Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-06-29, Page 4Rl ,V walla• SYKES .+., I903 There are certain * yiia d- vertegtly diseouered this past weekend, to having more May than One could poosible spend or know what to do whir. Those advantages beetling clear on the weekend as this sedulousscribe and.his wife attended a family wedding in W. While the affair was not overtly ostentatious or ornate, it had a certain classy aura about that spelled Money. lots of it. The ceremony itself was conducted in a rather sparsely decorated and tiny ciurch but it was uphill from there all evening. The reception, the invitation boldly proclaimed, was to be held at some golf and country club on the outskirts of the city. A few miles out of town a respectable looking golf course presented itself on the side of the highway and we pulled in to join the other guests for the reception. The clubhouse and ancillary buildings • were modest by any and the only door visihle from the park*lot had a Sign directly above with the lcri , Locker Room. l >: AEeA s While I did have definite doubts that my brother -int -law and Ida new bride, the girl with the rich father, would engage the locker room of a golf cowse for the ensuing festivities, there seemed to be few alter- natives. So I ca Iffier R the door and found that the Mess entered option was implicitly truthful. The room was full of men and lockers. Sweaty men who had just completed a round of golf in extreme heat and discom- fort. As they playfully berated each other over the day's scores I casually inquired if I was indeed at the such and such golf and country club. My inquiry met with immediate guffaws, giggles and derision. There is certairdy no embarassmeit that con eompare to being discoveredat total: angers bpt.I later Ply &mod it amusing that I mistook their humble golf course for a private -yd down the read.expensive clubIwasson*** releived that I hadn't *egged . theaexpectant mother into the men's locker room looking for the wedding reception After pride g driver,the PI our to ether, . my btgtlaer-ir�law, and the female contingent Armed on to the location of the receptions tetvmiles down the road. There, a red carpet, under the drive-in canopy, greeted the feet of guests as they stepped front:their Cadlllai s and Lincolns, or '78 Aspens in our case. Guests mingled with the wedding party in the superbly manicured and shaded gardens surrounding the majestic club house. ,ensue ,tsoon discovered that once a perm's d!# Was eminy, it was Promptly reamed by a ynting man who segrrieflabout with. goat effteleae,7, Naturall,/ I took advantage of the ,dation and made the little writer real bis behind alto all night kid myglass • . At the back of the main kailding, behind the pow was a dock area where, I presume, meanbe rs docked their boats. I took a stroll there to view the Craft and wasimmediatek accosted bya securitygnet* - It's obvious he knew I.di' 't n and while we exch.. 1n .there kept a c1nelem.ang�l` Pletlies'he eye on; me„ Ife1t like a crural and he made me :feel like. I was under suspicion. • While it was certaifilk enjoyable to be. waited on hand and foot in such elegant surroundings for a dya or two, I've been to weddings where people have twice the fen for half the money. eNA 8lUE RIBBON AMA:RD Second class; mfsl registration flambe 0716 SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded in Iii{ and published every Wednesday et Godertch. Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. Adorer. rising rates on request. Subscriptions payable in advance •19.90 in Canada. •50.00 to U.S.A.. •S0.00 to all other count- tries. single copies Sec. Duplay advertising rotes available on request. Please ash for Rote Cord No.13 effective Oc- tober 1. 190?. Second class moii Registration Number 0716. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In "the event of typographical error. the.advertlsing space occupied by the erroneous Item. together with reatonahts allowance for signature. will not be emerged for but that balance of the advertisement w11I be paid for et the ap- plIcrabl. rote. In the event of a Typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. goods or services may not be sold. Advertising Is merely en offer to sell. and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible for the foss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts photos or other materials used for reproducing pur- poses. - PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publisher DONALD M. HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX 220. HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 466 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 Let's be careful Next to Christmas and birthdays, the most enjoyable day of the year for kids is the final day of school. Mtich to the delight of thousands of the children in the area school ended either last Friday, in the case of public elementary schools, or Monday or Tuesday of this week in the case of separate elementary schools._ For the next two months children will be a ' .. . pl ying with carefree abandon and the rules and regulated coursesof school life will be but a fleeting memory. While all students will harp hall ample training on the rules of safety while walking or riding bikes, those rules will be at the backs of their mind's as they excitedly contemplate the joys of a two-month vacation, With the expiration of the school year comes a warning to drivers to be ;even more alert As those carefree, vacationing yotnig people take their bikes on the road- ways. In their exuberance, children may momentarily forget about traffic when they play on or near the sidewalk and could easily dart out onto the road in pursuit of an errant ball. The driver must be on the alert during the summer months. nd make defensive habits the norm. Parents would also be well astvisedto reinforce solid safety procedures' for their children who will no doubt make frequent trips to the swimming pool, parks and baseball diamonds. Traffic will increase substantially -in town over the summer months and children should be cautioned to cross busy roads at intersections. Summer also brings with it increased bicycle .traffic both in town and on country roads. Both automobile and bicycle drivers mustextend certain courtesies on the rod. If posssible, bicycle riders should move close to or onto the shoulder of the road to allow vehicular traffic to pass. However, by the same token, automobile drivers should make every effort to recognize the rights of'bicycle riders. All bicycle riders, including children, should be well versed on the rules of the road and proper hand signals. Common sense will prevent a needless tragedy; Have a • safe and happy summer. D.S. What about funds? The chairman of the Huron County Board of Education, Dorothy Wallace, recently told a Liberal task force in Goderich that she is concerned about the Ministry of Education's commitment to special education beyond 1985. She pointed out to the Liberal party task force that special education grants to the board cover. only 82 per cent of the cost of the program while the remaining 18 per cent is to be raised by Igcal taxes. The chairman of the board of education asked who would pay for the program beyond 1985. The, question is a valid one and the Ministry of Education,would do well to answer it before school boards across the province implement the special education programs already initiated by the ministry. In her exchange with the fact-finding group here, she also expressed concern for the decline in the cost of education being assumed by the province. She noted that the ministry paid 72 per cent of the board's budget in 1975 but this has since been reduced to 62 per cent. Another point made by Wallace was that at the seine time new special programs are being introduced in the school system, technical equipment insecondary schools installed in the 1960's is either worn out or obsolete. Few people question thelvalue of special education in the province's schools - special education for the han- dicapped' is now seen as a necessity in a fair and pro- gressive society. At the other end of the special education spectrum, however, is instruction for the gifted. Certainly this is also a desirable program to ensure that especially bright students make use of their full potential. The rub, however, is whether taxpayers will be willing to foot 'the bill for these programs after they have been implemented and government funds are used up. The province should at least make clear where long- term funding is coming from. (Exeter Times Advocate) i .,1.Dy 3i. oa ve.Sykes DEAR READERS SHIRLEY KELLER - Happy Canada Day, dear readers. I sure hope you're as excited about being a Canadian as I am. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a greater country in the whole world than our own magnificent Canada. I sometimes .wonder though, if I see things quite a bit differently than most Canadians do. For instance, last week I picked up a .copy of TOPIC, which is a sister publication to this one out of Bradford, Ontario, and read a column by a young writer entitled "Much ado about a Royal vacation". To put it mildly, I was embarrassed. Nancy Pack was complaining about the visit to Canada by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. She said the press has been overdoing the good thing. Suggested Pack, "That's a lot of coverage for a little ,vacation to the colonies." Admittedly, Pack is about half my age, and it could be that young people have a less jaundiced view of the Monarchy than folks of my vintage. But to tell the truth, I'm concerned that if the Pack types in this great Dominion had their way, we'd have a nation of free. spirits who would destroy much of what I consider to be excep- tional, unique and endearing about Canada. Here's a sample Pack -ism: "We welcome thousands upon thousands of visitors year upon year, but they pay money for the privilege to visit us and they spend money while they are here - that's tourism. What do the Royals pay? Just what does Princess Diana carry in her purse? Does Prince Charles own a wallet? How, just how, does this ' visit stimulate our economy?" Pack went on to comment on the ease of royal- ty. "I'd give freely of my time too if my ,job were Earlier in the spring I was interviewed by a professor of sociology from King's Col- lege, University of Western Ontario, who is • preparing a paper on community spirit in this part of the country. During the lengthy and detailed interview we discussed a great many things pertain- ing to the local activities and attitudes of groups and individuals, of officials and volunteers, of different generations and minorities, and many other aspects of that which forms and reflects theps' frit andef= sona.Iity of a community. Ordinarily one goes through many events in a daily hurry and comes to taking alot of very good happenhe supply and. thoughtlessly for grant . Then one day it becomes necessary to analyse the situations with a stranger and to hold up to him for closer inspection all sorts of hits of the fabric designed for our daily lives. In doing so it becomes fully and intimately clear how spendidly all the different pieces really fit together. The composite picture emerging at the. end of the interview was a very nice confir- mation of the many pleasant elements I had - known separately for years. The town I know is positive, fair, constructive, tolerant, orderly, compassionate and handsome. It is a town in which it is good to live and work and play. I am glad I came here years ago to stay. So that you do not think me a complete fool, I am aware that there is also another Goderich somewhere in a distance where it can stay - a place full of rumours both funny and vindictive - a habitat with shades of en- vy, bigotry and nastiness - a place like any other place. Celebrating both Canada Day and our local Founder's Day this week we find as good a time as any to take a look at aur per- sonal realities and chose those we wish to acknowledge and sired hen in our. town. When I first met the `t i early summer like this; - the streets clearsid 4 green; the gardens lovely with flower pro - Mises, pa the sodding lake views offering in stant visual love affairs. Now there ar - rare homes in new streets, new trees and gardens, new flowers - an altogether attrac- tive scene for our own pleasure and con fidence whilst stretching_ out a welcominghand to a visitor who comes to'see how we are doing. The visible attractiveness of .our .town • 'simply the most easily readable expression of our corityspiri�t: There ars man . other . ;that one could not possibly contain within.- the, confutes of this limited I too have expressed my affection in many ways and in many fields over the ymrs. Sometimes I have been impatient and lamenting when confronted with situations where progress meant going three steps for- ward and twolsteps backward; on some oc- casions I have been fiercely protective, at other times quietly supportive. I have been a help and a nuisance, but never have I been to travel, get flowers from little girls in pretty pinkfrocks, smile adorably and use the word `marvellous' in every second sentence," she writes. But in my estimation, the final Pack -ism was the cruellest cut of all. I quote: "In my opinion the Royal Tour and the resulting media hysteria puts us back in the Mid- dle Ages when the feudal lords would pay yearly visits to their serfs. Is this any way for the people of a country, with a constitution barely a year old, to be acting?" First of all, the Prince and Princess of Wales were our guests .... and judging from the warm greeting they got from Canadians everywhere they went, they were welcome guests. To fault the press for reporting reams on the tour which '• has attracted thousands and thousands of well wishers, is ludicrous. It's news, Ms. Pack. Hard, factual, sought-after news. The story that Canadians most want to read, no mat- ter what your opinion. If you don't believe that Royalty is saleable copy, check the list of best sellers for the last few weeks. You'll see that Charles' former valet's. book is doing exceptionally well. People pay cold cash for news of the Prince and his Princess. They are prime time material. In Canada. In the U.S.A. Everywhere. How does the Royal visit stimulate our economy? Well, even if it didn't stimulate the economy, it would be quite enough that the Royal visit stimulates. the Iaid-back Canadian spirit and attitude - makes it stand up and cheer, wave flags, get jubilant and feel proud. But if Pack wonders how the Royal visit stimulates the economy, she should check with indifferent and never has my love affair - with the town lost its freshness, lustre and -e appeal. So it is finite alright tiicarazaut villi : a passionate declaration on an occasion such as this. If on this Fouunder's Day "Tiger!' Dunlop could come up the hill, visit the old goal where he held the first county council meeting anthe third-fleer Ik-around-i'd ----__ Square {.and g,sit on a bench in they ar o -v hat '°,, zT._. uld-he he was doing the right thing when he selected the spot for to first cabin? Would be be peed of toe who ;Mill on his heritage and of those who added their con- tributions and enjoyed the advantage later and remained grateful? .Celebrating our town and our country this week, the answers are likely to come to us individually. I'll he seeing you at the fireworks. I love fireworks. P.S. And when the professor has sent me a copy of his paper on community spirit, you may wish to read it too. the hotel and restaurant' owners in the areas where Charles and Diana appeared. Or talk to some of the aggressive entrepreneurs who sold British souvenirs and Royal Visit mementoes for real dollars. Or go to a bookstore and see how sales of Royal stories and pictures have picked up. Or even keep an eye out for the aftermath of the tourist business all across Canada • just because Charles and Diana were on Canadian soil for two weeks or so. Strikes me that Ms. Pack needs to walk a mile or two in Charles and Diana's shoes .... if she thinks that being a prince or a princess is such a snap. Like those who judge everything purely on personal bias and limited experience in a "me, myself and I" society, Pack would likely develop a healthy respect for the high price Royalty pays to remain set apart figureheads for common folk like me who are awed by the Royal line - and eager to preserve it. Makes no difference to me that Canada has a new constitution. As far as I'm concerned, the Queen (or King) of England will always be dear to me. I am satisfied to be a British subject come of age, able to make my own decisions but still related in a pride -filled way to the ancient line of Royalty that was such a part of my country's heritage. Far from feeling small, poor and subservient like a Middle Ages serf, I feel extremely honoured and proud that my country and my fellow Canadians can claim an age-old connec- tion to British royalty. I think it is precisely the way Canadians should be acting - smiling; cheering, dressing up, fixing up and getting excited when British Royalty comes to visit. I hope Canada never gets so in- dependent Canadians forget their manners. ELSA f14,14 ifA,,, n