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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1989-11-08, Page 2itor SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST Incorporating The Brussels Post Published In Seaforth, Ontario Every Wednesday Morning The Expositor is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pot Armes, Paulo Elliott, Terri -Lynn Bale, Dianne McGrath and Bob McMillan. E9 BYRSISI, General Manager HEATHER ROBINET, Editor Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription Rates. Canada '20.00 a year, In advance Senior Citizens - '17.00 a year in advance Outside Canada 460.00 o year, in advance Single Copies • .50 cents each Second class mail registrotlan Number 0696 MODUMMYDrDQF g, Editorial and Business Offices - 10 Main Street, Seaforth Telephone (319) 327-0240 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 'WO Grateful to those As always I find it difficult at this time of year, not to reflect on the freedoms I've been afforded throughout my lifetime because of the sacrifices of so many others. Saturday is Remembrance Day, and as always I will take the opportunity, like thousands of other Canadians, to pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who served our country during wartime. We honor those who fought for Canada - in the First World War (1914-1918), the Second World War (1939-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953). More than 1,500,000 Canadians served overseas - and more than 100,000 died. They gave their lives and their future so that we may live in peace. And I for one, am grateful for that. Perhaps it is my background that nur- tures that gratitude, because directly my life has not been ill effected by war. Although I recall relatives that were among those who served this country overseas, my experience of war is relative- ly nil. I did not anguish over the loss of a loved one, I did not suffer through the in- dignities of war -induced poverty, I did not lose my home and possessions to bombs, who bore the hardships SWEATSOCKS by Heather Robinet and I did not have my childhood gulped up by wars realities. In essence my life has been relatively safe and easy. I was however, brought up to remember that that safe and easy life was the result of someone else's pain, someone else's heart ache, and someone else's lost years. My earliest recollections of Remem- brance Day have my brother, sister and I visiting the cenotaph in Guelph with my father and mother, then touring the boyhood home of Flanders Fields author John McCrae. We made that same trek year -after -year without fail, hearing as we went the recollections of my father of the years his father and brothers were at war, the scarcity of new clothing, the rationing of food, and the war gardens throughout the city. Some were funny stories but most carried the message that, we must never forget. And to date, I haven't, I still look on November 11 as a special day, and would feel guilt and remorse if I were not to reflect on all that I have, and pay some tribute to those responsible for seeing I had it. Because personally, I cannot imagine liv- ing the life that my parents, and my grandparents did. I cannot imagine waiting and wondering. And I cannot imagine be- ing placed in the position of having to kill, or be killed. So, I am grateful to that generation of men and women, who faced those hard- ships for me, and allowed my life to be free of complications, and of war. I will always remember that what is, might not have been, if it had not been for the unselfless actions and sacrifices of those before us. And I would urge others to do the same. After all we do not pick the generation into which we are borne. Lest We Forget As we watch the Remembrance Day ceremonies each year, our atten- tion focuses on war veterans. They are, after all, the ones who went to war and suffered through the horrors of combat, But they weren't the on- ly Canadians to suffer, for war has no respect for age or sex. The horror that Canadians faced at home was of a different kind, the kind that made people watch their front gate and hope that the telegraph boy wouldn't show up with a telegram from the Department of National Defence reporting that a husband or a son had been killed. During the Second World War, more than 40,000 such telegrams arrived in Canadian hornes. Twenty years earlier, during the First World War, more than 60,000 of these telegrams were sent. But concerns and worries about loved ones weren't the only hardships faced by the people who stayed at home when Canada went to war. For most of us rationing is an obsolete term, but it was very well known dur- ing the 'war. Canada had a small population when the Second World War started, about half of what it is today, and most of its factories were busy producing the arms and ammunition and ships the Armed Forces need- ed. That meant there weren't enough factories to make the foods, the cars and the other goods people were accustomed to. Because goods were scarce, the Government decided that the only way to ensure people got their fair share was to ration them. Canadians were given coupons that allowed them to buy a certain amount of butter, gasoline and food each week. Without the coupons, prices would have risen drastically, but rationing also meant that many of the things that had been taken for granted, like Sunday drives and large meals, were nca longer possible. There were more serious inconveniences too, -,because there could be problems getting to work, or to a doctor's appointment. When the war finally ended in 1945, there were huge celebrations in Toronto, Winnipeg and other cities. Why were people so happy? Mainly, of,..course, because peace meant no more long casualty lists and no more sad telegrams. But Canadians were also happy because they knew that their lives could once more return to normal, and that the sacrifices of the war years were behind them. The poppies that Canadians wear every year during The Royal Canadian Legion's Poppy Campaign are one way of showing that these sacrifices haven't been forgotten. Lest We Forget. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Reader enjoys To the Editor: While reading an out of town weekly newspaper I came across this little gem and thought it should be passed on to anyone in- terested in Canada's economy. To the Editor: Brian Mulroney is my shepherd. I shall not want. He Leadeth me beside still factories and abandoned farms. He restoreth my doubt about the Tories. He annointed my wages, with taxes and inflation, so my expenses runneth over my income. Surely poverty and hard living shall follow the Tories. satirical verse And I shall work on a rented farm, And live in a rented house forever. Five thousand years ago, Moses said: "Pick up your shovel, mount your ass, and I will lead you to the Promised Land." Five thousand years later, Trudeau said: "Lay down your shovel and sit on your ass, light up a camel, this is the Promised Land." This year Brian Mulroney will take your shovel, sell your camel, kick your ass, and tell you he gave away the Promised land. I am glad I am a Canadian, I am glad I am free. But I wish I was a dog, and Brian was a tree. Questions raised of immersion Dear Editor; Questions For French Immersion Parents of Canada 1. Do you want your children to be limited in vocabulary? (French language less than a third of the Engllsh language.) 2. Would you prefer them to be limited at a more universal language? (English). 3. Have you considered that French is forced on Canadian Society? (No French, no jobs) (Legislated Bills C-72, 8 and Meech Lake). 4. Do you realize the French power and influence Canadian citizens are allowing to continue? (Over -representation of Francophones in our Government.) 5. Would you prefer a Communist rule to a Democratic rule? (English Common Law or the Napoleonic System) (Patty - oriented politicians). 6. Do you understand the •larger concept or your actions? (Status symbol of French Immersion). 7. Have you considered Quebec's denial of English rights within our Canadian Society? (Bill 178, Quebec). 8. Are you caught up in a propaganda that is adverse to the unity of Canadian people? (Friction in the work place. Francophone promotions in supervisory positions in all fields everywhere) . 9. Do you want the Fleur -de -Lys to fly over Canada for tribal reasons? (Tribal instinct in separtist motivations): 10. Do you realize the perpetuation of hate and fear that is behind the Frenchiz- ing of Canada? (Je Me Souviens). If your answers were ',no' to the above questions, we would suggest that you get some 'yes' answers. Contact 130x 22109, Barrie, Ontario, IAM 5R3. Yours for True Democracy, V.R. Mallory 4eilgtsetitradooesm ttoviarify::lany informatitirt: -right 1Co -edit ,letters. Letters -can .betdsgpped sof ar'pxg�pleaor meg The non -reformed runner Far too early on Sunday morning, I flicked on my television set and watched the starter's gun send a thundering herd of 24,000 runners off on a 26 -mile lope around New York City. The sheer mass of the crowd was staggering, and it was a good bet that the majority of that crowd would be staggering when - and if - they made it to the finish line. It was a brisk day in the Big Apple, and many of the runners were turning a fascinating shade of purple as they milled about at the starting line wear- ing mittens, shorts and shoes that you'd have to take a mortgage out on. I lay back on my cosy bed'iand sucked on my coffee, watching thousands of wiry people willing- ly shuffle en masse towards three or four hours of mortal pain, and wished for all the world that I was there with them. Seriously. I took up running when I was about 12, mainly because being on the track and field team meant that you could count on missing a few days of school in the spring. At that time, I had lofty visions of becom- ing a sprinter, tearing up the asphalt in the 100 -metre dash. I trained like a mad thing but much to my chagrin my runs didn't get faster, they just got longer and longer. My legs, on the other hand, did not. I felt very ripped off. I sort of abandoned the whole running jag for about a year until a high school coach suggested that I might be "built more for longer distance races." Reading between the lines, I surmised that I was gasps ROUGH NOTES by Paula Elliott being told that I had a) chunky legs and b) no natural speed whatsoever. Undeter- red, I set out to redeem myself and began a love -hate relationship with running that has survived, off and on, for 10 years. People have always looked at me askance when I tell them that I like to run. Not that I've ever excelled at it. I'm one of those sloggers who have never been fast enough to be a contender but not quite slow enough to quit altogether. I remember being hounded by my father when I was about 17 and running 5 miles at a stretch twice a day. For some reason he got it into his head that if I was doing all of this running and not winning a race, I couldn't really be trying very hard and any idiot could knock off a five -mile loop. He promptly went out and bought a snaz- zy pair of Nikes and jogged gamely for about two days. Shortly afterwards, his runners were abandoned on the back porch and two weeks later the dusty things were eaten by the dogs. Oddly enough, I was never again ribbed about my lackadaisacal training or the amount of money I was wasting on a pair of running shoes. Contrary to popular belief, the life of the long-distance runner is not necessarily lonely. Sometimes you get more company on the road than you care for. Minding my own business on a stretch of county road, 'I've had beer cans hurled at me and gravel spit at me. One favourite sport is to creep up behind an unsuspecting loper and lay on the horn five feet behind him. Believe me, this doesn't make the runner go any faster but chances are good that he'll wet his pants. The run home is real- ly uncomfortable. For some reason written in the stars, I've been possessed lately by the urge to take up running again. I haven't had my sneakers on since last May, when I pulled off the ultimate fiasco and got entrapped in the wrong starting line-up at a London road race and ended up running 10 kilometres instead of five. By the time I realized what had happened I was too em- barassed to turn around and get with the right crowd. My body didn't speak to me for weeks afterwards. So if you, see some idiot in a toque and sneakers gasping her way around Seaforth, don't panic. It isn't anyone running from the law. And no -funny stuff, either. I'm getting really good at chasing down cars and biting holes in the tires. Dial telephone service comes to Seaforth NOVEMBER 8,1889 The boys of Kippen seemed to have been quite busy on Hallowe'en, moving gates from their hinges, and carrying them away a distance. John Zubrig, who was sent up from Brussels, charged with stealing some underclothing from Alex McLennan, plead- ed guilty before Judge Toms, but he was acquitted on the charge of stealing a watch from another party. Zubrig had nerved eight months in the Central Prison for forgery, and in view of his bad record he will likely go down again. The death of Mrs. J. Anderson, near Belgrave, was very sudden last week. She went to the pump for water, and there expired. Mrs. Page, who has kept the hotel at Satffa for a number of years, left recent- ly for Exeter where she has purchased the Metropolitan Hotel. Mr. Prank Carlin, of Mitchell, succeeds her at 'Steffe. NOVEMBER 13, 1914 In ,Huron County in the year 1913 there Were 5,434 phones in use, using 1832 miles of,poles. Mr. ASW Sloan,,,,and his,son, :Robert, have ,shipped OW year,from ;their ;farms near ,Blyth over four thousand barrels of apples..Sonte have .gone to the ;'West but the 40,90tiof ik .in .toVie Old, Country IN THE YEARS AGONE from the Expositor Archives The Grand Trunk railway have decided to maintain a watchman at the Main Street railway crossing in Seaforth and have engaged Mr. John Finch for the position. Seaforth Company of the 33rd Regiment, 32 strong, who have been drilling two nights a week in the skating rink under Lieutenant H.J. Hodgins, are rapidly roun- ding into shape and theirappearance is a credit to them. NOVEMBER 10, 1939 Over two tnousand fans ,gathered to welcome former 'Seaforth resident Cooney Weilands,and former Dublin resident Jack Crawford when they carne to town with their :team, the Boston Bruins, to lay an exhibition game .against the Seaforth Beavers during ;their Western Ontario tour. Cooney We lands donned a Seaforth sweater .once .again ,to play against Boston. 'Playing for 'Seaforth were Harold Stade, Torn Sills, Archie Hubert, Cooney Wetlands, Ralph . and Alvei McFadden, ,,Oefirge. ;'Krue, ;tAl 13ltlel rants ofInb McCallum, Frank Sills, Gordon Muir and Cyril Flannery. A sale of lands for taxes in Huron Coun- ty was conducted this past week. Of 48 properties on the llat 20 were sold, involv- ing $2,534. Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Govenlock, well- known residents of Seaforth and district, celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. Also this week, Mr. and Mrs. George Bell of Seaforth celebrated their 50th anniver- sary at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Andrew Houston of Tuckersmith NOVEMBER 12, 2964 .Seaforth will enter a new era of telephone communications this weekend when the community telephone system will ba changed from manual to dial operation. The dial tone will replace the `number, please" of the local telephone operators and the old manual switchboards will cease operatlo 1. Bach telephone ,user ,wli1 have a -unique, seven -figure number rrmde ftp ,of ree-digit prefix and four outer ft es. 11: