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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-04-14, Page 4PAGE 9—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1977 What we think You can't buy these spirits They were all represented on Friday and Saturday. There were students, farmers, lawyers, businessmen, white collar workers and blue collar workers, even an amputee and an editor. They were all, working side by side for a common purpose: oto help the community. Such was the case last weekend at the Clinton Community Park when over 50 people in two days help in a wrecking and clean-up bee to prepare the park for a new grandstand. Not one of the volunteers expected to get paid, and no-one was told what to do, they all knew their task: clean up the remainder of the grandstand and prepare 'the site for construction of a new facility. It's high time Look out, guys, the banished miniskirt of the 1960s may be making a comeback this year, but don't hold your breath. Retailers are viewing the European designs cautiously because they don't want to lose their shirts over a fad that won't sell. They say their customers' rebellion against the maxi -,length in the late 1960s was lesson enough. • Fashion gurus emphasize their miniskirts are not really miniskirts at all. They are—"sashed tunics" and "belted sweaters," designed, says Pierre Cardin, with 16 -year-olds in mind. But to the man of the street, the 1970s versions will look like the miniskirts from before. And they'll be worn by whoever has the legs, or the will, to 'carry it off, writes Deborah Dowling in, The Financial Post. Of the major department store chains, only Eaton's has summoned They were all working in the interest of the town, and the betterment of their community, and- all possessed com- munity spirit. .It's not hard. to realize that com- munity spirit is not something you can buy or sell, you cant package it and move it elsewhere. It's an invisible and intangible commodity that turns a mere group of homes, stores and in- dustries into an alive, prospering town. Clinton, with the hospital crisis last year, and the grandstand crisis this year, has shown that we indeed are people who can work together for our community betterment, and that augurs very well indeed for the future of the community. the courage to make a commitment to the thigh -high look. It sponsored. a spring fashion show for the designer Kenzo, the man credited with bringing the mini out of exile. And now its At- titude shops carry 'Kenzo designs. Eaton fashion co-ordinator Inge Wood says $4Y mini -tunics in cotton Hawaiian prints will add pizzazz to the beach this summer. ' Come fall, she says, the look will move into the city in the form of $65 cotton minis worn with patterned leotards and over -the -knee boots for a layered effect. • Few other retailers, surveyed by The Financial Post in major centres, say they have included minis in their fashion plans this year. The feeling is the look is just a news story for trendy and high -fashioned retailers to cash in on. Sugar and Spice/By Bill Smi ey Someone really cares There's no question about it. Somebody - up -There does look after us poor, forked creatures here below. I have proof. - When I left you last week, I was in the throes of ferocious agony in the back. Neither the doctor nor I knew whether it was a slithering disc, a boulder in my kidneys trying to escape, or leprosy of the liver. A week later, we still don't know. X-rays were taken, but the doc hasn't received them yet. Of course, it's a whole mile from the hospital, where they were taken, to his office, so that's explainable. They probably sent them by mail. But the pain has eased off to a dull grind, and that's the reason for my operling statement. There does seem to be a Great Plan, and maybe Somebody does see us little sparrows fall. Because just as my back was emerging from the acute stage, I succumbed to that gross, disgusting, shuddering, juddering, sweating, griping, embarrassing, exhausting ailment known euphemistically, even when it occurs in March, as the "summer 'flu'." Or, in less lady -like circles, "The dire rear." Now I know perfectly well that had the two concurred, the bad back that made me scream when I lifted a sheet of paper, and the exigencies of my other ailment, this would be an obituary column. Doesn't that prove that the meek shall inherit the earth? Or something. You may think that is a bit simple- minded, or a coincidence. But the process, once begun, went right on. My wife had decided to re -decorate the living room. She bought the paint, made a contract with the painter, and the work began, while I lay around shivering and wondering which end of my candle was going to burn next. Horrors. The paint was all wrong. Instead of a delicate, cool gren, it went on the wall as a cold whitey -blue, about the shade you'd find on the walls of a penitentiary cell. After one day's painting, she was near tears. Didn't sleep a wink. But, and here's where good old Abounding Grace comes in, came a solution. The special deity that looks after poor, downcast, middle-aged people who are either plunging into the Depths of Despair, or sea sickly navigating Dire Straits, came to the rescue. Since I was too weak, she had to put out the garbage. While she was doing so, she came across an old color chart for paint that had exactly the shade she wanted on the walls. Shrieks of joy. Off to the hardware, hammering on the door before they were open. Back home, before the painter arrived, with another $50 worth of paint. Perfect! Joy reigns supreme in the Smiley psychiatric ward. - Perhaps you're still skeptical. Maybe you don't believe that a Higher 'Power is looking after you -know -who. Consider these facts. My wife informed me, and I had to agree, because I was too shaky to argue, that she had actually saved money on the deal. This may seem silly, as we had doubled the paint requirements for a room thirty feet long. eighteen feet wide, and eleven feet high. Not so. If we'd stuck with the first paint, we'd have had to throw out the old drapes, and spend about $250 on new ones, because the old ones didn't go with the new paint, if ydu're still with me. We save vast sums like this all the time. Maybe you begin to see the pattern now. But that's not all. Because I was too sick and weak and shaky to write a column or mark exam papers, I cleaned out my drawers. Please. This had nothing to do with the dire rear previously mentioned. I'm. referring to the drawers in my desk. It's all I was fit for, physically, mentally, or emotionally. And I found some tremendous stuff in there. Hundreds of letters, unanswered. Two requests from publishers to put my column into book form. Five requests to be guest speaker at something or other. A padlock for a school locker. Ancient, paid - off mortgages. Eighteen paper clips and twelve rubber bands and sevenpencils. A copy of my will, unsigned. Two insurance policies I didn't know I had. Two hundred old columns. Fifteen addresses I'd been looking for for years. A copy of a great editorial I once wrote entitled, "Sex and the Editor." A letter from my daughter, aged ten, at camp, wanting to come home at once. A letter from same daughter, aged eighteen, saying insouciantly, from Montreal, "If you ever want to see me again, send some bread, as I have one cent." We sent. Old stock certificates, impressively printed, total value three dollars as wallpaper. Letters from my son from Alaska, Halifax, Mexico City, Jerusalem, Paraguay, New Orleans. Letters from nice old ladies who scold me gently for my vulgarity. Letters from vulgar old men who scold me roundly for not "letting 'er rip." Letters from former students (mostly girls), who perhaps used me as a surrogate father or older brother or uncle, who tell me all their troubles, and who have now quite forgotten me, alas. I won't go on. It was a combination of Aladdin's cave and Pandora's box. But I do want you to get the theme. If I hadn't a sore back, I'd never have had it get better so that I could survive the dire rear. If I hadn't had the dire rear, we'd have the wrong paint on the living room, and I'd never have cleaned out my drawers. And if those two hadn't occurred, we wouldn't be having a sale of whitey -blue paint, and a large bonfire, simultaneously, on the first day the backyard dries up. Don't talk to me about evolution, Darwin, survival of the fittest. It's perfectly ob- vious, as I have shown, 'that there is a Grand Plan for the universe, and that there is Someone, or Something, in charge of it. Now 1 don't want to get into a religious squabble, or a fight with women's lib. We wbn't call that Someone either God or Buddha or the Geist or the Supreme Being, or The Master. Since He -She looks after all us turkeys without reference to sex, color or creed, let's just call It the Turkey l erson. Olt? "Sure feels good to be home and away rom those -reporters and flashbulbs... " Odds 'n' ends\ - by Elaine Townshend Recognition I suppose every columnist dreams that one day his or her column will contribute something great to mankind, but I have no false illusions about "Odds n' Ends", it will probably neverbecome famous. It may never appear in hundreds of weekly newspapers or grace the pages of some large daily papers. It may never win the hearts of millions of faithful readers around the province or gain more than a glance from VIP's. "Odds n'Ends" may never achieve the sophistication of a syndicated column, such as Bill Smiley's Sugar and Spice, and it will probably never become the envy of hundreds of aspiring columnists. Furthermore, Ann Landers need not fear competition from me. Teen-agers will not turn to "Odds"" for advice about acne or broken hearts. Brides will not find the answer to the question, "What should I do when my in- laws visit for the first time?" Home -makers will not discover scrumptious new recipes in "Odds", unless they don't know how to prepare lettuce and bologna sandwiches. "Odds n' Ends" may never carve a niche for itself in newspaper history. It may never be hailed for its in-depth research, its startling statistics, its revealing philosophies or its quotable quotes. It may never be credited with giving gems of wit, wisdom or in- spiration to the world or even to Huron County. "Odds n' Ends" may never be filed anywhere but in the read -laugh -and- discard file, which is more commonly known as the garbage can. It may never be clipped and saved for posterity by anyone, except my mother and my grandmother. It may, never do ,more than help;to fill space in five newspapers and, later wrap trash, pack boxes or feed fires with the other pages. The name of the column will probably never become a household word. Having resigned myself to these cold, hard realities, I was pleasantly sur- prised to learn that "Odds n' Ends has gained a recognition all its own. Recently, friends of mine moved to a small town that never heard of a column called "Odds n' Ends" or a gal named Elaine Townshend. As Marilyn and Bruce packed each crate, they labelled it according to its contents dishes in one box, cutlery and pots and pans in another, linen in a third, knick-knacks in a fourth, and so on. When Marilyn closed the flaps on one box, she muttered, "I might as well put Elaine Townshend's name on this one.",s; Bruce continued working for a few minutes: then his curiosity got the better of him. "Why in the world would you put Elaine Townshend's-name on one of our boxes? " he wondered aloud. "It's full of Odds n' ends," came the reply. From our early files • • • • • • 10 YEARS AGO April 13, 1967 The cornerstone laying ceremony planned for Clinton's new community centre and arena on Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock will now be held in the form of an unveiling of the cor- nerstone. The granite stone bearing the words "Centennial 1967" was put in place on Tuesday while the brick work on the northwest corner of the new building was done. Clinton, and district persons are invited to come out to the ceremony which will be followed by a tour of the new $225,000 structure which is now nearly closed in. Clinton town council gave three readings to bylaw No. 5 for—I9'67 9'67 setting new sewage service rates, to maintain the sewer system, disposal plant and the sewer pump house. The former rate for sewage in the town of Clinton was double the cost of the water rate, (with a minimum charge of $3) plus a flat rate charge of 50 cents per month maintenance charge to each consumer. Domestic consumers are billed every two months and commercial customers every three months. The new sewage rates (still on a two-month billing) use the same ten percent discount if paid within ten days from date of billing. With $1,906 being donated to the Clinton and District Community Centre Fund this past week, the total now stands at $14,703,67. This total includes donations made to canvassers, donations from clubs and groups and profits from fund raising events. 25 YEARS AGO April 10, 1952 Salaries of the teaching staff for 1952-53 were discussed at the April meeting of Clinton Public School Board in the school Thursday evening last, with Chairman A. F. Cudmore presiding. Principal G. H. Jefferson and nine assistant teachers were offered re -engagements- at salaries allowing for increases of up^to $200 per teacher. In 1952-53, salaries will range from $2,000 to $2,500 for assistants and $3,200 for prin- cipal. Mrs. Bert Boyes, music supervisor, also was offered re- engagement. Three Clinton boys praised the good work of RCAF personnel and Chief of Police Joseph Ferrand, Clinton, in rescuing them from a precarious situation in which they might have drowned in the Bayfield River, at the bridge at Highway 4; south of town. The trio involved were: Harry Gibb, 13, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Gihh, Matilda St.; Jim Monaghan, 11, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Monaghan, RR5; Patrick Kyle, 10, son of F -L and Mrs. Don Kyle. None of the three is any the worse for his experience, which occurred Saturday afternoon last, and which resulted in the summoning of the RCAF Fire Department and the assembling of a Targe crowd of people. The lads told their story to The News Record. They were down by the Bayfield River about 2:30 p.m: Saturday, huilding a raft at the clay banks east of the bridge. The trio got on the raft and started down the river, assisted by homemade paddles. The raft struck the centre of the bridge abutment, and they thought it was going to turn over, so Gibb and Kyle jumped off the raft, up to their knees in water on the a hutment. Monaghan stayed on the raft, and finally landed on the north bank of the river. He ran to Ross Fitzsimon's store, where. Jean and Mrs. Fitzsimons looked for a rope. Ross Fitzsimons arrived and telephoned the Kyles. Mrs. Kyle phoned the RCAF Fire Department which arrived with ladders and ropes, and proceeded 10 get into action. 50 YEARS AGO April 14, 1927 Canada has a kindly interest in Thomas A. Edison, who passed his Roth milestone on Friday. Mr. Edison lived in Huron County, Ontario, going to school in Bayfield, and he was for a time a 'newsic' on one of the Western Ontario railway lines - Leth- hridge Herald. The above appeared in a recent issue of the Alberta paper and we have hen making inquiries but have not yet found anyone who remembers Edison's residence in Huron. Clinton's new Collegiate Institute will he open to pupils on Monday, April 25th, after the Faster recess. This school is the finest in Huron County and when properly equipped will he a credit to Clinton and community. Clinton has always been an educational centre, having sent to the higher seats of learning ,Mn)(' very fine scholars, and the end is not yet by any means. If fine work could he done in the old building • and it was done - then surely it will he easy to do even better work in the new. The classrooms in the new school are so large, bright and, airy that -working in them ought to be a pleasure. Every room is well lighted, the halls are large, the cloak rooms are cosy and roomy at the same time and the assembly room is so attractive that we fear all the organizations in the town will want to hold their gatherings in it. So that all interested may have a look around and see just what a fine building it is, the school will he open to the public from eight to ten o'clock on the evening of Friday, April 29th, and also on Saturday afternoon April 30th, from two to five. 75 YEARS AGO April 11, 1902 We hear there was somewhat of a strike on at the Electric Plant this week and Fred Nagle, late of the woollen mills, Paris, has taken Mr. Brown's place. A thorough overhauling of hack yards together with the use of some disinfectant would prove useful exercise to many of our citizens. A prompt removal of the debris that collects during the winter and general cleaning up of the town will do about as much good as vaccination in 11"re way of preventing contagious diseases. The frame building occupying the new post office site was erected in the year 1865 by Messrs. McDonald & Campbell, the former being a brotheh)f Dr. MacDonald, Deputy Speaker of the House. It will shortly disappear, however, to give place to the new post office to be erected on the site. The plans and specifications are completed and it is expected that tenders will be called for in a few days. The Architect of Public Works Department, who selected the site, says that it is one of the very best for the purpose in the -Dominion. • 100 YEARS AGO April 12, 1877 On Tuesday a lady was seen on our streets who might be said to be prepared for any kind of weather. The day was gloriously fine, and to correspond, she wore a summer hat, and spring dress, but for fear that a change might Occur, she was enveloped in a winter jacket. Nothing like a variety. - On Tuesday evening a drunken man made his way into several houses in the northern part of the town, doing no injury, but causing considerable annoyance to the inmates, who were generally females. It required considerable persuasion to in- duce him to depart. His manner of entrance was always by the front door. On Friday last, Mr. T. Glew met with a painful accident at Stapleton. While lifting a block of wood, he slipped, and falling, the block crushed his right hand severely, although no bones were broken. There resides in this town a young girl who is afflicted in a peculiar and unusual manner, viz., in not being able tosee in the dusk of the evening. Her eyesight is apparently as good as any one's during the day, but when darkness sets in, she becomes stone blind, and requires to be led around the same as a totally blind person. She enjoys good health, and the cause of this. singular physical phenomena is unknown. What you think ` Magazines Dear Editor Perhaps you have seen people at the Post Office or on the street offering magazines and have wondered why they were there. Have you ever stopped to find out? A reporter in Trois' Rivieres, Quebec, noted the zealous, all-weather •service of a teenage girl, one of Jehovah's witnesses. He interviewed her, , and his feature article "She Talks Only- About the Kingdom of God" appeared in the French - language newspaper named Le Nouvelliste. This is what the reporter wrote: (in part) "Age 17, a serene face rain or shine, warm or cold, you see (Sandra) one place or another in the city of Trois- Rivieres. Perhaps one day it will be down town, the next over in Notre Dame at St. Maurice and Laviolette. But wherever it is, she is talking about God's kingdom... "I saw her several times at that intersection, (magazines) in hand, calmly mingling among the passersby, and I finally went and talked to her. . .Everything she says is based on the Bible. Whatever question I raised on whatever subject, she opened up the good book and pointed out such and such a passage as she answered... "Do the passersby go to her? Not. at, all. Actually it's just the opposite. After she catches someone's attention, she can discuss pretty well anything, but first andb foremost she points to the one solution to all this mess around us: the Kingdom of God.... After discussing with Sandra the indications pointing to the end of wickedness and the coming in of that kingdom, the reporter and Sandra • t with such system of things", "the signs• of our times", "Tobacco", "Alcoholic drinks", "dating" and "marriage" then: (getting back to the article) "One last question: "Who are the people with whom you can talk the most? "Young people, certainly. In their case more so than others, one. could say they have no purpose. They are searching for themselves. Hence they are more inclined to' take in information, to want to know what the truth is The response of the people to this article was very good. For example, at the Westinghouse plant, where Sandra's father works, the employees pinned it up on the bulletin board. Many of them came up and spoke to him appreciatively. Afterward, as Sandra0 continued her preaching activity on the streets, the attitude of the people changed. Many now ap- proached her, even some stopped their car to get magazines. Indeed, the scene of the World is changing. How different this experience is to the mob action and official harassment that was the lot of those preaching the good news of God's kingdom in Quebec during the 30's and 40's, when such public ad- vocation of the kingdom of God meant a jail term for the advocator! • 0 Yours sincerely, C.F. Barney, Clinton News -Record readers are encouraged to express their opinions in letters to the editor, however, such opinions do not necessarily represent the opinions of the News - Record. _ Pseudonyms may _be used by letter writers, but no letter will be published unless it can be verified by phone. • Member, Ontario Weekly Newepapp Association The Clinton News -Record is published each Thursday at P.O. Box 39, Clinton, -Ontario` Canada, NOM ILO. It Is registered as second class mail by the post office under the permit number 0817. The News -Record incorporated in 1924 the Iluron News -Record, founded in 1881, and the Clinton New Era, founded In 1865. Total press run 3,100. Clinton News-Recoi'd CNA Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 7 effective Oct. 1, 1978. General Manager - J. Howard Aitken Editor - James E. Fitz$erald Advertising Director - Bary L. Haig Office Manager - Margaret Gibb Circulation - p'reda McLeod Accounting - Marian Willson Subscription Rates: Canada - $12 per year U.S.A. - =15.60 Other $18 - Single Copy - 25e a` • 1