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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1966-12-22, Page 11SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley Christmas is real ..1%1111 / uretting5 May the deepest joys of Christmas be yours at this Season and always. Murray Gaunt, M.P.P Huron-Bruce • AtitanceZi Into Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Dec. 22, 1966 SECOND SECTION TWENTY AREA GIRLS took part in the capping ceremony at the Wingham and District Hospital on Friday. Front row: Susan Hamilton, Joan McKay, Lynne MacKay, Dor- othy Weber, Jean Wilson, Lyla Bushell. Second row: Jean Matthews, Joan Dunbar, Joan McTeer, Sharron Smith, Nancy Schopf, Barbara Wood, Shirley McTeer, Third row: Deanna Forrest, Linda Hodges, Helen Forster, Linda Hop- per, Betty Irvine, Joanne Johns, Bonnie Laycock.—A-T Pix. from the staff of The Canadian Imperial t" BANK of COMMERCE kfskoe, May the spirit of good will to all men be your guiding faith forever. RIVERVIEW DRIVE-IN i Virchas -irfivi Hold We sincerely hope that your Christmas is a merry one, and that the coming year will be filled with every spiritual and material blessing. McDOUGALUS GROCERY. WINGHAM ONTARIO ittlOat701-14-AMM-20401-0W104424-74004100,1410141040 Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus The year was 1897 and little Virginia O'Hanlon was in doubt. At seven years of age her friends had begun to tell her that she was foolish to believe in Santa Claus. In her anxiety she wrote to The New York Sun. Editor Francis P. Church published his reply to Virginia in words which have survived as one of the finest expressions of the spirit of Christmas: Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehen- sible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas; how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no ro- mance to make,,tolerobjp_this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus. You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those neither child- ren nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain, and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus? A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE • TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Broa. 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: 1 year, $5.00; 6 months, $2,13 in advance; U.S.A., $7.00 per yr.; Foreign rate, $7.00 per yr. Advertising Rates on application, REMINISCING. DECEMSER 1917 E'Ve Renette Pearl, only daughter of Mr, and Mrs. R. So Clegg, and James Leslie Earl, of Flowia, were Married at tile parsonage, Fordwich, on Wed- nesday, Dec. 10th, by the Rev. Waldon, Early last Friday afternoon John Mooney, a very highly es. teemed and well-known resident of the 5th line of Morris passed away in his '79th year. Deceas- ed was born in Kitley township, near Smith Falls, Ontario, and came with his father, the late William Mooney, to what was then known as the Queen's Bush, the family taking up 400 acres of Crown lands, lots 25, 26, 2'1 and 28, on the 5th line of Mor- ris township. Mr. Samuel Burke tells us that he drove a voter a distance of three miles in 19 minutes on Monday, and he polled his vote for Bowman a few seconds be- fore the poll closed at No. 4, Grey. Sam sure is a worker. DECEMBER 1931 W. J. Clark has purchased the plumbing business from R. R. Mooney and has moved his stock from the store which he formerly occupied on Jose- phine Street north, to his new premises. Last week we noticed an announcement of the promotion of Ensign Eleanor Greenhalgh of the Salvation Army Corps of Wingham to the rank of Adjut- ant. Promotion from the rank of ensign to adjutant calls for ten years' service. The Horticultural Society has purchased the lot on which the old Bell Factory stood and will turn it into a beauty spot that will be a credit to the town. Their plans are only in formation as yet, but a land- scape gardener will be secured who will make recommenda- tion and offer suggestions. DECEMBER 1941 A.C. Ken Somers, RCAF, who has just graduated from the Radio School at Clinton, is spending ten days leave at his home here. Dr. George Howson is mov- ing his dental office to the Queen's Hotel Annex, ground floor, one door west on John Street. This new office will open January 2nd. For the past 20 years the doctor has been lo- cated in the Bondi block. It can be truly said of Mr. T. K. Powell that he is 95 years young. On Sunday this fine old gentleman was at home to his many friends, it being the occasion of his 95th birth- day. He is a pioneer of this community in the real sense of the word. He came to Turn- berry when it was a forest and he had his share in clearing the woods and creating very fine farm lands. In his youth Mr. Powell was a vigorous lad. His reputation for wielding the axe was well-known and this when he was a lad of but fifteen years. He has a family of four, Rev. Frank E. Powell, who has been rector of St. Barnabas'An- glican Church, Toronto, for the past 26 years; Mrs. Arthur Wil- son of town; Robert Powell of Turnberry and Thomas Powell of Winnipeg. DECEMBER 1952 The election of officers for 1953 was held at the regular meeting of the Wingham Ma- sonic Lodge No. 286 on Tues- day evening, with Hartley Smith occupying the Worship- ful Master's chair for the com- ing year. The following slate of officers will be installed; Hartley Smith, W. M. ; Ken Saxton, S.W.; DeWitt Miller, J. W. ; Robin Campbell, Chap- lain; H. L. Sherbondy, secre- tary; A. M. Peebles, treasurer; Archie MacDonald, S.D.; Gor- don Leggatt, J.D.; Norman Keating, I. G. The Wingham C.G.I.T. joined thousands of girls across Canada on Sunday evening in celebrating the National Christ- mas Vesper Service. The Wing- ham girls, joined by some of the BelgraVe C. G. I, T, form- ed the choir and presented two Christmas songs under the able direction of Mr. Allan Bennett. Nancy Hutcheson, Charlene beyeli and Mary Lu Dunlop pre- sided from the pulpit for the readings and prayers. For the traditional candlelighting ser- vice, Merle Gowdy, Mary Ann McKibbon, Doris Machan, Ferne Vanstone and Gail Col- vin were candle lighters and all girls carried lighted candles for the recessional hymn. The leaders of C.G.I. T. are Mrs. G. W. Tiffin and Miss Mary Love. Christmas comes but once a year. In fact, it's just ahead. But have you heard the bad news? Santa Claus is dead. He didn't have a stroke, In fact it's difficult to say What made old Santa croak. Some say it was exhaustion, Some say it was a clot; But others seem to think he conked From smoking too much pot. Chimney-pot, that is, of course, He wouldn't touch the other. But what an anti-climax, For Santa just to smother. At least he could have fallen splash, Fro From hissleigh and made a Or run into a satellite With one almighty crash. I know it's going to be hard to explain that to your kids, but that's your problem. The revelation contained in the above doggerel is my per- sonal campaign against the as- sortment of creeps going around smelling up the atmos- phere with their God-Is-Dead garbage. There's just as much truth, and just as much common sense, in my report about S. Claus as there is in theirs about God. I don't care whether they are eminent clerics or half-baked beatnik s, the God-Is-Dead crowd is dead wrong. He may be out to lunch occasionally, but He is not dead. He is very much alive. And you can go tell that on the mountain, my folk- singing friends. Sorry if I sound a bit heated at this time of peace and good- will and four-color ads for whisky and perfume. But I've had enough of the complete current scene for a bit. Quite enough of psychedelic sensa- tions, and clever little clergy- men saying glib things, and young people with open mouths who swallow anything that flies into them, and simple-minded, earnest "liberals" who bore the hell out of me trying to explain things far beyond them. There, it's out. I'm just a ruddy old reactionary, after all. And I don't give a diddle. Nev- er in my life have I had a de- sire to be one of the "in" crowd, and I have no intention of starting now. First of all, what is Christ- mas all about? Is it not a cele- bration, in the Christian world, of the basic tenet of faith: that God gave man the greatest gift in his power, a son, a living, breathing manifestation of His concern for the muddled, wrong-headed, two-legged crea- tures who make such a muck of things on their own? He gave man this gift only once. But every year for 20 cen- turies, its celebration has re- newed peace and joy and love in the world, even if only for a short time. That's quite a gift. Now, Santa Claus is a little different. He's been in business only for about a century. He brings something different ev- ery year, and all his gifts can be broken, lost or worn out, Already, a lot of people are getting a bit sick of Santa. We see him everywhere; on floats, in department stores, at Christ- mas concerts, in beer advertise- ments. He looks a little differ- ent each time. And he spends two months of the year leering at us from all directions and ho-ho-ing like the village idiot. He's like everybody's jolly old grampa. But after two months of white whiskers, belly laughs and urgings to buy, buy, buy, even jolly old grampa should be sent off to the funny farm. How would you like to have God around for two months a year, every day and night, right where you could see him? And what's worse, where He could see you. What we've got to do is stop treating God like Santa Claus. A visiting clergyman told us on Sunday the story of a family that wanted something very, very much. They prayed for it. And prayed and prayed, the whole family, as hard as they could, for a week. Nothing hap- pened. In despair, the father said, "Well, I guess God didn't an- swer our prayers." His little daughter piped, "Sure He did, Dad. He said no." That's faith. God is alive. Christmas is real. And if you have enough faith, maybe you'll find that the rumor about San- ta's untimely demise is false, and that he's alive, too.