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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1965-05-13, Page 9a Sign of Changing Times The spirit of changing times has cer- tainly reached right into our smaller com- munities. If you doubt this statement, think for a moment of the important so decisions which have been made right here in Wingham within the past few months. The hospital board has announced a building and renovation program which will total over $800,000 before comple- tion; the public school is talking in terms of $300,000 for possible demolition and replacement of the original section of the school building and construction of a gymtorium; the Kinsmen are giving ser-. ious consideration to an $80,000 all -year swimming pool; the Conservation Auth- ority is involved in a $20,000 to $30,000 ,pond -cleaning project on the lower dam site; council approved another $40,000 for improvements at the upper dam; and the town has just completed a $300,000 sewage improvement program. The town council agreed to the suggestion that $2,000 be spent for roller skating equip- • ment so that the sport could be offered as a summer feature for the arena. The grand total is about a million and a half —big figures in any smaller community's language. Only a few years ago this sort of spending would have driven three -quar- t. ters of the populace right through their collective roofs. Today it creates so little opposition that we can confidently look forward to a nomination meeting at the year-end with no more than the usual corporal's guard on hand. We don't believe that this lack of opposition means our townspeople have reached the stage where they don't care. We believe, on the contrary, that the per - a • w ennial objectors are simply outnumbered by those who are convinced that the town cannot progress unless we spend money. Undoubtedly the fact that each of the projects we have mentioned with the ex- ception of the swimming pool, will bear sizeable grants has much to do with the easy acceptance of Targe expenditures on local projects. Though we will still have to put up the money for such liberal provincial assistance, we are all aware that if we don't use it here we will be paying the shot for similar projects in other communities. Every cent of this money will be well and wisely invested if it carries with it a new and keener sense of optimism among our own people. Unless every citizen of the community actively interests himself in where Wingham is going and how it may be improved and developed these costly improvements will fulfill only a part of their intended purpose. How, you may ask, can the individual do anything to develop his own town? The answer is extremely simple. There are dozens of ways. Service club work is one of the more obvious. The various boards which administer our services are always looking for suggestions and as- sistance. Most important of all, you can drop the attitude that somebody else can take on these tasks more effectively than you can. Interest yourself in what is going on in the town and be prepared to take your place on the boards and committees. The few people who are currently occupy- ing these posts are not doing so because they like to be "big shots." They see jobs to be done and are willing to sacri- fice their time to get them completed. Welfare Programmes Re -Designed Legislation which has been enacted in Ontario indicates a growing awareness of society's responsibility to those who, for various reasons, cannot share in the in- creasing prosperity of the province. The fact that ihcomes of widows, orphans, unwed mothers, etc., do not escalate with the rising economic trends can spell . in- creasing need as the costs of food and shelter climb. The legislation recognizes these factors and seeks to compensate for them. Effective April 1st 12,000 women will get an average increase under The Mo- thers' Allowance Act of 15%. The maxi- mum allowed for visiting homemakers goes up from $8 to $12 per day and pay- ments for visiting nurses will be $4.50 a call instead of $2.50. Women receiving mothers' allowances are deserted wives, widows and those whose husbands are in jail. Divorced women and unwed mothers also get aid. Maximum payments under these allow- ances will go from $255 to $300 a month for more than 8,700 women. Recipients will be allowed to work 120 hours a month instead of 24 hours a week and to earn almost three times as much money as at present. Foster mothers' allowances have been increased from $30 to $40 a month for one child. In another phase of public responsi- bility new regulations will be enforced for nursing homes in an effort to improve standards of care. These standards will include requirements for space, heat, toilet and bathing facilities as well as diet. Complete records will be required for each patient. All municipalities will be required to adopt the bylaw which covers these regulations. New laws concerning child welfare are also in the making. An important change is that children removed from the custody of their parents will become the charge of the province rather than of local children's aid societies. The basic costs of services to children are to be borne by public funds, rather than de- pending upon donations for a portion of the cost. It should be noted that there is to be no denial of a good home to a child be- cause of religion or lack of religion of the adopting parents. Confidence Is Shaken Never since its ascendency to world leadership has confidence in the United States been at a lower point. It was natural that many uncommitted nations, such as the newly -formed ones in Africa and Asia should have their doubts about m the Americans, despite the fact that in many instances their peoples had received massive financial aid from the States. Since the escalated hostilities in North and South Viet Nam and particularly since the Americans have intervened in the Dominican Republic, sensible people ▪ in the West as well as those behind the Curtain, have been shaken by grave doubts of American actions. It would be gravely unwise for us to leap to the conclusion that the American government has thrown caution to the winds; it is possible that the present a actions are a fair parallel for those taken by President Kennedy when he ordered, at all risks, that Soviet missiles be kept out of Cuba. If such is the case, how- ever, President Johnson and his advisors are then guilty of having the poorest in- formation service of all time—for a vast number of well-informed newsmen are not convinced that the American military actions are either wise or necessary. Within the past few weeks there has been more frequent mention of the President's inability to communicate with the press of either his own country or the representatives of the international press group. Instances of his irritation and impatience seem to be numerous and he appears to be overlooking the fact that the newsmen and women represent the general public both at home and abroad. Though he has had little to say on the subject, there are indications that it was just these attitudes which were en countered by our own Prime Minister Pearson when he approached the Presi- dent with what most would believe to be sensible suggestions for easing of world tension. 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'appllcatlon One Moment, Please BY REV, WM. J. MORRISON, Brussels, Ontario, Some time ago, Russia show ed the world that men could walk in space. This is a great step forward in science- "to walk on air". And yet, It is also import- ant to be able to do the oppo- site—to stand on solid ground in a moral and religious sense. There is a tendency to wa- ter down our messages and to weaken our witness in the world, by abandoning some basic beliefs that have stood the test of time. Although we must welcome new methods of presenting the Biblical message, and spread- ing true Christianity, this ought not to change the con- tent of the views we have held. New ways of witnessing must not be allowed to alter our ba- sic beliefs. Once we have abandoned the belief that God is personal, and can be revealed in terms of the human personality of Jesus Christ, we have removed the very foundation of our faith. When we downgrade the Word of God, and cast doubt on its divine authority, in order to pander to the skeptics, we are betraying our Lord. And when we do not believe that man, through the power and MOWBRAY CONSTRUCTION has the con- tract for replacing the sidewalk on Victoria Street from the arena corner to the Read - man service station. The walk was badly damaged at the arena during the time the new front was built. It will be a big im- provement to the area when completed. —Advance -Times Photo. ingbant Atitlancoelinte Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, May 13, 1965 SECOND SECTION the Spirit of God, can become "a new creature", then we are casting away our only hope of everlasting life. Reminiscing MAY 1915 To the citizens of the town of Wingham and all readers of the Wingham Advance: beg to inform you that the under- signed has purchased the Wing - ham Advance from Mr, Geo. Spotton. A first-class manag- ing editor in the person of Mr. A.G. Smith of the Lucknow Sentinel will take charge of the paper in a few days and every effort will be made to give the best possible satisfac- tion and keep.the Advance a live up-to-date newspaper. John Joynt At the regular meeting of the Wingham Masonic Lodge on Tuesday evening, a banquet in honor of Wor. Bro. W. A. Campbell, at which he was presented with a Past Master's Jewel, was held. Speeches of deep regret at his departure were made by the brethren. Mr, Campbell will be missed in Masonic circles. On Wednesday evening, May 12th, an organ recital and service of praise will be given in St. Paul's Church by Profes- sor Weaver of London. MAY 1929 On Saturday afternoon, April 27th at 3:30 o'clock in St. Paul's Anglican Church, Wing - ham, beautifully decorated with ferns and spring flowers, the Rev. Wellington Schaffter solemnized the marriage of Margaret, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Vanstone of Wing - ham, to William Ewart Levan, son of Mr. i. M. Levan and the late Mrs. Levan of Toronto. MAY 1940 Bert Williams, formerly of Wingham, and brother of Ed Williams, was named president of the Walkerton baseball club. Rev. J.F. and Mrs. Anderson attended a banquet at the Unit- ed Church in Sarnia on Wednes- day last week. This is the church of which Mr. Anderson becomes pastor on July 1st. When he was doing some rumaging around prior to some •spring office cleaning, Mr.J. F. McLean, postmaster at Whitechurch, found a 1 -cent postcard addressed to Alex Mal- colm, Ulster, and dated Dec- ember 31,1881. By the way, Whitechurch used to be called Ulster. The card was from the West Wawanosh Mutual Fire Insurance Co, and was a notifi- cation of the company's annual meeting to be held Jan. 17th, 1882. MAY 1951 The banquet to honor the Stainton Spitfires, winners of the Gordon Litt Trophy for W. O. A. A. Class "A" Champion- ship and the Bissett Brothers Trophy for Grand Champion- ship, W. O. A. A. will be held in the Queen's Grill on Monday evening of next week, at seven o'clock. Noted guests at the banquet will be Tommy Ivan and a carload of his team mates from the Detroit hockey club. All will be guests of the town for the evening. George Henderson, who has been the local representative for the Singer Sewing Machine Company for the past year has been appointed manager of the Company's store in Goder- ich, as well as being in charge of the salesmen in the Goder- ich area of which Wingham is a part. He commenced his duties there this week. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson and family will move to Goderich as soon as a home is available. On Sunday, April 15th, a memorial window was unveiled and dedicated in Wychwood Presbyterian Church, Toronto to the late Rev. A. Gordon Rintoul, former minister and padre of the R. C. A, F. , who died April 17th, 1941, while on a route march at Manning Pool. The window was unveil- ed by Rev. D. Crawford Smith, M. C. , B. A. , B. D. , of Guelph. The service was in charge of the minister, Rev. A. A. Lowther. Mrs. Rintoul is a daughter of the late Rev, Dr. Perrie and Mrs. Perrie of Wing - ham and Mr, Rintoul was a for- mer member of Knox Presby- terian Church, Bluevale and active in the Young People's Society. Box 390 Clinton, Ontario, May 7th, 1965, Wingham Advance -Times. Dear Sir: May I compliment you on the Spring Farming Edition Section of your paper dated May 6, 1965, with its excel- lent editorial and news content. Farming today is a business and an industry. Two hundred farmers in an area with an average gross income of $15, - 000 plus, represents three mil- lion dollars of buying power, much of which is spent in the community. Yours very truly, D. H. Miles, Agricultural Rep- resentative for fluron County. SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley Day Of All Days There are certain ancient and honorable rituals in our society which help to give our lives a certain continuity. Many of them are geared to the seasons: spring cleaning; summer 'flu; the burning of the leaves, get- ting stoned out of your skull on New Year's Eve. One of the most sacred of these, for some of us, is Opening Day of the trout season. Slap of a beaver tail; chuckle of running water; splatter of wild duck taking off from swamp; feel of the sun on face; mist of green spreading through bare bones of branches; honest stench of worm -guts on hands; flavor at noon of big, bologna sandwich with hot mustard; these are the things which quicken the senses, cleanse the body of its winter .stupor, rem- ind one that God is still in His heaven. And these are some of the rea- sons I have never missed the rite, whether the mortgage is due, or my wife is having a baby, or I have a date with Sop- hia Loren. And I hope to do so until the day when they have to carry me to a quiet spot on the stream and leave me there in my wheelchair, to watch the black water swirl around the white rock, the yellow sun pick up the golden gravel of the stream -bot- tom. Each year the ritual is the same. And each year it is differ- ent. There is the year when you fall off a log in the first three minutes, and squish and squelch Hi -C Meets In Church BEL MORE- The Belmore-Mc- Intosh-Mildmay Hi -C Club met in the basement of McIn- tosh United Church on Friday evening. President Janette Wright was in charge. Arrangements were made for the church service to he held in the three churches on Family Sunday, May 9th, when the Hi -C members were to con- duct the three services. Lunch was served by the Mildmay members and games were enjoyed. it was decided that the meetings would be can- celled until after final school examinations, Counsellors Mr. and Mrs. Murray Mulvey exten- ded an invitation to the group to come to their home for a barbecue after examinations. Other counsellors for the group are Mr. and Mrs. Earl Fitch. Minister of the charge is Rev. D. L. Steven. yourself through the rest of the day, a sodden mess, wet fags, wet matches, soaked sandwich- es. And there is the year when you hit the stream at the crack of dawn, fish with all your skill until sunset, and come home with two speckled trout eight inches long. And there is the year when you go out at 7.30 a.m., just to toss a line for old times sake, and have caught your limit before work -time at 9 a.m. And there's the year when your bait -can falls from your belt into a torrent, and you snap the tip off your rod, and put a hole in your new waders, and get back to the car to find a flat tire, and get home to find your wife calling the police, because it's four hours after sundown. But this year topped them all. It was complicated. Our htgn school music director, with in- credible lack of foresight, had scheduled an exchange concert, with a city school, for that very day. Fine. But it turned out we had to have some of the visiting youngsters for dinner. As my wife is away every Saturday, for music lessons with the kids, this meant I was cook. Normally, I'd have welcomed a chance to display my culinary skill. In fact, I had the menu planned. Beef stew simmered in beer, followed by a sour cream souffle, roast chestnuts and pep- permint lifesavers as dessert. Then I realized it was Opening Day. I was aghast. Wanted to be a good host but danged if I was going to miss the rites of spring. Then it struck me. Why not give these city kids, pampered for years on steaks and chicken, a real north -country dinner — speckled trout, lovingly fried in butter? They'd never forget it. With a light heart, I hit for the trout stream on Opening Day. Everything was perfect. It was a fine day, and I knew there were at least 47 big speckles in there, just waiting to hit that butter. Got home at 4.30 p.m. with two six-inch chub and a 14 -inch sucker. Went to the fish market. They had nothing but some fair- ly large whitefish, which some- how didn't look like speckled trout. Called all my friends. They had either been skunked, like me, or stated flatly, "The hell with you, Smiley; we're putting on a big speckled trout dinner for those visiting musi- cians: feeding four of them." Bought two pounds of hamburg. You know, there are times when my love for my wife is overwhelming. When I arrived at the house at 5.30, she was grilling steaks in the oven.