Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-09-12, Page 9Do You Work At Your Citizensh It is high time that Canadians should seek a new attitude where politics are concerned. All too many of us still hold the out -worn belief that all politicians, regardless of party, are either full-fledged crooks or at the very least, a little on the slippery side. Such ideas are ignorant nonsense, It is true that 50 or 60 years ago, when this country was bursting the bonds of a pioneer economy and entering a new and promising era of prosperity, there were occasions when graft and scandal blackened the names of some politicians. Those days of easy opportunity have long since departed. The members of Parlia- ment we know, whether in the federal house or the provincial legislature, are hard-working and honest. They have to be. Their activities are carried on in the bright light of public office; the news- papers are quick to seize upon anything that carries the remotest scent of scandal or dishonesty—and the opposition parties are like blood hounds on the track of anything the least bit amiss. There have been isolated cases, yes, in which men in public office have given way to the temptation of a quick profit p? —but these cases by no means brand all office -holders with the same black mark. Perhaps it is because of this wide- spread suspicion of political motives that so many of us are loath to align ourselves with any political party today. We refuse to take any active part in the support of candidates for the parliament or the legislature -- and then sit back for the four years after the election and rant about how badly we are represented in government. Participation in politics is en honor- able activity. It is more than that: it is a duty which too many Canadians shirk. How can we possibly achieve the best of representative government if there is nothing but derision for the men who seek the opportunity to express our needs and aspirations at the one point where there is any chance of acting upon them? We are not suggesting the party you should support. That is strictly your business. But don't give us this old busi- ness about staying away from dirty poli- tics. Politicians are not chosen for us by someone else. We, the citizens of this land, elect them to office. If you don't like the kind who have been serving us, get busy and find some better ones. Schools Are Community Buildings It was interesting to learn that Prem- ier John Robarts agrees fully with a theory which we have held for a long time. It has always been our belief that the ex- pensive high school buildings which have been erected in so many Ontario towns and villages should be used for as many community activities as possible. Admit- tedly there is a caretaking problem, but that obstacle could easily be met by a t. o -nominal charge levied on the organize - tion which use the school's facilities. The Wingham and District High School has been made available on many oc- casions for purposes other than purely educational. The board here has been very conscious of its obligations to the ' community at large. We understand that such has not been the case in many other towns. In his message to the Minister's Con- ference on School Design last week Prem- ier Robarts made a strong plea for great- er use of school buildings in Ontario. He said, "A school building is too costly an investment to be unused for long periods of time. The community is investing such a large part of its budget for school construction and operation, and many more taxpayers would be less critical if they felt that through its use for varied community needs it became a sound busi- ness investment." "A school building," he continued, "must first meet the basic needs of edu- cation, but every possible use should be made of the facilities." In reference to the latest developments in educational planning, Mr. Robarts said, "The impact of vocational facilities on school buildings has affected the overall cost of secondary and post -secondary education. The age of technology de- mands that in order to train young people to fit into our industrial society they must be exposed to far more complex vocational training than ever before. The facilities necessary are far more costly than we have traditionally felt school fa- cilities should be. I am certain, however, that the place of these facilities will more than adequately justify their existence." The Premier stated in conclusion, "Marked progress is being made in match- ing the various interests and aptitudes of our youth with differentiated courses in secondary schools, technical institutes and trade schools. In the past school year a total of $4 million was paid in scholarships, bursaries or loans to assist some 11,000 students in their education- al pursuits under the Provincial Student - Aid Program." Don't Blame It On Us it seems that there are ever more engenious ways for enterprising mer- chandisers to capitalize on human emo: tion. The latest we have seen is a piece of plastic about 8 inches long by 3 inches• wide, decorated with a few hazily -printed flowers and carrying a heading, "Mem- orial Obituary." One side is headed "Rest in Peace" and this is followed by the Twenty-third Psalm. On the reverse it says "A tribute published in the pages of The London Free Press," and below the heading, sandwiched in the plastic is a clipping from that newspaper, which was concerned with a death in the family. The accompanying literature tells how easily it will be to obtain more of these gimmicks at the price of $1.00 each. If you want to buy them, that's all right --- To us they appear in very bad taste but there is nothing illegal about the offer. All we ask is that should you receive one of these plastic pieces with the name of The Advance -Times printed boldly across the top, do no jump to the con- clusion that this newspaper has anything to do whatsoever with the sales pitch. Though we do not like being associated in any way with an enterprise of this kind, there is no way we can prevent the use of our name. We doubt very much that The Free Press had any knowledge that its name was being employed for this sales offer —and you can rest assured that if ours should appear it will be without our con- sent. 0 THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenget Btos. Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert O. Wenger, Secretary -treasurer Membet Audit Bureau of Circulation; 'Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Assodl- ation; Member Canadian Conirnunity NeWspapers Representatives Atit Ori*ed by the Post Office t epartment as Second Class Mail and for paynent of postage in cash Subscription Rate: One Tear, $4.40; Six Months, $2.25, in advance $5.00 per year; 1♦'oreign rate, $5.00 pet year Advertising Rates On application REMINISCIN6. SEPTEMBelt 1913 Sixteen out of nineteen Candidates who wrote the ex- aminations for =ha/triers' cer- tificates last weee before the Canadian Embalmers' Associ- ation Examining Board were successful, Among those we find the names of Mr. R. A. Currie and Mr. G. Harvey Link - later of town. While in Listowel this week we were pleased to hear their post -office clock striking the hour and trust that we may live long enough to hear the clock on our own post -office, Mr. George Moir has opened a shoe -shining parlor in the re- pair shop of Mr, Hamilton, Mr. Wm. Guest has been awarded the contract for the cement work in machinery hall to be erected near the pumping station. 0--0--0 SEPTEMBER 1926 A. G. Smith, issuer of motor vehicle permits at Wing - ham, has just received a ship- ment of 1926 Highway Traffic Acts, which we are giving out to all motorists who call for same at The Advance -Times office. An old and highly esteemed citizen of Wingham passed to his reward on Sunday, Sept. 5, in the person of Archibald Mc- Gillivray,- of Pleasant Valley. •Older residents will remember him as a tanner. For some years he has been night watch- man at the Bell factory. Among those who attended Toronto Exhibition were: Ald- erman J. W. and Mrs. Hanna, Miss Helen Preston, Miss Janet Murray, Mrs. John McColl, Mrs. Beckwith, Mr. Lawrence Pearin, Mr. W. B. McCool, Mr. Dean Scott, Walter Lock- eridge, Mr. and Mrs, W, A. Currie, Miss Blanche Irwin, Mr. John Wilkinson, Mr. Geor- ge Finley, Mr. Wm. Stokes, Mr. Mark Cassels, and Mr. Will Currie. 0--0--0 SEPTEMBER 1938 Miss Norma Coutts was successful in passu g her final examinations for her perman- ent first class teacher's certifi- cate at Queen's University, Kingston, summer school. Mr. Jack Herd, who has been with Hanna & Co., here for the past four and one-half years, has accepted a position with Jack Fraser's Gents' Fur- nishings and Clothing Store, Toronto. A quiet family gathering was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Breen, Shuter Street, on Wednesday last when they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Messrs. A. M. Crawford and W. A. Miller attended the Thistles' Clubs Annual Singles Bowling Tournament at London on Saturday. 0--o--0 SEPTEMBER 1948 Messrs. Don Hastie, Tom Lockridge and Arnold Liliow, left Goderich by plane to attend the National Air Races at Cleve- land on Monday. Mr. and Mrs, John Purdon and sons, Ken and Russell, are on a motor trip to Saskatche- wan, Five rinks of local bowlers attended the Elora Furniture Tournament on Monday. Out of an entry of 152 rinks, J. H. Crawford, H, L. Sherbondy, 0, Haselgrove and W. R. Ham- ilton, skip, placed twentieth and received occasional chairs. The Glove Factory of W. 1--1, Gurney & Son, where gloves end mitts are made, has shown a steady expansion over the past forty years. This thriving industry has been a big asset to the town of Wingham. Family Living iIn Walkerton Mr. and Mrs. Joe Ellacott, Brenda and Douglas, moved to Walkerton the first of this month and are living in the Lindsay Apartments on Cayley Street, • Mr. Ellacott is assistant superintendent of the Lloyd; Truax Co, Ltd. plant in Walk- erton, and has been working in that plant foe several months while his wife and family re- mained here, IGti ftiollT J'rint O/Jis r Jahn (. Magee. Jr.* hl I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced rhe skies on laughter -silvered wings; iunward I've climbed, and joined the rumbling mirth Df sun -split clouds—and done a hundred things 1'ou have nor dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung Vy eager craft through footless halls of ;lir. .'p, up the long, delirious, burning blue l've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace X'here never l.trk, nor even eagle flew— And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod 1'he high unrrespassed sanctity of space 'tit out my hand and touched rhe face of God. THE COMPLETE STORY of the Battle of Britain . . . bombed out ruins, enemy bombers, a handful! of valiant fighters, and the spirit of the Spitfire pilot cap- tured in words written on the back of a letter to his mother three months before he was killed in action. —RCAF Photo. bant UtmucterAint Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Sept. 12, 1963 SECOND SECTION _ llllisolflululllllllsselllllsu lmillllllllulllllllllllllllll milllllllllillllllllllumluullllllllllllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllUIIIIIIIIimiiIflIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIiIIIIIiIIIP__' E UGAR and SPICE numuomummluBy Bili Smiley luimmmlmmumi Axe we going to have a civil war may laugh at the question, but a lot country don't find it too hilarious. La Belle Province is sick and tired of her Cin- derella role. She has had enough of being the bright and beautiful, but bedrag- gled and badly neglected sister in the family. Since Wicked Godmother Duplessis kicked the bucket and Prince Charming Le - sage rode up on his white charger, a new life has dawned for La Belle. She has realised that her wicked godmother was did- dling her out of her inherit- ance, that some of her sis- ters, especially that On- tario, who was always a bit of a snob, were looking down their noses at her, and that the meek inherit the earth only when every- body else has tapped it. As a result she has lost her inferiority complex. She has dropped her sub- missive obedience. She has lost her faith in wizards. Her eyes are blazing. Her fists are up. She has a chip on her shoulder the size of a chunk of cordwood. And she is very definitely go- ing to the ball, whether the rest of the family likes it or not. * * * Readers of this column probably don't realize how lucky they are to have the whole French - Canadian revolution and the sepa- ratist movement explained to them t;v an expert who just spent a week visiting La Belle Province, travel- ing on an English - Cana- dian shipping line, and stay- ing in an English -Canadian - owned hotel. First, let me say that in Canada? You of people in this the girls in Montreal still knock you stiff. They have a flair, a style, that makes old guys like me stop dead in their tracks and turn slowly, mouth open, until a vicious poke in the ribs from wife or small daugh- ter shatters the moment. Secondly, the traffic in Montreal is still the most frightening, the cab -driving the most hair-raising, and the fares the most reason- able of any city in Canada. Thirdly, the majestic bulk of Quebec, brooding over the St. Lawrence, with who knows what memories, is stili probably the most im- posing city in North Amer- ica. Fourthly the price of booze in Quebec province is fierce. Fifth, I can't stay up all night any more. Sixth, it was good to meet old weekly -editors and as- sorted friends and find out their golf is lousy, too. Seventh, after a week of dressing up and eating fabulous meals and tipping everybody in sight, it's wonderful to sit in the backyard like a bum, un- shaven, to eat that real food which only the Old GirI can prepare, and to get up from the table with- out having to fish for a bill. * * * We enjoyed our trip thor- oughly, and even the kids arrived home utterly ex- hausted, sure sign of a fine convention. It was tempt- ing to devote this week's column to a "cute" trav- elogue. But I came home with a deep feeling of unease con- cerning the mixed marriage which has, for almost one hundred years, confounded the experts by being appar- ently a happy one. I'm afraid one of the partners wants a divorce, or if not that, at least a completely new deal. "Has the lady grounds for divorce?" you ask. Per- haps not, legally. Getting a divorce in this country has always been almost as tough as getting into heaven. And like all ladies, her real reasons for kicking over the milk can are all mixed up with her emo- tions. She's sick of feeding a big family on her butter - and -egg money while the old man lives it up at the saloon with the proceeds from the beef he sold. * * * She's fed up with being complimented on her home cooking, when what she wants is a pheasant -under - glass and champagne din- ner, like the other girls, once in a while. She's furious at the pa- tronizing air of the ladies who praise her needlework and then sweep off in their mink coats. Hell, as the chap said, hath no fury like a woman scorned. Unless La Belle Province can be convinced that she is our only love, unless we court her with sincerity and intensity, she is going to desert her fam- ily, set up her own estab- lishment, and treat us with the hauteur we deserve. In the meantime, 1 for one am going to start taking those Conversational French classes at night school. RANSACK FARM HOME STEAL Tu IN CULROSS Burglars entered the fartn hon -ie of Elmer Dickison of Cul- ross Township, last week, ran- sacked the house and stole a television set. The telephone wires were pulled from the phone, Entry was made by forcing a rear door No one was at home at the time.