The Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-10-17, Page 351
Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, October 24, 1979—Page 7
Johnston Bros.
[Bothwell Ltd.]
Phone
Phone
Wardsville 693-4383 Komoka 471-3059
Dungannon 529-7947
Washed Materials --Crushed Stone
Cement Gravel
Crushed GravelRoad Contractors
N
In February 1915, Redtrees was in the grip of a
cruel winter. Huge snow drifts blocked the roads and
communication between the farms was extremely
difficult. The Reverend Douglas MacLeod preached to
a very small congregation -- the few dedicated
Christians who managed tomake their way on foot to
the old church built by the pioneers. There had been
few changes to the structure since the grandfather of
Douglas had delivered the very first sermon to his
Gaelic speaking flock. Recently however, anew hot air
heating system had been installed. It was fuelled by
hard wood and the furnace was located in a makeshift
basement dug out beneath the log foundation.
• One Saturday night, Douglas MacLeod. decided he
would stoke up the cast iron contraption, in readiness
for the church service on the following Sunday
morning. He wrapped himself in, heavy clothing to
ward off the biting wind and struggled through the
deep snow to the church, Sonne hundred or more yards
away from the rnanse. Douglas was a lonely man. In
that February storm. and completely cut off from the
rest of the community; he might have been the
only man on earth. Time and time again he asked
himself "`Where is Mary?" If only his daughterwould
write to him, he would try to understand and forgive
her.
When he reached the back door of the church, he
slipped and almost fell on the ice covered steps. He
was not -the man he used to be, he told himself. His
heart was willing to continue the work of the Lord but
his body was becoming less able to battle the
onslaught of a Canadian winter. Inside the church he
lit a candle by the altar and' knelt to pray:
"Bring my daughter back to me," he begged.
Then as .if to apologize 'for his interference ,with the
plans, of the Almighty, he added. "Not ,rn.y will
Heavenly Father but Thy will be done on earth, as it is
in Heaven:'.'
As he rose to his feet, th.e sad feeling of loneliness
enveloped his being. The church was chilled with
emptiness and hrs cough. echoed across the• empty
pews. Outside the wind was 'almost `gale force and a
tree near the building scraped the tip of a branch
across a stained glass window. Douglas took the
candle from its• brass holder and went 'down the rough
wooden steps into the basement. Hot wax trickled
onto his hand and set in white, streaks. •
Douglas opened thefurnace door and the handle
wascold to his touch. The fire was dead. He agitated
the grate to remove the ash. Near a pile ofwood he
found a newspaper and before he fed it into.the open.
mouth of the furnace.' the candlelight revealed the
headline, "Redtrees men go to the front.' The fine
print read. "The second battalion of the Caledonian
Scottish have occupied the .front line position to
relieve a battalion of British infantry," It mentioned
local men by name and one in particular was very
familiar:-- Sergeant ,Angus MacCrimmon!
He stuffed the newspaper into the :furnace,,. added a
few slivers of kindling wood and touched the candle
flame to the paper. In doing so. he didn't realize he
was burning a page of history. When the fire was
established, he fed°it with some larger pieces of Wood"°„
and opened the draft damper. No use waiting around,
he told himself. He would go back to the manse and
return in half an hour or so, to close down the damper.
Douglas MacLeod 'returned 'to the altar and
replaced the candle in the. holder. He left it burning --
he would not be away long and it would light his way
out. When he closed the back door behind him, he was
so preoccupied with his thoughts of his daughter,
Mary, he had forgotten the steps were covered in ice.
His feet shot from under him and his body fell heavily
backwards. His head struck the stone steps and he lay
sprawled where he had fallen, mercifully unconscious,
but a victim to the winter storm.
The minister never returned alive to the manse, and
the fire damper he had intended to close remained
Wide open. The fire burned furiously, aided by the
strong wind which induced the flow of air up the
chimney and acted like a bellows on the fire. The
furnace chimney pipe became'red hot and the church
floor, just a few inches above the pipe. smoldered and
finally burst into flames.
Some two miles •away,"'the ticket clerk at the
Redtrees Railway•Station was locking up the buildings
for the night. He had been informed that the usual
Saturday night train could not get through the heavy
snow. As he made his way home, he became aware of
a huge red glow, upthere among the rolling land.
"My God, the church!"' he shouted into the f.ury of
the wind. Automatically and without realizing the
futility'of his act, he half ran and half stumbled to the
fire hall and pulled on the bell rope.
One by one the members of the volunteer .fire
brigade assembled at the hall. They were harnessing
the horses when their fire chief arrived.
'We don't got a hope inhell ofgettin' anywhere
near that fire, he told his men. –Snows too deep an'
even if we formed a bucket line, we couldn't.get water
everything is frozen solid. Looks like . it's gone
anyways -- it 'ud be burnt to the ground before., we
walked half way there. Best go home lads -- •ain't
nothin' we can do!
Some of the farrners in the-v-ieinity of'the fire did
make it to the church. One of them was James
MacCrimmon and it was he who managed topull the
body of Douglas MacLeod away from the scorching
heat. They •carried the minister back to the manse,
and old James battled with the lump which had
formed in his throat.
"Why is it I feel like this?" he asked himself. "I
always spoke ter 'im as if 'e were my worst enemy.
It's only now, when it's too late that I know, I lost a
friend.
James MacCrimmon faced the group of bewildered
farmers who looked to him for. leadership. When he
spoke he was echoing their thoughts,
"Come Spring, we'll start again so we will - we'll
build another church,' but we'll never find another
minister like Douglas MacLeod!"'.
Childhood isolated
from adult world
"Childhood has been isolated from the
world ofadults," according to Dr. Donald
Morgenson, a prominent psychologist who
presented a professional activity lecture at
the Clinton Public School last week (Oct. 17).
About 150 elementary teachers and parents
attended the one hour presentation which
was scheduled by the teachers as an
introduction to "Year of the Child Week
October 22 - 26.
"The grgqwth of science and technology,"
according to Morgenson, "has created an
isolation for children." , He . went on to
explain how the complex demands of today's
society have placed a barrier between adults
and children. He cited examples of adult -
child -relationships throughout the last five
centuries to make his point.
"Children„ must have titne to dream, and'
time to imagine," \he stated, Part of the
rationale for the seeming "unreason" of
youth today is related to demands of child-
hooc that have eliminated much of the
fantasy and playful imagination of young-
sters.
He commended the rural environment of
Huron County as being one of the non -urban
spaces where kids can still experien\ce
adventure and fantasy. He suggested that
families could share many positive exper-
iences in . Ithe "wasteland" (wilderness)
areas with children, and urged that more
"family" activity occur where adults and
children could share experiences together.
In his presentation, Morgenson Created"
anecdote after anecdote to illustrate his talk.
The presentation was described as humor-
ous, entertaining, dynamic and thought-
provoking by those who attended.
The Morgenson lecture was sponsored by
the Professional Activity Committee for the
elementary teachers of Huron County.
Attendance at the evening presentation was
voluntary, but represented close to one-third
of the elementary staff of Huron County
Schools.
Irl
AI
111
LACE
WILL BE CLOSED
ALL DAY
Wednesday, October 31st
FOR INVENTORY
11111 KA mill
1
NOTICE OF' POLL
TOWNSHIP OF
WEST WA WANOSH ' t
NOTICE is hereby given to the municipal electors of the
Corporation of the Township of West Wawanosh, thata
vote will be taken on three questions under the.
provisions of The Liquor Licence Act 1975.
1. Are you infavour of the sale of spirits, beer and wine
under a dining lounge licence for consumption on
licensed premises where food is available?
2. Are you in favour of the sale of spirits, beer and wine
under a lounge licence for consumption on licensed
premises?
3. Are you in favour of the sale of spirits, beer and wine
under an entertainment lounge licence for consumption
on licensed premises?
ADVANCE POLLS
at Brindley Auction Centre,
Dungannon, Ont.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1979
from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
REGULAR POLLS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1979
from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION
Poll 1 - Brindley Auction Centre
[Combining polls No. 1 & No. 2]
Poll 2 - Old Township Hall
[Combining. Polls No. 3 & No. 4]
THE LAST DAY FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A
CERTIFICATE TO VOTE BY PROXY IS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12th, 1979,
BEFORE 5:00 O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON
Dated at R. R. 2, Lucknow, Ontario, this 22nd day
of October 1979.
Joan Armstrong,
Clerk -Treasurer,
Township of West Wawanosh,
R. R. 2, Lucknow, Ontario.
AI
111
LACE
WILL BE CLOSED
ALL DAY
Wednesday, October 31st
FOR INVENTORY
11111 KA mill
1