The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-08-15, Page 15Michael Brown, a:visitor from England, tries his luck during
a special race for campers at Point Farms Provincial Park.
Children in the race had to roll a tire to the finish line while
holding a water balloon with anything but their -hand, staff
photo)
Ltfeis busy, busy
at Point Farms -;Park
Point Fauns., Provincial Park
is becoming known as a• cam-
pground wit}°r.ecreational.and
sports activities through an ex-
pei'in7itental .program under
study by the Ontario Ministry
cif Na tura l Resources'.•
The .1?ogram is designed to
give the park an individual
identity distinct .from other
provincial parks.
Staff at the park liaVe been
conducting special events for
campers such as baseball; ac-
cer, volleyball, flag football .sad -
special races for children.
Pancake- eating' contests are,
held too.
A barn is scheduled; for corn,:
pietion, by .the end of the 541 111. -
mer wl%ich 'will house sports
egtlipmenf, craft facilities and
movie and slide shows.
A fitness trail has just been
completed, fc,r use 'by campers.
It, is about one and one half
' miles long, ,
Persons jog through the
course which includes stops for
chin-ups, standing broad-
jumps, •vaulting and resting.
If the experimental Program
proves successful it may be
„ tried in other provincial parks.
Bob McKinley gets action
on Signal
After a long enquiry into
delays of Signal -Star deliveries'
by mail, the Minister of the °
Post Office, Andre Ouellet, has
supplied .,some reasons for
them. •
In a '.recent letter to Bob•
McKinley, MP" for Huron -
'Middlesex, the minister said
delays occurr in delivery to
small centres and small num-
bers of individual copies ad-
dressed to subscribers '',
distant ;points.
4
Star mailing
' "We do, have real problems
in that these must be directed •
to larger distributing centers
for processing. Toronto, for in-
stance, receives vast quantities
daily of mail -of .all_classes for -
sortin'g and�'onward dispatch'.',
Mr: Ouellet said.
The post ,office checked
delivery and, found that all
copies were received regularly.
except those "sent to Brantford
and Metropolitan Toronto.
In Brantford, copies usually .
arrived on Friday, the day after
publication.
Regional officials there
suggested that increased mail
volumes sometimes cause
delivery delays, the minister
Said. •
,,Copies, for Metropolitan
Toronto subscribers are now
dispatched via Stratford direc-
•tly. The route for -newspapers
:sent to Whitby has^'hallo been'
'changed.‘„
'Despite the •-route change,
" irregular delivery 'to Whitby
and Islington still occurs.
' The post office• has not found
the problem yet.
"Generally speaking, we .do
not encounter many Problems
with 'the distribution and
delivery of, weekly and :daily
Brian van Donegan; 7, of 'Cambridge, digs into a pancake eating contests -with both hands at' a
special event sponsored by the' Point Farrris Provincial•'Park activities program. Brian didn't
win the contest• but he said he was full when he'finished eating. (staff photo)
•
Public Library,
Montreal Street, 31. DIM*
tderjch, Ori az 4..V.. ;P
. 654
ome of last!
•r
On a wing� and aprayer
•
BY JEFF SEDDON He°;heard about the problem of
In the past few years young
people in Canada have satisfied
their sense of adventure by ven-
turing across the .country on
foot, in vans or by hopping
freight trains but very few have
seen Canada from the cockpit
.v, of an airplane, especiallya
honiebuilt airplane;
• • Bruce MacDonald, a native
newspapers addressed 'to°'sub-
scribers in 'reasonably close , into Sky Harbor last .week to,
proximity to the office of visit his mother, Mrs. Howard
publications", the minister Aitken whom he hadn't seen in
said. . = a couple of years, Bruce was in
The• post offige has delivery - the last leg of his journey from
problems when1Uere are unex- -Victoria, British Columbia to
peeled heavy increases in mail Montreal, flying, a homebuilt
volumes, transportation break- ° V'olmer Sportsmen, a flying
downs and ii1'clement weather r boat. • -
conditions , which cause . The Sportsman was built" in
backlogs of mail. Grand Falls, Newfoundland, by
The'. investigation took Doctor Craig Loveys,".and• en -
.several months, Mr: O`ellett tered in the Great Belvedere •ti
said,, because no records ' are Air Dash across the country.;
kept of mail in transit, other ` rthe doctor and a friend, Wayne
than registered mail. Tuck, flew the little blue boat
"I am 'sorry for• the incon-. from Grand Falls to Victoria
•venience and annoyance caused and became the first men to fly
to all concerned by, the delays a homeb wilt airplane .• from
that occurred. We do realizes coast• to coast in Canada.
the importance of dependable Dr." Loveys holds a special'
postal service and regret that m love' for the little plane, and
some instances it •has been less rather, than sell it on the coast
than satisfactory'„, he said. he had planned to ship it back
Mr. McKinley said- his copies to Grand Falls. A fear of
of the Goderich paperhave having 'the craft damaged
started to arrive ori Friday, in a 'during shipment, however,
letter to R.G. Shrier, .president urged him to try to find a pilot
of Signal -Star Publishing. that would be willing to fly the
"Usually we have, not been plane to Montreal where he
receiving them until the Mon- could pick it up and fly it home.
day or Tuesday of the following Bruce ' MacDonald was the
week. I" hope this means that, ideal choice. Bruce was plan •
-
pr. Loveys and contacted him
with the intention of suggesting
that he fly the Volmer to Mon -
from their travels. As they" set
out in the sun at Sky Harbpl
looking at the plane that
carried them across the coun-
treal. The doctor agreed andtry they began to speak of the
,Bruce and his co-pilot Debbie affection they . held for the
King, began 'preparing for the Newfie Bullet. „
trip.
The two young adventurers
left Victoria on the afternoon of
August 1 and immediately had'• ..take off into the wild blue yon -
a problem getting over the der and new adventures,
Rocky - Mountains. The air- "She flies crooked", said
plane, dubbed the "Newfie Bruce. "You have to" have a
Bullet" by her owner, operates long left leg to keep her
at a 4500 foot ceiling and some straight." -
off the. mountains ,required a Bugs smeared all over the
7000 foot climb from sea,l.,evel , wings and fuselage were to.
to clear, • ` .^ evidence of some low flying.
All the skill and experience "We tried to keep her around
that Bruce and Debbie had 2,000feet all the way", said
acquired in .the pilot's seat was Debbie, "but there were times
taxed as the two had to utilize when she just wouldn't stay Up
air currents to their advantage there."
As she sat therein the shim-
mering heat one got the im-
pression that she was eager to
to slip, through the narrow The little single engine
passes and gorges. At one point, 'mounted above thewings did
Bruce estimated their height a not look roverpowering. "We Vro
mere 400 feet and both of them averaged 68 miles per : hour
shuddered at the thought of a. coming out", said Bruce. "I
miscalculation on their part, think if you dove straight down
After clearing the mountains atfull throttle she wouldn't do
the vast expanse • of prairie over 100. She's also got a glide
looked like . a simple routine distance of minus I t4hink.
flight. Turbulence, however, a When you cut the power back
constantly buffeted the little ° she drops like a stone."
two seater and Bruce and Deb- 1Small airports across the
bie were kepi on the, alert for a country,•- are 'very friendly
sudden crosswind or downdraft places , according to Debbie.
that would carry the plane with., "The small airports are great,
it. the people there have the same
One problem the pilots ens. problems with their small
countered that upset them was planes and are more than •
weather. in Northern Ontario. willing to help someone, out in
The range of the Volmer is 'any way they can."
about two and one half hours "When we identified our -
things are improving within the ning to rent a plane and fly it and consequently the trip was selves to the men in .the tower
,.post office", the MP said. , home to Ontario this summer. • well mapped out for refuelling at. the airports they would ask.
h N fi••
Complex "still ,news
G�d�richcommitte� to tour.
rec facility in Tillsonburg
new locati6h and fund raising 'has to date been quite
purposes...•A us , if we were t e ew e
They took off from Thunder Bullet", said. Bruce. 'When I
Bay and headed for 'Wawa to told them we were they always
x
land aril refuel, But Wawa was remembered the plane fronci'th
°fogged in and they 'were very' Belvedere and^usually toldus �►"'
low op fuel and had to make an Newfie joke as we were •ap-
emergen"cy • landing at .proach ng to land." .,
Marathon, Ontario. ,Their But we love her", said Deb-
" gasoline nearly expended, •
they bie. "'It's a different sort of love
were very fortunate to -locate 15 like,.someone may have for an
gallons. of °gasoline that•••had 'ugly duckling. I'm really, going
been ''"purchased - by the - to miss her when we give her
good. `' Belvedere Company for the air back to the doctor."She is
• d rather like an ugly animal. The
Director o Recreation -
They had too pay .a man six, shock . mounts on the landing
Goderich, Mike Dymond, it was ---fall.. _ with last"year, but class atten 'dollars to come out to the air gear consist of inner , tubi
learned by- town council 'last According to .,Mr. Dymond, Y dance has,been as good', along port and pump it into'the wrapped around " the wheel'
week that the committee the complex committee• �as with general- swimming. We lane. brace. Blau tape ,on the
studying tithe feasibility of a been meeting regularly Over the have an excellent staff and•the Just prior to;their arrival in- bracege at the faint sof the
recreational complex in the. summer to' plan a `community good fortune of having the 'only Goderich Bruce and Debbie en-. plane covers the'crack in' the
municipality has planned a trip and area survey on t complex "fully, qualified'staff. corn-
-countered radio problems that body that Wayne Tuck caused
to Tillsonburg' to see the question for this fall. \ element in thts•area. It is plan-
Other
ln would force them to alter their when he jumped out of 'the
facility Which has Ot er eafterroutes if they cou no
Und•er..- the report , of the dash and had not been use ra -er
f K t' for schemes will'\ be planned' this Weather has not. been on a: par ,I,
recreational faca itv h details iron, Mr..' neo' to close the .pooh a could 't correct cockpit onto the plane to cheer
been :provided there. a Dyrnond's report are\ asp Labour Day. them. The radio blew 'a tran- their arrival in Victoria after
Th date f the outing is" follows: • Playgrounds have been
sistor and would not transmit. the Belvedere.
The •a a or • The beach will be stat' ed ver well, but attendance
September 7 ,and' members of • going �' • d This would make flying in -the "She -isn't unsafe but she is.
council, the rec board, the com- by guards until September bu y air corridors of Southern slow.
committee and any in- • Crowds have not been wha
ted citizens are urged. to they were Iasi year and we fun-
has not been' what was hope l ow. and steady", said Bruce,
Programs have v been varied.
from day to day and weekly Ontario very difficult, if not im- "Flyjng is supposed to be fast
•ole„ Their plan to fly down and it sure is frustrating when'
teres piss
take the bus tour which has coined one staff. sh•ort. special events . have been to t
u..
of
the Toronto area h: d to be'' you look_ down•. onto the high-
�been arranged to this town,. However, there have been no i red to keep the interestp abandoned as a result of the° way and see the trucks and cars
comparable in size to Goderich. , serious problems and no Tentative plans for next year failure and a
`'Representation liar been in- •emergencies.: Next year it istrip to whizzing under youas you
are to provide one permanent radios planned -instead so that speed along at. 40 miles °per
-vited*from the bordering •town- planned to move.th'e swimming location for a senior activity the problem could be looked af: hour grouaid speed.''
ships",' reported Mr. Dymond. area, still further ,South and area and, offer a.,-, travelling ter: ' Brune. put a decal op the
"- rawin s are provide another guard twer. at playground for the juniors up .� All. these situations on their dash of the a cockpitecthat, e e
New schematice d g
being' considered utilizing' a th•'Oth end of the area. •to11 yams• journey are what made it wor- presses -his" and Debbie's sar
• 'Other than a shortage -of • Plan are pretty well.com: hw
' es, 'i August? ' these• four youngsters are :coat-'
Sr►ow i► g � „these.
petmg in a snowshoe contest during ape•4tal activitiesset
up four campers atPoint Farms Provit oial Park. 'heya are
-ovle left, of'Sarnia, °Cathy; Grabovie, her sister.
i<im .„web
Carol Watson, sf. Gerrie, and Mike- Kortsen,,,. of London..
(staff photo)
0
bile to Bruce and Debbie.- castic humor gat the ,plane's
They have •thrill'ed at” the abilitreS. It 'reads "Landing
togetthe required amounts for, " � ' n� danger they met and -have a • 'cliet,'k,`h'wfieels.,� down, boost,
,b
chemicals. and problems trying plete for t e first attempt at. a Ia
the pool,operation, the summer (oontmued\on page 4A) n..
strong feeling of satisfaction PRAY!"
•
ww.u6.,L:>aL.$w67iSi6. LY£eYA•.r��
,Goderich native Brupe M^acbanald and bebbie King prepare t%
take off in the "Newfie Bullet" a homebuit Volhier Sportsman
they Y 9
are fl in , "to Montreal. the Bullet is th o, Iy hornebuilt to
, 4 ,
fly -from. -coast to coast an Bruce and Debbie are returning her-
"Mtwara
er-The.are to meet him in Montreal
and Cain th.e craft over to h m to complete the journey hofte.
n n,
to her owner in Grand Fal
•
1)
ct ,