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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-09-24, Page 4Page tueWow Sentinel, Wednesday, September 24, 1986 P.O. Box 400, Lucknow NOG 2110 528.2822 CCNA Established 1873 VI P1, 4 U C:IR4UI ATION PAM Thomas Thompson Alan Rivett Pat Livingston Merle Elliott -Advertising Manager -Editor -General Manager -Typesetter Subscription rates In advance: a1 .QQ Cutsipe Canada $60." $1 V° Outside Canada $58."Q Senior Citizen Second class mailing reg. no, 61347 • Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for .signature, will not be charged , for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates. r, Hard work necessary to make fair succossfal. Whie most things are rarefy all things to all people, the 11.23rd edition of the Lucknow Fail Fair came ,as close as humanly possible. . Lucknow and area turned out In full force to make yet another fair a success. While 'the attendance ;figures' aren't in yet, Lucknow .Agricultural Society Secretary Ross .Errington said the ettendance was about the same as last year's fair,. However, a jammpacked Lucknow Community Centre played host to the Mies lVildwestern Ontario Pageant with approximately 94g people attending: the first-class evenng which alsofeatured the Carlton Show Band Who again provided excellent music this year. The fair contained every type of entertainment available with games and contests .from frog races to.. atilt-waiking .for the younger people; kiddie. rides provided by the Bayfield .Lions. Club for .the toddlers; livestock and horse competitions for the agricuitural.organizatlons In the area .and lots of. things to see and . do for thole who preferred just to `browse. ' Fall Fairs, In. this day and age, aren't a ,cheap proposition. High overhead costs and extremely high costs for liabli ty Insurance are, in many area communities, putting, a yearly fall .fair out of reach. It's a .credit to the. Lucknow Agricultural Society, the organizers .of the Fall Fair, to accept these :challenges and stili be . able to come away with an extremely successful effort year In and year out. ASR Write a letter ro the: Editor All aboard for a hayride It was a great Sunday afternoon through and through. I'm referring to an aftem i n I .spent two weeks ago with some horsealovers in the Kinloss area who get together every so often to hitch up their horses and go for an old-fashioned hayride throne the backroads of Kinloss Town- ship just for the enjoyment of it. On au invitation from Leo Murray to perhaps get a few pictures of their wagoneer and their horses before the ride at the farm of Gerald Murray of RR 1 1lolyrood, I set out for the farm on a cool Sunday morning. Rowever,, 1 didn't bargain to be asked along to ride on the back of Mr; Murray's wagon for the scenic country cruise. Suffice it to say a 1 accepted,. With a pair of riding horses turned wagon horses for the trip (one of Mr. Murray's draught horses had a foal recently and was spared the trip) we set out down one of the concession roads with 12 other wagons' ahead of us, One of the ,most out,ofnthe,ordinary teams to make the trip was a pair of donkeys called Minnie and Jennie belonging to Jack MacKenzie of RR 3 Lucknow, The duo, brought up to ,Canada from the southern United States some time ago, were all decked out for the trip with matching straw hats which fit comfortably over their *i -inch long ears.' ALAN Far from being slow, the two kept up with the rest of the pack for the whole seven miles, ,ouch to the surprise of the owners of the much larger draught horses. The day was an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy the ride, and especially enjoy the picturesque natural beauty of the area which you somehow miss When you are locked in the confines of an automobile, As one person put it: "If only some of those city people could experience something like this just once. This is really living!" Except for the regular "pit stops",. the wagon train arrived back at home base about two hours later. Upon arrival, everyone on the wagons was buzzing about the wonderful afternoon on the wagons. For me, it was a super time that I hadn't bargained for. Special thanks • to. Mr, Leo Murray and the other riders on out wagon, for putting up with my incessant picture taking (although 1 ran out of film about half way through). Editor's note: Due to the recent death of Don Campbell, the author of the popular Redtrees column for the Sentinel and other newspapers in the area, we 'thought if would be a fitting tribute to Mr, Campbell to reprint the last column of Redtrees. It appeared in the Sentinel on ,August 27, What is one lifespan as compared to the , age of this old earth? Just a raindrop in a barrel of time! In only,a fleeting moment we are born to engage in the battle of sur- vival, knowing all too soon, we shall slip quietly and unnoticed into oblivion. Beyond the close circle of family and friends, few of us are privileged to leave even the faintest mark upon the pages 'of history. Inevitably, all things must come to an end and today, you and 1 will be say- ing goodbye to Redtrees, "Where is Redtrees?" Although 1 have been asked this question a thousand times, 1 have evaded the answer until now,1 knew many of my readers would be disappointed to learn the Canadian Scottish settlement was merely a figment of my imagination. At least, that is what it started out to be. But 1 am a sentimental dreamer and have allowed my fantasies to run wild. 1 .can even stnell the wood smoke rising from the log cabins. To me, Redtrees represents every eominunity carved from a harsh wilderness by the pioneers. "Why was it called Redtrees? The Reverend Duncan MacLeod saw a message from heaven written into the crimson beauty of the maple trees. "W.e should look no mare free a name," he shouted triumphantly as he pointed to the flaming tree tops. "Can ye no see it written by the hand of Almighty God? Thisplace is Redtrees Human nature has changed little over the last hundred years and many people in my own community resemble their counterparts in Redtrees, 1 see a little of Doctor Cameron in every ,medical practi- tioner who who places his calling above material gain and I regret his personal sacrifice is not fully appreciated by those he so diligently serves. It was ever thus. When 1 see the pirates of religion making their weekly tear -jerking plea for funds on television to a gullible public, I am thankful the majority of ministers shun blatant hypocracy. The Reverend Duncan MacLeod, without elaborate sets, actors, and lavish auditoriums with the angelic choirs and musicians, managed to put his message across when he said: "kis easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God." Thankfully, the strong,silent men of our Chatting . y Aktoltivitt.. community (such as Hamish Murdoch and. Allan Livingstone) still remind us that "if a country is worth living in, it is worth fighting for". They belong to a fast disap- pearing breed which, once ensured our future and gave us a reason to be proud and patriotic. They might ask us what we have done to deserve the right to live in- such nsuch a bountiful land. Who will defend freedom and democracy when all the real Canadians have disappeared from the. s e e n e ? When things look gloomy . there is nothing we can do except laugh, and We are grateful to all the Chippy Chisholm of this world. We listen to their outlandish tales over and over again, Just look around, I am sure you will see old Chippy wherever men gather to escape from the women who presuinbly dominate their lives. The real backbone of Redtrees was its womenfolk. Behind the scenes, they stood by their men, through all adversities, hiding their fears of the unknown in a strange and hostile bush. If any good has emerged from these modern times, it is surely we now recognize they are equal (if not superior) to men. I have left the main character until last. Neil MacCriinmon is the one who is closest to my heart. Until be emigrated to Canada, he lived in a croft on the Isle of Skye with his father, and scratched a living as a sheep farmer, When he had the opportuni- ty to escape from his poverty-stricken en- vironment, he. was reluctant to leave his father. Normally, Neil was not given to signs of emotion, but as he was walking away from the croft with MacLeod, he saw his father,s face at the window. "Wait another minute Reverend. I hae tae run back an' say goodbye tae rni father just one more tirlrie." "If it's forever, MacCrimmon," MacLeod said. "How many times can you. say goodbye?" So as I go, let me imagine the pipes of MacCrimmon playing a lament for the passing of Redtrees. Perhaps you will allow me to visualize all my readers as friends and hope my writings in some way added a little happiness to their lives. The motto of the Campbells is "Ne Cbliviscaris" (Forget not). I hope Red» trees and I will be remembered.