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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-04-07, Page 5Wednesday,April 7, 2004 Exeter Times -Advocate 5 Opinion Forum News ROSS HAUGH BACK IN TIME I OYEARS AGO April 6, 1994 - A new slogan aimed at shaping Exeter's future role was approved by 170 residents at a special strategic planning meeting. It is "Exeter, where urban and rural meet". In Venice, Italy recently, Joe Kaak of the Shipka area boxed with a severely sprained right hand but still managed to win a bronze medal. After 24 years of waiting for a provincial title, the Zurich Storm pee wees have won the OMHA "E" championship. Dave Hetherington is the coach and Brad Brown is captain. 25 YEARS AGO April 5, 1979 - Under new management, the Tree Top restaurant at the Les Pines motel is offering an opening special of steak, baked pota- to and all the trimmings for $3.50 and a special breakfast menu for $1.35. Members making up the 1979 version of the Exeter and area fire board are Si Simmons, Don MacGregor and Derry Boyle from Exeter, Gerry Prout and Murray Dawson of Usborne, Lloyd Mousseau of Hay and Ken Campbell from Stephen. Elizabeth Bell is the secretary. Huron county council has reduced its size from 45 members to 29 by allowing only municipali- ties with over 2,500 voters to send a deputy - reeve. 40 YEARS AGO April 7, 1964 - Saturday evening, Lucan hon- oured its favourite sportsman Harvey Langford with a special celebration that reflected the com- munity. One of the many tributes was made by Legion president Bill Smith. Bob Murray was master of ceremonies. Exeter squirts won the WOAA hockey champi- onship in Elora Monday night. Bill Gilfillan is the coach. The swimming pool thermometer erected this week in front of the post office shows $25,000 has already been raised. The committee hopes to have the pool open by the time school is out at the end of June. 45 YEARS AGO April 5, 1959 - Dave Ducharme, a grade 12 student at SHDHS won the right to participate in Ontario public speaking finals in Toronto after winning a regional contest in Listowel. The Pinery Park, south of Grand Bend now under construction will be one of the largest and finest in Ontario. It will include 13 miles of roads in its 4,200 acres and two new bridges across the Ausable river. Allison Clark of Centralia has been chosen to represent SHDHS in the London Free Press School Queen's club. An award winning academ- ic student she has also captured honours in pub- lic and verse speaking, drama, citizenship, track and field and team sports. 55YEARS AGO April 6, 1949 - Joe Creech was named manag- er of the Exeter baseball team at a meeting in the town hall with president Bill Allison in charge. Mr. Mose Baechler has disposed of his 150 acre farm to William Rowcliffe. Two elderly farmers in Stephen township about six miles west of Exeter were robbed of $550 after the men had been bound and the house ransacked Tuesday evening. 60YEARS AGO April 8, 1944 - At the regular meeting of the Exeter Board of Education, principal Harold Sturgis reported high school enrollment at 170 and public school enrollment of 151 was report- ed by principal Waghorn. 80 YEARS AGO April 6, 1924 - Miss Viola Hodgert and Miss Thelma Taylor have taken positions as operators at the Exeter telephone system. The Hurondale Women's Institute celebrated its fifth anniversary recently at the home of Mrs. Henry Strang. Mrs. Mitchell gave a brief summa- ry of the progress made by the Institute in the past five years. One interesting feature was that membership had increased from 19 to 52. 85 YEARS AGO April 5, 1919 - Exeter's main street has been scraped and the mud carried off making for a great improvement. Seniors' Perspective By Jim earls ADULT ACTIVITIES CO-ORDINATOR 2nd Annual Trade Fair & Information Expo: Mark your calendar for Wednesday June 2, 2004. More details of happenings in the coming weeks. This trade fair promises to be a great show! Bingo At Lucan: In Exeter or Huron Park you are picked up by bus every Wednesday evening. Bingo is held in the Lucan Arena and starts at 7:00 p.m. Good prizes and a good time for everyone. Call Murphy's Bus Lines at (519) 235-0450 for transporta- tion details. Books For Sale: Exeter Library will be holding its annual book sale from April 13 to April 17th during regular library hours. Something for everyone! The library will be closed Easter Monday. SpringWork: Need help with odd jobs at your home! Painting, small outside jobs etc. Jim Bearss please contact Bill Heather at (519) 235-4219 WinghamTown Hall Heritage Theatre: Fiddle & Step Thursday April 8, 10:30 a.m. Saturday April 10, 1:00 p.m. South Mountain Saturday April 24,8:00 p.m. Grand Bend Activities: April 13th "The Women's Probus Club of Grand Bend & Area meeting" 9:30 a.m. at the Grand Bend Legion. After business and coffee break we will be trav- eling via car pool to the Community Living Lambton facility in Dashwood for a tour followed by lunch at 12:00. For more info call 238-2496. April 14th "Boating Operators License" Three classes offered, April 14th from 3:30-5:30 p.m. April 19th 5:00-7:OOp.m. and April 24 from 12:00-2:00 p.m. Cost $60.00 ages 12 and up. Call 238-1155. April 20th " Port Franks Euchreama" Port Franks Community Centre 10:00 a.m. sharp. A good time, prizes and lunch provided, Everyone welcome! Call 243-2297 for info. On DrinkingWater: • One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100 per cent of the dieters recently studied in a university study. • Lack of water is the Number One trigger of daytime fatigue. Preliminary research indicates that 8 to 10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80 percent of sufferers. • A mere 2 percent drop in a person's body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen. • Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79 percent, and one is less likely to develop bladder cancer. • Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day? Now that I have your attention — Go get another glass of water!! Lest We Forget: "Ralph Balkwill Delbridge" Ralph was born in Exeter in 1921. As a well-known local boy, he received his public school and high school education in Exeter. After graduating, he took a course at the Westervelt Business College in London Ontario, Prior to his enlistment on March 27th 1941, he was an accountant with Johnson & Turner, London Ontario. The first few days of his enlistment in the Air Force were spent at Manning Pool, Toronto, then to Dunnville for three weeks, then to Eglinton Hunt Club. He flew first at IS Chatham New Brunswick, then he received his wings at # 9 SFTS Summerside P.E.I. on December 19th 1941.He received his wings and his commission before he was 21 years old. On January 6th 1942, he was post- ed overseas where he had the opportunity to pilot a Spitfire aircraft. This single engine fighter aircraft is capable of flying up to 6 to 8 miles in the air, reaching speeds up to 400 miles per hour. In March 1942, Ralph volunteered for the Middle East and at that time made the trip to Alexandria, Egypt by way of Capetown, South Africa. During his stay in Egypt, he made many interest- ing side trips both in Egypt and Palestine. Ralph sent home numerous snapshots and souvenirs of the places he visited. In October, Ralph again returned to England, making numerous operational flights over enemy Territory. First Officer Ralph Balkwill Delbridge at the age of 22 and on August 3, 1943, attached to # 401 Ram Squadron was killed in action when his Spitfire Aircraft # BL 339 doveinto the ground from 500 feet altitude at Underhill Farm Bucklands, Surrey. Ralph was buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery Woking, England. Brookwood is located 30 miles from London, England. During the two World Wars, the United Kingdom became an island fortress, used for training troops and launching land, sea and air operations around the globe. There are more than 170,000 Commonwealth war graves in the United Kingdom. Many servicemen and women killed in active service or who later succumbed to wounds are buried there. Others died in training acci- dents or because of sickness or disease. F/O Ralph Balkwill Delbridge was the son of Franklin J. and Eva Delbridge Exeter Ontario. Besides his parents, Ralph, was survived by one sister, Bernice, wife of Captain Sweeton of Ottawa Ontario. Next week: Harold Alexander Elliott. More Bull: Two sisters, a blonde and a brunette, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the bank from repos- sessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull so they can breed their own stock. The brunette balances their cheque- book, then decides to take their last $600 out west to another ranch where a rancher has a prize bull, "If I decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to drive out after me and haul it home." The brunette arrives at the man's ranch, inspects the bull, and decides she does want to buy it. The man tells her that he can sell it for $599 no less. After paying him, she drives to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram. She walks to the telegraph office, and says, "I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that I've bought the bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here so we can haul it home. The telegraph operator explains that he'll be glad to help her, then adds, "It's just 99 cents a word." With only 1$ left, the brunette realizes that she'll only be able to send one word. After thinking for a few minutes, she nods, and says, "I want you to send her the word, comfortable." The telegraph operator shakes his head. "How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you just write, comfortable?" The brunette explains, "My sister's a blonde. She'll read it slowly". Oddfellows Friendship NightWinners: Albert Dyken, Shirley Mouseau, and Ralph Dufresne. Congratulations folks from the Oddfellows Lodge More Upcoming Events: Lunch at the Legion, Soup, sandwich, cake & beverage held at the Legion Wednesday April 14, 2004. Hours: 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. Solo at the Legion: Card players you are invited to the Legion Saturday April 17, 2004 for Solo. Time is 1:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Senior Games: Definition of a senior is he/she must be 55 by December 31, 2004. Contact June Hodgson at (519) 235- 2194 for details and times for the following games: Solo, Crokinole, Darts, Shuffleboard, Bid Euchre, 5/10 Pin Bowling, Contract Bridge, Duplicate Bridge, Pepper, Carpet Bowling, Snooker, Horse Shoes, Cribbage, Swimming, Lawn Bowling, Walking, Tennis, Golf, Bocci, and Triathlon. Returning Officer departing Dear Editor: The boundaries of the Federal Electoral Districts changed on April 1, 2004 to prepare for the next gen- eral election. The town of Walkerton, the townships of Brant and Carrick and the village of Mildmay have been added to the District of Huron -Bruce. The village of Paisley is now part of the district of Grey -Bruce Owen Sound. When the boundary or the name of an Electoral District changes, the Returning Officer must be reappointed or replaced. Consequently I will not be the Returning Officer for the next federal election. I want to thank all who acted as DROs, Poll Clerks and other Election Officers for federal elections for the past 24 years. During an election the work is challenging, the pace is brutal and I am very thankful that I was able to assemble a great office staff for each event. Much has changed since I was appoint- ed in December 1979. Huron -Bruce is now twice as big as it was then, both in terms of physical size and the number of electors. For the first election I needed a staff of four; for the 2000 election I needed 10 on a quiet day and 30 on a busy day. I also want to thank you for your help to keep the elector informed during each event. ART BOLTON, Dublin, ON.