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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-06-22, Page 4PAGE 4--CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1978 page 1 1, Treat them royally Many in this area tend to ignore the tourist. Even though many persons in Huron County make their living from tourism, few others are willing to concede that it is our second most important in- dustry, and we should be giving it the time and attention it deserves. The provincial government has been trying hard in recent weeks to make us all more aware of the important part it plays in our lives. They have given us some star- tling facts that we can't ignore. For instance, tourism is our number two export industry, after manufacturing, accounting for $4 billion in income, or 10.8 per cent of our gross provincial product. Tourism accounts for 11 per cent of Ontario's workforce, generating 405,400 directly and indirectly related jobs. In addition to Ontarions travelling around the province, in 1976 20,853,000 visitors came from the United States, 9,900,000 came from other provinces, and 933,000 came from other countries. The money all those people spend filters down to nearly every segment of our economy, so it's important that we treat tourists with the respect they deserve. The provincial government in their campaign has offered a few obvious, but often ignored tips: Smile, it's the quickest way to win a friend; listen, some visitors have different languages or accents; be polite, thank -you may be your most important word; be prompt, tourists are usually only with us a short time. Be helpful, try to know your area so you can help visitors find their way; and be clean, nothing turns off a visitor faster than grubby people and dirty places. And probably the most important advice available is to respect their money. A visitor's money represents his country, his work and his worth, however much or little it's worth in terms of Canadian dollars. So don't treat it as funny money, and always give the visitor the best possible rate of exchange. ..f � 'Tri _�t l I. � 44 Y �,tf � •y` IS � y'L+�fl,F''i •�.r t. �. •: `�.a.. C1 is ..'4 t. � -!y. :� J' ^,}yit+t�i� ��: �ti�,�+ ,ti t4 :�'i r�• :ir ��{ r �4 4:�. '`a; t - :.ir,� t• . v1_ a!ar•V!r:"?rT: t+ 1 t v� t. �� '•ri 1�:� f`7\wii: ..�.M��.: �:r-':?�•'1•• , .r 1 %1'�iv.'r., !,: :.ar �:^. ,• ._ ..•e.L .•.., .._ .. ... ...t �.. �•• .:i3,.... K 1�,,.:s•-.•.31•r :!'V,t_ •r-.. .'ir'i , >.,. �.', i. ti-,. �-.�_... �: {�'. ..._ �'i:•,:."-: i4 "Each year, I spend half my time getting the lawn to grow fast and the other half cutting it, because it grows so fast!" The getaway With luck and a tail wind, I'll be in Calgary by the time you read this. For several months, my girl friend and I have planned our getaway - two weeks of exploring Alberta, British Columbia Crazy wives Quick now. What is exactly like a Quebec politician: always wanting a bit more than there is in the kitty ; quick to assumed anger; deliberately misunderstanding feelers of amiability; vaguely threatening separation; charming one minute, abrasive the next? Give up? I thought everyone would get 100 per cent on ( that. 'Answer: a wife. Sometimes, although not often, I wish I had been married three or four times. Not because I am a sex fiend, or because I want a change of cooks every few years, or because I don't like the way my socks disappear in the dryer. No. Just to find out if other men's wives are as crazy as mine. Back in the good old days before women's lib, men just heaved a universal, brotherly sigh, and groaned: "Women..." Everybody vi*ho counted (all adult males and small boys), knew exactly what was meant by the big shrug that accompanied this am- biguous two -syllable lament. Even the women knew what it meant, and smirked slyly, tacitly admitting they had us by the short and curly, and there wasn't a dang thing we could do about it except endure. Nowadays, if you get some guy in a dark corner in a bar, and try to tell him your wife is crazy, he's probably so house-trained that he'll look at you in horror, glance nervously over his shoulder, and blurt: "Oh, no! Perhaps a little volatile, a trifle mercurial, but that's all." Then, casting a swift glom around, he might whisper: "No crazier than the sea, which is also affected by the moon." There's no comfort in people like that. He's the type who probably scrubs the kitchen floor every Saturday morning, delivers his kids to their music lesson,, and mows the lawn himself, even though he kflows these are a wife's prerogatives and privileges. I don't for one minute suggest that my wife is crazier than other wives. I couldn't in all honesty, and without prejudice. I've seen some pretty crazy wives in my day. But I think I'd put some money on her if it came to a contest. And I'm a cautious bettor. Perhaps the only way I can describe her is in sports' terms. She is like a boxer with a long left jab that keeps you off balance, and a mean right hook that can come in out of left field at any time. I trust I am being obscure. Obscurity is what I have need of, when this appears in print. It's not that we don't get along. We get along and along and along. Thirty years is a long time to be married to a strange woman. Perhaps it's the fault of The Lord. He made man in His own image: decent, upright, honorable, straight forward, sense of humor. I can just hear Hirp saying: "A poor, forked, naked thing, but Mine own." Then His sense of humor got out of hand. He took one of Adam's ribs (note it was not a tooth or an ear or a toe) and made Woman. Notice the connection. A rib is both concave and convex, just like a dame. Imagine what women would look like if He had taken a toe. But He wasn't satisfied with con- demning men to heart attacks because they were missing a rib, and things are inclined to cave in on a chap. I can almost hear Him giggling as He took, not one of Adam's regular, run-of-the- mill ribs, but his CRAZY rib. This was the rib ,that Adam couldn't seem to control. Sometimes it made him pant breathlessly. Sometimes it grew a sharp end, punched him in the guts and gave him an ulcer. Sometimes it seemed to float, and when he put out his hand to grasp it, it wasn't there. Sometimes it sang the sweetest of songs, all by itself. At others, it gave him a pain in the arm. Well, that's what my old lady is like. I don't know about yours, but I suspect. We head out to a party with friends, arid she tells me I , have the most beautiful blue eyes in the world, after Paul Newman. I tell her she looks pretty good, too. Five hours later, after I have delivered an extremely lucid lecture on sex after death, polygamy among penguins, or the iniquity of high school principals, she tells me that I am a rotten father, husband, and grandfather, that she's sick of hearing me click my "partial lower plate," and that my eyes look like those of an alligator crossed with a sleepy parrot. We used to go to church on Sunday morning, and have our sins washed away, or at least slightly rinsed. Nowadays, we have a Revival Meeting on Sunday mornings. From a long list, The Clinton News•Record 1s published each Thursday a1 P.O. Sox 39. Clinton, Ontario. Canada, NOM ILO. Member. Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association It Is registered as second class mall by the post office under the permit number 0417. The News -Record Incorporated In 1024 the Huron News -Record, founded In 1001, and The Clinton New Era, founded in 1003. Total press run 3,300. Member Caneddlen Community Newspaper Association Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for . Rata Card No. 0 effective Oct. 1, 1Nl. Goland Manager •.1. Howard Aitken Editor • James E. Fitzgerald Advertising Director • Gary L. Heist News editor • Shelley McPhee Office Manager • Maigaret•Glbb Circulation • Freda McLeod Accounting • Marian Willson Subscription Rates Canada • '13 per year U.S.A. •'17.00 • Other •'40.00 meticulously hidden in that floating rib, she produces sins of omission and commission that make me a com- bination of Attila the Hun and Henry the Eighth, with a little dash of Richard Nixon thrown in. Absolutely adamant, she says: "And not another nickel to that daughter of yours." Two days later, she sends her a cheque for $200 to pay the ever -behind rent. I've slipped the kid only a lousy hundred. Then she rages: "And no way are those boys going to come and destroy the house! Just look at that — you name it, they've done it." Three hours later, on the phone: "Of course, darling, we'll take the boys for two weeks while you sort out your psyche." Women is crazy. and Vancouver Island. We are hoping to miss some of the summer crowds and some of the summer prices. We've both been west before and fell in love with it and couldn't wait to go back. As the trip drew nearer, I found myself wanting to pour over a road map of B.C. rather than to pound on the keys of a typewriter. We decided to fly to Calgary to save time and to cut down on driving. A few weeks ago I remarked to a day that I was impressed by Calgary three years ago because it was such a clean city. "It's not clean now," she replied. "The garbage men have been on strike for weeks, and there's no sign of a settlement. There's garbage ever where!" If the strike isn't over by now, Joan and I will be passing through Calgary as quickly as possible. I voted to take the train from Calgary to Vancouver, but Joan wanted to rent a car. Driving will let us take -our time. She had flown over the mountains, but had never driven through them. Maybe when we get halfway through, .she'll wish we had taken the train. We were surprised to learn a "drop- off" fee is now charged by car rental agencies when a car is left in a dif- ferent city. We were even more sur- prised when we heard the amount. One place we both are anxious to re- visit is Vancouver Island. We'll 5 YEARS AGO June 21, 1973 Most of a life spent within the walls of a school as teacher and principal came to an end this month for J. A. (Bert) Gray of Clinton.. Mr. Gray's resignation, which is official August 31, comes after' 42 years service in education in Huron County, the past 17 of which he has spent as principal of the Clinton Public School. Saturday evening close to 150 persons turned out to a retirement banquet and dance in his honor at the Clinton Legion Hall, with J. M. Coulter, Goderich, Superintendent of Program and Planning for the Huron County Board of Education as chairman. A family dinner was held on Sunday, June 17 in St. Andrews United Church, Bayfield to honor Miss Josephine Stirling on her 90th birthday. 10 YEARS AGO June 20, 1968 Sunday, June 16 saw the official closing of Turner's United Church in Tuckersmith Township. Guest speaker for the service was Rev. C. M. Jardine of Wingham, chairman of the Huron -Perth Presbytery, delivered his message to a large congregation. Special music was provided by the former Turner's quartet - Gordon Johns, George Turner, Stanley Johns and Bert Pepper, accompanied by Mrs. William Rogerson, organist. • An early morning fire Monday destroyed the barn of Peter Bos on his farm north of Clinton. Two milk cows, 13 sows and a quantity of small machinery were destroyed in the blaze. Mr. Bos estimated damage at $13,000. It was partially insured. Federal agricultural minister J. J. Greene unveiled a six million dollar export trade permit for the supply of road graders to Argentina during a campaign speech in Goderich Saturday afternoon. The minister who is a candidate in Niagara Falls for the next general election, was in Huron to support Liberal candidate Maitland Edgar. William A. Stewart, Ontario Minister of Agriculture was guest speaker at a mam- moth chicken barbecue in Goderich ori Monday in support of Huron Progressive Conservative candidate Robert McKinley. 25 YEARS AGO June•25, 1953 It was the birthday of A. Y. Mcl.ean, MBE, MP, who is the Liberal candidate In the new riding in Huron, the publisher and editor of the Huron Expositor and the reason behind the Prime Minister's presence in Clinton. Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, spoke to an enthusiastic audience•at the Clinton t probably take the ferry across rather than try an Evel Kneivel stunt in our rented car. We want to return to some places that are particularly vivid in our memories, and we hope to see some sights we missed when we were on the Island before. Of course, there is always the danger of disappointment. It has been three years since I was there and longer for Joan. Time has a way of changing things, and memory has a way of playing tricks on us. Things may look different from the way we remember them. I will be pleased if one of my memories proves- false. Surely Van- couver isn't as easy to get lost in as I remember! Nevertheless Joan and I are deter- mined to enjoy a funfilled interesting two weeks of revisiting • old sites, discovering new ones, looking up old friends and finding new ones. But there is one more little problem that has been bothering me. Joan announced she will do the driving and will expect me to do the navigating. She doesn't know much about my sense of directions. So... if you hear that two gals from Ontario ripped off a car rental agency in Vancouver, don't believe it. I'm probably just navigating Joan around in circles looking for the place. a look through the news -record files Community Park yesterday afternoon. It was a special day for Clinton, because in over 45 years, it was the first time that a Liberal Prime Minister had visited the town. Funeral service was held on Monday in the G. A. Whitney Funeral Home, Goderich St• W., Seaforth for Miss Jessie Grainger who passed away in Clinton Public Hospital on Saturday, June 20, following an illness of two years. Miss Grainger was born at Brucefield in 1882, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Grainger. She received her public school education near there, later graduating as a nurse from Clinton Public Hospital. For 27 years, Miss Grainger continued her work as superintendent of Clinton Public Hospital, a work which she began in 1919 in the hospital located where the Commercial Inn Hotel now is. At that time with the three inexperienced girls which later here her first class of nurses, she began the heavy task of setting up a hospital which had been closed for four years while Dr. Gunne was absent overseas in World War One. 50 YEARS AGO June 21, 1928 Wesley -Willis United Church was destroyed by fire at an early hour this morning. The fire which was of unknown origin, had got such a start before the alarm was given that it was impossible to get it under control and the whole inside of the church as well as the pipe organ and all the furniture and equipment, was rendered to ashes or charred heaps. Only the wall and the front porch are left standing. F. F. Gillies of Kitchener had his airplane here Friday evening and Saturday last, when a number of citizens took a little ex- cursion into the upper air and took a look at the town from that angle. The following Clinton students have been sucressful in passing their year at the University of Western Ontario: Jack Gib- hings, Misses Ruth Ball, Elinor McEwan, Melda Mclllroy, Jean Plumsteel, Eleanor Plumsteel and Eileen Atkinson. 75 YEARS AGO June 25, 1903 Mr. James McQuire, formerly of the Claredon Hotel but now of the Union House, Toronto is in hard luck. A year ago he was robbed of $600 and deep mystery surrounds the disappearance on Sunday night of a cash box containing $400 from the Union House. The box was taken from a safe which stands in the sitting room and the theft is believed to have been the work of a clever thief who waited around till he got a favorable op- portunity to perpetrate the robbery. On Saturday morning while Mrs. Ralph Stephenson of the Parr Line was driving to the station with Miss M. Stephenson and Mrs. W. Hart intending to take in the ex- cursion, some parties started racing horses and drove past Ahem at a furious rate causing their horses to ruh away, upsetting the ladies into the ditch opposite the mill. The horse broke the shafts and got clear of the buggy. The ladies all got a severe shaking up. Mrs. Hart is nursing a sore arm and Miss Stephenson a sore knee, while Mrs. Stephenson has been under the doctor's care since. We think people who race horses on the public highway should pay all damages they may cause. The scarcity of help which has long been felt by the farmers of the Londesboro area has been overcome by the arrival of a number of men and women from England. The newcomers have had previous farm experience and are of superior quality. Farmers are ,eating Force, "Thanks for Force. I eat it three times a day. Folks call me "Sunny Jim". Took some to the country with me on a visit and the farmers out there are eating Force now." - Will Ruff. 100 YEARS AGO June 27, 1878 The Mayor of Stratford will get a salary of $200 a year in future. (All that the Mayor of Clinton is likely to get for some years won't make him a millionaire.) Last Thursday a young Man with a pair of light grey pants on come into our office to view the workings thereof, and while looking around sat down on the ink keg. Most people can imagine what followed. On Friday a person attracted con- siderable attention by coming into town with two dogs harnessed in a small wagon and himself pulling on the pole. He is a vendor of medicines and takes this unique way of travelling through the country. A few days since a lady in town was presented by her husband with a pair of handsome birds. These were placed in a cage and left standing in an open window, while the lady of the house performed her household duties. Shortly afterwards she was surprised to find that a strange cat had knocked the cage over, killed one of the birds and was in the act of eating it. A few days after this, with the assistance of a lady friend, the cat was captured and they determined to prevent it doing further damage by ending its existence, so a slip - noose was quickly made, passed over its head and pulled sufficiently tight to strangle the animal. Mr. Frazer, who this year has rented the cheese factory in Londesboro, is doing a good business, many persons' now giving their milk who formerly made butter, the low prices for the latter article being the reason of this. Biased Dear Editor: We, of "CHRISTIAN CONCERN" are quite concerned; concerning the biased coverage you gave the educational meeting held in Clinton high school last Tuesday evening, June 13. We feel that by far the most im- portant product we raise in our country is our youth. There is nothing, ab- solutely nothing that will make our country, as virile, as noble, as healthy, as CHRISTIAN, as a generation of young people that have been trained and moulded by us of the older generation in the ways of morality, unselfishness, Christian love (which includes both love of GOD and man), and good clean and honourable in- dustry. Of the 500 people present at this meeting, we of "CHRISTIAN CON- CERN" represented 80 pgrcent of the school -tax paying parents; and it has been said that 'the one who pays the piper calls the tund'; yet in your coverage, you almost completely disregarded the feeling of the 80 per- cent school tax paying parents, of Huron county, so forcefully and clearly put forth by such speakers as Mr. Paul Steckle, and Mr. Art Haverkamp. It would seem that you have pur- posely given your story a biased slant; not that in keeping with the will of the people. Yours truly, W.L. Barth, RR 3, Blyth. Objective reached Dear Editor: The following would be of great in- terest to your readers. Mrs. E. D. Fingland Dear Mrs. Fingland: Thank you very much for the cheque in the amount of $2,102.75, which we received 'from the Bank of Montreal this morning. (The objective was $2,000.) We are deeply grateful to you per- sonally, and to all those whoassisted in raising these funds in the Clinton district. It was a magnificent effort, and all concerned may rest assured that the funds will be used to assist others in this country and overseas who find themselves in less fortunate cir- cumstances than we enjoy. It was a great pleasure for my wife and I to meet you earlier this year. Kindest regards, Yours sincerely, K. A. W. Davis, Executive Director Vanastra nice place Dear Editor: Let's say something nice about Vanastra. I have lived here for five years and it is a lovely place to live. The people are very nice and are fixing up their homes. Just because it is a small community, some people have to exaggerate on anything that just doesn't go right. All the time that I have lived here, I haven't seen one thing that has been out of place. So it must be a very few that aren't fortunate enough to know what is right from wrong. I haven't met one child that isn't sweet and precious. They are a credit to any community. People are the same the world over and I'm sure there must be a lot of people that talk and run a place down and they really don't know what they are talking about. So, please don't run Vanastra down, it is a good place to live. A resident of Vanastra Books need study Dear Editor: As a graduate of Central Huron Secondary School, B.D.B. (before dirty books) who is now an English teacher teaching many of these same books, I have followed the questionable literature debate in the Clinton News - Record and the London Free Press with a great deal of concern mixed with not a little amusement. In the idyllic late '60's my classmates and I received instruction from bowdlerized Shakespearean plays, wrote essays on novels free of profanity and found that sex education consisted of the technicalities of reproduction taught in segregated classes. Con- sequently, never did we curse nor did we entertain unclean thoughts. Ha! Almost to a man we furtively read literature of a far seamier quality than those titles that the defenders of decency wish to see banned. Freely we recommended books to each other and our discussions seldom, except in the few cases where enlightened parents felt comfortable discussing such subject matter with their children, gained the benefit of mature, adult guidance. It should be noted at this point as well that we were , largely ignorant of anything called "Canadian Literature". I was in my second year of university before I discovered, to my unending delight, that Canadians wrote books that were relevant to life as I knew it in Canada. Teachers are well aware of the profound influence of their opinions on those students entrusted, to their in- struction. Today £he average child has been exposed to at least ten years of the most explicit violence and sexuality via the television by the time he reaches Turn to page 1a • • •