HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-02-21, Page 7They said Hazel was born to be dangerous; her
passion could not be expended in one brief encounter.
She came to us like an Amazon, testing the frailties of
mere men. Hazel was a hurricane! •
I recall 'vividly the lull before the storm. There was a
twilight stillness on the meadows, broken only by the
occasional lowing of cattle and the flutter of pigeon's
wings around the roof of the barn. The western sky
was splashed by the remaining colours of sunset, but
to the south, dark clouds were gathering - the black
raiment of Hazel, moving irresistably towards the
Hungry Hundred. •
The distant rumblings of thunder brought Angus
out of the house. He booked in the direction of
Redtrees, where the blue -grey smoke from chimneys
rose perpendicular through the still air. The drawn out
whistle of a train drifted across the rolling land, lonely
and foreboding, like an evil omen.
"Ain't seen a sky like that in many a year," he told
me, his grey head shaking in apprehension. "Looks
like a real doozer, so it. does. That radio man, Gordon
Sinclair, 'e sez we're gonna git it. Sez it made one 'ell'
of a mess in the States!"
At first; there were just a few large drops of .rain,
only enough to streak the window panes and form
globules on the waxed surface of my old car. It was the.
wind which heralded the :main onslaught. Springing
up quickly, it whipped up the dust in clouds, tore at
the trees and rocked the• old frame .house on its_
foundations.,
The rain which followed was torrential and it seeped
through every nook and cranny. Pouring -.off the roof,
it caught the' sides of t:he chimneys, penetrating
through .the cracked i.r:icl*w9rk and down the, stove
pipes Loosening countless' years of •soon"an burnt
wood residues, it dripped into dark bray,tn pools oh, the
well worn linoleum. u.
Hazel ravishedhttae_sanay seiI. Every gulley gave
birth to a creekwhich washed away the thin, topspil
and cut deep into the earth,` robbing it of .fertilit•y
forever. The• one and only piece of flat land by the:
barn became 'a miniature lake which reflected the
almost continuous flashes from a turbulent surface,
ruffled bythe gale, force winds
On ,the windward side of the house it was
impossible to see through the windows. The -drivii'g
rain produced a continuous sheet of,shimmering water
which poured down the glass and through the
weathered putty. To; the lee, (which faced the north)
we had a limited viewOfthe rising land. Through the
window on this side, a row of little blond. ',heads„
watched nature's firework display with nervous
excitement, in a chorus of.'.'oos" and "ahs."
In the summer kitchen, my wife, Angus and i hoped
for the best bufexpected the worst. Each having our
own fears, we .tried to impresseach other with out
"matter of fact" discussions . on the worsening
situation. •
We turned on t'he 'radio and above the constant
crackling managed to pick up the news :broadcast:
"At Newbridge the river has overflowed its banks
and many families are stranded in their homes. The
police and ;fire services from other areas have been
called in to help during; the emergency:"
That was ail we heard. There was a violent flash of
lightning and a• simultaneous crack of ,deafening
.thunder. The, lights went out; the smallest child
screamed. and began to cry. We htlrriedly lit candles
and restored their confidence:
'1 'groped my way into the hallway and lifted the
telephone receiver. Old Mrs. Fraser was assessing the
hydro situation.
"Any of yous guys.got hydro?" she.asked in a voice
wheezing with asthma. A chorus of negative replies
confirmed her suspicion.
"Then 1 guess we got a break someplace."'.
After hearing this brilliant deduction, I went back to
the summer kitchen - at least we were still in
communication with the neighbours!
I was relaying this valuable information to Angus
when there was a loud knocking qn the door. "This
has to be a stranger, I told myself. Anybody we knew-
would
newwould have walked right in we never locked the door
anyhow!
My wife admitted a thin young man who looted as
if he had been swimmmng warn nis clotnes on. He must
have fallen down too - one side of him was covered in
mutt For a few moments he stood shivering from his
battle with the storm and apparent sheer lanxiety. A
pool of water gathered at his feet. His dress told me
he was not a "rustic" and his skinny hands looked as
if they were not°capable of grasping anything heavier
than a pen. The "duck's rear end" hair style which he
had once sported, was now just a bunch of straggly
matting through, which a pair of nervous blue eyes
• squinted 1n the dim candlelight.
"My name is Jackson," .he said breathlessly. "I
live in that stone house in the valley - just at the
weekends. Our phone ... is not working and l have to
13Y D.A. CAMPBELL
get a doctor quick. My wife's in labour ... storm
brought it on .. and the house, the house is flooded!
"You walk up the,sixth line?" Angus snapped at
him.
The bedraggled young man nodded.
"Look at yer shoes an' pants - bet the mud was over
your ankles on the road - 'ad to walk on the bankside
didn't yer? Yer'd never walk on the road - wouldn't be
able to move. It 'ud pull yer shoes right off •- so it
would."
The young man nodded in _ agreement. "It's real
bad out there ... the .roads a quagmire."
"Then 'ow the 'ell did yer expect a doctor to drive
up them roads in a car - got ter be out 'o yer cotton
pickin' mind, so yer 'ave."
This was the final straw which shattered the young
man's co'mposure completely. He was in tears and his
voice was a sob of desperation.
"But ... my poor wife ... oh .my God ... whatever
can I do?"
Angus had no time for weaklings under any
circumstances and weakness in men just made him
.see red. Whatever pity he felt, he didn'tshow it. He
screamed at the young man like a drill sergeant ..
chastising a raw recruit.
"Yer can quit yer bawlin, that's what. Just smarten
yourself up. We'II 'elp yer so we will. .We atf%'t:'.
midwives but we ain't dummies either!','
Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, February 21, 1979—Page 7
AUTOMOBILE
INSURANCE
Here's o sample of our outo•
mobile rates for persons between
qge 25.60 years. Compare them
with your present rotes. ,
$300.000 Bodily injury and
property damage
$ 25,000 Accident benefits
$ 250 Collision deductible
$ 25 Comprehensive
deductible.
frte
6 month premium
8900
"No Application, Membership or
Policy Fee Required"
ABOVE PREMIUM BASED ON
1 No 'accidents or convictions in -3 years.
2. Driving to work 9 miles or Tess.
3. 1978 or 79 Pontiac, Chev, Ford or
Plymouth,
4. Married person •beiween 25 and 60.
5. We also provide, further discounts for
pleasure use, 2 cars.and farmers receive
reductions of another $14.00 every
6 months.
6. Other rates by phone.
M;cMASTER AGENCIES INSURANCE
,Home—Business—Auto--Farmrkre—Lite
327 JOSEPHINE ST. TEL. 357-1227
WINGHAM o AFTER HOURS 357.1289
127 Albert St., Stratford
271.6940 or toll Free 1.800.265-8532
4 9-5 Mon. To Fri. - Sat, 9-1 — Evenings By Appointment
•
1
ii ti'..':ti0.i:ii::'i'.r$,Yi:•.?:{>,j`r•: iv.`:N::titrii.•IiC4\:} �iri.?i f:;:i•.;:..::.iv:•:y'�^�
2 1978 CHEV IMPALAS, 4 door sedans
1978 OLDS.MOBILE CUTLASS, 2 door
1978 •NOVA, 6 cylinder automatic, power steering and
power brakes
2; 1978 -CHEVELLES, power steering •and power
brakes
1978 LE MANS, 6 cylinder
1978 PONTIAC
1977 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS, with airconditioning.
y
1976 PONTIAC PARISIENNE BROUGHAM
1976 LE MANS, stationwagon;.
1976 PONTIAC LE MANS, 4'°door, aij• conditioned
1976 OLDS 98, full power
1975 PONTIAC LE MANS, 4 door
1975 CHEV IMPALA, .2 door
1975 CUTLASS SALON
1975 MONTE.,trARLO
1973 PONTIAC BROUGHAM, 4 . door
1973 CHEV IMPALA, 4 door hardtop
1978 3/4 TON GMC, 8 cylinder automatic, power
steering and brakes
2 - 1977 GMC 'ETON PICKUPS, V-8 automatic
with power' steering
ti
1976 DODGE D 600, cab and chassis
1973 FORD, 1 ton caband -chassis
1975 FORD LV 750
A number of vans from 1974-1976. Some V8s, some
6 cylinder, some CHEYS and some FORDS
••ii•••••••••S.••••••••••
BRUSSELS MOTORS
BP Service Station Phone 887-6173
r_
•PIONEER
3968 2700 fi
❑ Excellentfield
performance
Cl High yield potential
SORGHUM 0 Easy shelling and excellent
stalk's
Bruce Raynard
R. 1 Lacknow 528.5754
Vernon Hodgins
R. R. 4.Kiticardine 395-2271
An,zuaiMetmg
Howick Farmers' Mutual Fre
Insurance Company, .
Wroxeter, Ontario
The 106th Annual Meeting of the Company.ar.id be.heid,.
at: the Company Head Office, Wroxeter, Ontario on
Tuesday, February 27,1979
at 1.30 p.m. ._
Purpose:
1. To receive the . Annual Statement and Auditor's
Report.
2, To elect two Directors tjo replace Lloyd Michie and
Jim Mair, whose term of office expires. Both retiring
Directors are eligible for re-election.
3. To approve the adoption of the following by-law: #30
- Meetings, #61 & 62 - Hold Harmless Agreement.
4. To appoint an Auditor for 1979.
5. To transact any other business.wh ich may rightly
come before the meeting. •
RON McMICHAEL RANDY HUTTCHINSON
President Manager