The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-10-11, Page 2*tis $-- iCH -BIONAL-114AR, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1973
•
Unfortunate oversight
A surprising report was brought forth
at last week's regular meeting of
Goderich Town Council. That was the
Public Works .Committee minutes from a
meeting which was held at 1,0 a.m. Wed-
nesday, October 3 with Committee
Chairman Reeve Deb Shewfelt, Mayor
Harry Worsell, Deputy -reeve Stan Profit,
Councillors Frank Walkom, Leroy
Harrison and Dave Gower, Town
Foreman Stan Meriam and Town
Engineer B.M. Ross in attendance._
Not only was the local press uninforr
med about the meeting which should
have been open to the public, two coun-
cillors were also not invited to sit in on
the session. While it is highly unlikely
there was an ulterior motive for not
having Councillors Ela Haydon and
Eileen Palmer present, it is'strange that
both the absent ones were women
whose opinions on matters of Public
Works may or may not be considered
valuable.
When questioned at the meeting con -
7
cerning the fact that not allcouncil
members knew about the all.
Reeve Shewfelt indicated he'd been in
error by informing only the members of
his committee about the morning
meeting. Just how Administrative Com-
mittee Chairman David Gower came to
be included in the Public Works meeting
was never explained.
Obviously the two ladies on council
did not have a quarrel with the recom-
mendations made by the group at that
quiet gathering. Neither does this
newspaper argue with the recommen-
dations which came forth from that.
"secret" session.`
The only point in dispute is that all
• committee meetings are to be open to
the public as well as to all council mem-
bers. It is to be hoped it will be a long,
`.7. long time before a similar mistake in
judgment is evident in this community.
Caution:. autumnleaves
That innocent -looking pile of leaves
might be anything but innocent, warns
the Ontario Safety . League.
Piled -up leaves area natural attrac-
tion for children. They roll in them, throw
them and one of their favorite tricks is
cov4ring themselves upcompletely and
hiding. That's fine in thelyard at home,
but when this little game is played in the
street it's an open invitation to tragedy.
What can the driver` do about it?
Assume that there is a ,child or pet in
every pile of leaves you see in or near
the street. Avoid driving through • a pile
of leaves and expect the unexpected -
meaning specifically a child leaping out
of a covering of leaves and dashing in.
front of your vehicle.
Wet leaves rani be slippery - another
reason for regarding them with ,caution.
When brakes are applied, the wheels
often lock easily. Leaves gather in front
of,° and under, the' locked wheels, and"—
could
could cause skidding. If you release the
brakes for an instant, the wheels will roll
over the packed leaves and you'll find
yourself on clear pavement again. It may
be necessary to release the brakes at
short intervals to keep the wheels free of
wet leaves.
World _meds a_go
_ Every week, almost 1,500,000 people
are being added to the 'world's
population - at a time when people even
in affluent nations are experiencing food
shortages. The countries that can afford
to pay high, prices for grain and other
vital foods are adding to their stockpiles,
while the poor nations are going hungry.
It is one of the ironies'of our age that
the Soviet Union, not only by far the
largest of the world's nations but one
that hails internationalism in, all its
,propaganda, helped push up the price of
a global food. Last year's Societ grain
purchases of about 30 million tons
would have been enough to provide a
subsistence diet for some 140 million
people for an entire year.
But the Societ Union, like most of the
richer nations, was greedy, and thought
not about the needs of the poor. This is a
most , short-sighted policy, of course.
Unless the rich and powerful do a great
deal more lot the poor and the weak,
there will never be genuine understan-
ding among the nations.
The Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) has emphasized the need for a
world food bank that would lend or give
grain to needy nations during times of
scarcity. The idea has the backing of
various UN agencies, and of other im-
portant world organizations, including
the International Bank for Reconstruc-
tion and Development.
Nothing would be more disastrous
than perpetuiting the impression that
people in some 'of the very poor coun-
tries have, namely that the citizens of
richer nations are indifferent to world
hunker. Backing including financial sup-
port, food gifts and technical advice
would dispel the notion that we in the
have countries just don't 'care.
The creation of a world 'tad bank, and
indeed the establishment of some form
of international food policy, are vital
needs at a time when global populations
continue to grow at too rapid a rate.
Canada, with its vast wheatlands, should
give every assistance to t o world food
bank plan.—The United Church of
Canada.
the foberfch
SIGNAL -STAR
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Published by Signal -star Publishing Lid.
IIOSSN7 G. $$Apel.—pessidenl and publisher
s1NALIY J. KELL1111--edfes
A. W. $NAW--edNaial staff
A.A. itt1.LE$s editorial staff
WARD J. OMNI—advertising manager
DAVE N. WILLIAM rapreeenlative
The opinions expressed
in this ,columnare those
af_::..the. writer_ and ..not
. necessarily those of The
Goderich Signal -Star.
I don't `know Bob Brumfield.
I'm not a subscriber to the Cin-
cinnati Enquirer. All I know is
that a column entitled You
Make Me Sick crossed by my
desk at the Signal°=Saar this
week and I thought it was
something I should share with
you.
Before 1 do, though, I'd like
to warn you that I will be
ma -king some observations
about the content of column af-
ter you've read it. You might
like to make it a game' to form
some opinions of your . own as
you read it .... and then we'll
compare notes at the end.
Ready? Let's read.
* * *
-YOU-MAKE ME .SICK!
"It would serve this coun-
try's whining, complaining,
penny-wise and pound-foolish
housewives right if all the far-
mers. started selling everything
they produce to foreign coun-
tries.
"The same goes for all- the
other food producers,
processors and distributors.
"The typidal modern
American urban housewife, for
all of her virtues — real and
imagined — is a shortsighted,
lazy,' pampered, little ingrate
whose primary interests are her
underarms, her hair, her hands,
her hips, her overweight and
overpaid. husband, her over-
,
ven, indulged and . over -educated
children, and the next episode
of General Hospital, in that or-
der.
"A hard day's work in a
grocery store or a bakery would
do her a lot of good. So would
taking over'the duties of a farm
wife for awhile. Maybe then she
would realize that these people
have a right to make a decent
living just as much as her
union scale husband.
"Whoever gave the urban
housewife the idea that she's
the only person in the world
having a' hard time making
ends meet? When was the last
time she had to send her kids
off to school with a couple of
cold biscuits and'a hunk of fat-
back to hold them until supper -
time, or flopped down, bone-
weary after working from sun-
up to sundown, and worried
about whether the frost was
going to kill the money crop?
"While milady of the suburbs
• is soaking in her tub in her Bet-
ter Homes and Gardens
bathroom, thousands of farm
wives are scraping off the dirt
of an honest day's toil in a
galvanized laundry tub. And,
while Miss City -britches is
spraying on 110 worth of
deodorant, skin softener, hair
sprays 'rand assorted beauty
crap, the?average farm wife is
couhting her blessings because
was Ole to swing for a bot-
tof Co?nhusker's Lotion and
some Absorbine Junior.
"If the , urban housewife
would stop organizing food
boycotts and shovel a little cow
manure, maybe she'd learn
where milk comes from and
just how much work is involved
before she strains herself rip-
ping open that little waxed car-
ton,... ...-_ ... _
"Boycott a grocery? Not me,
sister. I can still remember pow
many people would have star-
ved in this country' if the in-
dependent grocers hadn't
carried them on credit during
the depression.
"Wise up. All that pretty
food and those .nice cuts of
meat didn't just appear in the
markets in a blinding flash of
sparkle dust. Millions of people
worked their tails off to put it
there for you . . butche
bakers, clerks, laborers, fa'°
niers, truck drivers, accoun-
tants, filling station attendants,
and hundreds of other. oc-
cupations. These people have
dreams, too. They pay rent and
taxes just like you do. And they
.deserve. to make just as good a
living as you do. Why single
them out for destruction?
"Why not your husband, the
account executive? . Why not
—your husband, the plurber?-
Why not your husband, the
lowyer? Or why not . . G
help you .. your husband the
newspaper reporter?
"You sit there in front of
your color TV set, with a
$3,000 car in the garage,
smelling like the Garden of
Eden and looking 10 years
younger than you are. You take
your vacation every year. Your
husband has a good job„your
children are healthy. You don't
have ay chains around your
ankles nd the bombers won't
come tonight. And, you're going
bananas because bread went up
a penny a loaf.
"You make me sick.
market, but ,there are many
commodities they do purchase
regularly from the grocery store
' which.. are--increasing.-in cost in
which the farmer shares nary a
dime.
Mr. Brumfield writes: "If the
urban housewife would stop
organizing food boycotts and
shovel a little cow manure,
maybe she'd learn where milk
comes from and just how much
work is involved before she
strains herself ripping open'
that little waxed carton.”
Oddly, enough, I'm willing to
wager there are an increasingly
small number of farm women
who still shovel manure.
Believe if or not, I've perfor-
med that task in my day - back
when it was necessary. But
today's modern farmers usually
have things organized so that
the little woman no longer has
to scrape the gutters behind
Old Bessie. In fact, Old Bessie
is long gone. In her place is a
long string of nameless milk
producers who file into a near-.
sanitary milking parlor, have
their wares stripped from them
�
by into the pasture or the
eurnte� out
C
pen un-
til they are needed again the
next time.
Mr. Brumfield asks
housewives to wise -up --and to
realize the millions of people
who must work to put food on
the shelves of the local
groceries. That is an insult, I
believe, for it leaves the im-
pression that housewives are
brainless bumpkins who make
no contribution to the nation's
business. Indeed, Mr. Brum-
field paints the picture of her
languishing before her ,
—By Bob Brumfield,
The Cincinnati Enquier
* * *
Now what do you think of
that? If you've thought that
Dear Readers sometimes; get
spicy and critical, this piece of
writing may give you some idea
of what other writers in other
parts of the world are saying
and thinking these days.
I really can't disagree with
the writer that many, many of
today's housewives -.American
and Canadian - are pampered
darlings.. He's right, of course.
But I really wonder how
many farm wives send their
children off to school • "with a
couple of cold biscuits and. a'
hunk of fatback to hold diem.
until suppertime" , Or how
many ., rural women are
scraping off the dirt of an,
honest day's toil in a
galvanized laundry tub".
Seems to me Mr. Brumfield
should make -a trip to the rural
areas of this neighborhood to
see some of the truly lovely
homes of the district; some of
the prettiest and most pam-
pered wives and mothers alive;
some of the best stocked larders
in the cotnmunity.
And it seems to me that Mr.
Brumfield should have a talk
with some of the rural
housewives of the nation. He
might find, for instance, that
rural women are just as upset
over the increasing cost of food
as anyone else. They might not
buy their moat ,at the butcher
shop, their milk at the dairy or
their vegetables at the super -,
e
television, soaked in perfume
and cold cream- and only
waiting for her TV dinner to
thaw. •
It might interest the brash
Brumfield to know that many
women are in occupations upon
which the food industry thrives.
They know as well as men what
makes food prices rise but
unlike men, they, are called
upon to juggle the budget to
feed a family of five on the
same grocery budget which last
year just barely managed to
stretch and which this year is
far from enough. And unlike
men, they have. attempted to
take some step - albeit futile
and problem -riddled - to
correct the situation.
I've said before that few con-
sumers would complain if the
increase in groceries went to
the workers - the farmers, the
truck drivers, the clerks, the
laborers, _the filling station at-
tendants. But somehow, only a
small, small portion of the in -
_crease _makes._ it back --to -the-
people. A large portion of it is
skimmed off the top for;
`oyer ►, „
70 Mat Ag
October .1
A. Macdonald ., is
remove to Brussels
and commence his lar,
there, succeeding
who comes Q,
Although we are n.
MMr. Macdonald from
a pleasure to commend
the people of Brume
-find him a reliable you
and one who will h
uphold the .traditions
profession. Although
youngest of the ba '
county, Mr. Mardon
- had several years of ex,
in practice and ills
evidence„ .,of ability
promises for him a u
successful career,
F. Smeeth is erecting
chimney at his mill. It
55 ft. high with a 2 ft. 6
A similar chimney will
ted at Dietrich's flour
McVicar has the cont
One important matter
the meeting of -the cou
the Board of Trade wh'
held on Monday w
proposal of N.B. Sm
Smith Bros. & Co., to
factory in Goderich earl
new year for the man
of ladies' garments and
Mr. Smith's proposal
factory that wouldempl
twenty-five to one h
hands and he aske
assistance of the Board
junction with the town
to secure the passipg oft
granting. the usual ex
A committee was appot
wait on the town cou
Friday evening to adv
submitting of a bylaw
time of the municipal el
25 YEARS'° AGO
October 14, 1941
•
A former professional
player will move from
to Goderich within then
months. He has purch
business here. In his.
days, he was with hockey
al Montreal; Ottaw
Detroit.
Hundreds of foxes h
their death in Huron
this year. Flom the
of the year to date a
$1,594._has been paid in
ties according to Mr. A.
skine, gounty treasur
wouldn't say that all ha
ned in their claims for
yet," said Mr. Erskine.
dollars is paid for a ma
and two dollars forapu
bounties have been
residents of Grey to
than to any other Section
.county: ,
Owing to rain, the
arranged for Thanksgivi
were cancelled. The
mobile laces. were post
Wednesday, when the
Was carried out su
Nothing has yet been a
regarding the softball
nament, but with s
weather the committ
charge hope to be able t
day for the event.
whatever' we're calling it these
days.
I agree that housewives
▪ should be glad they have no
chains on their ankles or bom-
bers overhead. I believe moat
housewives are aware of these
precious blessings.
But to leave the impression
that modern housewives are
clueless clods who live in
luxury and laziness without
any notion of the ways of the ,
world, I object. ; In fact, Mr.
Brumfield, you make me sick.
Huff's Hoist,
Dear Editor:
I am thankful for the fact
that I am leaving Goderich.
The hotel is lovely, and has
been for some 20 years teat I
have been coming up here. The
meals are excellent and the
town and the church service are
second to none.
But, like most small towns,
., lack- of police control has tur-
ned your loveluare into a
drag strip. lir
All night long, squealing
tires, roaring motors and loud
horns and conversations, with
no police curbs.
My what a shame, the lack of
adequate policing tears down
all of your Chamber of Com-
merce's hard work.
After two sleepless nights I
am going back to steel town
and sleep on a through -way.
The drone there is at least con-
stant.
R.P. Jones
150 Mohawk East,
Apartment 1916
Hamilton, Ontario
Poor xr'rrire
Dear Editor:
On September 6, 1973, I sent
a cheque covering a Year's sub-
scription for the Signal-Staar._In;
an accompanying letter I oon-
plained of slow delivery of the
paper. Since my letter to you
things have gone from bad to
worse.
My cheque has been cashed.
The following week the paper
was delivered on Monday so I
know it can be done. Since then
it has been exactly one week
late. Today is }Thursday, the
paper is on the street in
Goderich but I don't even have
last week's edi4on.
The mail has come but no
paper. If it cofihes tomorrow
that means one week and one
day for a trip of 380 miles. It
didn't take that long for my
cheque to reach you, get cashed
and return to me.
I am able to drive to
Goderich in seven hours. I sup-
pose it could take a week for
someone to walk the distance.
If this is how the *paper is get-
ting from Goderich' to
Kingston, I do appreciate the
personalized service but it is
not necessary. Please ,put it
back on a truck. 44.
Yours truly,
Mrs, S.A. MacMillan
ED. NOTE: All dditlons of the
Goderich SI nal Susi, going out
on Pew 3
Q
p
5 YEARS AGO
October 11, 1961
James Chisholm, cora
Huron County Pi
Museum at Goderich f
past 12 years, was novo
Huron County Counc
-Goderich last week on
his retirement on Oct
In his' final report,
Chisbelm said'that atten
this year had totalled
an increase .of 364 over
and that total income
$7,215. There were
adults, less children..
Approval hiving -
-
received ^ from the 0
Minister of Municipal A
-Huron County is now a
ning-area" subject to a
ning Board", according
report . of the Industrial
Tourism Committee n
at the October seas
of
County Council in
last week. to launch
Preparatory ower NV
full-fledged power Ca
here next spring,
Power Squadron is s psi
a 20 week course
thiswinter on.boating at lK
Hall
Students olbor eup
School whoformed
school's newly
School Bus GGuards �
ore
tips on th
students on leave
lno
ding buses last vv
ks
Provincial Police
Officer O.S. Ferris. resTM.
wwere later p
safety vests and
Ir
troduced to the red',
students at the school
general aebly.
M�