HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1977-08-24, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News, August 24, 1977
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A co unity effort
The irresistible aromas of home -baked
beans and home-made pies hang in the
village air this week, as Zurich prepares
for its twelfth annual salute to the white
bean.
Activity in the Festival Kitchen on Vic-
toria Street is mounting to fever pitch.
Whole families are pitching in. Many hands
do indeed make Iight work.
The Bean Festival has always been
hard work for all those involved. What is
remarkable is that an entire community
for 12 years in a row has shown such
dedication to a cause.
On Saturday Zurich's population will
explode from a modest 760 to 20,000 or
more, if the record of the past few years
holds. Interestingly, even rain seems to
have no adverse effect. The one year it
poured concessions did a roaring business
and the crowd at the dance in the evening
was the largest ever.
Nearly 60 booths have been rented this
year. Preparations are well in hand. Help
is assembling, too, for the onerous serving
and selling chores.
By Sunday, festival committee
members will already be thinking about the
1978 event. That's the way it's been from
the start. That, along with the generous
support of the community, is what has kept
it going.
The people of Zurich join in welcoming
all visitors and wishing them a memorable
day here.
A Queen with courage
Among the events of the Queen's silver
jubilee year, the Aug. 10, 11 visit to
Northern Ireland will go down as perhaps
the most significant of all the Queen's
many special activities.
It was a singularly courageous act for
the 51 -year-old monarch. Even given the
tremendous protection of "Operation
Monarch" which involved more than 32,300
troops and police, the Irish visit
represented a very real hazard for the
Queen. As governments throughout the
world know only too well, it only takes a
single bullet to snuff out a life and it is vir-
tually impossible to protect anyone against
the attack of a dedicated sniper.
And yet, the visit to Northern Ireland
was. a must for the Queen. To have not
made itwould
have been almost os
f
certainly
l
Y
interpreted as a backing -down on the part
of the British government and as a victory
of sorts for the outlawed Irish Republican
Army. As it turned out, the affection shown
the Queen by her loyal Irish supporters and
the containment of the IRA violence was a
slap -in -the -face to the radicals. The unfor-
tunate fact is that those same rebels will
now spend the rest of the summer trying to
make up for what can only be described as
a public defeat,
In this regard, the timing of the
Queen's visit is a matter for consideration.
Why was it scheduled to fall between two of
the most inflammatory dates on the
Northern. Ireland calendar?
Aug. 9 marked the sixth anniversary of
the now -rescinded policy of internment of
suspected IRA guerrillas without trial, an
act that led to some of the worst fighting,
while Aug. 12 is the celebration of the 1689
defeat of King James II's Catholic army in
Northern Ireland.
There can be no doubt but what the
Queen's advisers deliberately timed her
visit to coincide with these contentious
happenings. One cannot help but wonder
why. Would not a visit at another time have
proven the point of British involvement and
concern equally well? And will subsequent
bloodshed, provoked to a point by this add-
ed show of might by the British, be worth
it?
Only time will tell. But regardless of
the outcome, the courage of Queen
Elizabeth in undertaking the visit and
carrying it off with her usual dignity will
remain a shining example for those in
Northern Ireland of what can be ac-
complished under the most trying of times.
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Edits
Desk
By MARGARET,RODGER
About
Zurich
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The suggestion that the Bean Festival be given a little
ethnic flavour by stressing German and French foods as
well as beans has more merit than first meets the eye.
Many residents are descendants of German or French
pioneers. Though English has long been the language of
commerce, more than a few grew up in homes where a se-
cond language, German or French, was spoken.
Bilingualism was a fact of life here long before it became a
political rallying cry. Whether it still is today is another
matter.
Zurich was founded in 1856 by Frederick Knell, a Swiss.
This energetic man ran the hamlet's first general store and
built the first grist mill in Hay Township. He also built a
saw mill. He was Zurich's first postmaster and served four
years as township reeve. His wife taught school here.
It was difficult to reach Hay Township in those days ex-
cept by the London Road, which was not always in passable
condition. Ox -carts loaded with settlers' possessions often
became mired in huge mud -filled holes. Nevertheless,
between 1860 and 1875 the population of Zurich grew from
300 to 600, making it the largest place in Hay Township:
By 1875 it had four general stores, a drug store, four
churches, a cheese factory and flour mill, a flax mill,
woollen mill, glue factory, two wagon and carriage shops,
and other businesses. One, unique to a village so isolated at
that time was a German book store, run by Andrew
Schmidt. The brick for most of the homes was manufac-
tured by John Foster, a local tile and brick manufacturer.
The first mail had come by stage from Bayfield. Later,
it came by the London, Huron and Bruce Railway, from
London as far as Hensall. The railway missed Zurich by six
miles, passing instead through its neighbour to the east.
Perhaps because of its strong cultural ties and healthy
sense of community, Zurich survived the blow of being left
off the beaten track. Its hard working independent people
had no interest in moving away. They stayed and sank still
deeper roots.
A French community, meanwhile, had grown up five
miles west at St. Joseph. Over the years moves inland and
marriages have brought increasing numbers of French
families here to enrich the village with their cultural
heritage and make it different from any other in the
province.
Zurich became a police village in 1896 and still had that
status when its centennial was celebrated in 1956. It wasn't
officially incorporated as a village till 1960. This underlines
another distinguishing characteristic: in a hurrying world,
Zurich takes its time.
These are differences worth celebrating.
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"It's so simple ... why, even your husband will be
able to operate it!"
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