HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1966-04-21, Page 9Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, April 21, 1966
SECOND SECTION
IMO
barn Abilance&Zinte
If You Want A Laugh
For teachers on the verge of
suicide, puzzled parents, and
anyone else who, worn by win-
ter, needs an injection of
warmth and humor, I have a
spring tonic, Buy a copy of "Up
The Down Staircase", paperback
95 cents, and read it. I came
across it on the weekend and
changed my mind about quitting
the teaching profession.
It's called a novel, but isn't.
It's a record of the first term of
a young, pretty high school
teacher in a huge New York
secondary school.
It's tender and touching and
utterly hilarious. And beneath
the fun is a shocked and often
bitter indictment of what the
educational system is doing, or
failing to do, for the vast mass
of teenagers. As educators and
others have pointed out, the
cream of the crop will rise to
the top. The bottom ten per
cent. is having millions of
dollars spent to help them. It's
the great mob in the middle
that gets the dirty end of the
stick.
Conditions in the school de-
scribed are much worse than
those in the average Canadian
high school, but the parallel;
are there.
Avalanches of paper, most of
it unnecessary. Crowded condi.
tions everywhere. The administ-
ration thinks discipline more
important than learning. The
librarian doesn't like the library
used because the kids don't put
the books back on the shelves
straight, The nurse isn't allowed
to dispense even an aspirin. And
the counsellor tries to analyze
all the kids with phony Freud.
And the teachers arc these.
the workhorses, the whiners, the
beaten, those who don't like
kids, and those who, in spite of
it all, know they're doing the
most important job in the
world.
But is is not basically a bitter
book. And most of the humor
comes from those fascinating
shops built on Josephine Street.
Milliner and dressmaker
shops were built close to the
street. In those days girls would
learn dressmaking with four or
five girls working in each shop.
Many girls learned tailoring, a
very good business at that time.
Goods were bought at the mill,
and a tailor would make a suit
for four or five dollars.
Elliott and Talbot had a very
large three-storey Store on the
Please Turn to Page Six
animals, the kids themselves.
The teacher asks the kids to
tell briefly why we study an-
cient myths and the Odyssey.
One answer: "I'm sure there
are many reasons why we stud;,
these things, but I missed it due
to absence."
Another: -Because everybody
in high school at one time or
another had to read it, and now
it's our turn."
Another: "We read it because
it's a classicle."
The young teacher has a
"suggestion box' where her stu-
dents were allowed to drop
ideas, anonymously. Some were
scurrilous, some threatening,
some funny.
Samples. "My mother has
been living with me for 16 years
hut she still insists on cross-ex
amining me."
"Don't worry, we're heb rid
you 85 per cent."
"Get lost and sta.
Singed, Poisen."
"Having sprained my ankle,
the nurse gave me a cup cr tea.
is that supposed to help my an-
kle. Athalete."
"This is the first class I en-
joyed failing because of looking
at you."
What emerges from the hook?
Several things. First and most
important, the yearning of the
young for some contact with
some one who respect- them as
people. This is the aeceed ;ode
vidual demand for respi:. a; :q1
human dignity.
Second, the requisites of a
good teacher: physicat tough
ness: understanding: mental and
emotional vitality: a genuine
liking for fellow humans, espe-
cially kids: and, of course.
somethine to teach: you can't
fool kids with games and gim
micks.
Third, the massive, frustrat-
ing task of educating the mass-
es. The money: the things:
chalk, paper, steel and stone;
the teachers: only the best
the aim, but it's too laden with
trivia to attract the best.
Ah, well, read the book, 101
do you good. Last sample of its
flavor is a cartoon the teacher
had on the bulletin board. It
went:
Teacher: "There are two
words in the English language
you must never use. They are
"swell" and "lousy."
Pupil: "O.K. What are they?"
Flying saucers! People from Quter
Space! Outer-terrestrial observers!
That's all it takes, Just mention the
words and you have a sound basis for a
friendly civil war,
Quite frankly, we don't have any solid
opinions, despite the fact that most of
the folks we know are absolutely sure.
About an even half are sure that "flying
saucers" are nothing more than the pro-
duct of over-heated imaginations—and the
other 50 percent are equally convinced
that creatures from other planets have us
under careful scrutiny.
Thirty years in the newspaper business
leave a person with an open mind. Close
observation, along with detailed notes on a
passing parade of politicians, puritans,
saints and sinners, leaves the average re-
porter a little hard-surfaced, You don't
panic too quickly.
Last Tuesday evening we dropped in
on the Lions Club meeting to hear their
guest speaker, a Mr. Shelley, who was
talking about the far-famed flying saucers.
Now Mr, Shelley is no fool. Neither
is he a juvenile; nor a fanatic. He is a
retired high school teacher, and we would
assume from his words and his behaviour
that he was a good teacher—the sort who
seeks always for facts and is more inter-
ested in planting the truth in other peo-
ple's minds than in the money he is paid
for the job.
Mr. Shelley, after years of study and
research, believes that flying saucers, as
we dub them, are the vehicles of visitors
from another planet. He could talk for
hours on the facts which confirm his con-
clusions. He also professes to know that
these visitors come from a planet which
has not yet been sighted by earth-dwellers,
but which is believed to exist within our
own solar system.
The most exciting facet of Mr. Shelley's
observations is that he ties the whole dra-
matic thesis into his belief in the presence
of a kindly Creator who has made a uni-
verse a million times bigger and more
Electrical Business, a publication de-
voted to the interests of the electrical in-
dustry generally, carries a story which
may be indicative of official thinking.
Here is what it says:
"A municipal expert from Montreal
has sent shivers through municipal elec-
tric commissioners in Ontario and raised
once again the spectre of abolishing the
public utilities commission system.
"The expert, Thomas Plunkett, was ap-
pointed commissioner eight months ago
to study the structure of local govern-
ment in Halton and Peel Counties, which
lie between Toronto and Hamilton.
"At a recent public hearing he suggest-
ed that Ontario PUCs (there are 356) are
anything but public.
"They are the most uncontrollable of
all public bodies," said Plunkett. "And
among other things they are often more
secretive about their operations than pri-
vate industry."
"He told a red-faced Burlington PUC
ah
spokesman that utility commissions gen-
erally try to keep everyone from know-
ing their business.
"Plunkett said the PUCs refuse to open
their books for public inspection—an il-
legal position — hold in-camera meetings,
barring press and public and place them-
selves on a level above those who elect
them.
Robert Hay, president of the Ontario
Municipal Electric Association, presented
British Columbia is turning its lowly
boxcar into a rolling art gallery, reports
The Financial Post. Pacific Great Eastern
Railway Co, has retained a professional
artist to brighten up its• boxcars with
murals of B.C, scenery. The trains will
travel through Canada and parts of the
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wonderful than we have ever thought of.
The speaker's description of an "omni-
verse" so vast that our own tiny galaxy
(only one of countless billions of galaxies)
would take thousands of lifetimes to
traverse.
Mr. Shelley's thought is that we on this
speck of dust have no foundation whatso-
ever for assuming that with all this vast
conglomeration of material to work upon,
we have any basis for the assumption that
the Creator singled out our tiny planet as
the sole place for the existence of intel-
ligent life.
The statistical odds are in favor of life
on several hundreds of thousands of plan-
ets, most of them outside our own solar
system.
All this conjecture leads us back to
the human attitude about flying saucers.
We readily acknowledge that even the
words we have written here will have set
all sorts of people off into peals of
laughter.
What comes to mind most forcibly is
the picture of the laughing Spaniards
when the word leaked out that Christo-
pher Columbus was off on a hair-brained
trip because he had the bright idea that
the world was not a flat shelf.
Flying saucers, maybe. Personally we
have no experience on which to base an
opinion. Mr. Shelley may be right. On
the other hand, you may be right when
you laugh. But right now we would give
Mr. Shelley the marks because he has put
time and study on the subject.
History, as we have told you many
times before, is a wonderful subject. Not
because it tells us what people did in
centuries gone by, but because it opens
to our scrutiny the mistakes they made,
And the most common error of all time
stems from the mistaken impression that
we know all there is to know.
There are many gifts a man or woman
may pray for—but one of the greatest is
an open mind.
a brief advocating retention of the PUC
system. He repeated arguments used on
previous occasions when it had been re-
commended local electric utilities should
be handed over to municipal councils to
run,
"Hay said that hydro service, which is
provided through utility revenues, and
kept separate from taxes, is best handled
at the local level by a commission operat-
ed independent of local "pressures."
"I always cling to the old-fashioned
notion," replied Plunkett, "that this pres-
sure is desirable, that it is something that
should happen in a democracy."
The Plunkett report is slated for sub-
mission in September.
His remarks about utilities commis-
sions are indicative of an attitude which
is apparently forming in the minds of
government advisers. Not only are the
PUCs under criticism, but small town
councils as well. There has been con-
siderable talk during the past couple of
years about changing the entire municipal
system.
All this may be well and good, but the
simple fact is that the numbers of those
willing to fill public offices are dwindling,
Fewer and fewer citizens are willing to
donate their time to serve on councils.
We cannot believe that many town coun-
cils would welcome the added duties if
the PUCs were eliminated.
U.S. and hopefully lure tourists to the
province. The scheme will undoubtedly
put the PGE's cars among the most color-
ful, artistic and eye-appealing anywhere.
And, for good measure, it will have con-
siderable promotion value for B.C.'s cen-
tennial year.
REMINISCING
APRIL 1917
Once again Wingham feels
the heat of battle, On Thurs-
day last Mr. A, E. Lloyd re,.
ceived a cable stating that his
son, Richard H. who is an air-
man, was dangerously ill suf-
fering with a wound in the thigh.
The engagement is announc-
ed of Miss Annie Reid Robert-
son, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
William Robertson, to Mr.
George. Tervitt. The marriage
will take place on April 11th,
Mr, Billie Burke who has
conducted a barbershop in the
Holmes block for the past few
months has moved into the shop
formerly occupied by John Hew-
er, one door north of The Ad-
vance.
Mr. W. H. Gurney has pur-
chased the Kent Block from the
Wm. Davies Co. The sale was
made through Ritchie & Cosens,
Real Estate Agents. Mr. Gur-
ney has found the need of more
room for his increasing glove
business and we believe has tak-
en a step in the right direction.
He will commence repairing the
building at once, and will in-
stall all the very newest mach-
inery and fittings.
APRIL 1931
A pretty wedding took place
at First St. Matthews' Lutheran
church, Hanover, at 7.45 on
Monday evening last, when
Ruth, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Addison Rudy, was united in
marriage to Mr. Frank Ford,
son of Dr. and Mrs. A. T. Ford,
of Wingham. Rev. J. H. Kud
er officiated.
For the past two weeks a
government plow has been en-
deavouring to open Highway
No. 4 for motor traffic from
Clinton to Wingham. Consider-
able difficulty was encountered
around Blyth, but on Monday
afternoon it pulled into town.
The road is now open as is the
road to Lucknow, and while
passable is not in perfect shape,
but with a few warm days will
be much improved.
APRIL 1941
Harold I. Weir, son of Mr.
and Mrs. D. L. Weir, of How-
ick, has been appointed to the
position of Assistant Superin-
tendent of Agencies for the
London Life, and commenced
his new work on March 1st,
The engagement is announc-
ed of I. M. Bernice, only
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cec-
il Day, of Gorrie, to Clarence
Wallace Sperling, only son of
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Sperling
of Gorrie. The marriage will
take place quietly in April.
Mr. Walter Nichols, of
Chesley, has been engaged by
the Huron Motors, commenc-
ing his new duties Monday.
Two local lads have enlist-
ed in a tank battalion at Lon-
don. They are Hugh Bell and
Pat Fitzpatrick. Hugh is the
third son of Mr. and Mrs.Matt
Bell to enlist for active service.
His brothers, Matt and Andrew,
are serving in the forces in
England.
APRIL 1952
Gordon Leggett has announc-
ed the sale of his delivery ag-
ency to William Elliott. Gord
will take a position with Jack
Reavie Motor Sales.
Residents of the Wroxeter
district all their life, Mr. and
Mrs. James Stokes celebrated
their golden wedding anniver-
sary on Thursday, March 27th,
at the home of their daughter
and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs.
Leslie Bolt, Belgrave,
Mr. John L. Currie of E.
Wawanosh, has purchased the
hundred acre farm west of S. S.
No„ 9 School, (formerly own-
ed by his father, the late W.J.
Currie), from Mr. Wm. A.
Currie and gets possession this
week.
Congratulations to Chief
Constable Bill Irwin who won
the title of the baldest man in
Wingham. He had some pretty
stiff competition from Omar
Haselgrove, Hal MacLean, Bill
Galbraith and some other
shiny types.
THIS GROUP OF BOYS who are members
of Wingham Sacred Heart Church were
confirmed on Monday evening. From the
left, back row they are: Brian Black, John
Late W. Currie
Remembered Early
Days in Wingham
The following account of
early days in Wingham was
written a few years ago as it
was told by the late William I.
Currie.
WINGHAM- -ITS BEGINNING
About the year 1860, Peter
Fisher built a flour mill and
woollen mill combined. This
was situated where the electric
light plant is at present. At the
flour mill the grinding was done
with large stones, motivated by
water power. This flour and
woollen mill was burned down.
Another woollen mill was built
where the gates of the agricul-
tural park are now. The flour
mill was built on the original
site.
Andrew Bell built a hotel on
the corner where Mr. Law now
lives. A large store run by
George Green was on the other
corner. There was a sawmill
and a grist mill with an office
on the roadway leading into the
mills. John McGregor had a
harness shop. Duncan Mc-
Gregor had a tailor shop. James
Thom had a groceries and dry-
goods store.
Water from the river was
channelled into a raceway to
run the various mills. Between
the race and the river Tom Car-
ruthers had a blacksmith shop.
Across the river towards the
east Mr. McCall's repair shop,
and east from there Tom Price
a shoemaker. He was a free-
holder. About the place where
David Finlay's house is now,
was a tannery built by John
Chapman, east from there Tom
and Ed Johnston's blacksmith
shop. Where Lloyd's lumber
yard is now, were two churches,
Methodist and Presbyterian.
Later the Presbyterian church
was burned, and a salt block
was built on the site.
On what is named Victoria
street, there was a post office
run by Peter Fisher, corner of
Victoria and Leopold streets.
The principal business part was
the block on Victoria between
Scott and Leopold.
Dr. Towler was the doctor.
James Shrigley was a handyman
about town. Mr. Nichol was a
carpenter. Alex Dodds had a
pump shop. Jos. Kormann had
a cooper shop. John Ritchie
was a carriage builder. Scott
street had a blacksmith shop on
the corner. A glove factory was
then on Victoria street. A bake
shop; two butcher shops and
five waggon and carriage shops.
This was before there were any
No Need to Panic
Bad News for Utilities Commissions
Boxcar Art Gallery
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 Weekly Newspapers Association.
Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Mail and
for payment of postage in cash.
Subscription Rate:
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Advertising Rates on application.
DeBruyn, John Bruyns, Bill Bauer; centre:
Gerald Skinn, Jake DeBruyn, Tony DeGroot,
Bruce Skinn; front: Ricky Foxton, Bruce
Ortlieb, James DeGroot.—A-T Photo.
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