Loading...
The Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-07-11, Page 9Housing Problem Is Complex The town council's present interest in the possibility of venturing into another housing development should gain the at- tention of everyone in this community. There has been a great deal of talk during the past ten years about the crying need for more industry in Wingham, and what might be done to attract manufac- turing or processing firms here. One of the first requirements, if more industry is to be secured, is enough housing to pro- vide homes for the potential employees. Any business executive looking over the town with the thought of establishing a plant here, would logically want to know where his workers would live—and right now nobody could provide an answer to the question, because there are no unoccupied homes—or at least so few that it amounts to the same thing. Nevertheless the council must proceed with extreme caution before launching into a construction plan. We can well re- call the moans and groans of some town councillors ten years ago as they talked about the Hillcrest development. Their regret seemed to be that the town wasn't receiving adequate taxation revenue. In fact, some of the town fathers at that time spoke as though the Hillcrest tenants were sort of second class citizens. If the town ventures into capital ex- penditure for housing, no matter how small the percentage may be, they must be completely satisfied that they are invest- ing in the future of the community—mov- ing toward a state of prosperity from which all of us will eventually benefit, Once again recalling the history of Hillcrest, there should no longer be any doubt about the wisdom of providing the homes in that area. Many of them are now owned by their occupants. Hun- dreds of families found temporary homes there and later bought others in the town and have become permanent and valued residents. The plan which is under discussion at present appears to be based on a new con- ception in community projects. Rents would be set, not by the size of the dwell- ing, but rather by the size of the tenant's income. Theoretically it sounds fine— but it does tend to create some problems. For instance, we would have no desire to sit on the local committee which would have to make the decision as to whether a man pays a high rent or a low one. The approach to the question has been to set up a survey which will seek to de- termine the need for such a housing de- velopment. When this is completed there may be a much clearer understanding of the situation. A Excellent Training Program We had an enjoyable trip on Sunday. Number One Son being in camp at Ipper- wash with the high school cadets, we went down to see how he was getting along. A visit to the camp is truly enlighten- ing. Boys who, after their own age-old fashion, are just about the sloppiest of all creatures, are whipping around the camp in trim uniforms with a new light of in- terest in their eyes. They take the par- ents into a hut where rows of double- decker bunks are immaculately made up and where every piece of equipment is in its proper place. These boys are learning something. Mind you they are beefing about the whole thing. That seems to be the first lesson men learn in military training. First questions evoked the information that the food was bad, the beds rough and the work unbearable. But with only a few exceptions they admit a little later that it's really pretty fair. Only two poor meals in a week and the corporal in charge of the hut is "a pretty good guy." We are most enthusiastic about this type of training for boys of high school age. It keeps them busy through the long summer holiday; they have no opportun- ity to get into any sort of trouble; they learn to respond cheerfully to discipline and even to assume a certain amount of responsibility for leadership. The camp staff is carefully selected from officers and NCOs who understand that they are not handling toughened troops, but nevertheless know how to in- still the sort of obedience and alertness that army life requires. "0 Canada" Is Popular Choice Right across Canada, the Gallup Poll reports, there is a majority in favor of ad- opting "0 Canada" as our official national anthem. Only in the Maritime Provinces could the split between "0 Canada" and "God Save the Queen" be said to reflect a fairly even division of opinion, and even so, the majority trend held, says The Sud- bury Star. The question is a much simpler one than that of a possible new national flag. Favoring "0 Canada" does not mean Canadians generally are opposed to the monarchy. There is no intended censure against Queen Elizabeth in the majority view. "0 Canada" is likely to appeal to more people simply because it is a much more stirring song and certainly more ap- propriate to our times. In this connection it should be pointed out that "God Save the Queen" is in dis- favor with a good many loyal citizens, even in the British Isles. For years there have been sporadic campaigns to have the mother country adopt "Land of Hope and Glory" as a replacement. The monarchy is a symbol which men and women throughout the Common- wealth cherish, as witness the tremendous greetings extended by citizens of every level on occasions of a royal tour. We doubt that the opinions of Cana- dians about a national anthem will cause any new strains on the bonds of family between Canada and the mother country. It is simply that the children are growing up and beginning to have views of their own. New Pattern Of Rail Service What's going to happen to the pattern of rail service in Western Canada? asks J. K. Edmonds, Winnipeg representative of The Financial Post. Rumors from London, England, of efforts to take over the CPR are believed to be linked with other rumors of a plan to merge CN and CP rail facilities. This adds another piece to the already complex puzzle over railway line abandonment as it affects the West. One of the points hammered at Prem- ier Lloyd of Saskatchewan is that some of the dislocation resulting from line aban- donment in Saskatchewan could be avoid- ed if the two rail systems were integrated, and that fewer grain delivery points would have to be abandoned if it were possible to make the most economic use of both the sets of track crossing Saskat- chewan. If there is any truth in the rumor that CPR hopes to dispose of its rail holdings to CN and develop its nonrail assets, this (1) provides an excellent reason for the present management's refusal to look ahead and (2) would make an integrated approach to line abandonment automatic. The amount of traffic in and out of Ot- tawa by railway presidents, farm and grain -handling organizations, and provin- cial premiers and ministers of industry, plus the market activity in CPR stock, lends some credence to this notion. What could emerge is a situation in which everyone wins — even the Canadian tax- payer. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros, Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert O. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulation; Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Associ- ation; Member Canadian Community Newspapers Representatives Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Mail and for payment of postage in cash Subscription Rate: One Year, $4.00; Six Months, $2.25, in advance U.S.A., $5.00 per year; Foreign rate, $5.00 per year Advertising Rates on application YOUNGSTERS IN THE BEGINNERS' class at the Bible school are having a fine time learning new crafts and Bible stories. This group is one of three in one of the Christian Education rooms at the local Presby- terian Church. —Advance -Times Photo. bbancieZintt Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, July 11, 1963 SECOND SECTION "IIUIIIIIUIUIIUIIIIIIullullllllllflllllllullrunrl,: ul;lllullollluulrulumll3lll01MIrn!IO13111lmlm11111 111 1111lllululalllluluulu11mmllnmlllll12 ;14111111111111111111 .401 SUGAR and SPICE IUIIIUIIuuuluhIII By Bill Sm ileyulllaulllllulllm Why do Canadians drink so much? Each year, the black line on the boozing chart inches higher, and we are told the •horrifying fact that every man, woman and child in this country puts away 16 gallons of hooch and 84 gallons of beer, or some such. Now I know that While you may drink that much, Aunt Mabel, I don't and my kids don't and I doubt whether their grandmother does, so somebody is really knocking back the stuff. Who is the culprit? The villain is not the Canadian temperament, but the Cana- dian weather. For eight months of the year we are adjured at every turn to have a nip to keep out the cold. During the other four months, we slosh it down by the bucket to beat the heat. Like right now. At this very moment, at 5 o'clock on a July day, the mercury past 90, it is horrifying to speculate on the number of Canadians Who are lolling in their back yards, or at a cot- tage, or on a beach, or in an air-cooled bar, clutching a cold beverage. And getting steadily hotter. * * * I find it difficult to criti- cize them. I've just been through one of the worst weeks in my life, in the middle of the worst heat wave of the summer, and I feel nothing but sympathy for those who turn to drink in the hot weather. I have been building a picnic table. The Old Battleaxe has been niggling about one for a couple of years. All through February and March she kept seeing them advertised at low, low prices. I wasn't interested. First, I wasn't in the mood for picnic tables While I was shovelling snow in every daylight hour to spare. Secondly, the tables were all of the type that you have to put together your- self, and I had had enough of that caper. In my time I have put to- gether everything from baby's cots through prefab cupboards and unpainted bookcases to backyard swim pools. In- evitably, the baby's cots have turned out looking like book- cases and the swimming pools like baby's cots. Screws never fit. Boards are warped. The plans, which tell you with a sneer that any half-wit can put this thing to- gether, are invariably put to- gether by half-wits. Result: I go into a deep, flaming, unadulterated fury. My wife dances gingerly around, just out of reach. The kids quietly go into another part of the house and turn the radio on full volume. * * Ignoring the debacles of the past, I decided to humor The Heckler, buy her a picnic table, and wrestle it together. But suddenly, we found, all those hot bargains 'had van- ished. Picnic tables had soar- ed in value. "The heck with this," my wife said. "We'll do it the economical way." We went to the mill, where they cut out the planks and toobefores, I think they call them. I was a little relieved that she didn't want me to chop a tree and make my own planks. Lumber was only $19.95. Saved six or ten dollars already. They didn't have any of the regular plans for picnic tables, but they had a plan for a kiddies' table, and the fellow said it was the same principle. Using tried and t r u e methods, I did not set to work. I called a couple of husky young confreres and told them to drop around for an ale. I just happened to have a couple of spare ham- mers when they arrived. I claimed I had asked them around for a nail. Three hours, a dozen ales and a hundred nails later, we had various pieces of lumber nailed together, none of which seemed to have any connection with the pieces left over. My helpers quit and went swimming. Undaunted, I played my next card. Called another friend, an expert in wood- working, and asked him to REMINISCING JULY 1913 Entrance results: To pass each candidate had to take 40% on each subject and 60% of total marks. Pass 390; hon- ours 487. Highest aggregate, K. Prin- gle of Wingham Public School, who obtained 583. Highest in each subject— Reading, H. Kennedy, F. Walker, equal 45; Writing, C. King 42; Spelling F. Walker, K. Pringle, 50 each; Written Reading, K. Prin- gle 95; Arithmetic, Lena Coultes, 100; Grammar, K. Pringle 96; Geography, J. Max- well, 97; Composition, K. Pringle 97. One of Wingham's oldest pioneers in the person of Mr. Thos. Netterfield, passed away on Saturday last in his 70th year. He was born in Belturbet, County Cavan, Ireland, in the year 1838, coming to this country with his parents at the age of 13 years. They settled at Delta, and 49 years ago Mr, Netterfield came to Wingham where he resided up to the time of his death. His wife, who was formerly Miss Margaret Green, pre- deceased him 13 years ago. The family have the sympathy of the community in their sad bereavement. loan me some tools. Cun- ningly, when he arrived, I begged him to show me a bit of his skill, mentioned how smart his kids were and spoke of his wife's charm. Within an hour, he had the thing standing up. He told me how to finish it, and left. I started to put in a screw nail. The table began to sway like a shot stallion and the whole ruddy structure col- lapsed on my left instep with a heart-rending rumble. Hop- ping swiftly, I got out the axe and was about to admin- ister the coup de grace but my wife and kids grabbed me around the legs and hung on. I got the expert back, bribed him with cold drinks, and he finished it. There are about 1,300 nails and bolts and screws in it, but it stands tall, a monument to sheer ingenuity. Got my daughter to paint it at 50 cents an hour. Lum- ber, hardware, beer for the bunglers, gin and tonic for the expert, stain and varnish and wages for the painter, and a doctor's bill for a bashed foot brought the total to about $43. JULY 1926 A very sudden call carne to Mrs. Wesley McEvers on Wed- nesday afternoon last, July 14. She was in her 71st year and was born in Northumberland County, near Coburg. Herhus- band predeceased her three years ago last February. She is survived by one daughter, Miss Jennie and two adopted daughters, Christena Hender- son of Oshawa, and Narma Mc- Evers o-Evers at home. On Saturday, July 17th, there was laid to rest in the Wingham cemetery, one of the old time pioneers in the person of Mr. John L. Little of town, but for a long time a resident of Turn - berry. He passed away on Thursday, after a very brief illness. Deceased was born in Stir- ling, Scotland, 81 years ago. His love for the old land was strong, any reference to "the land of the heather" always touched a tender spot in his affections. o--0--0 JULY 1938 A former resident of Wing - ham passed away suddenly at his home in Toronto, on Wed- nesday, July 13th, in the per- son of William Lamont, in his 58th year. He leaves to mourn his loss his widow, formerly Mamie Sutton of Hanover, and son, Roy, of Toronto, also one sister, Mrs. Andrew McCormick, of Culross 'Township. The funeral was held on Friday af- ternoon, July 15th, at two o'clock. Interment was made in Park Lawn Cemetery, Tor- onto. A former resident of Wing - ham passed away in Toronto, on Tuesday, July 12th, in the person of Ellen Maud Porter, beloved wife of John F. Groves, in her 60th year. In ailing health for nearly seven years, she suffered a stroke about three weeks ago, followed by two others. The deceased was born in Turnberry and in 1918 was married to her bereft hus- band, moving with him to Tor- onto seventeen years ago. She was a member of the Anglican church. 0--0--0 JULY 21, 1948 Three rinks of Wingham Bowlers attended the Excellence Flour Mills trebles at Seaforth on Wednesday afternoon, with two of them getting in the prize money. The rink of Gordon MacKay, Art Wilson and Wilf Hamilton, skip, came third, with 3 wins plus 27, and Bert isard, Jim Murray and Bill Mc- Cool, were sixth with 3 wins plus 20.