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Clinton News-Record, 1972-04-27, Page 4Clinton News-Record, Thursday, April 27, 1972 Editorial commott Spring fever or spring insanity Many people fall victim to spring fever this time of year but some seem to have a much more severe malady, spring insanity, Among the latter group are those who seem to think that as soon as the ice if off the rivers or the lake, they can go boating or canoeing as if it were July. Four persons drowned a week ago taking part in canoe races on flood- swol len rivers. A man was trapped on the dam at Auburn last weekend when a boat he was riding down the river on overturned at the dam. It took fire departments from Blyth and Goderich to rescue him. Over the past weekend, two men were trapped on an iceflow off Bayfield after their boat overturned, Everybody likes to rush summer a little, but it is not only fool-hardy but inconsiderate of people to go out on the water in weather such as we have been having. It is ridiculous that people should risk their own life under such conditions, but the trouble is that many other lives are also risked in attempts to rescue people in trouble in spring floods. What will stop this sort of stupidity? Whoknows? Maybe a good kick in the seat of the pants for everyone seen near a boat at this time of the year would help a little. A tough task for Thomas The Liberal party seems to have picked a good candidate in Charlie Thomas. He has what would normally be the qualities that would win popularity. He is a good speaker. He has a wide background in municipal politics and has been a leader in county affairs, especially in county planning, an area where Huron has led the rest of the province. He is a successful farmer and a leader of the farming community through the Huron Federation of Agriculture. In a day when image is so important, he even has a certain flair about him whether it be from the fact he was once a jet pilot or because of the quietly mod way he dresses. In fact, he appears to have only one fault: in a strongly Conservative riding, he is a Liberal. This can be a hindrance at the best' of times but could really-be a killer in the next election. For one thing, he represents the party in power which is always a strike against a candidate. Whatever the dissatisfaction against the government (and there always is no matter who governs) the local candidate suffers,. Disillusionment is even stronger right now in a time of `high unemployment. Mr. Thomas also faces the tough fact that he must go against an incumbent in Robert McKinley. It is always hard to knock out a sitting member and it wi I I be no different this time. McKinley is not a good speaker and is not flashy but is a nice guy to meet and he's a Conservative. There could be some surprises in Huron this time though. For one thing, McKinley has never faced such a strong candidate before. For another, Thomas comes from the north end of the riding, the area which has been completely dominated in provincial election in the last few years by Murray Gaunt, a Liberal. With Gaunt behind him and Gaunt's workers leading the way, he could take a big hunk of the vote in the north. Even a moderately good showing in the south rould then bring him close to McKinley. The south, however, is McKinley's territory and he is likely to dominate it as strongly as Thomas is the north. The election may be decided by the dedication of, the Liberal party workers. Th6 party faithful numbered more than 500 when it gathered to nominate Thomas on Monday. If a good percentage of these go to work to help him it could be an interesting battle. If, as usual, their interest now dies off, McKinley will win strongly. At this stage it's impossible to predict what might happen, IF an election is called soon. It should at least be a more interesting contest than has been in the area for some time but the early odds are that the result will be the same as usual. The plot against our schools Fiddle-duddle A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) second class Mail registration number — 0817 'SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (In advance) tanatia, 0.00 per year; U.S,A., $9.50 KEITH W. ROULSTON — Editor J. HOWARD AITKEN — General Manager Published every Thursday at the heart of Huron County' i Clinton, Ontario Population 3,475 THE HOME OF RADAR IN CANADA THE CLINTON NEW ERA Established 1 865 THE HURON NEWS•RECORD EstabliShed 1 881 Clinton News-Record Amalgamated 1924 thoroughly, and the people of Goderich will find him exceedingly obliging and attentive. If it is possibl to make such a business "hum", he will do it and our hope is that he may return with his pockets filled with the good dollars of our western neighbours. Bert Kerr will have charge of Mr. Emerson's business here and the public will find him equal to all emergencies. Seems to me I've been bothered with such cosmic matters at this time of year ever since Grade Six or Seven when a science teacher, in an attempt to illustrate gravity, left us with the supposition that the earth might some day stop revolving, a very busy moment in which all of us would go zipping off into the wild blue yonder. The dangers of this can't be over-estimated. Walking along the busy street, absorbed in the ugly prospect of the sun dying at any moment or the earth bowled over by the moon, a man might walk blindly into an open man-hole or the side of a Redi-Mix cement truck. It is a touchy time for us all, as I see it, going through the adjustment to a new season, and certainly the worst possible time to contemplate the moon collision. Indeed, as any fool can plainly see, the moon has been moving in on us relentlessly these past few nights, melting all the polar ice caps and throwing the stars from their natural orbit. It'll be a miracle to me if we last through the month of May and I don't holdout much hope for the trees, either. Teachers are being lambasted from all quarters these days, poor things. As a species, they are practically harmless. But then is not that one of the immutable laws of our society? Attack the harmless, and tread warily with the powerful and the ruthless. According to their critics, all they are interested in is more money. This of course, is not true of plumbers, policemen, doctors and dentists, lawyers and even Indian chiefs, garhagemen and garage operators. Sure they're interested in more money, at least enough to keep up with the galloping cost-of-living index. But it's a lie that money is all they are interested in. The great majority is interested chiefly in doing well what they are supposed to do—educate our children. And I can't blame them when they get a little sore at the constant, usually ignorant heckling of people who don't know what it's all about. Nor can I help feeling a certain kinship when some of the more Militant young teachers start talking about strikes and such. A garhageman can go on strike, a teacher can't, The logic eludes me. The whole business bothers me very little, personally, A Man who has been through a war and a decade as a weekly newspaper editor has developed a pretty tough skin. But there is something a little sinister in the growing innuendo of politicians on education, for purely political reasons, And I feel a tremour of alarm when I see a few so-called responsible daily newspapers frothing at the mouth when the simple word "teachers" emerges. lam grinding no axe, In fact, I don't even have a hatchet for chopping kindling. I lost it. But it appears to me that a few Machiavellian characters have put their pointed heads together and decided to destroy, deliberately, our educational system. The system, when you and I went through it, dad, was far from periect. But it needed reformation, not defamation. It required healing medicine, not mad, massive surgery, The first political step toward chaos occurred when many of the local school boards throughout Canada lost their autonomy. The Boards were made up of men and women who would bust a gut, literally, to get the best possible education for their own, local kids. It was far from perfect, but it worked. Then the provincial governments decided this was archaic. Of course it was. So is the Bible, So is democracy. So is the conceiving of children. Next step. In Ontario, for example, county school hoards Were formed. Administrators were appointed who knew nothing of strictly local conditions, In many eases, not all, the school boards became mere rubber stamps for the adtniniStrators. The latter, in turn, work hand in glove with the provincial Department of Ed. It, in turn, is responsible to the party in power. A nice little ring-a-round. So who is running what? When this was first proposed, I prophesied the result: increased costs; decreased efficiency, And I take back not a word of it. Ask any teacher. Then the government, with pious rectitude, after a period of spending untold millions on education, and almost suggesting that everyone who makes it in Grade I should graduate from university, takes a sidelong look at the taxpayers, and decides to play Jack the Giant Killer. Via spending ceilings on education, There don't seem to be any spending ceilings on health or welfare. But out of one side of its mouth, through its tame Department of Ed., government says, "Let's have more innovative, daring, relevant courses for our students." Out of the other side it says, "Sorry, We can't afford that,„or that..,or that." Something stinks? To me it does, Oh, well, let's raise the taxes on booze and smokes and build some more highways and airports. Let's raise tuition fees and cut down on government scholarships, and maybe the 'Universities WOW t be so crowded. And let's get out the whips and show those ungrateful teachers where they belong—back in the cages, Mood of Spring I have a theory that human beings, however much we think of ourselves as coarse louts, are, in fact, extremely sensitive creatures and react as mystically to the changes of seasons as anything in nature. Or, to put it more specifically, I've a feeling that Spring is a time of peril for us all and that there may be a chaos in the mind just as there is in growing things. A couple of days ago, for example, I dropped into our art gallery and, passing through the main room, noticed a group of high school students standing attentively before an Emily Carr. canvas, one of thos,F" incomparable swirls of forest, green, A middle-aged woman, obviously an art teacher, was pointing out the finer aspects of the work and I loitered a moment to listen to her. "Who is to say that a tree has no soul?" she was saying and, filled as I was with the Spring madness, I gave her my complete attention. "Who is to say," she went on, "that the tree does not have feelings or emotions? Who is to say that a tree doesn't welcome 10 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1962 The District "C" convention at Clinton on Sunday and the Legion- sponsored band tattoo on June 8 and 9 were the main topics of discussion at Tuesday evening's general meeting of the Clinton branch. "If you are not dedicated to conservation and realize its need," said Andrew Dixon in Wingham on April 12, "you would be better to resign and go home. Otherwise you are only a headache to the Authority and a detriment to your community". Mr, Dixon (who is a retired high school teacher and a former leader in the AuSable River Authority) was speaking to representatives of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, Clinton and the townships of Hullett and Goderich were made members of the Maitland Authority early this year, Mr. Dixon said the short water supply faced by many municipalities is a witness to the need for conservation measures, The speaker said farm ponds are a great help in providing a source of water in rural areas and advocated damming streams to create reservoirs, 15 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1957 The Twilight Musicale, presented annually by the Good Will Club of Wesley-Willis United Church has become an event eagerly anticipated by those who attend. This year's performance was no exception. Under the guidance of Mrs. N. G. 'Manning, presidentof the club, who was hostess for a reception for the performers following the program, assisted by Miss W. O'Neil who has been instrumental in guiding the Musicale, the Easter program was presented the Spring or feel the rain in its branches " This rhetoric was clearly over the heads of the boys and girls who stared hypnotically at the canvas as if the answer might be found there as, of course, it might. But it was exactly the kind of thing that causes a violent disturbance in one of the softer lobes of my brain and all through the weekend I was haunted by the feeling that the trees in my life (two cedars, a holly and a maple in the back yard) were out there breathing, welcoming the season, was thinking of this again last night when I chanced on the clipping of an article by the Associated Press Science Editor, one Alton A. Blakeslee, an item that would normally have no effect on me, but that now caused a strange reaction. Blakeslee was holding forth on some of the horrible fates that the world may meet at any moment, maybe even before you read this. Among the various gloomy prospects, it seems, is the likelihood that the moon may drift in on us some night (Tuesday, perhaps?) and smash into little well and enthusiastically received. The music program featured solo work this year in place of the choral music provided in the past by choirs from Clinton's schools. Rev. H. C. Wilson, minister of the church, was chairman. 25 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1947 Hon. Ray Lawson, OBC, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario will formally open the 42nd annual Clinton Spring Show on Thursday, June 5. A business deal of some importance was completed here on Monday, when Lorne J. Brown purchased the real estate equipment and goodwill of Wells Auto Electric, constructed and operated for the past seven years by William I). Wells. Basil F. Thrower has sold Thrower's Restaurant to John Melelis, West Lorne, formerly proprietor of HomeLunch, London. The move came as a big surprise as the new Restaurant had been opened only since April 12. 40 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1932 Nelson W. Trewartha was elected by acclamation on Monday, to fill out the term as mayor, the vacancy being caused by the death of S.S. Cooper. A meeting of the Central Sports Committee and those interested in outdoor sport Was held on Tuesday. The following officer's were elected: president, G. T. Jenkins; vice-president, II. Lawson; secretary, C.W. Draper; treasurer, Morley Counter. Another busitte88 change has occurred in Clinton. 5, T. Atkinson, having retired from the ha rdwa re and furniture CoMpany, which will be continued by Nelson Ball and John T. 7.aplre, the two particles; or that some 'crazy star may go berserk and come whizzing along and drag off the earth into the limbo of outer space. "Human life probably wouldn't survive all the turmoil," Blakeslee guessed with a fatalistic shrug and turned to the prospect of the polar ice caps melting and drowning us all in our beds. But the peachiest fate of all, in Blakeslee's own words, is this: "One afternoon the sun dies. It quits as though some cosmic light switch was snapped off. The earth quickly freezes, with all its people. Some survive a time with artificial heat, but...." And I found myself reading it as if it were a prophecy of tomorrow. Now, in normal times, that sort of article is read in a vague, automatic sort of way and the reader may go on to the next item with no visible scars of doubt, But there are at least half a dozen friends of mine—Spring brooders all—who could let this kind of thing disrupt them completely and, frankly, it isn't doing me any good either. remaining members of the firm. 55 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1917 The Clinton Knitting Company is opening a branch plant in Wingham and will probably be able to start operations next week. Mrs. Sewell received word that her husband, Sgt. G. B. Sewell, had been admitted to a hospital in France suffering from fever. D. A. Forrester received word that his son, Frank, was wounded in the recent severe fighting in France. Whitfield Crich, Tuckersmith, has purchased Luke Lawson's cottage on Isaac Street. Mr. Lawson will move to the house on Ontario St. until recently occupied by T. E. East. 75 YEARS AGO APRIL 23, 1897 Yesterday, Mr. G. F. Emerson left for GoderiCh, Opening a bicycle livery, which he intendS to personally conduct during this summer. George Understands the bicycle business Hensall C elebrate 40 years of marriage BY JOYCE PEPPER On Saturday evening, Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Bell were entertained by their family to dinner in honour of their 40th wedding anniversary. After dinner a party was held at the home of their son, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Bell, where the nieces, nephews and sister had gathered. The evening was spent in playing cards after which a smorgasbord luncheon was served. Mr, and Mrs. Bell were the recipients of many lovely gifts, to which they gratefully replied, The regular meeting of Amber Rebekah Lodge was held, Wednesday evening, with N.G. Mrs. Ernie Chipchase presiding and being assisted by V.G. MTS. Bev Beaton. Mrs, Myrtle Orr introduced and presented D.D,P. Mrs. Ruby Bell, who was escorted at kseat at the right of the Noble Grand. Members were reminded of the Dessert Euchre to be held on May 10. Mrs. Earl Campbell gave a report of the District meeting which was held April 12 in Amber Lodge rooms with an attendance of about 65 from District 23. A short programme after the meeting was enjoyed by all, followed by a buffet supper in the lower hall. Treasurer Mrs. Ed Corbett, gave a financial report of the years work. A number of members plan to attend a meeting at Brussels April 25 when D.D.P. Mrs. Ruby Bell will visit. On the visit of D.D.P. Mrs. Wilfred Broughton of Stratford District, to Monkton Star Lodge, quite a number of Lodges were represented, including a carload from Hensall. After the business session of the Lodge, Sister ,Ruby spoke briefly of her years work, and thanked the Lodge for their support. At this time she was presented with a gift to which she made a fitting reply. Mrs. Belva Fuss was presented with a plant. After the meeting, a short programme was enjoyed with Mrs. Ken Elder showing slides of their trip to Arizona and Disneyland. Two vocal solos were contributed by Mrs. Belva Fuss. and two piano solos were given by Miss Linda Bell, followed by the presentation of gifts. A tasty lunch was enjoyed by all, PERSONALS Mrs. Tressa Fletcher, who has been a patient in Seaforth Community Hospital for the past six weeks, returned to her horrib in Hensall. Mrs. Greta Lav6nder, Mrs. Jean Turner and Mrs. Joyce Pepper attended the Annual meeting of Girl Guides of Canada, on Saturday, where Mrs. Lavender was presented with a pair of crystal candle sticks, in recognition of her contributions to camping, in the area for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony T. VanDyk of Three Rivers, Quebec, who have been house guests with Mr. and Mrs. Sim Roobal for the past two weeks, left Sunday afternoon to go to Ridgetown to visit, and from there will return home to Quebec, C.O.C. OF CARMEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH MEETING The C,O,C. of Carmel Presbyterian Church meeting was held April 24 in the Church. The meeting was opened with a poem entitled "Build a Church", followed by a finger play. Roll call was answered by eight members naming a country they would like to visit. Offering was taken by Paul Hoggarth, and all joined in singing "Jesus Loves Me" and "God Sees the Little Sparrow Fall," Mrs. Dorothy Taylor, leader, read a story about an African boy sharing his knowledge of the Bible with others, Next meeting will be May 28, when a film will be shown on Africa. 0 • • W p In its In order thit News—Record readers might express their opinions on any topic of public interest, Letters To The Editor are always welcome for publication. But the writers of such letters, as well as all readers, are reminded that the opinions expressed in letters published are not necessarily the opinions held by The News—Record.