The Brussels Post, 1981-11-04, Page 2Published at BRUSSELS, ONTARIO
every Wednesday morning
by McLean Bros. Publishers Limited
$13 a year
40 cents a single copy
Authorized as second class mail by Canada
Post Office, Registration Number 0562.
w
ef~I,Rl~A MFRS
' 41.WSPAPERS CO'
A Andrew Y. McLean, Publisher
Evelyn Kennedy, Editor
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1981
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario
Weekly Newspaper Association and The Audit Bureau of,
Circulation.
Continued from page 1 in charge.
not turn them away empty handed when
they call on you. Buy •a poppy, a symbol of
the blood shed. Wear it in remembrance of
those who endured the horror of war and
who paid the price for us.
1872
4Brussels Post
BRUSSELS
BOX 50,
Brussels, Ontario Established 1872 519-887-6641
NOG 1 HO Serving Brussels and the surrounding community
Short Shots
by Evelyn Kennedy
* * * * *
Now that the World Series baseball
question has been settled arm-chair fans can
give their attention to football and hockey.
After the Sunday C.F.L. game between
Ottawa and Montreal it looks as if there is no
doubt that Montreal will be the contenders
in the east for the C.F.L. trophy. What do
you bet that -they will lose in the final
encounter with the western division team?
The Montreal Canadiens hockey team have
also been, in the last weeks, going full-steam
ahead.
Skate Canada concluded on Sunday with
Canada's figure skaters making a fine
showing. Tracy Wainman, 14-year old
bundle of energy and athletic grace from
Toronto, gave a marvellous performance.
She won top honors in the women's event.
With her excellent free skating performance
she surpassed the consistent winner Priscilla
1E11 of . the U.S.
*5 *
The battles on the diamonds for the World
Series Baseball Championships are over.
The. Los AngelesDodgers, after 16 years of
drought, finally triumphed over the New
York Yankees. These two teams met, many
times, in those years in final encounters for
the championship with the Yankees always
the winners. This time it was different, much
to the surprise and disgust of the proud
Yankees. How sweet that victory must have
been. *5 * * * *
After the November 11th service at the
Cenotaph the church service will be held this
year at Duff's United Church in Walton.
Rev. John Swan, the Legion padre, will be
Continued from page 1
At the moment the Sanders have 114
full-grown'and 40 little goats. They arc still
selling their mohair to England and
apparently the quality of Canadian mohair
surpasses that of other countries.
Mr. Sanders thinks that is because of the
Canadian climate, that the hair of the goat
has more lustre and longer fibre, the same
as cows who are left out in the colder
weather for a while grow a thicker coat.
During the spring, a man was over from
England and wanted to buy the fall clip from
Mr. Sanders. There is a world demand for
Canadian grown Angora because Canada's
stringent health requirements for livestock
are known worldwide.
The Sanders still have mohair they
clipped two weeks ago and are-going to sell
a small sample to England because they'd
rather have a little bit less and be sure of
their money.
Presnetly the world market 'price for
mohair is at an all-time low but expectat-
ions for the spring are prcikty good, Mr.
Sanders said.
Raises goats near here
ALL SET FOR HALLOWE'EN — The Brussels Public School was all set
for Hallowe'en with its many decorations of the season including this
jack-o-lantern complete with pointy hat.' (Photo by Jim Prior)
Farmer talks back to Smiley
Sugar and spice
By Bill Smiley
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, even
though my message is a bit belated. Ours' '
wasn't so hot.
Under the burden of a heavy cold, rotten
weather (what ever happened to Indian
summer?), and plain procrastination, I'm
going to let some of my readers write this
column.
Apparently I wrote a colunin a few monthi
ago about Canadians, despite all the gloom
and doom, never having had it so good. I
meant it, as far as material things go. Here
are a couple of responses.
Mrs. Koleen Garland (nice name that,
Koleen) of R.R. 2, Cargill, Ont., says she
usually agrees with me, but not on that
occasion. I'll quote bits: "This week's
column had my dander up before I got to the
third line.
"So we never had it so good, huh? Maybe
the consumers never had it so good...but
some of us are producers as well...we have
nearly $90,000 worth of debt. It's called a
small farm. I call it the great Canadian
freebee. We cannot get firm mortgage
loans...to small to merit help. So we stuck
with paying $20,000 per year in interest.
"Last year I cut our living expenses down
to $7,000...a bit below the poverty level. My
husband has an excellent job, yet we Still
manage to take a $5,000 loss on the year."
Yes, mint, but how much income tax did
you pay, with a loss like that? Were you
hungry, cold, hop Bless? I know all about
paying interest: I've been doing it all my
life,
Mrs. Garland ends with the emphasis I
wish I could instill-in my students' writing:
"Maybe'we never had it so good? Listen,
Sonny (thank you, main). I'm a farmer! I've
worked my backside off providing those
never-had-it-so-good, so don't include me
in them." Well said, lady. But maybe you
should have taken a course in plumbing or
electricity. Wish I had. You wouldn't be in
debt.
At the other end of the knotted rope, Bill
Francis of Moncton, N.B., agrees with me.
"It is a relief to know that there is still
someone around who realizes that in the
bulk we are a greedy lot; even, alas, senior
citizens who never had it so good. As for the
yeung, they now expect to celebrate
Christmas in June.
"In our early years, hardnosed bank
managers may have slowed Us down, but
nothing ever dimmed our hope. I soon
learned to pay cash or do without.
Started out in 1914 working a 12 hoUr,
week, six days a Week...earning $60 a
month and paying $15 for board, consisting
mainly of cod and moose meat..se many had
it a let worse during those depression
years:" Amen to that, Bill.
I'm about half way between these two
writers, in age, and in opinion. But I still
think, even with our sick• dollor, inflation,
and unemployment we still have something
to have a happy Thanksgiving about.
Now, about censorship. Hilda SibtliOrpe,
of Wyebridge, Ont., supports my stand
against the majority who would like to ban
certain books in our schools:
"I express my concern to trustees,
friends and neighbours that this is a
situation they should speak out about. But
it's frustrating to meet indifference..."
Mrs. Sibthorpe is an occasional corres-
pondent, a successful politician, and the
mother of two girls I taught back in what
seems like the 1880s. She is also deeply
concerned about the subject of abortion:" I
still believe there should be .a choice for
women...", but that's another topic, not for
this column. Though 1 agree with her.
Somebody else, from Vancouver (can't
find the danged letter), agrees with my
opinions on censorship, but berates me for
mentioning the Bible as an example of some
pretty straight talk, that would probably be
banned by some rural school beards in this
country, if it had been published last year.
This writer claims that the Bible contains
these lurid passages only, to display God's
anger with man's folly and to warn him
about it. Well, that may be, but in my
opinion, a lot of it is straight history, and
some of it pretty lurid.
Thank, goodness, out local ,school: board
has some guts. A few zealots on the board
had drawn up a list of seven books
considered questionable -for teaching.
There was a big flap, but in the end, only
one book was left on the banned list.
ironically, it was' a play, same play to be
presented in the country soon by a drama
group.
A final touch of unintentional irony
occurred when a local radio announcer said
the book had been banned because one of
the characters was a religious bigot. I
wonder what kind of, people began the list in
the first place.
1 have lots more interesting correspond-
ence, ,but not much more room. Let's go
back to our reason for giving thanks.
Inflation and interest rates are killing us,
along with ever-higher taxes. But that's
only paper, and can't kill our spirit.
We have bumbling governments that
talk like lions and act like mice. A heck of a
lot of people are living below the so-called
poverty line.
Farmeit and small businessmen and
people with mortgages . to renew are
hurting. But who is dying of starvation or for
lack Of medicine, as in much of the rest of
the world?
We may be cold, but we aren't freezing to
death. They don't pick corpses off the street
every morning: Our "children haVe an
excellent chance of surviving. Some of us, at
some time, may have had it better. But for
the Canadian peopid i as a mass, I Still say
oNe.nevet,had.it. so good.“ • 3121!