The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-09-12, Page 2PAGE 24DRt, SIGNAL -STAR, .THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1974
Hooray for vision
I It was like a fresh•cobl breeze on a hot '
stic)cy night. For the first time in a long,
tong ' time. in Goderich,, 'people were
talking about making this community vg -
come alive with activity -planned, ext=
citing activity - to attract and hold the in-
terest of citizens and visitors alike. "
Yes, at the administrative committee
meeting of town council last week, there
was a new enthusiasm in the air. A few
interested residents ,put forth a few
thoughtful ideas andthe whole meeting
began to vibrate with the realization that
through planning and promotion 1975 in
Goderich could realty and truly be a time
and a place to. remember.
Next year ,is° Goderich's 125th anniver-
sary., and a• group of forward-looking
citizens is asking for'town council ap-
proval'° - and financial assistance - to
launch a- planning nuoieus to develop a
series of celebrations throughout_ 1975.
The group talked about everything
from, a gala -New Year's Eve kick-off to
an old-fashioned farmers' market, They
spoke about showing Goderich to sum- .
mer visitors; promoting Goderich in -
°Now that fall programs are beginning.
all over town and country, it is time once •
•again for consideration of projects to
keep folks busy •and happy throughout
the winter season. With this in' mind, the
Signal -Star - staff ° would like any in-
terested groups to give some thought to
a project 'suggested by Ron Shaw, a for-
mer Sign&-Starreporter-photographer.
As' moist Signal -Star readers already
know, Ron"Shaw and his wife Peg are
serving in Niger, Africa, with the
Canadian . Hunger Foundation: Accor-
ding to their letters, most of Which'have
been published in th.is'apper, the work -i§.
:challenging and rewarding. However, in
Ron's latest letter he outlines some of
the basic difficulties of the ,Fulani tribes
in his area and shows that the simple
necessities of food and fresh water are
dustries within the commijnity; providing
a showcase, for Goderich talent; drawing
Goderich'children into the limelight.
The Signal -Star has advocated just
this kind of promotion to put ,boderich
on the map and whi a '•not nearly all the
good ideas have .been advanced, the
community must be grateful to the in-
terested citizens who Have made it their
responsibility to plant the seed of ex-
citement here. There is no doubt that
what, has been proposed will take long
hours of planning and hard work. There
is also no doubt that if enough effort is
placed on the project,'more ideas.will be
• added and more service wi lJ be ren-
dered. Goderich will come out the big
winner.
Dt;1
It is hoped that a public meeting:,such
as the one which was suggested by the
initial• core=g°reup, will be held. as soon
as possible after the celebrations board
is narned ... and that Goderich citizens
will : respond with all• •the vitality and
vision they can muster in preparation for
a bang-up anniversary in 1975.
Will Goderich respond?
v�.
"In °last week's Jack's 'Jotting§ and
again in this week's copy, Huron MPP
=Jack,: ,•Riddell has appeatled to area
residents 16 pass their suggestions' and
comments along to him regarding ,in-
-
in-
- and ways to curb it -
Inflation as everyone knows has the
whole world in its grip. Many of the older
. generation read- this as a sign for
another world war which they say must
surely be looming on the horizon.
Younger folks complain about the fast -
,rising ,prices for a)l sorts of commodiee
but they display only small bits of con -
often missing tor these. people
Ron's letterand some pictures taken
by him are, published on the opposite
page. If after reading the article some
readers are moved to consider supplying
some kind of assistance to Ron and Peg
in their humanitarian endeavor, .the
Signal -Star staff would be' pleased , to '
hear about it.
°" In the 'meantime, further contact will
be made with Ron.at his office in Maradi
to determine the details of• his .project
ro and the exact means by which Goderich
and. area can be of help.
d Maybe .this year for Christmas, the
community. of..Goderich - can- supply a
meaningful' gift for another 'less ' for-
tunate community..Surely _there is .the
abundance and°the ability here'•to carry
it off. Let's hear from you.
your say
cern as they continue to spend, spend,
• spend.
Governments seem ° baffled as people
struggle for survival by the strangest of
means. Economists advise, but no one.
,likes what they say. Exerts suggest but
nobody listens.
Now 'it is your turn .to have yours.ay.
Don't. mi s this opportunity ,to Contact
your MPP n'd give him your views. Who
know , re mbe a simple solution
to the dilemma:-nd' it . may • just come.
from' the grassroots of 'the nation.
Tune up, slow down
'Last winter's , oilhortage crisig may'
have„fade'd, but the longer-term need for
fuel. conservation is still very Much do
government minds, according to The
,, Financial Post.,
In Ontario, for 'instance, a provincial
government group is looking at various:
ways to slow gasoline consumption,. One
idea - and atthis stage it's only that - is .
. to introduce a system 'of compulsory
tuneups, to be given at special govern-
ment test centres. If you.didn't already
know it, a poorly turied car uses more :
gas than a well -tuned one.
Another idea is to reduce motor
license' fees to a nominal amount, but
-then raise gasoline taxes sharply,
perhaps even doubling them, (they're
now 19c a gallon). That would make
motorists think twice about' 'roaring
along at aggas-guzzling 8,g. mph and get
them down 'to 'a sedate; but more.ef-
ficient, 55- mph .
Trouble for some , businesses,
however, is that it might also "make many
tourists think twice about driving. in On-
tario.
-CCi11A
A
oecto ,
' business and .Editorial Office •
TELEPHONE 524-5331
area code 519
Mailing Address:
P.O. BOX 220, Goderich,
Second Class mail ,registretiof number -016
16
"eu�o�ericfj
SI�F�I4L -STA;R
_-0— The County Town Newspaper of Huron
Founded in 1848 and, publish4d every Thursday at Godeh :•h Member 7f 'he
CWNA and 01i NA Advertising rates gin• request Subscr,pt`~ons payable in advance
$8 50 in .Canada. $10 00 in all countries oth r'han Canada single c )pies 20 cents
Second class mail Registration Number 0716 Ad`vertisinc' is accepted on the c n&,on
that. in +he° event of typographidal. error the adverr,g,ng space lccupied 149 'he
•erroneous item: together wrti reasonable aIV,wa1 ce for signature will,npr be charged. '
for but The bafariee of the.advertisentent will be pard for at 'he applicable rate In 'he
event Of a typographical error advertising goods ar services at a Wrong pr, e gotids..r
service may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be ws'h'drawn a'
any time The Signal -Star is nbt responsible for the loss or' damage of unsolicited
manuscripts or r hotbs
n•
Pulliehdd4by Si"gnal.Star Publishing Ltd.
ROBERT G. SHRIER—president and Publisher
SHiRLE4'J. KELLER---editor '
BILL. DIMMICK–.editorial ;staff -
JEFF SEDDON---editorial staff ' ' o
EDWARD J. t#YRSKI- advertising manager
DAVE R. WILLIAMS—.advertising representative ,
•
LETS *qiX �►
T„ aKEr
ill ALL •
• GREEK ry ME ` .
DEAR. READERS
• Barry Wenger, president 'of
Wenger Brothers Limited and
editdrial writer for The
Wingham Advance -.Times has
always had my personal ad-
miration for; his thought
provoking comments. Last.
week, however,' in an editorial
entitled: "Think ' of. the future"
he outdid himself in my
estimation. He put into words
the ' very thoughs..' I've been
having for months and months municipality between Septem-
... and some of his ideas deserve. ber 3 • and October. 8. That
the attention of all thinking legislation makes the voters'
people. • base much broader .:. as well as
Mr. Wenger was urging his „permitting those persons who
,readers to begin now to think "'room or. simply live at
about the upcoming' municipal. home' ,to. 'become members of
elections December 2, 1974° municipal bodies. Nothing
He wrote:. "Start.. to ask some •wrong with 'that you way? No,
'questions now. Talk to ydu;'. i,,unless you ,would be u asy if
local councillors and those whq "1._
council, ..council, fore instance, coriVsted
suddenly discovered that the
slate of candidates has' been
decided and there's really; not
that much., froth which CO
choose. • e
2.' A change.in the eligibility
of the voter. To be eligible as a
local. voter you must ° be a
Canadian citizen or other
British subject; at least, 18
years of age before, December 2,
1974; and a resident in the
may seek office. Find, o
yourself, whether they. are
people of ability, who have -at
least some qualities of leader.-
uttfor"only of persons whd owned no
ship -. and above all whether
they will have the backbone to
fight effectively for the rights
of those ' they represent. Self-
government depends .• for' its
veru life ori the personal
relationship between the elec-
• tors and the elected. Treat this
relationship carelessly. and you
will find yourself represented
by someone you heard about
only'two weeks .before election
• iAnd w right Mr. -Wenger
is. Howe tpry, .very right.
* * *
• .Voters in Goderich ancarea
arena any different than'voters
anywhere else. We're unin- F" councils are a • case in point.
terested, uninspired, lazy and . Huron folks, If present plans
listless. We're' content to pay are implerriented; will be lum-
our taxes and . let someone ped into a_ region which would
anyone - else do the worrying.. stretch from Wingham to the
We just want to 'be' left alone. • other side of Chatham and as
What's worse, this :indif- far east as Woodstock for
ference carries over into, every ' health. services. We've been
phase of our 'everyday life. The hearing from Huron spokesmen
majority' of citizens go to work what, this could mean •in terms
to bring home a higher salary of health care for Joe Citizen,' It
than ever before ... and' then 5 esn't sound good. 'Right now
bury themselves in their own in Huron We're talking about
little affairs to the- exclusion of . a county police force, a coun-
the world around. They pay ty recreation department, 'a
their' bills (with some minor ' ' county 'fire brigade. We have 'a
and -useless grumbling perhaps) . ''county -school , board. Can we
and then shrug their shoulders look forward to a time when
while they exclaim, "Where's it this county .school board will
all going to end?" amalgamate with the Perth
Yes sir, readers, we're paying . County School board, phaps.a"
the price or our . apathy. Our
who -cares way of living. is
costing us a bundle and
before we know it we will have
land in the municipality or ren-
ted no property here. 'And
that's entirely possible now.
3. • Indication from Queen's
Park that some municipalities
as we know them today• will be
abolished. Yes,- that's true.
Restructuring as it's called in
Huron County, could result in
some municipalities
amalgamating. And that's not
a bad idea unless it is just the
'first step toward' elimination of
'all town, village and township
councils in time .2 and possibly,
the dissolution of county coun-
cils thereby removing the final
opportunity for local .in-
volvement or decision-making.
4. Increasing' talk about
regionalization., District 'health.
maybe even more and more
counties until the school area is
about the same size as the
district proposed for heath
shrugged our way into a society councils? 4 •
resembling puppets which are * * *
manipulated and pulled and You see, readers', the respon-
pushed' at the whim of the pup- sibility for elected people is
peteer. We'll be strung -up '' great -in the next two years. We
without a will of, our own need top-fliglit people .°. not
and we'll deserve it. hobby hunteirs who want a
The ravings of a frightened chance to be a public figure for
fanatic? Hardly. Take a look a two year term and rise higher
around you. What -do you see? on' the social ladder."
1. Tbe abolition of those an- • 'Mr. Wenger ,put it this way:
nual nomination meetings "There are valid arguments for
'(they weren't attended larger units of operation, chief
anyway). Now anyone can of which is the elimination of
become a 'candidate for duplicated services and inef-
municipal council or school •ficient, hiring.and buying prac-
board or PUC by simply getting tipsi We:should not expect our
ten people oto sign a form which .' elected representatives to blin-
indicates'they are wiling to see dly oppose all.such trends sim-
that person stand for election. ' ply because they, are new and
Nothing really wrong with that different. We should, however,
either, except there is' a ten, be utterly sure that we elect
dancy for people to become people who are capable of
even less interested in standing analytical assessment of the
for office because, of the cold," price of uiiificatiott as clearly as
impersonal, no -contact system- they, see .,the advantages."
it. is. The whole thing tends to He goes on,. Above all, our
get forgotten, , neglected, until councils, shotsf d hold out for
that awful moment, when it is adequate time in which to
- a
make these assessments and to
report to and discuss them with
the electors. Provincial govern-
mentpeople have a great way
of speaking in only general
terms of an intended takeover
for months on end and then
suddenly` demanding consent in
a. matter of weeks with little or
no time to study the specifics
of ' the. "project and their , im-
plications as far as the public is
concerned." w .
._Please, readers. Start
thinking now. ° Start 'talking
now. Start .planning now for
By, Shirleg J.;KeIIei
the December election.. The
municipal clerks will begin.
receiving names for the various
positions oh November 7.
Names will be received up until
November 12 at 5 p.m.*
Let's have'' those lists filled
with the names of truly capable,
citizens who -can do more than
rubber-stamp the ideas of
others. Let's have thinkers and
crusaders for the - next two'
years. f.f there ever was a time
for taking a si°and,it is pow -
election year • 1974..
History please
Dear . Editor,
In a matter that pertains to
the history ora ship which I am
presently researching I won-
dered if you might be able to
assist me.
I am researching the history
of the 62 foot schooner-"Hedda
Gabler" . ex U.S. "Comrade" „
The "Hedda Gabler" was built
In Bayonne, N.J. in 1909. For-
merly owned by .U.S. President °
Franklin D. Roosevelt', the
"Comrade" was purchased .by
Chris Guiry of Kincardine, Ont.
Mr, Guiry ° ..sailed -the
"Comrade" uR., the Atlantic
seabaard and'thru the*away
to Kincardine. Upn her
arrival "Comrade'' was
renarned "Hedda Gabler r«,
In the spring of 1974 .the
"Hedda Gabler" was pur-
chased by Raymond H. Izard of
Jordan, Ont. On Captain
'Izard's' first voyage as skipper
aboard the "Hedda Gabler"
enroute from Kincardine to her
new home at J'ord•an, the
schooner foundered. In broad
daylight with moderate -seas..
tinning the "Hedda Gabler"
began to ship Water. On May 6,
1974 off Point Kettle in Lake
Huron, the "Hedda Gabler"
Sank in -1OU.:feet of water,
The captain apd crew were
rescued from the wreck by
helicopter, prior to the sinking.
Did the -",Signal-Star" carry,
any story or photos ori the
sinking of the "Hedda Gabler"
on May 6, 1974 off Point Kettle
in Lake Huron?
Thank you for your' time and
consideration. Hoping you can
be of some assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Pred Addis
246 Steele St. (upper)'
Port 6olborne, Ontario
Canada L3K 4X8
Great Lakes
Marine Historian
Editor's' Note' Although the
Signal -Star did n"ot cover this,•
marine event, the letter by Mr.
A'd'dis has been.,..published to
allow any readers who may
have information or pictures of
the disaster, to get in touch
with the Great Lakes Marine
Historian.
Urges plant '
Dear Editor:,
I was appalled when I read
10014G. BACK
75 YEARS .AGO,,.
The following item appeared
in the daily newspapers'
Tuesday last, but she Signal
has been unable to_ find that
the unfortunate man belongs to
Goderich or. neighbourhood.
Detroit, Mich., September 11,
Thomas Adams, 82 years old,
partially deaf anetotally bird,
an inmate of the Huron Cotctity
House, Clinton, arrived in ,
Detroit yesterday off the
Canadian steamer Carmona.
He said he was intending to
spend a few days in this coun-
try and wanted to get back to
Goderich, Ontario, by Saturday,,
night. The immigration man
decided the risk of the man
becoming a pauper -too great-
and took him back to Windsor
to start him on his trip back to
Goderich,
The horse attached to C.A.
Nairn's delivery wagon made a
lively runaway ,down East
Street last Friday afternoon.
'The horse' wasfinally in
collision with- a tree that ,,stop-
ped his career and about
demolished the wagon.
A very unique method of
courtship showed up recently at
the Magistrates office. Fred
Bamberger was charged by
Sarah Ziegler with • assaulting
her on the street. Bamberger, it
appears, followed her and wan-
ted 'to walk with her, and she
threatened to slap him if he
persisted. He 'did persist and
she did slap him whereupon the
young gallant undertook to
thrash the fair one. He was
fined one `dollar • and court
costs.
Out at Smith's Hill and at
other points in .the townships
last Monday they had rain that
came in sheets and hail like
snowballs, but Goderich had
but the most gentle sprinkle.
5O YEARS AGO
The outfit of the Federal
Construction Company which
had the contract for the new in-
take, cleared, on Sunday about
noon and a parting salute was
blown by the various steam
whistles at the harbor.
A "bakers dozen'.' of. the
Lions Club of Goderich-i .
motored to Wingham last
Friday evening where, at theLL„
invitation of the'. Lions Club of
that town they were , enter-
tained at a .dinner prepared for
them at the Brunswick hotel.
the recent articles in our lora: _There was a lar'gegatheri'ng of
weeklies regarding the findings Wingham' Lions present and 'a
of •Ontario ..Hydro in respect to most enjoyable evening was
a.proposed nuclear station for had. 'A splendid orchestra
• Huron County. The spokesman provided entertaining music,
for Ontario 'Hydro said ow- • and the evening was taken up
position by municipal officials by music, speeches and
• and area residents was a major recitations.
reason for, suspending plans to The .ruckus caused -by the
establish a nuclear generatinr young ruffians f who sped
Ration site in ,Huron County. around the Square `last week in
What is wrong with some of their open' car had only just
our officials and residents thatbeen calmed when similar a,: -
they cannot see.•past the end of ` livities broke loose on the
'their noses? Do the 'people of Bayfield • Road. A band of
Huron County not realize the unidentified youngsters scantily
advantages' of Ontario Hydro clad, against the cool 'weather
constructing this plant inparaded up the road shouting
„Huron? 'We have for severalobscenities at passers • by�'and
years had a° terrible transport singing bawdy songs at the tops
tation problem, do • you not of their voices. The group broke •
think with the nuclear station, and ran with the appearance of
and the added residents, that the Constable who gave lengthy
this ' problem would not be chase but failed to accost any of
solved? Do our merchants not the fiends. There is rumor that
want the added 'income : which these •goings on are not acciden-
would certainly come with the ta•l and the constabulary
added residents? Would promise • the" guilty party that
property values not go up? ;they 'will be punished to the full
Would the 'vacant houses and ' extent of the law if they are ap- .
apartments not be taken Up by prehended, .
the added residents? Would a The aster show will be held ,
developer not buy up some of in the Star Office windows next
the swampy cold -bottomed Saturday, September 13, open
land and turn it into 'housing to school children for the best
developements? aster'grown ., from . seeds
Best of all, would people who distributed by the Goderich
have been existing on uneni- Horticultural Society. There
are 21 cash prizes.
' - 5 YEARS AGO '`" •
Sifto Salt ° Mine • manager
Gordon Muir, • in a letter to
council, has asked for a water'
line to be run to the mine due
to problems the•company h lb. .
had with water obtained from
the Maitland Rivet. Mr. Muir
said the protleni has been with
the company since they have
,that might very well be a been drawing from the
bonanza to our county? Maitland andasked council to
I have a healthy respect for "give Sifto the same, con-
ouPfarmers in Huron County, sideration they give to other
without thein we could not sur- companies in` town,
vive..But what of the farmers The Goderich lndustrial•Sof
who retire and still stay on in tball Aasociation is to make the
their farm homes and let the Labor Day Weekend tour-:
land just sit? And as for nament an annual event. In a
nuclear fall -out (which I think lette& to � council presented by
is the main reason "people are_ Bill Kirkey association
afraid of the generatiii secretary Sandy Profit asked.'
t
o station), has.. it harmed the council to consider making'
residents in Pickering or the agriculture Park available lot
residents at Douglas Point? As the weekend each year for the
far as smaller numicipalities tourney which was said to be
worrying over the project an outstanding success. ,,
creating the need for wa er and , Members of the Goderich
'sewage systems,the a etre ^ and .Clinton town councils will
inevitable, . They, will come . meet tonight to discuss the
when our Health Departments proposal of establishing a
see the need for them, andwith disposal site to be used by both'
' • " towns and Goderich' Township' a
(Continue,d 'ori- page 3} for dur"npin'g garbage.
ployment insurance not be able t
to have real good jobs? What of
the- young people in the County
who have to go elsewhere to
find employment? Why not
keep these people in Huron
County? Are we so secure in
Huron County that. we can af-
ford to turn down a proposal
such all this? Are people afraid
to tike a chance on something