Clinton News-Record, 1979-12-06, Page 4• PAG,E. 4
I,I A � uu nMr •.
CLIHTQ 1 HEW$-RRCORA, THURSDAY, DECEIVIB:ER, 6 , 1919
WTI
Clinton Dews -Record
ABC
Farm
ers need priority
According to the federal and
provincial governments, people
would sooner have their garbage
picked -up then eat.
At least, that's the c
reachs from the class
federal governemnt
onclusion one
ification the
has given
Editors prciis
ed
A good newspaper, like -goo
a reflection of life. And editors
artists -who define and shape it
put their personal imprint o
quality without distorting the tru
must contain.
Like all artists, editors are, first
all, communicators, in words an
pictures, in 'headlines and cutlines.
They are also interpreters of the day's
events, analyzing them, putting them
into perspective, always maintaining
a strong empathy with readers while
focusing on issues that concern and
affect them.
Editors are like artists on the high
wire, balancing controversy,
managing to keep their footing while
performing difficult feats without a
net.
Often they are • entertainers,
presenters of features, interesting
ideas and fun -filled articles. They do
it sometimes for the fun of it,
sometimes to inspire, sometimes to
help their readers to a more creative
life.
Above all,good editors share with
all artists everywhere one uncommon
trait: the ability to manage their
accomplishments so. that they seern
effortless.
For putting out a good newspaper is
indeed a great accomplishment.
-from the Canadian Statesman,
Bowmanville.
d art, is
are the
, who
its
th it
of
d
agriculture in its Petroleum Product
Allocation Plan, and it has .got far-
mers and politicians mad.
Jack Riddell, the Liberal Member
of the Provincial Parlament is one of
those members who is hopping mad,
and last week tore a strip off the
provincial governern,pt, for not
sticking up for the farmerswhen it
comes to needing fuel to plant and
harvest their crops, and we agree
with him 100 per cent.
Mr. Riddell says that, under the
former federal government, the
agriculture and food processing
classification was given top priority
for energy supplies. Now it has
slipped down the ladder to be given
the same priority as garbage
collection and snow removal.
"What happens if we are faced with
a real and serious emergency with
respect to energy supplies, with
cutbacks, shortfalls, and rationing?"
asks Mr. Riddell.
"Does the (Ontario minister of
griculture) not feel that . food sup -
es, for the people of. Ontario are
ortant? Doesn't he know that it's
esponsibility to keep a vigilant
on federal legislation or
tions which could drastically
ur food supplies?" Mr. Riddell
ag
imp
:his r
eye.
regula
affect o
wonders
As any
nected wi
when the
harvest, it
Waiting for
enough fuel b
mean disaster
A ludicrous
something like t
been picked up,
have the roads all
get to the superma
shelves are bare!
one who is remotely con-
th agriculture knows, that
crop is ready to plant or
must be done immediately.
a couple of months until
ecomes available would
for our food supply.
scenario could go
is: your garbage has
and the road crews
open, but when you
rket, youfind the
Csugar andspice
Bad, scene
There has been a tremendous
change in the manners and mores of
Canada in the past three decades.
This brilliant thought came to me as I
drove home from work today and saw
a sign, in- a typical Canadian small
town: "Steakhouse and Tavern".
.Now this didn't exactly knock me
out, alarm me, or discombobulate me
in any way. I am a part of all that is in
this country, at this time. But it did
give me a tiny twinge. Hence my
opening remarks.
I am no Carrie Nation, who stormed
into saloons with her lady friends,
armed with hatchets and smashed
open (what a waste) the barrels of
beer and kegs of whiskey.
I am no Joan of Arc. I don't revile
blasphemers or hear voices. I am no
Pope John Paul II, who tells people
what to do about their sex lives. I am
.not even a Joe Clark, who rushes up to
a barricade prepared to jump for
some votes, then decides to go back to
the starting -line and send in a real
athlete, Robert Stanfield, an older
and wiser athlete, to attempt what he
knew he couldn't do. And the "he" is
Joe.
I am merely an observer of the
human scene, in a country that used
to be one thing, and has become
another. But that doesn't mean I don't
have opinions. I have ' nothing but
scorn for the modern "objective"
journalists who tell it as it is. They are
hyenas and jackals, who fatten on the
leavings of the "lions" of our society,
for the most part.
I admire a few columists: Richard
Needham of the Toronto Globe, Allan
Fotheringham of Maclean's, not
because they are great writers, but
because they hew the wood for which
this country is famous and let the
chips fall where they may. That's the
way it should be.
Let's get back on topic, as I tell my
students The Canadian society has
roughened and coarsened to an
astonishing degree in the fast thirty
years.
First, the Steakhouse and Tavern.
As aakid p Lworking on the boats on the
.r
U e ak s I wa cited and a
little
scared w en a thatsign
erlcan ports: uIuth, let in
bit,
hioagb
a.r,n, ,rill •+r rfh.,,.,,.aa
"There it goes again .
remembering
our past
5 YEARS AGO
November 28, 1974
Damage could run as high as $40,000 in a
fire on Tuesday night that destroyed part
of a large corn dryer at the `Fleming Feed
Millon Irwin Street in Clinton.
There appears to be little hope of an
early settlement of a strike at Bendix
Home Systems plant in Hensall that has
285 employees out on the picket line.
The union is asking for a $1.35 wage
increase in a two-year contract as well as a
cost -of -living clause raising wages one
cent an hour for every; 4 cent increase in
the cost -of -living index effective
November 1975.
The three-way possible race for. Warden
of Huron County is predicted for January.
Three candidates have already formally
announced their intention to seek the post.
They are Reeve Anson McKinley of
Stanley Township, Reeve Allan Campbell
from McKillop and Reeve Harold Lobb of
Clinton.
Bill Jewitt of Clinton received the lion's
share of trophies at the Clinton Soccer
Club's banquet last Friday night, He
received a special trophy from Labatts
Brewery for holding the North American
record for most goals scored in a single
game - nine in one game against Exeter -
10YEARS AGO
November 27, 1969
Over 400 CHSS students this week
showedtheir concern for the human
suffering created by the Nigerian Civil
I came from the genteel poverty of
Ontario in the Thirties, and I was
slightly., appalled, ' and deeply at-
, tracted by these signs: the very
thought that drink could be publicly
advertised. Like any normal, curious
kid, 1 went into a couple, ordered a
two-bit whiskey and found nobody
eating steaks, but a great many
people getting sleazily drunk on the
same. Not the steaks.
In those days, in Canada, there was
no such creature. The very use of the
word "tavern' indicated iniquity. It
was an evil place. We did have beer
"parlours later exchanged for the
euphemism "beverage rooms". But
that was all right. Only the lower
element went there, and they closed
from 6 p.m. to 7:30 or some such, so
that a family man could get home to
his dinner. Not a bad idea.
In their homes, of course, the
middle and upper class drank liquor.
Beer was the working -man's drink,
and to be shunned. It was around then
that some wit reversed the old saying
and came out with: "Work is the
curse of the drinking class", a neat
version of Marx's (?) "Drink is the
curse of the working classes."
If you called on someone in those
misty days, you were offered a cuppa
and something to eat. Today, the host
would be humiliated if he didn' t have
something harder to offer you.
Now, every hamlet seems to have
its steakhouse, complete with tavern.
It's rather ridiculous. Nobody today
can afford a steak. But how in the
living world can these same people
afford drinks, at current prices?
These steakhouses and taverns are
usually pretty sleazy joints, on a par
with the old beverage room, which
was the epitome of sleaze. It's not all
the fault of the owners, though they
make nothing on the steak and 100
percent on the drinks (minimum). It's
just that Canadians tend to be noisy
and crude and profane drinkers.
And the crudity, isn't only in the
pubs. It has crept into our educational
system where teachers drink and
swear and tell dirty jokes and use
language in -front of -women that I, a
product of a more well-mannered, or
inhibited, your choice, era, could not
bring myself to use.
A
And' the language of today's
students from Grade one to Grade
whatevewould cu .1h
�ehairof
a
sailor, nd make your Maiden, aunt
grab fo a smelling salts, . Words
frc en t % to
est Slums and siur>ill>trties
t
•
ua..:y a,1 u.> :,.... 4,- . u. �y u t.::
thecheek of your teenage daughter.
A graduate of the depression, when
people had some reason to use bad
language, in sheer frustration and
anger, and of a war in which the most
common four-letter word was used as
frequently and' absent-mindedly, as
salt and pepper, have not inured me to
what our kids today consider normal.
Girls wear T-shirts that are not
even funny, merely obscene. As do
boys. Saw one the other day on an
otherwise nice lad' Message:
"Thanks, all you virgins - for
nothing."
The country's problems are
somebody else's problem, as long as I
et mine. • '
I don't deplore. I don't abhor. I don't
lore. I merely observe. Sadly. We
urning into a nation of slobs.
1
g
imp
are
i
�.,:J;`!. �l�%:� .li�f: '.'ate: .� ... .. ... .. .• '.f':.. ♦ .. .. ..
. sounds like the engine knocking."
a look through
the news -record files
War whenthey signed a petition urging the
government to do more to bring about
peace between the African nation and its
breakaway state, Biafra.
Russell Dallas of Brucefield accepted
the Cockshutt Challenge Trophy- at the
Royal Winter Fair on November 19 for
having the world champion hay entry. For
.the past two years the entry has peen held
by a U.S. farm.
More than $1,800 was raised at a .Kin-
smen stag party last Friday evening. The
money will go towardsthe service club's
50th anniversary project - reburbishing
and improving the ballfield facilities at
Clinton's Community Park.
f►'c'ontract with' George E. Lavis for
operation of a Holmesville garbage
disposal site by Clinton, Goderich and
Goderich Township is expected to be
signed by Clinton officials at the next town
council meeting.
25 YEARS AGO
December 2. 1954
Building was begun in June of this year
under the experienced guidance of D.
Veenendaal, Sarnia contractor, and with
the assistance of many in the
congregation, the Christian Reformed
,,Church in Clinton has been completed:
The 100 families which belong to the
church are Dutch immigrant families
living in the vicinity of Clinton and coming
as far as from Londesboro, Seaforth and
Goderich. Rev. G.J. Hoytema, former
minister at St. Andrew's Presyterian
Church in Clinton is the new church's
minister.
50 YEARS AGO
December 5, 1929
The finals in the oratorical contest
among the Young Peoples' Societies,
Huron Presbytery, were held in Wesley -
Willis United Church on Monday evening.
Miss Margaret McLeod of Clinton was
given first place for the young ladies. Miss
McLeod's speech on the League of
Nations, was a masterpiece and was
delivered in excellent order.
Skating in the rink this week. The
skating season has opened earlier than for
many years.
The merry sleighbells have been jingling
the past week. Sleighing is good in town
and the snow is not deep enough to prevent
cars from running.
The storm last week in Bayfield was too
much for the light which was erected on
the South pier which was erected for the
benefit of the fishermen. The force of the
storm and ice dashing against it snapped
the iron tube which supported the light.. It
has completely disappeared, whether into
the lake or under the huge pile of ice on the
pier, it is not known.
The Tuckersmith Ladies' Club held a
hard -time social in No. 6 Schoolhouse on
November 22. Prizes for hard time
odds 'n' ends
Unwri
tten laws
The followi
recorded in law
and see if you do
immutable as M
The driver w
yesterday mornin
line, but the one yo
really had it coming.
Only on TV is
parking„,spot on a b
located directly in
building, which the dr
into.
A television cops' and robbers'
chase scene begins in the heart of a
metropolitan city and with one deft
turn, ends up on a winding moun-
tainous country highway.
In real life, everyone can op
lid but you.
If your grocery bill corn
$100.01, you will not have a penny
When you look for an empty clo
hanger in the closet, there isn't
but the next time you open the clo
door, empty hangers fall on yo
head.
When you buy a gift, you can't get
th' price sticker off, and if the price is
nothin will cover
wr�tenonthebox e
� g
it. I
Y 1 u rap the gift with under loving,
ng laws may not- be
books, but read them
n't agree, they are as
rphy's Law.
ho yelled at you
g was way out of
u yelled at today
the one empty
usy city street
front Of the
Iver has to go
en a jar
es to
thes
One,
set
ur
costumes were awarded to Miss Sadie Ball
for dress made of bran sacks and to Melvin
Crich for a very good impersonation of a
lazy farmer.
75 YEARS AGO
December 8, 1904
Mrs. Jos. Allenson had the misfortune to
fall upqn a slippery walk the other day and
dislocated her left wrist and fractured the
arm just above it, as if one z\nisfortune was
not enough. She is an industrious and
tireless little woman and is bearing up
under this affliction with great cheer-
fulness.
Mr. B.A. Higgins of Varna has been busy
the past week or two buying turkeys and
one day about 900 delivered to his place.
Ben always pays a good price
Ladies real French -kid gloves, made
from thin, soft skins, two large dome
fasteners, self or white stitched, in blacks,
greys, fawns of browns, every pair
guaranteed, very special value, per pair,
$1.00 at Hodgens Bros., Dry Goods in
Clinton.
There is a scarcity of water throughout
the country and many farmers have had,
for some time, to draw, in some cases at a
considerable distance, a supply for their,
stock. Where a farmer is feeding say 40 or
50 head of cattle this drawing of water is
quite an expense.
100 YEARS AGO
November 20, 1879
One of our 'subscribers has just paid, in
cash, for his `paper up to nearly the end of
1881. We would be much pleased if a good
many would pay up even of the end of the
present year.
Street lamps would have been—much
appreciated by the people of the town
during the evenings of last week, but we
presume we shall have to wait awhile
before the town indulges in this luxury.
Hailstones (something smaller than
geese eggs) fell on Friday. Several win-
dows in the Model School were broken by
them.
Mr. John Shipley, of the Huron Road,
now owns almost 500 acres of land, which
is a pretty extensive farm for this section
of the country.
Mr. T. Darwin, of Seaforth, has a table
carrot 22x18 inches round and weighing 73A
pounds.
Duncan McLeod, M.D., formerly of
Kippen but now of Detroit, has been ap-
pointed Prof. in Michigan College of
Medic ine.
Just received a large stock of No. 1
Buffalo Robes, which will be sold at very
reasonable rates. Also an assortment of
horse blankets. Trunks and valises - a very
large assortment and very cheap, trunks
from 75 cents up. First and 2nd class
shingles, from 40 cents per bunch, u•p. A
room "over the shop to let. All goods
warranted at James Twitchell.
care. It looks beautiful until you turn
it over and discover the paper was too
thin; the name on the lid of the box
shows clearly through, and- you don't
have a bow or a tag big enough to
cover it.
If one shoe fits, chances are the
other one won't.
If mitts are on sale, your size will be
at the bottom of the pile.
If you fall in love with a certain
dress in a store window, they will not
have it in your size. If you find a style
that suits you perfectly, it will come in
the one colour you cannot wear. The
colour you look best in will be
available in every size but yours.
If you take extra precautions in
baking a cake for a special occasion,
it will flop..
Only on soap operas do women
wake up in the morning with their
hair and make-up looking as good as
the night before.
If it looks like rain and you take
your umbrella, it won't. If you forget
your umbrella, it will.
If you and your spouse each have a
special program you want to watch. in
the evening, they will be shown at the
same time.
In the winter, the car never warms
upuntil reach your destination.
you
A family of four always wants to use
the bathroom at the same time. Ditto
the telephone and th car.
The phone rings 'Lig after you've
I
1
sunk into a tub of hot bubbly water,
The hot water tank gives out when you
have lavishly lathered your hair with
shampoo. When your hair is foaming,
your eyes are clamped tight to
prevent soap stinging and your
fingers are slippery, you can't find the
shower lever.
No one drops in for coffee in the
morning until the day you allow
yourself the luxury of an extra hour's
sleep.
Company drops in when the house is
a mess. Then you clean the place, but
no one comes back until it's dirty
again.
No one drops in when you're
dressed up.
When you go to the laundromat, you
leave one dirty sock at home, and
when you come back, you leave one
clean sock in the drvrr.
When mommy's talking on the
telephone, kids react in one of three'
ways. One, they want to sit on
mommy's knee; two., they beg to say
"hi" even though they don't know the
person on the other end of the line;
and three, they start a fight with their
brother or sister.
Call Grandma long distance, put
little Tommy on the phone and tell
him say aGranny!"
Y
"Hi,The kid
clams tip. He
just slakes -his head and
a
sn'iiles 'while 'poor Grandma quizzes
hirer.
Want more classes
Dear Editor:
In Vanastra, currently, we have an
elementary school which contains.
kindergarten to Grade 6. This school
is located in a wing of Conestoga
College. Since the establishment of
the Vanastra Public School, the
Huron County board of education has
been the one dark cloud hovering over
its existence.
I have lived in Vanastra for ap-
proximately 71/2 years. I came to this
area when there was no Vanastra
school and, therefore, was forced to
send one of my girls to the Clinton
Public School. Day after day she
came home complaining about not
being able to stay after school in order
to participate in sports, join in ac-
tivities, and play with school friends.
She also found that because, she
wasn't from "Clinton" she was made
to feel as though she didn't really
belong. She didn't have the pride and
feeling of belongingness that can and
should go with school life.
This year, my youngest daughter is
attending the Vanastra school. She is
in Grade 6, and next year she will
have to go to the Clinton school in
order to finish public school. She isn't
eager to leave a school she currently
calls her own.
I wrote a letter to the Vanastra
principal asking whether it would be
possible for the school to expand into
accommodating Grades 7 and 8.1 was
told that the principal had already
written to the Huron County board of
education suggesting this. He in-
formed me that the Vanastra School
could accommodate Grade 7 this year
already, with no addition to faculty
members needed. He also suggested
to the board that Grade 8 could be
instituted the year after next. His
proposals were rejected on the
grounds that - the Vanastra Public
School didn't have a large gym or a
science room.
Currently, the children attending
Vanastra are , using the Conestoga
College gym, and I don't see any
reason why what's good enough for
kindergarten to Grade 6 won't also be
adequate for Grades 7 and 8.
As for a science room, how much
can it cost to supply the Vanastra
school with microscopes, aquariums,
specimen jars (including specimens)
and some small animal cages? If the
Huron County board uses the tran-
sportation money now spent to bus
Banastra students to Clinton to .
purchase these items, it would
probably be cheaper in the long run.
The ' Huron County • board of
education has continually denied my
children the right to a stable _and
permanent scholastic background.
This board has denied all the children
of Vanastra the opportunity to enjoy a
school that is developed co•mpleMely
for them. It feels the rotary system is
,good for the Vanastra children before
they attend high school.
Children should be able to enjoy a
secure and happy childhood, able to
feel confident about the permanency.
of a school that is concerned about
their welfare first, and not just as ark
afterthought in a school that is
established for children r in another
area.
Mrs. P.C. Gonie-Tak
Vanastra
See the light
Dear Editor:
Since the approval by the provincial
government in 1968 of the white over
amber flashing light for volunteer
firefighters, many fire departments
in Ontario equipped their men with
the light.
Unfortunately, not enough was done
in the way of publicizing the new light.
Consequently, few people, other than
those in the fire service, know what
the light represents. In an attempt to
correct this situation, The
Firefighters' Association of Ontario
has undertaken a remedial program.
This program involves improving the
optics of the lens to provide better
visibility, producing a television film'
short for public service time airing,
and sending out a press release to all
daily and weekly newspapers in
Ontario.
Perhaps the fire department in your
community is a volunteer depart-
ment, whosemembers are equipped
with the light. Perhaps communities
around you have departments so
equipped. Many of our departments,
however, do not use the light since
there is so little public awareness of
it.
No matter what the situation is in
your community regarding the light,
we would hope that you might see fit
to help us help the citizens of Ontario
when they need our services. As more
and more members of the motoring
public become aware of the light and
what it represents, and hopefully
extend to•us the courtesy of the road,
then the more effectively will we be
able to perform our job.
We are most appreciative of any
assistance you can provide in making
the .public more aware of the VFF
light. Thank you:
Richard W. Burgin
I "eoretar, r -'treasurer,
Firefighters Association
1 I of Ontariov