HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1981-06-25, Page 4Page 4
Citisens N•ws June 25. 1981
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Volunteers show Zurich spirit
A village doesn't get to be 125 years old without a
spirit of common purpose and honest efforts to back it
up.
For months now a dedicated group of Zurich
citizens have been meeting to discuss and organize a
five day festival to celebrate Zurich's 125 years.
But five days of activities and the weeks of promo-
tion and advanced ticket sales is an enormous job and
the job thus far is just the tip of the iceberg.
The festival itself will be the real test — not just of
planning, but a test of Zurich's spirit of common pur-
pose and its honest efforts.
"By the time we're finished," said committee
chairman Fred Haberer," we're going to need a lot
more help."
The committee is to be commended for its efforts,
and those who have thus far volunteered their time and
efforts are to be commended as well.
What about you?
System puts new drivers on trial
On Monday of last week new regulations for begin-
ning drivers came into effect. Young people and those
who have not held an Ontario driver's licence for two
years are affected.
In both cases new drivers will be on a probationary
basis, during which as accumulation of six demerit
points for driving infractions will automatically bring
a three-month suspension of the licence. (Under a nor-
mal licence 15 points are required for suspension).
After a new driver has completed two years of motor
vehicle operation without a suspension the
probationary status will be lifted.
Perhaps many young people will see the new
regulation as yet another descriminatory act by the
adult world. Better, however, they should bear a cer-
tain amount of resentment than become occupants of
caskets or hospital beds. The decision to place new
drivers, particularly the younger ones, on probation
has resulted from the undeniable statistics of accident
frequency, vehicle accident deaths and injuries. The
probation system will automatically deny the use of
our streets and highways to those who have proven
that they, have endangered their own lives and those of
other motorists.
One of the most shocking statistics of our society has
been the staggering number of young people who have
died or suffered crippling injuries in vehicle accidents.
At times the figures have reached the proportions of
mass slaughter. No community, not even the smallest,
has been spared the agony of young people killed at the
very time of life when the promise of maturity and
usefulness is just over the horizon. Police officers,
doctors and hospital staff people, those who must deal
with these tragedies first hand, have been sickened by
the carnage.
If the new regulation leads to any reasonable reduc-
tion in highway deaths and injuries it will be well
worthwhile.
The Wingham Advance -Times
Csnarian
MST WITH IOCAI MENS
PubMshed Each Wednesday Sy J.W. Eedy Publkatlons Ltd.
Member:
Weekly Newspapers Association
Amami Weekly
Newspapers Association
News Editor Rob Chester
Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385
Subscription Rates: $8.50 per year in advance in Canada 519.50 per year outside Canada Single copies 254
By
ROB CHESTER
About the end of July, 1900, this notice appeared in
the Exeter Times.
The Herald is the name of the new paper published
in the village of Zurich by D. Dyer. The first number is
a credible issue and gives evidence of receiving fair
support. The project however, seems to us to be very
speculative; the field already being overcrowded, and
the village small, without railroad or steamboat com-
munication. Its career will certainly be checkered. We
wish the publisher success.
In 100, the Zurich Herald sold for $1 per year. It
featured less than one-half page of local news (on the
front page along with premium advertising) and the
rest was made up of world news and American
features.
It reported: allied troops in China were marching
to relieve the besieged city of Peking, during the Box-
er rebellion; the British were tangling with Boers in
South Africa; the Great Northern railway was robbed
(perhaps the work of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch !) ;
taxi cabs were on strike in Paris; and Zurich readers
(as if world news wasn't exciting enough) thrilled to
the serialized adventure "A Leap in the Dark" by Lady
Hardy.
There is a certain amount of innocent preten-
tiousess portrayed by these early issues of Zurich's
newspaper, but these reports took place in a time when
there were few other sources of news; there was no
television, no radio, and daily newspapers were to be,
found only in the larger centres.
In those days a weekly could report credibly on
world events, Local news, while holding the front
page, only superficially covered happenings in the
village, as local news was only one of the many func-
tions of the newspaper.
Nestled amoungst the world happenings, between
rather lurid accounts of marriage scandals and
murders and tucked between the odd bit of Canadian
news (Laurier's reelection in 1900; or the 1901 census
which counted a Canadian population of 5,338,883) was
corrospondence from Hensall, Varna, , Dashwood,
Blake and even Exeter.
As the world, and the Herald's coverage, slid slow-
ly into World War I, the paper's world oriented
emphasis began to change.
It's hard to say in hindsight what Zurich's attitude
to the was was. The paper reflected an almost am-
bivalent, uninvolved stance. Local news—who was
visiting whom — still dominated page one. Early
issues in the year detailed the war's beginnings in the
Balkans (Serbia) and a later issue included a well pos-
ed picture of German troops (the enemy) at Bivouac,
while buried inside on page three was a report on the
German defeat on the Marne.
The war became sterner when the Herald ran ar-
ticles on the food shortages, but in the eyes of the
paper the was seemed to have little effect on Zurich.
The changes continued until in 1939, this appeared:
War Has dun
"With this week (Sept. 7, 1939) we regret that we
are called upon to announce that the hot bed of Europe
is aflame with war..."
Nazi Germany had invaded Poland the previous
Friday. Zurich's newspaper announced the start of
World War Two with a headline no bigger that that.
But again it is hard in hindsight to determine
effects or attitudes. Late '39 was the time of the so-
called `phoney war', when France actually invaded
Germany. The war, and Hitler, could have dis-
appeared in a tiny border clash.
Technically the printing quality of the paper had
been steadily improving. Old line drawings gave way
to photographs from abroad, and one can estimate the
day when the newspaper bought its first camera —
sometime in April, the paper printed its first
photograph of the village.
The next highlight of the history of both Zurich and
its newspaper would be the Zurich Centenial - 1956.
Surely 100 years would be celebrated with a flashy
issue.
Perhaps it was.
There are only two sets of micro -film documenting
the paper's early years.
The July, 1956, issue celebrating Zurich's 100th
Please turn !a page5