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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-06-08, Page 3People in profile: Irvine's into rugs by Elaine Townshend How does a retired farmer put in the time? Seventy -three-year-old Irvine Tebbutt of RR 4, Clinton has found a constructive hobby that allows him to making lasting gifts for his family. He hooks rugs. . The hobby started by accident about six years ago, when his daughter, Marilyn, was finishing a rug for his daughter-in-law. Mr. Tebbutt heard that other men hooked rugs, and he thought, if others could do it, he could too. "He got Marilyn to show him how, and he hasn't let us touch them since," jokes his wife, Edyth. He has made 22 mats, five cushion tops and three wall hangings thus far, and he has also completed a few mats that were started by relatives and friends. Mrs. Tebbutt has filled a scrapbook with the different designs he has used. For some of his grandchildren, he made mats with sailboats, kittens, poodles, trains and scenes from Bambi and Little Bo Peep on them. For adults, he has hooked one rug with a matador on it and several with different flowered designs on them. With four married children, 11 grandchildren and one great grand- child, he has been kept busy making mats for the family, but he was finally able to complete his favourite - a 36" by 70" 'Richmond', which was copied from a valuable old French rug belonging to the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. A mat of that size takes 110 to 120 hours to complete. Mr. Tebbutt orders 'kits' from a company in Montreal and waits an average of two weeks for delivery. Each 'kit' includes yarn in pre-cut rolls and mesh with the colours and pattern stamped on it. For each stitch, a length of yarn must be hooked through ..the mesh and tightened with a latchet hook. On rectangular mats, each end is stitched double for five rows to prevent fraying, but the edges of oval and round mats require binding. Some rugs use as many as 11 colours. Mr. Tebbutt prefers pure virgin wool to synthetic yarn, because it is better wearing. The kits usually have surplus yarn, and he used bits and pieces left from several mats to design a unique "confetti" mat. Some people hold the mats on their laps while hooking them ; others use card tables with weights to anchor the rugs in place. Mr. Tebbutt retrieved a wooden sewing table that his wife had discarded and cut the top in half to fit the mats. He lays the rugs on the table top and uses clamps to hold them fir- mly in place, leaving both hands free to work. The mats are appreciated as gifts because they are something he has made. Although they are long wearing and dry cleanable, some of the family still insists on hanging them on a wall or putting a table on top of them to protect them from being walked on. "I probably wouldn't put the time and money into it," he says, "except that I enjoy doing it and I feel it's sort of like an heirloom, something the family can keep." Hooking rugs isn't Mr. Tebbutt's only pastime. Although he sold the farm to his son five years ago, he still helps by driving a tractor in the busy season. He also serves as treasurer for Holmesville United Church. He and his wife have done some travelling, visiting their youngest son, Gordon, in Calgary and another son, Gerald, in Moline, Iowa. Mr. Tebbutt has also been to the British Isles and he and his wife plan to do more travelling. When he isn't travelling or helping on the farm, Mr. Tebbutt turns to rug hooking as a worthwhile hobby. Irvine Tebutt of RR 4, Clinton, is proving that a man can also be an expert rug hooker. Irvine, 73, started hooking rugs six years ago. (Photo by Elaine Townshend). Driver education course blasted After a year, the driver education course at CHSS still has a few bugs to iron out. Although CHSS principal, Gord Phillips said that the program was a success with approximately 160 students taking the course, he ex- plained when all the small negative factors were added up, some assessment was needed. Phillips presented his assessment of the program to the Board of Education through a memorandum on Monday afternoon. Phillips noted that many of the misunderstandings are brought about due to the fact that the contractor for the driver education course, H. Hopps, is from Stratford, th'erefore making direct communication sometimes difficult. Other problems arising in the course stem from the fact that the some 40 students who take the class must share the in -car instruction time. This at the present time seems to be difficult since there is only one car in use and the ability to organize time effectively is questionable. Phillips said- that he is against any instruction being attempted at noon hour or in spares. "A student should be eating his lunch and resting up before going on to the class instead of taking driver ed. then. Timetables should have some priority over that," Phillips explained. He also noted that he has already taken the in -car instruction away from spares. The length of the classes also may be a problem according to Phillips. Presently there are four classes a year. Three are completed during the school year and the fourth must continue on into the summer months. "One student recently required approximately six months to complete the in -class and in -car instruction," Phillips wrote. "No student should require more than four weeks to complete the in -car sessions. Ideally, 12 students a month can be served in -class and in -car. This approach sacrifices quantity for quality and may meet resistance regardless of its desirability." He also noted that the certificates of those who successfully complete the course are not being processed quickly enough. "They want that insurance discount now," he wrote. Phillips advises that these recom- mendations, along with a few others be brought to the attention of the con- tractor, and if they are unacceptable, then negotiations be started and a new contractor be sought. The board however temporarily tabled that issue. CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1978—PAGE 3 Board asked.. fensive and will not read from the book or show you pictures from the magazine". Collins pointed out that the material he had purchased was available to all students any time without any real attempt by parents to control it. He said the students constantly face ob- jectionable material in films, television, magazines and trash novels and parents seemed unconcerned about the matter. He said schools control the use of such material through trained professionals trained to use judgement and expertise putting such material into proper perspective rather than sensationalizing it as the letter from the parents had done. He said the board must trust its teachers. "Banning the books is the surest way I know of getting the students to seek out the books, read them, and have them adversely affect them by not having the contents put into proper perspective," he said. Collins said the alleged blasphemous material was not blasphemous but was language commonly used in every day life. He said blasphemy is taking the Lord's name in vain or making a deliberate attempt to dishonor God. He said just about everyone in society makes comments during a day that could be considered blasphemous. He said "most of us try to avoid using them in our speech but habit or reflex prevents that". He said the use of the words is 'habit" not a "deliberate attempt to dishonor God." He pointed out that the children in the schools know those words exist adding that it is far better for the children to learn about "life language and sex" in a controlled environment rather than in a drug store or out on the street. "You trust your doctors and your ministers, you'd better trust your teachers," he warned. Peggy Rivers told the board she represented a group of people in the Goderich area "concerned with the quality of education offered" and who feel it is worthwhile to "spend time showing support for our educational system, for the board that administers it and for the teachers involved in it." Rivers said the Goderich group did not favor- banning the books and also was unhappy with the methods used by the group proposing their banning. She said decisions made by councils in the county supporting the ban were based on quotations "arbitrarily selected from the books by a person or per - • �7 Clinton's downtown took on a new look last week as the public works depart- ment set out the town's tree planters. The Horticultural Society is also putting up the light standard flower pots and the merchants are filling the planters with flowers. All in all a pleasant look for main street. (News -Record photo) NOTICE Effective June 13, 1978 there will be no more home delivery by Fairholme Dairy. Fairholme Dairy Products will continue to be sold at the following stores: BASE FACTORY OUTLET C. & E. VARIETY CORRIE'S RED & WHITE KUENZIG I.G.A. NORTH END STORE RAY AND SHIRL'S RON'S SUNOCO VICTORIA VARIETY 7`A` Franchised Distributor •of Maple Line Dairy Product!' CLINTON, ONT. 442-9342 B -I -N -G -O, that used to be a song I sang when I was small, about a dog. Occasionally my sister and I would also get the old ratty bingo game out of the toy chest and have a rousing match with the chewed up cards until one of us started cheating or else one of us realized that the other was winning a little too often and then the fun was over. A tussle would start and chips and cards would fly off in every direction as -we both stormed off in anger to pout in a corner. That is the extent of my career with Bingo and over the years my interest in the game I played when I was a kid has lessened and lessened, , and nearly has grown pretty ob- solete in my mind. Yet, I really had my eyes opened on Monday night when I attended a Monster Bingo here in Clinton. As far as I knew, a monster bingo was simply a game using oversized cards and chips you had to move onto the numbers with both hands. But when I saw close to 300 people sitting, row after row in long tables, heads bent over, concentrating on the numbers being called, I realized that bingo is no kids game. Concentration was in all the faces of the players, young and old alike, and they really didn't want to be interrupted to have their picture taken or tell me their name. I don't blame them really, I was so busy looking around at everyone that I didn't hear half of the numbers being called and I'm really not sure how the players with at least ten cards kept up with the pace. By ,the time you had tracked down B-39 on half of the cards, it was on to the next number. I'm sure I couldn't even handle three cards, and it would he quite embarrassing, sitting with a bunch of such professionals. I mean these people are really pros. Many in fact have their own little personal dish to hold their chips in. These unique little dishes, that seemed mostly to be empty margarine containers, for the most part, all featured crocheted coverings in different colors and patterns. One old gent even had a lovely wooden box to keep all his chips in order. Well, I'm not even equipped to join in the activities even if I could keep everything in order. But I must admit, bingo sure looks like a lot of fun. When I played the game there was no money involved and the only great satisfaction I could ever get was to beat that sister of mine or at least send her chips flying. But that's pretty small bananas compared to having a chance at $1,000, a number of specials or even $50 at a regular game. I'm definitely going to start practicing .... BINGO!! CD PIONEER ModeISX-750 AM/FM STEREO RECEIVER i s 111111111 • 100 RMS TOTAL 50 WATTS PER CHANNEL • NO MORE THAN 0.1 % T.H.D. 1 1 1 1 r • WNW i sphety $399.00 Also - Come In And See... The World's Largest - Most Powerful Receiver - The Pioneer SX -1980 270 Watts Per Channel • "THE RACK" - PIONEERS RACKED, STACKED SYSTEM • NEW PIONEER CAR STEREO "SUPER SYSTEMS" 29 Kingston St. Goderich 524-9576 • from page 1 sons". She added that the motions by the councils were sent to county secondary schools without prior con- sultation with the board of education,"an act we consider a gross infringment on the rights and responsibilities of the board". She said the claim that the books and the teachers using them were at- tempting to turn our youth into "vulgar, filthy, ungodly individuals is absurd". Rivers said that a person reading a book is not necessarily influenced by the ideology of it. She said someone reading Mein Kampf does not automatically become a Nazi and someone reading the biography of John Diefenbaker does not necessarily become a Progressive Conservative. Rivers told the board that the "notoriety Huron County has received, by even raising the issue is not something we should be proud of". She said the image the county is receiving on a national level as a result of the issue is leaving "false impressions from which we will be years recovering". She said the groups presenting their support of the materials were not advocating their mandatory use but were protecting the right of selection by secondary school teachers. She said the move to ban the books indicated the people of Huron felt better qualified to judge course content than the professional teachers they employ. Paul Ross told the board he represented a group of people from the Clinton area that opposed the proposed banning of the books. Ross told the board that he didn't feel the material in the books was obscene but that the method used to make them appear obscene was "to my mind obscene". "They used a simple children's arith- metic method that says the whole is equal to the sum of the parts," he said.. "They've taken parts of the novels and said that these equal the total and that is an obscenity." Ross said that the teachers in the county should be left with the decisions they are trained to make. He said they have the expertise to decide if material is fit for use in county classrooms and are trained and hired to make those decisions. A• public meeting 'on the issue of the , book banning has been planned and will be held in Clinton June 13 at the high school. Authors Peirre Berton and June Callwood plan to be there to defend the use of the novels in high school English. Technical director... • from page 1 at this point because he feels that a lot of work, expense and energy has gone into the making of viable tech programs at CHSS. "We have consistently tried to up- date our programs to keep pace with technological advances made during the subsequent years," Craig wrote. "We worked very hard to establish and sell the idea that manual labor is an essential skill in our society and is a highly respected vocation. Through the co-operation of employers, .we established awards and scholarships for excellence in technical subjects. Our graduates have reflected the success of our program. Many of them are finding and succeeding in ap- prenticeship programs at a time when our country desperately needs skilled help." He continued to say that the technical program at CHSS is an excellent one. The enrollment is high and has not declined. Many graduates from the program continue their studies in university or community colleges. "One of the 157 graduates produced in the last three years is unemployed," he stressed. BEAUTIFUL SUMMER ri KING SIHFFT,CLINTON 4327735 Open: Daily 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Closed Wednesdays L ��z