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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2011-11-16, Page 9tench Signal -Star • Wednesday, November 16, 2011 NEW SANTA CLAUS PARADE ROUTE is y.�r, the parade will dorm along Elgin Ave. (heading st fr'om South St. bWellington St., then north on el ingbn Street to West Street. e parode officially starts at the corner of West and ellington Streets, proceeds east on West St: to The uore clockwise around. The Square, and then turns wn South St. where it will disperse at Elgin Avenue. st viewing will be along West St., on The Square and wn South Street. Marshalling omu Elgin For more information please call GpDERCH purism Goderich 519-524-6600. (amnia ; p,.it;,w,a,,, Z4‘ N't‘V'„2*40\ e-- e e 11 elk 1 v tomun.ity Hall, CHC(...1„, ooam, Clinton KIN Hall, 162 Maple eta are $45 each per person. Cash and Chequef only majotity event 5i -7349 for more jlitsmian WN1r1l', • Silver looks at how Goderich stayed in touch pre/post-tornado CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 1 immediately before and after the tornado would have produced the most activity, "The real story is actually in the hours, days and weeks after the event" she said. Cell phone communication was slowed to a trickle immediately following the tornado, and power outages prevented online communication for many. However, Silver said, what she has found is that when all else fails, people revert to direct, personal communication. "This in-person communication just exploded," she said. "After the event 1 kept hearing stories about how word of mouth such a powerful com munication medium. People were talking to strangers and neighbours they have never talked to before." That street -level communication saw friends, neighbours and strangers going from property to property, either checking in on loved ones or just offering their services in any way necessary. However, imtnediately before the tornado, it was just another stormy day. Silver said she has found a large portion of peo- ple indicated they don't really think twice about the weather, especially in Goderich where storms moving in off the lake are a common occurrence. In addition to that, the Environment Canada tor- nado warning went virtually unnoticed. "How useful is it really if noone is getting the warning is that the same as it not being Issued?" she said. 1 don't know. That's something I'm looking into: At the time of the interview in late October, she said not one person she talked to knew about the tornado warning in advance, however, by Wednesday, August 24, a second tornado warn- ing for the area was being taken far more seriously. In the meantime, as power was slowly restored and phone services back up, communication went from door-to- door to the online forum. l.acebook groups Save Downtown Goderich and the Goderich Tornado Cleanup Hub provided a grassroots avenue for volunteer coordination, and engaged residents in discussing how their town should be rebuilt. Links to resources were also posted, and public information shared as soon as it was released. "People would go to these groups and use social media to get informa- tion," she noted. "There may not have been enough information disseminated through official channels," The hope, she said, is to be able to get official information out quicker to - groups that are using social media. But the key word is official - the validity and sources of social media information cannot always be determined, she explained, Regardless of where the information in coming from, someone in the know needs to make sure it is cor- rect or corrected. "If you have misinformation and you don't know it's misinformation that can be very powerful," Silver said. Ifsome- one in authority could fact -check, that would be useful Theinternet is a powerful medium for disseminating information, and Sil- ver said her study sofar has shown a desire Tor an open an online forum between residents and town hall. Still, she noted, it's only one part of the entre cotnimunication picture. "I'm not suggesting put all your eggs in the facebook basket," she said. "You need to get the information out there on a lot of different levels." Silver is still looking for interview subjects for her study, and can be con- tacted by phone or email: 519-504-9709 or a2silver@uwaterloo.ca. A witness to the greatest generation CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 7 • of self control until the prosecuting attorney called him a 'coward.' Meyer burst into a sudden rage which Ander- son:.rernembered stunned the court. Although sentenced to death, Meyer was released from prison in 1954. Captain Anderson resumed his radio broadcasting career at CFBC in New Brunswick after his discharge from the army in 1946. He remained in the mili- tia until 1959 when he retired with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Later, he enjoyed a successful career in public relations that brought him to Ontario in 1963. His daughter's job led him to Goderich in 1993 where he and Betty have since resided in their Essex Street home. Of his war service, Anderson says '1 came away from doing my thing in the war with four anti-tank guns, a total of 25 men; none were killed and none was injured. Three got medals (for bravery), and the only one who got a scratch was someone injured by our own artillery." Although he never kept in contact with the men from his troop, some- where 25 men and their families must have been grateful for good leader- ship. One could say Anderson 'came away' with a lifetime of wisdom. The generation who grew up during the Great Depression and fought the Second World War hM'been called 'the greatest generation.' They, more mod- estly, see themselves as ordinary men and women who were called upon to perform extraordinary deeds in a global crisis, and that is what makes them stand out. Bill Anderson is a compelling witness of those times and that genera- tion. A generation from whom much may still be learned.