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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-12-14, Page 25• sykes Insides: fF' Seems that 'twas but a few Christ- mases past that yours truly would almost be wet with excitement in an- ticipation of opening up the Christmas gifts. But the gifts were .somewhat dif- ferent then, a hockey stick, minibrix, a hockey game with little steel players, a football and there was the occasional sweater and sock gifts that were quickly passed over, but appreciated just the same. If you have little 'ones around the house, you are aware, that the list has changed drastically and today anything that zaps, blasts, booms, fires missiles or exceeds the speed of sound will likely please the little one. Now space toys are big business, worth millions of dollars on the Christmas market and your child has likely put inya request for Star Wars nhirrte a Rattlestar Galactica Colonial GLT review Page 2A Entertainment Page 4A - 5A Presbyterial Page 6A ALPHA Page 8A Churches Page 9A New businesses Page 10A - 11A Farm news Page 13A Champco Page 17A Captain Comet Page 18A Area councils page 19A Stellar Probe, talking robots or perhaps Cylon Raiders. Sound confusing? Well, it's also expensive. For 05 you can, buy a Space Blaster that features all the latest ip space warfare, sound effects and target shooting. These space toys may well be foreign to this generation but they are anything but a bore for the kids. And even dolls have come a long way too, Now the cute, cuddly little things are capable of almost every human function and it's impossible to hold the little devils without fear of a wet lap or having the doll belch rudel-y in your ear. Remember the simple little dolls that girls used to play with. You couldn't clq much with it except create your own world through an inventive imagination. Now dolls blow bubbles, belch (ex- the derich cuse me, burp) take bubble batiks, wet their pants, sneeze, giggle, toddle, talk on the telephone, kiss, brush their teeth and develop diaper rash. It's just like having another kid in the house. Or if your children are more liberally inclined one can purchase a 10 -inch Uncle Sherman doll for $9.95. With Just a deft stroke of Uncle Sherman's hand, his raincoat flies open to expose a bare body. Most parents however, are inclined to buy toys that they themselves will get some enjoyment from. I remember when I finally got the hockey game that was on the Christmas list for years, I couldn't get near it for the first couple of days. Everybody else was playing with it. But that's the fun for shopping for kids, . what you're really doing is picking out a toy for yourself. I only have nieces and nephews to buy for but when I settle in the toy department to snake the right purchase I have a helluva good time playing with the toys. 1 mean what dad doesn't like to hook up the train set on Christmas morning or the car race set? By the time the kids get to play with it it's broken. Last year my brother-in-law and myself sat in the dark playing with a road race set, complete with headlights of course, after the kids were in bed. Couldn't get near the thing while the little devils were up. But Christmas isn't the same anymore. You see I'm too big to ask for neat toys like that and I don't have too many people to buy toys for. I wonder if mother would appreciate a Lionel train set. Just for old times sake. IGNAL STAR YEAR 131-50 Thursday, December 14, 1978 SECOND SECTION Many of you may meet Lily Blanchard, a cheerful little lady of 83, at the Suncoast Mall between now and Christmas as she mans the Salvation Army's red kettle to collect money for the sick and poor. Lily says her heart has been in the Salvation Army since she was a child.,She has supported missions for over 50 years b"y sending letters and parcels overseas to misionaries. She also visits the sick and shut-ins In this area. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan) A little lady with a big heart Lily's still got the spirit JOANNE BUCHANAN Lily Blanchard of Goderich is ,a little lady with a big heart. The Christmas season seems a perfect, time to write a few words about Lily becausevsffm• is what the Christmas ..spirit is all about. Unlike most people though, Lily's Christmas spirit doesn't stop with Christmas. She carries it with her all year long, year after year, and everyone who comes into contact with her seems to benefit by it. Some readers are probably anxiously wondering what she has done to deserve such high praise. It's not any one particular thing. It's just her way of life, her thoughtfulness and a constant giving of her- self. Lily will be 84 -years -old on December 28. For more than 50 years she has been supporting missions through the Salvation Army. She has written thousands of letters and sent hundreds of parcels overseas to missionaries. Her parcels contain toys, coloring books, pill bottles, magazines and bandages which she makes out of old sheets. She sends things which many of us take for granted and would not even consider important. But they are things which mean a lot to the missionaries and the peo.ple the missionaries are helping. "I haven't got much myself," Lily admits, "but when I see others less fortunate than me, my thoughts go out to them. Even if you just let them know you are praying for them, I think it helps."' It is true that Lily is not endowed. with riches -- material riches anyway. She lives in a tiny house and has only the basic necessities of life. Several years ago, a story about Lily was carried in the Signal - Star. It seems that at the time she was making men's hospital gowns from old sheets to be sent overseas .to the needy. She had to do everything by hand, including washing the sheets, because she didn't have a washing machine. The Goderich Lions Club after hearing of this, gave her a washing machine for Christmas to make her life easier. It was truly a happy Christmas for Lily. Through •word of mouth, others have come to know about Lily's devotion to missions. Many of them give her old sheets for bandages and donate other things which • she can send overseas. One little neighbour girl brings Lily discarded dolls to bet 'sent overseas. She calls herself "Lily's little missionary". While Lily may not have a wealth of material possessions, she feels that one never has so little that one can't share with others, even if it means just giving your time and yourself. Through the Salvation Army's League of Mercy, she has made hundreds of visits to the sick and shut- ins in hospitals, nursing homes and private homes. "It means so much to some people even if you just have a word of prayer 'with then ,',' she_ Says. LILY MANS THE KETTLE Many people will meet Lily at the Suncoast Mall between now and Christmas as she sits by the Salvation Army's red kettle accepting donations for the sick and the poor. "If remember how kind you were when my husband was sick in the hospital. These are things you don't forget," • one woman tells Lily as she deposits her money in the kettle. "Remember me? You visited me when I was in the hospital," says another passer-by who stops to put some change in the kettle. The red kettles of The Salvation Army appear on street corners in a thousand cities across the nation -- and indeed, in thousands of cities around the world. The tinkling bell, the yawning kettle, the uniformed Salvationists like Lily have become so familiar as to seem almost commonplace. To Salvationists who are called upon each year to give Christmas assistance to thousands of persons, the response to the message of the bell is nothing short of a miracle -- a recurring miracle. It all started in San Francisco back in 1894 when the country was hard hit by a bitter depression. Things were bad on :the West, Cpast. Shipping was practically y at a standstill and hun- dreds of seamen and longshoremen were out of work. - It was the respon- sibility of Captain Joseph `McFee -- himself a seaman before he joined the Salvation Army -- to do something to help these men. Taking care of the ' initial cost, his commanding officer, the late Commissioner William A. McIntyre, instructed him to set up a soup kitchen and shelter. But McFee had to get the money to operate the program. He roamed San Francisco's waterfront asking for donations -- but with little success. Then one gloomy, wet day shortly before Christmas he wandered by a ship chandler's store, a shop where ships' provisions were sold. I.n the window, hanging from a tripod was a huge iron pot. An idea clicked in McFee's mind. He bought the cauldron and tripod on the spot and set it up at the ferry entrance at the foot of Market Street. Over it he put a 'sign: "Keep the pot boiling." "Help feed the hungry sailors," McFee called to crowds passing by. Then the miracle happened. Commuters caught the captain's spirit and soon coins began to clink into the pot. Hungry sailors were fed and the Army's first Christmas kettle had come into being. Today the miracle continues as people like I,il•y.4nzrn flip. co kettles at the thriStmas season on behalf of the Salvationists in order to raise money which means so much to those who have so little. HEART IN ARMY FOR MANY YEARS Lily says her heart has been i'h the Salvation Army since she was a young girl- living in England. Although her family did not belong to. the Salvation Army, her father would occasionally bring home The War Cry, a Salvation Army magazine which was distributed near fir home. Lily rea hem avidly. Lily has lived throughout two world wars and a depression. She knows what hard times are all about and she can easily empathize with those who are poor, sick or lonely. During the first World War, Lily worked in a munitions factory in England while her brother and brother-in- law trudged off to war. They ended up living in Ontario, Canada. A younger brother of Lily's was killed while serving in the English army and this affected her deeply. It was ndt long after that when she began sending parcels Turn to page 3A • For all you people out there who are too busy, have better things to do or don't like to shop, even for cigarettes, you'd better get your butt in gear. There are only eight shopping days left until Christmas and if you're anything like me it's going to take you seven days to give up and realize that there is nothing you can do about it. You've got to go Christmas shopping. It's not Christmas that's doing it.. I hate shopping for anything at any time. I hate buying birthday presents, Mother's Day cards, milk after work or any other thing that forces me to go. out, find a parking spot for the car and walk to a store. Every year I face the same dilemma. Everyone is talking, about what they're going to buy Aunt Ada or Uncle Ezekiah for Christmas and all of a sudden .I realize I've got eto do it. I've gut to go get something for my wife for Christmas. Part of the problem is that people who like to shop assume that everyone else enjoys going out and buying a gift for someone they love. My wife enjoys shopping and assumes that I will be ecstatic trudging through stores elbow to elbow with people going through racks of clothes like their family is freezing to death and if they don't get something home to them within the hour they'll all be popsicles. My aversion to shopping forced me to cut a deal with my wife. She buys everything. She buys for all the moms, dads, cousins, brothers and sisters -in- laws, nieces, nephews, friends or enemies. She buys everything. All I have tti do is buy a gift for her. It's really depressing. She starts around January 2. She is always thinking when she's shopping. If sometime in January she spots a cute little dress on sale she snaps it up and puts it in storage for a niece. In July she'll see that some outfit is having a giant once in a lifetime, going out of business, we bought too much stock, everything has to go by tomorrow afternoon sale and you can see the wheels turning in her head. I can get this for her and that for him and then all I'll have to get is something for Well it's been a year since I last shopped. During that year I've forgotten everything I knew, I don't know what size she is, what colors she wears, what she has or what she needs. Ever stood in a ladies clothing store with your hand held out over the floor to show some sales lady how tall your wife is. Ever cupped your hands in mid- air to indicate the build of your loved one. This year I'm going to streamline things. I'm considering two alter- natives. I may rent a trucyand take part of her wardrobe (she never has anything to wear) to a store and just ask for a couple of items that will fit in to what is already there. Barring that I may list the sizes and colours I want and tender for the job. Put an ad in the paper asking stores to submit tenders that specify colors, sizes, style and price and just pick one and have it sent to the house, gift wrapped. I know now that the inevitable will happen. On the last shopping day I'll be running through stores with an open shopping bag in one ha?rtd and an open wallet in the other making sure that anything I buy can be returned if it is the wrong size or shape. If you've got any shopping to do I'd appreciate it if you'd do it now. I'd like to make this as painless as possible. jerr; Seddon 1 U