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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-03-29, Page 21sykes Inside: •. Art Club studies life of artist Tom Thomson .. Page 2A Entertainment includes Snakes Alive at the ROM in Toronto Page 4A New season at Playhouse has The Sound of Music Page 7A The Sound of Goderich includes The Laketown. Band Page 8A AM & G's emergency department is getting busier and busier Page 9A • Captain Comet found some kids asking for trouble . Page 11A Sigh. No one cares. Not that I should expect anything in return for this meagre weekly offering but, being sensitive by nature, I just thought somebody would notice. But no one did. It's no big'deal really. I mean I ac- tually wasn't aware of it myself until now. So I shouldn't maintain any lofty expectations of the readers. You see some time this month this diligent correspondent pounded out his 100th column. Truly a minor milestone in the obscure cat'teer of a columnist. At the end of March it will Jfge two years since the appearance f the caricature with the silly seagull on my shoulder. Which is something of an anniversary I would think. But there was nary a phone call or congratulatory message offered my way or even an ostentatious gathering to celebrate the occassion. You blew it readers. Perhaps that was a bit presumptious on my part. You hlew it reader. Surely readers who clip this column faithfully and. file them complete with the number penned on the top would have realized what a momentous oc- casion it was. But it was not to be. If 1 were a hockey player who had just popped his IOOth goal would there not be much whooping and hollering not to mention the presentation of the puck'? I would think so. And surely with suchlofty stats behind him would that player not demand an extended contract for $12 million. In sporting circles it would seem reasonable. But not so for the lowly colum- nist. The occasion passed with relative obscurity. The publisher hasn't given any hint of a formal office gathering with a presentation of the prestigious column, the floral nrrnnprments have yet begun tovour into the pulsating newsroom and not even mom has bothered to phone this paper and babble on about the fine work of a certain columnist. It's disappointing to say the least. And while there was little fanfare over the column it is difficult to speculate on its acceptance and impact with readers. Could 'this valuable piece of literature have been clipped' by numerous readers and mailed to Aunt Millie, the one with hair on her legs, in Moose Jaw, with key witty bits un- derlined and linked to the words ha ha in the margin, indicating a humerous phrase. Readers, noting the importance of the work, may have sent'elipped copies all over the country as a cherished gift to loved ones. Perhaps the 100th column has been placed in a prominent position, just inside the doorway, of many Goderich homes to catch the mud and slop from boots and shoes. Heaven forbid. Certainly readers valued the prominent column enough not to slip it under the dog's dish or use it to mop up messy spills in the kitchen. At least youngsters could have taken the column to school as an example of poor grammar and syntax. 1 mean it should be 'good for something. There have been suggestions offered in this diroction-..indicating what this piece is good for, but afterall, this is a family newspaper. Oh,well. So the momentous occasion. slipped by without any pomp or party hats. In only 18 more years I will have written the 1,000th column and surely then someone will notice. For now I think I will ,just have to settle for the extended contract with a h.efty.bon us. But somehow I don't think the publisher will go for it. the1 SIGNAL STAR 132—YEAR 13 THURSDAY, MARCH 29,1979 SECOND SECTION Hotdogs and popcorn traditional on The Square BY JOANNE BUCHANAN First it was Pete's. Then it was Dirk's. And .now it is Laird's. "Over the years, the popcorn -hot dog business at the corner of Hamilton Street and the Square, has become a tradition in this town. And what a tasty tradition! It all started with Peter Zimmerman of Goderich. There was a depression going on in this county and he had to make living somehow, he recalls. So in 1930 he bought a 1925 Model T wagon from a woman in Tilsonburg; drove it to Goderich; modified it and _ turned itin.to_the_popcorn- hot dog stand that was to become so popular with Goderich residents. Pete sold hot buttered popcorn and hot dogs smothered in onions from his colorful green and white Model T on the Square in the evenings for the next 42 years, retiring in 1972. His little wagon became as much a part of the Square as any of the other _ buildings located there ---with the exception that it could be driven away! Everyone knew "Pete the popcorn man" and few could pass by his wagon without stopping in for a delicious snack and some friendly con- versation. When Pete first began. his little business on wheels, he sold hot dogs for 10 cents or two for 15. Popcorn also sold for 10 cents. "You could buy two hot dogs and a bottle of pop for a quarter," he recalls. When he retired seven years ago', his popcorn was up to 15 cents a bag and his hot dogs were up to 30 cents. Pete still has his Model T. He keeps it in his A. driveway on' Cameron Street and makes hot dogs in it when his three grandchildren come to visit from London. "I' couldn't sell it. It became a part of the family," he explains. Since his retirement, Pete maintains that he doesn't miss the work but he sure misses the many people of Goderich who became his friends through his business. DIRK TAKES OVER The corner of Hamilton Street and the Square lay barren for about three years after Pete retired. Then along came Dirk Wolterbeek. He bought a .milk truck from Gar - diner's Dairy, converted it • to a popcorn -hot dog stand and began operating from the corner of Hamilton Street and the Square on February 4, 1975. The business had been revived, lending charm to the corner once again. Laird Eisler, son of Dick and Beatrice Eisler of Goderich, worked at Dirk's stand almost from. the beginning. When Dirk bought a restaurant on the Square,' formerly known as the. Luja, and turned it into Dirk's Lunch Bar, he really had his hands full. So he of- fered Laird the chance to buy his popcorn -hot dog business. Laird, who by that time had .graduated from G.D.C.I., wanted to be his own boss and have his own business so he jumped at the chance to buy.Dirk's stand. He says he always knew he could make money in the food business somehow. LAIRD'S HOT DOG WAGON over the March 1 of. He took business on this year at the age of 20. So far everything is running smoothly but he admits that he is getting a bit tired. As of last week, he had worked 33 straight nights. " He's open seven nights a week from 7:30 to 1:30 Monday through Thursday; 7:30 to 2:30 on Fridays and Saturdays; and 7:30 to 12:30 on Sundays. All in all, his job involves about 10 hours of work nightly, including about two hours of preparations to open up and the clean up at the end•-e=rt'he, night. He gets to bed about 3 or 4 a.m. and sleeps until noon. "You begin to look on 'that wagon as home because you spend so much-•- -time there,"- he -- says. Laird has started training his cousin to help him and hopes to be able to take about two days a week off in the summer. • It's difficult to train someone in such a small space because you're always bumping into each other, he explains. At one time, before Dirk had the truck modified,. Laird says you couldn't stand straight up in it. After a night of working with a bent neck, you were pretty sore, he adds. Working inside a converted truck parked outside has other drawbacks besides the lack of space that it of- fers. "The heat in the su"rnmer time doesn't bother me but I'll never " get used to. the cold," says Laird.. "My feet have been so cold some nights, that by the end of the night, I can't walk right." One night during a zero snap this. winter, Laird said his pop and his mustard froze. "You feel pretty lonely in the winter sometimes up there making hot dogs in the middle of a storm all by yourself," he ad- mits. But Laird resists the temptation to stay home even in the worst weather because he feels that customers are counting on him. If people happen to drive by•one night and see that he is not at his post, it might discourage them from coming back again, he explains. Laird does not plan to offer anything else. from his stand -be-sides s - dogs, popcorn popcorn and pop because his truck is just not big enough to hold more stock, he explains. In the truck, he has a grill with two small burners, a popcorn machine, a -copper • boiler, and a small refrigerator plus his stock. That;s crowded enough.!. At his parents' home it takes a freezer and two refrigerators to store his. supplies. Because Laird's truck is only driven a mile or two each day, the engine tends to protest from time to time. Laird hopes to be able to take the truck for 10 mile drives on Sundays in the nicer weather. While he admits that his business would not appeal to everyone, Laird says he really enjoys it. "I'll never be a millionaire but I can make a living. The most important thing is that I'm my own boss. I an- swer only to myself and if' I want to make more money, I work a bit harder," he says. The best part of his job is meeting all the dif- ferent people of Goderich, he maintains. "There are a lot of great people in Goderich and you can make a,lot of fpiends. I have my regulars. Some guys come up (to the hot dog stand) just about every night, especially the guys on the night shift at the (Champion) Roads and you get to know exactly what they want on their dogs." In fact Laird knows' some people only as "mustard arld onions", not by name. - His customers, nameless or not, keep him informed about the latest hockey and baseball scores, fires and other local news. "It's amazing the things you see on the Square some nights too," he continues. Just standing around making hot dogs might he boring if„ it wasn't for his location and customers, he admits Laird won't say how many hot dogs and how much popcorn he sells on an average night. A lot of people would be curious to know, he says, but he's keeping it his trade secret. Business picks up in the summer months with some nights being busier than others, depending on the show times, etc. If he really wants to ,get busy, he says, he raises the air 'I'urn to page i3A • Pete "the popcorn man" Zimmerman is retired now but he still keeps his 1925 Model T wagon in his driveway on Cameron Street where he makes hot dogs for his three grandchildren when they come to visit. Pete says he doesn't miss the work but he sure misses the many Goderich residents who became his friends while he was in business. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan) I'm sorry. Try as I might I just can't get worked up about the antics of out country's first lady. It seems a certain segment of our population is upset about Margaret Trudeau's world wide capers ,and would like her to kick off her disco dancing shoes, get back in the kitchen and reserve her comments to raising children. ' Many Canadians are shocked by Maggie's life and are embarrassed by her actions. Those emotions are heightened daily as Maggie shares front pages in Canada with her com- paritively boring husband who just happens to lead the country., But I suppose any parent would be a little concerned because of the children. All they did was suffer the misfortune of being born to a mother •that would rather have her back rubbed by a rock star as the lair sit on the bank of the.Seine smoking up. But the children aven't done bad. Margaret must feel confidelnt Pierre will not let them wander off at the ski resort. The little devils will not have to suffer from the chills of Ottawa winters as they wait for the school bus and our taxes have not soared as a result of the television snacks the trio put away while their father tells the country why Joe Clark is out in left field. So why get upset. I guess Canadians feel that as Maggie goes so goes the country. Either that or we are just a twinge en' ious of the life Margaret leads between Studio 54, Europe and other romantic ports of call. For Canadians that consider Margaret a shining example of the average Canadian her lifestyle must be a constant agony. Those are the people that felt all American were clumsy as they watched Gerald Ford fall off 'planes or walk into doors. If such assumptions can he made we must be a nation of people that lives for the day we car, all wander bare foot around the world playing kiss and tell with reporters. But if Canadians are upset or bored with the never ending saga of Margaret and whatever w"ill she do next they are not proving it. Reporters are following the woman around the world with pens in hand waiting for her tongue to start flapping. The British are having a field day. They seem to get a rise when Maggie says she likes to dip her big toe in a glass of chilled chappagne while a Palestinian guerilla . whispers revolutionary slogans in her ear. The point everyone seems to be missing is that Margaret will keep on flapping her toungue and bouncing her bottom ardund discos as long as people keep clucking their tongues and shaking their heads in disapproval. And why not, she's making a big buck. Canadian newspapers are tripping over one another trying to buy series from Maggies's memoirs. In a few weeks we will no longer have to wonder what the woman is up to. She is going to tell all i,g her first, and hopefully last, novel. But it may not all end with Margaret. As soon as the nation bores with the 'lurid details of Maggie's escapades Maureen can hop a flight for South Africa, call a television station, and , carry on what appears to be a torrid love affair with a diamond miner. You've heard of Maureen. She married an up and coming politician, sat around having kids and looking, pretty and then when the time was right made her move. But we could all be in fora"shock. Joe may spot some lovely miss in Venezuala when he's down there negotiating oil rights. He may take her to Studio 54 to do some dipping and diving and while the country shakes its head in disbelief Maureen will be the talk of the nation as she tells working women everywhere it's possible to raise children and run a country. jerf Seddon /