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Zurich Citizens News, 1973-11-01, Page 4PAGE 4 ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1973 hopping h ars! (From the Nanton (Alta.) News It won't be long now before the advertisements will be saying "only 35 more shopping days till Christmas." Other ads will be advertising how late the store will be staying open and for how many days each week — "for shopping convenience before Christmas." But this isn't just at Christmas time in this modern world. The year around now advertisements remind us that some stores are open 24 hours a day. Others are open late two or three days a week. Others are open until 10:00 p.m. each night except Sunday; and some are open Sunday till midnight; and so on and on it goes. There isn't a city or town that can't recall at least one good battle over when stores should be open or closed. ::hat hours should they keep and should they all close the same half day. Instead of Wednesday afternoon many stores now close all day Monday. That's very convenient for the store keeper but somewhat awkward for the cus- tomer when the store is closed two whole days in succes- sion. But then the majority of people in the North American society work only five days a week in the 20th century. Saturday and Sunday seem to be the holiday of the week. If stores stagger their holidays so that the 'majority can shop on Saturday then the shoppers shouldn't complain too much if the store keeper takes two days off also. An independent business publication called Man- date now claims that action is needed now on store hours. This action, Mandate suggests, should come from provin- cial governments. One of the arguments is that the big shopping mall developers and the chain stores are aiming at 24 hours a day, seven days a week to appeal to the public for their money. Let's take a look at some argu- ments on the other side of the fence. Many large stores that stay open until 10:00 p.m. do not open in the morning until 9:30 or 10:00 o'clock. What we need in competition to this kind of thing is a bunch of small, independent operators who will open up at 7:00 a.m. to give the fellow that's going to work in the morning a little service. In the small towns, the farmers might delight to have a store and machine shop or garage open at 6:30 a.m., where some early business could be done before the sun got too hot in the day. Why not let competition look after itself in the free market? Why have any shopping hours at all? For the sake of the employees why not make it compulsory to close completely one day a week, preferably on Sunday, because that's what we are accustomed to doing mostly; and then the rest of the time let the chips fall where they will. If everyone stays open 24 hours a day there'll be more employment. Some of the big places that employ many people will soon have to shut down. The peopl' have only so much money to soend then they have to quit buy- ing. With the number of stores now available, the peoples' money will only last for a limited number of shopping hours each day anyway. Let the governments stay out of this business of shopping hours and let the businessmen figure this out the best they know how.For shopping con- venience it would be nice to have some of the stores open at different times so that one could shop any time some- where when it was needed. The less shopping -hour laws and bylaws we have, the better. Plan bus trip to Frankenmuth The Zurich Chamber of Com- merce is sponsoring a Bus Trip to Frankenmuth, Michigan, on Sunday, November 11. Main purpose of the visit to the Bav- arian -styled town is to show local people what can be acc- omplished in the way of tourist attraction. While the visit is designed primarily for local business people and Chamber of Comm- erce members, others will be allowed to accompany the group as well. Anyone interested in making the trip should pick up their tickets as soon as possible from either John Consitt or Herb Turkheim. ZURICH Citizens NEWS PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH HERE TURKHEIM, Publisher Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 �10 Y 1a . �f Member: � a tro Canadian Weekly. Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association r' tat Subscription Rates: $5.00 per year in advance in Chada; $6, 00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 15¢ VISOMMIlielemnarnMa THE WAY IT WAS FOR BILLY THE KID In a nostalgic mood today, I've been thinking that, with the onslaught of the Speed Age many of our fine old Canadian traditions have fallen by the wayside, died on the vine, or simply lain down and curled up their toes. One of the first to go, of course, was the blacksmith. It hurts me to face the truth: that most people today under thirty have never known the sensory joys of a blacksmith's shop. At this time of year, small boys used to squeeze through the ramshackle door, and edge as close as they could to the fire, freezing their bums and roasting their cheeks. There was a fine acrid stench of horse manure anc scorched hooves. There was the leaping flame as the bellows blew. There was the ringing clang as the smith beat out the white-hot metal between ham- mer and anvil, and the satisfy- ing hiss when the hot metal was plunged into the cold water. At a certain age, most male kids would have settled happily for the life of a blacksmith, a free soul who spent his days do- ing the most fascinating work in the world. The decline of the smithy, of course, was brought about by the gradual phasing out of another tradition --the horse- drawn vehicle. I wonder how many kids of this generation have ever spent a winter Saturday "catching bobs." This was our term for jumping on the backs of farmers' sleighs. All day long the farmers camE and went to and from town. And all day long we hopped on behind a load of grain, left that for a load of supplies going the other way, picked up a ' sleigh piled with logs for the return trip, and shivered with delighted fear as the farmers shouted at us, and even some- times flourished their whips in our direction. As we grew a little older, about 12, we graduated to cat- ching on the wing a cutter. This was more daring and more dangerous because they could really fly, the runner was much smaller, and the farmer could turn around and belt you one on the ear, Most of them, of course, were pretty decent. 1 know now that they were more worried about us getting hurt in a fall than they were about the extra weight their horses had to pull. Then there were the butchers' cutters. These consisted of a sort of box with runners beneath, and a step at the back for the driver to stand on. The horses were not plugs, but real road- runners that went like a bat out of hell. They were every bit as exciting as a Roman Chariot, and the drivers were the envy of every boy, in fur caps, reins in one hand, whip in the other, as they tore through the town like furies. And I wonder how many boys have played hockey all day on a frozen river, when a hard shot the goalie missed might slide for a quarter of a mile. We never had to worry about ice - time, or changing lines. We could play until we were pooped, then sit by the bonfire until rested, and have another go. And there were always twenty or thirty playing at once, so everybody got a whack at the puck. Some great stick - handlers came out of that era. Think of the depths to which we have sunk. The smithy, with its light and shadows, its reels and blacks, its earthy smell its sense of life, has been repl- aced by the garage, a sterile thing with its cement floor, its reek of gas and oil, andits un- spoken assurance that this -is - gonna -cost -you -plenty -buddy. The cutter, swift and light as a bird, no longer skims the snow. It has been replaced by a stinking, snarling, skidding beast that only modern man could abide --the snowmobile. vottemegetozoosiptempag No more meat -cutters, car- eening around the corners on one runner, delivering in any weath- er. Now, we plod like zombies through the supermarket, to moronic piped- in music, and pick up the odourless, antisept- ic, cellophaned packages the great gods Dominion, Loblaw or Safeway have assigned to us, and carry them humbly to our cars, three blocks away. Our kids have to get up at five a.m. to play hockey, and if they're not real "killers, " ;et about four minutes ice -time. Ah, those were the days! And I haven't even begun on the most vital of all winter equip- ment --the puck consisting of a frozen horse -bun. 0 Graduate Robert P. Reid, of Wallace - burg, received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Western Univer- sity, London, on Friday, Oct- ober 26, at the autumn convoc- ation. He is presently on the teaching staff of the Lambton- Kent High School, Dresden. Attending the convocation were his mother, Mrs. George Reid, of Varna, and Mrs. Emma Schilbe, of Zurich. usiness and Professional Direct OPTOMETRISTS J. E. .Longstaff OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE 527-1240 'Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat- urday a.m., Thursday evening CLINTON OFFICE SIO Isaac Strout 482-7010 Monday and Wednesday Call either office for appointment. Norman Martin OPTOMETRIST office Hours: 9.12 A.M, — 1:30.6 P.':.. Closed all day Saturday Phone 235.2433 Exeter INSURANCES Robert F. Westlake Insurance "Speclalhdn, In General Insurance" .Phone 236.4391 — Zurich NORM WHITING LICENSED AUCTIONEER & APPRAISER Prompt, Courteous, Efficient ANY TYPE, ANY SIZE, .ANYWHERE We give complete sale service. 'PROFIT BY EXPERIENCE Phone .Collect 235-1964 EXETER AUCTIONEERS PERCY WRIGHT LICENSED AUCTIONEER Kippen, Ont. Auction Sale Service that is most efficient and courteous. CALL THE WRIGHT AUCTIONEER Telephone Hensel) (519)262-5515 D & J RIDDELL AUCTION SERVICES * Licensed Auctioneers and Appraisers * Complete Auction Service * Sales large or small, any type, anywhere * Reasonable — Two for the price of one Let our exp®rience be your reward. Phone Collect 'Doug' 'Jack' 237-3576 237-3431 Hugh Tom FILSON and ROBSON AUCTIONEERS 20 years' experience of complete sale service Provincially licensed. Conduct sales of any kind, any "place. To''insure success of your sale_ or appraisal Phone Collect 666-0833 666-1967 Guaranteed Trnst Certificates 1 year 8 1/2% 2,3 ,4 and 5 yrs 8 3/4% ZURICH ERFS PHONE: 296.4346 TEL 238-8070 GERALD L. MERNER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT 10 GREEN ACRES GRAND BEND, ONTARIO SOX 27E GRAND SEND, ONT. lerviasesasaVemiadoutiMIMMIft }