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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 1981-06-18, Page 4PAGE 4—CLaINTt1N NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, JUNE 18,1981 fkasser it s C4nlcn fWa to par®tishs,d m®cfo It to rsikkassmit meson! skew ken by foe Thursday y at P.O. ®ate a,. Oinks% Osiwzlo. post offilema sunder Ohm pored, ami MAL seams. Yqf.; 41124dAl. Subscription Meta; - $r. Mum m - 114.fiY par year U.S.A. 8 foarelpn - °Weii per year •CNA MEMBER JAMS E. FITZGERALB - Editor SHELLEY MerlIEE - Neves Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager HEADIER GRANDER - Advertising MARGARET L GIRO - Office Manager (MARY ANN OLIWOON-Subserlptiorts The tiaero-Wacaotd busanssosesstfa til Wee Huron iteent.liecord. fettnded (a 111111, add Wali Canton Alen Ere. founded tae iNS. Y®t,j! piece re,e, 9.3Q a- MEMBER Display advertising rates available on ,eft. Ask for ,Pate Card No. 11 effective Oct. 1. lam. A living legacy? Some in town say it's a waste of.money, that industry wont locate in Clinton, no matter how hard we try to lure it here. Others say we haven't done enough in the past to encourage new industry to come here and bring jobs with them, and that it's about time we spent some money, set up an industrial park and got some new companies in. This writer has heard both sides of the argument over and over again in the past nine years, and finally it has come to a head. The town has a chance now to buy a 54 -acre tract of land in Clinton and set up an industrial park, complete with serviced Tots to try and lure new industry to a sagging economy. The whole town will have a chance this coming Monday, June 22 to voice their opinions for, or against the land purchase and subsequent -servicing. Quite frankly, this writer sees that the town has little choice but to set up an in- dustrialpark, or wither on the vine. Why. you ask? Well for one thing, just look around town, not only are several hundred houses for sale, but several hundred other homeowners have given up trying to sell their homes because there are already too many _on. the market at depressed prices. And for the first time in decades, many of those "for sale homes" are empty, left by people who have OOP up hope and find they can't sell their properties: With the` population of,(linton continuing to age. moreolder people will either leave their homes or 'pass away, and the stock of empty houses will increase dratnaticall . Remember, with the huge farms of today, there's not the large number of farmers toyetire into town anymore. So why are more and more Clinton homes becoming empty? Because there's no jobs, no opportunities, no reason to come here, or even stay here. This industrial park was needed years ago, but there's nothing' we can do now about the short- sighted.councils of the past. But let's not wait another 10 years, let's reverse Clinton's demise now. Turn out Monday night and tell council to go ahead, spend some of our tax dollars now as ari, investment in.,:the future of our children and grandchildren. Let's leave a legacy they can live in, not read about in history books. By Jim Fitzgerald Judging by the long line-ups at the take-out line at the Constance Forester's barbecue last Thursday, the chicken must have been delicious. (James Fitzgerald photo) remembering our past a look through thenews-record files 5YEARSAGO June 17, 1976 A well-known area couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fred McClymont of Clinton and previously of Varna, celebrated their 50t11 wedding an- niversary last week, and were entertained by family and friends. Mr. McClymont was the Varna correspondent for a number of years before his retirement to Clinton. Children who tried to light a barbecue with gasoline are blamed for fire that destroyed a . driving shed on the farm of Horst Bornath last Saturday afternoon. Mr. Bornath praised the Clinton. Fire Department who were at the scene in seven minutes and saved his house and an adjoining barn on the Concession 10, Goderich Township farm, from destruction. to YEARS AGO June 24,1971 Clinton residents should be spared the agony of another police wage dispute next year after Clinton town police signed a two- year contract last week. . The three negotiating members of the force signed the contract with town council after five months of dispute which saw threats of arbitration bandered'about by both sides. -More than 2,000 persons watched 50 fiddlers compete for the championship at the Hensall Kinsmen Club,°s old time fiddlers chain- pionship held'' in Hersall on Friday and Saturday evenings. It was moving day last Saturday for many senior citizens who were lucky enough to get apartments in the new senior citizens apartment building on James Street. Many were assisted in their move by members of the Clinton Kinsmen Club who donated their time. On Sunday afternoon, farewell festivities took place in the . Bayfield Square for Rev. Donald Beck of the St. Andrew's United Church, who will be moving to Hensel' this month. • Rev. James Reddoch will fill Rev. Beck's position. He will deliver his first sermon in Bayfield on July 4, and will be inducted at St. Andrew's on July 8. 25 YEARS AGO June21,1956 The village of Hensall is in agreement that they need a new school, and cost for. the structure which will have six rooms, is estimated at $220,000. However, there is disagreement over the' site. The school board wishes to move to a new location in the "south central part" of the village. The council feels that it would be less beon the Wray for Ontario's farmers 4a.. Farmers finally got a chancejto lash out at government recently in a three-hour ' eeting with federal and provt sial ministers in Toronto. For farmers and their resp five organizations, there must be some console- ion in the fact that their proms are recognized and government at least of - eyed an attentive ear for one ernoon ' 4 More than 900 farmers were in 'attendance at the meeting to speak. to Federal .Agrrit afture °Minister, Eugene'Whelan, -his Ontario counterpart, Lorne Henderson Q efi'bnfario"`� ireasuroi, :`rank Miller. The meeting,was an historic one in that governmentrecognized a genuine need to listen to farmers' concerns. But the point of the .matter was that farmers wanted definite commitment of help from government. Many are losing their farms in the face of adversity and need relief from soaring interest rates. Interest rates have risen to record heights as a direct result of federal govern- ment policy, to prop up the dollar and there is little Miller can do about that. However, he hos pledged to work on solution in the next three weeks. But government policy and interest rates are not the only culprits and formers admitted that many have expanded beyond their capabilities. However, they are justifiably angry ata system that is driving costs up and driving farmers from the la •g reign owners are able toloffer struggling farmers a good dollar for their land i3 and that has led to serious concerns about foreign and absentee ownership. There were no firm solutions resulting from the .three-hour meeting and government and the farmers realize that the best approach is through o co. operative effort. It istime the government took the problems seriously, though, and offer long range planning. Short-term subsidies on interest rates or marketable products will not provide the security the industry is seeking. Recently, Treasurer Frank Miller burdened Ontarians with a tough budget that provided the gbvernment with increased tax revenues. Perhaps some of that revenue will be re -directed to aid an ailing farm industry. . He has promised some decisions will be made in the next three weeks and it will be interesting to see what kind of commitments he is willing to make to the farming industry. '(From the Goderich Signal -Star) Time change Life is often confusing, occasionally amusing. If you can't cope with the confu- sion and enjoy the amusement, you're in bad shape. A couple of weeks ago, when we had to change the clocks, I managed to confuse and amuse myself at the same time. On the Sunday night, I dutifully moved the clocks ahead an hour, following, that old aphorism about changing from Daylight to Standard and vice versa. I'll give it to my faithful readers, especially those who turn the hands in the wrong direction and arrive at church an hour ear- ly or at work an hour late. It is: "Spring forward; fall back." And that has saved me many a muddle since the days when I used to do what I've described above. Well, that's what I did. At least I thought I did. On the Sunday night, I set my alarm clock an hour ahead, and was on time for work, with my usual four seconds to spare. But the next night, Monday, got confus- ing. I fell asleep after dinner, as us seniles so often do. I woke up. My wife had gone to bed, probably in disgust. I checked the clocks in the house. First call was my alarm clock. It had stopped at twelve noon, and it was pitch dark outside, so I knew that was wrong. I don't have a watch, so I couldn't check that. Then I checked the two electric clocks, one up, one downstairs. They were the same. A horrible suspicion lurked in my mind. Had I really moved those two ahead on Sunday night? Had my wife expected me to do it, and not done it herself, which she should have done? I could have wakened her sad asked her. She also has a watch. Does One waken a sleeping crocodile, even if it has a watch, to ask the true time and have it say, "Hold out your wrist"? I decided to use that great gift of mankind - reason. I switched on the TV set, and there was Knowlton Nash blotting away about §omething or other. Mr. Nash, as you may remember, delivers the CBC News every night at eleven. Except in Newfoundland. Bang on. Reason had once more prevail- ed over panic. knew it was .between 11 p.m. and 11:20, when they seem to "run out of news. Easy in my mind, rather proud of my logic, I set all the clocks for 11:15 p.m., which seemed safe, and went to bed. When my alarm went off, it seemed rather dark out. "Oh, well, one of those gloomy days," I reckoned. Had my breakfast; read the paper. But something seemed strange and out of kilter. Checked my neighbours. No lights showing, and they're early risers. Checked the street outside. No cars streaming by, no reluctant students plodding off to school. Began to have a horrible inkling, whatever an inkling is. A few cars began to appear. Finally a school bus, either very early or very late. Still no students stolidly marching up that hill to the Big School at the Top. When it was 8:30 by my clocks, I decided to make a move. Put out the garbage. Not another garbage -putter -out in sight. Got out the car and drove to work. Nobody in sight. Either I was an hour late for work, or an hour early. . I'm just terrified of losing my job, as you can imagine, so finally I arrived at the school. Three cars there, instead of 300. The night watchman let me in. It was five minutes to eight in the a.m. It was only then that I realized my inkl- ing had been bang on. I had put myself on double -Daylight time. All the clocks were two hoursahead of what they'd been last Sunday. It wasn't bad. Now I know what freaks those people are who get up early and get to work half an hour ahead of time. My assistant department head walked in at 8:30 and fainted dead away when she saw me sitting there, perfectly groomed, chaf- ing to get started, indeed, already yawning a bit. By 4 p.m. the ass of my pants was dragg- ing on the ground, I could have used a cane, there was a special meeting I couldn't avoid, and they carried me out to an ambulance at 5:30. By the tune I got home, my chest was heaving rhythmically, my eyes were tight- ly shut and I was sucking my thumb and searching around with the other hand for my security blanket. My wife was all out of kilter, because she, too, had been on super -Daylight Sav- ing Time. She'd had lunch at 11 a.m., din- ner at 5 p.m., wondering where I'd got to, and was ready for evening snack at 7 p.m. The only thing that really disturbed me was that someone, in the general confu- sion, realized it " was Column Day. They had to give me amphetamines to wake me up, hoist me into a chair with a block and tackle to write this, prop my eyelids open with broken toothpicks, and then give me the Great News. "Tonight is the night we do the income tax, dear, because tomorrow is one day too late." I think I'll move the clocks one more hour ahead and do the income tax return tomorrow, commencing at 5 a.m. And I'm going to strangle Knowlton Nash for appearing on a 10 p.m. show. You're invited Dear Editor: We would ask that you please print this invitation which welcomes you and all your readers to come out to enjoy an even- ing of `live' amateur theatre entertain- ment for the whole family. The Wingham Towne Players are cur- . rently preparing for our spring production to be held June 25, 26, 27 upstairs at the Winghain Town Hall, at 8:30 p.m. For a change of pace, we are presenting two one -act comedies and one -act thriller. The students from F. E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham are also contributing to the program this year, with a short play. Singer -guitarist, Phil Main, will also be featured in this billing. All and all a great night's entertainment! This type of production is a first in many years for the Towne Players, and we trust everyone will continue to support our ef- forts. Thank you for your interest and the opportunity to use your column. Advance sale tickets are available at The Home Place and the Triangle Dis- count in Wingham. There will also be tickets at the door. Codds 'n` ends Lizzie's changed The role of the single woman has chang- ed tremendously in recent years. A play, such as The Rainmaker, is evidence of how it used to be. Perhaps you saw The Rainmaker as a movie starring Burt Lancaster. The set- ting was a farm somewhere in the western United States on a summer day in the midst of a long-running drought. The main character was a swashbuckl- ing young con artist, who aimed to deprive a farmer of ;100 by convincing him he could make it rain. As if the farmer didn't have .enough to worry about with the drought, his only daughter was almost past the marrying age and no prospects in sight. Poor Lizzie! Her father and brothers would do anything to get her a husband - Yours very truly, Wingham Towne Players expensive to build on the same site, which is at the west of Hensen. With the installation of 96 pipes, each 20 feet long and other equipment, Hugh A. Ball, of RR 4, Clinton, became the first farmer in the County of Huron to use an irrigation system. Water is pumped from a spring -fed pond on the farm, which is just east of Clinton on Highway 8. A second irrigation system is in use by Andrew Moore of RR 3, Seaforth, who plans to use it to boostproduction of raspberries and strawberries on his farm near Clinton. 50 YEARS AGO June 18, 1931 The Ladies' Auxiliary to the Clinton Golf and Country Club held its opening day on the Clinton course on Wednesday afternoon last being postponed from Tuesday. Several contests were engaged in and the ladies served tea to about 30. The trustees of Ball's Cemetery held a successful bee one afternoon last week. Over 3o men were present with three teams. Filling in was done on the hill in the north west corner of the cemetery, where work was begun a year ago. We Have It! ice cold "Vernoir," that famous Ginger Ale served at our fountain or in bottles and handy containers to take home. Come in and treat the family at the Clinton Bakery. - Bartliff and Crich, Clinton, Phone No. 1. 75 YEARS AGO June 22, 1906 Remember the Lawn Social to be held under the auspices of the Londesboro Methodist Sabbath School on the parsonage grounds on the 29th. Tea consisting of strawberries, cakes etc., will be served from six to eight o'clock. A brass band has been engaged to provide a program and every arrangement made to give a first-class time to all. ' A number of Goderich Township lads toOk their lassies to the moonlight excursion as it is called, on Monday evening and report a glowing time. ' If you want your town to grow and prosper, wake up; rub your eyes, roll up your sleeves and go to work for it. When the baby talks, it is time to give Hollister's Rocky Mountain Tea. It's the greatest baby • medicine known to loving mothers. It makes them eat, sleep and -grow. 35c tea or tablets. Ask your druggist. A man named Caves, who has been an inmate off the House of Refuge, came up for examination before Mayor Hoover on Friday, on the ground, of being a dangerous character, he being of unsound mind. The evidence proved that he was dangerous to be at large and he was accordingly committed to jail, Mr. Wheatley accompanying him and turning him over to the authorities. 100 YEARS AGO June 17,1881 One day last week in Summerhill a "tramp" procured some soap and a needle and thread, wended his way to Rapson's creek, devested himself of his clothing, and gave it a thorough washing in Nature's wash tub, mending one portion while the other was drying. As soon as all was in order he dressed himself and proceeded onward as "clean as a new pin." How strange that a human being could be contented to live such a life, getting his living by the forced kindness of others. A very successful picnic in connection with the Railroad Literary and Debating Society took place in Holme's grove, 7th con., Goderich Township on Friday last. At 2 o'clock the time for commencing, the road leading to the ground was thronged with vehicles and by 3o'clock a very large number had assembled on the ground, among whom we noticed a large number from Clinton, Goderich and Port Albert. A number of games of different kinds were on the programme, but the majority indulged in "tripping the light fantastic." buy him, bribe him, coax him, trick him. They'd do anything to save Lizzie from be- ing doomed as an "Old Maid." Even a con artist would be better than nothing. The Rainmaker's happy ending was typical for its time with Lizzie having the choice of two young men. In the early part of the 20th century, the only place a lady could go unescorted without fear of damaging her reputation was the ice cream parlour. A recently -aired coffee commercial in- -�imates a father's mingled sadness and relief that his only daughter is marrying someone just like him - someone to take care of her. It harks back to the old theory that a girl goes from her father's house to her hus- band's house, needing a man to take care of her. In today's world, there is a time and space between the father's house and the husband's house when most ladies are on their own. And, it is recognized in most circles, that the ladies can take care of themselves, thank you. When marriage is entered into, it is a partnership in which each party assumes the responsibility of caring for the other. (Seems as though it was always that way in truth, even in earlier generations when the husband was looked upon as the domi- nant figure in most families.) Being a wife and mother is still one of the finest and most demanding vocations a woman can follow. But, it's good to live in a day and age when opportunities for the single woman abound - opportunities for a career, a home, a rich and fulfilling lifb. Fathers no longer need to bribe potential bridegrooms, although some still think they should try. And there are so many more places to go than the ice cream parlour. Thanks Smiley Dear Editor: I'd like to thank Bill Smiley for his com- pliments about Ontario Hydro in the June 11 "Sugar and Spice" column. He's right when he says Hydro is remarkably efficient and still cheap by world standards. Perhaps we could agree to disagree on some of his other com- ments. Electricity is still cheap because Ontario Hydro is a crown corporation which for 75 years has been responsible to the people through their elected representatives. We make no profit and recover; through our rates, only what is needed to supply On- tario electrical users. Our rate proposals are examined in public each year. Any interested party can comment in this process. Taxpayers do not subsidize Ontario Hydro operations and, if he feels politi- cians are "covering up" our operations, he should glance through some transcripts of • the recent Select Committee on Hydro Af- fairs. It was an intensive probe, and far from a cover-up. I will be the first to agree that Ontario40 Hydro can do better. We are trying and will continue to do so. Mr. Smiley states that "even accounting for inflation, Hydro prices have risen ridiculously..." Unfortunately, Ontario Hydro is not im- mune to inflation. We pay more each year for fuel, equipment and maintenance. As I mentioned, our costs as well as savings are passed on to electricity users. We expect that for the next few years any increases will be equal to, or slightly below, the rate of inflation. This has been possible mainly due to the relatively stable costs of Ontario's nuclear and hydro- electric resources as well as revenues from export sales which help keep the lid on rates. Thanks for the chance to expose the other side of the coin. Sincerely, HughhaChai Ontario Hydro PUC praise Dear Editor: For too long now I have put off writing this note. I would like to comment on the wonderful service that the men from both the P.U.C. and the Town Works give to us here in Clinton. I am quite sure it is matched nowhere else. These lads do their utmost to please those of us who will squawk at the first ex- cuse we get. Your kindness is appreciated gentlemen. You decide Sincerely, Moe Hill, Clinton Dear Citizens of Clinton: On Monday, June 22, at 7:30 pm, a public meeting will be held at the Clinton Town Hall to discuss whether the Town of Clin- ton should buy a 54 -acre tract of land for the purpose of developing a serviced in- dustrial park. It is the feeling of the industrial commit- tee that such a park is badly needed in "order to be able to attract new industry to the town of Clinton and to help the economic base and to broaden the tax base of our community. This meeting is for every individual per- son within the town, whether they are 18 or 80 years of age. Our town council wants to know the feelings of you the citizens as you are the people that make this community. In closing, I leave you with this one thought, if you are concerned about your future and the futures of your children and grandchildren then I strongly suggest that it is your duty to make sure that you are at this very important meeting. The choice is yours, so let's see a packed town hall, and let's hear what you have to say next Monday night. Sincerely yours, Michael S. Falconer, Chairman of Industrial Committee, Town of Clinton. Bigger and better Dear Editor: On Saturday, June 6 the Blyth Centre for the Arts sponsored their annual used book sale at Memorial Hall in Blyth. The year, the response of the citizens of Huron Coun- ty made this fund-raising event which pro- vides revenue for the operating account of theBlyth Summer Festival a total success. Anew dimension was added to this event this year. Authors Penny Kemp and James Reaney gave readings of some of their material in the art gallery on the afternoon of the sale, and a display of early children's book illustrations was loaned to us for this occasion by The Gallery, Strat- ford. We would also like to take this opportuni- ty to thank all those people who so kindly donated books for this event and especially the businesses and individuals who provid- ed us with locations for book drops. E.A.T. Company, Bayfield; Taylor's General Store, Belgrave; The Blyth Standard; The Brussels Post; The Clinton Town Hall; Dianne Banks, Exeter; Hill and Borgal, Goderich; Janice Bisback, Hensall; The Huron Expositor, Seaforth; and Harris Stationary, Wingham. If this form of community response con- tinues, next year our annual used book sale should be bigger and better than ever. Sincerely, Marian Doucette for the Board of the Blyth Centre for the Arts