HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1975-09-10, Page 17741ft
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1975
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By
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Jane 9 - Sept. 5, 11
Working
nlea For Youth
grtrota'mde life a little
ver !or pre-schOolerS, the
PAW sick, and Lake Heron
enthusiaslks.
Creative Wonderland, a day
csery Manned for pre-scboal
children aged 3 to 5, almost
failed due to lack of interest,
but the efforts of four Clinton
girls gave it life
Marilyn Cleave, 18, Pat,
Proctor, 18, Witmlfred Bradley,
16, and chief organizer Marilyn
Holmes, 19, had hoped to at -
tact 94 pro schtolers but the
lesser nutter of 70 did not
dampen their enthusiasm.
Working from a grant of
53,844, the quartet created a
program of activities designed
to develop social skills and
infer -action with ' other
children.
"We took them for walks
around the town; had picnics;
went swimming at the Seaforth
pool; and even had some arts
and crafts, Miss Holmes said.
The arts and crafts for the 3-
►r -olds consisted of painting
on toilet paper, rolls but
nevertheless provided quite a
challenge.
Unlike last year, the children
were not forced to take part in
the arts and crafts.
"If a Schild didn't want to
participate in the crafts, he
wasn't forced to do so," Miss
Holmes said.,
Several children attended the
nursery sessions regularly and
Miss f.Ioirnes pointed out that
she and her fellow organizers
were "quite satisfied" with the
results of their project.
However, they did have one
disappointment. fi
"The Creative Wonderland
was developed to stimulate the
minds of pre-schoolers, but a
lot of parents used us as nothing
more than a babysitting ser-
vice,"
ervice," Miss llolnmessaid.
In spite of this, she added,
that all four of the girls had
loved working with the children
and would try to organize the
project again in the future.
The day nursery project was
One of a otat of 73 projects
approved by the Department of
Manpower and Immigration.
Each project was diverse in
scope allowing young people
between 16 and 25 to exercise
their creativity and initiative in
providing- needed services in
many communities.
This year, the OFY program
was funded for 5447,508,
distributed among 395 people
including Drew Middleton, 18,
of RR 2 Clinton and Henry
Darratsrna,19, of RR 5 Clinton.
Thepair spear -headed the
-Bloom' Beach Investigation
project, which assessed the
Jakeshore resources from
-Amberley to Grand Bend,
Prior to their search for
possible beaches, and public
access routes, the youths had
researched the records of the
Huron County Planning and
Development Office.
Considering that it was the
first time such an investigation
had ever been, undertaken.
Drew said the two had ''played
it by ear,"
"We learned how very few
beaches there are that the
general public can go to for
swimming, and found that a lot
of the lake front is owned
privatelyby tourists from the
United States, Toronto and
London,"
Working from a grant of
53.170 in their study of 60 mites
of shoreline, they also found
public access routes to the
beach at every one or two mile
points.
"We originally planned to
recommend where the
government could put access
routes to the lake's beaches,
but we found that there was no
need,- Henry said.
"We will recommend
however, that good beach front
be developed just north of
Daderich...
Surprisingly, the pair found
that tourists and not area
residents were the - most
common frequenters to the
beaches of Lake Huron.
''During all 'of the days we
were Cat on field study, I
probably only saw ane or two
total people on the beaches,"
Henry said.
This and other findings will
be compiled into a brochure
which should become available
to the public by next summer.
The last of the three OFY
grants to benefit the Clinton
area was originated by five
Walton and district girls.
Hopping . to break "the
monotony of people confined in
hospitals and nursing homes,"
June Witlia.m,son, 18, of RR 3,
Walton; Jane Leeming, 17, of
RR 4, Walton; Mary Ellen
Knight, 16, Pat McDonald, 17,
and Jeannette V'anderveen, 18,
all of RR 2, Brussels, took
musical instruments and song
sheets in hand and began en-
tertaining the patients.
The Entertainers
were
granted 56 891 and made their
rounds of eight institutions
which included the Clinton
Public Hospital and the
psychiatric centre at tf anastara.
"We began with a musical
program that lasted for half an
hour when the patients wanted
more." Miss Williamson said.
"The patients were just
wheeled in and out," Miss
McDonald said.
Playing piano, guitars and
later accordion and ukele the
girls developed an act lasting
two hours but another problem
came to view.
"We started off with songs
like 'Edelweiss' and found that
people couldn't recognize them
because they weren't old
enough," Miss Williamson said.
"Besides church hynms, we
now sing songs like 'You Are
My Sunshine' and `Das Anyone
Seen Lily Gal-' "
They brought song sheets
along to involve the audience in
their musical presentation and
went even further to supervise
crafts, such as painting and
basket weaving.
''Predominantly it's the older
people who look forward to our
visits," Miss Williamson said.
adding, that people of all ages
were attracted to their music
when they entertained in
hospitals.
For bed ridden Patients
unable to walk to the lounges to
hear the girls, the girls would
travel from room to room to
sing.
"The patients appreciated
our efforts and we in turn. felt
fulfilled,.. Miss W "Harrison
said, words re-echoed by each
of the students involved with.
the OFY projects of the area.
lan Armitage, 16, of Sarnia found his summer work Dolma the farm He doubts if he will be ear able to faun, however, because of
to be Interesting and challenging, as well as a lot of hard work. the large amount of capital needed. (News -Record photo)
Clinton farm appeals to city boy
1By Chris Zdeb
•
Ian Armitage has found out that dairy
farming isn't as easy "as falling off a log",
it's more tike falling off a hay wagon or
getting kicked in the forehead by an in-
dignant cow.
Thi 16 -year-old youth from Sarnia
recently completed his nine week stay at
the, farm of Martin Steenstra at RR 3,
Clinton as part of the . ministry of
agriculture and food's 1975 Junior
Agriculturalist Program, and admits it has
been quite an experience,
"I had nn, Idea of what tq expect when I
arrived at the' farm," Ian said, but the
muscles in his arms and the callouses on
his hands ably attest to what he found --
hard work.
"The day usually starts at 6:15 a.tt .
when we start to milk the 48 cowl," he said.
'We finish the milking amort 8:45 and then
sweep out the Barrs and clean' the rni king
cent before we take a book.
s generally one chore that we do
s
t the day like baling hay, railing,
cattle around or fixing the
ished the chore's around 6:30
it's in bed by 9.
eel too tired to do anything
olse ` s
late after the day's work is
•
all done," he said.
The work and the longhours have done
little to curb his interest in farming.
"The long hours don't bother mu," he
said, pointing out,. "it takes my Dad
anywhere from 45 mintites to an hour to get
to work etie# day so all things considered
you put in amost as many working hours
in the city as you do on a farm."
The initial expense of buying a farm
however,',does dampen his hopes of ever
making a career in agriculture.
"It's just too much of an investment,''
• Ian said, • "1 realty like working outdoors
though and I've been thinking of getting
intoforestry."
He,said he liked working with his hands
better than working, with his head "even
though I work better with my head," he
grinned.
After spending last sum ver detasseling
corn for Maple Leaf Farms in Sarnia, the
opportunity of working on a dairy farm
was quite appealing:
alt was a more interesting job than any 1
could have got in the city.** Ian said ad-
dles. "f didn't want to detessle corn
A brief three-day training session in
Centralia -+consisting of safety films
ttrecodovi hip tiny at the Steenstra fat-twit/1
Henry Darnsra, 19, of Rpt 5, Clinton (left), and Drew Middleton, 18, of RR 2, Bayfield, found
that there is verytlttle public beach available anytraoore along Lake Huron, Their OFT project
ticnneluded that much is owned by absentee landlords'. (News -Record photo )
1 never really knew what to expect," he'
said.
The unexpected turned out to be a kick
'froth a cow for milking her on the wroeg
side.
"Milking cows really tests your patience.
If you milk thern from the wrong side or
put the "milking machine on too quickly
you'll get a kick to let you know you're
doing something wrong.'
Despite such +robiems, Ian said he
would recom ?+, f; the program highly.
"There's a rea difference living ori a
farm - it's a slower way of life," he said. "It
means having to work hard and you learn
that you.all either work together or nothing
gets done."
'People say there's potiting;:.to do, in a
striae rural community but there•rreally is a
lot out h6ree when you look at it.
"There are nonny visitors - neighbours
are always dropping by and you're never
too far from towns like Godeneh. I like
livingin the country more than diving in the
cit •,
Although he failed to notice the dif-
ference in the purity of the air when he
carate to the Clinton area, Ian said he was
sure he would notice the difference on
• returning toSarnia.
Like many people today, lan has been
won over in natures side.
Four Clinton girls" w
-1iifeessful Creative
rlhg der a
riartd a
0grant„ tamed a
Clltittni Park this
• S /q .
sunuper. Here the girls lead t
during a rales day. (Naews»Rero
ldren through
trto)
slog -fig