HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-07-11, Page 16Page 2—Crossroads—July 11, 1984
willilmilmftma, Bill Smiley
Garage sales are quite the
fad these days. Many people
make them part of their
lives.. They troop around
town watching for handmade
signs and check the ads in
the classified section.
Drive around any small
town and you'll see a cluster
of cars, in front of a house.
"Must be a wedding or a fun-
eral," you muse. Then you
see a pile of junk with a
hoard of human magpies
tlarting around it, snatching
up bits, beating each other to
another heap of rubble, like
seagulls diving and screech-
ing for a slice of french -fried
spud.
It's no wedding. There are
no vows exchanged, except
that you takes what you gets,
"for better or or worse".
It's no funer , except for
those who pa ix bucks for
something that cost three`ten
years ago. It's a garage sale.
This phenomenon resem-
bles a mini -auction sale min-
us the auctioneer. The gar-
age sale allows the proprie-
tor (often abetted by some of
his neighbors) to get rid of
all the Useless items over-
flowing the'garage, the tool -
shed, the basement and the
attic.
It sometimes brings in two
or three hundred dollars to
the vendors, and the garage -
sale groupies go home all ex-
cited because they have
bought a three-legged chair,
a horse-drawn sleigh, an um-
1ones oke
brella with on y p
missing, or six paperback
novels for a dollar.
One' of my contempor-
aries, an habituee of these
bizarre events, was more
than a bit thunderstruck
when he found at one sale
that he could buy text books
from our school, duly stamp-
ed, as:such, 'dirt cheap. He re-
monstrated with the owners, "I took a lot of ribbing
pointing out that the books about me, ref all people, win -
belonged to the school and ning this," said Dale Scho-
had been stolen by their field, senior vice-president of
children, 'but they'd haveBresLube Enterprises,' Can -
none of it. They wanted cash. ada's largest integrated oil
So much for human ria refinery.
ture. These were taxpayers Mr. Schofield, of Breslau,
who had helpedbuythe was referring to his winning
books their kids had stolen, of the $5,000 second prize, in
• and now wanted to sell them a bi-weekly draw held for
back to the system so that customers of the Canadian
other kids could steal the Imperial Bank of Com -
taxes for.
books they were still paying
coerce.
May I digress for a mo- However, the ribbing
merit? Kids do steal books. subsided when Mr. Schofield '
Regularly. They don't.con- announced he was donating
siderate it 'stealing'. It's just the entire . windfall to the
taking something from a big Dickson Foundation School
institution. That's not steal- for Special Learning, in
ing, according to about fifty Waterloo. The Dickson"
per cent of them. It's just Foundation school is a
like Dad not declaring some- specialized educational
thing on his income taxor facility geared toward
Mom ordering a dress from children with dyslexia and
Eaton's, wearing it to a par- other learning disabilities.
ty, then taking it back to the Mr. Schofield has a special
mail order office and return- interest in the learning
ing it, claiming it was "too centre, as his son David, 10,
small" or had smudge .was diagnosed dyslectic in
marks in the armpits (after. Grade 2, after it was found
she'd discoed in it for four he was having trouble with
hours.)schoolwork. Nowtwo years later, after
`They wouldn't steal from a„,
friend. They might steal transferring to the Dickson
from their parents but they school, David is reading at a
have no compunction about Grade 4 to 5 level.
"ripping, off” a department "He's excellant in mat
store or the government. and he has, all sorts of self -
This is fact, not fancy, as confidence," said Mr.
I've learned in discussions Schofield.
about morals. , Part of ti,e reason for the
Back to the garage sales. success of the Dickson
There is no suggestion of Program is their student -
stealing here. Both parties, teacher ratio of 4-1, which
buyer and seller, are per- makes the school very ex-
fectly aware of what's going pensive to operate.
,on. The seller is trying to get The $5,000 windfall will go
rid of something he doesn't toward the reduction of the
need. The buyer is buying school's $65,000 deficit,
something he doesn't need. which arose when the
It's a classic example of our provincial government with -
materialistic age. We want drew seven stridents and
to get rid of some of the gar- $52,000 worth of funding. The
bage we've bought, and the students were withdrawn
buyer wants to buy some because the government
. more garbage. decided there were adequate
The epitome of a garage- programs within the existing
sale -groupie would be a per- public system to deal with
son who goes to four rage their disabilities. -
s -ales, buys a lot of jtink, t i -iriP As a director for the
has a garage sale to dispose foundation Mr. Schofield is
What wealth!
of it, preferably with a small
mark-up. But they're fun.
A friend of mine, who'll
make a bid on anything, even
though he doesn't know what
if's for, has bought two old-
fashioned horse-drawn
sleighs. He has worked on
•them until they are service-
able. All he needs now is a
couple of beasts to haul the
things. He'll probably wind
up with a camel and a Shet-
land pony (and will make a
fortune hauling people
around when we run out of
gas.)
Well, I wish I'd had a gar-
age sale this spring. First,
I'd have sold the garage, a
venerable institution. None
of this electronic eye, or
press the button and the door
opens. It has a vast door,
weighing about eight hun-
dred pounds. You hoist the
door and it slides on pulleys
and cables, and at the right
moment, on a good day, it
stops rising just at the height
to tear off your radio anten-
na.
Behind the garage is a sort
of tool shed. I say "sort of",
because when I've sailed into
the garage on a slippery
midwinter day, I've some-
times gone an extra foot and
crashed into the tool shed,
which now leans about
thirty-eight degrees to the
north.
I'll throw in the tool shed
with the garage, but not its
contents. Migawd, the stuff'
in there would bug the eyes
of either an antique dealer or
a garage -groupie.
I have garden tools in
there that haven't been, used
since Sir John A. MacDon-
ald's wife told him to get his
nose out of that glass and go
out and stir up the garden.
I have at least four per-
fectly good tires for a 1947
Dodge. I have enough holy
tarpaulin (or is it holey? I've
never known) to build a
theatre under the stars.
There's a perfectly good set
of golf clubs, a wee bit rusty.
There's a three-legged gar-
den tool that must have come
over with Samuel de Cham-
plain. There's a three -wheel-
ed lawnmower (mechanic's
special). She hundred feet if
garden hose that a little ad-
hesive would fix.
And many more, too mis-
cellaneous to mention. And
that's -only- the tool shed. In-
side the house, there are
eight tons of books, left by
my children. The attic is go-
ing to come right through to
the kitchen, one of these
days. How about a copy of
Bhagavadgita, 1000 pages, at
$1?
Man, I wish I'd got this
idea off the ground about two
months ago? Anyone inter-
ested in an iron crib, sides go
, up and down, filled with
three hundred dollars worth
of broken toys, exotic paint-
ings, some records and a bad ,
of marbles?
Who needs to retire, with
all this wealth lying around?
By Gene Gary
Slate installer
botched the job.
Q.: As readers of your
column we would appreciate
any suggestions on the fol-
lowing problem.:,
We had black. Italian slate
laid in our entry way. The in-
staller covered the slate with
some kind of an acid bath.
The installer also left several
of his hand prints in various
places. He then covered the
slate with an acrylic coating
which has jelled in spots.
The solutions offered have
been to remove the slate en-
tirely or have another acid
employed. Can you help with
our problem? — Mrs. James
W., Indian Wells, Calif.
A.: I am not sure I can
cope with your problem, but
I can offer some suggestions.
First consult with the com-
pany from which the slate
was purchased. This is to de-
termine what type of remov-
er can be used to take off the
present finish. If the dealer
cannot supply this informa-
tion, some of the things you
can try are paint removers,
naphtha or lacquer thinner.
If successful in removing
the present finish, wash the
slate surface well with 1 cup
of trisodium phosphate mix-
ed in 1 gallon of warm water.
Rinse well and dry. Then fin-
ish with a colorless terrazzo
sealer which is recommend-
ed for slate.
Winner of $5,000
gives windfall away
well aware of the school's
need for financial support
and he said he is hoping they
will be able to attract some
corporate sponsors in the
future.
Without outside funding,
many parents of children
with learning disabilities
have difficulty paying the
$15,000 yearly fees for
resident students or $8,000
annually for day' students.
Mr. Schofield said he
hopes the donation of his
winnings will attract public
attention to the need for
special education facilities
like the Dickson Foundation.
If the foundation can•get
a little mileage out of it
great," he said.
the Job Is MO and 1 really
cannot afford renewing the
sealer every year.
1 would be most grateful
for anyideas you might have
to help me solve the pro-
blem.
Could 1 apply the sealer
without grinding down the
present surface? Please
ceme up with something
brilliant. It is a very awk-
• ward situation as the carport
is directly in front of my door
and grease is not neat. —
Patsy N.
After the slate floor has
been thoroughly cleaned and
allowed to dry, a coat of seal-
er will make the floor easier
to clean and keep clean.
Spread the sealer thinly and
rub out well.
Being non -porous, slate
will absorb very little of the
sealer — just enough to ad- '
here, but it is not the purpose
to build up a surface coating.
The richness of the slate
can be improved somewhat,
without producing an artifi-
cial luster or sheen, by wax-
ing either with the solvent
type or a water wax emul-
sion.
If the present finish cannot
be removed, replacement of
the slate may be the only sol-
ution to your problem.
Q.: 1 desperately need
some expert advice on how
to deal with a concrete car-
port. It is not covered, and
unlike garage floors, it has a
rough finish and is so very
porous that grease and car
stains are apt to become in-
delible.
Concrete contractors have
suggested that the rough
surface should be ground
down to a smooth surface
and then sealed with a pro-
duct called "Rainproof".
However, the new surface
would only last sixmonths
and would take yearly appli-
cations to be even semi -sat-
isfactory. The lowest bid for
crossroads
Published everyWednesday by Wenger Bros Limited as the lifestyle and
entertainment section in The Listowel Banner, The Windham Advance -
Times. The Mount Forest Confederate and The Milvefton Sun. Members of
the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community
Newspaper Association, and the Ontario Press Council. Controlled distri-
bution in Anss, Arthur, Drayton, Harriston, Moorefield,' Palmerston, Bloom-,
ingdale. Breslau, Conestoga, Elmira, Heidelberg, Linwood. Maryhill, St.
Clements, St Jacobs, Wallenstem. Wellesley and West Montrose.
Display and Classified advertising deadline — 5.00 p m Thursday week
prior to publication date
Advertising and Production Accounting and Billing
The Listowel Banner The Wingham Advance -Times
"188 Wallace Ave N Josephine St., •
P O Box 97, P O Box 390,
Listowel, Ont , Wingham, Ont
N4W 3H2 NOG 2W0
The Listowel Banner 291-1660 The Wingham Advance -Times 357.2320
The Mount Forest Confederate 323-1550 The Milverton Sun 595-8921
DONA TES WINDFALL—L. S. (Dale) Schofield (right),
president of BresLube Enterprises, shows his son
David, 10, a cheque for $5,000 which Mr. Schofield
won in draw sponsored by the Canadian Imperial Bank
of Commerce. Mr. Schofield is donating the windfall to
the Dickson Foundation School for Special Learning,
which David attends to cope with a learning disability.
A.: It should be possible to
put a thin coating of cement
over the rough surfaces, a
treatment which will also fill
the crack or indentations and
level any low spots.
To do this, use a concrete
patching material and con-
crete glue. (One brand name
is Red -E -Crete topping mat-
erial and Red -E -Crete con-
crete glue.) Be sure to follow
instructions on the container
carefully.
This may be somewhat ex-
pensive if you have a con-
tractor do the job, but it
should be permanent. After
resurfacing, a masonry seal-
er should be applied.
set
MITON
I
awn
1,41/ff
J
AUCTION 'SALE
8TH ANNUAL PERTH HURON
PUREBRED JERSEY SALE
Wed., July 18
12:30 p.m.
Clinton Fairgrounds, Clinton, Ont.,
47 head fresh cows and heifers, open
heifers. This is a quality offering. Improve
yourherd with a purebred jersey.
TERMS: Cash
Sales Manager:
TONY VANDORP
482-9204
Auctioneer:
RICHARD LOBB
482-7898
Wilson's Ladies' Wear
Storewide
Clearance
ale
ends Saturday.
Wilson's Ladies' Wear
185 Wallace Ave. N2913511
Listowel
Velsommesimeemileisek
AUCTION SALE
Hobby & Antique Farm Machinery, Truck,
Furniture, Antiques & Misc. Items for
ROY & CARL BERFELZ
Listowel- Sale to be held at Carson's Sales
Arena, 1 mile east of Listowel on Highway 86
Sat., July 14
-10:00 a.m.
See last week's Crossroads for full listing.
Proprietors:
ROY & CARL BERFELZ
CARSON'S AUCTION SERVICE
Auctioneer:
DAVID CARSON
RR 3, Listowel'
519-291-2049
AUCTION SALE
Of Appliances, Furniture & Antiques or -
MRS. JEAN ANDREWS
Village of Rothsay
Sat., July 14
1:00 ',p.m.
APPLIANCES: G.E. 30" frost free fridge; Inglis
30" electric stove; apt. size Inglis washer and.
dryer, all gold; 12 cu. ft. Speed Queen freezer.
FURNITURE & ANTIQUES: Bottom of bake
table; wooden kitchen table and four chairs;
large wooden rocking chair with covered seat
and back; small table with drawers; coffee and
end tables; fern stand; chesterfield and chair; 2,
odd chairs; kitchen cupboard with 2 glass
doors; utility cupboard; treadle sewing machine
in cabinet; dressers and mirrors; small cup-
board; 3 pc. bedroom suite; wooden chairs;
stacking bookcase with 3 glass doors; chest of
drawers; bedroom chair; wooden arm chair;
chrome table and six chairs; wooden beds;
square hall table; drop leaf table; wash stand
(rough); kitchen stool.
MISC.: Pictures and frames; Beatty washtub
stand; lamp; books; ceiling tile; copper boiler;
alum. step ladder; 100' garden hose; bucksaw;
cross cut saw; Lawn Boy lawn mower.
TERMS: Cash or cheque with proper I.D. day of
sale. House sold. Owner or auctioneers not
responsible for accidents day of sale. Any an-
nouncements or corrections given verbally day
of sale.
Auctioneers:
-BARRY & KEITH GRAY
Harriston
(519) 338-3722 or 343-3607
AUCTION SALE
Of Tractors, Farm Equipment, Household
Effects, Tools and Miscellaneous for
MEL INGLIS and
Mm GIBSON
To be, held at Lot 9, Con. 1, West Luther
Twp., 3 miles east of Arthur on Hwy. No. 9,
then 1/2 mile north On Wellington Road No. 16
(Damascus Road) to first place on
Sat®, July 14
i:00 p.m.
EQUIPMENT: I.H. B275 gas tractor and 1501
loader w/manure" and dirt buckets (if not
previously sold). This tractor is in mint condi-
tion. Cockshutt 540 gas tractor w'/3 p.h. and
dual range transmission (this tractor is also in
very good condition); M.F. 3 p,h. 2 furrow wide
bottom plow w/depth wheel (only plowed 10
acres); I.H. 3 p.h. 24 plate disc; I.H. 3 p.h.
C11 8 ft. field cultivator; 3 p.h. V -type snow
blower.
HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS: 2 . pc. Waterfall
bedroom suite w/double bed, spring & mattress
and dresser w/mirror; 3/4 wooden bed.w/spring
and mattress; 2 pc. chesterfield suite
(reupholstered); rollaway bed; swivel office
chair; two matching upholstered arm chairs;
Olivetti adding machine; drop leaf table;
chrome table; card table; G.E. 40" electric
range; Gurney coal and wood cook stove;
numerous dishes and glassware.
TOOLS AND MISC.: 2 Chev 250 6 cyl. motors
(in good shape); 4 rolls of snow fence; T steel
fence posts; stainless steel stove pipe; electric
motor; handyman jack; 1 ton chain hoist; set of
four E78-1 4 tires; numerous other good tires;
barn screw jacks; pipe, vise; fuel pumps; car-
buretors; 5 cases of Kendall 20W h.d. oil;
sump pump; clevises; carpenter's tools; picks;
shovels; grease guns; log chains; wedges; oil
cans; 22QV heavy electric cord; nuts, bolts,
nails, etc.
ANTIQUES AND INTERESTING ITEMS: Horse
cutter; ox yoke; horse scuffler; wiffle tree and
neck yoke irons; walking plow; milk cans; horse
bells; wicker rocker; wicker clothes basket; old
crocks; collection of family heralds; numerous
books; blow torch; crosscut saw;. two wheels
for '37 Ford; old lantern; 2 small -pine tables
w/drawers; old insulators; numerous other in-
teresting items.
TERMS: Cash or Cheque with I.D. day of sale.
Proprietors or auctioneer not responsible for
accidents or loss of property day of sale.
Auctioneer:
EDWIN SCHELL
RR 2,- Arthur 848-2729
TWILIGHT
AUCTION SALE..
Of Sheep, •,2 Tractors, Machinery, Hardtop
Camper, Antiques,, Straw, Misc. for
TIM & SUSAN WALLIS
323-4722 and
A. R. SHAW
of Arthur Twp. To be held at Wallis farm, Lot
6, Con. 13, Minto Twp. From Mount Forest
go west on 89 Hwy. for 3 miles to Minto
Sideroad 1, turn left. Follow winding road for
1 mile to farm on
Thurs., July 19
6:00 p.m. Sharp
SHEEP: 12 good cross -bred ewes, Hemp &
Suffold cross; good P.B. Hamp ram, no papers;
4 Iambs, approx. 60-70 lbs.
MACHINERY, TRACTORS: M.F. 35 gas
deluxe tractor with good loader, good tires,
good shape; J.D. 710 diesel tractor, P.S.
remotes, new hyd, pump and seals, good
shape; Kongskilde 10' cult. with guide wheels,
good; McKee 6' backup snow blower, good
Cond.; A.C. No. 66 pull type combine pickup,
straight cut, grass screens; good; New Holland
5 bar side rake on rubber, good; Wifo 3 pth.
manure loader, good cond.; M.F. PTO manure
spreader; 3 pth. cyclone seeder, good clean
cond.; wagon gear and small flat rack; I.H. 15
run seed drill on steel for grain only; 2 •wagon
gears with flat racks; 12' set of chain harrows;
New Idea side rake on steel, extra teeth; I.H. 3
furrow trip beam plow; Malco 24' bale elevator
with -motor; Malco bale stooker; 7' 3 pth. cult.;
small grain trailerawith auger; 2 wheeled farm
trailer; wagon load of small items not listed.
HARDTOP CAMPER: Sleeps six, with stove,
fridge, sink, etc. .
STRAW: Approx. 200 bales.
MISC., TILLER, CHICKENS, ETC.: 5 h.p. chain
.drive garden tiller, real good cond.; 2 - 4" grain
augers 12', 18'; Farmatic 4" 20' grain auger,
good 3/4 h.p. motor, all good; 15 heavy hens; 2
roosters; good rubber tired wheel barrow; 2
beehives, complete; 9 bundles of new cedar
shingles; Ritchie heated water bowl; 2 good
fencers; plastic fencing; Gallagher E,12 battery
fencer for sheep, like new; pig troughs; odd
lumber; odd plywood; alum. truck rails; sheep
supplies, etc.; calfpails; barb wire; odd doors;
snow fence stakes; electric fence stakes;
chain length fencing; homemade bench saw,
no motor; 2 sets of scales; sheep feeders; 10'
folding gates for lambing; 30' alum. ext. ladder,
good; woodem step ladders; heat lamps; hand
weed sprayer; garden hoe; older style Lawn
Boy mower, runs; gas cans; other small items
not listed.
ANTIQUES, ETC.: 6 pane flat to wall cupboard,
good; mahogany type server; 3 drawer chest
of drawers; dresser and mirror; Acme wood
cook stove; air tight stove, good Cond.; odd
wooden chairs; upholstered chair; odd wooden
tables; odd dishes; sealers, misc., etc.
TERMS: Cash sale night. Cheques with I.D. on=
ly. Farm is sold.
SALE ORDER: Wagon load, antiques, misc.,
machinery, sheep. Owners .gr....auctioneer not
responsible for accidents, injury, . deletions or
loss of property sale night.
Auctioneer:
JOHN D. McPHEE
Mount Forest" 323-4058
lr