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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1986-11-05, Page 4Page 4---CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1986 The Clinton News -Record 1s published each Wednesday at P.O. Ron 39, Cllntgn. Ontario, Canada, NOM S.S.1Tel-9 401.3443. Subscription Rote: Canada -671.00 Sr. Clifton ,A,14,00RR{ 904,C U.S.A. foreign 440.00 per year I9 Is registered am second class mall by the post office under the permit number 0017. The News -Record Incorporated In 1914 thoRuron News -Record, founded In 1001, and The Clinton News Era. founded In 1043. To9al press runs 3,700. Clinton News -Record Incorporating BLYTH STANDARD(THE. ANNE NAREJKO - Editor FREDA MOLEOD - Office Manager SHELLEY McPFIEE HAIST - Reporter DAVID EMSLIE - Reporter JANICE GIBSON - Advertising LAUREL MITCHELL - Circulation /Classified GARY HAIST - General Manager CCNA "-eiA MEMBER BIDE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Display advertising rages avallabla on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 13 effective Oc• 'ober 1, 1944. The significance of war memorials At a recent Remembrance Day service I stood alone amidst the crowd. I had nothing to do with the wars. I simply didn't understand why we went through the motions of a service every year to remind ouselves of the hor- rors of war, violence and death. As I wondered, my eyes caught sight of an old man. He wore a beret and on his chest was pinned a bright red poppy. As the band played "0 Canada", his eyes welled with tears. Yet he sat erect with his hand elevated in a salute and proudly sang along. His body was maimed. He sat propped in his wheelchair and as I looked closer, I saw that he had no legs. He had been in the war and despite his phenomenal handicap, he made his way to the cenotaph to lay a wreath. I continued to wonder. This man, so obviously destroyed by the horrors of war continued his love of country and took an active part in the service. Then something else caught my eye. An elderly woman next to me clutch- ed a yellowing picture of a handsome man, and as the bagpipes played on, she smiled with pride and said to me as she tenderly caressed the frame, "You know, he died for.freedome for you and me". The service was over, and soon I was left standing alone in front of the monument. As I read the names of those people who died in the war, the words of that elderly woman kept running through my mind, "...freedom...for you and me..." I continuallyenvisioned the maimed old man singing "0 Canada" and I finally realized why I attended that Remembrance Day service. Those brave men and women of days long past fought for me. They fought to preserve a way of life for their children and their children's children. They gave their lives for freedom. I realiz- ed that the memorial services were not to immortalize the suffering and hardship of war, but to instill in the hearts of all men and women the pride and bravery of our ancestors, and to help us prevent the tragedy of war from occurring again. - I firtally'-� tderatodd that the• Cvohld lay in our hands and that by having memoi�ia "`serVices we would learn to protect it from evil and love it like those brave men and women loved it...for all time. -by Julie Doll, Fairview, Alberta, Winner of the 1985/86 senior essay sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion. Behind the scenes people make event successful Dear Editor: Our Education in the held in m Profes- sional Letters -1 Development Day held in Exeter on October, 24 would not have been such a suc- cessful event without all of the behind -the - scenes preparation done by Jane Muegge, Rural Organization and Services Branch, riculum Resources workshops. Your Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, assistance will significantly enhance the Clinton. Our special thanks go to Jane and teaching of agriculture to the students and the other members of OMAF staff who put future citizens of Huron County. so much time and effort into making this Sincerely, day a success. Brenda McIntosh, We also wish to express our appreciation -Chairman, to Richard Hamilton, Ron Fleming and Agriculture Education Committee John Bancroft of OMAF who led the Cur- Huron County Federation of Agriculture PD was worthwhile Dear Editor, The Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation - Hiironwants- theresidents of Huron County to know of the tremendous Professional Development Day held on Oc- tober 24 in Exeter. The theme was "Agriculture in the, Classroom". It dealt with the easily obtained resources available for teachers to, use, with their agriculturally related curriculum topics. Many commodi- ty groups participated to answer numerous questions from teachers wishing current information. Jack Wilkinson, representing the Ontario federation of Agriculture, talked of stress on the farm and of what teachers should be aware and how they can help their students. A Huron County bountiful lunch was prepared . by the Huron South District Women's Institute to illustrate the quantity and wide variety of crops grown by our far- ming 'neighbours. This same group presented four Agri -Kits to the Huron Coun- ty Beard of Educatior.'These materials are Scary creatures It was dark but there were plenty of cars around. I had my camera around my neck and the camera bag slung over my shoulder. I thought I was prepared. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a spider. This was by no means your average spider. It stood about four feet( tall and was as black as black could be. There was no web close by, but there was a duck. Thank goodness the duck was friendly looking. I pretended not to see the pair and walked straight for my destination. Once inside I encountered many more characters, some friendly, some not so friendly, some funny and some cute. It was a real melting pot. The imagination of some people never ceases to amaze me, .and this Halloween was no exception. • My first encounter with the goblins, wit- ches and clowns was on October 30 at Huron - view. Mrs. Smith's Grade 1 and 2 class from Clinton Public School were entertaining the residents. Among the many interesting costumes was a vampire, a strawberry and an insect Tully prepai eu Lu ue useu w ciabbl uuniz and were well received by teachers. Jack Rid- dell, Ontario Agriculture Minister spoke of the impact agriculture has on our world and addressed the challenges facing the farming sector. He did fees there is a future in farm- ing and felt teachers with the task of making our next generation more aware of the food industry and becoming informed consumers of food products. The teachers' federations supported and helped organize the day along with the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, Huron South District Women's Institute, On- tario Ministry of Agriculture and Food - Huron County Office and the Huron County Board of Education. OPSTF-Huron as one of those sponsors feels special recognition must be puclically paid to numerous donors and exhibitors who made the day so successful. A hearty thank you is extended to: Norm Alexander -Londesborough Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority Jim and Pat Barnes -Freezer Lambs who entertained the folks with singing and dancing. Even the staff of Huronview got in- to the act and dressed up. My next encounter came later that even- ing in the Clinton Public School auditorium. The Clinton Optimists held their annual Halloween Party with the largest turn out in the event's history. But all the costumes were something to look at. There was a Christmas package (Chris Fitzgerald), the previously mentioned spooky spider (Chris Storey ), a Care Bear (Scott McNichol), Daisy Duck (Sandra Storey), a cowboy on his horse, clowns, cats, and the list goes on. The amount of thought and , effort that went into the costumes was tremendous. Moms and dads must have started planning and working on those outfits when Hallo- ween finished last year! I must admit I couldn't think of an original way to dress up this year, but next year,,I'm going to steal some of these ideas' for myself. Of course, the ideas won't be original then, but what the heck. The Optimists had their hands full with all the creatures lined up and waiting for the doors to open a good 20 to 25 minutes before hand. However, organization and several volunteers allowed them to handle the crowd with no problems whatsoever. My next Halloween encounter was really a surprise. I was sitting at my desk, adding up some figures on my calculator, when in "bounc- ed" a clown. This clown must have had been in a fight or two because his front teeth ap- peared to be missing and his eyes had black circles around them. Trying to be friendly and hide my sur- prise, I simply said, "Hello, how are you." To keep me in even more suspense, the clown decided he wasn't going to answer me. He just smiled, thus beginning the guessing game - I looked out into the front office, pleading for help from Freda, and after reading her lips, suggested a name to my friendly clown. He told me I was wrong by shaking his head -in a left to right motion. I then asked tc see the press release in his hand and finally got it. The prankster was none other than our hospital administrator, Dan Steyn. You looked great, Dan! Halloween sure is a fun time of year. It's nice to see the young and old enjoying the occasion. Got an opinion? Wr a letter to the editor Would you trust these characters with your health° Actually these Clinton Public; Hospital„employees were, -good ;sports and donned their, Halloween eostugiRgo October 81, while at work. Winning top prize was (centre) Jaws, or more commonly, Pat Brown. Pat works as a purchasing agent. (Anne Narejko photo) ShlIey McPhee Ilaist 4,4 Lest We Forget " and at the going down of the sun, we will remember them " The words of the Royal Canadian Legion Prayer are stirring ones. And, to the men and women across this nation, the words, the emotions, and the memories of the war years are deeply moving ones. These people will never forget. Remembrance Day brings to mind many immediate images - of poppies and war veterans, of crosses and wreaths. On November 11 we wear poppies on our coat lapels, we recite a few lines of "In Flanders Fields," perhaps we even take in the out- door Remembrance Day service in our com- munity, and, we feel that we have done our duty for another year. There is comfort, security and respect in taking part of the Remembrace Day tradi- tions, but it seems that we should be spen- ding more time and thougth in understan- ding the real meaning of this symbolic day. We should be asking ourselves what we are supposed to remember, not only on Novo>,lauer 11, but every day of the year. Perhaps this is an easier task for people who came from the war years generations. But what of younger people? With elach passing generation, the significance of Remembrance Day becomes more clouded and misunderstood: -. - It's hard for my age group, born after WWII, to graps the realities of what and the effects it had on people and the world we live in today. I came from a generation of children that was protected from the frightening realities of the time and the gloomy forecasts of the future. We did not worry about political unrest, about war, about being killed. We heard about the Bay of Pigs, the Viet Nam War and we knew those were scary things - but that's about as 'far as our con- cern went. - My parents had an instruction booklet for building a fall -out shelter. I remember look- ing at the illustrations of the mushroom - shaped clouds and reading about how to deal with injuries in time of a nuclear disaster. And, I remember hearing the emergency test singal on the television - but that was the extent of my awareness. For me, November 11 was a school. holiday. I'm much more aware now, and, much.. more frightened too. • War veterans I have talked to, articles have read and stories I **written. We a `led ferny in'ereased awareness of wars past' and the unsettling future ,ahead, • For rue, November 11 reminds nae of the fascinating interviews I have eoriddeted with area war veterans and the stories I Eric Earl of Bayfield spent close to three have written in previous years for special years in a German prison camp. The news features on Remembrance Day. prisoners lived in primitive, bug infest The men and women who went to fight for quarters where they dug tunnels "just to this country were ordinary people, like you keep from going crazy." and I, but they lived through incredible Their main food source was turnip soup times and faced extraordinary cir- and bread. Eric said, "If the bread got so cumstances that read like fiction. moldy that it couldn't be eaten, it would be The young Canadians who went overseas mixed up and served as a soup. to fight were innocent young men and And, it was the best of times. Times of women. They wept to war for adventure, for comradeship and fun to help ease the tor - the romance of living in a foreign country. ment and fear. Bob Campbell noted, '"The They " went "for something to do," Bob highlight had to be the people I met. They Campbell of Clinton remembered. They came from all walks of life and they came went for respect and love for their country.• from all across Canada." Rev. George Youmatoff of Bayfield noted, When I see Bob, Bill and Cam, Eric and "Nobody ever went into war saying they George at Remembrance Day services I would be brave and win a medal. I went think, of the stories they have told me, of in - because I owed this country a tremendous tcidents hat movies i are thatade read ad like the scenes amount."' But, they were a brave lot, far braver than Perhaps, for many people, these all -too - they ever imagined they could be. Their true recollections are difficult to com- bravery, for the most part, was born from prehend. They seem too far removed, too unreal for us to understand. However, we do understand peace and we do enjoy the benefits of living in a free world each and every day of our lives. For these things 1 thank and pay tribute to Bob Camp- bell, Bill Counter, Eric Earl, Cam Proctor, George Youmatoff and the countless other men and women who sacrificed their own comforts, their work and their lives for us. It is important that we treasure and pro- tect their memories, and it is important that we teach our children. about the ideals that they fought for, the goals of peace, love, commitment, pride and freedom. Children, and adults as well, need the security and belief in these ideals. Today's youth are brought up in a news advanced age and they face a bombardment of infor- mation from media services. Children to - necessity, from the choice of survival or death. "Most actions had to be reflex actions," Rev Youmatoff told me. "...I would wake up some mornings and they ::could be picking up broken glass from a bomb that had fallen- in allenin the night. ii that bomb was particularly designed to get me, it would." Cam Proctor of Clinton flew with a Lan- caster squadron on bombing raids, He recalled, "You were scared every time you flew, but you just had to keep telling yourself, if anything bad happens, it's going to happen to the other guy." It was a time when people feared for their lives every waking and sleeping moment, yet they could not let these feelings interfer with their day to day struggle for existance. They found strength and support in each other: The "thumb's -up" signal for good day, unlike most of the youth of my genera - luck, given when buddies went into action, tion, are aware and fearful of the political meant more than mere words could say. unrest between nations. They understand Lifelong friendships were developed during the effects of nuclear holocaust. They know the war years, and, many saw their fellow about terrorism, comrades die in action. , It is important that we help our children It was a time of intense, conflicting deal with this information. We need to emotions. reassure them, comfort their fears about Bill Counter of Clinton, a naval lieutenant war, and teach them how they can work to in WWII remembered, "We crew were maintain peace in their time. close friends, but you court let familiari- At home and in school we need to talk ty take over, there had to be a fine line." honestly to our children about wars past. We That line Was easily and often broken as must address the concerns that they have Cam Proctor diseovered when he witness about current world problems and their the death of his best friend. A tail gunner, fears of the future to come. We must his friend died when his plane crashed and prepare them for the future by encouraging burst into flames. them to work for world peace and to live in "We rode to the plane and discovered that tolerance with people of other political we couldn't get my ft'iend out. One of the beliefs: guys I was with Was a.1Vlilitary Policeman, It's an unsettled world we live in, both for tie had a gun, so he did what had to be done. children and adults. Perhaps together ^we- u day s k t our fears that ' 1 saw my best friend being Shot in can Wer o ease the head, so he wouldn't have to' burn to Remembrance Day is a goodplace to death." start. On November 11, lest we forget the It was the worst of times. past, lest we forget the future. ti Ii ti