HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-09-24, Page 7Page 6 Times -Advocate, September 24, 1997
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Rural fall fairs keep us in touch with our roots
r fall fairs were started as a
celebration of agriculture, and to en-
courage improvements in products,
with prizes for the largest squash, the
most perfect ear of corn, the best cattle,
the flakiest pie crust and the tastiest
pickles.
The idea wasn't new. The tradition of
gathering together with friends and
family to celebrate a bountiful harvest
is as old as agriculture itself. From the
time humans first started to plant and
harvest; instead of just roaming 'around
looking for food, the end of summer
and beginning of fall has been a time to
give thanks; to gaze with pleasure at
baskets filled with apples; to relax after
the hard work of cultivating, gathering
and preserving for winter. The fall fair,
in its many guises, has always been part
of that.
With the urbanization of Canadian so-
ciety over the past few decades, the
midway has gradually taken precedence
over the agricultural displays at, the
larger fairs. Most people attend the Ca-
nadian National Exhibition in Toronto,
or London's Western Fair, for the en-
tertainment and excitement. They want
the candy floss, the top -name perform-
ers, the chance to win enormous plush
toys. They might drop in at the agricul-
ture building to view a horse show or
-taste the bacon=on-a-bun, but they don't
stay long, not when there's a neW ride
guaranteed to challenge even the
strongest stomach.
An accidental encounter with an agri-
cultural exhibit at the CNE leaves city
kids giggling and holding their noses.
But to those many who earn their living
directly from agriculture, that whiff of
apple cider and cow manure is the
sweet smell of success.
And that is the smell that continues to
permeate the many small, rural fall fairs
throughout this area. These fall fairs
don't relegate the livestock and vegeta-
bles to an isolated corner. At a rural fall
fair, it's the midway that occupies the
far field, while the 4-H calf show and
Women's Institute pie tasting are the
main events.
There's a bit of nostalgia at most of
these fairs - demonstrations with horse
drawn plows; making fudge from .
scratch. But you also see the most mod-
ern farm machinery prominently dis-
played.
There's a bit of silliness - "bossy bin-
go" and the like. But you get to have a
lot of fun without emptying your wallet.
Yes, there's entertainment, but the
country music doesn't have a Nashville
twang. One of the tap dancers babysits
your neighbor's kids, and the master of
ceremonies teaches at the local high
school. Make no mistake, though; the
stars of the show may be home grown,
but they are surprisingly talented, a de-
light to watch and listen to.
The occasional refugee from the city
who shows up at a rural fall fair tends to
be intrigued by the variety and quality
livestock and produce, the delicious
food at the various booths, and the fact
that everyone, young and old, is having
a good time. •
Agriculture is a complex and fascinat-
ing industry, something clearly demon-
strated by our rural fall fairs. They cele-
brate the vital role agriculture has
played, and continues to play, in the de-
velopment of this country.
But mostly they're fun.
Reprinted from Saugeen City News
Your View
Letters to the;Editor
PUCise
...any major changes that may
render these services should be
closely studied."
Dear Editor:
"Hats off' to Mr. Greene for his intelligent com-
ments on our PUC in his letter in last week's paper.
After continuously reading about "restructuring to
save costs" it was both refreshing and enlightening
icient
to read positive notes with regards to our service as
• it exists today!
I believe as in so many people of our town that
our current services supplied to us by our PUC are
not only efficient during "storms" but efficient 365
days a year and that any major changes that may ren-
der these services should be closely studied.
Sincerely,
A. Skinner
A View from Queen's Park
By Eric Dowd
TORONTO-- Ontario voters have given an
indication of what they will be looking for in
the next election, and it raises tough questions
for Premier Mike Harris and his opponents. In
a series of polls, Harris's Progressive Conser-
vatives have fallen in popularity to about 33 per
cern, behind the Liberals' 46 per cent land
ahead of the New Democrats' 17 per cent.
But the polls have stressed also that a strong
majority believes Hams is "on the right track"
or "headed in the right direction." Harris's basic
route clearly is cutting government spending
and the deficit and at the same time reducing
income tax.
But many who like the idea of cuts have
been Tess happy when they are applied to ser-
vices close to them, particularly hospitals and
social services.
In plotting their course for an election about
1999, the Tories do not have the option of
abandoning cuts even if they wanted to. Prom-
A 1919-1904
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Missiles and musings.
By Craig Bradford
Cowardice in Lucan and where's the Wonder?
Cowardice has reared its ugly
head in Lucan.
Some political pundit paid Cana-
da Post $50 so they could share
their thoughts on the Nov. 10 mu-
nicipal election and throw some lit-
erary punches at each councillor to
boot.
The letter starts off not unlike
many letters to the editor common-
ly received during an election race.
It tells people to put up or shut -up:
stop belly -aching to your friends
and lovers at the donut shop about.
how. council goofs off and do some-
thing about it. Run for office if
ydu've got all those good ideas or
at least show up at the polls come
election day. •
If the letter stopped there it
would've been a darn good letter to
the editor. But it takes a nasty, dan-
gerous curve by taking on each
councillor one by one starting with
.Reeve Rob Brady. It attacks Brady
for a lack of leadership then accus-
es him as well as Deputy Reeve
Harry Wraith and Councillor Reg
Crawford for profiting at their busi-
nesses through their actions as
councillors.
That's libelous, and if the letter's
author had named themselves a
more litageous council could sue
for defamation of character and
possibly win because the letter is
malicious in intent, could be proven
to damage the councillors' reputa-
tions and hurt their business. But
that's if anyone swallows such foul
gobblelygoep contained in an anon-
ymous letter.
The village policy on -such rub-
bish as unsigned or anonymous let-
ters is to read them and then throw
them in file #13 — that is, throw
them where rubbish belongs, even
if good ideas are contained within.
If someone has something they
feel worthy enough to share with an
entire village (though those who've
told Canada Post they don't want
unaddressed mail missed out), they
should be confident enough to put
their name behind it and include a
phone number where they can be
reached .so others can serenade
them with compliments or com-
plaints. Otherwise keep those opin-
ions, whether positive or negative,
to yourself.
By the way, just about everything
I write comes with a byline and I
can be reached by calling 235-1331.
Squirrel droppings •
Being an inquisitive person by na-
ture as a reporter and in town for
only a few months.- 1 recently tried
to track down Exeter's elusive tour-
ist -attracting white squirrel while
walking around this lovely town.
But could 1 find the pink cared
critter? No, but I did see grey,
brown and black squirrels flitting
about in their fall food finding mad-
ness in the parkette everyone tells
me the rodents hang out in.
With my luck, the first time I'II
set eyes on the White Wonder is be-
hind my car after I make road pizza
out of him.
And by the way...I've :heard
white -y has a had attitude and is
known to discriminate against his
brethren with different colorings. A
case of white supremacy perhaps?
One last• thought. Do white squir-
rels have to, ahem, woe other white
squirrels to continue their kind or is
the white gene dominant? Inquiring
minds want to know... -
ising them made Harris premier and without
them he could not achieve his targets of cutting
income tax by 30 per cent and eliminating the
deficit in his first term.
He also has promised many times that he will
resign if he does not meet these goals.
The Tories have some slight room, particular-
ly now that they have more tax revenue coming
in than expected because of the economic boom,
to make their cuts more palatable by being more
selective. They can try to avoid cuts which draw
almost universal condemnation, such as closing
one program for adults who stutter and firing so
many staff at another collecting estranged hus-
bands' support for their families that it became
ineffective. The Tories have more opportunity to
change processes that lowered them in public es-
teem. One has been rushing through many fun-
damental changes in too short a time. pme
were essential for Harris to meet .his financial
timetable, but others, such as weakening rent
Tough questions are raised
controls without doing much to stimulate build-
ing new rental housing, could have waited. The
Tories have lost respect because their haste re-
sulted in ministers introducing legislation
which they did not fully understand or had to be
re -written because of errors, and they should be
able to prepare better.
Harris has not consulted adequately, as some
of his own MPPs and even judges have com-
plained, and even he has started to recognize.
this.
After first refusing, he has met union leaders
and mayors of large cities and has an appear-
ance of listening. The Tories also have an im-
age as abrasive and can avoid comments that
wound without any prospect of gain, the most -
cited recently being Harris's calling a hospital
that he wanted closed "dingy," which appears
minor but the institution is revered by those us-
ing it. The finding that Harris is on the right
track with cuts also has lessons for the opposi-
tion parties. The Liberals under Lyn McLeod
had a death -bed repentance during the 1995
election, but their promise to slash spending by
$4 billion a year came too late for voters to
hear. Now led by Dalton McGuinty, the Liber-
als rebuke Harris daily for his cuts, but will
need to step back and demonstrate that they
also place high priority on prudence to have a
chance of winning an election.
The New Democrats seem to be out of the
running when voters are obsessed with saving
because in government before 1995 they ran up
huge deficits and now never let up attacking
Harris for cuts.
But the NDP was the first government in dec-
ades to cut public spending dramatically when
former premier Bob Rae chopped off $2 billion
a year with his social contract. Today it is too
bent on winning back offended unionists to
mention it.