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Times-Advocate, 1979-08-15, Page 13 (2).First 'free fall' a thrill .'6'l' Lynn Ball owes her friends a case of beer. After they had congratulated her and patted her on the back, she promised she'd buy it for them. - Lynn made her first "free fall" jump from an airplane Sunday at the skydiving club at Grand Bend Airport. Tradition at the club dictates that when a member makes his or her first free fall jump, they have to buy the drinks for the next party. The club calls themselves "SWOOP" --South Western Ontario Organization of Parachutists. Chief in- structor and president Bob Wright of London estimates that there are between 15 ur CHECKING THE RIP CORDS — Lynn Ball of London gets ready for her first free fall Jump, and instructor Bob Wright checks her 'alternate parachute and 20 regular members. Members come from all over -most are from the London -St. Thomas area, others come from Sarnia and Stratford. They meet at the old airport near Grand Bend every weekend. Many come for the weekend, camping out in tents near the runway. This was actually the 10th jump that Lynn Ball had made. Up until now he had gone "static line" -when the parachute opens automatically about eight feet from the plane. But this was the first time she had actually fallen through the air before the parachute opened. One of the founding members of the "SWOOP", Wes Marshall says "Now, she'll be hooked"that's the difference between parachuting and skydiving." Organizers agree that if you can get a beginner to the stage where they make their first Free fall jump, they will stay with the sport. Lynn says she found the jump exciting --"My eyes were watering and I was just falling".'Shesays she can't wait to do it again, and her instructor said that she had done well for her first free fall. Keeping beginners with the sport through the "static line" stage until they get ready for free fall is sometimes difficult. The club charges ;86.50 for lessons and the first jump. Wes Marshall waits on the PACKING THE CHUTE- Peter Boshart of St. Thomas and Carole Case of London pack up a parachute for the next lump They say a chute takes 20 minutes to pack and about two • seconds to open. ON THE RUNWAY — The Cessna 182 taxis down the runway ready to take the skydivers for their drop from 7200 feet in the air • t OINQ DOWN - Instructor Bob Wright is underneath his square parachute required to open it Well above him is Lynn Ball in her ground with a' CB • radio telling the jumper what to do to steer the chute into the landing field. The beginners wear one back and another infront. On top the one in front is a tiny CB receiver so that they can hear in- structions. If the back parachute fails, they have an alternative. The jumper also needs a jumpsuit -a large pair of overalls. Most of them wear hockey helmet for protec- tion, and heavy construction boots. Usually this equipment isn't needed, and Marshall says that if the jump Is made properly it is the equivalent to jumping off of a four foot wall. As well as the thrill of skydiving, Marshall says that a great social life goes along with the club. But, he stressed that the parties did not begin until the plane was down for the night. "When we're instructing or in the air, we mean business," he says. The club uses a Cessna 182 piloted by Fred Frangekis for their jumps. The plane carries four jumpers at a time, and takes off from the airport runway. The jum- pers land nearby in a field they rented for that purpose. Originally the field had barley on it, but it was recently combined. During the past weekend Norm Meyers of Gananoque was at the skydiving club teaching pilots how to get maximum efficiency from their planes. Marshall describes Meyers as "the best jump pilot in Canada." how she stands on the airplane wheel and then falls backwards for her first free fall dump LAST MINUTE INSTRUCTIONS — Lynn Ball receives last minute instructions from Bob Wright and Norm Meyers about Times.Advocate I)) 7-2 ti 'LL)) 'UJ} l i 4 Page 1 A AUGAT 15, 1979 Price Per Copy 25 Cents Woodworker amazed at requests, custom makes variety of items Lorne Wright says he can make anything out of wood, anything but money, that is. Wright has his own wood working shop about three miles south of Grand Bend on highway 21, where he takes orders and makes the many strange things that people ask for. "I'm so busy that I'm astonished," Wright says. He has stopped taking orders right now, because he figures he has enough work to keep him busy for two' years already lined up. Wright has been a custom wood worker on a full time basis for the past four. years. He says he likes the work because of the variety. "I'm just amazed at the different jobs I'm asked to do." he says. His beautiful cedar table and chair sets or his coffee and end table sets are common requests. Wright selects pieces of dark and light cedar and puts them carefully together alter- nating the colors to make a table top. He does put a polyurethane coating on the cedar to finish the tables, but he prefers to sell them unfi- nlshed so that the ettstotn r can finish them to his own liking. Although his style of furniture is unique, Wright says that making the tables and chairs are ordinary. It's wmtwAtmo °.. "ts1CpEEjt to '°''<°.a +x'�b'"r'''°`N s,: € - '�: 'Y" <" •. lei a r v' sit nsiisgs BY MARY ALDERSON I hate to see the end of Potato chips and a bottle of summer come. Labour Day pop will see you through 'til is the most depressing day of lunch, when you can have a the year. Some people find two layer hamburg with birthdays hard to take, while cheese, french fries others get upset on New smothered in gravy, a Year's Day when they burrito with hot sauce and realize another year has top it off with a wild cherry gone by and they've ac- milk shake. complished little. A foot long hot dog covered I used to cry myself to with fried onions and an sleep on Labour Day nights. order of onion rings may get I thought it was because I You through the afternoon. had the back -to -school blues, Then for dinner you can but I still feel the tears easily feed your addiction a coming on, even though for super delux submarine in - the first time in 19 years I eluding salami, pepperoni don't have to go back to and lots of mustard without school. the attendant becoming I sometimes thought my suspicious. deep depression had A dish of soft ice cream something to do with the fact covered in hot fudge sauce that summer was over and 1 will help you enjoy the still didn't have a tan. But sunset. Then for a midnight I've come to terms with that snack you can have a nice problem and accepted the big pizza with three kinds of idea that I am one of those spicy meats, mushrooms, people whole turn pink when green peppers and some I'm out in the sun and fade to pineapple, just to make sure white the next day. i've tried you get your daily fruit to convince myself that tans requirement. An ice cream aren't important. I • keep cone with at least three r:=�ii2;1,a%„:,:.1elling.rigs,elftit,itat ,* thoge,,,. flavours --say. mauve, green .. people who have deep golden and 'pink -=Will 'settle. ybµr•' brown skin are just going to stomach before you go to be wrinkled when they get sleep. old. There are many ways to i think I've finally ac- vary this menu so that clerks counted for my hatred of will not become alert to your parachute and the tiny September. i've never addiction problem. You can round parachute before admitted this to switch the foot long to the House trailer and pick - up • Ride ,in provincial park amages amounted .ear, Wet;;?��' i. $21,500.00 when a pick-up The Pinery dei lsI'merit� truck collided with a 24 foot the Ontario Provincial house trailer in Pinery Police investigated the Provincial Park Saturday. Matthew Gressette of R.R. 2 Forest was the driver of the truck and the trailer was being towed by Mike Verkaik of Chatham. Gertrude Verkaik, who was a passenger in her husband's accident Also on Saturday, Pinery OPP investigated a single car accident on county road 5' near the tri -county bridge. A car driven by Raymond Gooding, Woodstock, left the road and skidded into aIli tch •. s Ming", t4110 7`.': &t4 the car, received motor injuries. On August 5, a vehicle driven by Marion Quinn of London skidded into a ditch on B Concession, Bosanquet township near Pinehurst Trailer Park. Damage to the car was estimated at $1000 Please turn to pogo 2A anyone, but I now realize mornings, and have the chili that I have a serious ad- dog in the afternoon. diction. I am a junk food But with the coming of fall, junkie. And summer is the many of the establishments season for junk food. i hate that supply the junk food Labour Day because that's addict close up. Another when the withdrawal pains September of withdrawal start... symptoms. rtat better place than Then it's back to salads, Thendgiffloviiit,,junks vegetables;i _ lded fisil, food. addiction. You can go carrot sticks and apples for down Main Street from place another winter. Eventually to place and the owners will my system accepts the the other unusual requests he get that makes life in- teresting. Recently he was asked to make some wooden horses like the ones used on merry- go-rounds. The customer mounted the horses on large farm implement springs and set them up in his camp - .ground so that children can play on them. Wright has had requests to make the curved wooden frames that hold up the cloth roof on antique cars. One customer had him making the frames for a Gray -Dort, a very old car that was once manufactured in Chatham. In the same way he curves the roof frames, Wright makes braces to steady the seat and backs of antique chairs. Many of his jobs are repairing antiques, or family heirlooms. Another time he was asked to make a copy of an antique that was still in use. Wright fashioned a Wooden sauerkraut cutter from a very old one, complete with blade and handle to hold onto the head of cabbage. He has also been asked to make the canopy frame for antique four-poster beds. Recently he repaired the wooden frame used to make a false wedding cake. The wooden boxes are stacked up and then iced. Wright has also made fleshing poles --the big wooden cones that trappers use to stretch pelts on for cleaning and drying Hun- ters and trappers tell Wright that, these poles can no longer he purchased in stores and several have come to him. Collectors appreciate Wright because he can come up with the just the right shelf to show off their hobby. Wright has made little tracks on which to display a collection of playing cards. andisrnall shelves on which to place a collection of salt and pepper shakers. He's also make cuppolas to hold up weather vanes and wooden carts to hold plants in a flower shop " ftnc "of fhe 'mtis't unusual requests Wright's had is to make a coat rack from little dollies which were once on electrical wires in France. The little iron figures rrrsemble a child's doll and they held up the wires on early electricity poles. A customer brought them to Wright and asked him to build something using them. Wright make an attractive hall tree and used the dollies with their outstretched arms to hold up coats. it's the unusual things that makg woodjry eking in- teresting. Wright says that - the strange requests he gets never be able to tell that strange nutritious foods. from customers make hiswork a challenge. "1t would you're a junkie. But I'm always careful to be boring to make the same In Grand Bend you can lose just enough weight that I old thing all the time," he start the day with a gooey can go back to my addiction says, chocolate doughnut, and next summer Will i ever Wright says he always follow that with a mid- overcome my attraction to dreamed of having his ownmorning chili dog. A bag of junk food? Not likely! woodworking business. He has done carpentry work all his life. For a while he managed a basket factory in Forest but he preferred to be out working with the wood than in the office. Wright says there are very few custom woodworking shops around. Many have specialized in one item. such as church pews, and there a are few places one can go with a strange request. Wright also sells firewood. and his summers are very busy keeping campers supplied He admits that - r mit many of his buyers of the custom-made wood furniture stopped to buy firewood. He's had many ex- periences with tourists who drop in for firewood. One day a customer insisted on picking all the pine out of the various wood piles. He sorted through all the piles, and left with two boxes of what he called pine. very satisfied. Wright never told him that there wasn't a bit of pine in any of the piles, he only works with hard wood. Wright attributes his large business to a change in society's attitude. He says people now want furniture that is solid and made to last. A few years ago people were buying inexpensive furniture that they replaced every few years. "We're not a throw away society anymore," he says. Similarly people want to hang onto antiques now, where a few years ago they would have thrown them out. This accounts for Wright's big business in repairing old, broken furniture MAKES ANYTHING OUT OF WOOD — Lorne Wright of RR 2 Grand Bend uses a little horse as an example of the unusual things he's been asked to make Bosanquet to look at zoning claiming 1250.000. Al Bosanquet township is rt ready to look at alternation^+rP rc a owner and in their flail p...... t;.aw,�iWN'Sy g $200.000 now that they have been and Harold and Audrey faced with law suits Coulson are claimigftE40,000. amounting to $500.000. Land -owners Timothy Sweet Deputy clerk George and Norman James are Eizenga� says that • an demanding that they be etrg1nlrrhg' firm -has been, issued building permits.- hired ermits.hired to look into the area' now zoned as flood plain apd consider changes. "Some areas are lower than others. they can't be treated the same." Eizenga said. The law suits were served when a zoning bylaw made in the 1950's prohibiting building in ood plain areas was revived.flThe old bylaw had been ignored for several years. and many homes and subdivisions had been made in the area surrounding the Ausable River Cut The,Flaimants want a court order to stop the township from enforcing the old by-law. Ultimately they want the bylaw voided. Lawyer Kent McClure is acting for the land owners who want to build on their property. Ileather Ross, a sub- division developer is Eizenga says he wants to make it clear that none of the existing homes in the area will be torn down. An ac- count on CFPL television frightened many people into tkinkint!thaLtheir, homes may be demolished an his office has had many inquiries. he says. Bosanquet township reeve Charles Srokosz and clerk _. BQb McCordie who bas been named in one of the writs, were both away on vacation and not available for com- . ment. 4 •vam. loft DOG PADDLER— Swimming Instructor Janet Allister of Grand Bend helps Paul Hernackt in Tony Retouw's pool near Grand Bend