HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 1981-05-14, Page 6PAGE 4 —CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, MAY 14,1981
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JAMES E. FITZGERALD - Editor
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Deserve an answer
The old adage that there is one law for the rich and another for
the poor is certainly evident in the federal And provincial govern-
ments' attitude towards business in this country.
While thousands of small and medium sized businesses including
hundreds of family farms, have or will be going bankrupt this year
due to soaring interest rates and a sluggish economy, the two
governments are doing almost nothing. The politicians argue that
any additional support they give these small businesses can't be
justified because the freedom to fail is an integral part of the free
enterprise system.
Supposedly, the process separates the wheat from the chaff, en-
suring that the least efficient and productive businesses will fail
because they can't compete, but for our two governments what's
good for one, isn't for the other. While farmers fall by the wayside
by the hundreds, Ottawa has opened the vault to multi -national cor-
porations like Chrysler and Massey Ferguson, shelling out hundreds
of millions of dollars in taxpayers' money to support these firms.
Likewise, the provincial government gave Ford $70 million to build
a new plant, and then the company turned around and closed an
older one putting hundreds out of work.
The principal at stake is not whether the taxpayers will lose their
money or not, but if taxpayers are helping two mismanaged and in-
efficient enterprises, why shouldn't they also help all troubled
firms. The public ,and especially smallbusiness people facing
bankruptcy because they are playing by the rules, deserve an
answer from the politicians before corporate socialism .takes over
This country! By J.F. .
Peaceful Maitland
remembering
our past
5 YEARS AGO
May 13, 1976
The struggling congregation of the Clinton
Baptist Church was dealt a severe blow early
Wednesday morning when fire ravaged their
church on Huron Street.
An explosion rocked the structure about
3:30 am and some $40,000 in damage was
caused to the87-year-old brick structure.
Because of the danger of falling bricks on
the outside, which had been weakened by the
explosion, and the danger of falling plaster
inside, the church has been condemned by the
fire chief for the time being. •
The Vanastra and District Lions Club held
their charter night on Saturday, May 8 at the
Vanastra Community Centre.
A well-known Clinton man, and a native of
the area who was the town's fire chief for 25
years, Grant (Red) Rath, died suddenly at his
Huron Street home last Sunday night, May 9.
' He was 64years old.
Peggy Campbellwas nicked as the junior
Give the students a chance this summer
This time of year college and upivgrsity students are on the prowl
forsummer jobs. Andin a few -short months theknumber of :job
seekers will swell when the high school year ends. '
That will put a lot of young people on the summer job market and
some of them will belooking for their first full-time employment.
Many employers in the Goderich area have an active summer
employment program and they are fully aware of the benefits of
student labor. Young people have a lot to offer business and in-
dustry.
But the task of finding a summer job is not an, easy one.. The
economic climate'has dictated cutbacks in several areas and jobs
are simply not as plentiful as they once were.
Students now may have to knock on several doors before any op-
by Jim Fitzgerald
a look through
the news -record files
queen at Bayfield's Centennial Queen contest
held last Saturday night in the village. Peggy,
who was picked from 20 other entrants, will
reign for the rest of the year. Runners-up
were Valerie Merner and Veronica Huffman.
to YEARS AGO
May 20, 1971
Mayor Don Symons called again, on
Monday night at the regular meeting of
Clinton council, for the county to take over
the cost of recreation in all areas of the
county.
The Laying Up Ceremony of the Colours
from the Protestant Chapel at CFB Clinton
which took place on Sunday, brings to an end
the long history of the chapel at the base.
Ted Gozzard was appointed to fill the
vacancy on Bayfield village council Monday
night as the council' held its regular May
Meeting. 25 YEARS AGO
May 17, 1956
A small tornado ripped through the
portunity presents itself. The Student Manpower office does a lot of
the door knocking for students in advance and is successful in mak-
ing needed placements.
Many businesses and industries co-opel _,e with the student
placement centre annually which indicates they were more than
satisfied with student labor. But the jobs are tougher to find each
year.
Students and young people have something to offer the labor
force but they have to be given the chance to display that initiative
and talent.
If you have any openings during the summer or could use some
extra help, contact the student placement office and give a student
a chance. - from the Goderich Signal -Star. -
More on the north
There are three ways of getting to
Moosonee. You can fly, which is expen-
sive. You can walk, which is lengthy, or
you can take the train, which is something
else. I took the train because I was a bit
broke after a major decorating job,
because my gout was acting up and I
couldn't have made it walking in two years
and because I wanted the experience.
It was an experience I will never forget.
Or repeat. When I think that my daughter
made the same trip two years. ago, with
two small boys, my heart bleeds for her.
It's almost 24 hours from Toronto, and she
refused to get sleeping berths, against my
advice.
But she's a very adaptable, strong -
hearted and generally clear-headed young
woman, and has made not only a go of it,
but a success of coping with a frontier
town, if there's such a thing left in Canada.
At Cochrane, you change from a fast
trans -Canada train to the self-styled Polar
Bear Express, somewhat of a misnomer,
as it has nothing to do, even peripherally,
with polar bears, and is the exact opposite
of an express. It stops whenever it feels
like it, backs up for a while, sits for a
while, then jogs off again.
Sitting in a coach surrounded by fat,
middle-aged Indian ladies who chuckled
and gossiped in Cree, I felt much like a
Russian aristocrat who had been banished
to Siberia for supposedly plotting against
the Czar. The train rolled .on hour after
hour through the taiga, skinny evergreens
too useless even for pulpwood, burnt-out
patches every so often, snow out both win-
dows, and no sign of human life. All we
needed was a samovar at the end of the
coach, and the Siberian image would have
been complete.
But a warm welcome, with some hugs
and kisses from grandboys dispelled the
first impressions.
There, seems little real reason for
Moosonee to exist, except that it is the end
of steel. Yet it's a thriving little town, with
all the requisites: liquor store, post office,
police station, churches, The Bay store,
with a monopoly on most food and
clothing, a meat market, two hardware
stores, one garage, a Mac's Milk sort of
place, a Chinese restaurant, magnificent
schools, a really splendid, small art
gallery featuring the works of Indian ar-
tists, and three taxis.
What more could a man want? Well,
maybe a poolroom. Or a massage parlor.
Or a movie house. But these are sybaritic
southern frills. No violent movie could
take the place of a dash across the mighty
Moose River just before break-up, with the
water flying as though you were a ship in a
stiff gale.
It's an odd community, geographically.
It looks as though God or somebody had
flown over the place, dumped out a few
handsful of buildings, and let them fall
where they might. I can find my way
around in most major cities, but I was con-
stantly getting lost in Moosonee.
Something else that made me wonder
was what people did for a living. There is
no industry, yet everybody seems to have
money. Nobody looks even vaguely
hungry. Perhaps it's a matter of taking in
each other's washing.
But I have a suspicion that if all the
government money, railway, liquor store,
schools, police, welfare, old age pensions,
baby bonuses and so on were suddenly
withdrawn, the place would collapse and
be remembered as a sort of rough-hewn
Camelot.
There is, of course, the tourist industry,
but that's pretty negligible except for a
couple of months in summer, and during
goose -hunting season.
On the other hand, the government was
left with a pretty sizable investment, and
has used it with some common sense. The
town used to be an army base, and many of
the buildings have been put to use as
schools, housing, administrative offices.
Better than leaving them to rot.
For example, the houses on the base are
now rented to teachers and other officials.
The barracks are used to house the Indian
kids from Moose Factory, across the river,
in spring and fall, when it's unsafe to cross
the river. The recreation building is used
for school -rooms. it still has a bowling
alley. There is a curling rink, where kids
also learn to skate. At the school there is a
fine cafeteria, with food that would make
t
di5pense i
by
bill smiley
the habituees of our school cafeteria drool.
But this is beginning' to sound like a
travelogue, not my intention. I had a grand
visit with my only daughter, without the
constant interruptions of her mother.
I played chess with my grandson, 7, and
barely escaped with my hide. Twice he
forced me to stalemate, instead of
checkmate, a humiliating experience. And
I played without mercy, regardless of age.
Most days I picked up the other little
guy, 5, at his day-care, and he gave me
directions for home when I got lost.
I got through six novels in six days, and
didn't mark a single exam paper. That's
what I call a holiday.
We had music, and read poetry, and
played dominoes, and ate like kings. I rip-
ped off three graceful Moosonee geese,
hand-crafted by the natives. And I came
home with a better sunburn than confreres
who had gone south for their holiday.
townships of Stanley, Tuckersmith, Hibbert,
Logan and McKillop Townships last Friday
night, leaving a trail of wrecked barns,
smashed homes and toppled trees in its wake.
Starting just south of Bayfield, the trail of
the twister showed up most strongly at the
farm of Alex "Sandy" Pepper, in Tucker -
smith Township, east of Brucefield, where
the garage was tilted over about three feet,
ending up in a 45 degree slant; the chimney
was down and all windows out of the house,
with the roof lifted and bricks pulled about
eight inches making a wide crack down the,.
width Of the house. On the next farm, also
owned by Mr. Pepper, the storm flattened
two barns, lifted the roof of another and shed,
smashing a combine inside. The apple or-
chard wa
r-
chardwa s completely demolished.
Bev Boyes has won first place in the tenor
class of the Huron County Music Festival.
There were 31 boys competing in the three
classes. Bev •is completing Grade XI at
Clinton District Collegiate and is the eldest
son of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Boyes.
50 YEARS AGO
May 14,1931
The Wednesday half day holiday is .,not
having a very good start in Clinton. Several of
the merchants wished to have the holiday
from May to September inclusive, others
would not consent to close during May and
September and still others 1 rished only to
have the holiday during July and August. But
only a very few of those who had agreed to
close this month did so yesterday. It would be
much better if. some agreement could be
reached amongst the businessmen so that
there would beuniformity of action.
The picture you have waited for at the
Capital Theatre in Goderich, with Northern
Electric Sound System, "Africa Speaks."
Stark Realism! Unsurpassed Drama! To
miss this picture means to be left out of
countless conversati9ns. You have seen
nothing to equal "Africa Speaks."
75 YEARS AGO
May 18, 1906.
A joke is told at the expense of one of the
sturdy young farmers who reside not far from
the 7th concession in Goderich Township. He
recently went around with a petition for a
better observance of the Lord's Day, and was
apparently quite anxious that all kinds of
unnecessary labor should cease on the
Sabbath. Those who knew of his action were a
little surprised, however, to learn that he had
taken advantage of a recent Sabbath to break
in a fine colt he is the owner of. '
The parlor social in connection with
Summerhill church held on Wednesday
evening at Mr. George Hill's, was decidedly a
success. The refreshments consisting of ice
cream, cake, coffee etc., which was greatly
enjoyed by all, despite the coolness that
prevailed. This was followed by a literary and
musical program. While not disparaging any
of the other performers, we might add that
the Holmesville Male Quartette is an ex -
odds 'n' ends
by
elaine townsh.end
Regional games
for handicapped
Athletes with disabilities from South
West and Central West Ontario will com-
pete in the Regional Games for the
Physically Handicapped from Friday,
May 22 to Sunday, May 24 in London.
Classifications include blind, amputee,
cerebral palsied and wheelchair com-
petitors. Events consist of swimming, ar-
chery, wrestling, rifle and pistol shooting,
track and field, snooker, basketball,
volleyball, table tennis and distance rac-
ing.
The games are developmental. Com-
petitors from all skill levels can par-
ticipate from newcomers to world class
athletes. For some, it will be an introduc-
tion to the social and rehabilitative value
of sport.
For others, it will be the beginning of the
long road to Ontario, Canadian and World
Games later in the year. Many Canadian
athletes have their eyes trained on the 1984
Olympiad.
The first record of competitive sports for
physically disabled persons comes from
1880 when two amputees with wooden legs
had a walking race against each other dur-
ing a sports festival in New Market Heath,
England.
In 1938, Karoly Tacaczs, an outstanding
pistol marksman, lost his right arm. With
intensive training, he transferred his skill
to his left hand and became an Olympic
champion in his sport in the 1948 Olympics
in London and the 1952 Olympics in
Helsinki.
Liz Hartell, an outstanding Danish
equestrian, was struck by polio at the age
of 23 in 1944 and became partially paralyz-
ed in both lower limbs. She returned to
riding and in 1952 at the Helsinki Olympics
won a silver medal in the dressage event.
In 1944, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a
German-born neuropathic surgeon, was
asked by the British government to set up
a spinal injuries unit at Stoke -Mandeville,
Aylesbury, England. Guttmann was a firm
believer in the value of sport for rehabilPta-
tion, physical fitness and public
awareness. In 1948, the first Stoke -
Mandeville Games, which have since
become annual and international, were
held on the grounds of Stoke Mandeville
Hospital.
The Fearnly Cup, an award for
outstanding achievement in service of the
Olympic ideal, was presented to the
Games by the Olympic Committee during
the Melbourne Australia Games in 1956.
The first Olympiad for physically han-
dicapped athletes was held in Rome in 1960
at the site of the regular Olympics and
under Olympic rules.
In 1964, Dr. Robert S. Jackson, an or-
thopedic consultant to the Canadian Olym-
pic Team in Tokyo, observed the Olympiad
for the disabled and noted no Canadian
athletes were entered. By 1968, he had
gathered a team ot 22 disabled athletes to
compete in the Tel -Aviv Olympiad. The
1976 Olympiad was held in Etobicoke, On-
tario.
Canada is the home of the first
Paraplegic Pan-American Games, held in
Winnipeg in 1967. In Canada, sports for the
physically disabled began as local friendly
competition in 1947 at Deer Park Lodge
Hospital in Manitoba with events, such as
archery, ring toss, croquet and golf put-
ting. A wheelchair basketball team com-
peted in the Stoke Mandeville Games in
1952 and 1953.
Sports for the disabled have come a long
way, mainly due to the skill and tenacity of
the athletes themselves. Wheelchair
marathoners have broken into the
prestigious Boston marathon. Wheelchair
basketball teams are wowing audiences,
and athletes with all types of handicaps
are smashing records every year. Cana-
dian athletes rank high in world competi-
tion.
Rather than being known as disabled
athletes, they are making themselves
recognized as athletes who happen to have
some type of handicap.
1981, International Year of Disabled Per-
sons, is a good time for people with
disabilities to become aware of the skill of
local athietes.
Information on this year's Regional
Games may be obtained from London
Public Utilites Commission, Recreation
Department: 300 Dufferin Avenue;
telephone 679-5579.
Letter of thanks
To the Editor:
Dear Mrs. Fingland:
We received today the cheque from the
Bank of Montreal for $3,607 and I have for-
warded these funds to our Provincial Of-
fice on your behalf.
Please accept once again Mrs. Fingland,
the sincere appreciation of the entire On-
tario Division for the support which you
and your dedicated volunteers extended to
Red Cross during this eiccellent effort.
As operating funds for the Society are
becoming more scarce each year, it's
enlightening to see campaign revenues
from a specific area increase drastically.
We acknowledge that this type of achieve-
ment is only attained through dedication to
the cause and for this we applaud your ef-
forts.
For your information Mrs. Fingland, I
have enclosed the most recent copy of Red
Cross International News. You might find
this information of interest to you as it
depicts in many ways the distribution of
the funds collected by local organizations
and Red Cross volunteers such as yourself.
Once again let me thank you Mrs.
Fingland, for your support in a most need-
ed time. I look forward to meeting you
when I collect the residue campaign
materials at a future date.
Sincerely yours,
John C. Mulvihill
regional executive -director
Southwestern Ontario
cellent combination, whose selections were
much enjoyed by all, and these people would
be a valuable addition in connection with any
affair of this kind. The proceeds amounted to
within a trifle of $20, and will be used in some
way as church aid.
100 YEARS AGO
May 13, 1881
We understand there is not a vacant house
in town at the present time. In fact it is im-
possible for parties coming here to reside to
obtain a house at any rate or rent. Secure a
building lot and erect a good residence of
your own is our advice.
Mr.. H. Collier has erected a shooting
gallery on Huron Street, west' of Craib,
MacW,hirter & Co's store, when he intends
giving the boys some amusement during the
summer evenings. If •you want to been good
shot, now is the time for practicing.
Bathing in the Maitland River has already
commenced. Physicians recommend cold
baths.
The blankets and carpets now have to take
their usual semi-annual flailing. Be sure to
wear your shoes in the house just now. The
industrious housewife has carpet tacks
strewed around with reckless profusion.
Don't fail to attend the 24th of 'May
celebration in Clinton. it will no doubt be the
best celebration ever held 'in the Foufity,
Pig in Poke
gets his
Dear Editor :
Because I consider my time very
valuable, and not wanting to bore you, or
use too much space, I will voice a very
short opinion on Pig in a Poke, an article
which appeared in the May 7 edition of the
Clinton. News -Record's Bayfield Bugle
section.
I read somewhere that the one who does
a lot of talking usually does nothing, and
has 20-20 hindsight 1 might add.
I have worked for the Bayfield Arena on
a volunteer basis since the 1950's. I do not
recall ever refusing to help when I was
called upon. I am still working for the
Community Centre and Arena as a
volunteer and intend to do so as long as my
health will permit.
In my capacity, I am very proud of
Bayfield's Community Centre and it's a
shame to waste valuable meeting time to
amend Bylaw 125, to make unpaid
volunteer officials, however I suppose it is
proper.
In regard to the financial statement that
was reported on in the May 7th paper, I
would like to note that the statements are
all in the office of the clerk and open to any
person who wants to ask about them. This
community c centre board has nothing to
hide, and if people are concerned about
community centre affair§, I hope they do
ask because sometimes when they are
published, readers only get one part of the
story.
I wonder if the writer of Pig in a Poke
would have said, "Don't pay me the wages
I'm worth because you are having hard
times now," if he had the job of community
centre manager.
I don't have to detail the efforts of John
Siertsema. The whole town was out to pay
tribute to his volunteer efforts in regards
to the Community Centre and Arena.
It should be known that there is no point
in having regular meetings if there is no
business to discuss. I said 1 was not going
to comment in the paper, but it was a
golden opportunity to say that if this is one
of those kicks that the correspondent
referred to awhile ago, it should be known
that the arena is booked on July 11 for a
dance. There are a few people in the
community who have volunteered to do the
work and the proceeds will go for a sound
system at the a rens.
Also, I personally have the community
centre booked for three dances with
proceeds going to the commuity and the
Clinton Public Hospital.
Now is your chance Bud Sturgeon, come
on and help the volunteers. You may get a
kick out of it.
May God give us Netter understanding of
our fellowman.
Sincerely
Elaine Brandon,
Bayfield
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