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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1975-08-21, Page 24ujltet , a•,r ,.:r , P ;,. ...,;.a.p,.„ tit 'r ti l te, ,±us 'orf thIS. .QR„„ I will warn' it that �►" ' future iustriai e panst9n into the strip ofrich far- Intand In the south. Ironically., the. council's roast dramatic a*empie of what is involved is the federal Department of Tran- Thepew'alt as the scientists Mint rout"• is in the best five ir;1t of na '% ranula • and The land that .would be armed can provide annual food- sOPPItitS fqr 414000 1e Unless canada ChangeChangeS its ways, the report is expected to warn, it could become n net food importer by the end of the century. DearEditor: Clinton i 100 years old! That calls for a celebration! A centennial is something to be happy about, especially when you live in a coUntxy such as Canada where we are blessed abtmdadantly with the good things in life. No wander the, ..Clinton people come together on several occasions to show their happiness and thank- fulness. hankfulness. Members of the Christian Reformed Church.arranged for a "Sing Song" evening on July 27. This trio was a happy celebration. The collection taken was sent tone Canadian Hume Bible League in Weston. Ontario, which is a ton -prat'. organization engaged in the distributing of the Bible. The donation received from this church is being use d to distribute copies of the New Testament to school children in Bolivia. Last year the Bolivian Government asked the Bible League for a gift of onemitton copies of tete New Testament in a contemporary translation. "We believe that the study of God's Word is necessary -to maintain the moral fibre of our country", tared the President of Bolivia. Isn't it wdndearuui that people in Clinton, Ontario, can show. their gratefulness for bieiags received over the [fast too years by donating over 150. New Testaments to the Bolivian students. The Bible League wants to express its ap- preciation for this gift. — The Canadian Horne Bible League The snows .of yesteryear _ A friend brought to my notice a news story the other day. He wanted my opinion of its contents. ' The story was headed; Former War Prisoners Hold Prairie Reunion. It stated that more than 500 termer prisoners of war from Britain, : the United States and Canada gathered at Moose Jaw recently for a 30th reunion. The rest of the story was a little nauseating. The reunion was held in "an atmosphere nal unlike the prism camps, they survived in wartime." There was barbed wire, a bazooka, two machine-guns, a German flag, people dressed up in German uniform, and caii c teres of war -time German officers. I gave my reaction to my friend: '3A bunch of middleaged boys clinging to the only real thing that ever happened to them." That sounds harsh, at first glance, if it's possible to glance at something and hear it. But it satisfied by friend. "It's incredible," he said. "I too would like to see. some of my old friends from prison camp, but to talk, not to play games." • I agreed. I would tyke to see some of my old friends from Prison camp. For about half an hour. Not for a three-day reunion, with wives tagging along. And perhaps this is why I don't attend, the annual reunion of former -prisoners-of-war, though I am invited every year. And I guess I'm not the only one. There were 500 at this reunion, from three countries. Where are all the others? There were 10,000 airmen in the camp I was in, only one of A couple o:€- t;theiiiimi imine€€ Wein the -- news story. Guess where the chaps were entertained? In the officers' tress at Moose Jaw. Secondly, it was the first reunioe of POWs in 30 years to be held outside Toronto. What does this suggest? To toe, a little clique of Taranto -based ex -officers who have kept the thing going, for who knows what adolescent satisfaction. Whatever you may y have heard or read elsewhere, prisoners of4ar who were officer didn't suffer' .all that much. I know. I was there.' We were not required to work in factories or mines or, on farms as were "other ranks," I know of no Canadian officer who starved to dearly, though grub was mighty slim in the last few !tenths.' Perhaps one in 1,000 'was beaten tip for misdemeanor. I was one of them, and it was my own fault. It was no bed of roses, and l don't minimize the skill and daring of those who tried to escape, but, looking back, it was all juvenile and Boy Scoutish : lookouts, secret passwords, disguises. caving -in tunnels, interminable plannigg, and end results about as dramatic as one degree Celsius. There Was suffering, of course, but it was not beatings and torture and starvation, not for Cpnadians. It was not physical, but psychological. As far as military discipline went, most of the bodies had far more freedom than they had had on their units. But there was the simple fact that you were in jail, and somebody would shoot you if you tried to get out (quite the opposite 'to modern Canadian jails). .. And them was the great feeling of waste, of knowing that the best years of your life were going down the drain, while other young men were kissing girls and drinking beer and staying up all night and doing an the other foolish things young then do. There was . boredom and monotony and stagnation and frustration and a little lruriking fear that the latrine rumors might be true — that Hitler had ordered the SS to eliminate all P.O.W.s when Germany faced ultimate defeat. But there were compensations. There was a tremendous sense of oneness against the enemy. There was the fascinating meeting of different idea and cultures, a great and almost immediate education in itself. Throw into one room the following: a young actor from the London stage; a kid from a prairie farm, a Glasgow toughie, a Dublin hooligan, an Australian sheep fanner, a Welsh poet, a Rhodesian schoolboy, a Nor- wegian railworker. That's a bare sample. Toss in an American . from California and a West 'Indian singing calypsos and a Belgian bookmaker ;Aida Polish count and a few other assorted odds and sods, and you have a typical group --at least in my camp. I wonder where they all are? Most of them, cerin, sliest long waryfa*awmtd a small group from Toronto whose members can afford to fly to a convention and try to recapture something that is gone forever. For the same reason, I have stopped going to reunions of old fighter pilots. I went to ar couple. Enjoyed them. But there is a tendency to maud'linisrn, .exaggeration and downright lying about long -gone days. These pot-bellied bald, wife -ridden, - right -leaning, class, - conscious, middle-aged poops are my old comrades? No way. ,„ . > • My memories of prison camp and fighter - piloting are far more fun than meeting some red-faced paunch who roars over the noise from the bar: ""Hey, yeah! Aren't you Jack? Jack Wiley? Yeah! We were at Sagan •.together. (I was at Barth). Wancha tameet the wife." • All "the wife" wants is, not to Meet me, but to be sure that George is on his feet for the final evening's ball, at which she will peer, with her sad, crumpled 50 -year old face, at all the other sad, crumpled50-year old ladies and wonder what the hell the kids are up. to white she's hoofing it up in Moose Jaw. I told a little of this to my friend. He un- derstood. He was a German officer with Rommel, badly wounded in North Africa, spent three years in a U.S. prison camp. and is no* a Canadian cil zen. Where are the snows of yesteryear? ( 1N" rlN NEW EHHA Established IMS THE MOWN NEWS -RECORD tsoohfished test .A free bird The sudden death of Erwin the Budgie, just two days before his first birthday. has lined me up irrevocably, I fear, with those virhocrusade against the keeping of caged birds. The conviction really began two years ago when Uncle Gordon. ingratiating himself with his adoring nieces, bought them a yellowish and extremely lethargic budgie called Dickie. The rest of the family accepted Dickie without strain, but my relationship withthe bird was purely emotional, a conflict between a guilt -induced distaste for him ("Why don't you chirp or something?' I. once barked at it) and the pity that is felt naturally for any creature denied itsfreedom. Well, when I wrote a column about this a woman who is in the bird -pet businesswrote me generously offering to replace Dickie with a happier sort. This is how we acquired Erwin. The lady in question had suggested several other names. including Winkie. Stinker, Mr. Chips. Blue Boy, Romeo, Gaylord and Snooky but none of these seemed to fit somehow. I couldn't see myself calling any bird "Gaylord". Erwin carate with complete "papers". They noted that his sire was His Nibs, his dam was Lady Arabella, his color was Violet Cobalt, he ware ring Ne. 14 and was born on August 25, 1974 A blank space was provide t ar the entry of "first we " and "first sentence," which at` ' .:� time; that 'Erwin might begin a running monologue at any moment. Erwin was, in fact, a beautiful thing, thoughuncommunicative to the last. We put his cage in the kitchen. Sometimes the late afternoon sun would light -the slender aluminum bars of his prison and he looked downright gorgeous. Where Dickie appeared to have sullenly resigned himself to fate, Erwin made what seemed to me a determined and brave effort to be gay. . The curious thing about this was that it only increased the poignancy of his incarceration. His short, fluttering hops between one swing and another, a trajectory of no more than six inches. dramatized' the terrible limitations that had been imposed God-given wings meant for free flight in greenery. He would spend hours pecking at a small bell, worrying it, scolding it, loving it, and I could never understand the reaction of visitors who spoke of the "cuteness" of this. How could it be anything but a manifestation of a desperate, anguishing loneliness? I could never get over the idea that we were holding . a captive. I spoke of this occasionally'to-budgie-lovers, most of them females, and became accustomed to the rationalizing that goes with the caging of any bird or animal. They have never known their natural element, one familiar argument goes, therefore how could they miss it? Aren't they, in fact, protected from the cruelty of nature and, so, better off than those who live in a wild state? Doesn't their beauty and their "company" contribute to the pleasure of their owners who provide, in return, the warmth and security of domesticity? But I could never see it. Could never see anything but the fact thatsomeone had'taken the joy,of liberty from a warm -1e; atied made ata ornnmer t of a wild thing meant'to be enjoyed under the dome of open sky and that we'd more or less voluntarily assumed the -role of slave -masters with no means of liberating the slave. The only liberation possible came this week when, for no reason that could be explained, we found him on the floor of the cage, the tiny claws curled upwards, the bead-like eyes closed forever, the cell at last silent. It was a moment of sorrow and..I tried my best to dull it. "Erwin has gone to a better place," 1 said and it may have been the simple truth. Dear Editor: The fallowing er given the Ontario fe? y League a number yeah I The original author is uti wn. We feet it bears repeating, DearDriver: A few weeks ago. I saw` tittle girl struck by a car as tried to cross the street. I saw,: father race toward heranclixoi ' her to him as she struggle its. the agony of death. I saw art'#, e ` plans that had been made f+ .r. her dashed and I saw the look of :. despair that came over hi face. I could only offers prayer that such a thing might never happen again. Today my daughter, who •s six years old, started off t .. school. Her cocker spaniel, whose name is Scott, watched her leave and whined his belief in the folly of education. Tonight we talked clout school. She told me about the girl who sits in front; of her, a girl with yellow curls. and about the boy across the aisle who makes faces ; about the teacher who has eyes in the back of her head; about the trees in the school yard and the big girl who does not believe in Santa Claus. We talked about a lot .of things - tremendously vital and unimportant things. Now, as this is written she is sound asleep with her doll "Paddy" in her arms. When her doll gets broken or her finger gets cut, or her head. gets bumped, I can fix them. But when she starts across the street = then, Mr. Driver. she is in your hands. Much as I wish I could, it's not possible for me t it be with her all the time. I have ria work to pay for her home, her clothes, her education. So, Mr. Driver, please help me to look out for her. Please drive carefully. Please drive slowly past schools and at in- . tersections. And please remember that sometimes children run Tffrom behind parked cars. Please don't . run over my little girt,,,, With, ' deepest thanks for whatever you can do for her, I am. 10 YEARS AGO August 26. 1965 Clinton's Fish and Game sponsored juvenille baseball team defeated Listowel to cap- ture the WOAA Juvenile "B' 'chi tinitortshipr` here -last•- nday„_ thus taking the series four games to one. Mrs. Gifford Crich will celebrate her 86th birthday on Saturday. August 28. She resides with her son Ernest of Tucker - smith and receives the hearty congratulations of her family and friends. Due to the fact that only one tender was received for recon- struction 'of certain streets, the town of Clinton agreed on Monday night to re -advertise tar the work. The annual Flower Show of the Clinton Horticultural Satiety will be held Friday afternoon and , evening, August 27 in the Council' chambers of Clinton Town Hall. The show" is open to alt who wish to exhibit flowers and the directors will welcome new , exhibitors as well as the "regulars" Excellent weather of the last few days has speeded up the harvesting of spring crops with yields and quality above earlier expectations. The dry weather has also retarded • th+e develop- ment of white mold in bean fields and hastened the ripening process that this may not nciw be a problem. A goodly number of fields are being prepared for fall wheat. A lot of harm weather is needed to mature beans and corn. Beans are on the average at least two weeks late. 25 YEARS AGO Austit 21. 1950 The railway strike has affected many things in the district -food is in short supply in some parts of the country and is being rationed: onlytint class mail . is •ing , accepted by the post Mice.: trucks. buses and planes have, been booked capacity to move people as well as produce. Orval Lobb has disposed of his grocery 'business to T .R . Thompcn, and a new building is being readied for his occupancy beside the Public Utilitte flutlding. A.T. Cooper has sold his 1931 Studebaker to "Pete" Grazier through one of our classified ads. Me, Cooper was sorry to WI with hist; t"lr After .18 Fred Sloman, well known Clin- tonian and far north pedagogue. Mr. Sloman's recent articles published during the Old Boys Reunion received much favourable comment. Miss Helen Turner returned eaturned.hnmesat.Mot .y after a six week's trip through Western Canada. Before coming home. she spent a few days in Parry Sound, the guest of Miss Eunice Snow who accompanied her on the trip. Pastures are continuing to make excellent growth and cattle are in fine condition for this time of year. Wet weather has held up harvesting operations con- siderably. Some farmers have completed threshing while others have still some grain to cut. 50 YEARS AGO August 29. 1925 Following is a list of the passengers on the Harvester Excursion travelling via the C.P.R.: Messrs, Morgan Jones. John Tebbutt. D. Holloway. W. Stanbury. D. G tiddon. N. Mair. P. Gibbing. lsi, Wright. E. Stackhouse, 3. Owens, A. Smith. J. Jaffray, R. Johnston. J., Thompson, R, 'Irwin and Mr. and' Mrs. R. Fisher. The Goderich Band will take part in the musical competition at Toronto Fair on Thursday September 3. The band was been giving a good account of itself and everyone will wish it success at thebig competition. . One thousand half=fare tickets far the Star Theatre are being given away with every purchase of 81 at Watson's Grocery. Hydro Shop. Clinton says: Sweltering at a hot stove in th'e summer time is gruelingwork and just because" cocking used to be done that way is no reason for longer enduring such torture. There is no tftne fol "romance. Stop in and see the "electric cooker"' and there will be time for romance. The following teachers have been successful in their Sutnmer courses: Gertrude M. Wallis, .Gertrude M. Snyder. Ferris C. Camelot*. E. Hall Earthen). Emma A. Higgins. Erskine S. Everts. Cecil J. Matheson. Ex 'Councillor Santer Kemp was the oily name nominated to fill the vacancy on the council caused by the death Of the late William Jenkins. M. liiteE.Wan and W. Gerry suultered to set Wletrithe bail in whit "ham 't r" 'le Meting in len* business. waS found to be: art fire. This was the old Post Office building. Mr. nd MRs. Gordon Lawson and &s. L. Stong have been visiting in Sarnia. Roy Aiken is relieving at the freight office while Miss Bessie Writ is on vacation. 75 YEARS AGO August 24.1900 Just after midnight Friday morning, Mr. and Mrs. Olson, South street, Goderich, were roused by a knock at the door. and on Mr. Olson opening it found a basket on the step. The basket being opened was found to con- tain a baby boy, apparently about five days old. and the tittle one is still being held by Mr. and Mrs. Olson. who sl3em inclined to keep it for the present. John McKnight. who has been temporarily living in aeoid house until a new one being erected for him was completed. moved into the new residence. Tuckersmit.h, on Wednesday. It is nice com- modious storey and a half frame. and was built by S.S. Cooper. of Clinton. T. C. Pickard, Holenesvilte, has disposed of his 11th Con. fans, and one of his village properties to Alf ,Jervis. Will Jervis, of the 14th Concession, has bought the farm at present occupied by Alf. Once more are the apple packers on :their annual round. F C. Elford ships couple of carloads of apples this week. and has several gangs out putting them up. A. Peterson of Kincardine. is sinking an artesian well for W. Doherty & Co., near the engine room. About 50 feet has been bored. Mr. Peterson has also a contract 'with Mr. Baird, , of Brucefield, for a similar well. Among the outputs this wekk were: 1 car load of cattle for Toronto by Chas. Reid: 1 of hogs for Collingwnod . ;by R. Fitz- simmons: t for Toronto by Cytntelon & Willis. Chas. Stewart and R. Murphy who have been' connected in Massey -Harris businessh here. rive received an appointment as district agents (jointly) of Exeter district for Massey -Harris im- plements. and left for that place on Tuesday to commence operations. They will have a conveyance each.R. . ornhy having bought a driver. carriage, with harness from G. Levis. All the, , gt atiorithlc walks are heing4ushed-viilitalt by the con, tractor. 100 YEARS AGO August 26, 1875 On Saturday morning last, Messrs. M. McTaggart, J. Fair, J. Hodgins. R. Coats. and Master W. Jackson, Clinton, left on a pleasure excursion for the head of Lake Superior, and then on to Niiiiiieepolts. Minn.. ra v w`the scenery of that State, and the falls of the Mississippi. returning by the same route. A splendidly finished threshing machine was shipped on the steamer Benton. on Thursday last. by Glasgow. Macpherson & Co.. of Clinton. to Michigan. This speaks well for the excellency al Canadian manufactures, and the determination of Americans to have our goods, despite the ef- forts of "protectionists" The,.gnthering and shipment of plums has commenced, but they are not sufficiently ripe. to be brought in any great quantities yet. The yield this year will not be equal to last, especially inthe superior varieties which are now somewhat suffering from the cold damp weather. causing them to rot and fall from the trees. The common blue plum was well loaded. but many have fallen from the trees in consequence of the curculio and other blight. The building immediately to the north of the Ntfw Era office, and which was once used as such. has been removed to Mr. A.S. Fisher's lot on High Street. The building was one oI the .,early pioneers" of this plate. being used, by Ir. Fisher as a general store, in by -gone days. w The brick work on Mr. Bid- dlemothbe's new building. on Albert Street, is finished, and the building will be hastened to completion. The targe dwelling house in course of erection by Mr. R.M. Racey. on• Rattenbury Street. is being rapidly pushed forward. Messrs. Doherty & . Menzies have erected a large frame workshop in rear of their store, and a number of small houses have been erected in various parts of the town. A few weeks ago we inserted a paragraph that reflected disparagingly on „Messrs. Belfry and Wallace. sub -contractors. who it was stated, had left the place. leaving unsettled citiims behind them. It was true that they had gone out of town, but not with the design rumor had fastened open them, at they have r4410ncdi, and <.aro now to be found at their old quarters. (researched by Lynn ptowerrs). Splendid Dar Editor: May 1 congratulate you on the splendid newspaper coverage of the 100th Anniversary celebrations in Clinton. Having had three different periods of duty at the Clinton Radar Station, the editions brought back many ries-of-those days,-. including my marriage in St. Paul's church in 1948 to Agnes J. Combe, daughter of a long- time resident, Colonel Combe. There is a picture in the Souvenir Edition of Colonel Combe leading the 101st Bat- talion attalion down King Street enroute to the train for overseas in World War 1. I n relation to the • above mentioned picture, 1 am writing to ask would it be possible to obtain a copy of the picture from which the • newspaper copy was made, as it would be a memory treasured by my wife. If this is possible., would you send ' me two copies of the - picture and bill me for the cost. Again. congratulations for the journalistic ` aspects of Clinton's C-entennial. Yours truly. Robert N..McKee RR 4. Lakeshore Road Kelowna British Columbia. Commend Dear Editor: On behalf of the Potpourri committee I would like to commend Clarence Neilans and his staff at the Clinton" Arena. Their .-courteous help and., friendly manner eased the last minute tangles and tensio present in getting "the show off the toady'. When we arrived, the arena was in , spotless order. All windows sparkled, floors were washed clean, and the upstairs kitchen was fit for the most meticulous housekeeper. Again thank you for a job well done. Sincerer Clinton Potpout Committee?