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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-07-17, Page 4ADVRflCE TImES ry this for size The political health of a nation is never at fts best in times of affluence. When we are gill fat and happy we tend to limit our politi- c& activity to nothing more vital than chronic beefing to our friends and neighbors. Most of us are pretty sure the country is headed down the road to hell in a handcart, but we don't really cane enough to do any- thing about the situation—except talk. In tough times, however, most people get angry enough to demand action from their elected representatives. Votes are switched and governments topple. Even though many of us are still unaware of the fact, we are living through "tough times" right now. Sure, there are jobs available, and wages are higher than we ever dreamed they could be, but rampant inflation begs for new and courageous action o1 the part of the federal government—something considerab- ly more practical than the recent budget which only added fuel to the national bonfire of spiralling prices. Last week Robert Stanfield, unsuccess- ful leader of the national PC party, an- nounced that a convention to name his suc- cessor would be held within a few months. February or March of next year will see the Conservatives in the painful exercise of selecting a new leader from what, at the very best, will be an undistinguished list of hopefuls. John Turner, finance minister in the Trudeau government, recently had the thankless task of reading the most unpopular. federal budget since the war years. The more astute • alitical observers believe that that budget was forced on Mr. Turner—a man who has previously demonstrated the soundest sort of common sense, coupled with a better -than -average sensitivity to the best interests of the electorate. There is a widespread school of thought in this country that John Turner, one of the few men who could pose a threat to the leadership of Pierre Trudeau, was rail- roaded into the finance post as the surest possible path to political annihilation. The same fate has overtaken other potential leaders in times past—men like Walter Harris, for example. What a promising future we might have if John Turner would rise from his front row seat in parliament and take a few steps across the floor to the Conservative benches! The PC's would gain a new leader of tremen- dous stature and Canada might very well be provided with one of its greatest prime ministers. It is difficult to envision the finance minister as a turncoat—but in political life such a move is sometimes an act of great and abiding honesty. Winston Churchill turned his back on his own party when he was convinced its policies were wrong—and remember, for a moment, the consequences of that decision—the culmination of a career which was instrumental in the preservation of civilization. Canada needs a man like John Turner and in a position much more vital than being the bad news messenger boy for the en- trenched forces of the Trudeau regime. Look Ma, no hands! On general principles we are all in favor of the best use of new technologies and effi- cient automation—but to our own personal 'frustration we discovered recently there is a limit to the elimination of the human factor.' It happened thus: Finding that we would be required to attend a meeting in. Saskatoon in mid-August, we picked up the handy - dandy telephone to find out when the Air Canada planes go that way and how much we would have to save up for the ticket. It wasn't hard to, get Air Canada's number from Mother Bell's info service—but it was something else again when we dialed the proper number in Toronto. Six times, we performed the required finger exercises and six times we heard the familiar busy signal at the of ler end.. Mildly wondering why the airline couldn't transfer a few beautiful stewardesses .from serving drinks over Thunder Bay to answer. their telephones, we tried a seventh time, with a little more success. This time we got an answer. A cultured English voice informed us through the total impersonality of a recorded message that all Air Canada's tele- phone lines were busy, but if we would just dial another Toronto area number we would be provided with flight information. Natur- ally that message was encouraging—al though the recorded answer was proof that we had a long distance call to pay for, like it or not. So, with a few more flicks of the now faltering finger we reached the second - choice number and without any hesitation at all were privileged to hear yet another re- cording—this time with flight information. Highly enlightening! The voice on the wire told us all about the arrivals and departures for the particular day of our call—late in June. We learned, with joyous surprise, that the incoming flight from New York would be late by a disastrous twelve minutes; that the outgoing, hop to Shannon, Ireland, would be delayed for .32 minutes and that persons gong to San Francisco could expect 10 take off right on time. Tremendous. Fascinating. Except that we were not g • ing anywhere until August 33, so the flight patterns for June 23 were not of any vital concern. But, chalk up another long distance toil charge. WeH, all was not lost. Knowing that we had to be in Toronto within a few days we decided to do it the hard way. On arrival in the city we consulted those famous yellow pages and found that Air Canada had a downtown office just south of _ the city ha l l . That was the answer. Just talk to somebody human instead of trying to fight through our problem with a strip of plastic tape. What a relief. We strode through the Not a bad idea Premier William Davis, with whom we do not always agree, came up with a goad idea last week. Obviously 'mare than a bit ticked off with Mr. Trudeau and his budget, friend Bill expressed the thought (through one of his henchmen) that Ontario might be better off to look after its own medical care costs if Ottawa would simply turn over the swinging doors of the Air Canada ticket of- fice and jauntily breezed up to a ,counter at which two smiling attendants in female garb presided. Information at last! And we got in- formation as soon as we spoke to one of the girls. She said, "Please take a number, sir." We liked that "sir" bit, but really didn't know what she was talking about. The look of confusion on the old face must have been evident for a nattily -attired lady wandering around the public area then directed us to a machine over in the corner and after a bit of coaching we found that with the proper tech- nique one could extract a slip of paper on which, indeed, there was a number imprint- ed in 24 -point type. Not having a clue what to do with the number we- clutched it in a sweating palm and tried to sink inconspicu- ously into a penthouse type divan nearby. After some ten or twelve minutes that very same number was called over the loud hailer and we surmised our turn had come—but, as you may have guessed, we hadn't the faintest idea about the next move. However, arising from the depths of our resting place we stood with mouth agape un- til another neatly -clad lady approached and directed us to a counter away off on the other side of the room and totally out of sight. Now we were making progress. Here was another chair—a form -fitting job from which we could gaze info the limpid eyes of a person we assumed was, at long last, the girl with the information we had been seeking for three or four days. And by golly we were right. Gulping faintly and breathing heavily, we imparted our request for information about when the big airplanes left for Saska- toon and when they might bring us back. No human voice replied. Big eyes simply turned to a keyboard, typed in our query and then waited until a TV screen printed out the required information, which she then labo- riously wrote, with an old-fashioned ball- point pen, on a , slip of simple Canadian - made paper. Heart bursting with gratitude we accepted the slip and as an after -thought said We supposed the same flight schedule would prevail in August. Without another word those beautiful eyes filled with scorn, and a dainty hand reached for the slip of paper and tore it to tiny shreds before our wondering gaze. Then the voice emerged, cold as an Arctic wind. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to fly in August? The flight schedule changes July 1." Perhaps we should not have been so bold, but after she had repeated her type -it - in, read -the -screen, write -a -new -slip routine we timidly asked in return, "Why the hell didn't you ask me when 1 wanted to travel?" Progress is really great, isn't it? Ontario share of moneys collected for that purpose Alberta set the pattern with its affirma• tion that it need not give the rest of us any breaks on the price of oil. Perhaps it's time for Ontario to get a bit tough about providing booster furtds for the rest of the nation. THE WINGH.AM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wireskam, Oratorio, by Wenger Bros. Limited Berry Wenger. President Robert 0 Wenger, S •etery-Treaurcr Member Aiidit tau of Cirezdattzin McMber -- Canadian Community Ne peri As Subscription S10 00 per year Saa 25 Second C s$ &iaiJ Begistmtisn No 1" 1 Betzn=ra G�'s11.age t °r8ans) Weekly Newspapers Assoc To United State3 S12_50 9.• �4, 1 1. L �l,"�1,\l .1p'�j}11 ~• 1 ���+..ry�,'il1^R, A page of editorial opinion WW.N. Slht� L rfrrr1va rte; rfrr! r r�t��t Thursday, July 17! Letters to MAIN STREET WAS CENTRE OF ACTIVITY Advance -Times Dear Editor: When I was a kid in Wingham and had nothing particular to do, the main street was the centre of activity to which I and my friends would gravitate at every oppor- tunity. We were fortunate, I can see now, to have the choice of Sturdy's Pool Hall or Omar's to hang around in front of, for the less daring there was Foxton's Dairy Bar, all situated around the Town Hall and the Post Of- fice. I don't think the desire to. con- gregate where the action is will ever be diminished in a young person, and certainly not by an act of the town council. It dis- turbs me to see all of Wingham's youth tarred by the, same illogical brush. That merely would white- wash the surface without at- tempting to get to the problem (if there is one) . The letters to the editor from some of the young people have displayed a far greater degree of common sense than I have been able to read into council's deliberations on the subject. " Isn't the real problem just the same old one? Youth cries out for a place to congregate and the older generation tries to prevent it because "we don't know what they're going to 'be up to and we're afraid they might be faced with the same temptations we faced — and enjoyed so much". Remember, these are not just any kids. These are our kids .. . no worse prior no better than we were. Out there in front of the Town Hall are the workers. the legislators. the professional people and the councillors of to- morrow. Let's try to understand them and maybe they will help with the solutions. Ross Hamilton. SHORT MEMORIES Wingham July 13. 1975 Dear Sir How is it when a person reaches the age of forty to fifty their memory becomes very short ^ i would say the teenagers' ha%a hung out on the main street of Wingham for the last twenty- five to thirty years. maybe before that and most likely v►ill in the years to come The difference could be that v.e had several places to hang out -..a• at Le -e s, Sherbnndv s or Irish yenmen . oh v es there used to be quite a crowd gathered at the park where the swings and mon- key bars were. that is the present location of the deserted wading pool Oh yes and before that there v► as Al's nickle dance hall. on the main street 1 might add. also Frank Sturdy's pool room was another meeting place not only for those who played pool but a ers• convenient spot to get hot do. pop. etc . out the front win - do Friday night and Saturday night was dance night for all teens One Freday night in Bel - grave the next Friday in White- church and Saturday night was the "T". Yes and we all gathered on the main street before these dances. Now a teenager can't go to a dance unless they're "lucky" enough to be 18. It seems the old folks cannot go out and enjoy themselves unless there is a bar. As a result dances are restricted to those 18 and over. Score an- other win for booze over our younger teens. In the past few weeks I 'have heard many re- marks from oldsters I remember being on the main street with the rest of us. As far as people complaining they hate to walk past the town hall because of all the teenagers sitting there; it doesn't bother me a bit as they show much more re- spect than the few sexy senior citizens that used to sit there and leer at every female, age no barrier, that walked past and there was always a remark on the female's physical appearance. I think a few people in Wing - ham should search back in their memory before they condemn our teenagers. As far as littering, I too think it's a disgrace but it is not just in front of the town hall, the whole main street is a mess. But I don't think we can blame one group for the whole main street. Do you remember the good old days when the town paid men to sweep the streets? Maybe council could settle one problem by hiring stu- dents to sweep our badly neglected main street. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was always under the impression that the town hall of any town was the meeting place for citizens of the town. Mrs. Janet Henderson Wingham ARENA NEEDS FLOOR July 9, 1975 Advance -Times Wingham. Dear Sir: I was reading the paper on the loitering around the town hall and main street. Well, if the kids had something to do, But the town Council is too lazy to do anything. If the arena had a new floor and better music the kids would start to skate again. Because as far as i am concerned I wouldn't skate there, I would skate in Port Elgin or Southampton. If the town Council took a good look at it the would see it is not fit to skate on. "Believe me" I skated on it . The Council should have a meeting with Jim Ward and some of the kids and get some ideas to raise money or something to get some- thing going' Yours truly formerly of Wingham William Staight, Ottawa, Ontario. CONCERNED Dear Sir: We are concerned teenagers. This is in reply to the write-up en "Police should handlfe !niter- ing", Thursday. July loth. One of your council members had one of the Editor our teenage hang outs removed. It was the pool room of Wingham. You have had at least four Senior Citizen homes built, the question remains, where are the teenagers of Wingham and surrounding areas supposed to go? Question No. 2 — Why wasn't the Rdyal T boughyh_for the teen- agers? Question No. 3 — Why is there more drinking and loitering than there was when the pool hall was open to the teenagers? The recreation of Wingham has one theatre, and an arena for roller skating but no one goes roller skating because the floor is dinked. What are you going to do? Also why is there no large fair ground for Big days? eg. July 1st, Labour Day. What are you going to build at the old creamery? Another Senior Citizens' home? Why can't you build one place for the teen- agers, then the police would not have to reinforce the police force as much. Why does the older generation try to blame the teen- agers? The parents are not to blame for what actions the teen- agers do when there is no place for us to go. Question No. 4 — We would like to know where the money went that we raised for the teen club to buy a place for -us to hang out. If it is not the parents or the teenagers fault whose is it? . The concerned teenagers. ' John Hay, Ellen LaRose Brian LaRose Penne Hay Terry Netterfield THE PRICE OF GAS RR 5, Brussels Dear Sir : I would like to know when the price of gas is going to go down. It isn't bad enough that we have to work for peanuts but we have to spend our week's pay on gas just to drive our cars. I think it's just about time the price went down on a few things instead of going up every time you turn around. If our local M.P. can't take care of this problem then maybe we had better get someone who can solve this rising price prob- lem Thank you, Vincent Lee. RECORDS CONTINUE Wingham, Ontario July 13th, 1975 The Advance -Times, Wingham, Ontario Dear Sir: About a year ago Wingham's new water tower was built — in record time. it has continued to make records. In the winter a record "ice storm" due to a rec- ord overflow in freezing temp- eratures. Trees died in despair. Through leakages record amounts of water were and still are wasted. To fix the cracks work crews had to come, the tower had to be emptied again and -again. Surrounding residents found themselves waking up in the middle of the night wondering if Niagara Falls had moved to Wingham, not to mention the impossibility of finding sleep when thousands of gallons of water were gushing noisily down John. Street. In other parts of the world people starve to death because of a long lasting drought. As this is the case in Ethiopia' ala l in some parts of Europe drinking water is rationed. And Wingham? It just lets thousands of gallons, of good water run down the drain again and again. After one year the tower still leaks. And it does leak! No doubt about this. A record crop of wild mustard grows on the lot around the tower. Where is the weed inspect- or? John Street still awaits fix- ing. Loose gravel and incredible dust clouds fly around due to some.smart alecs4 stunt driving exercises on their way to and from work. A record of in- consideration. A nearby drive- way is so broken up by the work crews' heavy trucks that soon it will be narrow enough to drive a bicycle rather than a car into the garage. 'The tower itself is an eyesore in an otherwise pretty residential area, a record of ugliness, and everything that goes with it is a record of public annoyance to anyone living close by. I wonder if there is anybody who cares? Sincerely, S. Leeb New books in the library Going Dow© Slow by John Metcalf This very funny novel is set in Montreal. The hero, a young schoolteacher just over from Bri- tain, attempts to maintain his sanity and his sense of humor against a petty bureaucracy. A dramatized version of this book appeared on TV last spring. The Roar of the Twenties by James Gray If you didn't know that the Ku Klux Klan had 2,000 members in Moose Jaw or that Calgary's 'hell's Half Acre' lit up the sky so people could read by it, Gray's lively account of the west's most exciting decade is the book to read. The Crazy House by Anthony Brennan In this novel everyone lives in a crazy house as readers are hauled into the chaotic world of the future. Bumbling their way across the country with a smuggled sculpture are an engaging art thief and his „nephew. How their free spirit eventually finds a path through the political nightmare makes for some absorbing reading. The Great Hockey Thaw by Jack Ludwig - The famous confrontation be- tween the great North .American squad and the team from the U.S.S.R. is told with passionate intensity and humor by Ludwig. His sidetrips into Moscow and excursions into the North Ameri- can mentality are just as reward- ing. Freddy do the Baseball Team From Mars by Walter Brooks The latest 'Freddy' book finds Freddy the pig and all his ani- mals involved with a group of sports -minded Martians. With • Freddy as coach the animals try hard to defend their planet. Sybil Leek's Book of Curses by S. Leek The internationally known witch Sybil Leek has had much contact with pronouncers and victims,of curses. This led her to research the dark history and uses of curses, and the result is an engrossing, spinetingling ac- count that will make anyone think twice before uttering an- other curse. The Consumers , Handbook by Lynne Gordon If you've ever had the feeling you've ,been had, the Consumer's Handbook is for you. It lets the Canadian consumer know his rights and 'how to defend them with tips on where to look, how to comparison-shop and how to complain effectively. A Private Place by Joyce Mar- shall This is a new book of short stories by a Canadian author known for her honesty and the strength of her imagination. The Stories are about the relation- ships involved between fa'hers and daughters, husbands • and wives and between casual strangers all of whom have an impact on each other's life. PAT SCOTT instructs Greg Mansell in some of the tennis basics during the Sunsperience'75 program for children 7 to 14 years old. Pat and two other instructors work with the youngsters every week -day afternoon at F. E. Madill. • • • 0 • •