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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1995-04-26, Page 44 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, ApeH 211, 199S uron Huron sitor Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 TERRI-LYNN DALE - General Manager & Advertising Manager MARY MELLOR - Sales PAT ARMES - Office Manager DIANNE McGRATH - Subscriptions TIM CUMMING - Editor GREGOR CAMPBELL; Reporter LINDA PULLMAN - Typesetter BARB STOREY - Distribution A Burgoyne Community Newspaper SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 28.00 a year, in advance, plus 1 96 G S.T. SENIORS - 25.00 a year, in advance, plus 1 75 G.S.T Goderich, Stratford addresses: 28.00 o year, in advance, plus 7.28 postage, plus 2.47 G.S.T Out -Of -Area addresses. 28.00 o year, in advance, plus 11 44 posloge, plus 2.76 G.S.T USA 8. Foreign: 28.00 o year in advance, plus 576 00 postage, G.S.T. exempt SUBSCRIPTION RATES. Published weekly by Signol-Scor Publishing at 100 Mom St Seoforth Publication moil registro lion No. 0696 held of Seaforth, Ontario Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with o rea- sonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for oI the applicable rote. In the event of o typographical error, advertising goods or services at o wrong price, goods or services moy not be sold Advertising is merely on offer to sell and moy be withdrawn of any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Changes of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliverable copies are to be sent to The Huron Expositor Wednesday, April 26, 1995 Editorial and Business Offices • 100 Main Street, Seaforth Telephone 1519) 527-0240 Fax (519) 527.2858 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, P:OK 1 WO Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association and the Ontario Press Council Editorial No excuse for actions We were still on our knees at prayer for the families of victims in the devastating Oklahoma City bomb blast last Wednesday, when we heard that a bomb had rocked Prince Edward Island legislative building in Charlottetown the next day - Thursday. While PEI officials were reluctant to draw comparisons between the two incidents and to claim the Charlottetown City tragedy, the coincidence was just too much for most people to ignore. We were compelled to believe the worst. The United States government has posted a reward of $2 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the guilty. President Bill Clinton pledged "swift, certain and severe" punish- ment. We applaud this resolve. • But we can't help wondering why it had to happen at all? What kind of victory is won by killing innocent people, many of them infants and little children? How does such cowardly violence earn respect or prove, epperig($y fgriaDyolte,?, Who but a mad animal would plot and scheme such deliberate and despicable murder and mayhem? Even more unthinkable is the frightening possibility that it was "monkey see/monkey do" at the PEI site. The Charlottetown edifice, the historic birthplace of Canada in 1864, has stood firm through wars, through natural calamities, through trials and turbulence of every sort. Isn't it pitiful that such a stately structure and so many blameless lives may have been put at risk by a misguided mimic with a warped sense of adven- ture and some cheap explosives? - SJK Letters to the Editor Cancer Society seeks support for 'blitz' Dear Residents: April is Canadian Cancer Society's annual campaign for funds in support of cancer research, health promotion, and patient ser- vices. Many Huron County residents have needed and received services from the Canadian Cancer Society. Our Patient Services include trans- portation to and from treatment, peer support, and financial assist- ance towards the cost of home making, prescription pain relief medication, boarding out, and rental of medical equipment. Health Pro- motion presentations have also been delivered by the Canadian Cancer Society volunteers in our commun- ity in Breast Health, Healthy Food Choices, Sunsense, and Tobacco Awareness. Your support is greatly appreci- ated by cancer patients and dedi- cated volunteers. It will help us to achieve a better understanding of this disease and offers hope to those in our community who have already been diagnosed with this disease. Our Campaign goal this year is $14,500.00. For further information or assistance please call Thelma Bode at 527-1501, Alf & Loreen Dale at 527-0510 or the Huron - Perth Unit office of the Canadian Cancer Society at 519-271-4270. Your donation will make a differ- ence in the battle to beat cancer. Thank you! Thelma Bode President, Seaforth Branch Alf & Loreen Dale Vice -Presidents Seaforth Branch P.S. On Wednesday, April 26 (tonight) there is a one-night blitz from 6 to 9 p.m. from Northside United Church. If you can spare an hour or so tonight come out and volunteer. Asthma appeal begins Dear Editor, There is perhaps nothing more frightening for a parent than to watch their child struggling to breathe, yet this can be a reality for the parents of five to 10 per cern of Canadian children who suffer from asthma. April marks The Lung Association's ninth annual Asthma Appeal. The goal of this direct mail appeal is to raise both awareness and funds to continue supporting medical research and community asthma programs. Programs such as the Air Force Family Asthma Pro- gram, asthma information evenings and in-service sessions for teachers aim to help those with asthma, as well as their families and care givers, better manage and cope with this disease. Asthma is the principle cause of school absences due to chronic illness and the leading cause of hospital admission among preschoolers. Many adults are affected by asthma too, with symp- toms often developing in mid-life. Although this chronic disease can be controlled by proper medication, it can be very senous and diagnoses of asthma are on the increase. Funds raised from the 1995 Asthma Appeal will support medi- cal research and help us continue to provide valuable asthma programs right here in Perth and Huron Counties. Thank you for your kind support. Sincerely, Clayton Hefrey, Volunteer President The Lung Association, Huron -Perth Counties Opinion That rare bird, the timber doodle Usually book reviews are written within a few months of a book being published and prefer- ably when the author is still alive. But this an exception. I wasn't born when this book was originally published in 1939 (in fact my parents were only a year old at the time). But I was roam- ing around the planet though, when the Huron County Histori- cal Society republished Gavin Hamilton Green's The Old Log School in 1992. And just recently, I was given a copy by Paul Carroll, who wrote a few pages of acknowl- edgements, edited the introduc- tion of the reissue and wrote a review on the back cover. 1 honestly though when I picked up this book that it would be a semi -interesting account of how some old schoolboy got rapped on the knuckles when he was bad and how school was much better when you received a regular whipping. But Gavin Green was no ordinary writer. He has insights and adventures that stretch far beyond the con- fines of a one -room school- house and touch on the reason for our existence. But Green did receive his (un)fair share of whippings as a schoolboy. His life stretched almost 100 years from a student in Colborne Township to proprietor of Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe in Goderich and major contributor to the Huron County Pioneer Museum - even though at a very young age he had three close brushes with death. One of those brushes at 'the age of two involved his uncle John giving young Gavin a tin cup of whiskey when his parents were away. Gavin passed out for 48 hours, much to the anxiety of his family, before finally coming to. Just when you start to think your life in the 1990s might be a little strenuous, Green takes you back to a time when work really was work. How about picking berries in the summer as a kid and then walking eight miles to sell them? Green walked from Shapardton to Goderich with a pail of raspberries suspended on a pole that was carried by him and his brother, David. They walked around town until they found a buyer. And that was just a kid's summer job. In school, Green had many laughs but also a few whippings along the way - once, because he had trouble spelling. One funny incident he relates is about a teacher at Sheppardton school teaching a nature lesson and a very polite boy. "The teacher says, 'Well, now, Frank, can you tell me what kind of bird it is. It has a red head, speckled feathers and gets his dinner out of old stub trees, and you can hear hammer, hammer with his beak on the old stub tree?' Frank says, 'Yes, master; that is a timber doodle.' He thought it impolite to say 'Wood -pecker. It brought down the house," wrote Green. Even the teacher cracked up. The poor boy carried the nick -name "Tim- ber Doodle" from then on. From reading The Old Log School you quickly lean that Gavin Green had a strong belief in religion and the world beyond. Almost every time he mentions someone who has passed away, there is a comment about "the journey's end" or "earthly journey." There are more details on Green's supersti- tions, eccentricities and spiritual- ity in the well-written introduc- tion of The Old Log School. Green also penned another book, The Old Log House, and many articles for the Goderich Signal -Star over the years. Many of the artifacts of Huron County that he'd gathered and displayed at Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe on Hamilton St., Goderich ended up in the pion- eer museum. He was a lover of history and respectful of those who. went before him. Most of all, I think, he loved a good story. And if it wasn't for Green, we wouldn't have accounts, for instance, of the "Strong, Men of Colboume." It's hard to know whether these stories are 100 per cent truthful or whether the feats of strength have a pound of legend added for each passing year but they are great tales of the past. The characters leap from the pages and stick in your memory. There's John Buchanan who carried eleven bushels of wheat (at 60 pounds each) the length of a barn floor and back and claimed he could have carried fifteen if they could have piled it on him. Then tavern -keeper Anthony Allen, who could take two men, one in each hand, hold them out at arm's length and crack their heads and heels together to keep order when the "wild, bad boys of Goderich" came by his pub. And what about Gavin Green's grandfather, Andrew, who carried a barrel of whiskey (500 pounds) from the dock in Goderich to the Crown and Anchor Hotel at Gairbraid, one and one-half miles over a bush road, through the John Galt property. Gavin was no string bean either. He presented "an impos- ing figure and seemed much taller than his just -over -six foot frame," according to accounts. There are many more curios- ities, strong men, funny tales and stories of the past in Green's book. If you want to take a step backward in time and learn the secret story of dust, you can pick up a copy of The Old Log School soon at the Homecoming '95 store on Main Street, Seaforth, with part of the pro- ceeds from the sale of each book going toward the Homecoming. Copies are also available from Paul Carroll, president of Huron County Historical Society. • David Scott is a resident and native of Seaforth. His columns have appeared in The Lakeshore Advance, Huron Expositor and London Free Press. Flashback This photograph which appeared on a postcard was taken on Seaforth's Main Street during the Spring Fair In years agone. Date unknown. Jack Wade Is In the buggy on the extreme right showing his team, and William Connell Is sitting In the carriage with him. Postcard courtesy of Edith Baker. POW released from camp FROM THE PAGES OF THE HURON EXPOSITOR, MAY 10, 1$95 William Dixon, of Brucefield, met with a painful accident. While cleaning his horse the halter shank broke and the horse made a bolt for liberty, throwing him down in the stalk, Before he could regain his feet the horse returned and stepped on him, breaking two ribs. * * * The mason work on the House of Refuge has been commenced. The Salvation Army held an open air service in Egmondville. • ** Gypsies have made their first appearance in Kippen. It is a sure sign that summer is nigh. MAY 7, 1920 Peter McKenzie of Tuckersmith had the misfortune to have his shoulder dislocated. When going to Kippen his horses shied and he was thrown from the* buggy. J. F. Daly, Ford dealer, reports that the sale of Fords has never been as large as this season, up to date, he has made delivery to the • following: Louis Devereaux, sedan; J. Wesley Beattie, sedan, Dr. Chas. Mackay, coupe; Dr. F. J. Burrows, coupe; J. R. McDonald, coupe. The following have purchased touring cars: Albert Smale, Mr. Dexter, W. Kerslake, W. J. Walker & Sons, Chas. Barber, Mr, Forbes, J. D. Gemmell, S. T. Holmes, Joan ▪ ** One of the most serious fires that has visited Seaforth in some years occurred when the large brick mill In the Years Agone of the Canadian Flax Mills Limited, in the east end of the town, was completely destroyed by fire. * * * Miss Isabelle Cummings, a for- mer resident here and sister of John Cummings, was appointed secretary of the Department of Agriculture, provincial government and has the distinction of being the first woman in Canada to be appointed to such a position. MAY 4,194S Mrs. Bertha M. Habkirk, Seaforth, received a cablegram from England on Monday stating that her son, W/O. George Sterling Habkirk, was recently released from a German prison camp. * * * Mr. and Mrs. John L. Devereaux, Huron Highway East, received word this week through the International Red Cross, that their son, P/O Francis Gerrard Devereaux, R.C.A.F., had been killed in action in Belgium on May 28, 1944. A year ago this month his parents received notice that he was reported missing after an operational flight over enemy territory but no further news was received until this week. When, however, the Allied armies freed Belgium, his grave was located and the heartbreaking news of his death conveyed to Mr. and Mrs. Devereaux. ** Mr, and Mrs. A. D. Cardno cel- ebrated their golden wedding anni- versary on April 21, 1945, at their residence, 566 Langside Street, Winnipeg. A public reception was held in Looby's Hall, Dublin, in honour of Pte. Clayton Looby and Pte. Edward Hart, who have recently returned from overseas, having been in action in Italy for the past three years. MAY 7, 1970 Police are investigating a $4,000 theft of copper cable from the Hydro substauon east of Seaforth. OPP Constable Ray Primeau of the Seaforth Detachment, said the theft was reported the end of last month. * * * Constable Lloyd Eisler was recently appointed to the Seaforth Police Force. A native of Scaforth, he served for 14 years in the Cana- dian Navy. Constable Eisler suc- ceeds Constable Sandy Hawkins who has resigned. * ** Huron County residents will pay less in county taxes this year it was revealed by the clerk -treasurer John Berry at Thursday's meeting of Huron County Council in Goderich. * * * Neil Bell was named president of the Seaforth Legion Bowling League at their annual banquet and dance in the Legion Hall on Satur- day. Drivers were impressed with Seaforth police To the Editor: Recently my elderly aunt and uncle were driving into Seaforth to keep an appointment at the Seaforth Hospital. As they were driving into town from Clinton, they blew a tire on their car and were forced to pull over on the side of Goderich Street. A few minutes passed and they were approached by a Seaforth Police Officer - who obviously realized they had a problem. They expressed concerns to him about keeping their appointment time at the hospital. The officer then drove them to the hospital and made arrangements to have their tire repaired. The car was then taken up to the Seaforth Hospital to be ready for them. They were both very pleased and thankful that the Town of Seaforth has such a thoughtful and caring police force! Dianne Mero Reader enjoys Easter column Dear Editor, It took a measure of courage forethought for you to write - 'Easter Bunny Poor Mascot for Season' for The Expositor - issue April 12. As I read it, my respect and admiration for your planned sub- jects and your writings - soared - like the skylark steadily upward. Please write more true stories for us. Thank you. Winifred Glen Seaforth Class reunion to be held in Stratford Dear Editor, Attention: 1950 to 1960 students who attended the Stratford Colle- giate Vocational Institute. You are cordially invited to a class reunion called 'Back to the Fifties' - May 17 and 18 1996 - mark your calen- dars now and plan to attend. Loca- tion is the Coliseum in Stratford. Registration will be held on Friday evening. Saturday will feature a dinner and dance. Come meet old school buddies, mates, and friends, at this gala event. Mark your calendars now...see you in '96. Committee Executive Reg White, Pat Koch, Rosemarie Chcslock, Thelma Smith Mailing Address "Back to the Fifties" Box 475, Tavistock, Ontario NOB 2R0 Thelma Smith Secretary, Back to the Fifties Committee Stratford A