Clinton News-Record, 1976-07-08, Page 4est o us take for granted the
writings of aur various correspondents
Which span every week in this paper
andin hgndreds of weeklies across this
WO nation of ours, but we really
shouldn't. '
They are a vital link in the com-
munity, they even tie it together
morally., even if you think "Mr. Doe
Visited his mother Saturday," is
mundane, and insignificant.
The long hours they send collecting
and writing the news is done more out
of a sense of duty and dedication than
for the money they are paid.
All of them take great pride in their
work, but none more than our Bayfield
correspondent of the last five years,
Milvena Erickson.
A
good show
The people of Bayfield and their
Centennial Committee they are one
in the same -- are to be congratulated
for putting on a good shove last
weekend during the four days of the
Centennial celebrations.
If all villages and towns, and -even
cities, exhibited the kind of spirit and
communication the people of Bayfield
have, then it would indeed be a better
world.
Sure, financially the 100th birthday
celebrations were a big success, but
what really'coufat'S is their willingness
to work together so closely, to com-
municate with each other. How else
you
She represented thee. community
spirit of Bayfield, and with her c Iumn
now missing from the News -Record,
the paper and the village' are much
poorer for ,the loss.
Over the years, Milvena has spent
literally thousands of hours attending
meetings, collecting information, and
even staying up till the early hours of
the morning assembling it into
cohesive, informative copy. �a
Ba.y., iet! ;ai. ,en . blessed down
through the years with some top notch
correspondents, inn fact one year,
former correspondent Lucy Woods was
judged the best in all of Canada.
Let's not end the tradition. Bayfield,
hear the cry, There IS someone down
there who can do it.
would it be possible for a village of only
500 permanent souls to put on such a
good show.
In this fast -paced world of ever in-
creasing polarization, loneliness, and
isolation, it's a pleasant surprise to see
people such as those in Bayfield co-
operate with each other so fully.
Time after time, we heard remarks
from dozens of the thousands of
visitors, like "how do they do it," or
"it's lust fantastic."_
Bayfield has set an example of
community spirit that should be
emulated from coast to coast.
Keep polities out of the Olympics
"Man's inhumanity to -man makes
countless thousands mourn." - When
Robbie Burns -"penned those lines he
was not thinking of Canada's for-
thcoming Olympics - but how well they
do fit.
With the constant bickering, strikes,
insinuations and accusations which
have plagued this twenty-first
Olympiad from the start, those sym-
bolic five intertwined rings are being
stretched to the breaking, point.
And now,, with opening day little
more than a week away, we have a
grand opera argument, complete with
leading men, over whether certain
athletes can, or cannot, represent their
country.
The individual athlete, his high hopes
and his grueling hours of 'practice
coMpletely disregarded, is thised
aside to make room for the combatants
of the political arena.
We have no doubt that the .present
controversy will be resolved - but why
must we go right down to the opening
race with this on -again . - off -again
tension?
The true spirit of the Olympics
belongs only to those athletes who meet
and compete in the spirit of friendshiP.
Theirs is not the inhumanity which
breeds with politics. —By Pegg BGibb
Sugar and Spicc/By B
11 Smiler
How 1 began
Had a letter this week from a former
student who has to present a seminar in a
journalism course she's taking. She didn't
want much — just how to become a syn-
dicated weekly columnist. and some
anecdotes about being editor of a weekly
newspaper.
There's no problem about the first one. as
I tell the eight or 10 people who write me
annually about it. Alttytou .have to do is be in
the right place at the right time. with the
right material. In other words, lucky A
second ingredient is to be cheap. I was
both. when this column began to circulate.
I began writing this column when I was
editor of a weekly. Altera couple of years, I
had grown sick of the leek of freedom and
creativity in what I was writing. Any damn
fool can write a news story\if he gets the
facts straight. And many damn fools can
and do write editorials, regardless of the
facts. "
And I was having trouble with the
weddings and obituaries I had to churtsseei . , One searing experience in the weddings
department was my assertion. right there
in black and white. that the bride and
groom had left for a honeymoom- in Ber-
muda wearing a green corduroy suit. I
didn't say who was wearing the top. and
who the bottom. but my reputation among
the mothers of brides was definitely sullied.
Same trouble with the obituaries. I never
committed the classic: "The deceased was
borne to his final resting place by six old
fiends who aeted as pallbearers." but 1 did
have my moments.
A line from a wedding wouldisqp into the
funeral. and it would come ousomething
like this: 'The rernains of the deceased.
who was in his 78th year. are resting at the
Sunset Funeral Home. in a clinging gown of
yellow voile, with a garland of
white stephanotis and a large bouquet of
forget-me-nots." Pretty fancy funil'rai,
-what?
I never did get much flack from the
deceased, but I sure caught hell from the
"survivors." as they were invariably
known.
After a series of such setbacks.;fdecided
to start writing a little column in which I
didn't have to cope with the dull facts of the
news story. the supposed. objectivity of the
editorial, or the pitfalls of the wedding
obituary quagmire': .�
Thus began "Sugar and Spice" as it was
first named, a humble little corner of the
editorial page where one Bill Smiley could
spoof the world. needle his wife. damn all
_politicians, and give vent to his rages. In
Short. where he could say whatever t he
wanted, without hiding behind the
anonymity of the news story or the'editorial
"we."' (Although that's a pretty slim thing,
to tty tip hide behind in a small town. where
"Come down
om there, Otis — it's been months since you sent in
your tax return!"
Odds 'n' ends
by Elaine Townshend
Saga of a city coon
everybody knows exactly who wrote the
editorial: and what's wrong with his head.
to have'such an opinion).
anyway. the column caught on, for
a kc Eaux reasons. One wasthat men enjoyed
riie•`•pointing out how pecutiar..•women are.
.,another was that woi'nen enjoyed me
pointing out how stupid men are. Everyone
enjoyed me pointing out how abysmally
idiotic politicians are.
There were other reasons. I didn't mind
calling a spade a ruddy shovel. I didn't
mind exposing what an ass I was. I wrote
about all the horrible ordeals that ordinary
' people go through: loved ones dying; music
festivals. Christmas. I wrote about parents
and children. sailors and legionnaires.
grannies and esung mothers, farmers and
fishermen..
And I had good friends. Notably George
Cadogan. still a power in the weekly
b istness in the Maritimes. He urged and
el.couraged and recommended to friends.
Under his exhortations. I gradually
changed a ragged column of anecdotes,
barbs and personal opinions into a short
essay that tried to say something, without
seeming to
Next thing i knew, 88 papers were run-
ning my column. Then. of course, the
syndicates got interested. They are not,"by' '
the way, much interested in beginners,
which makes it mighty tough to break in.
Satisfaction? Oh', yes. Not from writing
it That's hard work. if it weren't. it would
be hard reading. and if it• was that. it
wouldn't be read for long.
gist '" I've had great joy from the...
knowledge that I've occasionally 'brought
some pleasure. or surcease from pain. to
someone. One ancientiady wrote painfully,
from her old folks' home bed, that she had
laughed until ehe cried, at one column. A
young Canadian woman, in New Zealand,
wrote that she'd been in despair.
everything black. had read my column in
her hometown, paper. had laughed aloud,
and had realized that God was still in His
heaven. if she could laugh.
i won't tell y-ou about the rotten letters
I've received. They're few, they're usually
bigoted. and they don't bother me.
Now, Mary Graham. journalism student.
You want an anecdote from my days as a
weekly editor. Here's a true one'How would
you cover it. as a reporters
A man had a fight with his wife, got al;
drunked up, and told her he was going to
commit suicide She'told him to go ahead.
He marched out to his car, went roaring off.
drove it right off the town dock and into that
blackness that waits for all of us. Next
morning. they found hitt. Sound asleep in
his car, which had landed on a barge tied up
to the dock. His wife had the last six or
seven huhdred.words.
•
(PART 2)
If you recall a recent column, you'll remember a 14 -year-
old amateur trapper Hamed Dave and a raccoon that took
up residence in a Woodpile in a London backyard.
The humane society suggested the only person that could
remove the. animal Was an bxterminator, but Dave and his`
younger brother and sister had different ideas. Dave
borrowed a• box trap from a friend, and set it up near the
woodpile.
He considered two courses of action to take after catching
the coon. The first was to keep him as a pet. and the second
was to turn him toese in the country where he belonged. His
parents steered him to the second choice with a firm "No!"
to the first.
Although the boy's intentions were kind. the coon didn't
appreciate them. In factehe growledeach time he saw Dave
peering into his hole.
The first night of the "hunt" was hectic. Two neigh-
bourhood cats brought Dave rushing from the house on wild
goose chases. His only reward was a tongue-lashing from a
family that didn't enjoy being wakened in the middle of the
night.
In the morning.. half the bait - a tin of sardines :had been
devoured by the cats. and the coon was steeping in his den.
Undaunted. the young trapper prepared for the second
night's- vigil. In the afternoon, he pitched his tent in a far
corner of the yard thinking it was safer to sleep outside with
theaon than to risk another door -slamming reprimand
................ .
tizens of Clinton Ma
be divided into two groups:
those who have barking dog,
and 'those who wish :,
barking dogs would strang€
on their own barking. The
great question is why thosl�
n, who own .barking dogs do -not
also wish that the barking;
dogs would strangle. . The
answer is simple: because-
barking
ecausebarking is what they'want the-
dogs to do.
The barking dogs of Clin-
ton, in their turn. may be
divided into two groups:
those that give a simple woof-
woof when, a stranger passes,
and those that bark tike
maniacs at everything that
moves and likewise bark like
maniacs when nothing
moves. Casual study shows
that most of the latter are
dachshunds.
It
achshunds-
It is observed that the
people who own the maniacal
barkers are very calm and
amiable. When a newly
widowed lady walks by they
say "Good evening Ms.
Widow. nice weather for the
flowers. isn't it." At the same
time little Belsen is doing
mad -dog handstands and,
almost solidifying the air with
noise. "Belsen baby. you bad
bad doggie!" says the prou
owner.
The reason little Belsen's
master is so calm an
amiable is that Belsen is
doing his dirty work for him.
He would like to cuss out th
world. but he doesn't know
how. or he is afraid to. Little
Belsen's barking allows him
the pleasure of hostility and
bad manners while he himsel
sirs aside being an uprigh
fellow. like a smiling ven
triloquist
But the owners of th
simple woof -woof type o
barker are a differen
proposition. They are peopl
who are afraid of strangers• i
the night. A ws tee dog is wha
they want Perhapsthere i
not much .really to be afrai
of in Clinton. but if yott se
wild men in cars on the bac
streets breaking the spee
limit, how can° you feef sur
they wouldn't break into yo'i
house? So a watch dog is
comfort even though its fats
alarms may be an annoyanc
to the neighbours.
Just as little Belsen is
disguise for his master. so th
poor lame -brains who brea
the speed limit and squea
their tires are also
disguise. When they clim
into their cars thy are i
from his family.
"If I stay in the tent the coon, won't even know I'm there.
he reasoned.
While he worked, his family chipped in tidbits of advice.
such as. Be careful you don't get yourself caught in the
trap" and— Don't you think you should buy more sardines
while they're still on sale? There's a lot of cats around here.
you know."
Later. he borrowed his sister's cat to -test the trap one
more time: he wanted the door to trip perfectly. But Jan
caught him in the act. and a major confrontation ensued.
Acting as referee. their father ordered the combatants to
the opposite corners of the yard.
The city coon watched from a lofty perch in a neighbour's
tree. and if I didn't know better, I'd swear he was smiling.
That nigh -t when Dave headed for ,.the tent, his mother
ensured him, "I'll make sure there's no shoes inside the
door so you won.'t trip when you sneak back in."
The second night was less eventful than the first.. Only one
cat ventured into the pen and woke Dave with a howl.. After
freeing the intruder. the trapper placed the last of the
sardines in the box and crawled back into his tent. He slept
soundly eneil dawn.
When he opened the tent flaps, he could see the door of the
trap was still open and the rope was taut. As he ambled
closer. the trap looked as though it hadn't been touched.
except ... the sardines were gone.
And the coon hasn't been seen since.
from our early files..
a et,
10 YEARS AGO in Canada.
July 14. 1966 R. Gordon Benne f,' B S A .
Robert McKinley. Zurich. MP Clinton. agricultural represen-
for Huron, informed the News- tative for --Huron County for the
Record yesterday, afternoon that past three years. has been
Canadian Forces Base Centralia promoted to an - Associate
would be closed this fall. Minister Director of the Agricultural
of national defence. Paul Hellyar Representatives Branch. et-
hos- just recently announced the fective August 1. it was an -
decision. The, Primary Flying nounced by Hon. T. L. Kennedy.
School will be moved to Canadian Ontario Minister of Agriculture.
Forces Base, Borden: part of the 'yesterday.
Central- Officers School will be The 95 -year-old former Central
moved to Fleet . School at Public School, Goderich. was
Esquimalt. B.C.. the Technical officially opened as the Huron
Administration course and the Pioneer Museun't by Thomas
non -flying list specialist training Pryde. MLA for Huron. on
will be moved to CFB Clinton. Wednesday afternoon, July 4.
in spite of the continuous Tax collections in Clinton for
drought and late season the first half of 1951 were 53.1 per
Fenerally. the rose show held last cent of the levy for the year while
riday by the Clinton Citizens' those for the first half of 1950
Horticultural Society was suc- were 49,1 per cent for the whole
cessfu-I Held in the council year. anincrease of 4 per cent. it
chambers. the annual show at- was ' revealed " in a statement
,traeto,d, ,I4 ekeS. ,P., of !which prepared by Town Treasurer M.
were in the public school children J. Corliss. The 1951 levy is 888.659
classes. of which the amount collected to
"Christmas in July"' Mrs. R. June 30 was tit ,069
G. Hunter- and a horde of co- A happy .celebration was held
i.workers and chillers proved -that it when the congregation of G r ac^
is "'more blessed to give than to t +d Cour tr. Porter's Hill. and
receive" when crowds packed the
Bayfield Arena on Tuesdaylight,
Over 5500 was realized at the
Bayfied Rummage Sale. The
sale Was prefaced by a historic
meeting between the Reeve of
Bayfield. Frank McFadden. in
".topper and chain" and Santa
Claus ( Professor Herbert
Kalbfleisch. London) in his
summer apparel.
St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
Clinton was the setting for tha.
double ring wedding of Karen
W innifred Saddlerand Paul
Joseph Goldsworthy on June 25.
Rev. Father .1 E. Kelly -of-
ficiated:
On- Sunday evening at the of North and South Huron and
Clinton Community Park. tht0 North and South Perot and some
Clinton legion Midgets continued lodges from . Bruce CounE9
their strong hittingattack as they. gathered to celebrate the Battle
pounded out 21 hits for an easy 23- ,itif the Boyne. Twelve thousand
4 exhibition win again over people were present for the
Walkerton. celebration and nearly three
25 YEARS AGO . thousand members marched.
July 12.1951 Two small girls were playing
Ur .lnhn W. Shaw, Clinton's together °fie afternoon in the
gland old man, .is being heartily -•
ri wonder what time it Isl..
congratulated on the eve %t said one of them at Iasi. ..
reaching his 90th bir-ttidt;ly. :Well it can`tbf' 4 o'c{++neck yet,Mooch next.July► . Heisone01 lied the oilier girl - with
thi olden practising physicians
magnificent logic. ''because my
mother said I was to be home at
four — and I'm not
Rev - A A. Holmes is supplying
the pulpit of Ontario St Church
while the minister. Rev C J
Moorhouse is on vacation.
Leaders in the pony contest this
week are Douglas Kennedy.
Peter Cantelon. R Crawford and
R Brown, -
It haS been announced that S
B Stothers. Agricultural
representati' a herr for some
years. has been transferred to
Essex County
Markets were wheat. 81 30.
oats_ 45c. to 50c . buckwheat.
70c.. barley. 60c.. -egs. 19 c 'to
26c . butter. 30c to 32c line hogs
813 50
75 YEARS AGO
July 12. 1901
�M.
The dry weather.helped4rii,cut
off the strawberry crop. there
are none whatever now Cherries
are in large quantities and in
good demand. but in a short
while. the' supply will lower the
price .which is at present from
50c to 60c per basket. Cantelon
Bros having made a shipment of
120 baskets on Tuesday for local
St. Andrew's Church. Bayfield. ti
gathered; at tite home' of their- trade, Gooseberries are quoted at
minister, Rev. Peter Renner. to
express their good -wishes to Mr
and Mrs. Rennet. on the occasion
- of their silver wedding an-
niversary.
Clinton Colts went down bat-
tling before Exeter on the
Community Park diamond
Thursday evening last. losing 104
after the visitors had jumped into
an early lead and held it.
SO YEARS AGO
July 15.1928
Monday was a gala day in
Clinton, when the members of the
Orange Order from "the districts
35 cents per basket but there is no
great demand for currants of any
Fond . raspberries are coming in
In'_"'-'pr'iiduce. Cantelon Bros
made a shipment of a carload. 500 `
tubs, to Montreal for export. the
local prices are'butter. loose, 13c
to l4c . tub i4t • eggs 9c. to l0c
At the regular monthly meeting
of the direcjdrs• of the McKillop
{nsurance'...:C.iampany. held at
Seaforth lately. there were 102
applications for insurance
presented and accepted This. is
the largest number for any one
month in the history of the
:ompany During the past year.
there were 73 applications ac-
cepted, being one-third more
Than many pre% taus year
The hospital is closed for a few
weeks to alfa« those engaged
there to ha' e a holiday
The agent for a patent
smoothing iron. 'iho canvassed
here about a month ago. sold 110
irons in Clinton and 130 in
c+i;rt~ Drth Th!e. sere sold at 53:5
each
The Jackson Manufacory are
now running at full blast with a
large :gaff employed They now
ha.e a gasoline engine of the
Goldie and_ McCu _
manufacture of Galt, and
week put in a 40 light acetylene
gas generator
The departmental
examinations are now being held
.it the public school and Inspector
Robb and Principal Lough are
presiding
effect getting into goritl
suits for a night of King Kon
on the town
But a great day is coming
The new radar w ill allow the
police to fine Kin Kong s
often he will have to pawn hi
gorilla suit and be re. ealed'a
a 9' pound weakling wit
sand in his eyes Then it wit
no longer be necessart'lC
watch dogs to hark in th
night in Clinton. and ther
will be only one classificatio
of barking dog the raniara
barker
Town Council will then pa
a by -law forbidding dogs t
impersonate their masters
When a dog is found guilty
his master will be thrown int
the pound where he w ill hav
his had manners pounded ou
of him by 9 pound eeakling
ith sand in their eyes
Letus ail look forward
that great day
Gerry"Fremli
Clint
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