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