Loading...
The Lucknow Sentinel, 1982-11-03, Page 7editorial LUCKNSENTINEL ."The Sammy T.wu" Eatabllsbed 1873 Laclmow Sentinel, Wednesday, November 3,. 1982—Page 6 THOMAS A. THOMPSON - Advertising Manager SHARON J. DIETZ - Editor PAT LiViNGSTON - Office Manager JOAN HELM - Compositor MERLE ELLIOTT - Typesetter Business'and Editorial Office Telephone 528-2822 Mailing Address P.O. Box 400, Lucknow. NOG 2H0 Second Class Mail Registration Number, 0847 Subscription rate, 515.25 per yeu; In advance Senior citizen rate, $12.75 per year in advance U.S.A. and Foreign, 538.00 per year In advance Sr. at. U.S.A. and, Foreign, 536.00 per year In advance Decisi�ri '82 Featured, in our Decision '82 edition of the Sentinel this week are pictures and a short sketch of each of the candidates seeking election to municipal council in Ashfield and. West-Wawanosh Townships and the candidates seeking the position of trustee to represent the two townships on the Huron Board of Education. The positions of reeve and three council seats' are being contested in West Wawanosh and in Ashfield, the deputy- reeve position and the three council seats are up for election. '$ While there are no burning hot issues in either township, economic restraint is discussed with the candidates as they campaign. • Unemployment is a consideration in both townships as Champion Road Machinery in Goderich faces yet another • two week layoff. Work incentive programs initiated by the province to provide work" in the municipalities are one area where local government can lobby to create jobs for people in the townships. In Ashfield the roads create a lively topic for discussion. Two concessions are paved. Concession 4 is in such poor' . state of repair in one section that the potholes create a dangerous driving hazard. The section has been built up and gravel produces dust which produces , complaints. The township has been plagued with, bridges. The past• two springs saw two bridges washed out whichmeant money set, aside for road work has to be used to rebuild bridges. • • Hopefully this spring will, not be a repeat performance and council can get on with their road building program. , The present council wants to see all the roads which are easily snowed in during winter built up. When road recon- struction is completed, they will look at resurfacing paved roads and paving' the reconstructed roads. • In Lucknow and Kinloss Township,the councils are • acclaimed. While an election isdesirable, acclamation can mean the ratepayers heartily approve of their council's programs and decisions, even though it can also mean apathy. 1n Lucknow the issue is sewers. The village's sewage works 'project is presently before the Ontario Municipal Board and it is the council's contention along with many of the ratepayerswho turned out at the ratepayers' meeing last month, that Lucknow cannot afford the .cost. of the project. The cbuncil's acclamation is an indication thatthe rate- payers of the village support the council's attempts to find additional funding for the project and that they approve of 'the. decisions 'council has made regarding the issue to this ',point. Marian Zinn has retired as school board trustee after 14 years on the board. The position as trustee representing Ashfield and West Wawanosh Townships, sees three people interested. . The future for schools in "the county is interesting, provocative and controversial. Declining enrollment will not meana cheaper . cost of education. With the .demands created by technology\in today's job market,school boards, face the dilemma of providing high, tech programs within. limited budget means. - As well, the controversial Bill 82 and its implementation in the system creates an additional challenge for trustees; providing education for all within the economic restraints. of the time. The present vice-chairman of the Huron County Board of Education. Gene Frayne, sees the future as exceptionally challenging. Schools will be closed, courses cut, people will be laid off in decisions that will be increasingly unpopular, says Frayne. Computer technology will change the system of education and the needs of the students. it will be up to the board to provide the best possible education without over burdening the taxpayers of the county as more of the funds must be raised locally. Provincial and federal purse strings are being drawn even tighter. The next three year term will be a challenge for all those who are elected, whether they serve on municipal council or school board. Choosing who will make the decisions is important. It is a, great responsibility and every voter should think carefully before marking the X on his or her ballot. at the library The movie "If You Love This Planet" will be shown Friday evening, November. Sth at 8 p.m. in the Library. This one hour film explores the implications of the Current nuclear arms race. Dr. !•Ielen Caldicott, of the Physicians For Social Responsibility is the narrator. It is an excellent film, prtiduced by the National Film Board, and relevant to the election referendum question on general disarmament, It is a serious film suitable only for young adults and grown ups. letters to the editor October 18th, 1982. To the Editor:. You will be pleased to hear that my husband and I have entertained MORE Canadian visitors • in our home, this time Mrs. Mervyn Lobb of Clinton and her nephew's wife, Mrs. Ted .johns of Blyth who may be better known under her stage name, Janet Amos. I can tell you at once they were super ambassadors for your country. Everybody who met them loved them including us. Sadly they weren't here half long enough so before they left we did our best to coax them back On holiday again, maybe next year if they can manage it. I had already met Mrs. Lobb who called tol see my in Dungannon, Ontario, at the home of Mt. and Mrs. John Spivak who were so very kindto me while I was there, •and I remem- bered her at once as a dear friend. Janet Amos was 'a stranger only for a moment. I was able to tell her that 1. had seen a most wonderful play in the theatre where she is Artistic Director, when members .of Goderich Canadian Legion took me as their guest to "The Life That Jack Built" by Jack McLarnon and also introduced me to the author. I was tremendously im- pressed by the very high standard of the play, the actingand the decor and will never forget my .night at the theatre in Blyth. redtrees At that time, I was a guest in the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Mac- Donald of Elgin Avenue W., Goderich, who also showed me enormous kind- ness. I oftenahink of them and their children and that glorious night we spent at the Goderich Legion shortly before. I left for Toronto. Mrs. Lobb and Janet were with us only for a short weekend but we filled in every minute so they wouldn't feel they missed anything, touring our town which had been bombed again/ shortly before their visit, standing in the rubble of our newspaper office destroyed by terrorists someweeks ago as I told you in my last letter, met the editor and his staff and talked to people in the streets including our sorely tried policemen who never lose ' their sense of humour. On Sunday they went to church with me, delighted to find a capacity congregation, soaring praise and a really good sermon and afterwards lingered to chat with clergy and church members on their way' out. Mrs. Lobb was given a great deal of help in her search for Northern Ireland roots. On their last night, they were guests of honour at a meeting of Dungannon W.I. Mrs. Lobb addressed the as- sembled company, bringing greetings from. Dungannon W.I. in Ontario and giving an outline of the work she does as Historian for the Dungannon area townships. She presented a small gift to W.I. who in their turn presented her with. a W.I. Cookery Book. The guest speaker gave a demon- stration on the making of Flower Pictures which were very, • beautiful, clever and artistic and appealed parti- cularly to Janet who was able to buy some completed samples. After the meeting, we were entertained to a special and most delicious supper and a staff reporter arrived to photograph them for the Courier, copies of which I have already posted off to Clinton and Blyth. Next morning, our two ladies left for Tipperary, taking with them the good .• wishes of everyone they met while they were here. Even after they'd gone, people kept ringing,me, wanting to see them or to help them , with information about relatives and friends who might help them along the Way: ' Everybody agreed they were lovely to know and our whole town will be looking forward to welcoming 'them again. Mrs. Lobb has taken back messages to all my friends out there, particularly Mrs. Mary Alton who is, I understand, a distant relative, what they call here "A -far -out -friend", • Mr. and Mrs. Spivak and Mrs. Phyllis Morrison who is also very interested in the history of your Dungannon. I'm glad to reach all these goodsouls through your paper as I'm afraid there hasn't been too much time this year for individual correspondence. It's terrific being. able to write an occasional open letter Turn to page 7• Ewan Brodie, the stepson of Chippy Chisholm, lived atone in his cabin with the ghost of his dearly beloved young wife. 'He was haunted by her smiling face, a cheerful voice crooning Gaelic, melodies and rough hands constantly engaged in household chores. In such an unrealistic frame of mind, he was unable or unwilling to eradicate the memory of her presence. Nothing had been disturbed since that tragic day when she had whispered his name for the last time. Her old coat and bonnet still hung on a wooden peg behind the door. There was a sewing basket and an unfinished baby's garment on her favourite chair beside the hearth. Sometimes in the hush of the night he awoke and'reached out for her,but his hand only touched the cold half of the bed she had once occupied. On • such occasions, he surrendered to his overwhelming emotions . _ and cried bitterly. Elizabeth Chisholm was deeply concerned about the suffering of .her son. She washed his clothes and encouraged him to eat his meals at the Chisholm cabin as often as possible. ' Chipp" Chisholm had his own way of dealing with Ewan's miserable mental state and believed that work was the only medicine for self pity. He, found many excuses to keep Ewan occupied and rarely allowed him•' to have time on his hands. Thus it was, that on Wednesday, May 1st, 1844, Chippy asked Ewan to accompany him to Bolton Town to procure a load of sawn lumber. At this particular time, the com- munity of Redtrees was excited at the prospect of Duncan MacLeod's mar- riage to Mary MacKenzie. If the Reverend Peter . Lamont arrived as scheduled, the ceremony was to take place on Saturday, May 4th. With this in mind, Chippy was determined to return to Redtrees as soon as possible.. When the two travellers arrived at Bolton Town, the mill was closed for the day. They remained overnight and on Thursday morning, loaded their wagon and set off for home. It was slow going up the' hilly slopes of the Sixth Line, especially where the trail had not properly dried outor was particularly sandy. The horses strain- ed on the harness and dug, their feet. into the soft earth, bobbing their heads• and snorting with exertion. in spite of their relatively slow pace, they overtook a covered wagon and because there was no • room to pass, they .00k ,up a position a few yards behind. i When the wagon ahead of them stopped, Chippy and EW' an halted their , team, dismounted and walked forward to ascertain the cause. A young woman, dishevelled and. distraught with anxiety, was tending a man, who was lying upon a makeship bed upon the floor of the wagon, in the "midst of a cluttered assortment of household chattels. He was in a fever- ous condition and although he was covered with blankets,; he shivered. The woman supported his head with one hand whilst she held a leather water bottle to his lips. Startled bey the sound of voices, she turned quickly to see Chippy and Ewan gazing over the front of the wagon. Relieved more than scared by their sudden appearance, her speech was an appeal for help rather than a question. "My man is fearful sick and I hae tae seek a doctor. is there no a physician hereabouts?" 1 "Where are ye headedn' ma'am?" Chippy asked. "Tae find our grant in the Caldeon. Hills," the woman said impatiently, "but och, . that is no matter, 'tis a doctor we need the noo!" In his usual calm and confident manner, Chippy took control of the situation. Even in• her grief, the woman found comfort in his kind blue eyes and his soft fatherly like speech. "We hae a doctor in our community and 'tis but one hour's drive awa," he said. VEwan will handle. thewagon frae ye, while tend tae ye man. Dinna • fash yesel' lassie, we'll take good care o' ye both at Redtrees an' yell feel at home among ye°re ain folk!" Ewan urged the team for'wa'rd with a sense of urgency and soon the wagon of lumber which Chippy drove was far behind in the distance. . On the way, the woman never spoke except when she whispered reassuring words to her husband. She gave him frequent drinks of water and continu- ally. wiped the sweat from his brow with a damp cloth. When the wagon halted beside a small log cabin, the woman took stock of her surroundings: "Where is this place?" she asked. "Does the doctor live here? "This is my hoose," Ewan told her. "Ye can stay here. Ye husband will be needin' shelter and a place where the doctor can visit." The woman was not so sure if she could accept such hospitality. "Don't ye think we should ask ye wife before ye bring strangers tae her roof," she asked with genuine concern. "My wife would not object," Ewan said sadly. "She mare than any other body would wish me tae take care o' the sick." He turned his head so that the woman would mot see the mist. rising in his eyes. "No ma'am, she'll no object. My poor lass is dead!"