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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1970-12-17, Page 4PAGE FOUR, ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1970 [DIU The Christmas Lights Are Shining All over Canada, the Christmas lights are shining. Blue, green, gold and red, they sparkle, their radiance displacing shadows here, highlighting them there, both ! within doors and without. Nothing could be a more significant symbol of this season, nor, after the shock and fear of our unhappy fall, more welcome. How we need light! Christmas, of course, can be mere escape - for some even an orgy - but for the thoughtful this returning cel- ebration of the Birth helps to restore our sanity and our humanity. Machines may be everywhere, but Christmas reminds us that it is man who makes and operates them. Laws may rule us, or try to, but it is men who make the laws. Every new thrust forward, every dream that lifts us even briefly from our sorry ruts, begins in some human heart. Here lie buried the seeds of our hope and our despair. For a few precious weeks, thank God, hope is once more ascendant. We dare believe that better and more significant tomorrows may even now be lying in the cradles of Canadian homes, as once they lay, for all men, in a Bethlehem manger. The Two Christmases Decrying the commercialism of Christmas has be- come a popular conversational sport. The door is hardly shut on Thanksgiving before the big stores start ushering in Christmas. The decorations go up, sale fever sets in and the rush and the panic beginto build. Take away the Santa Claus parade, the rivalry to have the best display of outdoor lights, the biggest turkey, the most lavish presents and what is there left of Christmas anymore? Those Three Wise Men certainly didn't know what they started that night so long ago! They brought•their most treasured possessions, gold, oils and spices, commodities of great importance in the trading econ- omy of the day. They gave their best as an act of worship. Whatever happened to that idea? Or to the Christ's mass of early centuries? Or the celebrations surrounding the Bishop of Asia Minor, Saint Nicholas, patron of sailors? Imported to the North American continent by the Dutch, the venerable ecclesiastic be- came Santa Claus and his day was marked as a child- ren's holiday. The changing times have brought us a long way from those celebrations and trom the unsophisticated family fun which marked the yule season of 50 years ago when there were skating parties, taffy pulls, carolling and parlour games. Sometimes it seems as though Christmas has degenerated into a grab and grasp season of over- spending, overeating and credit buying, an excess of tasteless, frenetic ugliness. But sometimes the decrying of commercialism is just a cop-out from the whole Christmas scene by those too uncaring or insensitive to explore and re- discover Christmas as the happy, sharing experience it was meant to be. Christmas in the NOW? Different for sure, but is that all bad? It's up to us which of the two Christmases we celebrate. ZURICH Citizens NEWS PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH HERB TURKHEIM, Publisher Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 is M et glow Am Ii4 Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Subscription Rates; $4.00 per year in advance in Canada; $5.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 10 cents UTOPIA — IT'S HERE FOR THE OLD-TIMERS By Bill Smiley Canada's old -age pensioners may not have a swinging Christmas, but they can warm themselves with the thought of what a whee of a time they're going to have in 1971, when there will occur instant prosperity: the basic old age pension will be raised from $79.58 a month to a smash- ing $80. Can't you see all those male old -age pensioners when they get their first new cheque at the end of Jan- uary? Straight to the pub and blow the whole 42 cents on an orgy. Two draught beers and a tip for the waiter. This will produce a moral degradation never equalled since the days of Dickens, when gin was so cheap you could get high for a penny, stoned for six -pence, and dead drunk for a shilling. Can't you see all those Our readers Write Goderich, Ontario, The Editor, Zurich Citizens News, Zurich, Ontario. Dear Sir: May I, through your newspaper, express my gratitute to the many foster parents of the Children's Aid Society of Huron County, wht last week presented me with a very beautiful clock? I am overwhelmed by your generosity and loving kindness. Thank you all very much. It has been a joy for me, over the years, to work with you all. .You are doing a wonderful work. May God richly bless you and your families and continue to make you a blessing to the young lives entrusted to your care. Words fail to express my ap- preciation. I can only say: I thank you with all my heart. Sincerely, Clare McGowan n Messengers Talk Missionaries at Monthly Meeting old-timers lying around in the snowbanks every time their pension cheque arrives? And what about the wom- en? They'll be worse. You know how women squander money, They're just as apt as not to go out and blow the whole 42 cents on a plastic doily or a couple of rolls of pink toilet paper. There'll be no holding them. That's only one of the faults in the white paper in- troduced by a benevolent government. Further excesses are in sight. Do you realize that the government is going to retain the cost -of -living es- calator formula up to a ceil- ing of 2 per cent a year for pensioners receiving the sup- plement (but eliminate it for those who get only the uni- versal old -age benefit.) This means that even if the annual cost -of -living increase crashes down to a mere 5 per cent, these people will get their 2 per cent increase. It's incredible. The dawning of a new, golden age in Canadian socialism. If you were 65 and lived to be 75, your standard of living might drop by only 30 per cent, with that magnifi- cent excalator clause built in. The whole country is going to be lolling in luxury: there's no question about it. Did you know that a single pensioner can get up to $55 a month in supplement or up to $135 a month when his basic old age pension is inclu- ded? The key word there is "can". But if he or she decides to make a few extra bucks shovelling walks or taking in washing, some eagle-eyed social worker will be Johnny - on -the -spot, and the supple- ment will be cut, dollar for dollar. In other words, you are pegged at $1,620 a year, That's a lot of money. Too much to be floating around in the hands of luxury -loving, devil-may-care old timers. Why don't we re -institute the work -house, with cabbage the standard fare and meat, boil- ed horse hocks, every third Saturday? And what about those widows, wives of the dis- abled, and the disabled them- selves? The white paper sug- gests that they will suffer an improvement in benefits. Starting in 1973. There goes another round of tremendous inflation. In 1973. You'd almost think I had some misgivings about the white paper. I don't. It's al- most as much fun as reading Alice in Wonderland. You'd almost think there were an election coming up, as one was when Mr. King intro- duced the baby bonus. Surely the government isn't trying to distract us from the fact that unemploy- ment is nearing the peak of the great depression. Say it isn't so, Pierre. And speaking of the baby bonus. I wish I were young again. Babies used to be worth $8 a month. Now they're worth $16. Taxable. But it's also worth almost two cases of beer a month, per child. This is going to mean a great deal to the families who always put the baby bonus aside as beer money. Six kids, twelve cases. However, it is the time of year to wish everybody joy, and I do so. Including all those poor devils who make $10,000 a year (and take home $7,300.) They can't buy a house. They can't send their kids to college because the kids can't get a loan be- cause their parents are mak- ing so much money. No points for working your guts out for years. Full points for filling your guts, at someone else's table, for years. The Messengers of Emanuel United Church held their monthly meeting on Sunday, December 13, during the church hour. After singing a hymn and prayer, they returned to the basement for their fellowship. Some Christmas carols were sung and some information reg- arding Missionaries at home and abroad were discussed. Cindy O'Brien took up the offering. With Christmas records in the background, Mrs. Don O'Brien assisted in helping the Messengers make decorations for the tree. This was enjoyed by all, The meeting closed with the Bennediction. Business and Professional Directory OPTOMETRISTS J. E. Longstaff OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE 527-1240 Ti,lesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat- urday a.m., Thursday evening CLINTON OFFICE 10 Issac Street 482.7010 Monday and 'Wednesday Call either office for appointment. Norman Martin OPTOMETRIST Office Hours: 9-12 A,M, — 1:30-6 P.M, Closed all day Wednesday Phone 235-2433 Exeter Robert F. Westlake Insurance "Specializing in General Insurance" Phone 236-4391 — Zurlsh Guaranteed Trust Certificates 1 Year — 7% 2 Years — 71/4% 3, 4, 5Years — 81/4% J. W. HABERER ZURICH PHONE 236-4346 AUCTIONEERS ALVIN WALPER PROVINCIAL LICENSED AUCTIONEER For your sale, large or small, courteous and efficient service at all times. "Service That Satisfies" DIAL 237-3300 — DASHWOOD FUNERAL DIRECTORS WESTLAKE Funeral Home AMBULANCE and PORTABLE OXYGEN SERVICE DIAL 236-4364 — ZURICH ACCOUNTANTS Roy N. Bentley PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT GODERICH P.O. Box 478 Dial 524-9521 INSURANCE For Safety . , 0 EVERY FARMER NEEDS Liability Insurance For Information About All Insurance — Call BERT KLOPP DIAL. 236.4988 -- ZURICH Representing -_ COOPERATORS INSURANCE ASSOCIATION