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Clinton News-Record, 1973-08-16, Page 4Made for me My wife tucked some change into my mittens yesterday, war- ned me not to talk to strangers, and sent me off to the wicked city to buy a jacket. "Get something in a quiet tweed," she said, speaking in the measured tones of a woman who knows that her husband is utterly devoid of sales resistance. "Do not buy anything made of velvet, crepe de Chine or linoleum." "What do you take me for?" I cried petulantly and loped away before she could answer. The jacket is before me as I write. It is something to behold. My wife thinks we should send it on tour to raise money for some worthy charity. Failing that or an invitation to a masquerade ball, I doubt very much if I'll find the courage to appear in it--or under it-- in public. The label on the inside says that it is genuine Harris tweed, but I suspect that the material is more likely to be buffalo hide or the pelt of a yak. It is a hairy sort of fabric, so hirsute, in fact, that I will doubtless be sending it to the cleaners not to be pressed, but combed. The color is a sort of pale gold with a green check, but like the chameleon it appears to change its hues in various lights. My wife thinks that, whatever it is, it may still be alive. When I modelled it on my return the dog began to growl and froze to a point, which only confirmed my wife's suspicion that it is breathing. There is a type of salesman whose manner causes me in- stantly to play Trilby to his, Svengali. It was this sort of man who induced me to bring home The Thing. I could have run into the Mafia and got off relatively light. He was a frien- dly fellow with a sharp eye and the man-to-man approach that is my undoing. "You want a jacket," he ,said, "a jacket you'll get," I then pointed out the kind of thing I was sure my wife had in mind. The salesman shrugged elaborately. "I won't sell you one of those," he said, "but let's try them on anyway." As T selfconsciously tried on the jackets the salesman sat down, offering no help whatever, and studied the cuticles of his nails, "How does this look?" I would simper, pirouetting before him. He would glance up disdainfully from under hooded eyes. "Not for you," he would say, "but go ahead. Amuse yourself." I tried on several more, but I soon realized that I was in danger of losing the salesman's interest entirely. "Sit down here," he said at this point. I sat down beside him. He glanced over his shoulder furtively. Suddenly it was a conspiracy. It was the two of us against The Store. "They'd like me to sell you one of .those," he whispered hoarsely, indicating the pile of discarded jackets. "They make money on that kind of junk. But you look like a man who knows clothes. I said to myself as soon as you came in here, 'That man will want the real McCoy.' " "Gee," I said, my eyes big as saucers. The salesman told me to sit where I was and went away for a while. I suspect now that he was brushing it. Soon I saw The Thing approaching. The salesman was somewhere un- der it, staggering along under its weight. With a grunt he flung the garment over my shoulders, twisted my arms into the sleeves and propelled me to a mirror. I raised an arm to shield my eyes from the ex- plosion of color. "I knew it! I knew it!" the salesman cried. There was a tone almost of reverence in his voice. "The weavers must have had you in mind when they knitted it!" "I don't know if my'wife...." I began. "She'll love it!" he cried. "You've got to take it! You're not going out of this store without it!" I realized that he was holding me by the lapels and snarling at me. There hasn't been a scene to equal it for sheer emotion since Bast Lynne. The next thing I remember was driving up and down back streets trying to find the courage to go home. we get letters Thank you Dear Editor: Over the summer because o the interest shown by various citizens in Clinton, several groups and individuals have come to recognize the need for recreation activities for special groups including senior citizens as well as disabled persons. 'Due to the involvement o the residents, a number of im- portant things have happened in the community. Some o these include the formation f a senior citizens club and a sw m ming program for handicap ed children. With the contin ed support of the commun ty these programs could b , carried on in Clinton and 'ex pand to include othe recreational interests wit special groups. On behalf of the MinistrY o Community and Social ler vices, we would like to eaten our thanks to those resident who assisted us in any Wa during the summer. We feel 'th projects have been worthwhil as a learning experience for both of us and the town of Clin- ton. Yours sincerely, Cheryl Soderlund John Brotherhood. mpip. .avr 191•14rTtok leis Eleanor C. Wright, daughter of Mrs. Esther Wright and the late Frank Wright of Kippen, recently graduated from the St. Clair Regional School of Nursing In Sarnia. Miss Wright has accepted a position with the Women's College Hospital In Toronto. a "Kinda shakes you, doesn't it?" Arnelgomtitt.d 1924 THE cutvroNT NEW ERA Estalylishod 1865 THE HURON NEWS-RECOR E0thlished 1881 **Mbar, Canadian COmmunity Newspaper Association Arinbok, Ontario Moak AstiOCiation Oublisfmad onto Thuraday at Clinton, °Marin °e gir Mineral Minager, 173 1111S1 J. 110wi An rd kle) HUE3 OF HURON COUNTY , 41111111111111011.111111111111111111 telItoir• Anne. ritto.rakt fond Clasi Mall 01411.1ratioft h4 Ot117 Wherever Dwight Strain goes, fire seems to follow. Not the fire of hell or hate but the flames of an enthusiastic people fired up by his near missionary zeal. Mr. Strain, who recently became Clin- ton's first resident Baptist minister in some seven years, has captured the hearts and imagination of people throughout Canada with his attempts some successful, some not so - to bring persons from across Canada and,indeed from across the continent to jobs that he says are nearly boundless in Huron County. So far, he has brought 46 families to the area and all have found jobs, many have bought homes, and most seem to be happy in their new surroundings. "Operation Transplant," as the scheme is called, seems to have ended Judging from the steps taken by the Federal government last Monday in their bid to halt the escalating cost of food, they are much like David versus Golith, only minus the sling shot. For the first time in many years, Canadians are finding out just how much a good meat really costs, something most of the rest of the world has known about for years. In the last month, prices of most of the basic food commodities have skyrocketed, but who really is to blame? Certainly not the farmer, most of whom eat the same as you and I do and hence their cost of living has risen as well. Ad- ded to that is the outrageous prices a Seldom has the news media been presented with such a prize package of political scandal to tantalize T.V, audien- ces and the reading public as in recent weeks. We have watched with unabated interest the attempts of the government of the' United States to extricate* ItSelf from the meshes of unethical party con- duct, and hard on the heels of this, came news of the squirmings of the govern- ment in Britain, some of whose ministers had been forced to admit to acts of unethical personal conduct, Though, as Canadians, we were in the spectator bleachers, we were shocked and rightly so. But one wonders whether there is a political lesson to be learned here. Is our sense of outrage engaged only a myth in Huron that there aren't enough jobs in Huron for everyone here. On the contrary, there are more jobs than there are people if one looks at the high suc- cess rate of Mr. Strain's project. Why then was this kept from us? Only the great man himself could answer that one, but it has given the area a real ..boost. After the slump that followed in Clin- ton after the Base closed down, real estate in Clinton was a poor proposition. Now, because of the Transplant program, housing is fast becoming a dif- ficult commodity to find and prices have taken a sharp upturn. It's really a bonus to have the town booming again, and new faces on the street, Make them welcome, invite them over, and new friendships might be established. It's worth the effort, food producer has to pay for feed and equipment, some of which have nearly doubled in the last several months. The Liberal government's attempt to down the price of beef and pork by limiting their export is merely a remedial measure that in the long run will further damage many farmers' chances of staying viable. Some effort must be made to halt inflation on all fronts not just beef and pork. What is the solution? We confess that we don't have the slightest idea of what the answer could be. But there must be an answer, or someday the bubble will burst. 1929 was the start of some very bad years. when we can point the accusing finger at the public figures who have been caught out and keep it turned squarely away from ourselves? For instance, when the news media informed us that "Rich Nations spend 25 times more on Arms than on aid to Poor" and that a United Nations itady of us were more than momentarily interested or aghast. Government scandals, either personal or party, should not be glossed over but neither should we lose sight of the fact that it is we who elect public servants because we believe them capable of making wise decisions of far-reaching consequence on our behalf. History will judge us, as welt as them, on the basis of how well this responsibility is discharged. 4-04111'011 NEWS-RECORD, THVRSPAY, AUGUST 16, 1973 Editorial comment The enthusiasm is catching Inflation solution needed fast How shockable are we? There's nothing like old friends There's nothing like seeing old friends. Or old fiends, as it comes Out sometimes when the linotype operator is not on his toes ha ha. I have a couple of old fiends who managed to drop in while I was getting ready to go to England, Between them, they almost aborted the trip. It's hot that they bother me. I wouldn't say that. It's just that they cripple me for about two days each, by the time we finish reminiscing and get to bed as the robins begin to chirp, That's not so bad. A chap must expect that sort of ruin. But they brought with them a couple of other old fiends—their wives. That's what really put the tart on the griddle, as Lord Faversham said while he was roasting a *ell-known street-walker. We have all sorts of friends, eh? There are the close chums of public school,with whom there is nothing in common by the time you are in Grade II ex- cept the fact that Old Lady Williams beat the hell out of you every second day, when you were in Grade 5. Then there are the bosom buddies of high school. This is an eternal, yearning friendship, often depending on the type of bosom. Ten years later you meet and there's not much to say after exchanging the num- ber of children and wives or husbands you have had. College friends are even closer. I was looking =at a pic- ture of four of us the other day. We had in-jokes. We were in- separable, We would give our left arm for each other. I haven't seen one of them for twenty years. One is a drunk, a second is dead, and the third is an accountant. Not necessarily in that order. Then there are the friends you make on summer jobs. These are so intimate you can hardly wait to separate so that you can write each other. Once. And, if you were in the ser- vice, there are all sorts of friends. There's Dutch Kleitneyer, the ubiquitous Australian, Jack Ryan, the on., mitigated Canadian, Singh Thantli, the sinful Indian, and so on. A few of them still around, and you see them every five years, but that means only a couple of days of ruin. And, of course, you have made friends since you married. There are Shirley and Bill, and Joao and Dick, and Jack and Jill , and Humphrey and Ursula. Not to mention 1-lumpty and Dumpty. Those named are carefully disguised, and the last two can figure out for themselves who they are. Nor should we forget profeseional Mende, the people we work with. In my case, they range from someone like Miss S„ who weighs 84 pounds after a steak dinner and has a laugh that would knock your fillings out, to Mrs. O., who is "the sexiest broad in the school", according to the kids. As a gen- tleman, I can only agree with them. Yes, a chap gathers lot of friends over a few decades. But the two I mentioned earlier on area little special. Etzlr and Trap. We joined the air force together, drank beer together, Sang bawdy songs together, and pursued the fair set together, We learned to fly together, On one leave, we hitchhiked to New 'York together and I can still remember Bub, after a bit of intemperance or something, spewing all over Broadway from the window of a taxi. Broadway has gone steadily downhill since. We weht our several ways during the big conflagration, and all managed to stay alive during various hairy incidents. When we got home from the wars, we got in touch. We were all going to college and funds were pretty slim, but we'd get together occasionally for some of the old riotous living of the rude soldiery. We all fell in love about the same time and got married about the same time. We each have two children and have abated the woes and glows of raising kids. The three girls we chose, Peg, Ruth and Sue% are still married to us, something of a record these days. We've all been modestly suc- cessful iti a material way and modestly unsuccessful in a spiritual way, Our wives tell us, in- dividually, that we are rotten husbands and fathers, but we don't see them reaching into the grab-bag for substitutes, When we meet, a cb0ple of times a year, we compare mid- dle-aged aches arid pains, but -we're young at heart, es you would clearly see if you drop- ped by about 4 a.m. We'll probably wind up in the same Home for Senile Veterans. If we do, well keep it lively. 'Yes, a man acquires a lot of friends in a lifetime. But not many of Us have two old fiends like Trap mid Bub to drop around •and turn us kite living skeletons when we're trying to get ready to go to togland. 10 YEARS AGO AUGUST 2Z 1963 The Hon. C.S. MacNaughton, minister of highways, will stand in the Provincial Elec- tions on September 25th. It is foregone conclusion that MacNaughton will win hands down. The Liberals have not yet announced who will run for their party. It is not known if the NDP wilt contest the local riding. Construction has slowed down on the addition to the Central Huron Secondary School. Members of the sehool board say that there will be a school of sorts but are dubious as to the condition it will be John Cochrane and George Falconer have requested that no parking signs be erected on both sides of Princess St. in front of the school so the buses would have room to manoeuver around the school for discharging and picking up students. With 19 buses using the road, it could become ex- tremely narrow in winter. Mrs, W.G. Moorehead, the judge at the annual flower show, is going to have a hard time if half the people entered bring their flowers this year. The show appears to be heading for a huge suecess with 15 different flower varieties in- cluding asters, dahlia, cosmos, phlox and many others. Judging will commence at 11;00 a.m. and the doors will open to the public at 3:00 .p,rn. They may be seen until .9:30 p.m. Nine members of the Clinton Boy Scouts and two leaders have been spending a week at Forester's Bridge, north of Ilolniesville. They have been putting into practice the many lessons in "roughing it" that they loaned throurdi the veer, Clinton's Fish and Game Midgets opened up a 1-0 lead in the best of three WOAA "B" semi-finals by beating New Hamburg 5-0. The second game of the series will be played tonight in New Hamburg. 25 YEARS AGO AUGUST 19, 1948. D.E. Holmes, Goderich, has been appointed Magistrate to succeed the late J,W. Morley Exeter and H.O. Hays is the new Orown Attorney, she,. ceeding Mr. Holmea, Mr, Hays was born in Seaforth and has been a member of the law firrri of McConnell and Hays, Seaforth, since 1938, following graduation from Osgoode Hall, Toronto. Mr, Holmes is believed to be the first Crown Attorney to resign to accept the position of magistrate. William Bender has been ex- perimenting with tobacco growing in Goderich Township. While M Delhi Mr. Bender brought home nine tobacco plants which he planted. A short time ago he was in Delhi again and he took One of the plants back with him to com- pare to the plants in that area. His plant had heavier and widen leaves and seemed to be a superior plant to those in- spected. If the tobacco will ripen in this climate it might Mean a new industry for this district. If you're a boy or girl with lots of freckles this year there is a way to capitalize oh them, The Canadian Exhibition is organizing a contest to ascer- tain who has the most freckles and the biggest 'ones. The 'Bx' hat already received a number of &rides, Many farmers in the district havea been saying that this is the year for tall plants but can anyone beat this? Allen Shad- dick, Londesboro, measured a corn stock this week that was 11 ft 3 inches tall. Harvesting is half-finished with the grain all cut although it is moving slower due to cat- chy weather. They are getting yields of more than 50 bushels to an acre so farmers are well pleased. 50 YEARS AGO AUGUST 16, 1923 Harold Pugh, son of Mrs, Wilson of town Was holidaying in the country last week. During the day he was riding one of the horses bareback. When they tame to the farm gate the horse decided to go in while Herold wanted to forge ahead. As a result of this misunderstanding Harold went over the horses head and was shaken up. A motorist was cruising along the London Road on Monday of this week, The sun was shining so he reached over and pulled down the side blinds. This was his last recollection until he wakened and found himself in the ditch with no problems from having driven in his sleep. A man in Clinton started saving dimes over 16 years ago. He made no extra effort tb get an extra number of dimes but kept what came to him ih change. He saved an amount of $16,000. /5 YEARS AGO AUGUST 18, 1898 Mr. David Canteloh has ship- ped 14 carloads of apples already with the season just beginning, He estimates there will be '75,i300 barrels of apples for export from Huron this fall as compared with -a total out- put of 10,000 barrels for last season. Rev. Mr. Parke, of Clinton, officiated in Trinity church last Sunday. His sermons were very much appreciated particularly the evening one. Cantelon and Wallis have paid out $4,500 for hogs last week. This meant that about 500 porkers were bought in from a radius of 20 miles. This is one of the high marks for C & W this year. CANADIANS ON THE MOVE Consumers' Association of Canada advises travellers to avoid unchlorieated drinking water and iced drinks, par- ticularly in tropical countries. Salads, unpeeled fruit and ether uncooked foods are als suspect. CAC national headquarters is 'located at 100 Gloucester Street, Ottawa.