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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1969-04-03, Page 400 vl IONA ,STAR, THURSDAY, APRIL ,1 9 • itriaI.... prjAters were determin¢d not to print anythins tilt ey were sure it would offend no one, there would E,e P very tittle printed ... „Benjamin Franklin �' Half -way houses are for people Across 'the *country, more and More residential areas` are being asked to integrate group homes and, half -way houses for the emotionally disturbed into. their communities. 'Mental-health workers now realize that after patients have reached a certain stage , of recovery, isolation in hospitals or. ' institutions only prolongs their illness. They need the'" opportunity to make the adjustment back into normal society 'while still having available to them the help of the trained workers in the halfway house, -After they have fully recovered through this system, the public is relieved of the enormous tax burden of supporting them in institutions. However, the discovery'- of a group home for children or a half -way house for adults in a neighborhood often gives rise to unreasoning fears in some home -owners regarding house values going down or the safety of children on the streets.. , J Despite evidence to the contrary of these points, these few • pressure Over -zealous authorities into premature action .to close 'down the house before their value, both to the individuals concerned and to the communityhas been . properly established. They are referred to as "commer,ical enterprises," and placed, in the same class as the man who manufactures plastics in his' basement. Many of the houses are run by non-profit organizations, but even where they are not, they must be judged by the need and the end results obtained.° - Surely we must bear in mind that we are dealing, not with articles ' of commerce, but with human beings, Jvho, if offered the hand of friendship., can overcome the results of unfortunate experiences in their lives, and give back to the community the' profits, both economic and social, of healthy personalities. A future for South Vietnam At tong- Last; a 'ter- more- than . two decades of war in- Southeast Asia, the people of Vietnam see the glimmers -of -peace shining in the distance. The`Trght6r hope is faint as yet, but at least it does exist. , Certainly no nation that is conscious of the need for stability in the Asian region can now afford to sit back, and let others handle the difficult task of peacemaking on their own. It is partly up to Canada to ensure that 1'Iashington's efforts to obtain a just settlement are not in vain. As a member of the International Control Commission in: Vietnam, Canada has definite responsibilities. One of these ;yoday should be to achieve the creation of another Geneva -type conference where the -rights of the two Vietnams are' spelled out even more clearly than they were in 1954. > in the years ahead, the great powers will have to agree .on certain guarantees that will ensure South Vietn'am's future. Saigon's mistrust of .the Communists is ' u understandable. :.Part tcularf•y in...As•ia; the --- Communists side relies largely on force, on terror tactics, and this is now the ---struggle v. for —power in South Vietnam mushroomed in ;,ruel and disastrous war. Even while 1:,2'iting in the . South continues, Canada should be wnrkirig with, other nations to\Nard a political • cornpromise, arid one that is acceptable to Fall parties involved in the conflict. ,. ObviouFIy, the ' South Vietnamese people have a right to five outside the, Communist fold. And clearly, they are far from happy with the present military dictatorship being imposed upon•thern by Saigon. The only visible alternative, in present circumstances is a broay based government of national unman in the South, Mth ' the -imai 'r • powers guaranteeing its right to independence. If Canadians can play any kind of role in attaining such a solution, our efforts will be well worthwhile. SPace travel and theology Man's exploration of space must inevitably become a concern not only of governments, scientists and the military but also of theologians. The latter have Rast mistakes to remember and avoid. A violent theological reaction followed the sixteenth century discovery that the motions .and sizes of earth and the so-dalled heavenly bodies were quite different from what had long been 'supposed'. Roman ' Christian theologians sentenced,Giordano Burno to the stake and Galiteo to life imprisonrnent. Protestant leaders called Copernicus a fool ,.and accused him of setting his authority above that of the Holy Spirit. - Eventual •acceptance of -the creation theories of Copernicus, Galileo and Bruno as `substantially correct struck theology a blow from which it cannot truly be said. ever,to have q uite recovered • - Theologians must exercise greater wisdom to avoid a • similar blow after earthmen land . on other planets and perhaps find intelligent life there. It may not be_easy for theology to fit. new knowledge from other planets into the framework of terresti•al religious t thought. Can theological systems based on teachings of Confucius, Gautama,_Jesus, Mohammed, Moses and Zo-roaster be integrated with other ideas we bring back from travel to the stars? ---.1 f The basic assumption of human theology is the existence in the universe of powers greater than man's. If real, such powers must be manifest elsewhere in the _Cosmos but grievous shocks could come in discovery of how they are interpreted in environments totally unlike that of earth WORDS OF WISDOM The world's fastest writing novelist is the American mystery writer, Erle Stanley Gardner, who dictates up to 100,000- words a day and works with his staff, on as many .as seven novels simultaneously. - •1 ESTABLISHED Ttle WigriEtl.-#taX 1844 122nd YEAR of --D— The County Town Newspaper of Huron PUBLICATION Published - at Goderich Ontaritci every Thursday morning by Signal -Star Publishing Limited ROBERT G. SHRIER President and Publisher RONALD P. V. PRICE Managing Editor 1,,, EDWARD J. BYRSKI Advertising Sales (AB( • Photo Py Ron Price LOOKOUT P01 -NT - GODE-RICH w nnuuuuunununnnnrurEui�is.i��uuu�rrrtnu;rurFl;l�nnnlloouuuuuunuurinlluuunuunuuunununnuunununuuuliunnulliunuuuunnuuunuuununun Remember When ? ? ? 55 YEARS AGO Believing that 'it would be for the general advancement of the club and the moral- and genreal uplift • of . its .,- members, the Menesetung canoe. club recently decided to hold a series of club suppers and at each one invite' the best speakers of the town to,. give addresses. The first one of• these pleasant •events, was heldfi, last Thursday, • with . surprising: success. With the exception of a' few members who were not able to be present the club turned out in a body' and a real profitable and enjoyabletime was spent. The president, Mr. G, L. Parsons, presided. . Efforts to legislate against the tango and other new dances failed to meet with the approval executive committee on social welfare, which recently decided to repo,ft adversely on a bill introduced by Representative Lewis R. Sullivan. . Mr:' • Sullivan .sought to prohibit dances " not conducive to propriety" under penalty of fine or imprisonment. 25 YEARS AGO The assembly hall of the Goderich Collegiate Institute held an animated audience of students when the annual commencement exercises were held. Principal.A. R. Scott, who presided, remarked that it did pot .seem long passing from one commencement to the -next. "This is my ninth; and the fifth since the opening of the war," he' added.: Scholarships on the basis of last year's work had been presented either in whole or in part as the students receiving them hadleft for , higher education. `,`I have repeatedly said at these THAT'S. LIFE1 By G. MacLeod Ross THE BOWLER HAT As far as my experience in theArmy goes, the "bowler hat" has invariably meant the end of th8 line; the shore; the end of a perfect botch -up of a career. Not so in the shipbuilding world. On October lst, 1935 I was invited to the Deptford foundry of J. Stone and Company on the Thames -side to see one of the propellors cast in• manganese bronze for a ship called by John. Brown's Clydeside yard, Number 534'. Her hull had been launched just a year before on the 29th of September on the Clyde, where she had been christened "Queen Mary." The -propellor weighed, as cast, some 53 tons and was 19 feet 10 inches in diameter; one of the biggest casts to,date in bronze. , To one side was.a huge cauldron of molten metal which had just, been poured out from the kiln. It stood there smoking and covered with dross awaiting the overhead crane which would lift it over the huge pattern of the propellor. There was almost a hush over the shop. Odd people scurried about the floor, while others took up their appofnted posts for the memorable moment. Then out came the foundry foreman in his bowler hat. Not another soul would have dared to appear for work thus arrayed. The bowler was as personal to the foreman as a crown would be to a Zing. He approached the cauldron quite' casually; took off his bowler hat and fanned the molten metal. Then he called for some 'implement and carefully removed some residue of dross which floated on themafltensurface:- Satisfied that the pour was at the correct temperature, he replaced his fiat and the crane operator was permitted to hoist the cauldron -over the pattern. - ' It was three years earlier, in 1932, that Big John Rennie; the last, and one of the greatest of the old-time shipbuilders, got 'his bowler hat, after having worked up in 'John Brown's shipyard on the Clyde from apprentice boilermaker to head of the yard. Since that day he has never been seen in the yard without his well -brushed bowler hat. He has built dozens of ships; the Caronia; the, battleship Vanguard and now his masterpiece the Queen Elieth 2. - --Before-she--left--the Clyde- on- =November the 1 -9th 1968, Rennie - ordered the traditional "walk-through" and 20,000 workers and► their families admired the ship. On her first trial Cunard were delighted with her. She sat down exactly to her marks in the water; she was within a tenthof a knotofdesigned-speedishestopped dead in the water from full speed in less than five minutes and she steered perfectly. On her shake -down cruise , both her_port and starboard turbines began to run roughly on Christmas Eve. A design failure caused -the ..80 -ton, high pressure rotors to run two thousandths of an inch out of place. You have read of her ignominy in the newspapers. Big John was 65 and within three days of retirement when the post mortem on the ship's failure resulted in his being fired after 50 years of building big ships. A scapegoat had to be•found it seems. But Big John was quite unchastened. "I'll be having New ' Year's Eve wi' ma lads, just as we planned and the party willna be dry." .s he I ' r struck u . the first reel and Mr. and Mas. Rennie led t he ante it' was ` e - i'r ime mos l�pre e" n' is seen i'fr-' Johnwithout his bowler hat. Subscription Rates $6 a Year - To U.S.A. 57.50 lin advance) Second class mail registration nui.,her 0716 •,. commencements that I believe there, are few schools in the Province so well equipped with scholarships as - we axe," Mr. Scott continued. "We have a prize available in each of the years, and certainly thete are few schools whichcan provide such a fine financial start." Between 15 and 20 babies with their mothers were present at the • •well baby clinic conducted .by Miss A. Cleaver, pubIfl health nurse. It was,, a picture -taking event, for Miss Ann Wurtele was present with her camera and the various stages of ' the clinic were snapped. - TEN TEARS AGO • During ' the - month of February, the shaft at the rock salt mine went down for a total depth of 320 feet for that .eriod alone. "Progress has been &I," Mr. Gordon Muir, manager of the Dominion Rock Salt Company ,plant at Goderich, told the Signal Star. "By the end of March we will be down to an overall depth of 1,760 feet, which will be -"the bottom of the bed of rock salt we will be mining;'.' said , Mr. Muir. •` Opening of navigation for - Goderich Ha b -Or- and, .In t;; -•fac the., whole Great Lakes area, is expected . to be considerably later than usual due to the severe winter and thick ice. Unloading of grain boats in Goderich Harbor has .been a bigger task than usual during the past winter due to the amount of ice in the harbor. Four boats have still to fat.t) uron History Corner ANCHOR AND CHAIN DRAGGED FRONk HARBOR USED AS SAFETY FENCE Nellie G. Redditt A #ence, unique',i.n construction,_ of chains and anchors, has been placed along the shore of Lake Huron at Lighthouse 'Point under the supervision of the parks committee of Goderich Town Council. The anchors are placed at the ends and midway on the stretch of chains which are supported by -posts. h ' The huge iron cables and the big anchors, are relics of the days when schooners, fishing vessels and tugs plied busily in and but of Goderich harbor, for they Were salvaged only last year after Tying for more than half a century in ,Lake Huron, where they were dropped by the "Sephie" during a storm, ' The Sephie was a trim, three -masted sailing vessel of the +� schooner type, built about 1890 by William' Marlton when he was at the age of 20, and who became widely known in Shipping and marine circles as a ship builder. Painted white with blue trimming, the Sephie was considered the fastest and best -looking boat ' on Lake 'Huron. She was a pretty sight as she sailed in and out of 4 the harbor with ail canvas set, skippered by the veteran Capt. McLean, of Goderich, whose sons now sail some of the largest and speediest boats out of American ports. ' During a storm the Sephie was weathering her way into the harbor When she missed the piers. The anchors were dropped to keep hegfrom drifting onto the beach. As soon as enough canvas could be spread to get her under way, the anchors were "shipped," and at fa sail>, she managed to reach deep water. The vessel was sold for coastal service during the First Great War, and Mr. Marlton received a letter from the - purchasers praising the workmanship. Sincethen nothing has been heard of the ship. Mr. Marlton died in 1921... • . - Weeks after the storm an intensive search. was made for anchors and chains without success. It was only fast year that Capt. Bert MacDonald saw them Tying in clear water about half a mile out from the -north pier and the mouth of the Maitland_ RWet ..He -_succeeded._. in....salvaging, the six tons of anchor and cable and they were brought into the harbor on a scow. - - The anchors; which..had guarded the safety of mariners for many years are still guarding against danger as the incline below .is steep both ' at the "cannon bank" at Lighthouse Point, and the "anclior bank" above the C.P.R. The fence is a safeguard against the possible danger of going too near the,.edge of fhe precipice. There are favorite ' spots for citizens andwisitors to -view the sun setting over the blue waters of Huron. - Not only is the fence of . historic interest, it is ,ornamental, too, and a fine' improvement. It is understood it is the intention of the town council to place a plate on it on which will be inscribed the names ,of captains who skippered sailing vessels out of the Pbrt of Goderich. Other well-known boats built by Mr. Marlton were the passenger -package freight -steamers Manitou and Caribou and perhaps the most •widely -known and a money-maker 1 r' was The Jones which plied up -and down the Great Lakes as a passenger and package -freight steamer. . Old-timers recall with pleasure the schooner days of Goderich whenfishermen made and mended their nets and -did'a thriving business; and passenger steamers called once or twice a week. be unloaded. They are the, Collingdoc and Altadoc of Goderich Elevator and Transit Company and two barges of the Upper Lakes and _St. Lawrence Transportation Company. ONE YEAR AGO Goderich will be the sports centre of Western Ontario for the next week as the"town plays host to the- nineteenth annual -Young Cana Weak V pee -wee hockey tournament and the 11 team .All -Ontario ' senior boys "A" basketball tournament. In addition, the Goderich Sifto junior "B" team will be playing off against the St. Marys squad for , the championship of the Central Junior "B" division. For the second time in just over a month;- the Maitland River pushed itself beyond its banks on Tuesday afternoon, when the mouth of the river became clogged with heavy ice. Homes in the Saltford Flats area were again threatened as the water sought out a new area for its' flow. The home of William Clements, ..hardest 'hit in. the "February flood, was again -isolated by 'flood waterer The family was forced to evacuate the home, including furniture and possessions, ' Tuesday afternoon as the flood threat` worsened. By press time Wednesday, the waters were still rising in the area, fed by a light rain which fell overnight Tuesday. 4 4 8 - 10 LB. LAKE HURON -== \3'/ 'Ib. x EiTHER HALF - NO CENTRE SLICES REMOVED HOME CURED MOKED HAM$ IDEAL FOR THAT QUICK MEAL- - w -EAKETTE Ib: 69 ° 4 •