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Clinton News-Record, 1983-12-07, Page 4PAGE 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7,1983 Tits C9iratean Sterwe rtatomrd am published ewatt liiteditenday at A.O. Bloom 39. Cllnten, Ontario, Cznesia. I'f8iti 1f,6. Ted.: 4102-9145. Scatptiara hate: Pte -$19.79 Sr. CaeimVn - $16.79 ear yams U.S.A. faereiw - $33.00 pear yelar it is registered es second cies mail by laser pa,39 a'rfJficer under tiro gatvraeSt ne®raber 0017. This Nowle-SteASCIrd OiDeZapWantedin 1979 tient Kaaren IYissinicAims. Tecrnod® in 10*1. mead The Clinton Novae rat. feentirisil in 1063. Toliel press rens 3.700. w e� .77 4#MAN 4IIA A•r.a 9,r�w�W\ •pfd\.� oriNkoe 4II SYS k \ 4, a • 0 f zwr,,a a,.— wie••• . «.argt ww.,.r . s 4 1 ln Incorporating (Til F ELYTiI STANDARD) J. HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor GARY WAIST - Advertising Allanuger MARY ANN HOLLENDECK o Office Manager MEMBER A iiIItEMBER 6lsiplay advertising rata® available en ra9aln6ee9. Acle farr Nada Card. No. 1$ effective Odohar 1. 1$03. Giving to the needy Many of us will sit down to hot turkey dinners on Christmas Day. We'll open dozens of presents, enjoy the comfort of our warm homes and toast our con- tinued good health and happiness. Yet many of us know someone less fortunate than ourselves. Huron County is not free from poverty and many families and individuals will spend a bleak Christmas, knowing that their neighbors are enjoying all the benefits of the festive season.. The true spirit of Christmas is in giving and for several years now Family and Children's Services of Huron County has organized special Christmas Bureaus to help the less fortunate. Volunteers in Clinton, Goderich, Exeter, Wingham and Seaforth organize depots where donations of toys, games, gifts, new and used clothing, money and non-perishable foods can be given to needy families in the county. This year in Clinton, Nancy Wise and Margaret Coventry, under the direction of Christmas Bureau co-ordinators Audrey Royal and Peggy Rivers of Goderich, have set up a depot at Wesley Willis United Church. Donations can be dropped off there from Dec. 5 to 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The donations come from individuals throughout the country and from local churches who have sent their White Gift Sunday contributions to the Bureau. Lost year alone the countywide service provided gifts for 292 families and mode Christmas brighter for more than 635 children under the age of 16. The Christmas Bureau is designed to help families who ore struggling to hold the line, but are often too proud to ask for assistance. The gifts to these families are given anonymously through referrals from Public Health Nurses, social workers, churches, individuals and service groups. The volunteer, non-profitable service represents the true spirit of Christmas. The worthy cause permits many needy families to enjoy a special Christmas celebration and also allows more fortunate people to give to a very worthy cause. Be sure to consider contributing to the Christmas Bureau this week. It will be one of the most appreciated gifts you give this Christmas season. -by S. McPhee. Behind The Scenes By Keith Roulston TV marriages Television is filled with a lot of shows that are so bad, to my taste, that I wish the video tape the shows are recorded on would self- destruct. But there's one show that, even if I seldomly watch it myself, I hope finds a popular audience and sticks around forever. I can't say Hart to Hart is a television show I would give up an important engage- ment to stay home and watch. It's no worse than a dozen other television action shows but not necessarily that much better either. But it is unique. When was the last time you saw a husband and wife on television or in the movies who were good looking, sexy and happily married? If you happen to be happily married ( even if you don't manage the good-looking and sexy part) it is heartening to see Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers having a great time cavorting around the television screen, as one small reassurance that perhaps we haven't missed the boat altogether. Happily married people have never fared too well in story telling. Oh it sounded good in those early fairy tales when true love and justice prevailed and people lived "happily ever after" but even then the falling in love was the interesting part and nobody ever showed anybody living happily ever after. Back when I was growing up movies were filled with bachelors for whom getting mar- ried was like being told they had terminal ancer. Life was over on that fateful day the bells tolled. Marriage was a trap that meant the end to all the good things in life. It meant settling for one woman where thein were all those gorgeous creatures out there, settl- ing for a home and order instead of freedom. It was a terrible putdown of women that it should look so terrible to have to spend a lifetime with one. But women have had their revenge with the coming of the women's movement to literature. The most common woman hero these days gets fed up with the listless family life, abandons the husband and kids to fend for themselves and goes off to a cabin in the woods of northern Ontario or Alberta, B.C. etc.) to get lost and "find" herself. Part of the problem of the poor image of marriage in story telling comes down to the nuts and bolts of drama. As a writer I know that putting two people on stage who are completely happy with each other is boring ( unless they're so completely happy with each other they're doing things which re- quire few costumes). In our personal lives we all seek a stabili- ty, a status quo. When we read a story or watch a play or movies, however, we'd get bored seeing the status quo. There must be conflict, one person acting, the other person reacting, to make things interesting. Thus the mating dance is interesting but the life after is about as exciting as watching por- ridge cook. Thus marriages we see in stories are often marriages in trouble, people bickering, fighting, breaking up. The trouble is, does life imitate art? We constantly hear from women's groups that we need to see strong feminine role models on television if women are to feel confident. Can it work the other way? Could it be that when people see unhappy marriages on television and people dreading to get mar- ried in movies, that they think marriages are supposed to be that way? Come on Jen- nifer and Jonathan Hart, polish the image of us old married folks. Openinvitation to Clinton people Dear Editor: The Clinton Business Improvement Area would like to invite Clinton people to get in- volved in promoting Ti-IEIR town this Christmas; after all, we ALL benefit by making Clinton "the place to be this Christmas." The CBIA is hosting a free kid's skating party on Dec. 10; a school poem and poster contest; and a special discount shopping day for senior citizens on Dec. 14. We would be glad of any offers of help for any of these events, and will happily find you a job if you want to volunteer' As well, we would like to have the downtown area as bright and cheery as possible for each night of the late -shopping hours during the week before Christmas. If you would like to sing carols on the street, sell your own Christmas goodies or services, run your raffles, or anything else, during this time - give me a call. We will gladly try to accommodate everybody - provided it is all in the Spirit of Christmas! To mis-quote JFK: "Ask what you can do for your BIA, not what your BIA can do for you!" She was moved by talent Dear Editor: Have you ever met an angel? If not, you do have an opportunity to see a whole group of "angels". I am speaking about the production "Angels", staged by the Holmesville United Church Sunday School. Jackie Norman artfully led the cast with the help of Bonnie Jewitt at the piano. I was moved to tears on more than one oc- casion as these talented young people 0 Merry Christmas, Toby Rainey, CBIA Co -Ordinator, Clinton, 482-3815 played out the various scenes. They were all wonderful! The play will be repeated at Wesley Willis United Church on Sunday, December 18. If you take time for yourself to see this play, it will be one of the most heart- warming, rewarding experiences you will have this holiday season. Thank you to Jackie, Bonnie and all the children who made "Angels" come tnie! Elaine Blair A The old bridge Sugar and Spice The bane of their lives GLAD I'm not a small-town, down -town merchant these days. I'd probably be developing an ulcer and not sleeping too well at nights. Bane of the small-town merchant used to be the big town or small city not too far away, where there was more "ariety for the customer. Despite the most rigorous attempts of the s -t d -t merchant to educate the, people, in their arbitrary fashion; went sashaying off to the larger centre on a Saturday to spend their shekels. They still do. But another bogey, three times as fear- some, has come out of the woods to give the s -t d -t merchant nightmares and cold sweats. It began as the supermarket, usually built on the edge of town, where taxes were much less, and there was lots of room for parking. The supermarket bit heavily into the sales of grocery stores, drug stores and hardware stores, to mention a few of those afflicted, selling everything from toothpaste to lawn chairs. Mind you, the supermarket didn't give the personalized service, the followup on repairs or returns that the little merchant did. But it was kind of exciting: lots of peo- ple to gawk at, a veritable cornucopia of goods to choose from, easy parking. Fighting what, in many cases, was a rear- guard battle, the family business, the small merchant, modernized his store, joined with his fellows in sprucing up the downtown area (helped by government grants), and finally realized that he had to advertise, after years of believing there was no need, that everybody knew where he was and what he sold. In many cases, and in many small towns, it was too late. Despite what became desperate efforts to fight the trend, there began a sort of rot downtown: a big turnover of small business that lasted only a short time; the closing up of old family businesses By Bill Smiley: as their owners saw the light; the "for sale" signs on downtown property. It was rather sad. Then came the real crusher: the develop- ment of malls. Every small town or village with any self-respect suddenly acquired a "mall". At first these were neighborhood affairs: just an acre or so with half a dozen shops. A drug store, a drycleaning outfit, a take-out food restaurant, and two or three other ser- vice shops. Then the big boys moved in. Sniffing the wind, they knew a golden -egg goose when they smelled one. They bought, or leased, huge chunks of land just outside the town, where taxes were minimal. Often it was bush or tough, useless land. In came the bulldozers; down went the trees. The big paving machines followed, and virgin territory became a vast expanse of asphalt. As the downtown merchants shivered in their boots, the wheelers and dealers, the mall -builders, lined up customers who would rent or lease space in the "grand, new mall." Within an incredibly short time, the jerry- built edifices went up, the mall blossomed into a combination of the old Saturday night in a small town, and a fall fair, and many a downtowner experienced the kiss of death. What is the attraction of a mall? Why do hundreds, then thousands of shoppers pour into the malls, like cattle beging led to the slaughterhouse? Well, they have something for every taste. Video games for the kids. A place to meet and ramble and shoplift for the teenagers. The heavy scent of hot junk food in the air. A certain excitement at being part of a mov- ing mob. And of course, a huge grocery store, dozens of small boutiques, and vast chain department stores where you can buy almost anything, and which can undercut Kaleidoscope the small merchant on prices, because of their volume buying. Add to this easy parking, where even the most maladroit motorist can find a space. Even though the shopper must walk a quarter of a mile from his car through rain or snow. And then there is the allure to the pig in most of us. Make out a careful list of essen- tials. Talk to yourself. Steel yourself against all blhrtdishrnents. And, after all this, i'll bet you spend far more at the mall, flourish your credit card more often, that if you had shopped carefully downtown. Human nature. We can't resist all those goodies. The shopping mall is the ultimate monu- ment to a materialistic society. And let's face it, the price is very often right. Aside from the shopping, the mall is a crowded, noisy, exciting place, on the sur- face. For the home -bound housewife, the glitter and the gaudiness and the canned music represent an escape from the dull drudgery of house and kids. There are gimmicks and sales and specials, and a place to sit down, rest the aching dogs, and have a coffee. There is variety and color and there are sounds and smells that take the individual out of his lit- tle rut. And, after all, if all those other people are shopping at the mall, it must have something going for it. Right? And those clever devils who set up the malls don't miss much. They jam in a drugstore, and a hairdressing salon, and a trust company or a bank, so there's really no need to go downtown, is there? Personally, I hate malls. They are too im- personal and noisy and crowded for me. I feel like an animal, in a mall. I have a sense that I am being manipulated by some sociopsychologist who first conceived- the idea. I'll go on shopping downtown. But hun- dreds of thousands won't. Gary and I attended the first festive bash of the season on Saturday night, when the Town of Clinton held its annual Christmas party. Held at the Clinton Legion, the party is always a warm, friendly affair attended by town employees and council members, the Public Utilities Commission, the local fire department, our town committee members and special guests. The highlight of this year's party was a special presentation to Doug Coventry, retiring administrator at the Clinton Public Hospital. For Doug, the presentation came as complete surprise. He attended the party under the assumption that he would be play- ing the piano during the cocktail hour and even went to the Legion that afternoon to practice on the ivory keys. Never -at -loss -for -words Bob Campbell made the presentation and yes, Doug did tinkle the keys for the crowd. Two other special guests MP Murray Car- diff and MPP Jack Riddell ably showed their speaking talents as well and took a couple of political pokes at each other, all in fun. In fact the whole evening was fun, com- plete with a delicious dinner served by the Legion Auxiliary Ladies and dancing after- wards to wear off the turkey and all the trimmings. + + + It may look like winter out, but some By Shelley McPhee Goderich Township daffodils don't know it. Mrs. Ray Foster of Goderich Township call- ed to tell us that she has three clumps of daf- fodils growing in her garden and one leaf is over four inches long. + + + Our Bayfield correspondent Doris Hunter sent in a very useful tip from the Bayfield Fire Department this week. Now that it's near the time to put the tree up for Christmas the fire department offers some advice which may help to retard fire. The recipe is: 5 Ib. Borax, 2'2 lb. Boracic Acid and five gallons of water. Dissolve the ingredients in the water and then spray the tree with the solution. + + + Beatrice Welsh and Rena Wilson were the high scorers at the Clinton Rebekahs and Oddfellows card party last week. Low scorers were Grace White and Muriel Grigg. Mary Grigg had the lone hands and Fed Godkin and Helen Sootheran won the draws. The next card party will be held on Jan. 5 at 8 p.m. in the Rebekah and Oddfellows Hall. + + + Audrey Florian was the lucky winner of a second prize snow man wall hanging at the annual Christmas bazaar and draw at War Memorial Children's Hospital in London. Entire proceeds of this event go to the Childhood Cancer Research Association. + + -f- Aaron Aaron and Ruth Fisher of Clinton celebrated their 47th anniversary on Dec. 3 with a family dinner at Pepo's Restaurant. Attending were, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Fisher, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Fisher of Benmiller, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Johnston, Mr. and Mrs. Barry Sullins, Brent Fisher and V' ki• of Goderich, Brenda Fisher and Al of Gravenhurst, Dennis, Julie Ann and evin Fisher and Scott Louch, all of Benmiller. After the dinner everyone went to Aa on and Ruth's home for a few game of cads and the anniversary couple received clock. flowers and cards. News -Record sto Dear Editor: It has long been the privilege of the small town press to bring the delightful trivia to their readers. They, the weeklies, are still at it. I feel certain that this is why the tiny town press continues to thrive and prosper, while large dailies and slick magazines struggle to survive, and all too frequently fall to the competitive onslaught of the electronic media. Apparently you, and your predecessors have full knowledge of this facility available to them. This was proven in your recent repeat from files 100 years old. Reference is being made to the quaint by Jeff Wise Have your say Dear Editor A new season, Advent in Bayfield Dear Editor: This is an uneasy time. We feel alone and despondent often. It was a weekend of togetherness and did us all a great deal of good - long walks, sit- ting on a bench staring out over the lake and hearing the cries of gulls, games and library books, a roaring fire; shelling peanuts, lingering over a glass of wine after dinner, leisurely talks. On Friday, I kept thinking of Advent Sun- day - a very strong feeling of the beginning of Christmas, and the following day I walk- ed into The Bayfield Country Store, one among the few brave ones that stay open un- til Christmas. It is a shop full of grace and charm, and it was already warm with the feeling of excite- ment, with decorations in white, red and green and tiny presents, and evoked the pic- ture of gifts being wrapped behind closed doors, scissors being at a premium, and run- ning out of scotch tape. I found a splendid Christmas wreath, made out of pine cones with incredible care. On Sunday I went into the garden and picked anything that was still in bloom or alive, orange wall flowers, two red daisies, a few green pine sprigs, and white and purple ber- ries, to decorate the wreath. One candle for the middle. Stunning, it was! The old year is dying. It affects us all and we are aware of our bones underneath the comfortable flesh, we dress cozily and yet shiver in our warm coats. The world appears a dark place: leaves disintegrating and slithery under feet, plant stalks ugly, the last primrose spotted with black, the beautiful and proud gate, made with so much joy, devastated by careless, pepped up, violent children. The gulls cry eerily over the lake and come in ever closer: the lake is dying of the pollution of man. Erosion is taking sharp bites out of lawns and the roots of trees cry out in twisted and bleached desolation, sticking out over the sagging slopes of clay returning to the bot- tom of the lake. Chas changed that feeling, "Isn't it amaz- ing," he said, "to think that all these stones, buried for the thousands of years in walls of clay, are being uncovered again?" And yes, they are constantly being reborn, showing their colors of pink and green and white, to be collected by those who love nature, to be admired, polished and stroked lovingly, once more alive. The locking up of the seasons. It seems ap- propriate, then, that after the cozy dinner by candlelight, when the flowers sparkled, they should appear limp and lifeless in the wreath at cleaning up time the following morning. Into the garbage with you! The candle stays, though, and next week there will be two. The season of new hope and expectancy has begun. By Anneke Rogers, Bayfield. ry makes TV Jiva y wile' e a cruwo gathered around a dog lying on Main Street. They all agreed the dog was dead. But it rose slowly, eyeballed the assembled wisdom, and slowly walked away. It is planned to use your century old story as part of the presentation currently scheduled for presentation with the late Saturday night news on December 10th. Again my thanks to you for this assistance, and for keeping your lively weekly product in my mail box. Sincerely yours, Arthur Carr, CICO -TV's "Country Editor".