HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-07-21, Page 4P �
PAGE 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1977
What we th•
ink
Bolts out of the blue?
in the United States, .lightning is
considered' by authorities, to be a
bigger threat to life than fleods:'"t is
estimated that ' lightning kills one
person and injures four in that country
every day. Such is not the case in
Canada. Statistics Canada, for
example, show that only six people
were killed by lightning in 1974 (last
complete statistics),
One Toronto newspaper says itsfiles
show that 104 Canadians died from'the
bolts between 1962 and 1972,, with
eighty percent of the deaths occurring
in Ontario and Quebec. In recent years
there --has been a dramatic increase in
deaths by lightning - 10',• people' were
killed in Ontario between July 1975 and
June 1976 - a result of more lightning
storms, according to specialists.
The Ontario Safety League states
that you can expect, in your immediate
square mile, one or two strokes during
each thunderstorm. If your area, for
example, has 25 electrical storms
yearly, you may expect from 25 to 50
lightning bolts to hit within a half -mile
of your' house this year.
According to the League, the most
dangerous time is just before the storm
when dark clouds appear and the air is
charged with- electricity. If you are
outdoors at that time and your hair
feels as if it is standing on end, you are
being . Set up as a perfect lightning
target. If you're in or on the water, get
out. Stay away from wire fences,
clotheslines, overhead wires or towers,
and machinery.. Avoid isolated trees
and wide-open spaces where you might
bathe tallest thing ar und. A structure
made'ofany type of metal..will provide
good protection, since .metal is an
excel lent electrical conductor. If this is
' not available and you are on open
ground, lie flat.
'if you are inside, don't stand in
doorways or near,,open windows. Keep
away from the fireplace, sink,
bathroom fixtures, the phone and the
television set. It makes good sense to
unplug all electrical 'appliances
(lightning can produce an electrical
current in the TV's -antenna and cause
a short circuit in the set).
Every being trapped in a car is good
protection. You are completely
surrounded by metal and to the
League's knowledge, lightning has
never struck an occupant of a -rubber-
' tired automobile.
Respect lightning, says the Ontario
Safety League. It is erratic and
dangerous.
Sugar and Spice/By Bill Sm
ey
About weddings
Weddings are for women. , During the
entire ritual, as practised in our society,
men are inarticulate, inept, and in the way.
This was my conclusion after 'attending
the recent wedding of a niece. Not that it
wasn't a lovely wedding. It was. She's a
grand and beautiful girl, Lynn Buell... of
Brockville, and with the aid of her young
sister Pam, her remarkably calm mother,
and her fairly distraught. father, she came
through the ceremony with flying colors.
She evefi Zdid fairly- w farherself," as
we used to say. She hooked a doctor. Well,
at any rate, a medical student. All she has
Jo do is support him for three or four years,
and they'll be rolling in medicare.
He seems like a decent, inoffensive chap,
like all the other males at the wedding. At
least he had on a shirt and tie, and didn't
want,totrge married in jeans and beads and
a caftan, like so many young punks these
days. He doesn't even have a beard, so he
may be OK.
But he was practically unnoticed, there
was such a craning of necks among the
- women to see what and why each h other was
wearing.
Please don't get the idea that I'm down
on weddings. I think they are fine, and I'll
go down to the church on a nice summer
day with the best of them, and get a
prickling at the nape of my neck, and reach
over and hold the old lady's hand when the
parson intones, "for better arid-forworse,
in sickness and in .health, for richer and for
poorer" and all that stuff that makes your
hair stand on end with hindsight.
And I don't mind the two or three hun-
dred dollars it cost me to attend. Not at all.
The last wedding I,was at - roy daughter's -
cost five times that, and all I've got out of it
is two grandbabies and the establishment
of the Bill Smiley Benevolent Fund which
caters to indigent c1au,ghters, their
husbands, - and any offspring they 'may
have.
Nor did it bother me in the slightest that I
had to drive 600 miles, round trip, to see my'
niece given away. There was a torrential
rain all the way there, and heat and a
hangover from a magnificent reception all
the way home, but that goes with the
territory.
What I did mind, just slightly, now, was
the frenzy of preparation.during the three
weeks before the wedding. -
Right from the beginning, I was aware
that I was going to be stuck for a wedding
dress, one of those creations that women
can wear once and never again, unless they
have some sense, which most women don't
have, when it comes to a wedding.
However, I just shrugged this off. You
can't take it with you, no matter what route
you choose to go. -
But little _did I realize that my wife was
going to do three things simultaneously:
create her own costume for the wedding;
lose 10 pounds; and get a tan. Just try it,
ladies.
She is one of those people who don't know
their o*n limitations, demand perfection,
and drive everyone around them straight
out of his skull. '
Since she started sewing a year or so ago,
she thinks she can tackle anything in the
haute couture line. I granted that she could
whip out a golf skirt or pair of smashing
slacks in a day, and knock off T-shirts tor
the midgets in the family while the dishes
were soaking, but I was leery about her
tangling with a wedding dress.
First week was sheer hell. I told her to
knock out a "little, white dress" for the
wedding and she came up with some old
wives' tale that you can't wear white to a
wedding - that's reserved for the bride.
In addition, the sun didn't shine for
tanning, and the diet seemed a dead loss.
Second week was• a repeat. But she did
make a --panic trip to the` city to" buy
material, the sun shone for one day, and
she lost a pound and a half.
Third week. The material she chose was
raw Indian silk. Great stuff to work with. ,
.Look at it sideways and it resembles a
newspaper that's been left out in the rain.
But the sun shone. She stole a half hour a
day from her 10 -hour sewing stint for sun-
bathing. And suddenly the scales began to
work, instead of sticking, as they had been
for two weeks,.
In the midst of it all, so wound up about• -
weddings are women, she found time to
dash out' and buy me a pairof pants and a
fine new white shirt. ,I "was going to wear
my old gray flannels, that I bought three
years ago for $18 and a clean,golf shirt. The
pants are a bit lumpy around the pockets
from carrying keys, $6 in change, and golf
balls, and the shirt has a cigarette burn in
the collar, but otherwise they're fine.'
There was no way she was going to get
me to buy a pair of black shoes, so she said
I could wear my hush -puppies ,and she'd
say I forgot my dress shoes.
Not only did she finish a real .zappo of a
skirt with a matching vest, but a polka dot
blouse to go under it. New shoes, of course,
a tan, and - believe it or not - a brand new
figure with almost 15 poinds vanished into
thin air. She was a knock -out. ,
Why don't women put all this creativity
and will power into something besides a'
wedding?
s
Member, Ontario Weekly
Newspaper Association
The 'Clinton News -Record is published each
'Thursday at '.O. Box 39, Clinton, Ontario,
Canada, NOM ILO.
it is registered as second class mall by the
post office under the permit number 0817.
The News -Record incorporated In 1924 the
Huron News -Record, founded in 1981, and
the Clinton New Era, fownded In 1885. Total
press run 3,100.
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1
Odds 'n' ends,- by Elaine Townshend
Time
I dated a letter the other day and got
quite a shock - 13,7,77, theothit'teenth day
of the seventh month of 19'77. Good grief!
The year is more than half over.
Wasn't it just a couple of months ago I
stared out my window at a . 12 -foot
snowdrift? One of my neighbours offered
to bring groceries on his snowmobile,
and I wondered whether I'd ever get but
Of here. It was early in February, and
summer seemed far, far away.
Wasn't it just a few weeks .ago I
welcomed Easter with the thought,
"Spring can't be far'beliind?"
Wasn't it just a few days ago Mom
planted her garden, Dad cut his hay and
I gave their lawn its first manicure oUthe
season?
No, those things happened longer ago
than I realized. The summer vacation I
looked forward to for so long is over.
Canada celebrated its one -hundred and -
tenth birthday amid TV promos and
politicians' huffs.
The evening breeze no longer carries
the scent. of fresh cut hay. The
strawberries are past; the birds When you think about it, time- is a
devoured the cherries before they were precious thing. .
ripe again. The -kittens are half-grown. Do you ever find it frightening when
The year has rounded the bend you realize how quickly time passes us
heading toward' fall, and I haven't ac- by?
complished one-tenth of the things I 'There never seems to be enough time
vowed to do when '77 was young. to do all the things ,we want to do. I
suppose that's what makes life in -
I haven't written a supply of columns
to last for the summer; in fact, I don't
know what will be in the paper next
week. I haven't visited the friend in Oak-
ville who invited me in May.
I haven't cleaned my storeroom, but I
can still get in by taking one step for-
ward and one back. I haven't lived in my
apartment for the past two months
anyway; I .just store my clothes, fur-
niture and food there. I pop in once in
while, spend .an hour at the typewriter,
open a can of something, dump the dirty
dishes into the sink and dash out again.
In spite of the running, my list of things
to do isn't any shorter.
That's good, -though. It's better to be
busy than to, have time on your hands.
What you
think
-Agree
Dear Editor :
Regarding "Eye - sore" in
last week's. issue.
I agree that a park would be
an asset to the town on that 101
corner. I remember when
that old house v.)as moved
there from farther down
Victoria St. Before that one
could get a good view•of the
beautiful grounds that Dr.
Oakes' gardener worked at
so faithfully.
At present when there is no
shortage of houses in Clinton,
and when this one is for sale,
please town coq.l� cil,' let us.
hear your views obi this good
suggestion:
Other readers what do you
think?
triguing. If we experienced everything,
what would. we have to look forward to?
Unfortunately, our priorities are
sometimes out of whack. People are the
most important things we can spend our
time on; yet we often neglect them.
We put off the visit, the phone call or
the letter because we're too busy, we're
tired,' we're not "in the mood or we just
don't have time today. We'll do it
tomorrow.
But when tomorrow becomes today,•it
look's the same ,as yesterday, and it
certainly isn't any longer.
We depend on tomorrow for more
time. The frightening question is, "What
happens if we run out of. tomorrows?"
Did we make our time count today?
From our early fres .
• • •
10 YEARS AGO familiar figure with a basket on
July 20; 1967 his arm, seen on • Main Street,
An elderly Clintonian was Clinton, every Tuesday, Thur -
bilked of close to $1,000 two weeks sday and Saturday will be greatly
ago by confidence tricksters who missed by his many friends since
have left a trail of similar victims his departure to England.
in their wake across southern His friends include children to
Ontario in recent weeks: whom he always stopped to talk.
Local and provincial police He would invariably find a
force's face the dilemma of being candy ready . for them from his
virtually powerless in preventing pocket.
the crime, while chances of Many old cronies with whom he
apprehending the con artists are spent happy hours talking over
slim. past events of interest and
According to police chief Russ trading pipes, clocks and watches
Thompson, the latest victim have passed on.
whose name is being withheld by He was known as a chicken and
his department, received a pigeon fancier. He has shipped
telephone call from someone 'carrier pigeons and other
claiming to be his bank manager. varieties to far-off • places in
According to the caller he Canada and the United States.
required a confidential loan of Mr. Walton left Clinton on
$985 to help someone in trouble. Thursday afternoon July 10, and
The victim was urged to go to sailed 'from Montreal on the
the bank, withdraw the cash, and Empress of France.
return home with it where he The new fire siren, which has
would be met by the messenger. just been installed, was given its
Thinking nothing of the request first test early Tuesday mdrning.
the victim did as he wap asked. The low moaning wail of the new
He no sooner returned home with siren awoke practically everyone
the money when he received a in the town plus some people at
telephone call instructing him to the RCAF Station, Clinton. •
leave the telephone off the hook Chief Grant Rath was pleased
and have the person collecting to report that all firemen an -
the money speak, to the bogus swered the roll call for the first
"bank manager". Presumably time in many months,. Chief Rath
this move was made to allay also stated that the siren was not
suspicions the victim may have loud enough for at least one
had at this point. fireman might not have been on
The victim then handed over hand had it not been for a friendly
the money and the unidentified neighbour who took time out to
huckster politely left. rouse him.
The appointment of Mr. Jim '50 YEARS AGO.
Barnett as managing editor of the July 21, 1927
Clinton News -Record was an- On Monday afternoon fire
nounced by publisher R.G. "Bob" practically destroyed the barn on
Shrier this week. the premises of Mr. W.E. Perdue,
The Ontario government is• Huron Street. There was little in
meeting the space age halfway the barn except three or. four
by developing its first industrial loads of ---hay belonging to Mr.
park, complete with runways. George Davies, garden tools, etc.
The runways were part of a Mr. Perdue used it as a garage
package deal the government got but the car was out at the time of
when it decided to buy the former the fire. It was supposed that the
RCAF base at Centralia and turn fire was started by children
it into an industrial park, playing with matches. Mr.
Centralia is 25 miles north of Perdue had sot'ne insurance on
London in western Ontario'on the .the building. The' fire caused a
fringe of the province's maim- good deal of excitement as it is in
industrial corridor. It is also the midst of a group of frame
designated as a low income area buildings in two street's, but the
by the government. wind was not high enough and at
The idea of buying the 767 -acne no maay,
base was initiated by Charles S. dangtiere w. Thes firemennother soonbuilding had thein
McNaughton, p'o-vincial fire under control.
treasurer, after the federal The new pavement between
government decided to close it in Clinton and Goderich will be open
June 1966. for traffic on Saturday of this
This meant a loss of about week. This will be good news for
$5,000,000 a year to the corn- those who have'occasion to travel
munity which is in, Mr, over this road, as they have had
McNaughton's riding. to detour all summer.
The province bought the site for Better cut weeds, all ye
$600,000 and is spending another property owners. The weed in -
$800,000 to put it into shape for , spectors are on your trail, backed
industry. b�±. tllseFmunicipal councils and the
25 YEARS AGO parliament of the province.
July 24, 1952 A new stop street by-law has
John Walton , who was a come into effect in Goderich. This
•
will mean that all cars or vehicles
must stop on the streets leading
on to the square, 'before they
proceed around the circle. Also
traffic will run from the right, no
vehicle will be allowedto go to
the left. It is expected that_this,
will make travel around the
square much safer.
A business change is taking
place in Clinton at the beginning
of August, when Mr. G.D.
McTaggart, senior member of
the firm of McTaggart Bros:,
Bankers, retires, the business to
be carried on by Major M.D.
McTaggart.
There's no need to pay a bit
price in order to get a good
bathing suit.
We've a very complete line and
we're sure _we can meet your
Bathing Suit requirements. The
all wool bathing sults are priced
at $2.50, $3.50, $3.75 to $5.00 at The
Morris Clothing Co.
75 YEARS AGO
'July 18, 1902
A farmer coming into town
from Bayfield road in asingle rig
at noon on Monday had a narrow
escape from being' struck by an
engine pulling through to
Goderich. The rig was on the
track when the engine was not
five rod away and had the horse
stumbled instant death would
have been the result, As it was
the rig :was only - off the track
when the engine passed by. Such
risks should not be run.
There is no let-up in the
demand for the world renowned
Doherty Organs as the large staff
of hands are all kept very busy to
meet the demand.
On Saturday afternoon a four-
year-old boy, playing on a picket
fence that surrounded his
father's property, fell off, but
caught one of his feet between the
pickets and hung there head-
foremost .until a neighbour
hearing hit cries went and
relieved him from the -awkward
and dangerous position in which
he had become fastened. Had he
been left much longer the con-
sequences could easily have been
serious.
Corn, roots and other plants of
various kinds are reaping the
benefits of the warm weather
that has followed the cool spell we
had during -June and the earlier
part of July. A resident of town
had a creeping vine that grew 8
inches in one night. This is cer-
tainly a large growth and is an
evidence of what warm weather
and sunlight can accomplish.
100 YEARS AGO
July 19,1877
On Saturday afternoon last a
stranger was taking two full-
blooded stallions towards
Goderich when a fight occurred
between them, which, had it not
been for the ,timely Issistance
rendered, might have been much
more serious. The person had two
stallions and two sulkies, both
horses being harnessed, but one
being by the side of the other in
the sulky. When opposite Mr.
Martin's one, nipped the other,
and both instantly reared up and
commenced to fight. The owner
was thrown off, and the sulky
disengaged and for a few
moments the horses pawed and
bit each other desperately, the.,
noise attracting a crowd. With
difficulty they were separated
before either. were seriously
injured, although some blood was
drawn.
The Clinton Hotel building,
nearly the oldest in town, and'
which has per'haps sheltered
more guests in its time than any
other similar building in the
county, is being rapidly torn
down.
Raspberries are beginning to
come in, and sell at 10 cents per
quart,, but will likely be dg;wn.
soon.
Mr. S. Andrews brought us a
'specimen of timothy grass,
grown on his farm contiguous to
this town, of the extraordinary
length of five feet seven inches.
Signed,
A reader too,
Clinton
Reunion
Dear Editor:
I was wondering if there
was a published list of those
who registered for the Clinton
Old Boys Reunion in 1975,
Although I_ attended the
festivities and met a great
many old friends, I felt there
must still be many I missed.
If there, is such. a list, I
would appreciate your
assistance in obtaining a
copy.
Yours truly.
.1. A. Gibbings,l
Stratford.
(Editor's Note: Although the
Centennial committee made
a set of cards of all those who
registered at the Centennial,p,
no list was ,compiled fot
publication.)
Glass
Dear "Town of Clinton":
I feel deeply sorry for you
When I see the condition of
most of your sidewalks. It
saddens me when I see what
some of my fellow town-
speople have done to you. IL
also • depresses me when
realize that my toddler is not
_Able to walk -in -safety on these
sidewalks- for fear of tripping,
resulting in injury to her.
What is all this leading
to?..
in
t?
.
BROKEN GLASS on many
Clinton sidewalks!!! '
1 shudder to think of anyone
being injured in any way du":::;"""
to the neglect of others. I have
personally tried to pick up as
much broken glass as I can,,,
but certain individuals still
litter it! With countless
numbers of happy bare-
footed children and adults in
sandals, PLEASE THINK
before you toss a bottle on our
town's sidewalks.
Make Clinton a beautiful
and safe place to live, if not
for..... your
else's!! !
0
N
About four weeks since an
emigrant and his family moved
into Wawanosh, they having
come direct from Scotland. He
says he tried everywhere to get
employment, of any kind, but
failed, and this morning they
started on the return journey for
Scotland. The anathemas he
levelled at Canada and
Canadians were anything but
flattering. We doubt the man's
statement about not being able to
get work and suppose he came to
this country like too many others
do, expecting to find their bread
ready buttered for them.
sake, for someone
Sincerely,
Judy Morrison
Clinton
l a k
Dear Editor:
I would' like to publicly
-thank two groups of people
who were a big help in getting
the Clinton Pool functioning
this year.
Bell Canada made a special
effort to connect our phone
six days earlier than
scheduled in order that we
could open. The staff and
users of the pool really ap-
preciated it, as the weekend
was hot.
As those 'that attend the
pool know, wee have been
having trouble with our
-chlorinating system. The
Public Utilities Commission
and in particular Tom
•McMahon came to the rescue.
The, have lent us their
chlorinator. The initial
service was excellent as well
as the subsequent servicing of
the machine.
I.n reporting some .of the
Orange Demonstrations, one of
the daily papers contained
statements in effect as follows: -
"Twenty -two lodes met in
Clinton and the procession was
two miles long. "Sixty lodges
met - in Toronto and the
Procession was a mile long." This
is a problem some of our readers
can work out at their leisure. How
sixt9 lodges, likely to be large
ones, would be compressed into
the space of a mile, while twenty-
two were spread over two miles is
• a difficult problem to solve; but
we have no doubt that some of our 1
newspaper correspondents ctan
db it.
A dog followed the remains of
his 'mistress Mrs. r 8. Forest to
the grave -yard at Brussels, on
Monday last and from that time
took its stand near Pennington's
hearse and cannpt be driven
away from the premises. -
Once again, thank you. 'to
both Bell eanada and the
Public Utilities Commision
and Tom for the excellent
service.
Yours truly
Marlene Cunningham,
Pool Supervisor
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.
1
3.•
Smile
Every man believes in
heredity until his children 4,
start acting goofy. T
4
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