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Clinton News-Record, 1979-05-24, Page 4PAGE 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1979 The Clinton Hawk -Record 13 published each Thursday at P.O. Ros 20. Clinton, Ontario. Canada. NOM 11.0. Member. Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association It Is registered os second class moll by the post office under the permit number 0E17. The Nows-Record Incorporated In 1024 the Huron News -Record. founded ill 1001. and The Clinton Now Era. founded In UOS. Total press run 3.300. Member Canadian Community Nsfwspapar Association Display advertising rotes available on request. Ask for Rate Cord No. 0 effective Oct. 1, 1075. General Manager - J. Howard Aitken Editor • James E. Fitzgerald Advertising Director • Gory L. Hoist News editor • Shelley McPhee Office Manager • Margaret Glbb Circulation • Freda McLeod Subscription Rote: Canada -'14.00 per year Sr. cltlien . '12 per year U.S.A. & foreign • '10 per year Shaping up at Iast It looked like the dust and cob- webs would soon have full control over Clinton. Fortunately, some concerned citizens and businessmen have realized that the town can't remain the way it was in the past and are taking positive steps to keep it vibrant and alert. The fuse has been ignited in Clinton in an attempt to keep in step with other surrounding municipalities who are ,making their towns more attractive for residents, shoppers and tourists. With the match lighted, the dust and cobviebs will hopefully vanish as the Clinton Business im-- provemen't Area kindles en- thusiasm from people who want to save their town from deterioration. The decline of Clinton's once immaculate looks has been a slow, but steady impairment, often not visible to the townspeoples eyes, but clearly evident to people tr'avelling through or shopping in the town. While apathy and little concern were naturally shown when small instances of deterioration became evident, the decay, the deserted buildings, rundown homes and unkempt properties, to name a few, have now swollen up to large enough proportions to be frightfully observed by Clinton's proud citizens. Fortunately, the problem has finally been seen and brought out to be aired before it is too late. The Business Improvement Area, although initiated by our merchants, is not only for their benefit. The attempts to revitalize, Clinton is not only to put more money in the pockets of the businessmen. In fact, they will have to give some financial support to make the project's plans a reality.. If the project goes ahead, it should 'make Clinton a better place to live, a better place to shop and a town known and respected by outsiders. Only public support, suggestions, criticisms and volunteering will our- lI)S year-old rrtumtdoF►� P r a -puce, to, sur-vive:_the future, not a ghost town of the past.—by Shelley McPhee •• -`` III "1 attended a city council meeting to see council in action and that's what 1 saw — council inaction'`' sugar ondspice Smiley voted NDP For quite a while, I counted myself among that approximately 30 per cent of Canadian voters who were "un- decided." From the time he was chosen leader and elected 11 years ago, I have disliked Pierre Trudeau. Perhaps distrusted would be a better word. As a Canadian, I was used to good, dull, solid prime ministers like Mike Pearson, a genial, open internationally known diplomat; "Uncle Louis" St., Laurent, a corporate lawyer respected by men of all parties; John Diefen- baker, a criminal lawyer with great experience in parliament. This new guy, Trudeau, was a little too good to be true. A millionaire's son who had never really proved himself in business, -law, (his profession) or the arts. He had no experience in parliament. He had switched ideals too easilY4 from firebrand to `national pacifier. r 4h T. ;could understand the a -ten years Battier,in another guy who had ridden to office on Tru'deaumania-. With his' Casual' a few million dollars, a barrel of am - clothes, his boutonniere, and his exotic bition, and charm to burn. holidays, he was a regular breath of My jaundice was illstified. Since fresh air to\ Canadians, accustomed to -r- .1 au took Canada bslipped stodginess at the top. He was photogenic, obviously- a' man with intellect. articulate, and a considerable seemed vigorous, and must have something going for him, even though barely more than half the Tory delegates Wanted him, or didn't want He had bags of charm, with the Claude Wagner. Gallic shrug, the lifted eyebrow. In his As the months have passed, my national television speeches, he was a hopes have withered. Clark seems just winner, most persuasive. the opposite of Trudeau. Not smooth, When he married the lovely but awkward. Not intellectual, though Margaret Sinclair, the fairy tale hard -plugging at his homework. Trying seemed complete, only outdone ley the to appear forceful in the televised fact that they had three children, bang, House of Commons, but a finger - bang, -bang, two of them born on .wagging, jowl -shaking, pale effigy of Christmas Day. It would take a old John Diefenbaker at hi$ best. distinguished writer of soap opera to There'll be no bold leadership by this come up with a better script. guy,, either, if he wins. He makes a Yet, all the time I didn't trust him. statement, then waffles. He dodges a Too smooth, even slippery, when. it' television confrontation with Trudeau, came to •a forthright statement about and I don't blame him. He throws out a his views or the country. At first I huge bribe to the middle-class voter thought we might just have a with his mortgage interest,scheme. statesman, but it wasn't long before he He seems a decent enough chap, as was a pure politician to the heels. _ _honest . as a. politician can be; but he My wife was sore at me for what she appears more like a puppet, gyrating considered my jaundiced view of awkwardly to the strings pulled by his Prince Charming. Just as she was sore advisors, than a real human being. He at me because I wasn't altogether sold seems to have virtually no sense of but an enormous desire to ' become prime minister. Clark has never really accomplished anything outside of politics. He was a • • • OO over, ane a as hardworking and earnest, but un - ',Steadily into a stagflation that has distinguished member of parliament. made a hell of a lot of other Canadians That's why he got the "Joe Who?" label just as jaundiced. He refused to con- after he wiggled into the leadership. sider wage and price controls. A year What a choice! An aging playboy who later he switched and stole the idea has allowed Canada's national debt, from the Tories, too late. and Canada's , government, swell to His government has done virtually epic proportions until Ottawa appears nothing about: foreign companies a huge, complacent blood -sucker buying Canada; development of the drawing the life out of the rest of the country; unemployment; pollution and country. And a hick from High. River, a hundred other issues of concern. whose main motive seems to be pure There was no bold leadership of political hunger for power.. (No Canadian industry, commerce, aspersions on High River, whose editor science. There was a tnuckling-under kept me up until 4 a.m. one morning in to militant labour. There was the a great intellectual debate). panicky War, Measures Act in Quebec. Where to go? I'm lurching to the left, There wasa steady loss of confidence and I wouldn't be surprised if many in Canada on the international level. joined me. I'm no socialist, but When Joe Clark was chosen leader of Broadbent at least isn't making an ass the Tories, taking the place of a much of himself, has some concrepe ideas. superior man, Robert Stanfield, at We have a good man in our riding, and least I had some hope. He was young, this time I'm going to vote for the man. Poetic steam - Forgive me if I let off a little steam this week about a poem that has bothered me for years: :t's called, Forgive Me When I Whine. The author tells of seeing a pretty smiling young girl on a bus. When the girl got up to leave, she reached for a crutch and the author noticed she had only one leg. The poet wrote, "forgive me when I whine; I have two legs, the world is mine." Next the author met a young man selling sweets. They chatted,�for awhile, and the young man mentioned how goodit was to talk to someone. He got lonely because he was blind. Then the author said, "forgive me when I whine; I have my- sight, the world is mine." Finally, the poet encountered a boy watching some other children playing. The boy didn't seem to know what to do, and the author suggested that he play with the others. When the boy didn't answer,' the author realized he was deaf. The writer said, "forgive me when I whine; I can hear, the world is mine." I suspect the author's intention was to show gratitude for sight, hearing, mobility and all the other blessings in his life and to urge other people, who had sight, hearing, mobility, etc., to appreciate what they had. I won't argue with that. All of us take life and its blessings for granted and don't show enough appreciation. Unfortunately, I think the author chose a »poor way to show his ap- preciation. The poem intimates that the world does not belong to the girl with the crutch, the young man without sight and the boy without hearing. The author and anyone else who shares that attitude, even sub- consciously, must be corrected. The world belongs to everyone in- cluding the blind, deaf, cerebral palsied, paraplegics, quadraplegics, amputees, physically handicapped mentally handicapped and socially handicapped. A writer from Toronto, who is physically handicapped, submitted an editorial on the poem to a newspaper published by a handicapped association in Windsor. He asked non -handicapped waders to consider this: "If you were told from time immemorial and from all directions that, since you were in a wheelchair or physically different, you were helpless and would always be dependent, that you would not be convinced of it? Everybody and his uncle say so, then it must be so, so helpless I will be!" He adds. that his idea of 'keeping the handicapped happy' differs from that of some people. He cherishes the philosophy that we should "enjoy, each to his own ability, the same heart- breaks, traumas, failures', achievements, goals and hard work as our fellow man." His idea of 'keeping the handicapped Getting impatient Dear Editor, The following is an open letter sent to The Honourable Eugene Whelan, Minister of Agriculture, Ottawa, Ontario and The Honourable William Newman, Minister of Agriculture and Food, Toronto, Ontario. Gentlemen: The farmers of Eastern Ontario have been patiently awaiting your long - promised, joint official announcement that the Eastern Ontario Rural Economic Development Subsidiary Agreement, which has been negotiated for many months, has been signed and is in operation. Their extended wait has so far been in vain: their impatience grows with each passing day. It is vital to this region of Canada that the agreement be signed im- mediately. Only then can the many badly stalled municipal drainage programs proceed. Also,' the South Nation River Remedial Project is being held up. The OFA considers this issue ex- tremely significant. When the ARDA Agreement and Drainage Program was cut last September, many farmers were left up in the air. They had em- barked on drainage plans, counting on financial assistance which was not provided. A new agreement was promised by March, 1979, for the continued support of Eastern Ontario agriculture. This has not been for- thcoming. This procrastination must stop and a decision must be made now. Please advise the OFA and Eastern Ontario farmers immediately whether or not they can expect your support on the development of agriculture in Eastern Ontario. Yours impatiently, Peter Hannam, President. happy', he concludes, "is to instill pride, confidence and a sense of in- vincibility in the self '... equal to any man or woman in this little world." A poem, such as Forgive Me When I Whine, does not help to build a han- dicapped person's self-esteem. It can be more harmful than constructive, even though it wasn't meant to be. We must all realize we were made by the same Creator, and if he didn't want some of us to- be handicapped, he wouldn't have bothered. The world is yours: the world is mine; the world belongs to everyone. remembering our past a look through the news -record files 5 YEARS AGO Chosen by other students of Stratford May 16,1974 Teachers' College, as valedictorian, Miss For the first time in the News -Record this Middleton delivered her address at a special week, and hopefully for many weeks to program at the college. come, we will. be carrying news of Vanastra, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Steepe and family one of Ontario's newest communities. are occupying the bungalow on the Bayfield Written. by Jenny Russo, Vanastra Voicings Line, formerly the home of the late Mr. and will be open to any news of concern or Mrs. C.B. Middleton. enlightment to Vanastra. Robert P. -Allan of Brucefield left on The spring of 1974 for many Huron County Monday for Montreal on the first leg of a farmers will go down as one of the worst in journey which will last for two months and recent years. will take him to Scotland and England. With the mid -point in May passed, only Going as a representative of the Junior five per, cent of the spring grains have been Farmer's Association of Ontario, Bob will sown in northern Huron County, according be one of the four young people visiting the to Mike Miller, associate agricultural United Kingdom. representative. 50 YEARS AGO He said that about 50 per cent of the spring May 16,1929 grain crop had been sown in the southern The time seems to have come when one part of Huron and the cool, cloudy, wet has to have a certain uniform for every kind weather has delayed corn planting, usually of work or play. The Dominion Lawn at its peak about the middle of May. Bowling Association at its recent meeting in 10 YEARS AGO Toronto gave a decision on the proper dress May 15, 1969 for lawn bowling. You cannot any more don Youngsters saw it as a spectacular pre- an old, baggy pair of trousers, a shabby old holiday fireworks display, but for the pair of running shoes, which had once been Clinton firemen it was a fearful thing to white, last year's straw hat, discard your watch sparks and embers shoot skyward as coat and call yourself dressed for the green. a fast-moving blaze reduced the Canada To be properly garbed, according to the Packers Shur -Gain feed mill to smouldering decision of this high court, you must wear rubble early yesterday. brown shoes, cream flannel trousers, plain Fire Chief Grant Rath said later that it or wide striped, blue coat and white felt hat. was only the wet weather and the lack of Let the bowlers at their peril appear in wind which enabled his men to control the any other garb on the local green during the flames and protect nearby buildings. summer of 1939. As usual, the ladies may, Damage to the mill on Huron Street and will, dress as they please. (Highway 8) and the 200 tons of feed it held We haven't said anything about the will run "well over $100,000," said Stan weather for a week or so, that is publicly, • Paquette of Goderich, manager of the plant but this morning's snow storm seems to be a for the last three years. , little too much. Does that new weatherman In a move intended to make Sunday horse in Toronto not even know it is May? races possible in Clinton's Community The Holmesville post office is being closed Park, the town council voted unanimously on May 24 and the patrons have been this week to permit Sunday afternoon notified to procure delivery boxes. To some scheduling of almost all types of sporting this will mean the setting up of a box at their events, plus shows, -theatrical per- gate, but to others it is not so convenient. formances, lectures, concerts and other Some will be served from Clinton and some activities. from Goderich. 25 YEARS AGO 75 YEARS AGO May 20, 1954 May 19, 1904 Miss Barbara Middleton, who is a Mr. R. Peck of Stanley Township sports a graduate of Clinton District Collegiate dandy new rubber tired buggy. Richard will Institute and is the daughter of Mr; and Mrs. be kept busy- driving the young ladies Fred Middleton, RR 3, Clinton, received around. signal honor last week. The gospel temperance meeting held in the Ontario Street church on Sunday evening last was well attended and the failure of the electric lights did not interfere with its success. Mr. John Houston presided and warmly praised the work of the W.C.T.U. Rev. Dr. Cook gave an address on the social side of the question which was much appreciated. One of the saddest events which has taken place in Auburn was the death of Mrs. Erratt which took place at 10 o'clock Friday morning last. She had been enjoying her usual health, but when engaged in her household duties, she fell 'to the floor and died almost instantly of heart failure. Mr. J. Miller has bought a gasoline engine for pumping purposes. 100 YEAR'S AGO May 15, 1879 Walking matches are the rage now. We are going to institute one here soon, as we will walk out and visit those who owe us if they don't walk in and "pony up." Mr. Kennedy's hotel, not being ready for the Inspector on his last round, the time was extended, and on Saturday the Inspector expressed himself as well satisfied with the improvements that had been made and a license was granted accordingly. A millinery establishment has been opened by Mrs. Fitch, in the Carson Block, as will be seen by reference to her ad- vertisment. As the Queen's birthday falls on Saturday, and as that day is generally the best for business, would it not be as well to postRone the holiday till Monday, as some other towns are so doing. W.C. Searle, mayor. Animal help Dear Editor: The 1979 seal -hunt is over, but animal protectionists in many countries in- cluding your own are not planning to let the subject rest now and wait for clubbing time to come again. We respectfully ask that your readers inquire of their government into the quota -setting process, which deterniines the number of harp seals which will be annually killed. We ask More on Gibbings Dear Editor : Again I have some interesting bits pertaining to the Gibbings' family to share. If you feel that the enclosed is worthy of space, in your valuable and interesting newspaper, I am sure that there are many who would benefit from its message. The Clinton families believed that their roots sprung from the Bickington, Fremington area near Barnstaple, Devonshire. This assumption was based, no doubt, on handed -down information from im- migrants to the Clinton area -who were married in the Ontario Street Church, 1866 January 27th -as "William Churchill, 28, Goderich township, born England son of William and Ann Churchill - and EWzbeth Gibbings 23 of Clinton Village, born England to Samuel and Priscilla Gibbings.. Elizabeth, in fact, was baptised 1839 May 10 -2nd daughter of Samuel and Ursulla Gibbings of Bickington-entered in the Registers of Fremingtop Parish Church. This family consisted of eight daughters -As yet we have not established the relationship of the families of Barnstaple area and Exbourne, Okehampton, N. Devon. England. It is said that eventually William Churchill and or his wife, nee Elizabeth Gibbings, went to the Toronto area. Tracing our "Gibbings" ancestry in 1966 it was my pleasure to contact the Postmaster of Exbourne, Devon, England the home of our immigrant families, and be very rewarded in so doing - A copy of this letter is as follows by a friend of his. "The Post Office, Exbourne, Okehampton, ,Devon, England January 12; 1966" . "Dear Madam:" "I thank you for your letter received today. The Postmaster of Okehampton did ask me previously for information regarding your inquiry, and as I did not know anything, I contacted an older person. In fact she had heard of your inquiries in the Village but was unable to help. I am afraid that your inquiries date back far before any present generation in Exbourne. I did tell the Postmaster of ;Okehampton that in fact, the "Gibbings" had been heard of at "Woodhall", -and that there were fields known as Gibbings Moot probably named- after your relations: You know, I expect, that there are now two "Wopodhall" Farms, Higher and Lower, and I understand that your folks farmed both, together with "Hall Farm". It is myu personal view that "Hall Farm" has since been re -named to "Coxhall, Farm" My reasons for this are that fields belonging to Woodhall and Coxhall, join. In fact some fields at "Gibbings Moor" were sold to Mr. Sage of Town living in Exbourne. The present farmer at Coxhall Farm is Mr. Lang who may be able to trace any further information. "Our Vicar, who has not been here for a great number of years probably misled you by suggesting to you, to what he thought was the "Hall Farm'; in fact that is the "Hole Farm, but sometimes pronounced as "Hall" in the Devonshire Voice". "I hope this letter will help you trace something but I am afraid I am unable to help anymore as it is long before our times, Yours faithfully, "D. Wecus" I am sure that there are many relatives in Huron County who are interested in the Gibbings' family. Jonas Gibbings' sister "Mary Ann" married in Exbourne, Devonshire, in the Parish Church, -banns; 1823 July 15, Salmuel Ashton of Greater Dinworthy, Bradworthy, Devon, who set out to emigrate -to Canada and to Clinton, to join the Jonas Gibbings family in 1846. - At Quebec, upon landing, Samuel Ashton was very ill and died there 18 days later and buried there. Mary Ann, his wife, came forward to her brother, with eight children under fifteen years of age. Before 1850, tragedy befell the family again when the mother, Mary Ann Gibbings, died mysteriously and is buried in Turner's churchyard, Tuckersmith twsp. leaving the children without either parent. It is my belief that countless descendants will be very happy to learn something about their Great Grand- parents at this particular time when genealogy has become so interesting and active. Sincerely, Mrs. Margaret Strangways Sarnia , Ontr. that they examine, pro and con, and that they reach a conclusion based on what has happened these last two years. It is our great hope that - whatever they may have felt in the past - they will look. at this situation anew. The implications for our country, and yours, are great. We are genuinely distressed that a fine friendship bet- ween nations is adversely affected by the seals issue. We also believe that everyone con- cerned can "grow a bit" in the course of resolving this problem. We ask you to help and will be interested in receiving your comments. For the Animal Protection Institute of America, Most sincerely, Belton P. Mouras President