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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1981-05-06, Page 4A .1t;tt •••••:::\\ • •••••:. • • • DVAI10E A pc) e of editoriol o inion • .. . r tt. THE WINGHAN1 ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited Barry Wenger, President Henry Hess, Editor Robert O. Wenger, Sec.-Treas. Bill Crump, Advertising Manager Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Member — Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Subscription $16.00 per year Second Class Mail Registration No. 0621 Ontario Weekly Newspaper Assoc. Six months $9.50 Return postage guaranteed Some call it gossip A city -born acquaintance was re- cently holding forth on the disadvant- ages of life in a small community. High on his list of drawbacks was "small town gossip". It wasn't difficult to be- lieve that he was suffering from an over -dose of "Harper Valley PTA" on television. This fellow happens to live in a Tn. ronto high rise apartment building. Asked the name of the family next to his own, and only a few steps down the hall, he simply didn't know, but he "liked it that way". If the three chil- dren in his own family all took sick at the same time, we asked, would his neighbor's wife drop in with a kettle of soup or offer a helping hand. Our friend arched his eyebrows in astonishment at the thought of such intimacy. Not long ago a sophisticated young lady from the city was describing a new acquaintance who had just joined the office staff. She labelled him as a "bit queer". It turned out that he had the disconcerting habit of looking at people's faces as he walked down the city streets. For our own part we have' long since made the choice between the im- personal life of the city and the warmth of small town society. We like it when most of the people in this town call us by our first name. Sure, they know a lot about our personal affairs, and some of them do, from time to time, pass on to their friends what they consider any "juicy" items. But they happen to be the same folks who worry when we are sick; who feel deep and honest sorrow when we are bereaved; they are the ones who are really happy for us,when our son gets a promotion or our daugh- ter has a new baby. If we consider moving out of town the word makes the rounds in a matter of hours — not because our neighbors don't know how to mind their own busi- ness, but rather because they would be sorry to see us leave. When somebody's boy gets into trouble with the law the gossip mill noises it abroad, that's true, but very few of the talkers are pleased. Usually they are saddened that such a fate has befallen the kid's parents. There are, indeed, some aspects of city life which are good and enjoyable, but most of what is enjoyable is also available to the small towner who has the time and means to drive in for a day or a weekend. Personally, we'li put up with the gossip, such as it is, and con- tinue to enjoy the kind of life that lets us know each day we are living in a com- munity of thinking, caring human beings. Momentary victory One of the moresurprising events in recent months has been the peaceful •development of a new attitude toward • labor groups in Poland. Only a month or so ago it appeared inevitable that the Soviets would crush Polish aspirations for a greater measure of personal freedom. Soviet military forces were poised on the border and, indeed, some units were engaged in training exer- cises within Poland itself. The Poles are no strangers to Rus- sian domination. They .have Jotight one Charges laid The Kent Commission, which is studying the activities of Thomson Newspapers Ltd. and Southam Inc., has recommended that charges be laid against the two publishing empires, and the federal government has agreed. Three conspiracy charges and four charges of unlawful merger have been laid under The Combines Investi- gation Act. The commission was set up follow- ing the closing of daily newspapers in Ottawa and Winnipeg last year. The Thomson -owned Ottawa Journal ceased publication, leaving only the Southam -owned Ottawa Citizen. The same thing, in reverse, took place in Winnipeg, where the Southam -owned Tribune was killed, to leave only Thomson's Free Press. The charges also cover closing earlier of The Mont- real Star and a merger of Vancouver papers. Conviction under the charges could mean fines in the millions of dollars, which either of these giants could prob- ably pay with only momentary pain. The unusual feature is that the com- mission did recommend such drastic action. In most commission studies the recommendations tend to gather dust on some government office shelf. Per- haps the Canadian government has another off and on for several cen- turies. The Polish farmers and factory workers were under no illusions about the Russian threat, but, being a stub- born people, they refused to bow. Of course it is ,not too late for the Soviets to lose patience and swing the hammer. It would appear, however, that at the moment the Russians have no great wish to further antagonize the western world, given the sharp reac- tion they experienced after the inva- sion of Afghanistan. been taking lessons from the tough American legislative and senate com- mittees. Two factors are involved in the merger or elimination of city news- papers. The first is the economic one, whereby removal of a competitor per- mits the survivor to set its own prices without competition, the significant point under the Combines Investigation Act. Second, and more important is the fact that a city can be left with only one editorial voice, and the lone newspaper is then in a strong position to influence public opinion as it chooses. Newspaper chains are nothing new. The Irving interests control every English-ianguage neWSpaper in New Brunswick and have done so for 20 or 30 years. In fact the newspaper you are reading is one of a very small chain. In the case of weekly papers such as this one, increasingly tight economic fac- tors have dictated the ownership of more than one weekly as a means of survival. Smaller weeklies simply could not afford the sophisticated equipment demanded in recent years if the income from a single paper was the only source of revenue. It has been a matter of group publishing or no news- paper at all. Hope for the best As we learn more about Michael Warren, the man who has been desig- nated as the first president of Canada Post Corporation we may glean a cer- tain amount of hope that our mail ser- vice will, indeed, experience some im- provement. The present government operated postal system is to be trans- ferred to a crown corporation in Sep- tember of this year. One of Warren's finest assets is his experience and success in the area of labor negotiations. In previous posts he has been a top-level civil servant; gen- eral manager of the Toronto Trans- portat ion Comm sion and interi1' general manager of the Canadian Na- tional Exhibition. He is described as a man whose personality has much to do with his success as a labor relations executive and as an efficiency -oriented production manager. The task of -re-organizing and revitalizing the Canadian postal sys- tem will require an abundance of those qualities which have stood him in good stead in his previous posts. There is perhaps no more challenging problem In Canada at the present time. Wee cidoed a 50040 zotheoR Rita' eboue 60 be tiefrei;7ed le -do ;4;gei-wcirifrigrood1,/ „LA News Items from Old Files MAY 1934 At one of the longest and most enthusiastic Liberal - Conservative conventions ever held'' in this district, Kinloss farmer Foster G. Moffatt was chosen Con- servative candidate in the coming election for the new riding of Huron -Bruce. T. A. Currie has purchased the Roe property on the corner of Patrick and Centre Streets, from Dr. J. R. Lockhart. At a meeting of the Official Board of the United Church, Rev. J. A. Anderson off Sutton West was the unanimous choice of the Board to succeed Rev. L. H. Currie as pastor of the church. Miss Margaret Anderson was elected president off the Wingham Women's Institute at the annual meeting held in the council chamber. Vice presidents are Mrs. John Fells and Mrs.. James Fowler. Mrs. W. H. Fraser is treasurer and Mrs. Richard Clegg secretary. Miss Daisy Stocks was honored at a kitchen shower at the home of Mrs. W. E. VanVelsor, Wroxeter. Miss Stocks will be married this week to Harvey Timm. At -a recent meeting of the Teeswater Agricultural Society, David McDonald, who has been president for three years, tendered his resignation. R. J. Ireland is now the new president. Alex B. McKague was re- appointed secretary. On Saturday night several Canadian cities changed to Daylight Saving Time. Numerous cities, including London, Brantford, Kit- chener. ' Stratford and Windsor have decided definitely against it. MAY 1946 ' Leroy G. Brown has been appointed acting Agricul- tural Representative for Huron County, with head- quarters at Clinton. The post had been left vacant by the illness of F. K. B. Stewart, the regular Agricultural Represen- tative. Workmen are busy painting parking zones on the main street. On the east side of the street angle parking will be allowed while on the west side only parallel parking is permissible. John Falconer has pur- chased the farm Of Alex Coulter Sr. in East Wawanosh. There is a fine tract of timber, mostly hard maple, on this farm. Mr. Falconer has disposed of the cultivated area to Kenny Johnston of East Wawanosh. • Fire.. of 'undetermined origin CoMpletelreestroyed the home of Herbert Harris in Lower Witighain.‘.Mr. and Mrs. tarris were. away at •the time and' are at a loss to know how the fire started. - Vatican Radio said that 2,000 to 4,000 Gernians' die each week amid 'horror' conditions in camps in the Russian occupation 'zone of Germany. • Prompt action stopped what might have been a disastrous fire in the village of Gorrie. The rear part of Stephen's store caught fire from; a bonfire in the yard but was put out before any serious damage was done. Phil Archer has purchased the property of Alex. Caaemore on Wroxeter's main street and is having it remodelled before taking up residence there. MAY 1957 Meeting in special session, Wingham Town Council agreed to grant the option of Roy Cousins of Brussels on a section of 'town -owned land.. south of Kerr Construction property. Mr.. Cousins purposes to erect a building on the Wingham land for the manufacture of hard and soft ice creatn. Council also agreed to rent a strip of land in the "same area to two local men. Murray • Taylor and Fred Templeman, who wish to erect a building for the • New Books in the Library TILLY TROTTER WED by Catherine Cookson For 12 years Tilly Trotter had served Mark Sopwith as nurse and mistress. Now he was dead, and Tilly was expecting a child. She was no stranger to trouble and hardship which she always met with courage and determination. Fate still had much in store for her — good and ill alike. THIS HOUSE IS HAUNTED by Guy L. Playfair This is the first full-length true account of a poltergeist case, written by an ex- perienced investigator of the paranormal on the spot right from the start. Some of the paranormal activity wd photographed and some was captured on videotape. A great deal of it was wit- nessed by at least 30 people. PLAYING FROM MEM- ORY by David Milofsky ' Het e is a deeply moving, compassionate novel about the power of marriage to survive under stress, a love story that tells of a musician's courageous battle against a degener- ative inflects, and his wife's struggle to face the end of their life together. purpose of selling ice cream, hot dogs and similar foods. Rev. • Alexander Nimmo was honored when he received the honorary degree of doctor of divinity at the Presbyterian College in Montreal. Friends and neighbors gathered in the Westfield United Church for a farewell party for Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Cook and Mr. and Mrs. Murray McDowell who have moved from the community to make their homes elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have moved to Morris Township and • Mr. and Mrs. McDowell . will move into their new home in Ashfield Township. Russell Purdon has pur- chased James Falconer's farm near Whitechurch and gets possession in three weeke. Employees of the Stedman Store in Wingham gathered for a surprise party honoring MisS Joan Brydges prior to her departure for London. She was presented with a travel alarm clock. • Tyndall McKercher, ,Wroxeter South, lost his barn by • fire during an .electrical storm. Five' head of cattle and. a ' large number of pullets were also lost in 'the blaze. . MAY 1967 The Ontario Provincial Police will vacate their of- fice in the basement of the town hall by the end of this month and will move to a new building being con- structed Mowbray Construction on Bristol Terrace, just west of the Hanna Bridge. Wingham council is faced with a problem as the result of a request by the Ontario Housing Corporation which is prepared to build a six -unit senior citizens' apartment. The corporation has asked the town to sell a lot from main street park on Alfred Street for this purpose. --- Indiscriminate dumping has forced the Wingham Council to decide that the . town dump will be fenced and locked except for two • traYSa. week 'when. it will be open Io Wingham residents for three hours. Bill Fuller received his Religion -in -Life Award, completing one of the most difficult programs in the organiza4on. He is a. member 'of the newly - organized Venturers and has come up through the ranks of Scouting. Miss Betty Ann Lapp, daughter of Mr. and -Mrs. W. T. Lapp of Wingham, graduated from the Toronto Bible opege at ceremonies held idVaristy Arena. A malfunctioning' furnace stoker was believed the cause of a blaze thatresulted in considerable damage to a Wroxeter place of business, the William Edgar store on main street. At the spring m▪ eeting of the Huron Presbytery of the United Church, Rev. Cecil M. Jardine was elected chairman. He is minister of Wingham United Church. • • tt, A • t•I By John rattlson The bylaws again were submitted to the people after Dr. Kennedy's address, and finally carried., But it was still some years before the citizes, received pure water. In 1910-11„ Wingham had a commission to manage the waterwerki and electric plant. The commissioners decided to drill test wells in Lower Wingham beside the electric plant, where there was power to operate the wimps. It also was thought that the engineer there could look after the pumps as well as his other duties. If the wells were at the pump - house, another man would need to be hired. Besides, the surplus power at the upper dam could be rented out at $300 per year. There were many argu- ments as to the wisdom of this decision. It would ap- pear that nothing much was done in 1910. The commission asked the people for another *5,000 to finish the waterworks in July, 1911. It carried by a slim margin. In August three artesian wells were drilled in Lower Wingham, which were never used. Nothing more was done until Octo- ber, when an engineer was called in. He suggested that a test well be drilled on Water Street, near the pumping station. The wells in Lower Wingham were to be used only if the test well was a failure. Meanwhile the council had a sewer laid on Josephine Street, with branches run- ning up John and Patrick Streets to serve the hospital and the schools. The six - compartment septic tank was constructed down be- hind Scott Street. The sewer line ran from Victoria Street across private property and Scott Street to the septic tank. At the nomination meeting at the end; of the year, fault Was (mind iolth the com- missioners and they did not stand for reelection. A bylaw was passed to abolish the commission. In APO the CptMell had H. Dividsoa dtili a 8i4neb test well. It Was 260 feettleeP and the water flowed 144 feet above the top of the pipe. He was told to drill another well 10 inches in diameter. By June he had struck water at 250'. The two wells pro- duced 100,000 gallons a day. In October it was announced -that the standpipe would be drained and painted twice on the inside and once on the outside before the well water was put in. In Mar, 1913, there was another Vote to raise money to put a 10 -inch watermain down Josephine Street be- fore it was paved. It was -ap- proved. In June tenders were called for a 40 x 40 x 12 con- crete reservoir to be built on Water Street. The water from the wells would flow into it and then be pumped into the mains to fill the standpipe. The pumping would be done by water power. A new water wheel had been installed and the ptunpsrebuilt. Finally in early October, 1913, the reservoir was filled with pure well water. After 48 hours there were no leaks, so the standpipe was filled. The people were warned not to drink it until all the mains were flushed. By Oct. 30 it was announced that well water had been in the mains for -10 days and it could be used for drinking, but it should be boiled at first. Gradually both the sewer lines and watermains were extended as the ratepayers asked for them. It must be noted that the first sewerage system was a gravity system and not all the town was covered. Even so, not all the people who could did take advantage of the facilities, because some private wells and outhouses were still being used well into the thir- ties. As a matter of interest, another -man was not hired to look after the- pumphouse and water wheel. It was just added to the many duties the police chief performed. - Some sidewalks are a disgrace Dear Editor, I wanted to write and voice my- opinion on a problem I see in Wingham 'concerning the sidewalks in the older part of town. They are a dis- grace to a pretty, well -kept town, especially the ones on Edward Street near the senior citizens' apartments, also on Minnie Street where our home is. What made me angry, I took a drive on the road of a new subdivision where I found new sidewalk and black -topped roads, while everyone else pays. It just is not fair. After all, we were the first homes in the town I am proud to call home. f notice the taxes have in- creased, which is fine with me providing some services'', are provided. 1 realize the town workers have to have a. living wage or they do a good job. The population of Wingham has a high rate of, senior citizens. Someone is going to be seriously injured if sidewalks are not repaired in the older part of town. Thank you. ' Jean McKinnon St. Clair Shores, Michigan BURNING HAY—A pile of old hay located beside a large barn on a farm owned by Mac Black on Highway 87 started burning Thursday afternoon. The Wingham Fire Department spread the hay in an effort to^ stop the blaze from spreading toward the barn. The prop- erty Is rented by Ray Breckenbridge.