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Clinton News-Record, 1978-08-10, Page 4PAGE 4---CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 1978 Should we change it? Nearly everyone, including editors and even the occasional English teacher, has done a few bad things to the Queen's English. It is, to be sure, one of the hardest languages in the world to learn, and even those of us who are born and raised with it are 'hard pressed at times to understand it, write it and even talk it. There have been rumblings over the years that something should be done to improve the language, particularly in its written form, and K. Tillema of Box 893, Chatham, Ontario is trying to start a groundswell movement to change it, Mr. Tillema writes (the spelling is his) : "Our present socially acceptable spelling is unteachable, mind - stunting, handicapping and deceiving. It stifles common sense, blocks reading, represses literacy, promotes delinquency, and squanders energy. It impedes typing, obstructs alfabetic voice printing, causes mispronunciation and retards learning." He goes on: "The 40 sounds in English have more than 500 dif- ferent spellings. Eath vowel sound has an average of 18 different spellinps." "English spelling is malignant, lawless, erratic, ill -evolved, pseudo historical, antiquated and time wasting." "You are invited," Mr. Tillema writes, "to join the efforts to revise the current conventional spelling with sound spelling." We certainly agree with Mr. Tillema that the English language in this day and age is certainly an anachronism, and could certainly stand a lot of improvement. But why just stop at spelling, why not clean up some of the idiotic grammatical rules as well, Mr. Tillema? It would sure make the editor's job much easier. Mr. Tillema's suggestion is not a new one, in fact, itdis just a revival of a centuries old idea that dates back to the invention of the printing press four or five centuries ago. The real problem seems to be not agreeing on what is the problem, but how to solve it. Maybe the government will step in like they did with our antiquated measurement system which replaced foot and inches with meters and centimetres. Who noes, Mr. Tillema, one day we al may no how to spel write. Musical weekend The only member of our ,family to show any musical talent thus far is my niece, who plays the drums. Som -e' people seem surprised to hear of a girl Brother death Canadians have ..a great preoc- cupation with death. It is common knowledge that we carry more life insurance than any other nation in the world, on 'a per capita basis. I wonder why, It must be a great country in which to be selling lifelnsurance. Even Simp- sons -Sears, Lip ited, is getting into the business. Only in Canada would a big department store be selling insurance. Pity, But it's a fact. In my wife's last computerized, machine -signed letter from that august organization, one L. Visosky, General Credit Manager, talks earnestly about an accidental death policy, exclusively for Simpsons - Sears account customers. It pays up to $100,000 in benefits and "protects you while you're driving, riding, or walking—even when you're at home or at work — everywhere in the world! NO MEDICAL EXAM! NO AGE LIMIT!" 0 Well, I don't do much driving, riding or walking when I'm at home, or at work, but perhaps it's a good idea. It costs only $3.50 a month for a family. Does it mean that children under five can be insured for up to 100 grand for accidental death? Does it mean that people over ninety who decide to jump in front of a bus, accidentally, can leave their heirs. set for life? Somehow, I doubt it. It's far more likely that Simpsons -Sears just want to be dang sure they're paid off, if you've managed to get into them for a few hundred dollars ori your charge ac- count. Perhaps Canadians are not so foolish in their concern about death. A pretty good English playwright, Will Shakespeare, was fascinated by the subject, and speculated upon it in Hamlet's soliloquies. And a thousand thousand other poets and playwrights have attempted to probe into the meaning of death. A quick look at Bartlett's Familiar Quotations shows more than three solid pages of references to death, Thus we learn that Death among other things, such as the end of Life, "borders upon our birth, breaks every bond, is only a horizon, is the fatal asterisk, is like a friend unseen, is the end of a journey, is but the long, cool night;" a debt, a trumped ace, a boat- man, a road we all must go." And so on. They all sound like cliches, don't they? Brother Death becomes more familiar as you grow. older. Children are 'completely unaware of him, young people are rarely so. it's a rather distasteful thing that happens to other people, mostly old ones. . When I was a young fighter pilot, I was very close to death, fairly often. But I didn't even feel his cold breath, nor smell his slightly mouldy scent. A few times I was almost literally scared to death, but not of death. When you begin seeing school friends in the obituary columns, when a brother dies, when a colleague dies, all of them in their prime, you begin to feel and smell the Old Boy. It's not par- ticularly frightening, merely a bit disconcerting. In your heart, you are twelve years old, with a little sophistication plastered on the outside. In your head, you're a couple of years away from retirement, a decade or so away from senility, certainly on nodding terms with Brother Death. Holy Smokes! I hope this is not too lugubrious a column for a family journal. It was that thing from Sim- psons -Sears that got me going. And then my wife suggested I make a list of my insurance policies and the junk in my safe deposit box, and leave it all in the hands of my brother-in-law, the lawyer, before we embarked on our trip. What a gloom -box way of com- mencing a summer holiday. I told her I would, but never got around to it, If we're hijacked or go down in the Atlantic or die of seasickness on our voyage down the Rhine, let somebody else sort out the mess I've left behind. I've been sorting out their messes long enough. Let's see, now. There are two in- surance policies in the bottom drawer of the dresser, beneath my thermal underwear. There's another with the county scuool board. There's a stock certificate somewhere in my, desk. drawer, worth $94.00. There's a house, paid for, and two cars in the driveway, worth $250 each, on a good day. As for my safe deposit box at the hank. I lost my key the first week I had it, and the girl told my they'd have to have a chap drill it open with me present. We were to make a date mutually agreeable. That was six months ago. I don't know what's in the thing anyway. The Clinton Hews -Record Is published each Thursday at P.O. Sox 39. Clinton, Ontario, Canada, NOM 11.0. Member, Ontario Weekly Netmspap.r Association It Is registered as second class mall by 'the post office under the permit number 0517. The Mows -Record Incorporated In 1924 the Huron News -Record, founded In 1851, and The Clinton New Era, founciod In 1$63. Total press run 3,300. Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association tiliplay advertising rates available en request. Ask for (late Card No. A effective Oct. 1, 1117. General Manager • J. Howard Aitken tdltor • James O. Pltsgereld Advertising Olrecfor . Gory 1.. Halst NIWs editor . Shelley McPhee Office Mofleadr . Margaret Oibb Cfrtul.tlett • Prada McLeod Subscription Roto: Canada •'13 per year •'11'.OA Other 'OM My wife has a sewing machine that's worth more than our two cars. The color TV is ten years old, but going strong, ever since we had the TV repairman put back new knobs where the grandboys had ripped all the originals off. My colleagues in the English department are perfectly welcome to split up my reference books, my filing cabinet, which has'not been opened in ten years, and my picture of the Queen, the one with the moustache drawn in. Any left-handed golfer with arthritis may have my clubs and cart, which are so old and shabby they almost qualify as antiques. There's a pretty good fishing rod down ih the basement, with the Christmas decorations. A few patches and there's a dandy pair of hip waders to go with it. They're in the trunk of the old Dodge, along with a case of beer that froze last winter. There, 1 think that pretty well clears the decks. If Brother Death gets overfriendly, my daughter won't need a job for the next three years. It'll take her that long to sort our the estate. Burn Voyage. playing drums, but I'm not. It's just another male domain being infiltrated by ,us girls. Janice says she works out her frustrations on the drums, and if you can resolve your hang ups with rhythm why not? I've considered trying it, but I'm afraid my landlord would kick me out. In July,. I went to Toronto with my sister, brother-in-law and youngest nephew to give my niece moral sup- port, when she took part in her first Music Fest. Picture this -a hotel conference room not much larger than an average -sized classroom. The back two-thirds of the room were filled with judges, con- testants, teachers and members of the audience; the front third was crammed with seven sets of drums. The contestants ranged from young. boys, who could barely see over the tops of the drums, to teen -aged boys, who spent a lot.of time combing their hair and flicking cigarette butts. A few girls participated in the group com- petitions but my niece was the only girl to play a solo. Many of the contestants, especially the younger ones, were obviously nervous; others seemed to be thinking about things that had nothing to do with drums. But, as each of them struck the. first beat, their moods changed. Even when they weren't looking at the drums, their expressions showed they had no other thoughts. Their concentration and coordination produced a con- tagious throbbing that even an uninitiated listener, like me, could appreciate. For two -and -a -half hours, we listened to solo drummers and drum groups. remembering our past 25 YEARS AGO August 13,1953 L. Elston Cardiff, 64 -year-old farmer from Brussels and veteran of 30 years experience in political life including 13 years as MP for North Huron, was victor in the contest for a seat in ,the federal house of the new riding of Huron. At the election held August 10, Mr. Cardiff was elected to the House of Commons with the majority of 1,212 votes over the Liberal candidate, Andrew Y. McLean, Seaforth. Bayfield's grand old lady, Mrs. Charles W. Parker will mark her 95th birthday on August 13, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. E. A. Featherston, Though no special celebration is planned, Mrs. Parker is always happy to have callers. She has 25 grandchildren and 30 great grandchildren. Jayne Mary Snell, RR 1, Clinton, was the winner of the first prize awarded last Thursday afternoon by the Clinton Lions Club for senior group entry in the amateur contest conducted at the Huron County Trade Fair. A proposal to erect parking meters along the business district of Clinton was made to town council by a representative of Mi -Co Meter Sales and Service Ltd., at the special meeting of council on Tuesday evening. The Mi -Co Meter agent introduced his topic by referring to mention in the Clinton News -Record of a certain degree of traffic problem in town and after visiting Clinton, had found conditions as described, or worse. The purpose of erecting meters, he ex- plained, was to control and regulate parking and its main aim was to get the long term parker off main street, 50 YEARS AGO August 16,1923 The question of a Board of Education for the Town of Clinton, was taken up last night at a special -meeting of the Council, and will now be sent on to the people for their approval. This matter has received considerable discussion for a number of years and it is considered by many to he the hest solution for the management of our schools, which is now the most important from the standpoint of expenses as far as the town institutes are concerned. The sale of homemade baking, fancy work and afternoon tea held on Miss Norah Ferguson's picturesque lawn in Bayfield was a decided success, the receipts passed all expectations. The affair was under the The finale was a performance of a group of seven. Can you imagine seven drums pulsating simultaneously? And I had forgotten my cotton batting! But, believe it or not, I came out of there without a headache. We made our way to our rooms to settle down for the night. All the elevators were packed with people, but two boys managed to squeeze their guitar cases into ours. As we walked along the hall, music emanated from behind doors. It was Friday night, and the guitarists and accordionists were practicing for their Saturday and Sunday competitions. The drummers and pianists had completed their nerve-wracking part of the weekend, and we could tell which rooms belonged to them. They were the ones that the laughter and chatter •were coming from. The grand finale took place on Sunday evening with the presentation of the trophies. Hundreds of con- testants, friehds and families crowded into the ballroom. Between the an- nouncements of the winners, a few selected musicians entertained; un- fortunately, it was difficult to hear them above the celebrating winners, sorrowing losers and fidgeting waiters. Looking over the booklet which listed all the entries, I noticed that few came from Toronto while many came from this part of Southwestern Ontario. New Brunswick had even sent a contingent. Although I'm not a qualified judge of music, I enjoy listening to it, and after hearing the talented young musicians at Music Fest '78, I am reassured that the quality of music in this part of the country will be maintained for many years to come. a look through the news -record files auspices of the Presbyterian WMS. Tragedycast a shadow over Bayfield on Thursday last when Captain J.A. Ferguson, who has been ill for many months, took his life with a revolver. The deceased had been verymuch depressed following his long illness. He was born in Goderich Township, June 21, 1867, eldest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Ferguson. In February 1906 he was married to Miss Wyona Moorehouse who survives him. For many years he sailed the lakes in the office of Captain for" the Steel Cor- poration. It will be remembered that in the terrific storm of 1913 he brought his boat with great difficulty to port and was one chosen to patrol Lake Huron after the storm had ceased. In 1915 he retired from service and since then he has lived quietly in Bayfield, 75 YEARS AGO August 13,1903 Mr. James Flynn, who had his leg frac- tured six weeks ago, is able to get out of doors again, but moves very gingerly on crutches. The long confinement indoors was indeed trying but he bore it philosophically and with admirable patience. Rev. Snell of Bayfield is urging upon his people the advisability of building a new church, to which he has already been promised considerable aid. He is energetic and having the project very much at heart, who will venture to say that a new church will not be built in the not far distant future. The contract of cutting the hill leading to the Colborne bridge in Goderich Township was let to Mr. William Wheatley at 271/2 cents per yard. The work will be done under the superintendance of Reeve Middleton. The contract for the bridge an'd culvert at the foot of the hill had"been awarded to Mr. Harry Sweet. The grim reaper Death visited Varna on • Monday, this time taking away Mrs. Miller, wife of the pastor at the Methodist church, During her residence here, Mrs. Miller make many friends who loved her because of her many virtues. , To the bereaved husband the deep sympathy of the whole community goes out. Mr. Joe Rattenbury had occasion to visit in the town hall on Wednesday of last week. His fox terrier followed him unpeircieved and when the door was locked the terrier remained inside. Mr. Rattenbury missed Monarchy out Dear Editor: The chief focus of media and public attention since the release of the Government's:, Constitutional Amen- dment Bill has been on the provisions in regard to the Supreme Court and the Senate. However, I believe that citizens should be aware that the Bill proposes revolutionary changes in the Con- stitutional Monarchy, changes which are in many ways more important to the average Canadian than any other of the Bill's proposals. The Bill presents a monarchial facade; behind lurks a republican reality which removes the Queen from being part of Parliament and which concentrates power in the hands of the Prime Minister's - appointee, the Governor General. The Governor would exercise power'in his own right, giving way to the Sovereign only when she was present in Canada. Not only is this a gratuitous insult to the Queen, whose labours and interest have been directed so evidently to Canada, `but it also would allow for a government to consolidate its own power, without checks or balances, by keeping the Monarch out of Canada. The deceitful danger of the Bill is that it maintains many of the Crown's trappings, while these symbols would in fact stand for altered ideas and a quite different institution: Equally, it would preclude Prince Charles or Prince Andrew from serving as Governor General, it would eliminate reference to the Queen's Canadian Forces and it would abolish the happy status quo whereby both Queen and Governor can exercise their powers fully, within and without Canada. Canadians determined to preserve their institutions should write their provincial and federal legislators to protest the Bill's' provisions. A detailed statement outlining its threat to Canadian Constitutional Government may be obtained by writing the Monarchist League of Canada, 2 Wedgewood Cresc., Ottawa, Ont. K1B 4B4. Yours sincerely, John L. Aimers, Dominion chairman The Monarchist League of Canada Intolerance during the day and a diligent search was made but in vain. Yesterday Chief Welsh's attention was drawn to a dog looking out of the armoury window. It was the- terrier so weak that it could hardly walk and too hungry to eat. Apple buyers from all parts of the province have been driving over Huron the past week or two and seem to agree pretty well that this year's crop will be inferior. They are, accordingly, not tumbling over each other in their anxiety to contract ftir the output. 100 YEARS AGO August 15,1878 Quite a number from ,Londesboro went to hear the controversy between Farrow and Sloan at Blyth, on 6th inst., and came away disgusted with Farrow's quibbling and paltry objections. The young man in town, who on a beautiful moonlight evening last week, promenaded the verandah in front of his residence, clothed only in an undershirt, should have been careful to observe that the eagle-eyed reporter was not around, and then this item may not have appeared. What might have been much more serious, occurred at the residence of Mr. S. Mercer, on Thursday morning last. This person was away from home and his wife had kept a lamp burning in the bedroom; at an early hour the lamp, which was standing on a bureau, exploded and the oil taking fire, ran down the bureau, blazing fiercely for a few moments. Mrs, Mercer was awakened, when she tried to quench the fire by water she found it ineffectual, so she threw a quilt over the flames and smothered them. Of the lamp, scarcely a piece as large as a half dime remained, On Sunday morning last, that north end of Blyth was disturbed by the appearance of what was supposed to be a crazy woman but what turned out to be a young man dressed in female apparel. He called at several houses in his guises and doubtless thought himself smart, but he should remember that there is a severe punishment by the law for such foolishness to be indulged in. Mr. 3. H. Coombe has purchased from Mr. Searle the property known as the old Clinton Hotel. Whether he intends to build thereon or not, we do not know, but hope he may. Complaints are made to us with reference to the depredations of juvenile fruit thieves. The only remedy' for this strite of thiniys is a few days' sojourn at 'Goderich. Dear Editor; I agree with Ken Lawton that the "question period" of the public meeting held in Clinton, June 13, turned out to be a show of intolerance and hostility, on both sides. As June Callwood put it "neither side is listening to the other." The emotional involvement of the people in at- tendance, however, demonstrated clearly that the ,issue is not resolved yet. In fact, in my estimation the real issue never surfaced. I have no quarrel with the three books under attack being read by mature young adults. To quote June Callwood again:. "Even if you don't agree with certain things in a book, it will give you as a parent the op- portunity to give your point of view to your children," My basic question then is this: "How are these books, or any novel, discussed ip the classroom? Is it true that the alternatives are presented? E.g. In "The Diviners" is the life of the main character, Morag, and her search for love and consequent love affairs viewed as a lifestyle accepted by all? Or is it also pointed out that some people value commitment and loyalty to a marriage partner? Another question follows: Is it the task of the educational system to teach moral values •and if so what and whose, values will be taught? Ideally the school is an extension of the home. How is • the school • going to satisfy all parents? In a public school system this is an impossible task. If these books are still on the curriculum in September, I plan to attend some classes where they are discussed. Hopefully, I will find a level of maturity in which students and teachers can tolerate and appreciate different opinions without having to resort to name-calling. Ena deHaan, Exeter Reunion • Dear Editor: There may be readers of your newspaper who would be interested in knowing of the forthcoming 33rd an- nual reunion of number 6 Service Flying Training School, Dunnville, and I would appreciate it if you would provide a news item through your public service facilities. Details of this get-together are as follows: For the past 32 years, Royal Canadian Air Force personnel who were stationed at number 6 SFTS during the war have gathered in Dunnville to celebrate their station reunion. This year marks their 33rd get-together, which will take place September 22, 23, 24. The event begins with a reception Friday night, a golf tournament Saturday morning, parade to a memorial service and flypast of wartime Harvard aircraft in the af- ternoon, and a banquet Saturday night. The weekend closes Sunday morning With a breakfast cookout. All veterans of no. 6, and their spouses, are invited. If not now on their mailing list, contact Frank Scholfield, Box 187, I tunnville, Ontario. NIA 2X5, or call, hien at the municipal offices, 774.7595. Sincerely yours, Frank Scholfield. Dunnville. 1b • •