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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1980-10-29, Page 4E. a \ a nctum-111 This is election year Since the Introduction of the prov- ince -wide two year term for municipal councils and boards, election time has taken on a new significance. Knowing that voters will be stuck with their choices for two years should indicate a need for more thoughtful concern about who will occupy public office. Strangely enough, however, this fall has seen more than the usual num- ber of acclamations which are, in fact, a cop-out on the part of those men and women who are fully capable of rep, resenting the electors had they chosen to stand for election. Acclamations are not a healthy indicator In a society which selects its governments from the ranks of the citizens. Some would claim that acclamations simply mean the voters are satisfied with the record of those who have previously held office. A more penetrating view Is that the voters are too apathetic to demand changes in representation. That same spirit of apathy may also keep a good many voters away from the p011s on election day — an- other symptom of III health In our democracy,. The chance to exercise our right to vote is, above all, the most im- portant privilege our form of self-gov- ernment provides. It is a right that cost the blood of a long line of our forbears — men and women who bathed against the tyranny of monarchs and the privi- lege of the rich. Before you go to the polls on elec- tion day sit down and do some serious thinking about those who are seeking to represent you. All too frequently we elect those among the candidates who are friendly, breezy or even good look- ing. Personality Is often given prefer- ence over intelligence. The better choices are those candidates who poss- ess a sincere concern for the future of their community. In addition they should have the required amount of in- telligence to understand the problems to which they will address themselves. Another vital quality Is the sort of mental Independence which cannot be bullied or caloied into ready agreement with the opinions of others, either on the same council or In the community at large. Make no mistake. Elections are Important. Not only those In our own municipalities but in the province and the dominion -- even in the United States. They deserve not only our In- terest, but our active participation whenever possible. Laws not the answer Ontario Attorney -general, Roy Mc- Murtry has shocked certain of our people by his outright refusal to make membership in the Infamous Ku Klux Klan illegal. His stand has been brand- ed as weakness by those who would like to see the KKK driven from the land. McMurtry is right. Despicable as the objectives of the Klan may be, we operate under a form of government which seeks to let public opinion be the arbiter of social behaviour. That is why the Communist Party has never been outlawed. That Is why we had Marxist- Leninist candidates in a recent elec- tion. Racism has never been a problem in Canada, despite the fact that we have admitted thousands of refugees from every corner of the world. Isolat- ed outbreaks of racial distrust and enmity have surfaced in a few of the large cities, but such attitudes have never been widespread. It is highly un- likely itat un- £L.- Klan will add any woth while nuMbers to its ranks. The KKK was born of a particular set of circumstances in the southern United States following the American civil war of the 1860s. When the Confed- erate army was defeated and the black slaves were suddenly given their free- dom the resentment of the long decades of slavery boiled over into violence against their former mesters. For a time gangs of ex -slaves who had free- dom but no means of livelihood roamed the countryside seizing by force what they needed to survive. The Klan was, originally a citizens' protection or- ganization. intended by the whites to protect their women and property against the violence of the times. Intolerance of the blacks has per- sisted through the century and more which followed the war as evidenced by the rallies, marches and enforced de- segregation disputes of the past couple of decades. However, in Canada we do not have the same deep-seated resent- „ments with which to contend. Few Can- adians are going to get excited by the hate literature of the Klan. Caught in the middle The protracted dispute between teachers and board of education in Bruce County illustrates the uncom- fortable position In which members of public boards are placed In labor dis- putes. They cannot arrive at decisions from the same base of reasoning as would a private employer. As a matter of fact, the school board is not the employer of the teach- ers at all. The citizens of the Province of Ontario are the real employers;, the board members are only spokesmen for the people who pay out the wages. If the dispute was between a group of em- ployees and, let us say, a factory own- er. the erehlem Wrill!d be Mild3 Q471 - pier. The employer would be rather coldly calculating the cost of lost work- ing days in terms of lost customers and last profits. At some point, as the strikers also smarted under the lash of lost wages, the two parties would prob- ably come to an agreement. With a schoril board, however, things are much different. Before its members can agree to any settlement which involves higher costa they must be sure that the money for the increase Is, in fact, available. Those costs will have to be met out of funds derived from direct taxation within the county, but also by grants from the provincial ministry of education. The ministry is not directly involved in the negotia- tions, so the board members have to play the thing by ear, meanwhile trying to find out whether or not they will get r•nufwmar.atlerin fretrel rele.c.rtfe pc..„1„•. As usual, of course, the -victims are neither the teachers nor the board members — it is the students who are paying the price for this costly inter- ruption in their studies. The bullwhip won't work Even though we do agree that the most direct way to solve the constitu- tional issue is to bring it to Canada for debate, it begins to appear that divided opinion on the matter may leave us with a sadly divided country. The heated debate in the House of Commons, closure Of discussion and the arbitrary attitude of government are further examples of what many Canadians believe Is outrighf arro- gance. By this late date the Trudeau power bloc should be able to recognize the danger signals. Millions of dollars were poured into compulsory bilin- gualismfor thousands of Canadians who were simply too old to learn a sec- ond language. The program had to be scrapped. More millions are being poured into compulsory metrification. Already the program has been toned down and may yet go the way of bilin- gualism. Thirty-six per cent of Can- adians say they are flatly opposed to the chane to metric. All of which adds up to that old saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.” Government commissions are no less arrogant. The CRTC has threaten- ed some Canadians with fines and jail terms if they Install earth stations by which they could watch American pro- grams on their TV sets. "Some" Can- adians is the correct word, for those who live in remote areas of the north will get away with this now illegal viewing, while others will not. Appar- ently the people at CRTC are too young to remember the days when the federal government tried to force everyone with a radio to buy a license to use it. The present resentments within this land — the West against Ontario; Quebec against English-speaking Can- ada — have sprung not so much from actual enmities but from the arrogant attitudes of central governments which have too offen tried to force their will upon the nation rather than taking the necessary time to Inform and per- suade. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingharn. Ontario. by Wenger Bros. Limited Barry Wenger, President Member Audit Bureau of Circulation's Robert 0 Wenger. Sec -Treas Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc Subscription $15.00 per year Second Class Mail Registi'ation No 0(121 Ontario Weekly Newspaper Assoc Six months 00 Return postage guaranteed vieeeete.n le I 19, 4itriS:tat;:k40,01,6?,. 4, • 7;//. /.5 HOT FOR //411061)5EA/, FO R REAL ! News Items from Old files OCTOBER 1933 J. J. Evans, who has been a resident of town for the past year, has purchased Mrs. J. Ritchie's house on Centre Street. Although the wind did a lot of damage Saturday night in Western Ontario, very little was reported in town. The smokestack of MacLean's sawmill, however, was blowndown. The annual meeting -of the Wingham Curling Club was held in the clubrooms with W. G. Gray elected president and T. H. Gibson secretary - treasurer. J. D. Rae, J. Carr Sr., H. Diment and J. A. Wilson comprise the board of directors. H. H. Towne of Wingham, Lieutenant of B. Company, Huron Regiment, qualified for the rank of Captain at a school of infantry and machine guns held in Lon- don. -Within the next six mon- ths, a further cut in the in- terest rate to savings depositors in Canada is probable. Such a cut would be one-half 'per cent and would bring the rate to lenders down to two per cent. President Roosevelt has again stated that he is in favor of the St. Lawrence Seaway plan. He feels this. project would ensure cheap power for the United States. The annual One -Cent. Sale is on at the Rexall Drug Store. Buy two English China cups and saucers tor $1.01; two hot water bottles for $1.51; two boxes of bath powder for $1.11; two writing pads for 16 cents. OCTOBER 1945 Last week Pilot Officer Norman Welwood took possession of the Isard store here. He did not purchase the men's store, just the dry goods and ladies' wear and floor covering, etc. Thursday was an ideal day for, the annual Field Day at Wingham Public School. Senior charnpions were Donald Hopper and Maxine Cowan; intermediate, Ronald Murray and Florence Wain; junior, Kenneth Saxton and Joan • Irwin. Due to the illness of A. J. Walker, his assistant, John E. Heal, a fully qualified licensed embalmer, has been made manager of the business. Graeme Scott of Brussels has been engaged to assist John at the store. Dr. K. M. MacLennan, Veterinary Surgeon, has moved front Victoria Street to.the Falconer house on Minnie Street which he recently purchased. W. G. Hamilton, who has resided in this house, has moved to the Scott residence, Diagonal Road, which has been made into a double house. George Thomson, son of Mr. and Mrs, George Thomson of Bluevale, who is attending Western University, has been awarded the Huron County scholarship for having the highest standing for men attending the college from Huron County. George won this award last year too. Victor Casemore, who returned home from over- seas two months ago, pur- chased the Whitechurch chopping mill from Clarence Cox. Mr. and Mrs. Casernore will move soon to the rooms above J. F. McLean's store. Norman Wade of Gorrie held a successful clearing auction sale. They have sold their farm to Harry King and are having a new house built in the village. OCTOBER 1956 On Friday an investiture was held . at the regular meeting of the .11)py Scots. Tnose.,invesgrf ijno4e Hanna,Broks and Ron Jones of the Eagles. and Doug Spry of the Buffalos. Bill Rettinger, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cletus Rettinger of Turnberry, accepted a position in the Toronto branch of the , Toriinto- Dominion Bank. ° Mrs. Agnes Stonehouse, Belgrave's oldest inhabitant, celebrated her 9oth birthday with a birthday party held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry McGuire, Belgrave. At the annual commenc.e- ment exercises of Wingham District High SehoOl, Bruce Lott received the Mac - William Trophy for being the best athlete in the school. Scholarships were awarded to Irene Saint, Sally Slosser, John Hoover, Gordon Smith, Helen Haines, George Procter, John Congram and JOan Wightman. At the manse in Gerrie, marriage vovvs, were ex- changed' by ,Elsie Marleen Smith ' and John SteWart Sinnamon. They will live in Wroxeter. Adam McBurney has pur- chased Murray McDowell's farm at Marnoch. Mr., McDowell has purchased Cecil Johnston's farm in Ashfield. Dr. G. F. Mills will be closing his °Mee in Gorrie on November 13 and re -opening the office of the late Dr, J. M. Graham in Goderich on November 19. Two of the original mem- bers of St. Paul's Anglican Church were remembered when the new exterior lights over the main entrances, the new iron railings on the Centre St. entrance and a plague at the back of the nave were dedicated to the glory of God and in memory of John McCraticin and his wife, Sarah Pardy. The gifts were given by their daughters . Elmer Wilkinson's new apartment building, located behind his store on the east side of Josephine Street, is progressing, with the ex- terior of the structure nea ring completion. New stop signs have been erected on Wingham's streets, red background on which white letters stand out sharply. On Ontario high- ways directional signs have been changed to black on yellow, while Sig.t0 which Citiesi d icaatererwouhtiet: onthfoto to".wasnand Miss Betty Ann Gietler of Walkerton has joined the staffat CKNX as assistant to Miss MariaretHrophy in the women's department. OCTOBER 196& The - Stanley Works reported that sales and - earnings for the nine months ending October 2 rose to the highest levels for any comparable period in the company's history. Douglas Spry, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Spry, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario, major- - ing in Economics. Doug has accepted a position with AtipRitinnin Industries Ltd., St. Catharines. It was a mess! Opening day at the 53rd annual Inter- national Plowing Match, on the James Scott farm north of Seaforth Was a washout on Tuesday when foul weather ' left the area a sea Of Mild-. Staffhaven Fartn, home of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Staf- ford, RR 1, Wroxeter, has won the Federation of Agri- culture's award for the most improved farmstead in Howick Township. The farm has been in the Stafford family for 108 years. A central headquarters for ail HuronC,ounty branches of the Canadian Cancer Society will be opened in Clinton early in November. This office will serve the various departments of the work throughout the county. Two young men from the Whiter area who --.are attending the University of Western Ontario, have received awards. George Conn has been awarded a Bruce County Scholarship. Elwin Moore has won the Reader's Digest Journalism Scholarship. At the meeting of the Wingham Women's Institute it was decided that $10 be given as a proficiency award to the highest pupil in Grade XII Home Economics in the Wingham District .High School. The award this year went to Pamela Tunney of Teeswater. Aantje Bakker and Themes Robinson ex- changed marriage vows in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Wingham. After honeymooning in Florida, the couple will reside in Wingham. MU )4ING Ely John Pattison / grease and 1,114 . Here is a notice that ap-/ - stocked. .*, e a whom it may conc, In 1905 -0-14 " peared in the Times. ';'/I fr.) ' 0-.4)-4) during the holidays, I /will passed to deflnet.dqtI extract teeth for 10 cents the Chief- Constable : each at my office in Wing - ham, J. S. Jerome, Dentist, Wingham Dec. 14, 1885," This was a, real bargain as the regular price was 25 cents. 0 0 0 In November of 1888 Pringle & Crowston moved their pop works to Mrs. A. T. Bell's brick stere on Josephine St. for more room and more convenient pre- mises. A few days before, a shipment of soda pop was made to Thessalon, Algoma from their plant. 0-0-0 In the early days the rail- ways drew carloads of many varied products from Wing - ham. Cattle, pigs, horses, apples, hay, grain, eggs, butter, wool, salt, furniture, etc., were common commo- dities. But would you believe in March of 1890 ice Was betpg shipped from Wing - ham in large quantities? As an example, over 50 carloads were sent in one week to such plates AS. -Buffalo, St. Thomas and Chatham. 0-0-0 In the spring of 1894 Dr. J. E. Tamlyn erected a new office and surgery on the north side of his residence on the corner of Minnie and - John Sts. His previous office was on the Josephine Street corner where Texaco is to- day. In the twenties A. M. Crawford removed the office and made a two car garage out of it, and built a carport in its place. This is Jack Alexander's home today. 0-0-0 In November of 1913 W. C. (BM Lepard opened a machine and general repair shop in the Holmes Block, (McGee Auto Electric). He sharpened saws, scissors, knives, skates and lawn mowers; repaired um- brellas, guns, locks, bicycles and machinery of all kinds. Automobile supplies, oil, town. "The Chief -Co besides performing duties Of sanitary inspector, care- taker of the town hall, cap- tain of the fire brigade, care- taker of the waterworks and fire protection apparatuse fire inspector, bread inspee= tor, weigh clerk, street in- spectpr, shall be fax collec- tor, including collectiOn. of dog tax, poll tee, lieense fees imposed by by-law and all hall rents due the corpora- tion. As chief constable he shall perform ail the duties of a peace officer. within the municipality and shall en- force all by-laws of the town and prosecute all infringe- ments thereof." 0-0-0 On October 17, 1898, the CPR roundhouse in Tees - water was destroyed by fire. There was one locomotive in at the time, which was Very badly damaged. The net week a number of CPR workmen arrived here to.. tear down the Wingham en- gine lichis-e S�1Cou1d be moved to Teeswater: A last effort was made by malty trainmen to have Wingham made the terminus instead of Teeswater, but the officials saw it in a different light and the engine house was re- moved to Teeswater. 0 0, 0 Early pictures of the Queen's Hotel show the roof on the north part of the hotel to be much lower than that on the rest of the building. In the summer of 1912, Wm. Deyell and his men, assisted by W. H. !Untold and staff, tore off the roof on the sec- tion next the Macdonald Block, extended the walls to the level of the rest of the building the then replaced the rafters and roof. This gave more space for addi- tional bedrooms that were badly needed at that time. Mr. Deyell later shingled the entire roof. Activities are urged during World Disarmament Week Dear Editor, The week of Oct. 24-31 has been proclaimed World Dis- armament Week by the United Nations. It is to be a week when all people are aksed to focus their attention on the-' issues relating to disarmament. The ongoing nrn-tr nr.-8thc dente on military solutiOns to the complex problems of BY HELEN ALLEN Just pat his first birthday, wee Matthew is finding life more and more interesting these days. He has started to crawl and can walk around while holding onto something, so he explores constantly. Although Matthew got off to a poor start in life and was a fussy, irritable and very tense baby, he has now left those problems behind and begun to forge ahead. Now a relaxed baby who sleeps and eats well, he is beginning to talk and can feed himself anything he can hang onto with his fingers. Matthew's intellectual development is not yet certain but doctors feel he may be within normal limits — a much more optimistic view than was taken a few months back. The Children's, Aid Society who are responsible for Matthew are looking for black parents for him, but will not delay adoption plans if no black parents are available. His chief need is for a mother and father who will give him much love and stimulation, and will not worry over his slow development. To inquire about adopting Matthew, please write to Today's Child, Ministry of Community and Social Ser- vices, Box 888, Station K, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2112. In your letter tell something of your present family and your way of life. • today's world threaten us with extinction. If we are to avoid this fate we must work together: —to devise national and global security systems not dependent on the use of weapons of mass destruc- tion; . . —tb bring abe..et. reduction of national military budgets; —to halt the transfer and sale off arms and the proliferation of weapons technology, particularly nuclear; —to develop plans and programs for converting defence industries and the jobs associated with them to civilian, non-military pro- grams. oTh c nnection between eilsarmarnent and national and internaional develop- ment is si cant. Money, resources and labor used for unavailableforanandguns huthan needs like clean water, food,, shelter, educa- tion and health care. In a world where millions desper- ately need the latter, gov- ernments, with the ability to destroy every city with a population of 100,000 or more, continue building bombs. iF Innal'cwirlastea of Quakers and Mennonites, would like to encourage people to do something during World Disarmament Week. We would be willing to help with information and ideas. If time constraints prevent you from doing something during Disar- mamerit Week, but you would like to do something on this theme at a later date, we also would be glad to help with that. For more information, contact Disarmament Week Committee, care of McQuail, RR 1, Lucknow, NOG 2H0, or phone 528-6542. Fran McQuail RR 1, Lucknow New Books in the Library ANSWER TO HISTORY by Mohammed Reza Pahlavi The final draft of this book was completed by the Shah just days before he died on July 27, 1980. In telling his own story the Shah shows clearly how Iran has become the battleground between the U.S. and Soviet Union. He reveals the forces that betrayed him and left the West without an economically and militarily strong ally in a critical part of the world. COUNTERPOINT by Isabelle Holland This is a remarkable and perceptive novel about a woman who is successful in every aspect of her life except the most important, the emotional It is that crucial aspect which precipitates the crisis that threatens everything she has achieved and endangers her life, TWO CENTURIES OF ROYAL WEDDINGS by Christopher Warwick This superbly illustrated book is a unique study of British royal weddings from 1818 to 1978. THE SKY'S THE LIMIT by Wayne Dyer If you ever wanted to get the very most out of your life — total satisfaction, high-level achievement, complete pleasure — Dr. Wayne Dyer, author of Your Erroneous Zones and Pulling Your Own Strings, shows you how to make the sky yOtir limit.