows: "The answer is 100%. The legislation specifically provides that "1. All contributions must be cred- ited to the Unemployment Insurance Fund; and "2. Only moneys for the payment of benefit or for refunding contributions wrongly made can be withdrawn from the Fund; and "3. All expenses of administration are borne by general taxation." We do appreciate this information from Mr. McGregor. However, his let- ter serves to emphasize the point we were making in the first place, in fact to make the situation even more drastic. Our point was that some very serious re- planning is evidently required to make unemployment insurance into a sound protection for Canadian workers. If the comparatively minor unem- ployment problems we have faced since the war can deplete a one billion dollar fund, what would a major economic set- back do? It is reassuring to learn that adminis- tration costs are not eating into the fund —and we still wonder what their per- centage is in relation to premiums col- lected. Citadel Is Urgently Needed Friends of the Salvation Army in this area (and they are legion), will be pleas- ed to know that the construction of a new Citadel has reached the stage of call- ing for tenders. The new building, a pic- ture of which appeared in last week's paper, will provide urgently needed space for the local Salvation Army officers. The Army has been operating for many years under a severe handicap in Wingham. The centre of a large district, the Wingham Corps of the Salvation Army, presently represented by Captains Stanley and Mrs. Newman, looks after a wide range of social welfare problems, few of which are ever publicly discussed. Their calls require thousands of miles of driving every month and their hours of work would stagger a well -muscled laborer. One of the highly practical aspects of their work is the assembling and distri- bution of clothing and furniture for fam- ilies who have become the victims of fires and other such disasters. The pre- sent quarters are simply not adequate for the handling of these projects. In ad- dition, it must be remembered that the Citadel is a place of worship, and as such should have space set aside for this pur- pose only. Capt. and Mrs. Newman have worked like veritable trojans to meet the varied needs of this community and the wide district surrounding it. Donations and pledges have already been received in the amount of $20,000 for the $42,000 build- ing, and this year's Red Shield campaign, which is already in progress, will be utilized in part to aid the building fund. Most of us will feel an obligation to be more than usually generous with the canvasser this year, when we realize that our money is to be used for such a worth- while purpose. Mechanical Trouble Dozens of people who are intensely interested in the Riverside Park develop. ment have asked why the water in the upper pond has been left at such a low level all spring. The answer is that the heavy ice ser- iously damaged the supporting structure for the catwalk which runs along the east face of the bridge. Without the walkway workmen cannot get out over the dam to put in the retaining boards which must be used to raise the water level. We understand that repairs will shortly be made. Those who are interested in the park are naturally curious to see the pond after the water level has been brought up. Last fall the parks commission had a large area at the north side of the river cleared out with a power shovel, in order to enlarge the usable water space. It will be interesting to see what the new contour of the pond will be like. No other local project has gained such wide -spread interest in Wingham for many years. We have all seen the muddy, weed -grown spots along the river emerg- ing as places of real beauty—and we are all proud of the improvement. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert O. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulation; Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Associ- ation; Member Canadian Community Newspapers Representatives Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Mail and for payment of postage in cash Subscription Rate: One Year, $4.00; Six Months, $2.25, in advance U.S.A., $5.00 per year; Foreign rate, $5.00 per year Advertising Rates on application One Mooren Please By Rev. A. C. Coles, Fordwich, Ontario In the 12th chapter of St. Luke's gospel we have the parable of the rich farmer whose land brought forth plenti- fully, and who was presump- tuous enough to think that he would store his produce, take it easy, and enjoy his wealth for many years. The fact that his farming was so successful indicates that he must have been an intelligent and indus- trious farmer. But there were some things radically wrong with this farmer in spite of his intelligence and his industry. He was interested in earthly things only. He thought of his good solely in relation to Body," World, and Time. He was not a very grateful man, There was absolutely no expression of thankfulness for his abundant harvest. He was,a selfish man With him it was all "My", "my fruits", "my barns", "my goods". He had a rather dis- torted view of the highest good in life. He would retire from farming, take life easy, "Eat, drink and be merry". He had no reverence for God. "He thought within himself'. . He didn't ask himself, "What would God have me do with all my resources?" He would do as he pleased, he would live for himself. There are some practical lessons in this story. It reminds us that life is brief and very uncertain. Man says "Many years" , God says "This night". It tells us that man's spiritual and immortal nature cannot be wholly satisfied with material things, that the real end of life is not to "eat drink and be merry", but to become "rich toward God". The only way to become "rich toward God" is by letting him have first call on all your resources, your time, your talents, and your possessions. Don't be as the foolish farmer, who preferred Body to Soul, World to God, Time to Eter- nity. Who lived as if he should never die, and whilst he was presuming on many years he exposed his soul to all the horrors of sudden death, with- out repentance, without for- giveness, without holiness, without hope. "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." � REMINISCING � MAY 1913 His Worship Mayor Van - stone wished to get away from official worries and decided to take a trip to Toronto, Hamil- ton and the Niagara District. In selecting his party, he show- ed great wisdom. Lest he should get into any legal en- tanglements, he chose Dudley Holmes, K.C. Money is very necessary, as the Editor well knows on such trips, and his Worship fearing the fountain might dry up took a never failing supply in the person of his banker, Mr. Walker, Manager of the Bank of Corn - tfi ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS ingbain Abbanciorwinte Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, May 16, 1963 SECTION TWO BOX 390 Friday, May 10, 1963 Mt. Brydges, Ontario. The Editor, Wingham Advance -Times, Dear Sir, I hope that you will be kind enough to print this brief letter in your paper. I am attempting to establish a collection of Canadian His- tory books which were printed prior to 1915. In some old homes in your area I am cer- tain that a number of these books could be found. I have discovered that many families do not wish to destroy these books, yet they no longer have any interest in them. As these books are received, I will send a letter to the donor in which I will include his pos- tage costs. Please use the re- duced postage rates allowed for books. Yours truly, Edwin W. Taylor, Box 39, Mt. Brydges, Ontario. merce. Sometimes the elec- tric lighting goes wrong in motor cars, hence our Electric Manager, Mr. Campbell, and last but not least he knew that he should have the counsel of a father, so that the auto would keep the narrow way, and the party return in good form and in good time. On Saturday, May 3rd, Wingham High School played the return game of the first series for the Hough Cup in Listowel against Listowel High School. Although the score on the previous Saturday was 1-0 in favor of Listowel the Wing - ham team secured the victory by 3-1, thus winning the series by one goal. The Wingham players were: Goal, G. R. Smith; backs, E. Taylor, F. Colvin; half -backs, J. Camp- bell, G. Cruickshank, J. Currie; forwards, W. Haines, W. El- liott, J. Dixon, 11. Day, W. lJiichanan. RICKEY O'i4EIL with 84 points, captured the boys' solo class, 11 years and under, at Belgrave. He won over 19 other contestants.—Photo by Cantelon. SUGAR and SLICE iiia uiiliiuiirBy Bi 11 Smiley. !C- IVISITED a mental hospital recently. A couple of nights after that I watched television "comedian" Lenny Bruce. Both experiences produced the same reactions: fascination, repulsion, and sadness. They also made me ponder the causes of the growing neuroticism of today. Surely we can't blame it all on The Bomb. That's too easy. I think there are a couple of ingredients a little closer to home, on which we can focus. If we eliminated them, we might even eliminate The Bomb. The two elements in mod- ern living which are increas- ing our population of nuts at a frightening pace are speed and greed. Speed is the deity of the 20th century as surely as money was that of the 19th, reason that of the 18th. We worship it cynically, hut un- ashamedly. * * * Greed is the fat, slobbering little beast inside us that makes us repulsive if we feed it, frustrated if we don't, and happy only if we strangle it at birth. Everything is speeding up. When I was a kid, people used to sit around on their porches on a May evening, shooting the breeze, then go off to bed soon after dark. They slept all night. No pills. If you sit around on your front porch nowadays, all it means is that you're a bum, because if you were any good you'd have enough money so that you could either be chas- ing around the lawn behind a power mower, or sitting in- side watching television, like a decent citizen. Speed has ceased to be a means to an end, and has become an end in itself. though we refuse to admit it. We speed up production so that we can "turn out the article more cheaply," As soon as the new method is in operation, the price goes up. "Higher overhead." We speed on the highways to save time. and spend six months in the hospital, when we fail to make that curve. We speed housework with new gadgets. so the good wife will have more leisure time to sit around with a bottle, or go out and play bingo. High on the list of those latter-day Satans who cater to, tempt, and urge on the poor ordinary slob in his wor- ship of speed and greed are the advertising men. If that seems a little harsh, don't take my word for it. Just pay a visit to a supermarket. * * * Shopping 'used to be a lei- surely, pleasant part of daily life for women. 11 was a hang- over from the open market of less frazzled times. At the grocery store, they met their neighbors, exchanged repar- tee with the grocer, pinched the meat, tasted the cheese, squeezed the bread, thumped the melons, prodded t h e chickens, and sniffed the fish. And above a11, they chewed the fat. Today, shopping is a fright- ening, soul-destroying ordeal. The only things the ladies can get their hands on are the vegetables, and there isn't much joy in pinching, thump- ing, or taking a bite out of a turnip. Where their grand- mothers dipped a hand into a box or barrel to taste or feel, they worriedly read labels or anxiously peer into those vast, gleaming mortu- aries which have replaced the old meat counter. From every shelf, in every color, they are shouted at to "hurry, be quick, hasten, grab me, buy snore," and harassed by "family size, special deal, limited time only, l0c off." No wonder they scuttle about furtively, snatching up packages like hot potatoes and throwing them wildly into their carts. Everything spells out speed and greed: minute rice. instant coffee, pre-cooked ham, oven- ready chicken, ready -m ix cakes, quick-frozen fish. As a result, they buy twice as much as they need in half the time they should. Then, instead of a mutual- ly -suspicious but friendly tal- lying of the bill with the gro- cer, they dive for a spot in the lineup, the grub is whisk- ed into bags, the cash regis- ter chatters its staccato song, and they find themselves spewed into the street, a vast bag in each arm. and only the vaguest idea of how much they spent. * * * I'd like to spend more time on this theme, but you'll have to excuse me now. I've got to hurry and finish this col- umn, so I can rush down fo the kitchen. My wife wants to know whether I want instant coffee or jiffy cocoa with the piece of pie ( instant fill, ready -mix crust) for my mid- night snack. Got to save time if I want to read my book digest before I go to bed. Think I'll have a big slice of gorgonzola cheese with the pie. Instant dreams, you know.