The Citizen, 1997-12-17, Page 21THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17,1997. PAGE 21.
Lions cook
The Auburn Lions had a pancake
breakfast on Sunday, Dec. 7. As
usual, it was thoroughly enjoyed.
The community is pleased to
learn that Mrs. R. Lubbers has
returned home from the hospital
recently. May she continue to
improve daily.
Dorothy Grange visited with her
daughter Elizabeth and Dr. Rod
Singh and family in London
recently.
Silver Tops meet
Continued from page 19
he looks out, closing with "Forget it
Mom" and dashed out to go
swimming, playing ball etc. with t
the gang. Later on Mr. Lear sang
Christmas, Auld Lang Syne
Tina Empey gave a farmer's will
right down to the funeral service.
Ernie Durnin treated all to
harmonica music with Mrs. Lear as
accompanist.
Margaret Hildebrand closed the
service with a beautiful story of
"The Little Angel with the Dirty
Wings". Try as hard as possible he
always seemed to get dirty.
However, the angel found that he
was brave enough when necessary
to lead the Heavenly choir at
Christ’s birth. The angel story was a
perfect ending to this Christmas
celebration.
There were over 30 members and
friends present for the day. The
Silver Tops wish everyone a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Euchre
Continued from page 3
played. The winners were:
Euchre - high lady, Kay
Hesselwood; high man, Jim Mason;
low lady, Isabell Craig; low man,
Janice Vodden.
Lost heir - high lady, Janet
Lawrie; high man, Feme
McDowell; low lady, Mary
Walden; low man, Arnold Cook.
Several draws for prizes were
donated by the ladies' auxiliary. It
was a very enjoyable afternoon.
Healthy Rural Communities
By Linda Henhoeffer
Financial Advisor
It's Christmas! The time of year when we set aside our hectic schedules
to focus on spiritual renewal and family celebrations ... all accompanied
by lots of food. It is also a time to reflect on the passing year and to
consider the possibilities for the coming year.
Living in Canada, we have much to be thankful for: a democratic
system of government, a stable economy, a clean environment, public
health care and government pensions for our seniors. In fact, the United
Nations rates Canada as the best country in the world in which to live.
Canada is not paradise, but compared to many other countries, our
concerns are minor.
Struggling Rural Communities
Looking at the situation closer to home, rural communities in
southwestern Ontario are in trouble. The decline of our local farming
communities has been very gradual, but continual over the past 20 years.
When I was growing up, it was common to have a family farming 50 or
100 acres of land. Looking after the livestock and the crops was a full
time job requiring all the energy and resources of the family. Even small
children had chores to do, like bringing in firewood for the kitchen stove
and feeding the chickens in the barnyard. Harvest was a community event
with neighbours helping each other to get the grain to the bams.
Saturday night was an exciting climax to the work week. Shopping was
done (after the weekly bath) in the local town stores. In the summer,
children were treated with an ice cream cone. Young men drove their
cards up and down the main street with their eyes on the pretty girls
window shopping. In our rural history, small family farms formed the
base of our healthy communities.
The Troubling Symptoms of Decline
Today, farmers have to deal with global competition, technology,
genetic engineering and environmental issues. All these pressures have
forced changes to the way farmers run their business. To stay
competitive, farms today are much larger in size. It is not uncommon for
a farmer to operate several hundred acres of land. Larger farms means
there are fewer families living in each community. This, in turn, means
smaller numbers of shoppers in our stores, students in our schools,
skaters in our arena, members in our libraries and churches, etc.
Store owners close their doors, banks reduce their hours and our youth
go to 'the big cities' for employment. Federal and provincial governments
reduce grants to municipalities as they attempt to balance their budgets.
This adds further stress to services such as our hospitals, schools and post
offices.
The Future of our Rural Communities
What can we do, as individuals or groups, to help our communities
become stronger and healthier? Even though we all enjoyed growing up
in simpler, gentler times we can not turn back the clock. Even though we
would like to have our troubles simply disappear, we can not bury our
heads in the sand.
The Chinese language uses the same word for crisis and challenge. To
the Chinese, a crisis is an opportunity to use our knowledge, skills and
willpower to empower us to make positive changes.
During this Christmas season, as we celebrate with family, friends and
neighbours, we will also be thankful for the bounty and peace of living in
Canada. The concerns facing our local rural communities are very
serious, but if we all work together they can be addressed. The first step
in solving any problem is to begin communicating with one another. Let's
talk.
BUSINESS BREAKFAST MEETING
*
*
*
Thurs., January 15 ~ 8:00 ■ 9:00 a.m.
Guest Speaker is Paul Nichol,
Huron Business Centre
Topic: Community and
Economic Development
As meeting will be held at Linda's
seating is limited, so call to register
Linda Henhoeffer
519-335-3887
or 1-800-667-3887
fre
IVe welcome your letters We welcome your letters
A Village Christmas
presented by Blyth Business Association
Saturday, December 20, 1997
7:30 p.m. Christinas Pageant
featuring lots of local talent
Carol singing preceding the pageant
Anyone wishing to participate please call
Fran or Karen at the Blyth Festival 523-4345
Silver and canned good collection with all proceeds
going to The United Way
9:00 p.m. Yule Yodel at the Hotel (The Blyth Inn)
Hall rental generously donated by Blyth Legion Ladies' Auxiliary.
This ad generously sponsored by
THE BLYTH INN
Join us for an evening of fun!
Doane Raymond
Chartered Accountants
Management Consultants
Canadian Member Firm of
Grant Thornton International
152 Josephine Street
P.O. Box 1420
Wingham, Ontario NOG 2W0
Tel: (519) 357-3231
Fax: (519) 357-2452
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Tel: (519)291-2274 J
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Citizen
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