HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1964-10-29, Page 9•
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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
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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
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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.