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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1964-10-15, Page 9They're Not Dead Yet There .has been many suggestions in recent years that the day of the rural agricultural fair is just about over, There seems to be a belief in some quarters that because the country's economy is no longer based solely upon the agricultural industry fall fairs must, of sheer neces- sity, die out. Fall fairs may be dying out in some places, but certainly not around here. The Teeswater Fair, for long years the biggest crowd -getter in the business, at- tracted more people than ever this year. The Howick Fair was an outstanding suc- cess and so were those at Belgrave and • Brussels. We are only sorry that Wing - ham does not have a fair of its own. Agricultural fairs are such an ancient institution' that something more than a shift in economic emphasis will be re- quired to put a stop to them. In fact fairs of various kinds were perhaps man- kind's earliest organized efforts to mer- chandise the products of farm and small workshop. Most of the early writings which have survived tell of fairs drawing crowds from all over Europe and Asia. The fair in Frankfurt, Germany, was held, apparently, from before the times of re- corded history and there were many others of a similar nature all over the world—in Moslem countries as well as in Europe. Today's fall fairs differ in format from those of antiquity. The ancient world depended upon such events for opportunity to exchange goods from other parts of the world, Nor was mer- chandise the only medium of exchange. Equally important was the exchange of news, In an age when there were no newspapers, radio or television, news travelled very slowly, but it was often at the great fairs that word was passed on about the fall of kings and the defeat of armies. In our own age the fall fairs serve another purpose, but one which is equal- ly important. They provide opportunity for the best products of our fields and farm homes to be placed on display and to be judged and rewarded for their excellence. In this way the fall fairs in- variably lead to higher standards and greater knowledge. During the past 20 years many new items have been added to the old-style fall fairs. We now have the field crop competitions, contests for dairy maids, etc, Each one of these events has led to greater interest and pride in the pursuit of agriculture as a fife work. Today's farmer is no mere tiller of the soil. He has long since passed from a state of serfdom to the status of in- deoendent businessman—in an industry which requires heavy capital investment and a keen sense of values if the owner is to succeed. The fall fair is still an important aid to the farmer. We can see no likelihood that the fairs will disappear from the scene. Needed: More Good Citizens Within a few weeks the entire coun- try will be engaged in its annual search for good councillors and board members. When nominations are opened for thous- ands of seats on township, town and city councils, public utilities commissions • and school boards there will be, in the vast majority of cases, a glaring absence of good candidates for office. . Wingham may well face a problem in its attempt to secure a person willing to fill the now -empty mayor's chair. And it is safe to predict that there will • be no rush of aspirants for spots on PUC, public school board or hospital board (which elects in February). This reluctance on the part of the general public to accept public office is one of the most serious aspects of life in democratic countries today. Apathy and laziness are permitting public service to • degenerate into something much less than it actually should be. There is no lack of good. intelligent men and women to fill our boards and councils. Never has there been a time when small communities had more able people among their residents, Their unwillingness to serve is a phenomenon of our times, compounded of selfishness +r, arising from personal success and over - busyness because of the multiplication of clubs, committees and other time- consuming activities. It would be very wrong to point the finger and say flatly: "You are lazy. You have no interest in your own communi- ty." The man you are talking to may well be one who spends every free even- ing on a full program of church board meetings, fund-raising campaigns or other duties which are, in themselves, very important indeed. The trouble, perhaps, lies in a wrong emphasis; an attitude that town council isn't really important. The fact is, how- ever, that civic duties of this kind are of paramount importance. All the rest of our public enterprises hinge upon the calibre of our local government. It is the root of our democratic structure and it must be strong if we are to prosper. If you are one of those people who scoff at the idea of serving on council or on your school or hospital board, think it over in the next few weeks be- fore nomination day. Your interest in your town and its future are valuable assets you have no right to deny. Town industries Need Help Scores of towns throughout Ontario, says The Goderich Signal -Star, anxiously hope that a sizeable new industry will locate in their municipalities in order to give the economy of that particular area a needed "shot in the arm." However, more than 60 percent of the industry coming into Ontario settles within a 25 -mile radius of Toronto. There • are 32 percent more people employed in manufacturing in Metro Toronto than in all the provinces of Canada with the exception of Ontario and Quebec. How can Ontario towns hope to com- pete against that kind of centralization of industry? ft will remain for the Provincial gov- ernment to do something about this--hv way of subsidies, legal inducements, if you will, to attract industries to Ontario towns. The government is already sub- sidizing many things in Ontario. Why can't this be a worthwhile one? If, after a comprehensive survey, the government finds that such subsidizing would not be in the best interests of the province as a whole, then Ontario towns could be so advised. These towns could then plan their economy accordingly. As it is now, many Ontario towns, in various ways, are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in efforts to attract industries. Toronto continues to gobble up most of the industries at the expense of the smaller communities. Would not a more equal distribution of these industries across the province result in a better over -ail economy? THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert 0. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulation; Member Canadian Wcckly 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.Oo per year Advertising Elates on application Pie Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Oct. 15, 1964 SECOND SECTION ��IIIIIIIiIiIiIiI011111111iililplillllilllllilll;P!Cilllifi�llf'ilNflfllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllll!IIIIIIIIUUIIIIIIIillllll!tPlillt!illil�iillilll;lun)tull!I"),llE1Il�!I;Pu�'; SUGAR and SPICE vanilla By 8111 Birthday With A Bang Not long ago, I attended a banquet at which John Fisher, the guest speaker, was extolling Canada's centenbial year, which is just around a couple of ex- tremely sharp corners. Mr. Fisher is an eloquent speaker, a consummate orator. A few years ago, when he was blazing across the country de- livering fiery, poetic speeches about this land of ours (at about $100 a whack), he was given the title "Mr. Canada." Unfortunately, he ran out of service clubs and things. Now he works for the government, The talent is still there. The golden tongue still wags with passion and brilliance, still throbs with sincerity and hope. But the audiences have changed. They 'used to listen with open mouths, shining eyes, as Mr. Fisher told them what a great country they lived in, They used to float homeward after the banquet, on the purple carpet he had spun. And even the job of fixing the furnace, putting the milk bottle out on the ice -covered porch, and climbing in with a hair -in - curlers, face -in -grease mate didn't dispell the vision. Now, however, his audiences listen with that careful apathy, that controlled wariness with which the honest, dour Ca- nadians always listen to any- body connected with the govern- ment. Such as the Minister of Finance explaining in jolly fashion why taxes are good for us. At this banquet I mentioned, John Fisher was trying to drum up enthusiasm for "Centennial Projects," with which he is con- nected. I watched the listeners. In the midst of his highest flights, they sat as though carved of stone, with the excep- tion of two or three who had that faraway, wistful look of people who have to go to the bathroom. Admitting that there were some municipalities whose idea of a hot centennial project was to decorate the town clerk's of- fice, or put an extra cell in the jail, Mr. Fisher assured that there were many others with bold, imaginative schemes for libraries, art centres, museums and other worthy and lasting monuments. Which brings to my thesis, patient and gentle reader. What has your municipality planned as its centennial project? Don't forget now. The govern- ment puts up two bucks for every dollar the municipality will spend. Never mind where the government gets the two bucks. That's beside the point. If it works as it should, Can- ada will have a 3,000 -mile rib- bon of opera houses in which nobody sings, theatres which nobody attends, swimming pools that Hayfork Centre can't af- ford to operate, libraries with no books in them, and museums full of junk out of people's attics and cellars, but never full of people. Is that what Canadians want, to celebrate the centenary of an event that nobody understands, except a few history teachers? Fie on us! Why don't we shave a little real imagination, throw a party that will resound throughout the world, then forget the whole thing. There's nothing very thrilling about being 100 years old, anyway. Let's see. Instead of piddling around with thousands of grants to municipalities, the govern- ment, for one year, could double pensions to the old, the veterans and the widows, treble the baby bonus, and declare a twelve- month holiday from income taxes. That would put the popu- lation in the right frame of mind for the celebration. Employers could forego all profits for a year and grant an extra two weeks vacation with pay. Municipalities could set aside a special fund for beer and dancing in the streets. Every day in the -year could be Leap Year, as far as spin• stets go. And some of them would go far. Teenagers could all be locked in special com- pounds for a year, fed well, and released on New Year's day, 1968. All babies born during cen- tennial year would be guaran- teed a free university education. Divorce, for one year only, would follow the Moslem pat- tern, in which the husband merely says, three tinges, "I divorce thee." During the twelve-month, any- one who mentioned the word "flag" would be impaled and then roasted over a slow flame during the evening fireworks display. Anyone who breathed "national anthem" would be given a one-way ticket to Moos- onee. There would be national holi- days every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, with weekends as usual. For one year, children would be seen and not heard. The possibilities are limitless. These are just a few sugges- tions. Send yours along. Let's forget those erunrby projects and have a hundredth birthday party we'll never forget. REMINISCING OCTOBER 1914 On Tuesday morning last a full grown partridge flew through one of the High School windows. The bird came with such force against the glass as to break it and the bird dropped inside the room, the concussion being so great that it was in- stantly killed. The principal, Mr. H. R. Ricker, is having the partridge sent to a taxidermist to be mounted and placed in the High School museum. Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs. Varcoe accompanied by their son, Captain Varcoe of the 33rd Battalion, spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. James W. Bone of East Wawanosh. Misses Gretta and Irlma Ken- nedy left for Toronto on Mon- day morning. Miss Gretta will enter the Faculty of Arts in To- ronto University and Miss Irlrna will continue her studies in the Faculty of Medicine. Mr. Geo. A. Orvis has pur- chased the McKenzie property in Lower Wingham and will take possession in the course of a few weeks. While at work at Mr. John H. Reid's barn raising in Turn - berry on Friday last, Mr. John B. Hardie was badly bruised and has been laid aside from active duty. We wish him a speedy recovery. OCTOBER 1928 On Friday evening, Septem- ber 21st, the Ukonous group of the Canadian Girls in Training met in the basement of the United Church, where a very enjoyable evening was spent, during which time a presenta- tion was made to Crura Finch prior to her departure for Wes- tern tiniverstiy arid also to Yvonne McPherson who has gone to Queen's University. The presents given were a lea- ther hand bag to Erma and an ivory clock to Yvonne. Mary Robertson read the address and WORLD SERIES ---New York Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford, who pitched the opener for the Yankees against the St. Louis Cardinals in New York Oct. 7, holds up a ball numbered "12," representing his twelfth World Series start. For the Cardinals, it is 18 years since they won a pennant and the series.—TNS Photo. THiS WEEK & NEXT A Six -Province Nation' By RAY ARGYLE Suggestions made recently that Canada's smaller provin- ces merge into larger units are going to get considerable be- hind -the -scenes study in the next few years. Don't look for any sudden unity moves, but neither should anyone write off the possibility that we might have six instead of 10 prov- inces before the end of this century, In a sense, the advocates of provincial mergers are moti- vated by a desire to strengthen further the principle of provin- cial automony. The idea is that while a tiny province like Prince Edward Island can't de- mand much out of Ottawa, a bigger province comprising the entire Maritimes could make it- self more strongly heard. Those who favor a strong central government are going to have to reconcile themselves to the new shape of Confedera- tion which is slowly being fashioned out of the federal - provincial conferences which have been so frequent lately. Prime Minister Pearson's con- cept of "co-operative federal- ism" is slowly being shaped into a working system of govern- ment between Ottawa and the provinces. Quebec's action in dropping out of a number of cost-sharing agreements with Ottawa is further indication. The decision means that Que- bec will go it alone — or sep- arately, if you prefer—in these fields. They'll have full control over the spending of their own money, and will get grants from Ottawa to make up for the as- sistance they would have re- ceived in the cost-sharing projects. The proposal from Premier Robichaud of New Brunswick that the Atlantic provinces should consider a merger came hard on the heels of Premier Bennett's new campaign for B.C. to take over the Yukon and the western chunk of the North West Territories. A few days later, former agriculture minister Alvin Ham- ilton added his voice to the merger chorus by pointing out Norma Coutts made the pres- entation, Mr. T. K. Bibb of Detroit, has been granted a leave of absence from the Chevrolet Motor Co, , and with is wife, (nee Rea Currie) left on a mot- or trip to llopewell, Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Merton Gal- braith and Mina Currie of Lea- mington, motored from Detroit and spent the week -end at the home of their parents, Mr, and Mrs, J. T. Currie, Cast Wawa - nosh. A pretty wedding took place at the home of Mrs. George Herbert, St, George street, Please turn to Page Three that the prairie provinces have many common interests which might be served better through some form of political unity. Premier Robichaud's pro- posal didn't get far, atleast on the sur f a c e, The Atlantic premiers decided that any se- rious discussion of this matter would have to await indications of stronger public interest. In other words, let the public speak first, and then the provin- cial leaders might consider tak- ing up the issue. Premier Bennett's proposal for a Yukon take-over is not new. I remember him making similar suggestions more than 10 years ago when I was re- porting from the British Colum- bia legislative assembly. There's a strong suspicion that Mr. Ben- nett's scheme is well larded with visions of personal and political aggrandizement. And when he talked of paving the Yukon's roads, a federal gov- ernment spokesman caustically remarked that Ottawa would remember this the next time B.C. asked for more federal money. There are, nevertheless, strong and compelling reasons for the smaller provinces to study urgently and thoroughly the possibility of political union. The proposal makes special sense in the case of the Atlan- tic provinces, which despite re- markable efforts are still not sharing in the industrial growth that is sweeping much of the rest of Canada. There will, to be sure, be many dreary arguments advanc- ed against union, but it should be remembered that the most stubborn opposition may be ex- nected from those who would lose their political positions as a result of a merger. I would like to go Mr. Robi- chaud one step further and pro- pose a name for his Atlantic union—Acadia. This is a his- toric and honorable designation for this part of the eastern coast. The four Atlantic provinces would find many benefits in working as a single unit on problems of economics, educa- tion, transport and agriculture. And union would provide an opportunity to build a brand new capital city, somewhere in those beautiful rolling hills of northern Nova Scotia between Springhill and Truro. As for the prairies. Alberta enjoys a viable economy and is well blessed with resources. It is quite capable of carrying on alone. tut Saskatchewan and Manitoba could profitably con- sider union as a rvve toward upgrading their economies and general well-being. This, then, would he the line- up: British Columbia; Alberta; Saskatchewan (to accept this as the name for the two united prairie provinces); Ontario; Quebec: and Acadia. flow (Ines this .ntind as the lineup for a new and greater Canada?