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The Citizen, 1992-12-16, Page 5E3 Arthur Black < 8^^ ________ THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16,1992. PAGE 5. At Hockey stick— the only truly Canadian symbol Some countries have it easy when it comes to national symbols. The Yanks have the bald eagle. England has the bulldog. Scotland and Ireland have the thistle and shamrock, respectively. It's not so simple for Canada. The Maple Leaf? It's fine for folks in southern Ontario but it's politically incorrect among the Quebecois, and it's a bit of an anomaly on the Prairies, not to mention much of the Maritimes and the great, largely bald rock called Newfoundland. As for Canadians in the far north - they seldom see a tree, much less a maple. Some Canadian communities come up with their own symbols. Sudbury has a giant nickel on its doorstep. The town of Wawa has a fiberglass goose and on the outskirts of Kenora, Ont. you'll find a humongous muskellunge leaping into the northwestern Ontario skies. Oh yes, and Toronto has the concrete stalagmite called the CN Tower and Vegreville, Alta basks in the shadow of a huge Ukrainian Easter Egg - and these icons are all fine and dandy but... Self-help universal solution In a recent editorial in the North Huron Citizen, Keith Roulston was commenting on the Agricultural and Rural Restructuring conference held this fall in both Goderich and Blyth. He cited two examples of small communities in Canada, one in Manitoba and the other in Nova Scotia, that have revitalized themselves through their own efforts, not by waiting for somebody else i.e. governments, to do it for them. One of his key sentences was, “Growth comes mostly from encouraging the people you already have to expand, or to realize dreams that they may have.” It is too bad that more people don't read such editorials since the urge to let somebody else look after our welfare is very strong in Canada. The officials of many a town in this country can dream about landing a big industry but few ever do and frankly, if you put too many of your economic eggs in one basket, the crunch when it comes is all the more painful. I have been pointing out for years that well over half of all the jobs created in this country are the result of the establishment of small and medium-sized Canadian owned businesses. This statement still stands. However, in line with the theme of my articles, I would like to tell you about similar things happening elsewhere since self-help is universal. For openers I was reading recently about the current economic climate in Great Britain; it is certainly not very pleasant reading. Nevertheless, the one thing that stands out is a legacy of the Margaret Thatcher era. It is the bottom-up process of They miss the point, I think. They don't symbolize Canada for ALL Canadians. There's only one symbol that can truly do that and you'll find it al the town limits of Duncan, B.C. It's a giant hockey stick. Well, sure. What could be more Canadian? Is it possible that there's a single citizen in this country that wouldn't recognize - instantly - a hockey stick? You don't have to don the skates to be savvy about the lumber. You don't even have to play the game to use one. I haven't hunkered down over a face-off circle in 20 years, but hockey sticks are an important part of my life. Especially broken ones. I use them to hold up my tomato plants each summer and to mark the ends of my garden rows. I have also pressed a sawed-off Sherwood Shur-shot into service when a strut in my hammock collapsed a few summers back. Works like a charm. I’ve used hockey sticks to scrape snow off my windshield and to slap shot frozen “calling cards” from the next-door neighbour's German Shepherd into aforesaid neighbour's back yard. Sorry about the one that landed on your barbecue, Fred. I've always considered myself pretty creative when it came to finding uses for hockey sticks, but I am a mere babe in the arena compared to Doctor Floydd regeneration which has seen a whole series of communities with the least amount of government help show the most dramatic advances. One example quoted, Telford in the West Midlands, have a 25 per cent unemployment rate 10 years ago. It has reduced that to single digit figures through a combination of local development and a vigorous marketing of its assets in Japan of all places. When the Japanese sit up and take notice of something in another country, you can be sure that that community is on the right track. I was in the Swiss city of Luzem one time and came across the following story. The city seemed to be missing out on foreign tourism in spite of the fact that it is, to me, one of the most picturesque places in all of Switzerland. However, it is slightly off the beaten path and for many it is a city that you go through rather than stop for any length of time. The city fathers came up with a novel idea. They would attract attention by offering the young Japanese a place to get married. Why Japan? Well, somebody had noticed that weddings are horribly expensive in Japan. What better way to attract them than to offer them a typical Japanese wedding with a videotape to remember it, as well as a tour through the city. At last count hundreds of young Japanese were flying to Switzerland, getting married in Luzem and spending their honeymoon in the country. Now that's imagination with remuneration! Closer to home, I would imagine that many people in this area have either heard of or have gone to the Michigan city of Frankenmuth to do some shopping. There is an excellent example of a small community that has pulled itself up economically to the point where it stands out not only in Michigan but elsewhere. Like the good people of Luzem, it does something that is a bit different but therein lies a lesson. You look at something that nobody else has looked at. Mackenzie. Floydd (Yes, there are two ‘ d's’) is a denizen of Red Deer, Alta., and the author of a book called “One Hundred and One Ways to Recycle a Hockey Stick” published by Red Deer College Press. Floydd really has come up with 101 ways to use your basic hockey stick - everything from reaming out eavestroughs to serving as a tiller on a sailboat. Doctor Mackenzie's book (lavishly illustrated) shows hockey sticks used as fishing rods, leg splints, even emergency kayak paddles (although the kayak does have a tendency to ‘hook’). Doctor Mackenzie claims that his research has taken him around the globe chasing down Canada's most famous symbol. He says he's found hockey sticks serving as bootracks in North Dakota, ceiling fan blades in Maine and tribal masks in the jungles of New Guinea. The most exotic example of hockey stick recycling in Doctor Mackenzie's books? Well, my favourite among the 101 cited by the doctor is an easy chair made from two goal sticks and four regular sticks and a welter of meticulously braided hockey tape which the author swears he discovered on a front porch in "Stundeskanbe, Sweden. And I believe him. Of course I'm biased. My wife's relatives all hail from Urepullenmilaig, Norway. In Keith's editorial, he used as a theme the Biblical reference “The Lord helps those who help themselves.” Not long ago I read the story of a young American, Marilyn Hamilton, who had a bright future but who, at the age of 29 fell down a rocky cliff in California and was paralyzed from the waist down. Rather than continue to feel sorry for herself and to expect others to support her, she decided to design a better wheelchair. After all she was in an excellent position to test her product. She went on to do just that; her company grew until it employed just under 100 workers and was honoured as California's Small Business of the Year. How is that for helping one's self? I spent some time on the executive of the Southwestern Ontario Tourist Association and taught for about 10 years Travel and Tourism Economics. I was always trying to drum into my classes the fact that just to the south of us is located a country with over 200 million potential tourists. What a market! In addition tourism is one of the most labour intensive industries in existence. What is more, people orientated and superior service is one area where you can really shine. The potential is almost limitless and while you are waiting for that big company to choose your community as a place to locate, you could do far worse than develop local industries that are far more recession proof. It won't take place overnight but the foundation will be much more solid. B Have opinion? Write a letter to the editor Level By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot Christmas time brings conflicting emotions What a Christmas this is going to be for me. For the first time, I'll be celebrating it as a mother and that status brings with it a whole range of new emotions and feelings. My son, Jesse, will be six and half months old at Christmas—old enough to know his parents and charm everyone with his smiles and laughs but too young to understand what's going on. He's old enough to play, but too young to know he's supposed to play with the toys and not the wrapping paper. Knowing this, I've still gone a little overboard buying him stuffed animals, rattles and clothes. He doesn't need any more toys or clothes, his parents and grandparents have already spoiled him plenty, but I continue to shop almost compulsively for the little guy. I can't help it. I love him and I want him to be happy. But combatting this desire to fulfill my son's every wish is an ever-growing awareness that there are children who won't even get a gift, much less heaps of gifts. At this point, you must be thinking when did she take her head out of the sand? This problem has existed for years. I know it has. I n my profession, I'm confronted with these realities through the printed word. Like everyone else, I watch television and I see the pain and suffering of families in war-tom countries and the dying children who live in nations where drought has created starvation. But before I was seeing these things as a journalist, not as a mother. Somehow, it never sunk in before. It wasn't until I had Jesse that I realized how precious children, all children, are. I know I sound terribly self-righteous but the truth is, I feel ashamed. It took looking at my son's round, healthy cheeks and his chubby little legs to somehow awaken in me the realization that not all little children look like him. It took an uncontrollable spending spree to make me realize that not all little children will have gifts at Christmas. With this realization comes sorrow. Knowing how much pain I'd feel if I couldn't feed, clothe and provide for my son makes me aware of other's pain. With this pain comes guilt. How unjust is it that my son will have so much of what he doesn't need when others will have so little of what they desperately require? So what can I do? Lots. I can donate food and gifts to the Huron County Christmas Bureau. I can sponsor a needy child in a third-world country. I can give money to my church to support world relief missions. These things I have done but I wonder, is it enough? How much should I give? I don't know the answer. I think it's something each person has to work out with themselves so they can find true peace at Christmas, knowing they've given joy and love to others. Now that I've looked beyond my safe and cozy world, I have conflicting emotions. I hope the range of feeling helps me to remember an integral part of Christmas— giving. I know they've made me thankful that I'm able to experience love in abundance with my husband, my son and my family and happiness that we'1' all be together this Christmas to celebrate Jesus’ birth.