The Huron Expositor, 1979-04-19, Page 2$1,04 IRK, wog, the OnornOuityfirst
Published at SFAFORTM ONTARIO every Thursday
by IvI4EANBRQS, PUBLISHERS LW.
AN,DBEw T'; McLFAN, Publisher
SUSAN WHITE, Editor,
ALICE 01B0r News Editor
Mbex Canadian Community Newspaper Associaton
Ontario Weekly Newspaper ASSoc'iaten
auclAudit Bureau ofCirculation
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SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, APRIL 159,
iVe'ieIucky
Living here In Western, Ontario's snowt elt, we get used: to feeling!
pretty hard done by. Who else wpuid live in this blankety-blank county
we curse as we shovel the driveway, push out the car and then crawl
along snow choked roads?
By the titre spring comes, we're desperate for a little warmth and
good weather, We heartily congratu ;ate ourselves for having made' it
through yet another wicked winter.
it 'could .be, worse in fact It could be much, muoh worse,
• it takes a time like the last, couple of weeks to make us long suffering
people in: Huron County realize,' hew darn lucky we .are.
Dover Township's got severe flooding for the second time in two
months. The Guelph area's going -through its annual rituai of `flooded
basernenta and swamped streets, People .in parts of Detroit are still;
without power aweek after an ice storm Hurricanes haVe killed -many
andleft whole ,towns .looking like crumpled haystacks, in Texas,,,
ae el de an
More exotic �disa .ter. faced by .our .fellow men lY, m u
earthquake in Yugosiavia, a voicanic,.eruption .(something thank Gods
s s
that happens only a couple of times in a century) in to Caribbean,
Island of St.' Vincent. •
Why not remember, while we moan about, the winter, and get the :•
land ready to plant that we're real ly'fortunate here, compared to any of
the above? .
'While' reflecting, we might even by moved to contribute to disaster
o. 'Other istin
relief .: ,. .the Red:Cross,. UNICEF r sac g,charities can
handle donations: And toi thank God 'we've been lucky.
Q Ind
the
scenes
e
b
1'
n y
Keith ecu sto
The tragedy
o,f Riel
tThIY could hardly
;have foreseen it, 1 comprehend -mem problems.
That too was s
guess, all those men of power of the youn810 become afamliar-refrain throughout
new nation as they sat in Ottawa in 1873.. Canadian. history.
.finw could. John A. MacDonald and his: The tragedy,of course, is that we should '
cronies know that in an 'insignficant still be cursed by this happening of nearly a
skirmish in the new teritory they Had =tar y ago. On one side we have the
bought .front the Hudson's Bay Company• . Orange movement in Ontario which
thousands of miles away they were seeing insisted on vengeance for Scott,whomthey
seept
theds planted of fu ure destruction for considered had. been murdered. On the
..
their country; other side nationalists in Quebec, `.fed by
The timing of C.B.C.'s major reduction the church,. kept alive_theiih eeling,.bredby-
rile1cou1 harp lifEave'bees better. The the treatment of Riel. It helped keep the
two night drama about the happenings in
Manitoba 'in 1873 and Saskatchewan in church in an important place in Quebec
t societyto be possessor of the nationalist
1885 has shown us that you can't turn your
, Y . e fr
i Itlives n festering inside . cause in Quebec. The on outlet o bright
back on history, o t g
re-emerge` youngmenin Quebec was the church and
people to decades later withsaddening consequences* 8 8 so the young a re� ationalists:turned
ssiven
There may have been, trouble between
the French and English factions in .Canada
anyway, but the roots Of the, current: split
between the two sidesCan be„traced tq the
Biel'rebellions. and the consequences; As
Sir John saysin the first episode of the Riel for violence, disorder and bigotry could
programs, Rel arid Thomas Scott (the man only be 'c mpared to the Klu 'Klux Klan in
he sentenced to death for treason) had the U . The Orangemen of the day were
become symbols and syinbols have a way not ilte rather tame 'Oranttenien of our
of thing on long after. people. ••
the church • into. a place where distrust of
the Eritlish,:notiove of one's brothers,' was '
fostered,
Meanwhile; across the border in Ontario
-distrust of anythingFrench or Catholic was
fostered by the Orange Order, a group that
1t is ironic that Sir John A. MacDonald, ...lifetime, but people who• influenced' elect -
the man who dreamed. of a nation fiord sea ons throughthreats and very real violence.
to sea and who fought all the odds to bring They were powerful in numbers acid a, foe
, ,,.. ,
that dream ,about should also be":respon that a, politcan: like MacDonald. dtdn,t
want to cross. '
sible for' beginningus down the long road . .:..,
i Times have char ed- The power of the
that someday soon May see ttie:destruction. - _ g .
aefonald Church ir►:::Quebec is.. no longer as
of that lan'd',frorn sea; to sea: , If M n . _ .� ..,
important, • yet the 'distrust and the
had been able to handle the crisis better,.. . , .
perhaps we wouldn't be facing such a crisis .
nationalism the church promoted has
today. I1 he had understood Riel better,; grown more powerful now in the hands of a
Ynew generation 'of • - young activists.: The
• g Y g
had ;• teaiited: he wet • right, our history
might Italie been changed.
The Riel rebellion, shows the beginnings
of two of our greatest problems in Canada
today. On one hand, there was the French
versus English problem. 'Biel,. Gabriel
Dumont and the rest of the Metis
population were part Indian but spoke
French. To the Quebecois, they were
brothers and symbols of What the English
would do to FrenchCanadians, To man in
English Canada they were a hindrance to
Settling the 'West, a danger that another
polder of the Orange movement in the rest
of Canada has faded, but not the hate and
mistrust they instilled in a good portion of
the population.
Through it all comes the other great
tragedy of Canadian history: our lack of
cultural sovereignty: For most of the first
century of Canada's existence we ignored'
air 'history, because we didn't promote
Canadian books and movies and television.
If we :hada
h d the Rielstory told fairly td a
wide audience S0 years •ago, pethaps
things would rib* be different
Quebec .could rise. -in. the West to•plague The wer of mass -me'rita to �roiriote
_inPo ... 4 . „ P
them; as the French province had the understanding is great. 'We have seen that
east.m the U.S..the Roots series. Hopefully
• . with
But Riel in 14lanitoba was fighting not as'. Biel will do that in Canada. Yet We have
French against English but as a Westerner waited for 100 years before people re'alizedi
fightittg for a fair deal .from easterners. that it is essential that we use that wer to
Biel ' and his people were simply ignored by try to promote understanding in this vast
the new Canadian governinent itt Ottawa country, to override the petty hatreds of
after the Hudson's Bay cottony sold the petty men isolated :froth the rest of the
territory. Itwas as if they didn't exist, oduntry in little pockets here and there.
Theft' bind wasbeing given **ay to new Now we have finally, discovered the power
- tettlers from . the east. A government of the ,media for good, but it may be too late
thotuunds of mites away simply couldn't to save the country,
SCHOOL DAYS—Mrs. Marie Melady
, photo from her coliection. it Shows S:$
when there were 18 pupils, Back are
Joe Murphy, Joe McGrath, girl's first
0414aittotba IS sOooptoaan die oind tWn that to tM avant ata yPtpraeiaelt anor 1H4 actWortiolnjr ijtK
fault by *se orronsouo ttom, toasty with rsswnsblo atlaonnice for obasiturd, lost not be chOged tow but;
•
' ' ,iii oos of iiia adv.dliwnaan WIIt bs Old ter at filo appttarbto rot
... i.ssry sttat`t obi boomads M rnpan'ttwy'.i'rs Mows bah oink thS tiObliftiars cannot bo roaponiails tC'r
. tits mom et t nsitkittild `iranaiiMitliW ar. plaster,
has loaned the Expositor another
. #1 McKillop Huron Road in 1906
Vincent Murphy, !Frank Murphy,
name unknown Zirnoldby, James
y
Mar'; Curtin Second; Row: Evelyn McGrath,
Murphy, Andy Grimoldby,,
Anna McGrath, Josie Kale, Annie: Curtin, Agnes - Murphy, Bob.
Tom Downey. Front row Jack. Murphy, Josie Lane, Vincent
Grimoidby,,; y
Lsne(holding slate), Teacher MisS .Josie Lane, (Mrs. Leo Harrigan)..
in the years agone
Plowing starts in Hallett in l#
APRIL 18,1879
Some parties started parties 'started plowing .in Mullett -
last'week..
James Watson's farm on the 8th cones
sion of Hallett has been let to Reihard Brown
who will work it on shares:
Zurich has got • what a good manyvillages
have not, a good town crock, a present from
,Geo; Hess to the Lutheran church:
Plowing has become general in thevicinity
of Seaforth; The snow is nearly all gone from
the roads and • fields -The thud roads are,
however, very bad.
Thos. Sharp and Alex 'yule started last
week for Manitobawith a car loadof oxen.
Frank Case intends erecting a haridsonre
new brick residence on his property adjoinadjoin-
ing the corporation,
Alex.. Park of Cromarty' has left for
Manitoba. Providing • the country suits him.
he intends sending for his family next fall.
T.J. Wilson of: Hensel) is shipping his
timber at present: He has exported 32,000'
Cubic' feet.
APRiL22;14114 ----•,-
Mrs; W. 'Davidson of Leadbury had a bee
sewing carpet rags.
James P. McLaughlin of Bee wood has
g ch
gone to Dakota for the summer.
James 'Wood who lett Hensel! two weeks
ago with a car load of horses has : reached
• Calgary safely, -where he has taken hp land.
Just as • .;people Were commencing to
a ar an
ByBill Smiley
congratulate themselves on having emerged
Item a._very .severewinter and were looking--
' forward to a beautiful spring their hopes
were somewhat killed by one of the severest
blizzards of the season.
,lames Somerville of McKillop ifstnished
seeding on. April 10 last year
Geo. Patteirspn1,,who was Soli severely
injured by falling froma .lumber pile {s
recovering ,nicely. !9•
The debris of the old skating rink and, the
s
lot on which the. rink stood was sold by
auction to'James Dick.for 5190.00.
Messrs. Cat -dna Bros. are having a
metallic. ceiling put in their store:
Thos: Hill of Londesboro is busy moving
from the hotel to the residence occupied by
Mr: and. Mrs. David Flowly.'
APRIL 19, .1929
L.Foxes t of Brucefield• has had a
.
telephone installed in his garage:.,,,"
Over 50 friends andneighbours of Mr. and
,
Mrs,. Arthur Wooly of Brucefield assembled
at their home, the: occasion being a_: kitchen
--shower"`for`tliadauugfiter Mary; the bride of
Mr.'`Pulflen.
Rueben Buuck; of McKillop has purchased
Welsh farm.
the ).`.rank f
oshort: e the villagers
In the course o f. a time es
m
g
ofwell as the farmers are looking.
Kt en as .r
Plyg•
forward to having their :homes lighted with
hydro. .
With the cold weather which has been on.
hand for some time very little has been done'
o nthe-land at Hensel!.
Miss Doreen Farquhar of Hensel' has
accepted a position with Messrs. Case and
Sons.
The Jolly Ten of the Mill Road met at the
home of. Mrs. G'R. McCartney. They spent
the afternoon in working a mat.
Thos. Daley of town informed', the Expos
"it'or that 57' years ago on the 9th of April the
original dam at.'Egmondville was •.carried
away. At that time the Van Egnionti saw mill
and gristmill were situated at the dam.
Rev. W.D. McDonald, pastor at Egmond-
ville United Church has received a call from;
Knox Church, Agincourt.
A lightin system is 'being; installed at•:the
g Y
new bowling park: The greens have conte.
through the winter in good shape. -
APRIL 16,1954•
Rev H. Douglas las Stewart spoke to Seaforth
$ P
ions * and their' farmer. guests on the;
T.t
occasion.of'the club's annual farmers: night
- 4n t—Thomas Church- Isil:
The Explorers and CGIT of Northside.
United Church gathered`,.for: Their annual
mother and daughters banquet when over. 70
partook of a lovely.supper.
Seaforth firemen were called to fight grass
fires on ` two succeeding : afternoons ' this,
Week..The brigade answered an alarm when
fire northeast of the residence of Kett Carter
was thought to be in danger of spreading.. A
9:
grass fire adjacent to the residence of Alvin
Dale also', resulted in an alarm.
A. new industry, Seaforth Concrete Pro-
ducts, owned by Peter Christensen is being
established in Seaforth':, --
Mr-..Christensen who came from Denmark
two years ago has had 23 years of experience
in the cement industry.
Geo. Ferguson, a former well known
Seaforth businessman died Thursday morn-:
ing. ;In his 71st year, he had been in poor
health for some time.
Victoria Street from Goderich St to the
former sub station was givena new look
, :when P.U.C.: employees removed the.nass-
ive 60 fcwt-hydro poles.
Mrs: Harold Jackson, • Mrs 3 . E C., Case,
14,[rs., Wm.. Wiibee' and ;Mrs'. Stanley G'
am '•••�r�
at
01? a' n'o abie party
hem were hostesses f . n e) Y
_th {{of
Mrs: Jac
kson inhonour of Miss
?earlPatterson bnideelectofthisweek. A'
the
Aida evening was spent at he . home of,
James T. Scott w-hna'numberof
Y-PresenedhissFatt rsonwith a pretty
a'gift.
s
The annual ;meeting Of the Seaforth W.I.
attracted': a large attendance and Mrs. Alex
Pepper ' presided. • Mrs. Gordan Papple
conducted the electionof officers and the
installation allatian was conducted by Mrs. Pearl
Doig. Mrs. Ftmer Cameron was named the
new president,
spice -
April is the cruellest month
"April is the cruellest month*” So said.
T•.. S Eliot,a transplanted American who'
,
spent 'Most of his adult life working in. a
bank and' writing poetry in England:
As far -as Englan goes,. he was
full OfbaloneyA til inEngland,'is •
It
rains every y•
only second da and the'
Y ry
countryside is green with grass and as
.
colourful as a patchwork quilt with flowers'.
Novi, if he'd been writing about Canada,
I'd agree'. April is no bargain in these
parts.
P
arts. It's one of those nothing months,
like November.
You have staggered through the last of
the March blizzards: Rarely. And suddenly
in thebry, it's spring. In reality, it's the
•dirty bottom end of winter,'. and the
weakest possible, whisper, of ahope for
summer.
April is .mud, treacherous, piercing
winds that give you that racking cough you
avoided All winter, rusted fenders, chang-
ing snow tires, and surveying your
• propertyand .all .the detritus deposited on it
andaround it by the recent winter. •
.lust checked mine today, On the side
lawn there is a dirty brown hump that
.
resembles somethi..n g front the pale Mine
age, eyeless, shapeless, but somehow
•tnenacing, it is made up of one part ice,
two parts
. .
sand, and one part salt,'all
Courtesy of the snowplowing d partnterit
This lump will
have melted entirely by the
fourth' of Julyand will leave a 30' square
tl
foot patch of pure Sahara.
Scattered about the back porch are bits
and pieces and whole .shingles, removed,
Without charge, from the roof whenthe
Man was knocking off the ice at the end of
January.
Mingling with the shingles are pardons
of brick, knoeked Out Of thewallbythe nista
Who removed some of the shingles while he
was removing the ace.
t
on :` eba kporch
Lyingh c itself is a pile cif
grass, shattered front a storm window that
didtit quite get pat on last November, and
W t leaned carefully Against the house to
wait for a nice day for installation. A
December windoaught that. one.
i.g, .. i .. _ _
;` ansn liitiplyis the storm door, which
wrll no longer close, because the ice got in
around it, and it was forced shut so many
times it lost its shape and all desire, to keep
out the weather. and the mosquitoes, a
month from now,' when it becomes a screen.
door.
Lying in the bad yard, leaning' onone
elbow, is one of the great old cedar chairs,
looking as though it had just been mugged
' in a back alleyby a. particularly vicious.
gang of punks. Beside' it stands the picnic
table, practically sway -backed from the
load of snow and ice it carried all winter.
But all is not drab. There's a nice touch
of Color here and there. A green wine bottle
tossed over the -fence by some passing
contributor. Here, frozen into the ice, a
newspaper wrapped in yellow cellophane.
Over there, another paper, wrapped in
blue, emerges front its winter retreat. Both
bear. December dates.
There's a frisky :grey squirrel, scuttling
up the dead vines on the house, looking for
a soft spot to gnaw through anddeposit her
kits in the attic . Chasing her is a dog,
probably the same one who left his calling
cards all over the back yard during the
winter, which are now meldingnicely with
the mud and the stench of dead; earth
corning backto life.
And the clothes --litre is sagging like an
ancient stripper;' The back stoop is just
that. Stooped from • the ice falling off the
roof onto it.
All this is normal enough, a typical April
scene, and l`nt: not 'complaining. But
wouldn't it be nitre if yoit got through one
April without your tail -pipe and muffler
sttddetily starting, to sound like a buil
breaking wind?
It's enough to break a men, were he not
A sturdy Canadian, who has been through
the same performance inthe sone arena
year after year,
But this April is going to be the one that
broke many a man stronger than 1. On top
of all the usual crud of April, will be piled
the even cruddier crud of an election,
campaign.
It won't be se bad for the kids, who
don : 't mind April at alt,;'as it gives them a
chancee to getsoaked'to the knees and
covered in mud; with some excuse.. They.
don't care about politicians.
Nor will it be too tough for the elderly,
who greet April with a kind of jaunty,
triumphant grin, because they've made it
throughanother bone-busterof a winter.
And they are .perfectlY aware that o
iit-
fans ate perncious, -
whatever their outer'
coloring. g
But for the honest decent, middle-aged
d
, d
Canadian, who sees no more difference
between the parties andtheir promises
than he does between his
left hand and his
right, it's just too much.
April byitself•is bad enoti h..But to go
P g
through 30 days of it huddling under a
barrage politicalpoQpP is the utmost its..
. , i
, I agree 'th the poet. This April will ndeed',.
be "t cruellest month."
Atne
b.. , Karl Schuessler
]aster1ast
You'll have to excuse' lite', 1 want to talk
about Easter:
But it's all over ou '
r y nsist.
You're tight- in a Way.:Easter Sunda
gSunday
over. But if I want to get sticky about it, 1`
can remindY ou we'te still in the Easter
season. The church calendar seta off
a
whole six week period of celebration after
Faster - a tllne of haltelijahs andhosannas
for the risen Christ. Thisa should
tum Md be as
important as „that sit week 'Period of
preparation befote Easter. » that period we
p P imt�
call Lent.
But it ;sterns this glory season after the
Easter event qulckly falls offs It must„ he .
more natural to mourn with Him rather.
than rejoice in flim, That happy, glorious
festival. of Easter- fades fast, .We re lost
now 'itt spring plenting, , &lid sun mer
punning.
the feett of &sten lasts only one Clay.
But I want to grab on to it and hold it there,
Make It last r few days longer.
This year 1 Managed to do it. And the
person 1 have to thank i5 Alec McCowan,
an English stage actor. For on this Easter
Sunday 1 trades special trip:into Toronto: to
see the finalperformance of his recitation
of the Gospel of St. Mirk.
Mee McCowan spent 16 months memor-
izing the 16 chapters of that Gos l. And.
..... P pe
fart a past 16 months he's touted the land
Y.
Iris, S. and Caned* - to give.his own
dramatic o... -ie
presetttatiott of that earliest of
Gospel records.
The stage his no props,• rio scenery, no
costumes - only this one man with a'
single
concession to a table,: three chaairs, a jug 0l
water and a glass,
And yes, a mini paper' copy of the Gospel'
of Mark he pots on the table -,just in case
he forgets.' But of course, he never forgets
a single word,
With only these Meager bits, he's able to:
sustain,* mood, or shift a scene or change•
ideas or quench his thirst. The rest is Upto
him and that voice of hitt k that voice at
(Continued on Page 3)