Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1980-09-25, Page 2Wee 1060, Surviug the .OphlluuhitY First SEAFORT11,,, ONTARIO every Thursday Instill!, • by MeLEAN BIOS. PUBLISHERS LTD. , • ANDREW Y;IIVIcl,EAN, Publisher . SUSAN WHITE, Editor ALICE GIIBB News Editor Member Cantathan Community Newspaper Association Ontario Weekly Newspaper Assoclation and Audit Bureau of areulation SOseriptlon Rates; . , Canada (In advance) $4.00 a Year Outakie,Canada (In advance) $30.00 a Year SINGLE COPIES -35 CENTS EACH Second Class Mail Registration Number 0696 Telephone 527-0240 SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, SEPTEMBER 25,1980 Absentee ownership One thing should be made absolutely clear. The current controversy about foreign investors buying up Huron farm land (see the story on the process in McKillop in last week's Expositor) Is not about bona .fide immigrants. No one's worried about those from. other countries who buy farms here, move here and work them, Joining their neighbours and the rural community. What is worrying the Huron Federation of Agriculture enough to ask for the provincial agricultural minister's resignation over the issue is what absentee ownership of large blocks of our rural land will do to our community, here as we know it. We're worried too. As several McKillop people said in last week's stories, absentee and concentrated ownership of farm land depopulates the area. It can make all our institutions,...schools, churches, clubs, much weaker. Instead of 20 farm families on a given stretch or rural line you'll have flve or six. That's a process that's already started of course as 300 or 400 acre rather than IGO acre farms have become the norm. But now, still in Huron at least, the owners live in the community. That gives them more of a stake in everyone's future, something an investor who lives thousands of miles away doesn't have to know or care about. "What's all the fuss about?" some say. "We can always rent the land back from these guys. They have the bucks and the bucks talk." And It is a complicated question. Is a farmer who's thinking about retiring supposed to turn down an offer of say $2,000 an acre from a foreign investment syndicate w,ith the comment "No, I'll be a- good citizen and sell to my nieghbour for $1500?" Can the community as a whole require that sort of sacrifice from farmers? Not likely. But the answers to complicated questions aren't found by turning your back on them In the hopes they'll disappear. Ni, the provincial government, and. thoseof us who live In rural communities have to look for answers.. .controls on absentee ownership, residency requirements for land buyers. Whatever. Other provinces have legislation that addresses the problem. it won't be at no cost, and it won't be easy. But we think there's not much choice. As one farmer, the third generation of his family to occupy the home farm said: "Our ancestors came here to get away from a fuedal system. We don't need a new one starting up here now." A good fair! It was a really good fair. Nothing's constant but change, and recognizing that, the forward looking members of the Seaforth Agricultural Socity made a big change this year andextended the fall fair to Saturday. We hope disappointment in Saturday's low attendance won't discourage them from trying again next year. 0.4te the Saturday fair is well publicized and the idea catches on, we're sure town people, even tourists from the city, can be persuaded to come and see what a re_ai agricultural fair is all about. For Seaforth's is a fine example. From the Horse show and exhibits Thursday night to the long and funny parade on Friday, the daredevil drivers on Saturday and the livestock competition throughout, the fair was lively and a credit to the volunteers who planned it. Commercial exhibits and the midway were the best they've been in years too. You just had to be there for a few minutes, and talk to both fairgoers and participants to realize the annual Seaforth Fall Fair was a success. As a matter of fact, the only small complaints we heard were that some things, rides for kids and Saturday's admission of $3, were too expensive. If that's the price for a top quality fair, perhaps we'll have to pay it, but there's a possibility that bigger crowds would more than offset e lowered admission pric.e. Too, many people had expected the fair would be open on Friday night, and that pOuld be considered for next year. All quibbling aside it was a fair to be proud of. Thanks, Seaforth Acp icultural Society far giving the community a memorable weekend. Ciderfes Quietly and efficiently for several years now a very small number of people have been giving huge crowds a really good tirae. And in the process they've made enough money to work away at renovating the Seaforth area's most historic home. We're talking about Ciderfest, and the Van Egmond Foundation (really a few hard working volunteers) which sponsors it. Ciderfest is an event that's put Egmondvitle and this part of Western Ontario on the map. City visitors come regularly to sip cider, munch sausage burgers, look at progress on the historic house and enjoy the assortment of pioneer and contemporary crafts. Cider fest is an event that's hard to beat for atrnosphere. Strolling the grounds of a majestic old house on an early autumn day, taking in all the myriad sights and sounds and of course tastes, is a terrific way to spend an afternoon. this year for the first time, Ciderfest becomes a two day event. Saturday's beer tent and Sippin' Cider concert will probably attract a good sized new audience. But what's also important is that for the first time downtown Seaforth is getting involved with Ciderfest. Once Ciderfest moved to Include Saturday, it made sense to look for ways to persuade the thousands who annually visit Ciderfest to venture north a bit to Seaforth's Main St. So, on Main St. as well as on the Cidertest grounds, let's make the visitors this weekend feel welcome. Sorne old fashioned pioneer hospitality Is in order. • • SEPTEMBER 24, 1880 The waterworks committee noted at its meeting that the corytractor had completed his waterworks contract and wishes his final payment. The committee decided, however, that several items on the account were excessive, and until the contractor made additional repairs, $102 would be held back in payment. F.W. Sellers, who has been second teacher at Seaforth public School for several years, is retiring from his post next Thursday. He will head off to Ann Arvor College the next day to begin medical studies. His position will be filled by Henry Cameron. John Kyle received second prize for driving his mare at the Toronto Exhibition I,ast week. The annual Seaforth Show was held at the Tuckersmith Branch Agricultural Society's grounds last Week. The weather,- as is usual for the Seaforth, was delightful. A gentle- man who was -here from Stratford to Act as a judge for some events said it was the best local show he attended. In roots, especially in turnips and mapgolds, was a magnificent display, while potatoes, although not numer- ous, were a fine quality. In cattle there was a splendid show. The fine herds of Mr. Snell and Mr. Dickerson are sufficient to set off any show. Notwithstanding the large crowd of people in town, everything passed quietly and without any disturbance. During the entire day not one drunken man was to be : seen on the grounds, and as soon as the show was over all started for home, and by eight o'clock, the town was as quiet as usual. Reverehd N. Patterson of Bayfield will speak in Seaforth Presbyterian Church Monday evening. The subject of his lectpre: "Cowper, the English poet". SEPTEMBER 2 2, 1905 On Sunday many people heard of the tragic death of Edward Walters, of the second concession of Tuckersmith. He was thrown from a traction engine two weeks ago, and although he landed on his back and was suffering severe pain. he fel( it was not necessary to see a doctor. When he finally visited a doctor, it was discovered he was suffering from blockage of the bowels. William Colquhoun and Malcolm McInnes both fo Mitchell, recently returned from their visit to Scotland. Mr- Colquhoun brought three heavy Clydes back with him, one of which is considered to be the finest animal ever to reach Mitchell. Richard Young. of Colborne, who is 93, walked into Goderich the other day, a distance of four miles. A rugby football team has been organized in Clinton. The Dominion government has selected Thursday. October 26. as Thanksgiving Day. — The proposed Seaforth Brussels railway is going torbe delayed, but there are assuranc, es the lihe will be built. A letter from J.W. Leonard, manager of onstruction for the CPR, to M.Ce Darneron, MEP for Gederich, notes he is in favor of the line and as scrim as power and rates for the electric system are • available, the matter will get another look. SEPTEMBER 26,1930 The Seaforth Fall Fair, with a record entry list in every class and the largest attendance of spectators in many years, was an outstanding success. St. James Separate School, Seaforth, had the largest number of prize winners, of all the schools exhibiting. Louis Baker of MeKillop—township—was— badly bruised when his buggy struck a telephone pole. The breeching strap for the team wasn't hitched, the team became unmanageable and turned off the road, one horSeon either side of the tetepbone'pole.. Mrs. W. Kirkwood (nee Sinclair); who has been a valued member of Northside United Church choir, was hewed On Thursday evening with the presentation of tall silver salt and pepper shakers. The presentation was made by Mrs. E.H. Close and Dr. F.J. Bufak ocwsProst left Monday; to attend Queen's University. A pretty wedding was solemnized at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Wallace of Tuckersmith Township.on Wednesday. Sept- emtber 24,. when their second daughter, Mildred EVelyn, was united in marriage to Norman Bruce Walker. On their return from a honeymoon to points in Western Ontario, the couple will reside on the groom's farm near Brucefield. SEPT. 23, 1955 ••••,,S, • moderato/4 of the li..ondon and Ilainilton Synod of the Prebyterian Church, was the guest speaker at the 90th anniversary of,. Duff's Church, Walton, The Hensall Feeder dalf Clubc‘termed the largest calf chrh in Ontario, is offering 100 calves to area youngsters to compete in the annual feeding contest The calVeS will arrive from the Wegt in October. ' Larry Legafte of Hensall has bought the! Seaforth Veteran's Taxi liusines, which was started Several years ago George Miller. The Lieutenant -Governor of Ontario Bon' Louis BreithaUprin Mrs. Bteitbaupt, wfit be guests at the'Seaforth Fall Fair Friday. The fair was founded 110 years ago. Joan Evans, formerly a staff member di the Huron •Expositor, has enrolled at London.. Teacher's Coli_ege. Rev. Alexander NiIIIMQ of Wingham, - Laura Leif/el.:daughter of Willian_Utiper___ of Londesboro and Gordon Murray, son of ' late Alex Murray of Walton, were married in a double -ring ceremony at Northside United Church manse, r, The 'William -Elliott Pamily- this lovely photo of thefamity of , one of Seaforth'S early town clerics, was donated to the Van Egmond Foendation by Mrs. Gertrude Lambert, a descendadr of the family, who lives in Edmonton. Family Behind the scenes by Keith Roulston It is not o good time to run your own business. Hard economic times are here and the number of bankruptcies is increasing. The economic wheel of fortune is turning once more and when it comes around there wall be fewer indeperideut businessmen and mare employees. We are becoming a nation of erripioyees. The grandsons and daughters of the peopie who came to this country seeking the freedom to be their own bosses are mere and frUITC ita Si employees of.big business or gasernment It's a process that has been going on in least since the Depression s,eara Survival of the fittest some call it Times get tough and the big companies have the biggest ability to survive to while the little guy goes under, the big company sits tight and when the bad times are over it is richer than ever. We've seen it all recently While hard economic realities are driving many out of business we've seen a few big businesses increasing their economic power. We've seen Lord thompson increase his control on the Canadian eeonorny by taking over more newspapers, killing off any that didn't meet his idea of proper profits He's taken over stores Yet whiCe there is money for this grieving bigger on the part of some companies, man7, empinyees are paying the members shown here (from left' to right) are daughter Bessie, Mrs. Wm. Elliott, son Richard, daughters Margaret and Grace and Mr. Wm. Elliott, former clerk. Tough times for little guye price for this concentration of ownership. Unemployment lines are growing. It's interesting that while the tough businessmen are all in favour of survival of the fittest when they're on the winning side, the belief can quickly disappear when the gieng gets tough for them. Conrad Black of the mighty Argus Corporation may decry gosernrnent interference most of the time. hie when his Massey -Ferguson is in trouble he's quirk to ask the government far help. Chrysler Corporation may claim the govern- ment shouldn't be ordering so many safety eed environmental regulations but demands gaverearnent help to stave off bankruptcy. And because the company is so huge and the repercussions of its going under would be so far reaching. the government complies. The long arm of big business is reaching today even into small towns. Where once towns were proud of having their businesses maned by local people. today chain operations from supermarkets to shoe stares are decimating the local business oammunities of many towns. And the people are welcoming them because they somehow beheve that they are going to be better off being served by some huge, city -based aeporation than by their own neighbours. Aid s once -proud independent business - nen become employees. Sugar and spice By Bill Smiley its the fortieth anniversaty of the Bette of Britainand there are air force reunions in Toronto and Winnipeg. to name only two Bald-headed. bifocailed. pot -belied old guys. who Were once lithe and lean and sexy and with 10-20 vision. will feregather and have a few drinks, and embellish the old days with fantastic embroidery until their wives drag them eff to bed.• After the Friday and Saturday night hilarities. they will totter out of bed. don their blue blazers and berets and march rather shakily. all ribbons on dispiay. to a cenotaph or something. and quietiy snatch forty winks white an ancient padre intones some paraphrases cif Winston Chruchill. like, "How ceaild so few show up today when so many were talking last niaht about how many owed so much to so few 07 something like that. Ninety-seven per cent of them were not in the Battle of Britaih, whin was fought in August and September of 1940. but they were old airmen. or "ancient combatants,• as if says on my measly pension cheque. and a good excuse for one last fling before they are put out to pasture. Bless them all , light even turn up myself, if only to compare whiteness of hair (or none at all) waistlines, and "partial plates." a eup. hemiern for false teeth. Despite all thi and despite the fact that This shouldn't be made sound like a conspiracy of course. Many people prefer to be employees. prefer .not to face the risks and vagaries of business life but to have a nice nine:to-five job with a guaranteed pay cheque. They are happy to work for big business or the government. Just as happy to see the trend are the unions. because unions have only employees as members. The more employees, the more members of the unions, the more power ttzl union leaders. In most eases union leaders aren't even too worried about the concentration of business power in fewer and fewer hands because over the years unions and these big employers have come to a mutally agreeable working arrangement. They may fight each other from time to time but both recognize the existence of the other and they're no bnger bitter enemies. And why shouldn't people by happy. The fiving standard in Canada today, despite people's cries of hard times, is higher than 4ts'ever before. People have more leisure time and more -money to enjoy that time off. There is more international travel than ever before. People are going out on the town more, eating as much as one meal in every two in a restaurant, while at home they have more luxuries to make life easier than grandmother could have dreamed of. Yet (can't help feeling that we're heading for a fall with this trend. Kari Marx whtn he envisioned his woird revolution turn each country into a Communist state saw It as a revolt of employees against the men who =trolled them. Of course things have changed a lot since Marx had his vision. Employees aren't so exploited today as th cy CI= were, what with the standard of living so high. Yet people must get more than money from their wink to be happy. Some people have always been quite willing to be employees but there is a streak of kidependence in many that wig roman 017 are always unhappy as long as.,they cannot control their own destinies no matter how well rewarded they are -financially—And of course in hard economic times when the Conrad Blacks of the ward protect their' money instead of people's jobs, the discontent will be higher. Then too we are building the very class _ sytem in Canada that our forefathers came here to escape. We are building a controlling dass of the super rich and a majority of ordinary people. 1 can't help feeling that somewhere up there (or down there depending on your view) Karl Marx is smiling. Veteran pilots reunite the Battle cif Britain means no mare to ieday's yming peepte than the Battle of Thermopylae, it was a major turning point World War 11. How about a little review? The Battle of France was over. The French had been ceundly licked. The British had too, but declared it a "victory" when they managed to scramble about 300.000 bodies out of the Dunkerque trap. Germany ruled almost all ef Europe. and was poised to attack Britain, with vastly superior forces. Hitler danced a gavotte in a railway car where Germany gave up in I918' Churchill came up with one of those great orotund orations. with. a little help from Shakespeare. -his speech writers, but delivered with that raspy half -lisp that became so familiar that it raised the daunted to the point of dauntlessness. In June, 1940. he ended a great rallying -cry with, "Let us therefore btace ourselves to\ our duty, and so bear ourselves that. if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for i thousand years. men will still ,say, "This was their finest hour Jolly good speech, though there's not much left of the 'British Empire, and the Commonwealth is pretty dicey. Fact is. the British did brace themselves when tat Hermann (Jeering threwall his toys at them, first by day, then by night. Vastly out -numbered. out -gunned, less experienced, "the few" who -constituted the RAF fighter force savaged the German Luftwaffe so severely that the invasion of Britain was first postponed, and eventoally never occurred. It was purely a defensive action, but by the time it ended, the RAF was in very shaky condition. The actual "Battle" commenced July 1, 1940 and ended October 3Ist, 1940. More than 500 pilots af the RAF were killed during that time period. Twenty of them were Canadians. One was from the U.S. The Poles last 30 out of 147 pilots. Of the Australians, 63 per cent were killed. South Africa lost 41 per cent. France lost none. Just over 3,000 aircrew were engaged in fighter command operations during that period. Just over 2,500 survived. What happened to them? Before the war was over, almost 1,300 of the survivors were killed in action. Add it up. More than fifty per cent of "the few" were killed, and this does not take into the account the many who were wounded and sent to secondary duties, or honorably discharged, or posted to training positions. Those who didn't survive were blown to pieces, drowned, burnt to death, or taken prisoner. ?'e a . During the B. of B., these young fellow—s' lives consisted of eating, sleeping, flying, drinking and sweating. Most of them knew that however many medals they acquired, or how quickly they rose in rank, their number was written on the slate. They were a gallant lot. I wish I'd been one of them, but I'm also glad I'm alive. But I was just one of the young fellows who finally decided the war was getting serious and we should join up. I trained on both the Hurricane and the Spitfire, the two aircraft that tore the guts out of the Luftwaffe, tiut eventually wound np flying Typhoons. Auld hanging around for endless months waiting for the invasion of the continent. It's ironic and sad that, 40 years after this battle, which saved the western world from at leas: decades of darkness ander an amoral mutt and his pals, that Germany is one of the richest countries in Europe. the British Empire has 'virtually vanished, and the Canadian dollar, after we contributed mote than 70,000 aircrew to the struggle, is _ _ worth 47 cents. lot that's tothing. Let's give a thought to "the few," those great young guys who went "once more into the breach, dear friends," when therest of us were whining about gas rationing and Only one quart of booze -amonth.