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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-06-27, Page 321.58 each 31.50 Save 2.25 2.31 each 27.75 Save 2.00 1.99 .40rr each 11.85 29.5¢ each 14.75 Save 1.55 Page 16--'Crossroads---June 27, 1934 By Vonnie Lee y `.000 The curtain has bpi on the 1984 sumrder season at Griard Bend's Huron Cdtvitry Playhouse. Artistic Director Ron Ulrich, in his second- season at the Playhouse, offers a variety of comedy, music, drama and mystery, all of which began last week and will run until September 22. Playing until the end of June is the Herb Gardner comedy, "A Thousand Clowns". Starring David Brown as un unemployed television writer who must shape up if he wishes to maintain custody of his young nephew who lives with. him, the play is described as a "slightly demented comedy which promises and delivers a thousand laughs". It will be produced on the main stage and also stars Kelly Procter as the nephew, Marcia Kash and David Nairn as child welfare workers who give the writer a hard time. Opening on July 3 on the main stage will be "Sleuth", the story of a writer of detective stories who collects toys and eccentric games. It is "an evening of delicious and deadly fun" and runs until the 14th of July. A humorous look at four marriages is the background of "Bedroom Farce", a chaotic comedy opening July 17 on the main stage and running until July 28. It will be followed on July 31 by "Dracula" who will be at Grand Bend "in person" celebrating a birthday. He will be 536 years old! This production promises some fun - and excitement! Coming to the main stage on August 14 will be "The Gin Game", set in an old folks' home and featuring two residents who .never have any visitors so must play out the days ,of their lives with progressive games of ' gin rummy. A warning from the artistic director states that some language in this production could be considered offensive. This year's musical at the Playhouse, opening on August 28 and, running until September 22, is "Ain't Misbehavin' ' . Musical notes from the 30s and 40s will be brought to life by this enthusiastic production featuring music by the great Fats Waller and other composers. Three productions on the Playhouse II stage are in- terspersed throughout the season. Opening July 11 and playing until July 21 will be "Love in the Backseat", a musical dated from the 50s and the age of rock and roll, poodle skirts, bobby sox and going steady, to the 70s and the chicness of disco, hot tubs and designer jeans. The successful "Billy Bishop Goes To War" opens at Playhouse II on July 25, with Eric Peterson starring in the musical by John Gray. This production has toured Canada and played in New York, receiving fine reviews from critics and audiences alike. A revue -type show featuring music from the 20s, 30s and 40s plays August 8-18 on the Playhouse II stage.•, Written by Jack Northmore, this promises an evening of nostalgia, wit and fun. The number to call for tickets is 238-8451, 10 a.m. to 9 p,m. Monday to Saturday. There are no Sunday hours at the ticket office this year. ' 4-1h. tomato in '92 In 1892 the Peter Hen- derson seed catalog intro- duced the hugh Ponderosa tomato, which sometimes weighed 4 pounds and is still on the market. The beefsteak tomato is a look- alike. Pollution cutting cotton? Plant pathologists think air pollution may be depressing production of cotton, the nation's No. 4 crop, whose yields have ' stagnated at mid-1960s lev- els. BARBECUE FAVOURITES MacGregor's 10 Ib. Tartan Burgers Case of 50/3.2 oz. MacGregor's Boneless 'Strip Loin Steaks Case of 20- x 6 oz. Reg. 33.75 or MacGregor's Boneless Strip Loin Steaks Case of, 12 x 8.8 oz. Reg. 29.75 MacGregor's Steakettes Case of 30 x 1 1 3 gr. Omstead 5 Ib. Diced Spanish Onion (Perfect for Burgers) Pre -Packaged Dare Cookies Ib. .39 Omstead Frozen Fancy Vegetables & Fruits e 5 Ib 3.60 per kg 1.59 5 Ib 3.75 per kg 1.65 5 Ib 3.88 per kg 1.71 5 Ib 4.05 per kg 1.78 Mixed Vegetables 5 Ib 3.38 per kg 1.49 Garden Mixed Vegetables 4 Ib 3.55 per kg 1.96 Sliced Carrots 2.09 per kg 1.15 Cauliflower 4 1b 3.95 per kg. 2.18 Diced Spanish Onion 1.99 per kg .88 No Sugar Added Mixed Fruit 5 Ib 7.60 per kg 3.35 Peas Corn Green Beans Bean Salad 4 Ib 5 lb We Save You Money Because We Deal Direct With The Manufacturer Open Sunday 1 - 5 p.m. 996 Wallace Atte Listowel. 291-4777 Mon. -Sat. 9:30 am - 6 pm. "Thurs &-Fj"r„'`T'rII 9 pm, INFLATION AND STOCK MARKETS With inflation again a owing -problem, some sug- gest that the stock market should mov) igher, that common shares are a good inflation hedge. This column reviewed this subject sever- al years ago, but ,additional information recently obtain- ed sheds new light on the topic. It appears that common shares are a good offset to the devaluation of currency in international markets, but as a generalization shares do not serve as a protection against the reduced pur- chasing power of money. History shows many ex- amples of this. Between 1960 and 1978 the Argentine stock market rose in nominal terms (Argentine pesos) 1,070 times while the peso was devalued to 1-1,647 of its 1960 value in U.S. dol- lars. At that point the stock market clearly had not kept pace with the decline in the value of the peso. However, in 1980 the Argentine stock market rose nearly six times while the peso declined one- third. Hence, over the period 1960 to 1980 the stock market averages rose an astounding 6,111 times in nominal value, outperforming the currency devaluation, as the peso was equal to 1-2,325 of its worth at the beginning of this period. In Mexico, since 1981 the stock market recently ser- ved as a reliable offset against the devaluation of the currency: the index of the Mexican stock market rose approximately 5.8 times from 600 to 3,500 in 1984 While the Mexican peso retained about one-fifth of its value in Canada's yin by truce Whitestone U.S. dollars. However, in the great inflation in Germany after the First World War wholesale prices rose 349 bil- lion times while the stock market in paper marks rose 172.8 billion times. In more recent times in most countries the stock market' has not protected shareholders against infla- tion; Canada has been an ex- ception. In Britain between 1965 and 1980 prices rose 4.52 while the stock market rose less than half of that amount at 2.2 times. In Germany, over the same period, prices just about doubled while the stock market climbed ap- proximat50 per cent. Too, in France over the 15 years from 1965 to 1980 the consu- mer price index quadrupled while the stock market rose only 25 per cent. In the United States, where the stock market is presum- ably very "efficient" com- mon shares have not been a good inflation hedge. For ex- ample, between the end of 1959 and the end of 1983 the consumer price index rose 3.45 times while the Dow Jones Industrial Index climbed 1.85 times, not a very satisfying offset. As well, since the end of 1983 common share prices have declined while consumer prices have risen about 3 percent. The situation in Canada has been at variance with that of other nations, reflect- ' g no doubt the -rise in com- m ity prices which accom- ani inflation. Commodity p ers can offset infla- tio;.ary pressures more easily than manufacturing companies or service indus- H. GORDON GREEN I see that down in New Brunswick the other day a pupil graduated from high school the hard way - by re- fusing to take the• strap. Or perhaps it would be more ac- curate to say that he took the strap more literally than was proper. He took it right out of the principal's hand and lambasted that scholarly gentleman around the office a few times before he took off for the woods. It seems to me that pupils aren't quite as subtle as they used to be about doing battle with an unpopular teacher. In all my life I never did belt a teacher, though I certainly suffered under some who de- served iL I was never quite brave enough or big enough I guess, and anyhow there were much more interesting and safer ways to even the score. I well remember a certain Hallowe'en in our town for instance when a freshly sacrificed skunk found its way into a teacher's desk. I also recall the morn- ing when one of our snippy, 'uppity young schoolmarms just fresh from the city found a nestful of squirming pink mice in one of her galoshes. But of all the pranks that were traditional to school- boys then, none was quite so appropriate I think as the "bean treatment". For those. who have never had to run the gauntlet of a country school it should be explained that the "bean treatment" was not only one of the most dramatic of all pupil re- venges but something which was quite educational as well. First you needed an empty chalk box, ohe of the wooden type with a slide top that used to sit on every teacher's desk in the land a couple of generations ago. Next ydu had to get some sawdust. There was always some left over from the packing around the chalk sticks, and in those days it was a very simple matter to get as much more as you needed from the nearest woodpile. The active. ingredient in the formula was a cupful of beans. The big, speckled beans from your old man's stock of gar- den seeds were hest, and +fter you had mixed beans and s.-wdust in sufficient quantity to fill the chalk box tightly you went out to the pump and got a half a dipper of water and wet the mixture thoroughly. If you could hardly side the lid back on you knew that you had done the job to perfection. Once the lid was driven home you set the box back on the teacher's desk where it had been before you started monkeying with it, and there it sat for three or four days, or longer, looking just as innocent as you did. But finally 'came the breathless morning when the unsus- pecting schoolmarm came in to her day's work and found the box split in all four direc- tions, with sawdust and bean sprouts all over the place. "Who did it? Come on now! Who was the smart one this time?" She would learn, if she taught long enough in a country school, that there was at least one thing we, feared even more than a fearsome teacher and that was to be labelled a tattler. She could keep us in till dark and we still wouldn't tell. I don't remember now whether that snippity, up- pity, little witch kept us in the time we performed the experiment for her or not. Come to think of it, I can re- member very few of her les- sons either. But the results of that germinating box of beans were so spectacular that I never could forget the beautiful irrepressibility of growing things - that you simply cannot contain the surge of bursting new life. Which was one lesson that our teacher never did learn. She just tried .harder than ever to keep the lid on us. ❑ The illness yofi'II never see coming. Get in shape - and don't give the • enemy a big target. Fitness is fun. Try some. PBAritinacrion ares. The latter two sectors often experience difficulty in boosting prices as rapidly as costs rise. In Canada be- tween the end of 1959 and the end of last year consumer prices advanced 3.83 times while the Toronto Stock Ex- change Index climbed 4.6 times. Stock markets therefore appear to provide a good hedge against currency de- valuation, but they usually fail as an offset against surges in the consumer price index. Canadian shares seem to be an exception be- cause commodities .are cen- tral to our economy and to our stock market. Commodities such as gold are a superior inflation hedge. Thus, if an Argentine in 1960 purchased gold in- stead of common shares he would have gained eleven times more than the decline in terms of U.S. dollars, making gold a far better shelter against inflation than the stock market. In Canada too, gold rose about 13 times in terms of the Canadian dol- lar, much more than the rise in the Toronto Stock Ex= change Index, even includ- ing dividends'. Likewise in the U.S., Britain, Germany, and France there have been better Lunation hedges than colhall9ln shares, primarily sotto" sari" gojd end farrlrliland, ' Vi' I! ':One othgr factor a1�quld be "' " considered: In countries be- set by hyper -inflation only ext ordi y measures en- able t private com- panies to survive. In Ger- many in the 1920s large com- panies were able to print their own urgency and use that to ay their workers. Without that, few concerns would have avoided bank- ruptcy. For Mexico and Ar- gentina there has been a lender of last resort, the United States government, which continues to bail out those nations. If the U.S. were unable to fill. that role it is doubtful if other stock markets or even the United States stock market would remain relatively unscathed by rampant inflation. Hence, those seeking re- fuge from rising inflation should proceed with caution before accepting the thesis that common shares are a good hedge. $UCCESS' Join our Company and enter the fascinating world of marketing. Popular items such as: G.I. Joe, Return of the Jedi, etc. • Start on a part-time basis. • No experience necessary. • Training provided. • Min. investment $1500. For further information call MI -COM. SALES (416) 364©6991 onwra Portraits to celebrate warm family pride from Sears Portrait Studio 23 color portraits for only i.495 includes 950 deposit Photographic package includes two 8x10's, three 5x7's, fifteen wallet size and 3 portrait charms. No appointment necessary. 95'1 for each additional subject. Poses our selection. Studios located in most larger Sears retail stores. Also available in addition to package: Black Background & Double Feature Portraits Instant Passport Photos Offer for portraits taken Mon. June 25 thru Sat. June 30 Sears your money's worth ... and more There's nothing like the comfort of air conditioning - and Tim Haines Chev®Olds has somegreat air conditioned cars on sale right now! 1982 Oldsmobile Toronado 5.() litre. 307 cu. in. V8 engine, air conditioning, power windows, power !nor locks, power seats, AM/FM cassette, radial ply whitewall tires, wire wheel covers, finished in pastel beige with matching landau vinyl roof and velour trim. Was $15,650 • Reduced to $14950 • 1982 Olds. 98 Regency Brougham 4 door finished in charcoal metallic with light grey vinyl roof and velour trim; 307 cu. in. V8, automatic with overdrive, air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, power seats, AM/FM cassette, wire wheel covers plus many more options. Was $14,575 Reduced to $139850 1982 Chevrolet Caprice Estate Wagon Finished in beige with woodgrain panelling and cloth divided front seat. 307 cu. in. V8 engine, automatic, air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, power tailgate release, sport wheel covers, luggage carrier. Was $10.450 Reduced to 19850 1981 Buick Century Limited 4 Dr. Finished in maroon with maroon velour trim 231 cu engine, air conditioning, power windows, owJJjoo09J,s, divided seat,'A`M/FM stereo, wire wheel. tet i ... Was $8495 Reduced to 7750 1981 Oldsmobile 98 Regency 4 Dr. Finished in dark jade green with light jade vinyl roof and velour trim, 307 cu. in. V8 engine, air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, power seats, AM/FM stereo with cassette, wire wheel covers. . Was $11,495 Reduced to $109950 1979 Olds 98 Regency 4 Dr. . Finished in dark maroon metallic with matching vinyl roof and trim, 307 cu. in. V8 engine, airconditioning, power windows, power door locks, power seats, AM/FM stereo, wire wheel covers. Reduced to $6850 Was $7450 See one of our sales staff today - Lloyd Knoblauch Scott McMillan Larry Morse Frank Newman Ron Ellis we want you ba( -1' 890 Wallace Ave. North, Listowel Car City. 291-1730