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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1965-05-20, Page 9The Scene is Changing • Though life seems to go forward with- out any major alterations in a community the size of ours, it is well to realize that big changes are in the making all about us. Of course there has never been any period in the world's history when changes were not taking place, but today it is the acceleration—the speed-up in fundamental change which is so inter- esting. Attending a meeting of the Midwest- ern Development Association in Listowel last Wednesday, this writer was struck by the persistent belief on the part of community planners that a new form of regionalized government must be insti- tuted very soon if Canada, and particu- larly our own province, are to enjoy the complete benefits of an expanding economy. • Professor Ralph Krueger of the Uni- versity of Waterloo said that we should be planning for such basic services as policing, fire protection and conservation on a regional basis. By "regional" he means for areas starting at least at the county level. Other speakers reiterated this same thought in various ways. Each one, however, admitted that if the county were to become the basis for municipal government it would be neces- sary to devise a new and more equitable method of electing county councils. To w r which we would add a fervent Amen. The changeover to regionalization has been, whether we like it or not, under way for some time. The most notice- able example and the most recent one is the decision by the department of edu- cation to have no school boards at levels below a township or fair-sized town. Now there is talk of combining boards into county -sized units. All of this adds up to less personal representation, but a much higher grade of facilities where the re- sources of an entire area are pooled to make for the least waste and the best use of what we have. It is many years since this principle was applied in the field of public health and our county health units were the re- sult. Most will admit that the county system is a vast improvement over the in- efficient local boards of health. Similar area plans have been urged upon the taxpayers in the field of public welfare, and although the provincial gov- ernment has not yet made such moves ob- ligatory, it is safe to predict that it will shortly do so. Unquestionable many of us will be mightily disgruntled by the changes which are about to take place. Old patterns will be wiped out and new areas of auth- ority will be established. Let us hope that we have the wisdom to plan the changes wisely. A Deadly Choice William Dodge, vice-president of the Canadian Labor Congress faced some 300 business leaders at Western University last week and frankly stated that the goal of organized labor is a complete welfare state. Many of the goals which have been set by organized labor make good sense, not only for union members, but for the economy of the country as a whole. It is obvious that a rising scale of earnings in- creases the buying power of the nation's labor force and so stimulates sales and production. However, to dream of ad- vancing to a welfare state seems blindly foolish in the light of experience available from other countries where such goals have been achieved. Sweden, as an example, has provided so fully for the welfare of its people that there is little need for the individual to do anything more than his daily work. The state does all his worrying for him. It provides for every emergency from the cradle to the grave, to the extent that the worker has little or no need to provide for anything except his day-to-day require- ments. Sickness, old age, education—all are looked after for him. Idyllic though this state of affairs may sound, it apparently is just too smooth for the average human. Sweden has one of the highest suicide rates in the Western world and we have heard that alcoholism is a major problem. It is a laudable ambition to guarantee that the helpless and unfortunate among us should be cared for by the state, but there is serious reason to doubt that any good whatsoever can be accomplished by removing a man's ambitions, hopes, yes even his fears. Human nature demands difficult objectives. Without the stimulus of challenge the most of us become some- thing less than the Creator intended us to be. Organized labor would have more worthy ambitions if it devoted some of its time and energy to plans for relieving shortages and suffering in the vast areas of the world where Communism and pov- erty are travelling hand-in-hand. if Cana- dian workers are in such a strong position that they can demand complete protection from the cradle to the grave, surely there should be a little time and money left over for the millions who have nothing what- soever. Better Leaders Are Needed The sorry state of affairs in which many farmers find themselves after the revelations of financial ruin in the FAME project indicates the need for farm or- ganizations and the people they represent to take a new look at the methods by which they select their leaders. As the Royal Commission which is tak- ing evidence in connection with the FAME failure proceeds with its inquiry it be- comes very evident that too many farmers trusted implicitly in the sound judg- ment of the men who were authorized to • spend their hard-earned savings. The history of farmers in business has been dotted with instances of this kind, • going as far back as the UFO government in Ontario which ended in a fanancial calamity. On each occasion public con- fidence in farmer - sponsored business schemes has been sadly shaken. There are, of course, some extremely successful farmer -backed businesses, notably the present-day United Dairy and ,Poultry Co- operative, one of the largest and most profitable enterprises of its kind. Another highly successful venture is the Co-oper- ators' Insurance organization. It is tragic that the sound business leadership which has made these two con- cerns so successful was not applied to the FAME project. Is the Bell Ringing? One of the most widely -read books of all time, says the Barrie Banner, is "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Written in 1788 by Edward Gibbon, it sets forth five basic reasons why that civilize - • tion withered and died. These were: The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis for human society. Higher and higher taxes; the spending of public money for w free bread and circuses for the populace. The mad craze for pleasure; sports be- coming every year more exciting, more brutal, more immoral. The building of great armaments when the real enemy was within—the decay of individual re- sponsibility. The decay of religion; faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life, losing power to guide the people. It vaguely rings a bell, doesn't it? THE WINGHAIVM 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 application IN THE SEM MR'S MAIL Box 390 Dear Sir; In the issue of your paper on January '7, you published a pic- ture of the Wingharn Lacrosse Club of 1910, which was loan- ed by Charles (Chalk) Mac-. Lean, of Sarnia, This picture must have brought back many memories to quite a few of Wingham's Older citizens. Though only twelve years old at that time I remember most of the pictured players and of- ficers. In later years I enjoyed playing on lacrosse teams with Walter VanWyck, Bill McCoy and Allen Knechtel, By the way, Warren Gurney was Wm. (Bill) Gurney, owner of the Gurney Clove Factory, and la- ter a mayor of Wingham for some years. Mr, Harry Willis also was later one of Wingham's mayors. His son, Harvey Willi; also in the picture, went over- seas in 1816 with the 161st Hu- ron Battalion and later died in )England. To bring back more mem- ories to old-timers, I enclose a picture of some of the mem- bers of Wingham Huron Oaks Lacrosse Club of 1921; picture taken at the East end of the Town Athletic Park, by W.T. (Doc.) Cruickshank. Some members of this team, but not in the picture, included Frank MacLean (a brother of Charles, Hal, Fred and Gordon), Stan Harrison, and, Bill McCoy. The Western Foundry was the spon- sor of this team. Sincerely yours, Leon C. Cantelon. REMINISCING MAY 1915 Owing to the inability of the Wroxeter News to secure suitable premises the office has been moved to Gorrie where the premises were built specially for the printing busi- ness. The News will continue to be published as in the past. Mr. John Groves, Town Clerk, received word from his son, Frank, who is with the first contingent at the front, stating that he had been wound- ed. Mr. Groves wrote the card himself and did not appear to think seriously of his wounds, He stated that a letter would follow immediately. MAY 1929 After conducting a very suc- cessful business in Wingham for the past four years, Mr, 1. H. Stephenson has disposed of his store fixtures and good will of the business to Mr. Geo. Wil- liams of Toronto, a man of long experience in the Jewelry' trade, also an expert repair man who comes well recommended by some of the best stores in the city of Toronto. Mr. W. M. Gibson, Miss Mc- Kee and Miss Hornfelt, three of the staff of Wingham High School, are leaving at the end of the present term, the former going to British Columbia, and the latter two, to Kitchener. The Board has engaged the fol- lowing to take their places: - Mr. C. C. Spading, of Forest; Miss Jean Geddes, of Lucknow, who has been teaching at Har- riston; and Miss C. S. Perrott, of Dundalk. Edwin King, second year student of the O. A.C. was suc- cessful in winning the class 24 gold medal for general profi- ciency in Animal Husbandry during the first two years of As- sociate coarse. Frank King, first year student at the 0, A. C. was also successful in winning a scholarship for ptoficiency in a group of subjects. Edwin is a son of Mr, and Mrs, Geo. King, and Frank, a son of Mr. Wm. King, both of second conces- sion of Culross. D. K. Perrie, B. A. , son of Rev. Dr. D. Perrie of Wingham, left Wednesday for North Bat- tleford, Sask. , where he has been invited to preach for a call. On Tuesday evening in St. Andrew's Church, Mr, Perrie received a dressing gown from the choir, Mr, F.J, Hill making the presentation in pleasing congratulatory words, to which Mr. Perrie made a feeling reply. HURON OAKS LACROSSE CLUB, 1921 — Back row: Harry Town, Elmo Sanderson, Alf Lockridge, Roy Cruickshank, Leon Can- telon, Reynolds; centre, kneeling: — Bell; front: Walter VanWyck, Henry Aitchison, Eddie Hawkins, captain, and Howard Gray. — Photo owned by Leon Cantelon. ingbain AbtoniciezEi-nte Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, May 20, 1965 SECOND SECTION. MAY 1940 Mr. John W. Pattison was successful in his recent exam- inations, and is now a fully qualified projectionist (motion picture operator). Rev. W. A. Beecroft, B. A. , B. D, , of Haileybury, has ac- cepted the invitation of Wing - ham United Church to become their pastor on the expiration of Rev. J. F. Anderson's term, the end of June, Mr. George Boyd, for many years with the shoe repair de- partment of the Willis Shoe Store, has purchased a shoe re- pair business in Elora. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd and daughter, Ann, left on Monday for their new home. An event of outstanding pub- lic interest took place on Fri- day evening, May 3rd, in hon- or of Miss Bernice H. Reynolds, who resigned last June after having taught for more than half a century in the Wingham Public School. A purse of mo- ney which had been contribut- ed by,ex-pupils and fellow - teachers from all parts of Can- ada and the United States, and even from India was presented by Mrs. H, C. MacLean. A Remembrance Album contain- ing over six hundred signatures, many in their own handwriting, was presented by Mrs. W.J. Greer, and Miss Kathleen Pringle presented a beautiful bouquet of red Briarclifferoses. A humorous note was added by Rev. 1.F. Anderson in the pre- sentation of the chair which Miss Reynolds had used, When he was attempting to shift a piano at the Masonic Hall on Wednesday afternoon Alan Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Williams, had his right foot seriously injured. The piano toppled over on its back and when Alan made a desper- ate effort to stop it from falling his right foot was crushed, three bones being fractured. He also skinned his wrists. There will be at least two changes on the staff of the High School next term, Miss Doris Traill and Miss Marian Bell have resigned. Miss Bell has ac- cepted a position on the staff of the Kirkland Lake High School. Mr. Bert Wellwood, of town, has received word from the missionary headquarters of the United Church in Canada at Toronto that all inmates also the staff of the Chengtu Wo- men's Hospital are safe. This hospital was destroyed by fire Wednesday of last week. Miss Caroline Wellwood, Mr. Bert Wellwood's sister, was a mem- ber of the staff at this hospital, MAY 1951 A Bluevale man, harry El- liott narrowly escaped being burned to death on Monday afternoon, when the gasoline truck he was driving burned after crashing into the ditch west of Whitechurch. Mr. El- liott was proceeding west on highway 86 and was going down Dickie's )till when, it is re- ported, a front tire blew out, SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley May He Get Seasick r Among adults, though few would admit it, there is a great deal of jealousy of today's teen- agers. This is revealed by the adults' oft -expressed wish that aids in their teens could act like them; by their reaction to any hint of change in the rules for their children; and especially by their endless prating about how soft a time the youngsters have now, and how hard it was in their day. To hear most adults talk, you'd think they'd never had any fun at all, when they were kids, or ever done anything fool- ish. There's a steady stream of poppycock about how far they walked to school through the snow; how scanty were their wardrobes; how early they had to be in at night; how hard their parents worked them; how good their marks were in school. There's a modicum of truth in all of this, of course, because life was a lot more simple and frugal a quarter-century ago. But with the passing of time the morsel of truth becomes a bit of malarkey. Personally, I think we had a lot less to cope with, socially and psychologically, if not physically, than today's teenagers. But this attitude received a jolt this week, when my son an- nounced that he had nailed down a summer job. It was difficult to keep my upper lip both stiff and buttoned, when I compared his first real job with mine. There are parallels. Both of us got the job at age 17, and both causing the truck to veer to the right. Going out of control, the vehicle crashed through the cables, knocking off several posts, went down a six foot em- bankment and plowed a hundred feet into marshy land before turning upside down and burst- ing into flames. Fortunately the load did not explode. Only a miracle saved the driver from being trapped in the cab. The impact threw open one of the doors opening up his only es- cape route through the flames, The children of the town of Wingham are going to have a wading pool before the summer is over, thanks to the efforts of the Wingham Kinsmen Club, who decided at their regular meeting on Friday night that this would he their number one project for the coming season. Plans are not final with regard to the pool, hut it is hoped that a forty -foot circular pool, with a cement apron, and the latest water system will he erected in the town park this summer, for the benefit of the younger generation. jobs were on the upper Great Lakes boats. There the parallel ends. For instance. 1 hitch -hiked 480 miles, with 52.50 cash, to meet my boat. He will be driven three miles, by his father, to catch his. And the hours aren't quite the same. I worked the graveyard shift, midnight to noon, seven days a week. He'll work a cou- ple of hours morning and after- noon, about three hours in the evening, and have a day and a half off each week. That's all right. I don't bear a grudge. Nobody should have to work like a dog. But there's a slight difference in the pay. I pulled down $30 a month, even on the 31 -day months. A dollar a day and keep. My son will be knocking off just over nine times as much. However, that's OK. Wages have gone up a lot. Why should he work for peanuts? I must ad- mit, though, that I was a little disturbed by the difference in our duties. I scrubbed floors, cleaned out lavatories, polished brass and sorted dirty linen. In spare mo- ments I helped sling out the gangplank, or made the officers' beds. My kid will organize shut- tieboard games, play the piano for singsongs and run a movie projector. In spare rnoinents, he will chat to nice old ladies. That's fine. No hard feelings. We can't all be aristocrats in our first job. But what about this? I wore a scruffy old smock, covered with brass pol- ish. He'll wear a snappy blue uniform, covered with brass buttons. And what about this? My offi- cial title was Night Porter. His is Entertainment Steward. I ate with the deckhands and firemen. He'll eat in the diningroom. I slept with seven other scullions is a stall large enough for one Shetland pony. He'll share a ca- bin with one other softy of the Sixties. I was forbidden, on pain of keelhauling and 16 years in the hulks, to have anything to do with the passengers, except mop up after them. The kid, in the captain's own words, "Will have the girls following you all over the boat." Oh, well. No use being bitter. The good o Id days of the Depression, when you knew you Were a slave, but were happy to be a working slave, are gone forever. However, 1 can't help hoping the kid will get good and seasick all over that uniform, the first time he hits a roll in Lake Su- perior. At least, we'd have that Much in common in our first Summer jobs.