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Times-Advocate, 1979-05-24, Page 17Price Per Copy 25 CentsMAY 24, 1979 "Going like a beaver " or retaxing residents in Grand Cove enjoy life “If anybody says they’re lonely, then that’s their own fault,” says Helen Watson, as she folds her clothes in the bright laundry room. According to Mrs. Watson 'I I 1 <2 RETIREMENT LIFE ENJOYABLE — Lorraine and Nicholas Smiley relax with their cat, Ming Soo, in the comfortable sun porch they've added to their home in Grand Cove Estates. I BACK YARD PATIO — Ernest and Sheila Thomson enjoy the sunshineanda cup of coffee behind their home in Grand Cove Estates. T-A photo New bank opens in Bend Sunny skies, ffee coffee mugs and a chance to see Reeve Bob Sharen go “snip, snip” drew about 80 people to the grand opening of the new Toronto-Dominion bank in Grand Bend, Wednesday. The bank is located at 24 81 Crescent near the Post Office. A mobile unit is being used at present until a permanent building is constructed. The mobile was moved to Grand Bend from Forest, where a new T-D bank was recently built. Manager Jud Bumstead who is orignially from Owen BEST PRESSED — Jennifer, 7, and Jeff, 5, children of the new bank manager Jud Bumstead, came for the T-D branch grand opening. T-A photo NEW BANK OPENED •— Grand Bend reeve Bob Sharen cuts the ribbon, Manager Jud Bumstead is on the left, while Guido Marini, south-west division general finanager, is oh the right. and her neighbours there’s always plenty to do and many “instant” friends to be made at Grand Cove Estates. Grand Cove Estates is Sound, comes to Grand Bend from London. Mr. Bum- stead, his wife and children- Jennifer, 7 and Jeff, 5-- will be living in Southcott Pines. Other staff members at the new bank are Harry Norton, Colleen Sherk and Pam Mallette. The tellers have been working at the Forest branch. T-D’s general manager for the Ontario Southwest Division, Guido Marini was pleased with the turn-out for the grand opening. “Never have I seen such a genuine friendly welcome as I’ve described as an “adult retirement park” and more than 400 people in Grand Bend call it home. The park is located at the north edge of the village, and is actually in Stephen township. Euchre, golf tournaments, gardening and just good old- fashioned visiting are a few of the activities available to the senior citizen neigh­ bourhood. Residents have been moving to Grand Cove since it first opened five years ago. They come mostly from Toronto and London, but there are many from Montreal, Ottawa and Windsor and there have even been enquiries from Michigan. Lorraine and Nicholas .Smiley along with their Siamese cat Ming Soo moved to the park from Ottawa over a year ago. The Smileys like the small town atmosphere. Mrs. Smiley says that here there’s someone around to take an interest in you seen in Grand Bend, and I’ve opened a lot of branches,” Marini said. Visitors toured the bank, were served coffee and cookies and were given mugs, balloons, key rings and calendars. At 3:00 p.m. Reeve Sharen cut the ribbon, and was presented with a desk thermometer. This marked the opening of the 1016th T-D branch in the world. According to Marini, The Toronto- Dominion bank is totally owned and operated by Canadians, and employees more than 17,500 people. big city you could be dead and nobody would know,’’ she says. The Smileys also like the. idea of having someone around to keep an eye on their home while they holiday in the south for the winter. They estimate that they can live in Grand Cove more economically than in an apartment in a big city. Ernest and Sheila Thomson moved here from London almost two years ago, and say they’ve made “lovely friends’’. Mr. Thomson says that everyone here has a common denominator. He enjoys the fresh Lake Huron air. They also like the quietness of the park, but they’re quick to add that they enjoy seeing children out playing when they visit grandparents for the weekend. Mr. Thomson says that before his retirement he was afraid he wouldn’t have enough to do. Now he’s “going like a beaver” — mowing lawns and playing • cards. “I even make my own bed now,” he says proudly, and his wife adds that he tells her how to do it. A recreation centre com­ plete with dance floor, fireplace and lounge, library, exercise rooms, pool tables, laundry ser­ vices, and kitchen is available for the use of any “Grand Cover”. An outdoor swimming pool com­ plements the rec- facilities. With a golf course and beach nearby leisure time can be well spent. , There are at present 208 homes occupied at Grand Cove Estates. Manager Robert Dykstra says that another seven or eight will be filled by next month. Plans are now in the making for another 800 units to be opened in the next few years. The homes are mobile units made by Bendix in Hensall. Dykstra wants to make it clear that this is not a trailer park. Residents buy their home and have four different styles from which to choose. Prices range between $23,000 and $33,000 for the homes, qnd then residents pay a monthly rental on their lot. The rental fee is about $140 a month and includes the land, taxes, water, sewage, television cable, and maintenance costs. In winter roads are plowed. Residents are supplied with a storage locker in which they can keep lawnmowers or bicycles. Attractiveness is im­ portant in Grand Cove Estates. Residents agree to keep their lots in good condition, and all additions to the home — sun porches or patios — must be approved by the company. What would prompt normal, fun loving people to spoil a perfectly good holiday weekend by painting their house? Since our wedding is just five (gulp, quiver) short weeks away, we decided it was time to spruce up our honeymoon home. Our vine- covered cottage had no vines to hide the peeling paint. I bought the paint, and on Saturday we got to work. My fiance finished one end of the house, and we admired his work. The paint was going on smoothly. .So when he started on the front of the house, I opened the second gallon of phint and began working towards him. Soon he came over to see how I was doing. I was not having fun. It doesn’t help to put one in the mood for painting when you consider what you have to wear. I was dressed in the gym suit I bought ten years ago when I started grade nine. It’s an ugly old thing, nothing like the attractive jogging shorts and T-shirts the high school girls wear today. My hair was covered with an old faded scarf which paint spatters couldn’t hurt. Knowing that your ap­ pearance is unattractive is made ten times worse when there is a horde of slim, tanned girls next door. Our neighbours had house guests for the weekend. While the guys went boating the girls sunned themselves in their bikinis. I looked at my legs. They were very pale and white by comparison. The yellow paint spatters didn’t help. Anyway, here was the “boss” to inspect my painting. His work was smooth, shiny and flawless. Mine was lumpy, tacky, chalky and covered with drips. He gave me careful in­ structions on how to run the brush along the underside of Dykstra says that the beauty of the park never presents a problem. In fact, he says that the residents seem to compete among themselves for the nicest looking lot. “If these people get some shrubs, then soon their neighbours do, too”, Dykstra says. The park is owned by Ridge Pine Park Limited in Brampton. They also have a similar operation in Barrie. Lou Rice is the main owner, and he visits,Grand Cove on a regular basis, landing his helicopter in the middle of a vacant grassy area. Dykstra who has recently taken over as manager, came to Grand Cove from Bowmanville. His wife and family will soon be moving to Grand Bend. At present, he is living in a furnished unit that is usually kept for prospective buyers to sleep in while they are making up their minds. Office Manager Mary Speiran has been at the Cove since it opened on July 2, 1974. “And did we look awful then, — holes and mud everywhere,” she says. The change in the appearance of the park and the number of people who have moved in is unbelieveable, she says. Grand Cove also employs two sales people, two cleaning ladies, and two people on the works crew. They will be hiring about five high school students to help out with landscaping for the summer. Dykstra says that Grand Cove Estates has been better for the area than an in­ dustry. “Just, ask the store* owners,” he says. How else could you get so many new consumers in the village, without any burdens on such things as roads or schools, he asks. ■ ’J • OPP busy on holiday A record number of charges were laid by the Grand Bend and Pinery detachments of the Ontario Provincial Police over the Victoria holiday weekend. The Pinery detachment laid 140 charges under the Liquor License Act, while Grand Bend O.P.P. charged 73. Two charges were laid under the narcotic control act in the Pinery, while three were charged in Grand Bend. The Pinery detach­ ment investigated eight oc- curances under the criminal code, while 10 were in­ vestigated by the Grand Bend detachment. There were 14 charges laid by the Pinery detach­ ment laid under the highway traffic act, and 139 charges laid under Provincial Park act. The Pinery detachment in­ vestigated two accidents. On Saturday, two cars driven by Dwayne Jennings of St. Clair Beach and Randal Vogel of Kitchener collided in the park causing $1300 damage. In another two vehicle accident at Port Franks, damage was es­ timated at $3200. The cars were driven by Danny Hughes and Gary Hunt, both of Port Franks. There were no injuries in either acci­ dent. Art studio election A new slate of officers was elected by the Grand Bend Art Studio last Wednesday so that plans for next fall can get underway. The executive will be Mary Fickling, president; Catherine Junker, vice-president; Alice Hudson, secretary; and Dara Hartman, treasurer. Regular weekly painting evenings will be held in the Town Hall in Grand Bend, starting again next fall. Other plans for the future include participation in “Art-in-the-Park” in Parkhill and in Petrolia, and another bus trip to the Stratford Theater, to be organized for August. The Grand Bend Art Studio has been accepted as a group-member of the Vic­ toria Arts and Crafts Council of Petrolia, and as such will participate in some of their activities as well. The 12 member group plans to put some of their work on display in the Grand Bend Public Library during July and August. By MARY BLEWETT “please the shingle to avoid drips. Then he showed me how to slide the paint on to cover the brush marks. I followed his instructions patiently, working just as I was told. Soon he returned to see how I was doing. My section was still tacky, streaked and covered with gobs. I got the same lecture once again, “Dear,” I said, calmly gritting my teeth, don’t tell me how to hold the brush anymore”. Those may not be the exact words I used, but that was the gist of my statement. By now I was beginning to question the idea of marrying a man who was going to stand over my shoulder and criticize everytime I painted the house. Ten years of romance and a year of wedding plans nearly went down the drain. I decided it couldn’t be completely my fault. I looked at the two paint cans andyelled triumphantly. His can was labelled “gelled alkyd” while I was dipping into a gallon of “latex acrylic”. The gelled alkyd stayed smooth and shiny and didn’t drip. The latex acrylic was tacky and lumpy. It wasn’t my fault! I wasn’t a clutz at house painting! Our future was saved! It was 5:30. I flew to the store before it closed. After a brief confrontation with the store manager, (Yes, I had set out to buy the latex, yes, I know the gelled is more expensive, but I was given two different kinds) we came to a compromise, and I came home with more of the gelled. We were looking forward to working side by side in harmony all the next day, making our little home beautiful. Instead, my fiance had a friend help him, and I did the garage doors which are 50 feet away, out of his scrutiny. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? — Laura Broughton, 2, and her sisterCatherine,4, enjoy ice­ cream cones while their grandparents shop for bargains at the Southcott Pines garage sale Saturday. T-A photo Council aims at attractive beach Trucks, dogs not wanted Keeping the beach attrac­ tive was one of Grand Bend council’s crusades at Tues­ day night’s meeting. Council reluctantly decid­ ed that there was little they could do to stop Ed Rivard from parking a truck on the beach property owned by developer Paul Fraleigh. Rivard says his truck will be parked on the beach near the patio area beside Missy’s. From it, he says he plans to sell soft drinks, sub­ marine sandwiches, chips, tobacco, ice cream and t- shirts. Rivard also told council he will have a high quality sound system so that his customers can enjoy music. The sound system can also be used to make emergency announcements, give weather bulletin or an­ nounce town events, Rivard said. Councillor Harold Green immediately expressed con- cernaboutthe sound system, saying “We don’t even like loud radios.” Reeve Bob Sharon warned Rivard that he would find that the sound would carry farther because of the lake. TORY TEAM — The victorious Sid Fraleigh, complete with "piggies" on his lucky tie, was pur­ sued by reporters and well-wishers during celebrations Tuesday evening. Lambton MPP Lome Henderson pauses to speak to Fraleigh. T-A photo Fraleigh takes GB polls The Big Blue Machine that always co-operates with Lambton MPP Lome Henderson worked for Sid Fraleigh Tuesday night. A jubilent Tory crowd fill­ ed the Forest arena to cheer on their home town winner. When thelocal porkpro­ ducer’s victory became ap­ parent, he went on stage along with his wife, Vel, and their family — Linda, Mike Dave and his wife Beth, Wendy and Mark. Liberal incumbent Larry Condon left his dampened festivities at Taxandria Hall in Arkona to concede to Fraleigh. The scores on the Tory black board read Fraleigh — 17,578, Condon — 14,191, and Reynolds — 4,- 337. Cheers went up from the crowd each time more P.C. The Reeve also told Rivard that Grand Bend does not allow mobile operations. Rivard agreed to take the wheels off his truck or put skirting around the truck to make it immobile. Sharen went on to tell Rivard that he could only erect signs concerning his business. The truck could not be used as a billboard to advertise other businesses, Sharen said. Discussion followed as to whether or not council could prevent Rivard from putting his truck on the beach. Several council members said they expected com­ plaints from the villagers, and it was unfortunate to have something put on that site, since they were lucky enough to get rid of the big slide. Councillor Bill Baird summed up the discussion when he said, “If we have any say. I say no.” Green agreed with him, saying it was too close to the public beach for his liking. Rivard was told he would have to pay $300 traders fee, obey the sign laws, and make the truck immobile. victories appeared on the wide screen television that Fraleigh's workers had placed on the stage. When asked how he felt, Fraleigh had one word — “Fantastic!” Fraleighspent the rest of the evening mov­ ing about the arena's ice surface, shaking hands with the people who were dancing and visiting with those sit­ ting at the tables. Fraleigh said he wanted to take tinge to “talk to his people, the people that voted me in.” Too much of his time was taken up talking on the telephone to reporters, he said. Seasoned politician Lome Henderson vowed to work together with “Sid” to help their constituents. Fraleigh won both the Grand Bend polls With 118 to Concern over protecting the beauty of their sandy beach came up again when council discussed the number of dogs loose on the beach over the holiday weekend. Reeve Sharen said that dogs should not be allowed on the beach for two reasons - first, because people leave their dogs in the car. and “it’s like an oven,” and secondly because the dogs will do “what comes naturally on the beach, and who’s going to step in it?” Councillor Bill Baird said that fines should be’much higher - the $5 fine for first offenders should be raised to $25, he said. Green agreed, but added that if they raise the fine, they should erect bigger signs so that visitors would have no excuse for not see­ ing them. The amount of the fine should also be stated on the sign, Green said. Sharen instructed Baird to ask ARC industries about the cost of making large signs in the shape of a dog. In reporting on council’s correspondence, village Please turn to 2A Condon’s 85 and Reynolds’ 18 in number one. and 95 to Condon’s 84 and Reynolds’ 15 in number two. In poll 10 at Southcott Pines the count was Fraleigh 75, Condon 52 and Reynolds 24. Fraleigh also took poll nine with 83. while Condon had 64 and Reynolds had 17. Condon took poll eight with 126, to Fraleigh's 78, and Reynolds’ 24. Polls eight and nine were at Alhambra Hall. Condon took the Port Franks and Ravenswood polls by very small margins. The returning officer es­ timated voter turn-out to be over 70 per cent. With one poll still outstan­ ding the count Wednesday was Fraleigh 18,753, Condon 15,389, and Reynolds 4,570.