HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1966-09-29, Page 9CHRISTINE KARN, R. R. 1 Bluevale, is weighed in at the
age of seven months during the immunization clinic,
held in the town hall last week. Officiating at the scales
is Mrs. Jack Evans, public health nurse from Goderich.
The waiting room of the clinic was filled to capacity
shortly after the 10 a.m. opening of the clinic,—A-T Pix.
Reminiscing
SUGAR
AND SPICE
by Bill Smiley
Smiley takes his stand
iii
4
The Burden of Slow Decisions
Two of the stories on the front page
of this newspaper last week are indicative
of the difficulties in which public boards
and councils find themselves at the pres-
ent time, One of these stories was to
the effect that there would be a longer-
than-expected delay in completion of the
new wing now in the planning stages for
the high school. The other report was
about unexpected costs in the construc-
tion and renovation of the Wingham and
District Hospital. In both cases the prac-
tical results for the taxpayers will be
sharply increased costs.
The public may not be aware how a
planning group can be trapped by these
spiralling construction figures, The im-
portant factor is the time elapse between
the decision of the local board and the
approval of the government agency in-
volved. Sometimes weeks elapse after a
school or hospital board has given its OK
to a building addition before final ap-
proval is forthcoming from the Depart-
ment of Education or the Ontario Hos-
pital Services Commission.
Under today's inflated economic situ-
ation a few weeks may mean a difference
in prices of many thousands of dollars.
Building firms and the suppliers of ma-
terials simply don't worry about how the
board will raise the extra money, or how
many times re-approvals may have to be
sought. If the price is going up—then
up it must go. As a consequence the
general public, the taxpayers on whose
behalf the board is spending the money,
may get the impression that the board
members don't know their business.
Another factor involved is that an ar-
chitect is usually employed and asked to
place an estimate cost on the works
which are contemplated and it is not un-
common to find that the architect's ideas
of the proper price for the job and the
actual figures submitted by tender are
poles apart.
The fact is that labor has become so
scarce and building projects so plentiful
that no contractor is going to take any
chances whatsoever when he bids for new
work.
The boards and councils you elect are
very conscious of the responsibilities
you have entrusted to them. They are
fighting a losing battle against the high
costs of public facilities of all kinds.
Big News--For the Wrong Reason •
Certainly the biggest news of the past
week was the publication of the report on
the judicial inquiry into the details of the
Munsinger case, which has rocked Ottawa
and the nation as a whole. The public
is interested, but mainly, we feel, for all
the wrong reasons. The vast majority of
readers are tittering over the implications
of illicit sex which are contained in the
report. There is something much more
important in all those thousands of words
—the question of national safety.
Mr. Fulton, who was minister of jus-
tice in the Progressive Conservative gov-
ernment when the Munsinger affair was
first brought to the attention of the
cabinet in 1960, commented in a recent
interview that the whole thing should be
forgotten so that Canada can get-on with
more important matters.
Yes, of course, our representatives in
Ottawa should be getting on with today's
problems, but the circumstances of the
1960 affair simply cannot be forgotten.
It is very evident that one member of
the cabinet, a man who occupied one of
the most critical posts in the nation,
placed himself in a position which could
have been tremendously damaging to the
nation as a•whole. We have no alterna-
tive but to study the details of how it
happened and ascertain that never again
can we be exposed to such risks.
Fascinating Concept
The recent announcement that the
first step will soon be taken to remove
the grade system from our elementary
schools is highly interesting. The idea of
a school system in which every student
is permitted to progress at his own pace,
allowing the brilliant to race forward and
the average to take the time they need,
is a fascinating one. This will be edu-
cation at its very best. It will mean the
maximum use of every human mind for
the greatest benefit to mankind.
Before the reality of the vision can be
achieved, however, there will have to be a
lot of re-learning on the part of elemen-
tary school teachers. Most of them will
need a complete reorientation and a new
concept of their purposes and methods.
For too many years public school
teachers have been trained to get their
pupils over a certain objective. The June
examinations have been held up before
teachers and pupils alike as the target
supreme . . . the great be-all and end-all
of every school year. Under the new.
system the paramount factor will be as-
sessment of the students' minds, a judg-
ment of how much or how little each
one can absorb.
We have long contended that the ele-
mentary school teachers are the most im-
portant ones in the entire educational
system, and that they should be paid ac-
cordingly, so that dedicated and highly
trained teachers will be attracted to the
profession. Under the new system the
demands upon the instructor's teaching
ability will be much higher than they are
today.
Certainly a child's early years in
school are the ones in which his ability
to learn is at its highest peak. We need
to make much better use of those valu-
able years.
Let the Parks Board Do It
It is high time that all Wingham's
parks were placed under the management
and supervision of the Parks Board—the
group which has done such an outstand-
ing job with the development of the river-
side properties which have been under
development in recent years.
During the past summer the two
parks on Josephine Street, north and
south of Alfred, the ball park and the
recreation park just south, have been any-
thing but a good advertisement for our
town. Most of the time they have been
littered with scrap paper and discarded
food wrappers. The area around the
wading pool has been a danger, rather
than a haven for smaller children be-
cause of the broken glass which was
scattered over the ground. The wash-
rooms in the lower level of the band-
stand have been a stinking mess, unfit
for human use,
These two parks are the responsibility
of the town's works department and it is
altogether likely that the town men are
just too busy during the summer months
to take adequate care of them. These
men have a thousand and one tasks to
handle during the months of fine
weather.
Parks, however, must be well kept if
they are to serve their purpose. Better
they should be closed than left untidy
and unattractive.
The picnic tables in our parks have
been used constantly over the years by
summer travellers. On many occasions
we have heard comments from these
people about the attractiveness of the
spot—but not this year.
We don't know whether or not the
Riverside Parks Board would welcome
the added responsibility. We do know
that if they accepted it they would do a
good job.
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
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Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Mail and
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von intim
Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Sept, 29, 1966
SECOND SECTION
SEPTEMBER 1917
Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Walker,
Wingham, announce the en-
gagement of their only daugh-
ter, Mary Ella to Mr. Thomas
Edmund Irwin, Wingham, the
marriage to take place in Sep-
tember.
Miss Elizabeth Wellwood left
on Saturday for Toronto and
Hamilton en route to New York
to assume her duties in a high
school there.
Lieut. P. D. Powe of Wood-
stock, has been appointed to
assist Capt. Martin in the work
of the local corps of the Salva-
tion Army.
Chas. Bondi is moving his
fruit store to the MacKenzie
building north of Howson's Flour
and Feed.
By the first of October Wing-
ham will witness several chang-
es on front street. Mr. E. C.
White who has been in the tail-
oring business in Wingham for
the past seven years has decided
to move to Cornwall. Mr. Gee.
Carr who for a great many
years has conducted a tailoring
establishment in the Gregory
block one door south of James
Walker's furniture store will
move into the store vacated by
Mr. White, opposite The Ad-
vance office.
Mrs. Runstedler who has
spent the past few weeks in Ni-
agara Falls returned home and
has opened up her millinery par-
lors.
SEPTEMBER 1931
The staff and students of the
Wingham High School have
every reason to be proud of the
results obtained in the recent
Departmental Exams. One of
the students, Miss Kate King,
won the scholarship in French
and Classics offered by Western
University. Another, Miss Dor-
othy Hiscox ranked second for
the Science Scholarship offered
by McMaster University.
Rev. and Mrs. Graydon Cox
left for Toronto on Thursday,
from whence they left on Sat-
urday morning to motor to their
home in Pangman, Sask.
Misses Hazel Wilson, Agnes
Robertson and Norma Coutts,
and Bob Weir left last week to
attend Stratford Normal.
Dr. J. G. Ferguson of Tor-
onto, was a visitor in town this
week and viewed the large
stone at the High School which
he carried in 1914 from How-
son's dam. He was just curious
to know whether it had been
moved or not since he placed
it there seventeen years ago.
SEPTEMBER 1941
Mr. G. C. Gammage, Ma-
doe, Ont., has received the
appointment as manager of the
local branch of the Dominion
Bank and on Tuesday arrived in
Wingham. His wife and two
boys, George and Robert, will
come to Wingham shortly to
take up residence.
Miss Edith Weir, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. John Weir, Turn-
berry, has accepted a research
fellowship at Massachusetts
State College, beginning Sep-
tember 15.
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Kelly
announce the engagement of
their daughter, Irene Louise to
Mr. Frank Herbert Collar, eld-
est son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert
Collar of Wingham, the mar-
riage to take place early in Oc-
tober.
On Sunday, Sept. 14, Mrs.
W. A. Currie of town celebrat-
ed her 75th birthday, and a
number of relatives and friends
called to offer congratulations.
Miss M. E. Adams poured tea,
while Mrs. Currie's two daugh-
ters,'Mrs. W. A. Macfie of
Toronto and Mrs. Arthur Bie-
man of London assisted by two
granddaughters, Margaret and
Mary Helen Bieman, served re-
freshments.
SEPTEMBER 1952
Miss Mildred C. Redmond,
daughter of Dr. and Mrs. R.C.
Redmond of Wingham, has re-
cently been named editor of the
Ontario Hydro Staff News, a
monthly publication. This post
has been well earned by Mild-
red, who has been with the
magazine since its beginning in
December 1947.
Doug Fry, CKNX announcer,
has left to enter the Presbyter-
ian ministry, and this week en-
rolled at Waterloo College for
his pre-theological course.
Doug, who was born in Wing-
ham was educated here and is
a RCAF veteran.
Mr. and Mrs. Chester Tay-
lor, Lucknow, announce the
engagement of their daughter,
Doris Lillian, to Mr. Ernest
Wendell Walker, son of Mr. and
Mrs. George Walker, Wingham.
The marriage to take place Oc-
tober 11th in the United Church,
St. Helens.
Norman Fry, well-known
CKNX radio announcer, has
joined the sales staff of Staf-
ford Industries and will travel in
this territory.
A chap called Richard J,
Needham writes a daily news-
paper column in Toronto. Quail=
ty and content range from high-
class to hog-wash, but it is emi.
nently readable,
Needham is not a true humor-
ist, but has a sharp satiric sense,
a wild imagination, and a clear
view of the ridiculosity of many
of our moral, social, political
and economic fairy tales.
Despite the clear view, he is
an incorrigible romantic, a 1966
model Don Quixote who tilts at
windmills with a typewriter,
forces flowers on strange ladies,
and thinks of life and love in
capital letters. He's a literary
burglar and a bellowing non-
conformist. Interesting fellow.
But he has a couple of blind
spots. He hates the educational
system and has a blatant con-
tempt for today's young people.
Sounds psychological. Perhaps
he was turfed out of school, or
dropped out, or had some rotten
teachers. But he despises the
whole business,
For him, the educational sys-
tem is a vast, soul-less monolith,
whose sole aim is to crush the
spirit of youth, indoctrinate it
with all the wrong ideas, and
fail to teach it anything about
LIFE. He's great on LIFE.
For him, teachers are a bunch
of dull clods, whose only desire
is to stuff kids with useless in-
formation and promptly squelch
any signs of initiative or crea-
tivity.
For him, modern students are
a sorry lot, unadventurous, inar-
ticulate, security-minded and
materialistic.
Well, I'm here to tell brother
Needham it's time he got into
the twentieth century. His ideas
are pure poppycock.
Sure, the educational system
is a vast monolith. What do you
Mrs. Jack Gillespie of Sarnia
came across the following which
she sends along to our readers
early in the season of a new
school term.
PLEASE DON'T HARM
MY LITTLE GIRL
Today my daughter, who is
seven years old started to school
as usual. She wore a dark blue
dress with a white collar. She
had on black shoes and wore
black gloves. Her cocker span-
iel whose name is "Scoot" sat
on the front porch and whined
his canine belief in the folly of
education as she waved "good-
bye" and started off to the halls
of learning.
Tonight we talked about
school. She told me about the
girl who sits in front of her --
the girl with yellow curls --
and the boy across the aisle who
makes funny faces. She told
me about her teacher who has
eyes in the back of her head and
about the girl who doesn't be-
lieve in Santa Claus. We talk-
ed about a lot of things, tre-
mendously vital, unimportant
The Wingham Advance-Times,
Wingham, Ont.
Dear Sirs:
Sept. 6, 1966 was a red-let-
ter day for the Dawn Twp. Farm
Management Club, as that was
the day our club accompanied
by a number of our neighbors
visited your fair county of
Bruce.
Under the guidance of your
agricultural representative Mr.
Greer and Bill McKague we
were shown a good land, a land
of brooks of water, of fountains
and depths that spring out of
valleys and hills, a land where-
in thou shalt eat without any
scarceness.
do with 6,000,000 kids? Shove
them into the streets to learn
about LIFE? But it's far from
soul-less. On the contrary, it's
composed of men and women
with intelligence, goodwill and
understanding, who work tire-
lessly to improve the system for
the benefit of the students,
Sure, teachers are dull clods.
Some of them. Just as some doc-
tors, lawyers, ministers and col-
umnists are dull clods. But the
great majority work their heads
to the bone, shoving, urging, ex-
horting, encouraging and lead-
ing the youngsters to adulthood.
And the students? Are they a
sad, beaten crowd, cowed by au-
thority, eager for security,
afraid to think for themselves?
This is what Mr. Needham, with
his Victorian view of schools,
would have us believe. Hah!
A few are. But the majority
are just the opposite. They are
rebellious, daring, adventurous,
and just busting to have a whirl
at life, as youngsters have been
since the time of Socrates.
Right now my son, who is 19,
is either hitch-hiking across
Canada, on his way home, or
headed for Mexico, We're not
sure. Right now, my daughter
who is 15, is belting out folk
songs which she wrote herself,
to keep her mind off her sore
ears. She had them pierced yes-
terday, for earrings.
And right now, all over town,
1,200 kids from our high school
are ignoring their homework
and watching TV, or shooting
pool, or gassing on the phone,
or falling in love, or riding mo-
tor-cycles. They're certainly not
cowed by authority, or
squelched by the system, or in-
doctrinated by anything, except
human nature.
Don't be naive, Mr. Needham.
things, then we studied spelling,
reading and arithmetic, and
then to bed.
She's back here now, back
in the nursery, sound asleep.
with "Princess Elizabeth"
(that's a doll) cuddled in her
right arm. You guys wouldn't
hurt her, would you? You see,
I'm her daddy. When her doll
is broken or her finger is cut, or
her head gets bumped, I can
fix it, but when she starts to
school, when she walks across
the street, then she's in your
hands.
She's a nice kid. She can
run like a deer and darts about
like a chipmunk. She likes to
ride horses and swim and the
like with me on Sunday after-
noons. But I can't be with her
all the time. I have to work to
pay for her clothes and educa-
tion. So please help me look
out for her. Please drive slow-
ly past the schools and intersec-
tions -- and please remember
that children run from behind
parked cars.
Please don't hurt my little
girl.
The hospitality shown by
your people was so outstanding
it•shall never be erased from
our minds and your farmers all
seemed to be of that calibre.
They are bound to succeed and
set a pattern for all Canadians,
As the tour came to a close
at the end of our day, hurried
good-byes were quickly ex-
changed and we were on our
way home to the county of salt
and oil, but we shall never for-
get your wonderful land, and
your large herds of cattle graz-
ing on your thousands of hills.
Sincerely yours,
K, Gordon MacLachlan,
Secretary,
Oil Springs, Ontario,
Safety Plea to Drivers
LETTERS TO TM EDITOR