HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 1999-06-02, Page 44 -.TNI 111,111011 IXPOSITOR, dune 2, 1929
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Published weekly by Signal -Star Publishing at 100 Main 51., Seaforth. Publication
mad registration No. 0696 held at Seaforth, Ontario. Advertising is accepted on
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Wednesday, June 2, 1999
lNNriel nod Msheoss Offices - 100 Mete Slreet.,feelerlh
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Editorial
City media
overlooks Seaforth
Once again, small town Ontario has been
overlooked. Surprisingly, not by the politicians this
time but by the media that follow them.
liberal leader Dalton McGuinty made a sudden
but planned visit to a Seaforth farm this week.
He arrived with literally a bus load of television
news crews and radio and newspaper reporters
tasked with following the liberal campaign.
Once here, in the only completely rural riding in
Ontario (the others are at least attached to cities),
McGuinty made announcements relating to his
party's agriculture platform; announcements that
hadn't been made before.
McGuinty himself pointed out to the rolling
cameras that agriculture is the second largest
industry in Ontario and stressed the importance of
the announcements he was making.
They failed to see the importance of agricultural
issues on a huge percentage of the province's
population and instead, reported on comments and
issues raised relating to health care and education
at stops in Sarnia and Stratford that day; the same
issues that have been commented on time and
again already.
In their city -focussed mind -set, they missed what
was new. They missed the news.
Perhaps it was because they left the highway and
travelled do no less than two gravel roads to reach
' the McIntosh farm, hosts of the stop. They had a
sense they were in the middle of nowhere, where
you couldn't hit the broadside of'a neighbour's barn
with a rock when they are used to living spitting
distance from a neighbour's wall in their city
confines.
Perhaps that sense of being in the middle of
nowhere is why they didn't see the importance of
reporting on issues that relate only to the hundreds
of thousands of voters who live outside the confines
of Toronto and other major cities.
Small towns have often been the victims of
government decisions based on city -thinking but if
the media can't identify with the bigger picture that's
out there, that inward looking focus of the cities will
never change.
STH
Opinion
1111=111M1
It's harder to support a board
more concerned about trustees
To the Editor:
As a parent with children in the
Avon -Maitland public school system,
let me congratulate The Huron'
Expositor on not being afraid to
present,your community with a parent
perspective on education issues such
as the article entitled "Parents Not In
Favour Of Limiting Number of Board
Delegations."
Parents are being given the
opportunity to be involved with the
education in a number of pro -active
ways. Lt's nice to know that you value
parental views and opinions.
With respect to the article written by
reporter Susan Hundertmark, I'd like to
comment further on what parents
Lafontaine and Agar, and taxpayer
Smith have to say about the decision
made by the Avon -Maitland board to
essentially down -size community and
student representation on the "whim"
of trustees who claim not to have
sufficient discussion time or
representation.
I find the decision to decrease the
number of student representatives to
two from 10 unacceptable. At a time
when most boards in this province are
increasing the student voice(the voice
which boards claim to put first), ours
takes a step backwards.
At a time when parents are
developing confidence and showing
more interest than ever in education in
this province, again, our board moves
in a direction contrary to the others.
1 am constantly hearing from some,
that parents don't care about education
in this community, yet the resolve
parents showed when the board
threatened their schools with closure
tells me that caring goes deep, and
given the opportunity to turn voices
into action, parents are up to the job.
It's becoming harder to support a
board that is more concerned with
making life easier for trustees, than
they are with fair and necessary
student/parent/and taxpayer
representation. • -
Cathy Cove
Goderich
Canada's past has no shortage of heroes
Much of the history of the
United States has been written
in a flag-waving style. It tells
Americans of their glorious
past and their heroic
forefathers and stirs up their
patriotic adrenaline juices.
They are openly proud of their
country, their flag, their
national anthem and their heritage.
History records few places in the world
where soldiers on both sides of a cruel
and deadly civil war are treated equally
as heroes. A nation and a people so
diverse and competitive - yet so singly
focused on the pride they have in their
country and its institutions.
Canada's past has been just as exciting
with no shortage of heroes. Yet our text
book version of the history of our
country seems somehow sanitized.
Remember the detective in Dragnet...?
"Just the fact ma'am". Indeed we have
some excellent historians. Off the top of
my head I can think of Donald
Creighton, Joseph Schull, Desmond
Morton, Pierre Berton, Bill Kilbourn
and Peter Newman. I know there are
others. But Canadian history has not
been a big ticket item in our schools for
a long time. For some reason many
Canadians think history is for nerds.
Someone once said, "One of the
reasons history repeats itself is that so
many people weren't listening the first
time". Although not from Canada's
past, the following bit if history might
interest you.
Daniel was a lieutenant in the
American army. He planned to enter
medicine after the war. He had always
dreamed of becoming a doctor. In April,
1945, near the town of San Terenzo, his
dream was shattered. The ridge he was.
on came under fire from a bunker
manned by Italian soldiers fighting in
support of the Germans. A little more
time might have made a difference, a
few days later, on May 2nd, the
Germans in Italy surrendered.
There was no cover on the embattled
ridge so Dan climbed up the hill alone,
to reconnoiter. He was hit by machine
gun fire as he was taking out a hand
grenade. He was knocked to the ground,
but managed to get up and pull the pin.
He ran to within a few yards of the
nearest of three machine guns
emplacements and lobbed the grenade
into their position. As the gunners
struggled to their feet he raked them
with his hand-held machine gun.
His men were still pinned down by
enemy fire, and although he was
Clare Westcott
bleeding from the stomach, he
staggered further up the hill and threw
two more grenades into the. second gun
position. Dragging himself toward the
third machine gun, he fell again but
managed to pull the pin on another
grenade: As he was about to throw it,
enemy fire took away much of his right
arm. His men began to leave their cover
to help him but he ordered them back.
He tossed the grenade with his good left
hand and destroyed the gun4position.
With his right arm almost severed and
dangling at his side he held the gun in
his left hand and finished off the enemy.
He was hit in his right leg and fell down
the hill. He refused to be evacuated
until he was sure all the men in his
command were deployed to defensible
positions.
He killed twenty-five of the enemy.
Eight were captured. His right arch had
to be amputated. His dream of
becoming a doctor was over. Dan was
awarded the distinguished service cross.
The combined chiefs had ordered
Eisenhower to invade Italy in early
September, 1943. Montgomerys Eight
Army came ashore at the Calabria Toe
on September 3rd. On September 9th,
General Mark Clarke's American 5th
Army waded ashore thirty miles south
of Naples, to spend almost two fighting
its way north.
The 20 -month campaign in Italy was
vital to the war. The allied commanders
were certain the Italians would
surrender once their country was
invaded. If Germany had to shoulder the
entire burden of the defense of Italy,
Hitler would have to take divisions
from the Russian front and deploy
German units that might otherwise be
used to fight off an inevitable invasion
of France. It followed that the tougher
the allied pursued the war in Italy,t he
more German soldiers would have.o be
drawn from other fronts. At the same
time, additional German troops would
be needed to keep the Italian people
under control. The war in Italy was an
important part of the strategy leading to
an allied victory in Europe.
One group of young men who
displayed physical and moral heroism
of the highest order were those of the
442nd Regimental Combat
Team, part of the American 5th
Army that came ashore south
of Naples on September 9th,
1943. The 442nd fought in
eight major campaigns in
Italy, southern France, the
Rhineland and central Europe.
The grenade -throwing
lieutenant who lost his arm leading a
platoon_ of the 2nd Battalion of the
442nd on a ridge in San Terenzo was
one of them, Incredible as his bravery
was, it was not unusual for this group of
fighting men. Their tenacious courage
became a legend in the U.S. aniny."The
442nd Regimental Combat Team won
seven presidential citations. High
ranking army commanders regarded
them as the best assault troops in 'the
American army.
They were known for their unique
enthusiasm and cheerfulness which they
took into action. They fought their way
up craggy ridges battling the winter
shrouded Vosges mountains in a daring
and courageous rescue of the men of the
36th Texas infantry division - and they
suffered 800 casualties.
The 100th Infantry Battalion of the
442nd suffered so many dead and
wounded in the fighting at Monte
Cassino that it earned the nickname
"The Purple.Heart Battalion".
Theirs is truly a story of valor and
sacrifice. The men of the 442nd
Regimental Combat Team won 18,143
decorations, including 52 distinguished
service crosses, one distinguished
service medal, 560 silver'stars - 22 with
oak leaf clusters, 22 legions of merit,.
4000 bronze stars, 12 Croix De Guerre
and 9,486 Purple Hearts. The
Congressional Medal of Honour,
America's highest military honour, was
awarded posthumously to a private of
the 442nd. The audacious combat team
suffered the highest casualty rate of any
American unit in the war.
And Daniel, who wanted to be a
doctor but lost his arm in a village in
northern Italy, was elected to the United
States Congiess after the war and now
sits as a member of the U.S. Senate.
Dan and his buddies in the "Go for
Broke" 442nd Regimental Combat
Team fought bravely in eight major
campaigns in World. War Ii. The 442nd
was the most decorated unit in
American military history.
And every soldier in it...including
Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye. was
Japanese.
Londesboro home wired for electricity and in running order
June 2, 1899
Geo. Campbell of St. Joseph has gone up the lake for a
load of lumber, posts and shingles. This is the third load
brought into the village in the last eighteen months.
Messr. N and A. Masse of St. Joseph have opened up a
new industry in the shape of a lime kiln. •
Scarlett fever is very prevalent in the Village of Staffa
and several schools are closed on that account.
Arthur Forbes of town has added four very handsome
and stylish new buggies to his already complete livery
stock. One special one was made by Fred Hess of Zurich.
The old Downey barn on John St. is being torn down
and removed. This is another of the old landmarks to
disappear.
During the storm recently, a tree on E.C. Coleman's
farm was struck by lightning.
A heavy rain storm passed over Tuckersmith and was
accompanied by a very high wind. The mof on Alex
Buchanan's barn was torn off and scattered in all
directions.
G.W. Horn of Tuckersmith sold his carriage house to W.
Cunningham at a good figure.
Duncan McLaren of Hibbert is having a fine large bunk
barn erected on his farm. The concrete work was done by
F Gumeridge of Seaforth and Alex Ross of Brucefield is
going the framing.
McEwen Bros. of Stanley are busily engaged making
shingles in J.T. Mark's swamp, where they have erected a
shingle mill. •
The Ladies Aid of Duffs Church, Walton, held their
annual garden party on McQuaig's lawn.
James McArthur of Hensall is excavating for the
foundations fir his fine new brick dwelling on his farm
adjoining the village.
In the Years Agone
May 30, 1924
George Munn of Manley had the misfortune of having
his house destroyed by fire. With the high winds it was
impossible to save it.
Pete McLaughlin of Beechwood has the contract of
painting Joe O'Rourke's verandah.
Wm. McLean of Hensall has taken a position as junior
in the Molsons Bank here.
Congratulations are extended to Harvey Burrows, R. W.
Bristow and Garnet Chapman of town who have
successfully passed their final examination for the Degree
of Dental Surgery in Toronto.
Thos. Grieve of town, left last week for Monetville to
visit his son, T C. Grieve.
B.B. Stevenson of Constance had a freak in the form of a
four -legged chicken, hatched last week.
Mr. and Mrs. James Campbell of Londesboro have had
their house wired for electric light, which is now in
running order,
W Brigham of Londsbom who had a severe attack of
blood poisoning in his (land, is getting along nicely.
lune 3, 1949
The death occurred of J. Wesley Free for 42 years a
familiar and highly respected figure on Seaforth's Main
Street. In 1914, he was married to May Isabelle McLellan
of Tuckersmith.
Robert Scott, 13 -year-old son of Mr and Mrs. James T.
Scott, Roxboro, shot a horned owl as he was hunting in
Sam Scott's bush. It had a wing span of 52 inches and was
a vicious looking bird.
Mr. and Mrs. Sol Williams' family presented them with a
radio for their 48th anniversary.
Mrs. Henry Taylor of George St. Seaforth will celebrate
her 90th birthday on June 7. Mrs. Taylor was born in
Hullett of Scotch parentage. - •.
Prime Minister St. Laurent, who this week is visiting
Huron -Perth for the first time, continues to prove himself
as the dominant figure in Canadian Public Life.
Approximately 100 children took advantage of the
inoculations service at St. Patrick's Separate School when
Dr. M.W. Stapleton administered a combined serum to
counteract diphtheria, lock-jaw and whooping cough.
W J. Dale of Constance, the well-known horseman has
been successful at the recent spring shows.
May 30, 1974
John Lyndon, manager of the Park Theatre and Mustang
Drive -In in Goderich was nominated as the Liberal
candidate for Huron -Middlesex in Clinton last Monday
night.
The Huron -Perth County Roman Catholic School Board
apppproved a three-year contract with their custodians in
Seaforth Monday night.
7 e Seaforth District High School Girl's Trumpet Band
appeared in the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, in
Inkster, Michigan. They also appeared on the Detroit
Channel 2 news. On June 8, the band will sponsor a
reunion of all past band members dating back to 1957.
Seaforth's 1975 Centennial should be marked with some
concrete project which will add needed facilities to the
town, the Centennial Committee decided. The committee is
soliciting suggestions from citizens on what kind of
permanent memorial would be most useful and popular. A
permanent 400 metre track at the high school was
suggested
•