The Huron Expositor, 1954-02-26, Page 2ji
!Ii
R�, EXPOSITOR-Estab ed 1860
Published at Seaforth, Ontario, ev-
Thursday afternoon by McLean
Sus.
A. Y. -McLean, Editor
limber of Canadian
Weekly Newspapers
,Association.
Authorized as Second Class Mail;
Post OBice Department. Ottawa
SEAFORTH, Friday, February 2f
WELL-DESERVED HONOR
Hullett Township, like other town-
ships
own;ships in Huron, long has been known
for the agricu.tural stock it produc-
es. Since the earliest days of the
township, its horses and sheep, par-
ticularly, have won countless prizes
at local, provincial and national, and
,even international exhibitions_
Today two well-known residents of
the township—grandsons of raen who
were among those who did so much
to place Hullett agriculture on a
firm footing—have brought honor to
-the township and county.
They are Ephriam Snell, who has
been elected President of the Cana-
dian Sheep Breeders' Association,
and William Dale, elected President
(stof the Ontario Horse Breeders' As-
sociation.
The selection of these widely
known Hullett farmers to positions
of national responsibility is, of
course, a recognition not only of the
repute in which, they are held in
their respective associations, but al-
tao is a recognition of the standing
which Hullett and Huron • occupy in
the eyes of the agriculturists them—,
selves.
BROTHERHOOD 'WEEK,
This week the Canadian Council of
Christians and Jews is asking all
Canadians to observe Brotherhood
Week, whet einphasis is laid on the
desirability of regarding individuals
without regard to their race or their
religion.
The extent to which a feeling of
brotherhood prevails in the world is
an indication. of the maturity with
• which problems of nations are being
faced. It is on this basis that lead-
ers of free nations ask that the
rights of equality be not confined to
particular communities, but that ,
they be extended to all lands. Asthe
Ottawa Journal points out, "In this
effort Canadian statesmen, including
Mr. St. Laurent now on a mission of
friendship to Asia; are 'doing their
part," and adds: "Understanding is
of the mind but brotherhood, is of
the heart and each one of us, in our
daily round, can help build a happier
future by opposing bigotry and find-
ing the common ground of under-
-standing friendship."
COLLEGIATE OR HIGH SCHOOL
Education Minister Dunlop says he
prefers the name "high School" to
"Collegiate." The matter arose when
a Conservative member of the Leg-
islature suggested the name `Colleg-
iate' be eliminated. -
There was a time not so long ago
when communities took a pride in
the knowledge that their local seat
of learning was entitled to he term-
ed a Collegiate, rather than a Highs
;School. Jt indicated, not only that
the staff • included at, least five spe-
cialists, but that those charged with'
,Aeducation in the community appre-
ciated the advantages that` could ac-
crue to ,the district as a result of the
cletter staff that was available to 1
(students. It indicated a determina-
tion that the community was not
satisfied with minimum secondary
school standards, but insisted on the
best. -
That the policy paid off was evi-
denced in the large attendances
which Collegiates attracted. This,
remember, was before the days of
,school buses. A decision on the part
of a rural family to send a son or
daughter to a secondary school was
not one that was taken lightly. Con-
sideration had not only to be given
the 'distance involved, but the facili-
ties .for accommodation. Yet despite
this it was not unusual for students
attend school in a town twenty- or
+i- Miles frozen their home. The
on was that that particular
1,
tntd the be staff.
tins Vis'eh� "edtoday:
The
c1'iifch e e'tttendi lo a matter
of geography, rather than teachers.
The standards are rigidly controlled,
and it matters not whether the area
school is called a Collegiate or a
High School. The potential student
has no choice but to attend the school
serving the area in which he resides.
FRUSTRATING
Probably the most frustrating ex-
perience that one could have is that
of the London (England) dentist
who, bald for many years, suddenly
found himself in possession of a lux-
uriant head of hair, but who can't
remember what he did that brought
about the long hoped for result.
Through the years he had tried
every possible hair -growing -formula.
He had gone to speciailists, he had -
dieted, he hast feasted — all to no
avail. Then or no apparent reason,
his hair began growing. Here he is
carrying with him a successful cure
for baldness worth thousands of dol-
' lars, but unable to remember what
it is.
At least he has some compensa-
tion for the loss of the moderate for-
tune which his discovery may have
produced. He no longer is bald.
Mother's Little Helper
(Fort William Times -Journal)
On Saturday evening we heard of
another episode showing why moth-
ers grow grey. The rascal this time
was an ambitious little girl.
Her suspicions aroused by the
strange quietness downstairs where
the children were at play, 'the moth-
er descended and went to the kit-
chen. There she found her suspi-
cions were well founded.
Her young daughter was "baking
a cake." She had a top burner of the
stove turned on, and upon the burn-
er was a large saucepan. On the
bottom of the saucepan the girl had
spread a layer of soap flakes. On top
of the flakes she had broken a dozen
eggs. Stuck end -wise in the mess
were three little cucumbers, which
were the "ca'ndles" the young cook
explained.
Discipline and the Strap
(Ottawa Journal)
It is different (and some will firid
it refreshing) to hear such words as
"discipline" and "punishment" used
in relation to the problem of juven-
ile lawbreakers.
The Ontario legislature's Select
Committee on Reform Institutions
this week had a letter from Magis-
trate Frederic Watt of Guelph, in
which he said: "I 'am strongly in
favor of whipping as a punishment
for juveniles"—a maximum, he said,
of six strokes of the strap. Mr. Watt
said he didn't see much sense in lec-
turing a young boy -about suspended
sentence which the boy didn't under-
stand—"but if he is whipped he
knows he has been punished for
what he did."
The views were heard of Professor
G. E. Reaman, now head of the Eng-
Iish department of the Ontario Agri-
cultural College but with special
qualifications to speak on the prob-
lem of juvenile offenders—he organ-
ized the BowmanvilIe training school
for boys and for seven years was its
superintendent, and he is .a former
president of the International Coun-
cil for Exceptional Children.- '-It is
about time," he told the ieoinmittee,
"that some common sense was used
about juveniles. The juvenile court,
as now constituted,: encourages crim-
inality because it takes away at •an
early age any fear of the law. Noth-
ing unpleasant happens." And he
ddedhi :
t S.
"For years, privately and public-
ly, I have been advocating a return
to the idea of discipline as fundamen-
tal in the development of juveniles."
Clearly it is the firm opinion of
these tto, men, both experienced in
the matter of dealing with juvenile
lawbreakers, that the -law has gone
soft, that discipline has become lax,
that the fear of punishment no long-
er is a factor in dealing with youth-
ful offenders.
This Select Committee's report and
recommendations, when they come,
will be of special interest. • If its
members do find that in the modern
idea we have let humane considera-
tions run away with our common
sense, that we have taken the sting
out of they law and left it helpless to
impress and correct youngsters tak-
ing theirfirst levee in
'crime, e we
mayhive to -retrace our step.
E MYRON EXPOSITOR
SEEN IN THE COUNTY PAPERS
Appointed. Principal
J. B. Creech, school to &her in
this district for over 16 years, has
been appointed principal of Kings-
ville District High School. Now
completing his sixth year at South
Huron District High School, dlr.
Creech was principal of Exeter
blic School eight years, — Exe-
ter Times -Advocate.
To Improver Highway 83
Contract fos' construction work
of the T,hamds Road, or Highway
83, has been let to a Kitchener
firm, Thomas Pryde, M.L.A., an-
nottn•ced last week. Work includes
grading and construction of cul-
verts preparatory. to paving, on
six miles of the road east of Exe-
ter. The Kitchener firm is Hishon
Construction Co. — Exeter Times -
Advocate.
476 Enrolled At Clinton
Principal George H. Jefferson's
report presented at the regular
meeting of the Clinton Public
School Board last Thursday even-
ing showed 476 ,pupils enrolled in
January. This is an increase of
18 since opening day last fall.
Chairman of the purchasing com-
mittee J. 'Murphy reported a car-
load of coal had been ,ordered.—
Clinton News -Record.
Celebrate 60th Anniversary
A well-known Goderich couple,
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Jeffrey, Elgin
Ave., quietly celebrated their 60th
wedding anniversary last Friday.
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey have three
daughters, Mrs. William A. Mc-
Guire, of Goderich Township; Mrs.
J. D. Clifford, of Detroit, and Mrs.
Walter Johnston, of Windsor. Mr.
and Mrs. McGuire are at present
spending the winter with Mr. and
Mrs.' Jeffrey.—Goderich Signal -Star.
Honored By Police Officers
In appreciation of the full meas-
ure of co-operation existing be-
tween the Service Police at R.C.
A.F. Station, Clinton. of :which he
has been in charge and the local
police force, Flight Sergeant Geo.
Mills was given' a fine leather suit-
case recently. The presentation
was made by the Clinton constables
and members of the provincial po-
lice prior to F/S. Mills' departure
for Western Canada, where hehas
been .posted.—Cliuton News -Record.
Resigns From Health Unit
The resignation of Miss Alice
Parish Clinton. from the -staff of
the Huron County Health Unit,
effective March 6, was accepted
by the members of the Board of
Healeth meeting in the office of
the.•,Pnit here Wednesday after-
noon: Chairman of the board, Depu-
ty Reeve ;,Melvin Crich, Clinton;
Deputy Reeve William McKenzie,
Exeter; Reeve Clifford Rowland,
Ethel, and W. A. Galbraith attend-
ed the meeting.—Clinton News -Re-
cord. e
To Build At Playground Site
The Goderich Kinsmen Club at
its regular meeting' Monday night
decided to go ahead with plans
to build a log cabin -style building
at the children's playground at
South and Raglan Streets this sum-
mer. The building, the meeting
was told, will house rest rooms
and it is planned to have members
of the club do the construction
work themselves. Wes Wright, •of
Hanover, district deputy governor
of Kinsmen, was guest speaker at
the meeting. It was announced
that a conference of the Northern
Zone of the Kinsmen Clubs was
being planned for Goderich on
April 4,---Goderich Signal -Star.
' First Storm In February
Here's what caused the mess:
Unique ,spring weather, which
climbed to a high of 54 degrees on
Monday, reduced snow from an, av-
erage depth of 13 inches to just a
"trace" in two days. The first Feb-
ruary thunderstorm in at least sev-
en years dropped 2.08 inches of
rain over the district. oxer three-
fifths of this amount, 1.28 inches,
fell between 1:30 a.m. and 7:30
a.m. Tuesday. The met section at
RCAF Station, Centralia, whose
records go back seven years, said,
the thunderstorm was the first re-
corded for the month of February.
Their records showed "13 inches of
snow on the ground Sunday, but
by Monday this had been reduced
to six inches. On Tuesday, what
is officially termed a "trace" of
snow was all that was left.—Exe-
ter Times-Adwocate.
Purse Stolen At Game
A purse containing an estimated
$64 in cash was stolen from one.of
the hockey dressing rooms during
the hockey game between the All -
Stars and Gorrie last Friday night.
The player, Ken Hutchison, of the
All -Stars, took the purse from his
pocket just before game time, in-
tending to hand it to someone for
safekeeping. 'The whistle blew and
he forgot about the purse lying on
the bench and went on to the ice
with other team members. When
he returned to the dressing room
at the end of the period, the purse
had been lifted. The next day Mr.
William Empey's dog brought
home the empty purse, which' it
had apparently picked up around
the arena premise. Investigation
regarding misdemeanours around-
the arena are still going on.. In the
meantime Mr. Hutchison is out
$64.—Blyth Standard.
Many At Co-op Banquet
About 300 sat down to the annual
hot turkey supper at the annual
banquet of the Hensall District Co-
operative in the Zurich Commun-
ity Centre last Thursday evening.
The affair was catered to by the
ladies of St. Peter's, Lutheran
Church and they cid:a fine job of
it. Mrs. H. G. Hess was pianist
and Delbert Geiger was chorister.
Mr. Duncan Cooper acted as chair-
man. and 'Mr. Bertram ,Klopp, the
local secretary and manager of the
Zurich plant -gave the annual re-
port. The Co-op really is climbing
along in business transactions,
showing sales amounting to $341,-
661 for the year, which gave them
a gross margin of $42,715, and a
net savings for the year before
patronage return and taxes on in-
come of $9,526. The guest speaker
was Mr. Earl Nephew, of Wood-
stock, president of the associa-
tion at Toronto, who gave a very
interesting talk on Co-op activi-
ties. Ben Lucas, of London, en'
tertained with his pencil drawings
and humor; 'and the evening was
brought to a close with a dance,
Eddie Mittleholtz and his (band do-
ing the musical part,—Zurich Her-
ald.
Hog Production Increasing
It seems likely that there will
be more hogs for slaughter in the
Fall and early in 1955. According,
to intentions reported by farmers
at December 1, 1353, the Bureau of
Statistics estimates that 632,500
sows will farrow during the six-
month period ending May 31, 1954.
This is about 36 per cent above
the number of sows farrowed for
the spring crop in 1953. - The fore-
cast indicates increases of 37 and
34 per cent for East and West re-
spectively.
• Hogs on farms at December 1,
1953. estimated at 4,721,000, de-
creased almost 10 per cent from
the total of 5,237,000 at Decemlber
1, 1952. The decrease in Eastern
Canada was almost 10.5 per cent
compared with approximately 9
per cent in' Western Canada, It is
interesting that while in 1952 the
number of hogs on farms on De-
cember 1 was about 9 per cent
lower than at June 1, the number
at Decem.ber 1, 1953, was About 6
per cent above that of June 1.
The fall pig crop (pigs• saved. in
the June -November period) was
about 5.5 per cent lower in 1953
than in 1952, with sows that far-
rowed about 9 per cent lower.. Fav-
orable weather during last fall
probably° was the most important
factor contributing .to a higher
yield of pigs •saved per sow. The
average of pigs' saved per sow in
Eastern Canada was 8.28 as com-
pared with 8.01 in 1952, while in
the West it changed to 7.66 from
7.39.
The Bureau report shows that
the hog -barley ratio was more fav-
orable during the last half of 1953
than for any six-month period In
the Last 12 years,
Changes and Trends in Agriculture
It is customary to think of
changes in the 'Canadian way of
life in terms of vast mineral devel-
opments, new oil and gas discover -
les, and huge electrical ,power in-
stallations, but no less refnrarkable
if less spectacular, changes' ;have
occurred in Canada's oldest Indus-
try..
According to the census for 1951
t'here' were' tWOJand'one-b'alf times
as mans+ rift?... 1,06'r -%d on tam
as iti 1941; trdroiluXtliefititlf tfx'lita as
many tractors and'",dirre- tithes ae
tunny grain , combines. Tho nuiCi-
ber of farm customers furnished
with electricity increased from 117,-
000 to 336,000 between 1944 and
1951, while electricity consumption
per farm customer increased by
about 65'. per cent,
These and many other interesting
changes and developments in Can-
adian agriculture are reviewed in
two publications now being ,prepar-
ed by the Economics Division, De-
partment of Agriculture, Ottawa,
They will be published under the
titles, "Trends ins --Canadian Agri-
culture" and "Adjustments in •Can-
adian Agriculture."
Other interesting com,parisona
found in this study show that while
total occupied farm land increased
by about .3 per cent between 1941
and 1951, the number of farms
dropped from 733,000 to 623,000 in
the same .period. Today the aver-
age size of farm is 279 acres,
Fertilizer use increased from
170,000 tons in 1927 to 769,0.00 tons
in 1952. New pesticides and arti-
ficial insemination have been kidd-
ed to agricultural production meth-
ods in the past decade. Purchases
of feed and seed as a proportion
of total farm expenses increased
from 10.3 to 22.1 per cent between
1926 and 1950 in Canada as a Whole
and in Quebec the change was
from 16.1 to 46.2 pet• cent in the
same period.
The one downward change, prob-
ably made possible by some of the
other increases, was in ferns popu-
lation. While the Canadian popu-
latlen increased to .14 million in
1951, from 11.5 million in 1941, the
number of people on farms dropped
from 3.1 million to 2.8 million in
the same period. As a result, farm
population ,dropped from 27.1 to
20.2 ii cent of total population.
The portion of the study. entitled
"Adjustments in Canadian Agricul-
ture," attempts to provide a digest
and interpretation of these trends
in agriculture especially in the
most recent years from the .point
of view of their economic signifi-
cance to .agriculture and future
prospects in the Industry.
"My dear lady! Haven't seen
you for years; and how you've
ch,aflged!"
"Qh you sweet man! And have
I changed for the better 'or for the
*Weir
"Wht YOU coup only change for
the better Of donne!"
HERE'S: HEALTH.
Junior loves to play
with flame.
He likes to watch it flare.
Unguarded, he himself
may maim.
Make sure an adult's there.'
Dept. of National Health and Welfar.,
Years Agone
Interesting items Picked From
The Huron Expositor of Twen-
tyfive and Fifty Years Ago
FEBRUARY 26,1 54
Holland Wins Back Her
Land From the Sea
From The !Huron Expositor
March 1, 1929
The carnival staged by the Sea -
forth Lions Club in the Palace
Rink Thursday evening was the
most successful in .point of attend-
ance that has been held in a great
many years. Mr. and Mrs. Uksila,
of the London Skating Club, Miss_
Jeannette Wilson and Mr. McAlpine
were the guest artists. Prizes were
won as follows: ladies' character
costume, Katie MacLean, Agnes
Wright; ladies' comic, Mrs, F. Sills,
Mary Matthews; gentleman's char-
acter, Andrew Calder, Billie Car-
ter; gent's comic, Bill Larimer, F.
W. Darroch; best national, Martha
Reid, Robert Venus; best costume,
married ladies, Mrs. G. D. Haigh,
Mrs. D. I. Hill, Mrs. B. Hildebrand;
graceful skaters, George Daly and
E: McLean, M. Ross and Charles
Reeves; boys' race, Chas. Reeves;
Norman Scoins; girls' race, Pearl
Reeves, Anna Edmunds; lucky
number, Miss Pearl Lawrence.
Mr. Joe Carter, Walton, has fin-
ished the'contract of drawing gray,
el for the erection of a new garage
for Mr. S. Cummings. '
Mr. Elin McKinley, Stanley, a
Prominent -,poultryman, is going in-
to the chicken business. He is ins
stalling an incubator with a capac-
ity of 14,440 eggs.
You may not believe it, but Mr,
Ernest Adams, of Kinburn, brought
into this office a rabbit with horns.
The rabbit, or rather hare, was
shot by Mr. Adams on his farm on
the 7th concession of Hullett. It
had two horns on its head, just in
front of the ears, and each one
was an inch in length, thick at the
base and tapering to a blunt point.
The annual Seed Fair of the
South Huron Agricultural Society
was held in the Town Hall, Hen-
sall, on Friday of last week. Among
the prize winners were John Rob-
ertson, C. Truemner, Alex Buch-
an,an, O. Klopp, Orval Taylor, W.
R. Dougall, J. R. Munn & Sons, W.
H. McLean, W. Pepper & Sons, O.
Rowcliffe, James $roadfoot and
William Alexander.
, ;Mr. Melvin E. Clarke, Winthrop;
has attached runners to his Ford
coupe.
On Friday evening of last week
the Midnight. Revellers of 'MdKillop
met at the home of Mr. and Mr's.
J. H. Storey and enjoyed one of
the most pleasant evenings,in the
history of the club, •
•
Frons The Huron Expositor
• February 26, 1904,
Mr. Henry Peck has disposed of
his 50 -acre farm on the Goshen
Line, Stanley Twp., to Mr. Thomas
Stephenson for a good figure.
New coal oil lamps ,have been
placed in St. Andrew's Church,
Kippen, to replace the discarded
acetylene lights.
On' Sunday evening as Mr. Theo
Holland, Walton, was engaged, in
attending to his stock, one of the
horses becoming loose, upset the
lantern, igniting the straw, and
ddspite \the efforts of Mr. Holland
the fire gained such headway that
the whole of the buildings were
soon a mass of flames. a9
Mr.. James Reynolds and Miss
Mary Lamb were united in mar-
riage on February 15.
Mr. Joseph Foster, Varna, has
disposed of his residence and
roll
in
grounds the village e
t _Beatty
tty
Bros. for $900.
The follbwing were ticketed by
Greig ,& Stewart, C.P.R, agerFIl ,
this week: W. R. Blanchard, Sea -
forth, to Winlow, B.C.; Miss Ettie
Cash, Seaforth, and Miss E. Quin-
lan, Dublin, to Wolesley, Assini-
boia; Mrs, J. Black and James
Black, Jr„ to Winnipeg; G. P.
Campbell, to Wolesley, Man.
The following were ticketed' by
W. Somerville: Miss Maggie Doug-
las, Blake, to Winnipeg; Walter T.
Smith, Seaforth, to Chicago; Miss
Maggie Kehoe ,to Toledo, Ohio;
Peter Delaney and wife and Con-
rad O'Connor and wife to their
homes in Efrrelca, Calif,, after a
three months' visit to their old
,home in Beechwood. Mr.. Michael
O'Reilly, Beechwood, joined the
party. -
iMr. David Sproat, merchant and
postmaster at Belgrave, , was in
town this week cont(bindng ibustngss
with pleasure. •
A militia order'. issue¢ the other
day .from' Ottawa (gives the names
of the beat shots In connection
with the lifie Aissociatio'n through-
out Oallada. Those is ;tptir oinunt "
are: J.' N: O: ,iibgd,°o,'• scion'i:,
'shoe: Lek' . Lon( Ibi re) F,' 'Meet
f
Ari;
blri'ici .N ' Tall& ..
dr ]' "
8
r 7".,� 4
May,. "4,0'diiii;' seafoth', •
The floods which 4ruck Holland
last February caused the biggest
national disaster since the, famous
"St. Elizabeth's Flood" of 1421,
which destroyed 72 villages, drown-
ed 10,000 people, and left another
40,000 homeless.
The death -roll in, February was
"only" 1,785 people, but the mater-
ial damage done was immense. Ov-
er 400,000 acres of the best land
in Holland remained' -under water
even after the flood s'uhsided.
This is about 10 per cent of the
country's arable and. horticultural
soil. A great part of this land
could produce. no crops this year
and about 100,000 acres can at bdst
produce only a light crop of bar-
ley or hay in 1954. More than 50,-
000 head of live stock were killed..
Nearly 48,000' houses were dam-
aged, about one-fifth of then irre-
parably. The total cost of the
damage worked otit at a minimum,
of • 1,100 million guilders, or £105
millions. Three;quarters, of this
was "comprised in actual physical
damage to houses, dikes, roads,
harbors, and other installations.
Losses amounted to at least five
per cent of the national income,
and this at a time when the Dutch
were having difficulty in balancing
their budget and finding the neces-
sary funds to finance their Euro-
pean defence contribution.
Physically, the map of Holland
underwent frightening chaepges. Ev-
en after the floods subsided the
greater part of two large islands,
Schouwen-Duiveland and 'Goeree-
Over Flakkee, remained under wa-
ter. Equally flooded were the
smaller islands of 'Tholen and St.
Phillip -sand. One small island,
"Tien Gemeten," had vanished
completely. Thiire were 67 big
gaps in the dikes and hundreds of
smaller breaks.
Tumultuous; tides dug channels
up to 130 feet deep through some
of the gaps and created creeks
which penetrated hundreds of'
yards inland.
Every flood tide brought in thou-
sands of toes of sand and swept
black mud over the dying crops.
Worse still, it brought quantities
of salt which killed every living
thing and turned some of the fair-
est land of Holland into a wilder-
ness.
The first object of the Dutch
Government and people after the
February floods, then, was to close
the gaps in the dikes and win back
the lost lands from the sea. Re-
pairs on inner. dikes and on the
tops of dikes which ,hadonly diad.
the waves, sweeping- over them for
two or three days- could start at
once.
It was otherwise with the huge'
holes in the sea -dikes. For three
months the Dutch had to watch the
ebb -tides sucking away the precious
soiland the flood-tide4 throwing up
salt and sand. Serious work on
these holes could only begin in
May, yet—purposeful and persist-
ent—the Dutch had closed all but'
four 'gaps' by the end of July.
By then less than forty thousand
acres remained under water, and
working on the last four gaps were
6.7 large sand dredges, 283 drag-
lines, 133 tugboats, 266 tractors
and steam shovels, 56 cranes and
bulldozers, 115 locomatives and
various "Dt3RWs" and wartime
landing craft.
On July 24 the gap in the Kruin-
ingen dike in South Beveland was
closed at low tide, • when all the
land here is above sea -level.
A few days ago I drove through
the once flooded area. Every tree
east dead and the sea had swept
straitht through the ground floors
of most houses. On either side of
the mein road from Walcheren to
the _i inland is utter desolation.
The fields have been cleaned of de-
posits 'of sand hut many of them
are still coated' with 'black mud. '
Others have been treated with.
gypsum, a lime -sulphur combine,
tion which is the, antidote for• the,
poisoning of the soil by salt., In
places the debris of barns and
houses bog been gathered. into
great heaps, awaiting removal.
Although the sea has receded!, it
has left behind several broad
creeks, one of them about •one and`
a half miles long. These creeks
are up to 50 feet deep in places -
and are too big to be filled with
soil.
In August the gap at Stevensluis,
on the northeastern side of the is-
land. of Schouwen-Duiveland, was
closed. Next came the assault on
the far 'bigger Schelphoek gap on•
the same island. Here the sea .had
torn a hole 600 yards wide in the'
dike and had carved out a chan-
nel 133 feet deep. From the mouth
of this channel various gullies ran
inland.
The Scthelphoek gap was particu-
larly difficult to close since Schou-
wen-Duiveland is • the lowest lying,
of all the Dutch islands, between
five and seven feet below mean sca-
level end 13 feet -below the sea at'
a normal high tide.
This meant a swift tide -race -
through the gap and the deep
scouring of the channel. It also•
meant that even after the gap was,
closed water would Be all over the -
inundated "polder" df .Schouwen.
and would have later to be pump-
ed out -
The gap was closed on Augu-t
•
27, but only by making a compiete-
ly Lew dike behind the old one.
Threesections—the "wings" rest-
ing, .on the old dike, and a centre,
—were laboriously built by sinking
great brushwood mattresses- and
unloadirg millions of stones to
hold them down.
Between the wings and the cen-
tral piece of new dike- so created,
remained two intervals of 1,150 and
1.400 yards. These interyals had
to be filled with 200 small concrete
caissons which -were towed into -
position by an army of tugs 'at the
exact tactical. moment when -,there;
was still enough water to allow the -
boats to manoeuvre but not en-
ough to sweep the caissons out to
sea before they could be filled with
heavy stones.
Two large concrete caissons of
7,000 tons each were sunk: in the
middle of two big gullies' which
penetrated still farther inland.
These caissons were survivors of
"Port Mulberry" of Normandy -
bridgehead fame.
Nearly half of Holland is below
sea -level at normal high -tide:
This entire area, therefore, has its
own local defences in the form of
dikes surrounding each individual
polder. Each is an independent un-•
ft, and every person who lives en
a polder must be prepared to de-
fend it against the sea, For every
irrsen knows that he is living on
a saucer with artificial rims --the
dikes—and that the main si7rface-
of the saucer can be threatened by
the waves.
The novelty in dike -building is•
the use of concrete caissons. These'
were thoroughiy tested out in the•
creation of Port Mulberr; during
tl;e Normandy landings of 1941-
Mt:fh of the Mulberry material was.
retained and has been used by the
Nine large caissons in all, will
have been integrated into the
Dutch sea defences by the time
that the last gap, at. Ouwerkerk
was closed". The use of these cais-
sons—standing 60 feet high—is rev-
c:utionary, for it enabled the quick
closing of big gap; in the dikes in
the course of a few minutes.
new method Will cel-tainiv
play a part, in the big scliem,:s-
\'Asch the Dutch are planning for-
the
orthe future safeguarding of their
8011 from the sea.
To The Editor
Toronto, Feb, 20, 1954
Editor, The Huron Expositor:
Dear Sir: In this week's issue
of The Expositor, in the Hensall
news, 1 read that one of the resi-
dents had passed away in the per-
son of Fred Smallacombe; in his
81st year. Fred was a fine fellow.
He and I grew up together in .Hen-
sall, went to school and played, to-
gether. On my visit to Hensall in
1952 I made it my duty to hunt
him up and renew the old friend-
ship that we" had . in our younger
days. I could see then that Fred
had failed a lot. However, it was
grand to clasp his hand and re-
new the warmth that we bad in
our younger days.
In the correspondence, re the first
time that the train went through
Hensall, 1 was something like Fred,
My oldest sister (held me up and
when the whistle blew I got scared
and hugged tighter to her. That's
a long time ago, but I remember it
bell.
Fred was always industrious and,
like myself. believed in the ortho-
dox way. Now his passing away
has brought to my mind there are
not many of us left. I am in.my'A'
82nd year. I believe I am the old-
est and only one left that was
born in Hensall 24th December,
1872, My mother died 'when I was
born.
Closing these remarks of one I
liked and loved, it is well for us
to come to a common thought that
the great Creator of this world is
to be thanked that we still have
that blessing if we only accept. 1
just want to say to those ,Fred has
left behind that there is a brighter •
day 'beyond, and my sympathy goes
out to - you all and he has just gone
a little while before us. I remain.
Yours respectfully,
J. T. W. PATERSON
868 Manning Ave.,
Toronto. •
Sports of Yesteryear
(From The Brockville Recorder
and Times)
We almost hate to mention it as
just the suggestion may be enough
to make it disappear --+but this just
might be the Winter when the old-
fashioned sport of sleigh riding
may Come back into fashion, should
the snow remain .pac'ked down on
the country roads long enough for
such a treat to .be organized!
We well reme¢Nber back in the
Winters before the recent mild
year when sleigh rides) could be
counted on for amusement between
the -Menthe of January and March.
In fact, It is just possible that
we might still bear the bruises of
a nn>intbei of ibeae gap Winter eve -
/tiny When the fun progrss to
the p iuftit of keening ep til occ njw
eft
the horse40M' high; edea' it
ft 1niOttrit iciclriit`g the oiir'.wicfY
heavy OW' etii.
'x.Pef�51'rr...
{1 ?
fAIualYnifC�hsildiH'�aSr
What recalled to mind this aI-
most forgotten sport was an item
in the district news that reported:
a scheduled sleigh ride for the we: -
holiday season was replaced) with
a bay ride! We know we live in •
the southern part of Canada—but ,
hay -rides in December sound al-
most as unique as sleigh rides in
July. _
Toboggan parties in this vicinity
are another type of Winter sport
that has all but vanished .as have
moonlight skiing sojourns a n dd
skating on the river. It was a toss-
up which was more fun—the actu-
al ,participation of the sport in the
bright. moonlight and crisp, clear
air --or the get-togethers in front
of roaring fires with hot dogs, cof-
fee and cocoa enjoyed along with
rousing singsongs.
Perhaps 1964 will give us bads
Just a taste of the fun -loving, ter
sparse of jest a, fe^t� *One. ..
ago Wien healthy outdoor exerCIRO
&ould he tale under a mooiilit
or , Star-etuddi
,
t
•
A
A
1
i