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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-07-12, Page 17sijkes Geode -rich 132 YEAR -28 I wantrpity. _ Heaps of it. This Friday is July 13. Perhaps a day of some consequence. for those of- a superstitous nature but I have always maintained an iconoclastic view of superstitions. But never in •a preten- tious way. Now I may join the rank. This Friday, while in: a prone and semi-conscious state, an oral surgeon, complete with helmut and an artillery of,.equipment,will enter my mouth and -hopefully emerge with a wisdom tooth. Or a reasonable facsimile. My time has come and tis your pity and sympathy I seek. My oral surgeon in London is of the belief that removal of the tqoth would require 'little more than a post hole auger, pliers, an air hammer, a shovel and some strong, nylon rope. "We may have to bust her up to get. it out but won't take- more than 20 minutes," he assured me on the last visit. His explanation offered little reassurance "but he talked as if the procedure was routine. I am still not certain that he is trustworthy. After learning some time agothat the tooth would have to be removed I thought it would be an excellent idea to research the matter fully beforehand. Sp I talked to people who have had wisdom teeth removed. - -- I can safely say it was a bad move. People are willing to offer full details of the sordid affair and not once has there been a hint of reassurance in ,. their desparate sagas. And I must admit that I await Friday with a bit trepidation and have been going about my work with an air of desparation: My research would indicate there is hardly a person alive that has not succumbed -to the removal of a wisdom tooth. At.least_everyone has a story. I maintain, as countless others do, that the tooth is being removed because I have much wisdom to dispense With. Few see the point. But I have learned so"tnething about human .nature in researching the wisdom tooth and that is that there are two distinct types of people. The first type takes great delight in embellishing the ordeal, emphasizing the excruciating pain and concluding with a morale booster: "I really feel sorry for you, man." The second type is of - the macho strain and if anything ever hurt they would never admit to ,it. You know, they are the type that have babies before they go to work in the morning or have some intestinal bypass surgery comletedon their afternoon break. "Ah, there's nothing to it," •some have told me in comforting tones. "I had four teeth pulled in one afternoon and didn't even feel a thing." The only reason they didn't feel anything was because they were un- --conscious for two weeks. They fail to mention that minor point. While in London for the exploratory visit, the surgeon offered two choices of anisthetic and said I could have my choice. rAs I pondered the alternatives and their merits he selected for •me. I can't help but believe he noticed my body opping uncontrollably in the chair, t e fear etched on my face. And t ie only reason the element of fear has entered this predicament is that the pathetically fatal stories from others have been systematically catalogued in my brain. .. I never realized that removal of a wisdom tooth was risky surgery. At least fifty per cent of the people I talked to were near death, the' next of kin notified and a priest called in. These stories have done much to boost my morale. Don't get the impression that this columnist is afraid to have a little tooth removed or that the thought of it has consummed all my waking hours. I will neveradmit to that. Like I said from the top. I want your pity. GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JULY 12 nclermac. ine works Louis Wilton operates the lathe while son Terry looks on. The father and son team manufacture elec- trostatic watertreaters ai'f Envirosound Incorporated, the company Terry foutrded-after developing his water conditioner. (photo by Cath Wooden) BY CATH WOODEN A year and a half ago, Terry Wilton closeted himself -with an American "wonder machine" and emerged with a dependable,, highly economical electrostatic water treater., Terry had- been working for an .American corporrtiajn that was manufacturing electronic water -treaters in Clinton. The -treater -was sold "for any and all problems," and Terry wanted find out why it 'worked in one place and not in another. He sperit .year in research and developed hist own "electrostatic water conditioner that was simpler than the - early version and had specific application. - "Basically, The treater is for bad water areas, and used for scale, and corrosion prevention," says Terry. "It has both industrial and domestic application, but it seems to have caught on sooner in industry." Goderich is not a bad water area, according to Terry. Its main problem is in water softening. Walkerton, on the other hand, is a bad water area. His treater isn't designed for a town water system, but rather for factory boilers, steam generators, or farm wells to name a few. a Terry makes the principles behind elec- trostatic water treatment sound relatively simple. The treater is placed at. the water source of, for example, a boiler. The water passes through a cylinder shaped barrel. In this barrel is an electrode charged with a DC current. This creates a SECOND SECTION, n positively charged electrostatic field. The fieldreacts on solid - particles in the water known as colloids. These negatively charged colloids are held to the positively charged electrode. Since colloids form the nucleus to which other elements unite to create scale, the removal of colloids prevents this. Boosters are placed further down the line, and the boiler's pipes are left free of scale and corrosion. No chemical are needed. One greenhouse operator that has in- stalled the treater spent more than $350 a year` one° chemical treatments to prevent scale and - corrosion. Terry says a treater big enough to run a small plant _-or greenhouse operation costs about $1500. A domestic model runs. from $475 to $550. The earlier American system used a similar design as a primary unit, and added a secondary_ unit that involved a high -fr�eq-uenc y m e Chan i s m - that fed sound waves into the water for bacteriart5 control "In our research we found that the two units could not. co -exist in the same system. We've shelved the secondary unit for now," explains Terry. Last December, Terry started his own company, Envirosound Incor- porated, and began manufacturing his electrostatic water •treaters in Saltford. In- May, n ?vlay, -he took over ;Mathi-eson Welding,_ which is opposite t -he Works and Engineering building on - Cambridge Street. , - Terry Wilton displays the outer barrel of his electrostatic water treater, which is a modification of an Americanmodel. A DC pack charges an electrode inside the barrel, which alters particles in the water and prevents, ,scale and corrosion. (photo by Cath Wooden) Envirosound now manufactures the water treaters there and carries a full line of softeners and - filters, as well" -as doing welding and electrical work. Terry hopes to get into soundequipment also. Eighty percent of -Envirosound's water treaters are beingex- ported to the United States. "The concept is more accepted there," says Terry. . "Canadians are skeptical because they've been burned too many time with similar machines." Envirosound has five dealerships in the States and two in Ontario. "We have them in Caledonia and Leamington, and we hope to get one in. Barrie." - Goderich is. the com- pany's -Ixai,se and it is a Wilton family affair. Terry's father; Louis, is chief engineer and floor manager in the factory. Terry's wife, Rita, manages the office an- d,"generally runs things," he says. "I help outwherever'I can." ` Turnto page 2A There's nothing that makes, you want to.maim an copy advertisingwriter r for car commercial f . s aster than.. trying to pack a car for a vacation. The guy you want most tp get your hands on is the guy that told you your new car, or old car, is shorter and lighter -than last year's model and yet has 37 percent more trunk space and 13 cubic feet mote space in the passenger area. . _. Unless your family is 37 percent larger than last year or you have acquired 13 cubic feet of extra luggage in the past year that statement is your basic crock. A week ago T packed the farnily off to a cottage for a week and when I was doing that packing I began to wonder if it was really just a week. My wife and two children and my mother in law were heading to a' cottage for seven days."1 stayed on the job but was given the to k of movi rg the group tour from home to the'beac . ' The day the finishing touches were ,put on the packing I was at work. When I .stepped in ..the door that evening -.1 sensed that I was going to have some problems. There was no furniture in the cargo that was set to go but that was only because the cottage was furnished. An array of recreational equipment, bedding, clothing and food was sitting by the back door of the house to be packed,into the trunk•of a mid-size car. I was pretty well confined to the trunk, which was 37 percent bigger than the year before, because that 13 extra cubic feet of passenger space was being taken up by the mother in law,. It was...inapossible to start with the essentials to make sure they got to the cottage. Seconds aftef. I started packing things away 1 was informed that all that was going was the bate necessities. Preferring to think that styrofoam life saver rings, a blow dryer for hair, a small carrying case full of cosmetics and three suitcases full of clothes far one woman and two children was not all necessary I started lifting boxes and suitcases out to the car. Rather than discuss the need for food for six to feed three I started on the clothes. I must commend my mother in law. She managed to get all --her belongings into two small suitcases which she offered to carry an her lap to save room for her daughter's war- drobe. Losing the battle to get the suitcases lightened I took some food out to put clothes in. I was in anything but vacation humour by this point and announced that my wife would have to give tip the space on the floor normally occupied by her feet so that the third box df food would not have to be mailed. The bedding was stacked in the rear seat so that the:�e:il5i:ld.ren, both, Of• whom ANrtr still have some growing to do to get by my waist, had little difficulty looking over myhead and out the front window of the car. - Still complaining that an army wouldn't need this much stuff I started packing humans into the rear seat. The car was still a good three inches off the ground when everyone and everything was loaded. I lost the -arguement to leave the- blow dryer, half the cosmetics, some of the clothing and a little bit of food at home. But at the end of the week I wasn't a big enough person to avoid com- menting that not all the junk was needed. That may have been because when I packed the car to come home I discovered, to my` amazement, that we brought home more than we took. I didn't even ask. I just rammed it all in and trucked it home offering a silent thank you that it was only alone week outing. Jeff Seddon