Clinton News-Record, 1985-5-15, Page 5Wor1i War II air
On a clear June night back when the world
was at war, a young machine -gunner with
the RCAF named John C. Cornish was the
only man to escape the burning Lancaster
bomber shot from the air by a German
fighter plane.
an revisits Netherian
Six tombstones now stand in a well -kept
plot outside the Dutch village of Grafhorst
where ar, a h',mher'c 1act mission ended in
flames.
Buried there are "Jake" Cornish's six
comrades and on April 27, 1985, the 64 -year -
Sixty -four year old John (Jake) Cornish recently revisited the area of Holland where he •
was forced to bail out of a plane during WWII. At the time the 22 -year old soldier was ser-
ving in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
old Brucefield native, and now resident of
Queensville, returned to bid them farewell...
and to remember.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of
Holland's liberation and 42 years since Jake
Cornisharachuted from a burning plane
into a - farmer's field in Nazi occupied
Holland.
It was as Mr. Cornish recalled, a calm
night with a trace of moon. As the coast of
Holland neared, however, an explosion rip-
ped that calm and the last words heard were
the pilot's order to abandon.
Injured and blind from facial burns Mr.
Cornish was welcomed with open arms by a
Dutch family when he appeared on their
doorstep.
The parents of that family are dead now,
but outside the Dutch village of
Kamperzeedijk, where a semi-conscious
Mr. Cornish drifted to earth, live the
children of the Holtland family who hid him
from a German search party as long as they
could.
"After bailing out of the plane, all I
remember is waking up in a pasture, sur-
rounded by Holstein cattle," he said.
"My face was badly burned by the flames
in the aircraft. A toe on my foot had been
shot off and my other leg had been hit as
well.
"But I managed to crawl somehow to a
farmhouse in the distance and the first thing
I saw when the door opened were 14 pairs of
wooden shoes lined up in the hallway...14
pairs.
MPP Jack Riddell says
"We have to realign ourpriorities"
The recent election has given rise to a
vastly different government here in On-
tario. Minority government augurs well for
greater accountability and responsibility
but all too often such government is short
lived. For it to work there has to be give and
take, com promise and most importantly co-
operation and a desire to govern in the best
interests of Ontario. Hopefully this will be
the goal of all members.
It is my intention to once again submit a
column to the weekly papers, apprizing my
constituents of the happenings here at
Queen's Park and the concerns which con-
front the government for its consideration.
One of those concerns which must be im-
mediately addressed is the future of, rural
Ontario.
The Province is undergoing great change.
The recent recession had an impact on
every part of the Province and every seg-
ment of our society and has left us all in a
period of transition.
Perhaps nowhere has this transition been
more deeply felt than in rural Ontario.
Rural communities are 'threatened by in-
creased urbanization and an exodus of
young people to the cities.
The problems faced by Rural Ontario
multiply and take on a life of their own. As
jobs disappear, young people move to the
cities: As young people move out the tax
base declines. As the tax base declines, tax
rates go up and services deteriorate. Rising
taxes and deteriorating services drive away
industry and eliminate jobs.
The vicious cycle is threatening the very
existence of life in rural Ontario and its con-
tribution to life in this province.
For the last two years I have been serving
as a member of the Rural Ontario 'Task
Force and although a variety of issues
emerged at the hearings the concerns. of
rural representatives disturbed by the
threat of their community survival were
united by a common theme: the Ontario
Government is not listening to rural On-
tario. At every hearing without exception
the Task Force was told overand over that
decisions were being made at Queen's Park
CLINTON CO-OPERATIVE
NURSERY SCHOOL
Registration 1985-1986
Wesley -Willis Church Basement
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29th
7pm-8 pm
with no effort to consult rural
municipalities.
There is a sense that rural perspective is
not being heard at the cabinet table; rural
issues are not getting the priority they
deserve. Many rural municipal leaders feel
the government is charting a course for On-
tario with little regard for the future of rural
Ontario.
The old saying "as agriculture goes, so
goes the economy" certainly holds true for
the economy in rural Ontario. If farmers are
not making money, neither are the service
industries nor many of the businesses in
benefits to the Ontario econori y.
The Rural Ontario Task Force urges in-
creased funding in support of rural com-
munities as an investment in our future.
Ontario cannot survive without vibrant
rural communities. Rural communities can-
not survive without programs to • help
farmers, improved. roads, boost tourism,
aid small business and train young people.
Our present government must strive to
see. that the people of Ontario's rural com-
munities will be given an opportunity to
preserve their way of life and help propel
the province's economy.
CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, MAY 15,1985—Page 5
s an
"'lb my way of thinking, 1 owe these peo-
ple my life," he said. "They took a great
risk." What the Holtland family did was buy
time for the young airman who fell from the
sky. They tended his wounds and bathed his
eyes until the swelling from the burns closed
them completely.
And they tried, as well to get him into a
civilian hospital but, as the German search
party closed in, they had no choice but to
give him up.
"If they had not surrendered me to the
Germans, they might have all been shot,"
said Mr. Cornish. "They had absolutely no
other choice at the time, and I told them so.
They simply had to turn me in.
"Besides I needed medical attention bad-
ly,"
Mr. Cornish spent a month in a German
hospital and the next two years as a prisoner
of war. And although he spent less than 24
hours in the Holtland home a bond was
established between Mr. Cornish and the
family who cared for him.
In the first year following the war, Mr.
Cornish had kept in touch with the Holtland
family and had even received a "beautiful
pair of wooden shoes, painted with the date
of his wartime arrival" from them. Over the
years however, the two parties had lost
track of each other. But with the approach
town.
Rural conununities are looking for a new Conservation '
lease on life and jobs for their young people. •
If we havegood progressive farm in-
dustry,a things will fall into place. We need or . '-' .1
agriculture policies comparable to. the rest The Maitland Valley Conservation
of the world; - Authority has been granted $614,251 to
The problems faced by rural Ontario must undertake various water management, con -
be addressed. It is time to move rural issues servation -and recreation projects within its
to the front burner. watershed for 1985, Natural Resources
The cost ofsolving 'rural Ontario's Minister Michael Harris announced.
economic problems is far outweighed by the This funding is part of an overall total of
potential cost of not solving them. Govern,- $36.9 -million in 1985 provil ficial grants to the
ment should move to halt the drain of'' 38 conservation authorities in Ontario.
business and farm bankruptcies and the ex- ' ' Harris noted that the level of grants, to be
odus of young people to the cities. used for capital projects as well as for
We have to realign our priorities. Govern- general administration, is fully in line with
ment policies roust be designed to create levels for all agencies which receive provin-
jobs and to aid small business and farmers cial funding. -
instead of spending money on - inflated The Saugeen Valley Conservation
advertising, land banking and oil company Authority was granted $1 million under the
purchases that produce no jobs or spin off ' terms of the prograrn.
II
11 i':IKL.l It 1.11.1.11';13
1985 1984
MAY
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RAIN 3mm
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23rnrn
"KLOMPEN FEEST"
DANCE
Saturday, May 18, 1;985
CLINTON COMMUNITY CENTRE
Music by "Whiskey Jack"
53.00 per person Dancing 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.
Ii'S OUR
OPENING
CELEBRPi?IOlY
±Ui1U3I1'3
Crnllertibles
a t•111ntr1 51(141. (!intim 482 5211
i.14 not. Irnm fi.trlliff's1
FRIDAY, MAY 17th 10 am - 9 pm
SATURDAY, MAY 18th 10 am - 5:30 pm
come in. bro v (', hav (' ,1 c u1) (it cOtt('('!
See our bide selection r1t ...
-COLLECTOR. PLATES 1 % OFF
FIGURINES 46,4. IN STOCK
•Zapf Creation Dolls (just in) •Boyson Heads
•Plate Frames
Every $20.00 purchase gives you the chance to WIN
Limited Edition Plates, Prints and Collector Books.
(DRAWSJO BE MADE SATURDAY AT CLOSING TIME)
Congratulations to Shirley McLean of Vanastra - Winner of the
"Once Upon A Time" 1985 Mother's Day Plate by Sandra Kuck
a:
his rescuers
of the 40th anniversary of VE Day the
Holtland children decided it was time to
seek out the man they had say.,o, - and bring
him back to Holland for a reunion. His
return to Holland marks the first time Mr.
Cornish has been back since he was released
from hospital.
And on his return to Holland Mr. Cornish
has taken with him a scrapbook which holds
a letter Mr. Cornish's own parents received
shortly after the war ended and he returned
to Canada.
It is a letter written by the Holtlands,
directed to Jake but written to his parents.
"We had a little trouble with the Germans
because we didn't notify them sooner about
you," they wrote. "They flooded our land
and we had to evacuate our stock. But all is
well now.
"Did you have a bad trip? When did the
Germans look after your wounds? John,
remember the photo you gave our son? Well
it has always stood on the organ in the room
where you laid."
There was also this addendum.
"John's friends out of the Lancaster are
buried nearby. If you wish, we will look
after flowers."
This week, some 42 years later, Jake Cor-
nish will place his own flowers on those
graves.
THE FARM SHOW
Story of Goderich Township Farm Life in the 70's
Theatre Passe Muraille
Original Cast
00,0'Tf1111,yyap
1113.1 41,m5®O 1.183
in the
Goderich Township Shed
Holmesville
JULY 114 9 1985
l�
TICKETS 8 00
ADVANCE* 7 00
CHILDREN 3 00
*Last Date for Advance
Ticket Discount is May 20
immommisiormaimma TICKETS AVAILABLE AT wasimmmil
EVENING PERFORMANCE 8 PM
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AT2PM
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•CAMPBELL'S MEN'S WEAR
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•BOB & BETTY'S VARIETY
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NOM ILO
CLINTON FARM MARKET
Join us this weekend in celebrating our
Ontario
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