Clinton News-Record, 1977-09-08, Page 4P
PA,,,GE 4---CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1977
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Still working hard
Despite the promise of "free" money
from the provincial government in the
form of grants to tielp build a new pool,
a co-operative committee of most
service clubs in town continued to slug
it out each Monday night at the arena
to raise funds through their monster
bingos.
And again this 'summer, they were
successful in adding' more dollars to
the growing pot, all through volunteer
work through countless hours, and they
should be thanked for their task.
The bingo committee, which is`rnade
up of a cross section of many clubs and
service organizations in Clinton,
realized a tidy $5,181.54 even after
giving out prizes of $24,502, and buying
new tables worth $500. ,
The pool fund, after four years, now
stands at $23,544 a very healthy sum to
start off a new pool with, without
having to go to the taxpayers.
,Like the volunteers who built the
grandstand, or work at the Spring
Fair, or a hundred, other volunteer
projects„ in town, the bingo committee
is demonstrating once again, the
community service work is a valuable
quality that dollars could never buy.
Express your opinion
( From the Petrolia
Advertiser -Topic)
Had a lady drop by our office
recently with a letter of complaint.
about a report in The Advertiser -Topic.
She was hesitant and embarrassed. It
was the first time she had written a
letter to the editor and the point she
was trying to make seemed in
retrospect to be of small consequence.
But, we emphasized, it was a matter
of some importance to her and of in-
terest generally. Why not submit it?
Having written the letter and still
holding the same opinion, she should
expect to see it published. The first
reason we write is to be read.
Letter writers should never concern
themselves very much with the tender
sensibilities of editors. People who
write for newspapers deal all day long,
six and seven days of the week with the
opinions and criticisms of others, and
direct a few barbs themselves.
'Anyone unable to acknowledge
criticism does not belong in the.
business. We deal in opinion. To us the
most precious thing in the world is a
fact clearly stated, an opinion ex-
pressed.
It doesn't always matter whether an
opinion is carefully reasoned. Some
people are intuitive and seem to arrive
at their best position in impulse.
Neither is it important that the letter
be grammatically correct and the
spelling accurate. Most readers are
less interested in your level of
education than in what you -have to say.
Read your letter over. Does it make
your point without belaboring it,
without wandering into unrelated
subjects, without wearying the reader
by unnecessary .length? Of course it
must in good taste. One does not
commit malicious gossip to paper.
All letters must be signed. You may
use a pen name, but you must also sign.
Your letter raises questions: we must
know where to seek the answers.
Criticism well meant is usually
helpful, even though it may be poorly
founded. People who work in the public
view want to know if they are com-
municating accurately. If their words
are misread misunderstood, it helps to
know. If they are laboring with in-
complete or incorrect information,
they are wasting their time.
There is nothing so elusive as the
"truth" and very often two sets of
"facts" cannot be resolved. It then
comes down to a matter of opinion. But
of what benefit to others is your
opinion, if no one hears it? Opinion is a
product of the human intellect, a
precious thing which, however, loses
its lustre and value when too closely
held. Express yourself. It will broaden
your mind - and ours too.
Sugar and Spicy/By Bill Smiley
'Vanishing traditions
You can't hardly turn your back these
days but one or other of our old traditions
has either vanished or changed for the
worse.
This great thought came to me, for no
known reason, as I was speeding down the
highway the other day, wincing every time
a big transport nearly blew me off the road,
shouting opprobrium every time some
punk in a sports car cut in front of me,
emitting those vile noises reminiscent of a
bear with the dire rear.
"You know, Bill," I said to myself, rather
querulously, "one of these fine days, you
won't be able to find a farmer who can
drive a team of horses. Fix a tractor, yes.
Drive a bulldozer, likely. But not knowing
the difference between 'Haw' and `Gee'."
Well, this thought, in its very profundity,
made me sort of gloomy, and the gloom
deepened as day after day came further
evidence that our whole society, as you and
I knew it, Mabel, is disappearing behind
our very backs.
I was saddened when I took my two
grandboys out to a local farm the other day,
to pick some corn and beans. Plunked them
down between the rows of corn and they
were bewildered. The littlest howled with
terror of this alien corn. They'd never been
on a farm before, and may never be on one
again. Quelle dommage!
I. must admit they weren't baffled fir
long. In five minutes, Nikov was l9st in the
corn patch, locatable oiVy by the piping "I
found a big one, Grandad!" and little
Balind was sitting in the damp clay, hap-
pily picking and eating yellow beans.
But I felt a twinge of pity for them, that
they'll never ride on top of a load of hay,
never get a squirt in the face of warm milk
' right from the cow's teat, never have the
fun of turning the handle of a separator,
never seea farmer sharpening a,scythe on
a grindstone, or a farmer's wife beheading
the chicken that was to be dinner.
--I didn't grow up on a farm, -but in that
most pleasant of all places for a boy to
grow, a small, tree -lined town in old
Ontario, with farms all around it. My uncle
bought a farm just on the edge of town, and
few of the aspects of farm life were a secret
to me.
It was a grand old place, formerly the
estate of a gentleman farmer of means.
There must have been 15 different out-
buildings, most of them in a. state of
dilapidation. There was a huge old house,
boasting several fireplaces and even a
butler's pantry. Sort of a run-down Jalna,
but a great place for a boy to visit.
As it turned out, it was a lousy farm, and
he lost a fair chunk of his shirt when,he
finally sold it and bought areal farm. But
for a romantic kid, who read a lot, going out
to the farm was the equivalent of visiting
relatives Who had come down in the world a
bit, but were still aristocrats.
My uncle, a hardy old Irishman who lived
to be 94, bought a farm then on the other
side Of town;, but it was Just a plain farm. Its
great redeeming quality was that ori the
bank Of, the,river that flowed through it was
fought ► njt st duel ever fought in Canada.
Many a , tune I searched the ,ground for
bullets. Some years later I even took a girl
down. to that river bank, probably hoping
that the atmosphere (the duel was fought
over a lady) might have some effect on her.
It didn't.
Summertimes, before the Great
Depression put an end to such frivolities,
we went to a cottage up in Quebec, on a
small, beautiful lake.
Just up the hill 'from the lake were two
farms, and I spent many hours jumping in
haymows, helping bring in the cattle,
turning the separator, helping to load hay
on the wagon, drinking from the dipper in
the pail in the kitchen, and staying for
supper and fresh blueberry pie, if I could
wangle it.
At Belshers' `farm, the nearest, we got
most of our grub. Fresh produce picked
from the garden. Daily milk at 10 cents for
a five -pound honey pail' full.
Unhomogenized. Unpasteurized. Delicious.
A couple of fat fowl for Sunday dinner, if
relatives came, and they did in droves, at
50 cents each. Unplucked. Uneviscerated.
Delicious. Eggs at 30 cents a dozen.
Uncandled. Unsorted. Delicious.
The Belshers were the nearest thing I
ever had to grandparents. They were
elderly, their -own family grown and gone.
Mr. Belsher was a huge, raw-boned man
with a 'magnificent moustache Who could
hit a hen at 10 paces with a squirt of tobacco
juice. He knew about kids, and let us fork
hay} handle the reins, feed the chickens,
and give a pail of milk to a. greedy calf, a
robust experience.
His wife was as tiny as he was huge.
Worn with toil, deaf as a doorknob, sharp as
a tack. And gentle, generous, warm. She
knew perfectly well that small boys do not
have stomachs, but bottomless pits.
The other farm was the Kelly's. The
name was right on. They were like
something straight from the ould sod.
Maggie had pure white hair and the classic
'features of a Deirdre of the Sorrows. She
wasptuck with a brother, Jim, who had the
worst stammer 1 have ever heard. He
sounded retarded, but I think it was only
the stammer. He loved kids.
At Ke'llys', we got drinking water and
worms. They had a well,of such pure, icy
water it would shame champagne. Behind
the barn was a spot where we could always
get worms, those skinny, red wrigglers
ideal for catching speckled trout. No
charge for water or worms. Today's far-
mer would want 50 cents for a pail of water
and a dollar for a dozen worms. •
We never bought much at Kellys'. I think
Maggie was too proud to sell to the summer
people. But she let us play with the lambs
and feed the pigs. Perhaps we were the only
children she ever had. She never petted us
or played with us. She was taciturn, almost
grim. But once in a while the piercing blue
eyes softened into • something like the
nearest she could come to a grin.
Ah, my poor grandboys, back to their
home in the city. Noige, heat, smog,
violence, confusion. Ah, fleeting years.
What Wouldn`t 1 give to be 10 years old,
digging worms beneath the manure behind
1{ellys' barn; !
Odds 'n' ends - by Elaine Townshend
September - the golden month,
So this is September.
Sunny days that quickly pass and end
with brilliant sunsets, rainy days that
seem to last forever, andshadows that
fall early in the evening and linger late
in the morning. trip to southern climes.
The wind always seems brisk ; it ' During the day the streets of town are
rustles the corn stalks and knocks some strangely quiet, but they come alive
brown leaves to the ground, giving us a about ten to nine every morning and
hint of things to come. about , half past three every afternoon
I,n the ditches along the roadsides lay a with kids on foot, kids on bikes and older
few dying boughs - reminders of the ones in cars. The parade is repeated
furious winds that lashed the coun- twice at noon. I can almost tell time now
tryside now and again ' during the without a watch!
summer. The fall and winter catalogue arrived
The trees turn patches of red and gbld weeks ago, and its pages are already
toward the sun; a few hardy marigolds soiled. Bargain hunters nabbed onto
and asters linger among the dead leaves most of the summer stock in the stores
in the flowerbeds; the gardens have during the late season sales. Now coats,
surrendered most of their'bounty and the jackets and boots are reappearing on the
pumpkins lie among the vines waiting ' shelves.
for the first.touch of frost. Fall. fairs are the big attractions these
Only the+corn fields retain their crops. ' days.``The carnival music, the midway
At night, corn dryers' drone in the rides, the grandstand performances and
darkness and the lights of tractors hob in
distant fields.
Crickets set up a steady hum every
night, and every day flocks of chattering
birds gather in the treetops to plan their
the horse shows are as much a part of
,September as the falling leaves.
I always feel a twinge of sadness when
September arrives, because it signals
the end of many things - lazy summer
days, long walks on sandy beaches and
drives through the country with all the
windows down. Ice cream cones and
slabs of watermelon don't• taste as
deliciously refreshing as they did during
.J'uly's heat wave. Even the barbecued
hot clogs and hamburgers have lost some
of their zest.
Of course, September may be sunny
and warm and filled with as much fun as
the summer months, but the last long
weekend fling is history.
We try to shed the carefree habits of
July and August and force ourselves
back` into a routine. We watch for
Autumn's subtle signs .of change; we
know what is coming for September
undeniably announces that winter is on
its way.
Fromm our early files .
• • •
10 YEARS AGO
September 7, 1967
Installation of the army of
mechanical parking , at-
tendents began last week in
Clinton. Workers used
airhammers to cut the con-
crete sidewalk before the
pipes were buried in cement
to hold the metered heads
which began collecting
pennies and ticking off
parking minutes early this
week.
By Tuesday morning
several parking meters had
fallen prey to the.angry ad-
vances of motorists
seemingly . "bent" on
destruction.
About 3,529 school children
streamed into Clinton and
areaA halls of learning
Tuesday to begin another
year of study.
Largest enrolment of
course was at Central Huron
Secondary School in Clinton
where an. estimated 1,060
students were expected by
Principal Robert Homuth and
his staff of 67 teachers. This
numbr is about the same as
last September's enrolment
of 1,054 and with the com-
pletion of the new addition,
classes will be more ideally
siied than they have. been for
many years.
Ratepayers in Hullett
Township will pay more taxes
this year due to a general
increase in expenditures at
all levels. •
Mill rate ,of 16 residential
and 18 commercial was set at
Monday evening's sitting of
council with only councillor
Charles Scanlon absent, This
represents an increase of two
mills over last year, reports
clerk-treasuer Clare Vincent
who also explained that a
higher county rate, additional
school costs and mounting
expenses in the township
accounted for the hike.
After 43 years in business,
Taylor's Store, Auburn,
opened for business last
Friday with the new owners,
Mr. and Mrs. Ross Robinson
Of Belgrave. The nen owners
have both operated store
businesses and are well
known in the district having
lived for many years in East
Wawanoslr Township near
l3elgrave.
25 YEARS AGO
September 11,1952 ,
Elston Cardiff. MP for
North Huron, was chosen as
candidate of the Progressive
Conservative party in the
next Federal election at the
Progressive Conservative
convention of the new Huron
Riding held in the town Hall,
Clinton on Monday evening,
September 8.
The safety patrol Corps is
once again directing grown
ups as well as children to
cross the street in safety. The
young Patrol men,' Terry
Wood (Captain and Court
Judge), Ken Livermore,
(Court Clerk), "Sticker"
Glew, Doug Mann, Bev Boyes
and "Tiny" Hugill,' all look
smart, as can be with their
gleaming white belts.
The first official meeting of
the Corps was held on
Monday evening of this week.
From now on it is planned to
hold Court every Friday
morning at nine o'clock,
under the supervision of Chief
of 'Police, Joesph Ferrand.
Goderich Township decided
to enter an agreement with
the Clinton Fire Department,
whereby the Clinton Brigade
will answer fire calls to the
Townships, with the Town-
' ship providing a guarantee to
pay a fee for the first two
hours. Any further assistance
required from the Clinton
Fire Department to ' be
.arranged for by the owner.
The Township would 'now
have definite agreements
with Clinton, Goderich and
Bayfield Fire Departments
thus making available good
fighting assistance, to all
ratepayers.
50 YEARS AGO
September 8, 1927
Hollyhocks seems to be
most ambitious this year,
growing to great heights.
Mrs. R. Horsely has some
very tall ones in her garden,
several of them measuring
over 12 feet and one has
reached the height of over 12
feet and seven inches. This
is the tallest we have heard of
so far.
A most regrettable ac-
cident happened at the
Doherty factory on Saturday
when ,Mr. J.W. Manning,
while ripping a board,,had the
misfortune to have .his left
hand come in contact with the
saw, severing the four
fingers: Drs. Shaw and Hearn
were at once summoned and
on receiving first aid he was
hurried to the hospital. He is
progressing favourably.
Mr. Fred C. Elford, Poultry
Husbandman, Ottawa, made
a friendly call on,the News -
Record on Saturday being on
his way, accompanied by
Mrs. Elford and his daughter
and her husband, Mr. and
Mrs. Moss of Dundas to visit
relatives at Holmesville over
the week -end.
Thursday evening of last
week saw one of the jolliest
parties yet given as Bayfield
united in playing hosts to a
jolly dinner party given in
honor of Harold Skinner and
his Blue Water Boys, who
completed their fourth season
at the Bayfield Pavilion on
Monday evening.
These popular boys are
booked fora twelve week trip
through the north country
where they gained an en-
viable reputation during the
spring, after which they leave
immediately for Tampa,
Florida, to fill'a twenty-eight
weeks' engagement at the
"U -Com -In."
75 YEARS AGO
September 5, 1902
In the course of a couple of
weeks two of Clinton's
promising young men will
leave for Chicago to enter a
• School of Dentistry - Wallace
Irwin, the son of our well-
known grover, J.W. Irwin and
Bert Jackson, son of our
townsmen, John Jackson.
Though pleased to see these
young men seeking loftier
ideas and professional
training, yet we would rather
look upon them as merchants
Member, Ontario Weekly
Newspaper Association
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Swim
Dear Editor:
We, as parents, wish to let
the town of Clinton know that
we greatly appreciate the
efforts of the swimming
coaches and life guards atthe
Clinton Community Pool this
summer.
Sincerely thankful,
Brian & Jeanne Baker,
Clinton.
A
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.
I -
of -the town, which sooner.or
later would have been theirs.
Last Monday afternoon a
young lady, accompanied by
another lady, came off the
2.55 train from Goderich and
not being well acquainted
'hunted up her only friend. He
was at last found and
engineering them to a jewelry
store, a license 'office and
then a minister, waiting with
patience till the words, "I
pronounce thee mane and
wife" were said. The young
man was Benjamin H.
Robinson of one of the
Michigan Lumber Co's. Boats
and Miss Catherine (Katie)
Slattery, of Goderich. The
bride was waited upon by
Miss McMillan of the same
place and all returned home
by the 6:45 train, not looking
too much elated over their
episode. What their future
plans are, will be hard to say.
"Johnny" - the black
driving pony owned by Mr.
James Snell and which had
passed into his 28th year,
evidentally concluded that
life had no charms for him
since his comfortable stable
had burned down, so he took it
into his head to -die last week.
While Mr. Snell regrets his
loss he admitted that "the
pony" had worked his allotted
time.
Last Monday Jos. Izzard, of
Goderich Township, went out
to Tuckersmith to purchase
some thorobred cattle from
Jas, Broadfoot. On his way
home with his stock a two-
year old heifer, which he was
leading by a rope tied to the
The Clinton News -Record is published each
Thursday at P.O. Box 39, Clinton, Ontario,
Canada, NOM ILO.,
•
Alpha gets logo ,,
The next time you see a
round, green on white sticker,
look again. It might be Alpha
Huron's logo.
The logo was chosen from
several drafted by Alpha
members. It will appear on
letterheads and envelopes
used by the Huron group. Just
another way to keep everyone
aware of the handicapped.
Twenty-three Alpha
members and friends enjoyed
a barbecue at the home of
Ralph and Pat Watson at
Brussels. Cold, damp
weather kept the group in-
side, but all enjoyed the social
time. •
Jim Hunsberger from
Alpha London brought news
that the housing brief for the
Handicapped would be
presented to the Ontario
cabinet on September 29. Jim
hopes that all kvho support the
b"rief will alert the local MPP.
Members agreed to rotate
meetings, between
Holmesville and Brussels on'
a trial.basis. -
Alpha will meet next at
Holmesville Public School on
September 27 at 8 pm. L
For information, call
Elaine Townshend at Clinton,
482-3357: Mary Howell at
Goderich, 524-8642; or Pat
Watson at Brussels, 887-6236.
horns, became maddened by
the heat, dust anti thirst and
gave a pretty good circus
performance, after getting
into town, near the Ontario
Street church: Foaming with
rage the brute was anchored
to a tree, and Dr. Freeman
who arrived on the scene, had
the , beast thrown, and after
resting for some time, put a•
ring in its nose and started it*
on the road again blind-
folded. It took several men all
day getting it home
The Brussels Post,
-.Lucknow Sentinel, Tara
Leader and other weeklies
are taking a holiday this week
by suspending publication.
Westill push on, thankful to
get off for a few hours sleep
when night comes on.
A young man of Goderich
Township with a span of
chestnuts, accompanied by
two ladies, who he had
brought on to see the circus
had an unpleasant experience
through carelessness in
driving over our granolithic
sidewalks. In turning around
a corner near the Clarendon
Hotel, he turned too short and
the horses fell, striking the
pavement. One of them got its
front feet over the neck yoke
and otherwise badly tangled
up in the harness besides
breaking the tongue. The
young man lost his head and
the ladies sat dumb -stricken
in the rig while the horses
lurched and kicked and had it
not been for assistance near
at hand would have resulted
more serious.
It Is registered as second ,plass man by the, .
post offlee under the permit number 0817.
The News -Record Incorporated In 1824 the,
Huron News -Record, founded In 1881, and
the Clinton New Era, founded In 1885. Total
press run 3,100.
Clinton Yews-Jec( )I
•c
CNA
11:w/
Member Canadian
Constnunity Newspaper
• Association
Dliplay advertising rates
available on request. Ask for ,
!tate Card Noe 7 effectiive bct.1, ,
117
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',General Manager 47. U i' rd Altken
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A vertisingDircctorzGa aalrt
Newsr,, editor • Shelley' McPbee
Ofllcb Man ides •1Grargaret Bibb
Circulation -Fred& McLeod
hccoea�'t dg.• Marw+wt>rbiri+
4450
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'15wiiiiir led Wats:
Canada -$12 per year.
U.S.A.-$16.1;!_- i
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