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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1964-10-29, Page 9• Y Edaha Parents Are Welcome Education, even at public school level, becomes ever more complicated and con- fusing. Those deeply interested parents who, at one time, could help their child- ren with school problems, have reached the stage where they don't know whether s their assistance does more harm than good. Teachers recognize this difficulty and one of their methods of meeting it is to hold "open house" at the school each year, when parents are given an oppor- tunity to see their children within the • framework of the classroom and to re- main after the children have been dis- missed, so there will be an opportunity to discuss mutual problems, "Open House" this year is slated for next Wednesday afternoon, November 4. There is no need to urge attendance upon • • most parents, for they usually turn out in large numbers for this event. It would be advisable, however, for more parents to avail themselves of the most important aspect of the annual visit, which is the chance to talk to the teach- er concerned. t • We have contended for years that there should be more opportunities for parents and teachers to meet and to discuss their mutual interest—the best possible type of education for the child. "Open house" at the school is the first and certainly the most important step in this direction. It has already proven that the vast majority of parents are • } • { keenly interested in the school and what it is doing for their youngsters, With this proven interest as a back• ground we would like to draw the at- tention of the public school board to a progressive step which could now be taken, The board could arrange that the teachers would be available one evening a month, at the school, so that any parent who is concerned about the progress of a child could talk freely and unhurriedly with the teacher. "Open house" is wonderful, but it doesn't leave enough time to fulfill its basic purpose. If such parent -teacher evenings could be set up we are quite fully aware that the teachers might spend more than a few evenings at the school with no more than a scattering of parents present. It would take time, but it would eventually accomplish a closer understanding be- tween teachers and parents — the two groups solely responsible for the future of the children. The frequency of the open evenings might be altered after experimentation. More or less of them might be required. Publicity would be essential, throuph the children in the homes and through the medium of this newspaper, but it would be well worth the effort. As a first move the board members might try a limited survey of parents in their own neighborhoods to find out whether or not this plan appeals to those concerned. Time to Spruce Up At its recent dinner meeting the Busi- ness Association discussed a problem which is long overdue for settlement. • The members were concerned about the appearance of a few properties along the main street. They pointed out that properties which are not reasonably well main- tained are a detriment to the entire busi- ness community. Surely we are all • familiar with other towns, where the main streets look seedy and run down. p 4 We drive right through them. We stop in the well painted and more attractive places. There may be no by-law to force a property owner to clean up his premises —and we shouldn't need one. Pride in our own community should be sufficient, but apparently it is not. Let's hope that a public discussion of these unsightly spots will be enough to induce their owners to take action to improve them at once. Danger in Those Leaves The other afternoon we happened to witness an occurrence that left us cold with fear—even though no one was hurt. A car passed our house and went on down the street, closely skirting the piles of leaves put out for burning by the var- ious home owners in the block. After the car had passed a little boy in a brown windbreaker emerged from one of those piles of leaves. The wee lad was perfectly camou- flaged in his leafy bed. We didn't even • get a glimpse of him and we would wager that the driver of the car didn't either. Had his car been 18 inches to the right on its course the little boy would have been killed. Better warn your own children about this danger. At the same time it would be a good idea to tell them how easily their clothing can be ignited by those fascinating bonfires you see in every block just now. May we sound a bit old -womanish -- but we don't believe Wingham has any children to spare. Let's Be Kind This Year This is the week of Hallowe'en. For most youngsters and for many adults it is a time of merriment and revelry ---a time for practical jokes and happy nonsense. Hallowe'en is something different for many old folks who live alone and who have been terrorized in past years by the small minority of celebrants, both young and older, who find amusement only in cruelty. This sort of stupidity will probably continue as long as there are human be- ings—but you who are parents can at least make sure that your own children do not contribtte to anyone's unhap- piness. Don't complacently assume that your children will behave themselves on Hal- lowe'en night. The fact that tI'rey are still youngsters, whose judgments are still immature, leaves them open to the leadership of older pranksters. Warn them well in advance that Hal- lowe'en is no excuse for unkindness. Remind them that the junk they heap on some old lady's veranda can become ant expensive problem for her to deal with. If you learn, after Hallowe'en, that your son or daughter has taken part in any of these cruel and humorless stunts try an old-fashioned remedy—the flat of your hand on the seat of his pants. Bear in mind that the infrequency of this form of emphasis is creating some of our most serious problems. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wehger Bros, Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert 0, Wenger, Secretary-Treasuter 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 or year: Foreign rate—$5.00 per year Advertising Rates on application GORRIE AIRMAN SERVES IN FRANCE— At Marville, France, home of 1 Wing of the RCAF's NATO Air Division, Corporal J. W. Farrish, 39, supervises work on a new aircraft engine. The son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Farrish, of Gorrie, Cpl. Farrish is now serving as an aero engine technician with 109 Communications Flight which operates from Marville, to airlift personnel and sup- plies to other units of the Air Division in Europe. —RCAF Photo. bran Utiancoet-nu Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Oct. 29, 1964 SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley Do Wives Really Some of my best friends are women. I like women, generally, because they are compassion- ate, courageous, and smell nice. Some are good lookers. Others are good cookers. Most have a great fund of common sense. For these very reasons, I have refused to stand by and let that fine creature, the housewife, be lead, or misled, into a morass of frustration and unhappiness by a few frustrated, unhappy fem- ale agitators. For years, I have been fight- ing a battle. It has been made up of skirmishes in speeches, fuliscale attacks in this col- umn, and occasional hand-to- hand combat with my old lady. On some occasions, I have been routed, my banners tat- tered, my forces in disarray. But my ideals have remained intact, my cause untarnished. Once in a while, I've won a minor encounter. At a party, for instance, when a housewife has flung a drink in my face and rushed off to the bathroom in a confusion of rage and tears. I don't regret a minute of the long campaign. The only thing that has depressed me has been the intense loneliness. Time and again I have felt like a lost pa- trol, cut off from all reinforce- ments, betrayed by allies. But my heart leaped in my breast with new hope the other day, when I read an article in Maclean's magazine. For the first time in a decade or more, I felt that my cause, "Equality for Husbands", had an outside chance of winning. Title of the article was, "Marriage is Easy Street (For Women)". Written by Sidney Katz, it was a sober, factual re- futation of that base, insidious and increasing whine of the times — that a housewife is "bored, trapped, a slave to her family, and unfulfilled as a hu- man being." Mr. Katz quotes sociologist, ipsychologist and anthropologist to prove what I have been say- ing for years :that it is just the opposite, that it is the male creature in marriage who is trapped, who is the slave to his family, and who, very often, is bored silly with the whole busi- ness. I have no need to quote any kind of an "ologist". All 1 have to do is look around me. There's the former terror of the tank corps. A tiger in action, his name was a by -word among the troops, a symbol Of dash and elan. There's not touch left of. his former fiendish skill as he steers his shopping cart submis- 'Have it Made ?' sively about the supermarket. His wife is busy Friday nights with her little theatre group. There's the former bomber pi- lot. For three years, he held within his clever and capable hands six thousand horsepower, six tons of bombs, and the lives of six men. I wonder if he feels "fulfilled as a human being" as he drops another quarter in the coin wash. But it's Saturday night and his wife likes to watch the movie on TV. Most of the damage has been done by a comparatively small group of harridans who have produced a veritable tidal wave of books, magazine articles and TV diatribes, all with the same theme: if you are a housewife (a) you are unhappy and frus- trated; (b) you're a slob be- cause you're not out working, or writing a novel or sculpting a sculp or something. Normal, intelligent housew- ives, under this finger of scorn, are slinking around guiltily, trying to convince themselves that they are unhappy, frustrat- ed shirkers. The only thing I'm worried about is that they may succeed. As any woman of real insight knows, it is the male of the family who is a slave to the family, who is frustrated, unful- filled and trapped. Let me quote .from the article. 'In a survey, one housewife said, "A married woman has it made." Welcome to the barricades, REMINISCING OCTOBER 1914 St. Paul's A, Y, P. A. held its first meeting of the winter's program last night with a large attendance of enthusiastic members. The President, Sergt. R. E. N. Barron, having gone to the front with the Ca- nadian contingent, it wasnec- essary to appoint someone to fill the position during his ab- sence and Mr, Ed. Nash was elected and as Mr. Nash filled this position very creditably last year the members of the So- ciety are most pleased to have him again fill the chair. Miss Norma Vanstone was appointed to the Social. Committee. A committee was appointed to choose a present to be sent to Mr. Barron in appreciation of his work in the A. Y.P.A. The business having then been dealt with, an interesting pro- gram was carried out, consist- ing of vocal solos by Misses Miriam Smith, Eva Patterson and Mr. Will Murch, a piano solo by Miss Evelyn Garret and a reading by the Rector. OCTOBER 1928 Mr. C. E. MacLean, a son of Mr. J. A. MacLean of town, has been appointed local and district manager of the Heintz - man Co., Ltd., of Sarnia. Turnberry Township's tribute to the memory of its fallen her- oes in the great war was un- veiled by Col H. B. Coombe of London, on Wednesday last Please turn to Page Eight Katz. You can pile sandbags while I sharpen my finger to stick it in the dyke. Go get him, girls. Katz, that is. One Moment, Please BY REV, T. E, KENNEDY Biuevale, Ontario WANTED- -A BAPTISM QF FIRE St. Matthew. 8:11 reads"I baptize you with water, He shall baptize you with fire." Note that two baptisms are contrasted here, water baptism and fire baptism. Note also that two baptizers are also con- trasted. There is the great forerunner of Christ who bap- tized with water and the Lord Jesus Christ who baptized with fire. The words of my text, He shall baptize you with fire, were fulfilled in a wonderful way on the day of Pentecost. Read all about it in the second chapter of the Acts of The Apostles, In a Christian sense a baptism of fire means a bap- tism of the Holy Spirit, as con- trasted with water baptism as administered by John The Bap- tist. Note some of the uses of fire. Fire consumes. When we want to get rid of refuse and filth we use fire. We need to- day this baptism to burn out of our lives the love of money and of pleasure. We all need bap- tism by the Holy Spirit to con- sume away the moral filth with- in us. Fire refines and purifies.Wa- ter cleanses the outside but fire cleanses internally as well. Fire is used in metallurgy. Ore from mines is placed in blast furnaces which are heated to 1800 degrees - or over eight times the temperature of boil- ing water. The result is that the metal in the ore becomes as water and is drained off. The dross and impurities which re- main are called slag and are thrown away as worthless. We need a baptism of the Holy Spirit today to refine and pur- ify our sinful nature. Fire illuminates. All light comes from fire. The light which we enjoy comes from the sun which is a great ball of fire. We as sinners need spiritual il- lumination. The Holy Spirit illuminates our souls with heavenly wisdom. Fire warms. Heat is essen- tial to life. A house without fire in winter is useless, The many millions of dollars which Canadians spend on fuel each winter is money well spent. When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit we will glow with love to God and to our fellow men. Great Christians like St. Paul are souls on fire for God. Finally fire begets energy. Heat generates energy. We think now of the old time steam locomotove, Without fire in the fire box the elabor- ate and splendid mechanism is useless. When enough heat is in the fire box, steam will cause the locomotive to travel at a fast rate. So in ourchurch work, we Mid that elaborate organization is not enough. We need to glow with zeal anden- thusiasm and so make the local church a going concern.