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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-06-13, Page 71111"161461111144%,,,% wool Whatever else Angus might have neglected, he, always gave special attention to his horses. He was not impressed by thebrand new tractors which became the prestige images of his neighbours. "This land 'as always been worked with 'orses," he, would say proudly, "an' always will be, .as long as I'm alive!" I knew far more about mechanical contraptions than I did about horses, and when I saw him limping behind a plow from dawn to dusk, I felt I just had to persuade him to keep up with progress. "If we had a tractor, we could work the land 10 times as fast and I could do all the plowing for you,"l told him, He was in the stable, grooming the team, when 1 made this statement. It must have been one of those days when his rheumatism was giving him a bad time.. guess it was only natural that he should tear into somebody, especially an ignoramous like me. I'll never forget the contemptuous look on his face! "Yer jest don't understand do yer, 'Mr. Limey Smart Ass. 1 likes'orset, so I do. They got more sense that a lot o' people I know. A darned sight more reliable than tractors. Don't need oil or grease - don't use any gas. Spark plugs don't need changin' an' they never gits a flat tire.- He limped a few paces towards me and shook a smelly grooming sponge within inches of my nose. "One o' these days yer gonna find out that this world ain't finished with 'orses yet - not by a country mile!" As far as I was. concerned, Angus's decision was final but'he never forget the incident. He needled me. on the subject and kept reminding me of the important part horses played in the building of this country: Yes indeed, Angus and horses were inseperable. When winter arrived at the Hungry Hundred, began to believe more and more what Angus had said aboutrelying on mechanical power. This was my first experience of the frigid climate in the new land but old Molly, my '39 Dodge, had taken just about as much of the annual deep freezes as she .could endure. 1 jokingly measured her pulling strength in cat power rather than horse power. She would have performed a little better. if I had been able to afford the, "replacement of several of her parts even a new battery would have helped. Financial circumstances. being what they were at that time, 1 just 'had to grin and bear my morning confrontations with a cold and very reluctant jall.opy! One morning in January, Molly simply refused to come back to life. Regardless of the triumphant chuckles of Angus at my predicament, 1 got on the phone to a neighbour, who had recently purchased a new diesel tractor, and asked him if he would persuade Molly to start. He told me he would be delighted to give me a tow if 1 could wait two or three hours - he would have to plug into the hydro and warm the engine up before it would start. Apparently his new show piece was just:as dead as my car at that moment. . I went outside again . and considered bringing the battery indoors to warm a little life into it:: As usually Book dispute ;.... • from page 4 school trustee Eugene Frayne. "we've got to go on the recommendations of the teachers that's why I made the motion to approve the books." The motion totable the . decision was defeated and trustees; approved the novels by a 13-3 margin: Clinton trustee Dorothy Williams told the board she had one more novel she wanted to check and had to vote against approval. She was joined by Gower and Henderson. Members of the - concerned citizens group waited until the end of the board session to ask trustees to justify their decision. Grace Austin told the board some of the novels it had approved used the name of God in a disrespectful way against the beliefs of the community the board representbd. Eugene Frayne, trustee for separate school supporters, launched a tirade against the book controversy after it became apparent -'`the matter was going to continue. Frayne said he felt as if he was "damned if I do and damned if 1 don't and 1 don't mind using the word damn". He said he felt like "packing it in" adding the book issue had "bugged him for three years". Acres of Memory BY D.A. CAMPBELL happens on these occasions, I found that the biery clamps were corroded and I tried desperately to loosen the nuts with about the only tool I had - a pair of worn vice grips. Whilst I had my head under the hood, I heard the sound of horses coming up the iandwayfrom the barn. I looked up and there was Angus standing on a sleigh behind the team. Without sayigg one word he pulled ahead of my frozen mechanical heap and brought the team to a standstill. He fastened a chain from the back of the sleigh to the front of the car and only then did he recognise my presence. "I'm gonna tow yer, so I am," he said in a condescending voice. "Youlwait till wegets onto the road - then we'll get some speed up, so we will. When I tells yer, let the clutch in! took my position behind, the wheel and Angus urged the team into action. At a slow pace, Molly was pulled down the driveway and on to the sixth concession. Angus turned his head and looked back at me, to make sure I was fully prepared for whatwas about to happen. At that moment, I couldn't visualize the gravity of the situation, but I quickly found out. Angus screamed at the team and they responded magnificently - from a walk to a canter, and then into a gallop. If I hadn't been so scared, the whole situation might have appeared hilarious. Angus looked like another Ben Hur, furiously racing, a chariot in the Colisseurn at Rome! . Being towed in such a precarious manner, I dreaded the moment when I would let in the clutch and transfer the mechanical braking effect to the team and sleigh. I had visions of the horses .being jerked off their .feet on that slippery surface, or Angus being flung from the sleigh perhaps both! I couldn't overrule the possibility of Molly suddenly coming to life and overtaking the sleigh my brakes would have been useless under the circumstances. The moment of truth arrived. Angus turned his head in impatience at my delay and yelled at me.' " Now, dammit, now! With my heart in my mouth, I ,let the clutch in ever so slowly to prevent a sudden backward pull on the horses. The engine fired once or twice and then died. We reached an upward incline in the road before Molly decided . to come back to life for real. The gradient relieved; me of the worry of havingto use my brakes. I..took the car out of gear again and jazzed on the throttle to keep the engine running.: The horses towed my old -car to a standstill. It was a cold day but I was sweating at the thought of the whole ridiculous and dan9erous escapade! I;sat in the car to ensure that the engine would keep running. Angus unhitched the chain and turned the team around for his return to the Hungry Hundred.. When he came abreast of me he halted the steaming horses, stepped off the sleigh and limped over to the car.. He thrust his unshaven face through the window. It was blue with cold but his eyes burned with the fire of.victory. He jerked his head in triumph. "Weil, Mr. Limey Smart Ass, do yer still think we can do without 'orses?" "It's almost impossible to find a solution that will please everyone in the county," he said. "If you went around this table I'll bet you'd find four different opinions on the books amongst these 16 trustees." Frayne said the board tried to be fair in. its dealings for and against the novels adding he had "not changed his position hardly one bit since the day I came here". He told the board he didn't approve of literature that was "abusive or lowered the dignity of man" adding "it's not my .job to study every book and say 'this is what the people of Huron County should be reading". "When my car is broken I go to a garage, when I'm sick I go to a doctor, when my tooth aches I go to a dentist and when I want good food I go to a farmer," said Frayne. "And when 1 want my kids educated I, go to someone that is trained to do ,that." He said he was doing his best as a trustee and was criticized for banning books. He said he had been told he had no morals .or ethics for not banning some novels. "If you don't have any morals or ethics what the hell. are we doing here today?" Letter: the. editor • to To the Editor: The nursing staff at the Wingham and District Hos- pital are holding a home- coming tea during the Wing - ham Centennial Celebra- .,tions. -' Interested readers, . who are former , nursing staff or graduates. of the nursing assistant school are extended a friendlyinvitation to attend on Sunday afternoon, August 5, 1979, from 2 to 5, a't the Training Centre on Catherine Street, to renew friendships and, tour the hospital. Your sincerely, Mary A. Lee, Reg. N. Committee Chairman Lneknow .Sentinel, Wednesday, June 13, 1979—Page 7 fine markets... of fine foods zehrs SAVE'UPTO X3.40 WITH THESE COUPONS "0 ZEHRS COUPON WITH THIS VALUABLE COUPON MAXWELL NOOSE INSTANT COFFEE 10 oz JAR OUR REG. $5.99 SAVE $1.50 LIMIT ONE. DEAL PER COUPON. COUPON EXPIRES SAT. JUNE 1.6/79/ ZIENRSA`UABLE COUPONW'THIS COUPON ZEHR'S BUTTER 1 Ib. PRINT OUR REG. $1.47 SAVE 20° lb. Ib. LIMIT ONE DEAL PER COUPON COUPON. EXPIRES SAT. 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