The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-11-20, Page 6Page 6—Lucknow. Sentinel, Wednesday, November 20, 1985
1
"The Sepoy Town"
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
1985
VL7111FICO
CIRCULATION
ThomasThompson
James Friel
Pat Livingston
Joan.Helm
Merle Elliott '
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-Editor
-General Manager
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Support• arena fund
When the realization hits that the stories told about the
old arena are not exaggerations told by the boys trying to
outdo each other while lifting a few pints, it becomes
obvious that something needs to be done.
Jokes about hanging a sign "Arena closed because of
rain" are not farfetched, they're based on' experiences.
Lucknow Agricultural Society members woke 'up a
village merchant at 2 a.m. during the last falHair to get
plastic to cover exhibits in the arena because it was
'raining. Roller skating was discontinued a couple of years
ago because the floor's condition couldn't be anticipated.
And during. high wind conditions in the winter the ice
cleaner not only lifts the shavings from skating, it cleans
• off the snow that has blown in through the holes in the
structure.
One time a .group of referees refused to do a hockey
game because of the lack of dressing rooms and showers.
•The "something" that needs to be done has begun in
earnest this week. Canvassers will be visiting friends and
neighbors in the fciur municipalities to solicit donations
and sell tickets for the Sports Complex Lottery to help
build the proposed facility.
The Lions Club and the canvassers volunteering from
other concerned organizations hope to raise at least
, $300,000 for the project. They hope that a successful
campaign will give levels of government the needed shake
td at least become aware of how much Lucknovy and area
needs a new arena. More importantly, they hope it will
•
encourage governments to allocate the much needed
money to help pay for the expensive facility.
• There are skeptics who point to a declining birthrate in
Lucknow, particularly of boys, as a deterrent to building a
new arena. Thesepeople see the arena useful only for
h'ockey. It's true that the Ontario •Minor. Hockey
Association refuses to sanction a tournament here above
the bantam level because conditions are so poor.
They ignore the fact that there is a healthy figure
skating club and that public skating draws an average of
100 people each time. They forget summer rec programs;
the agricultural society and the craft exhibition. And a new
facility would increase the opportunities to develop new
'events for residents and to bring in visitors.
It's a huge undertaking for a community this size - not
much less than a million dollars will do. It requires vision
to see what must be done and a lot of courage to go out and
do it.
• Lucknow,,and area residents know an arena is an ugly
financial problem that will eventually have to be faced.
•The fund-raising and applying for grants should be started -
now. Working together on the arena financing before
being forced to, will make a difficult problem a little less
strained.
Learning to skate can sometimes be a hard thing to do on your own and Julie Cleland and .
Together Jordan
Hamilton decided to join forces against the cold, hard ice. during public skating at
• the arena Nov. f7. • [James Friel photo]
,•As the first few streaks of dawn heralded
another day in the Caledon Hills, Colonel
. Sir Alexander MacDougal tried to bring
some semblance of .order out of military
chaos. His demoralized Men stood in bewil-
dered groups, talking excitedly about the
crafty night attack by the unknown
"enemy" who had relieved them of their
muskets and completely destroyed their
• effectiveness as a fighting force. /
• "Silence," • MacDougal commanded
harshly.. "You are a disgrace to the
uniforms you wear. Under actual wartime
conditions you would now be dead or
prisoners. If the night attack has taught
you anything, it is that. a soldier must be
alert at all times. Perhaps in future you will
take your militia service more seriously..."
The 'sound Of bagpipes in the distance
caused the colonel to pause. On both sides
of the clearing where MacDougal and his
men had camped overnight, an advance
guard of kilted men took up their positions,
bare legs leaping through the undergrowth
and baycinets flashing in the grey light.
"My God," MacDougal said. "It's the
damned Caledonian Scottish!"
The sound of the pipes became more
distinct and soon a company of marching
M• en entered the clearing, led by their Pipe
•major' - Neil MacCrimmon. The remnants
of MacDotigal's little artily parted to let the
• "Scotties" through. .
Major Ian Jamieson halted his men and
waited until the kitchen., supply and ambu-
lance wagons had taken up their positions
at the rear of the column. At that time, he
ordered his troops to present arms and
marching up to Colonel MacDougal, he
saluted smartly.
"The Caledonian Scottish is ready for
your inspection, sir. All my men are
present, they are fully equipped and armed
for immediate actiOn!"
This show of military preparedness,
together with the compliments paid to him,
softened some of the anguish in the
colonel's heart. He straightened his tunic, /
adjusted his hat, and accompanied Jamie-
sondown the lines of men. The colonel was
more than pleased with the turnout ,- the
//show helped to temper the disgrace he had
suffered during the night.
"You are to be congratulated, Major,"
MacDougal said. "You must have spent
many hours, trdining your men."
• Ian Jamieson smiled. He was pleased
the colonel recognized the superior military
qualities of the Redtrees men, and at the
same time he wanted to, brag a little on
their behalf. • ' •
"It is not so much the training sir," he
said with a haughty air. "It's the breeding.
These men have the rugged tenacity of the
Highlands. in their blood. Fighting is as
natural to them as eating and sleeping.
And speaking of eating, sir - kindly allow
the Caledonian Scottish to provide break-
fast for you and your men."
"You have brought food with you?" the
colonel asked in amazement.
• "Of course sir, When the Redtrees men
march they march intact, complete with all
their equipment and necessary rations."
Soon., fires were burning in the clearing •
and the smell of frying bacon drifted to the
nostrils of the hungry men. There was
fresh bread too, collected from numerous
homesteads in Redtrees',,
• Owing to the shortage of plates and
drinking utensils, men shared with each
other. This encouraged a, sort of comrade-
ship between the militiamen from the
south of Peel County and the "enemy"
who had made fools of them by capturing
their muskets during the night.
• When the meal was over, Jamieson,
by Dor* CambeU
returned ithe muskets back to their original
owners andthe colonel Ordered' his men to
form up in column of route to march back.
• )
• from, whence they came. '
"Them Scotties ain't such a bad lot,",
oneof the militiamen said. "I heard tell
they was not very generous - kinda tight
like. But they treated us as if we were
relations!" , •' • -
Colonel MacDougal shook hands with
Ian Jamieson before he mounted his horse.
"The last time wemet sir," the colonel
said, ."I •• was dubious about . the state of
efficiency of the Redtrees men. I can
assure you that doubts no longer exist in
my mind. HOwever," he added sadly, "I
wish there could have been some other way.
for you to prove your proficiency. For a
while, sir,, the Caledonia Scottish made me
look like a complete ass."
As the colonel led his 'men from the
scene, the, Redtrees men presented arms
and Neil MacCrimmon 'played a tune. It
was perhaps tinged with sarcasm - "Will
ye no come back again?" '
e ,