The Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-02-06, Page 2Pie 2—The Wingham Advance -Times, Thursday, February 6, 1975
111
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Canada from six hundred feet
II cannot pass by a steel, frame
tower today without remem-
bering the profound feelings that
11 expertenced in the summer of
1973. That summer I saw Canada
from six hundred feet.
I was hired to help paint one of
those towers. They're the red and
white structures with what ap-
pears to be a toothpick frailty.
This particular tower was over
six hundred feet high and was
built to transmit television
signals.
Considering today's level of
technology, six hundred feet
seems to be a relatively small
distance. One is inclined to
believe that the view from a jet
rushing between Toronto and
Vancouver at an altitude of thirty
thousand feet would be more
spectacular. However, having
witnessed the scene from both
vantage points, 'I feel confident
saying there is no comparison.
While absorbing the view from a
six hundred foot tower, one ex-
periences catharsis. Free from
the confinement of a pressurized
cabin, the roar of engines, and a
controlled enViiioninent, one is
exposed to the iele!inents. Here,
the only boundaries are the sun
and the sky, the clouds and the
wind, and'six hundred feet below,
thtawesome expanse of Canada.
I am aware that it is impossible
to see -Canada's physical entirety
from six hundred feet. But during
those days on the tower,
Canada's presence was within
my emotional scope and this
awareness unveiled all of
Canada. I was able to fully recog-
nize her undeniable truth, solidity
and beauty.
I looked below me and I saw
Canadians as they are and as
they have been. Between farms
and swamps and woodlots lay a
network of roads. Canadians
were exercising their transporta-
tion facilities by going to work,
going to visit a griend or going to
see more of Canada.
I saw a Canadian farmer who
had just cut a field of fresh hay.
His work reflected the work of
thousands of other Canadian
farmers who are also the ser-
vants and masters of the land.
They form the backbone of our
nation; protecting and feeding us
with the abundance of their pro-
duce.
I saw children running through
a field. They represented the
children everywhere in our coun-
try ; growing, •learning and
thoroughly living. They are 'the
innocent youth of our nation who
perhaps appreciate the beauty
and the free life of Canada more
than anyone else.
A church steeple rose from the
valley on the other side of a
wooded slope. I was reminded of
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GRACE AND' POISE are all-important as Linda Bryce
practices her routine on the uneven parallel bars for the
gymnastic exhibition at Madill Feb. 13.
The]mcf •i7w7rbrIcli
of gbooks
When sleep escaped me the
other night, I sat in the darkened
kitchen contemplating what a
wonderful. companion a good
book is to me personally. How
thankful I am not to be illiterate.
I would have misted so much,
been left behind and left out of the
stream of life. Is ignorance bliss?
''How anxious I am to read, to
absorb, to comprehend, to grasp
a' new idea, to make another's
thought my own, or to reject it as
foreign matter as I, the reader,
have the privilege to do.
The magic symbols unlocking
the magic words releasing the
juices of the mind and stirring up
the stagnating embers of dying
thought processes is one of the
greatest gifts ever given to me by
society. There were many who
contributed to this gift; parents,
friends, Sunday School teachers
and of course, the faithful public
school teachers. Little did they
know hew each one in turn un-
locked the dark recesses of my
mind by turning the golden key
just a bit further to let in the light
of new-found knowledge, Some-
times this was a blazing light and
sdmetimes nothing but a dull
glimmer onto the surface of the
mind.
Have4you ever felt the pleasure
of reading on and on into the wee
hours of the morning? It is like a
stimulant to the blood, thoughts
racing in the brain identifying
with the mental picture the
magic words graft in your mind.
How it releases and calms the
soul! How it burns and kindles
the spirit, fanning the ebbing ini-
tiative of the individual! Reading
inspires one to get going on a pro-
ject, to stop day -dreaming and
actually get underway,. to take
action, to fight for a cause. On the
other hand, a few minutes spent
in reading may simply change
your mind to do exactly nothing
at all as the book has presented
logical reasons for doing so. You
have discovered you were the
radical one and the book has
pointed this out and brought you
into a better balance in your
thinking. What power!
Freedom to read anything Are
wish with books on every hand,
knowledge is ours but for the dig-
ging. How fortunate we are! We
take this privilege for granted.
How different the fabric of our
lives would be without books —
dry, dry morsels in a thirsty land.
With no mind expanders to
"trtilrh the imagination or
broaden the horizon of current
knowledge, we would be very lit-
tle people.
As my mother had 'worked ever
since I was a baby, naturally she
couldn't devote as much care and
attention on me as a non -working
mother could. She didn't have the
time or the energy to do so even
though her mother's heart desir-
ed the situation to be dif-
ferent. Quite by chance, or was it,
I made friends with the new
people who had just moved in
down the block from our house.
The lady didn't have any children
of her own and I was her name-
sake, so perhaps these two
reasons were impetus enough
that we took a liking to each
other. I satisfied a ne_ ed,in her life
a
and she satisfied need in my
life. She had somebody to give
attention to and I was ready to
lap it up. But more than this, she
read to me!
She opened the gate of desire in
my mind to appreciate the soiil-
satisfying • delight of reading.
Such a hunger was developed for
books from that moment on and
hasremained to this present
time. Oh, how I loved the classics
for children — "Black Beauty",
"Heidi" and "Tom Sawyer".
"Don't stop; read more", I would
beg her after she would pause
suggesting her voice was getting
weary. "Just a little more." On
she would read, just to please a
little girl. I loved it. I lapped it up.
I gloried in it. I was walking up
the mountain with "Heidi". 1 was
on the river -raft with "Tom." I
was feeling sorrow for poor
"Black Beauty". This was my
exquisite introduction to the
magic world of books.
She encouraged me to go to the
library to read for myself and
soon my dearest possession
became my library card as it was
the magic token needed to enter
that wonderful world in my mind.
I basked in the musty smell of
that old library with its dark
wooden shelves lined with
treasures reaching high above
my head while 1 searched for just
the right companion to share
precious moments ' with. What
tantalizing, glorious mysteries
there were bound up inside
jackets of blue, green, yellow, red
and brown! They were all mine!
What wealth I had -within my
finger-tips! They brought me
great pleasure, hours of happi-
ness and blissful contentment.
It was so then, and has con-
tinued to be so until this present
time — the magic has remained
constant, sure and unfailing.
Mark McKay
1 sepn1
DAVID RITTER of F. E. Madill cuts scissors on the horse in
preparation for the gymnasts'. meet in Strathroy.
the faith and courage OK our an-
cestors. They were the ones who
deserved to feel the serenity that
I was feeling. They were the ones,
who had worked for it! With
nothing but the strength of
conviction and the need for
security, they came to this
country and built the foundation
for the rich life we now enjoy.
A tow was visible in the dis-
tance. The activity of that town
mirrored the urban life that so
many Canadians share. The hub
of social activity and cultural
development is found in Canada's
towns and cities. These urban
settlements are the centres for
trade and commerce and they re-
flect the prosperity and abun-
dancy of our Canadian lifestyle.
1 took a deep breath and looked
once more at the scene. All
around me lay the land of
Canada. The green, stable arc of
the land framed me and I knew
that I really was a Canadian who
had seen Canada.
Jim Welwood
FiVit-r-or
BOYS' BASKETBALL
Madill Seniors vs Ex -Mustangs
In basketball action this week
ex -players from Madill (under
the name of Fanshawe) played
against the *sent players of the
Madill senior team. After the
first half the Fanshawe team was
behind. During the last half the
Fanshawe team made a terrific
comeback, but unfortunately the
Senior Mustangs beat them 50-42.
Players for Fanshawe were
John Henderson, Bruce Wilbee,
Ron Lorittit, Ken Gowing, Russ
Jones, Dave Black, Lloyd Val-
lance, Phil Beard, Steve -Hall and
Brian Johnston.
Players for Madill Mustangs
were Rene Caskanette, Roger
Morrison, Ralph Morrison, Ray
Nicholson, Rick Ohm, John
Underwood, Chris Exel, Bruce
Jermyn, Rick Jacklin and Kevin
Black.
Editorial
I consider myself to be a very
active and busy person. Quite
often, I manage to get only a few
sleeping hours in the 24-hour day.
Because of this and because of
my teacher's lack of desire to
present an interesting class, I
have the tendency to fall asleep in
class, especially if my teacher is
attempting to give a two-hour
lecture in 30 minutes. Listening to
a teacher ramble on for a half
hour, doesn't particularily in-
terest me. If I was asked to rank.
the events of my life per unit
interest, schoel classes would
definitely be on the bottom of the
list and .most probably a negative
interest value. What I am getting
at is that school ,isn't' all that
interesting for me.
Recently, I have become in-
creasingly disappointed in . the
school system. I begin to wonder
if what Irrn learning is of any
practical Use to me. Do I really
need •to know •everything that
teachers -try to cram into my
head,. thus forcing me into a state
of mental exhaustion for the rest
of my life?
But what really depresses me
is the steady routine -like pattern
of the course of study. In most
classes the students must remain
silent while the teacher continues
to murmur things concerning X-
squareds or H2? • mixed with
HNO3 or similes, metaphors and
personifications. Is there 'any-.
thing interesting about that? If it
wasn't for my- parents and
friends who encouraged me to
keep going to school, t probably
would have quit at the earliest
possible age, to avoid any further
misery caused by'eonstant bore-
dom. Teachers appear to be in
GYMNAST Jeff Bumstead practices the L -seat on the rings as the Madill teamprepares
for the Strathroy gymnasts' meet.
` ,,w, I flfl xinitfi'1�' '
the teaching business just for the
money. They have little intePest
in the student, no interest in the
stressed and agitated emotions of
the student with problems in his
school work. -.
Something, I have noticed
particularly this year, which
appears to delight teachers very
much is that they enjoy pre-
paring tests so hard that no one
can pass them. Is this what
school is supposed to do to us —
teaching us how to fail and dis-
couraging the student to the point
of "dropping ,out?" Should
teachers be allowed tomake the
students feel that they are fail-
ures? Is this what we, the stu-
dents, come to school for — dis-
couragement, depression and
failure?. And teachers tell us a
good education is the road to
success, not mentioning that a
good successful education is
almost a mere impossibility!
What teachers should do is en-
courage success, not failure.
Tests and examinations for many
students, are ,the mirrors which
reflect failure rather than suc- •
cess. In other words what I am
trying to say is,'"Teachers, "Teachers, give
us a break. We would like tip know
.how to . succeed rather than fail
but at the same time we want to
learn something that can be put
to practical use."
I once heard a fellow student
compare high school to a five-
year jail sentence. To him, grade
13 was parole and that's why it's
so rough. It's the last year of this
five year sentence that counts.
The school work was compared to
breaking larger and harder
stones as the years go by but
using smaller andless durable
tools like a chisel instead of a
sledge hammer. Besides that,
more stones had to be broken up
at ,a faster pace as compared to
the slower but still quite steady
pace of the first year convicts -
It could all be summed up in the
story of the mother who asks her
child, "What did you learn in
school today, dear?" The child
answers almost spontaneously
and impulsively, "Oh, nothing."
PAT ORI EN of F. E. Madill vaults the horse as -she develops
a routine f - try into a gymnastic competition.
Lya Lyons
Jane Shiell
Brenda Johnston
"What did you enjoy most
during Winter Carnival? Why?"
Gord Black 12A: I enjoyed the
toboggan race because I enjoyed
watching the teachers getting
some of their own medicine.
0-0-0
Randy Elliott 13A: The talent
show because it showed a com-
bined school effort on the part of
the contestants and also how a
little co-operation and support
can help make a success of this
sort of activity.
0-0-0
Murray Carter 13A: The old-
time dance because . .
0-0-0
Marilyn Congram 11B: I en-
joyed the talent show. It was
humorous and it was a nice break
in the day.
r:.
David Honsser 9E: I lilted the
short periods, mostly because we
had morefree time to fool around
and watched the toboggan races
and contests.
0-0-0
Mary • Edith Garniss 13A: I
liked the student -teacher broom -
ball game because it showed the
co-operation between the
teachers and the students. The
attractive cheerleaders • were it
great asset, also.
0-0-0
Maureen Cowan, Joanne
Agnew, Arlene Corrin Grade 9:
Getting out of school.
A-0-0
Sandy Orien 13C: I enjoyed the
old-time dance, especially my
waltz with Mr.* Cowman. I also
enjoyed the leg contest because I
was in it.
0-0-0
Lois McLaughlin '12F: Well
now, I enjoyed thebroomball
game. It's about time we showed
the teachers who's boss.
0-0-0
Joan Black 13A: The student -
teacher broomball game because
I was in it! Ha! Ha!
EES
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