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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-01-11, Page 17... a .davt sy,ke.'t • Inside: We've come a long way, they say, in regards to scientific, medical and technological achievements to advance to the state where our society now enjoys life in comfort. For example, this generation has lived through extended space ex- ploration that resulted in man reaching the moon, heart and kidney tran- s -plants, pantyhose and the Toronto Argonauts. All remarkable in their own respect. In a press release from Houston last week, scientists were advised that do- g -yourself artificial insemination, kits, with frozen sperm is well on the way. Now I know what you're thinking. But a member of the Medical College of Georgia told scientists recently that if frozen semen was available, and it soon will be, home insemination would already be possible with products GLT ..... ... ....... . Page 3A owns ip councils Page 4A Entertainment Jack Riddell Page 6A Obituaries...... . . ro . . Page 8A . . . , Weddings Page 9A Farm Page 10A, 11A -Page 5A Try for yourself at Mall If the story on Mary and Elaine and the ALPHA Huron group interested you, perhaps you will by further in- tereSted to know that the _ Ontario March of Dimes is holding an "awareness da" program at the Suncoast Mall in Goderich on Saturday. J anii a ry 1'3. The program will -feature- a wheelchair', slalom demonstration as well as offer the public an opportunity to try to manoeuver a wheelchair through the .obstacle course. An invitation is extended to you to come out and try your hand at wheeling yourself through the course. It is an excellent opportunity • to become better acquainted with some of issues ysically the problems and affecting the ph disabled' citizens of your area. There will also be a . paint by mouth derrionstration by the March of Dimes' Com- munity • Development Officer, Larry Parker. An information booth wil provide information to the public about various groups and activities --retating disabled adults, • The purpose of the "awareness day' program is somewhat the same as the purpose of the story on Mary and Elaine and ALPHA Huron. •It is not only to bring public attention to the problems and issues facing physically disabled adults, but to also demonstrate that m-arly physically disabled adults have the ability and desire to function as contributing mem-bers .of society. available at pharmacies today. And the news from the medical college said that separation of sperm by sex will soon be feasible and couples could actually select semen from a panel of famous people and then saunter home for a casual insemination project. The couple can even determine the sex of the child. It sounds rather cold and calculated and admitte,dly.takes a good deal of the work or pleasure out of cultivating critters but if you and the little woman are incapable of prodpcing wee ones then it may be a dream come true. A young couple, incapable of producing their awn children, enter the home insemination centre at their neighbourhood drugstore. "Ab, hi," the nervous young man says to the pharmacist. "Ah, I would, I mean me and the wife here would like to discriminate at home, No I mean _disseminate. You see we want to have a . child. Boy I'm so nervous." "That's understandable," the druggist replies in comforting tones. "Big you've c_orrie to the right place. We're one of the most reputable dealers in do-it-yourself in kits. Now was it a boy or girl you were after?" "Gee, I didnt realize we had a choice • available to us," the expectant father replied. "What have you got in stock that we might be interested in." "Well ,we've got an impressive supply here:" the druggist says eying his election. "If it's a boy you're wan- ting you can select from our panel of Einstein, Churchill, Richard Nixon, Pierre Trudeau, Robert Redford, John 'Duke' Wayne, Yeee000, Rich Little, Reggie Jackson, Guy Lafleur, the list erich GNAL— STAR 1,1 goes on. That Lafleur has been a popular selection lately." "Now if you're interested in a girl, perhaps something in the Raquel Welch, Cheryl Tiegs or Suzanne Sommers model eh?" he says with a grin while winking at the expectant father who smiles back_nervously. "Well what do you think honey?" the father says to wife, appearing radiant at the prospe9t of pregnancy. • "Gee I don't know •hon, Einstein might be a good choice but. I know you're kinda partial to hockey," she says. "Lafleur it is then," the pharmacist says picking up the kit. "Now just follow the instructions and don't forget there's a nine month money back guarantee." I wonder if there's any demand for more of my kind in the world. 132 YEAR -2 •••••:"....:wcP 4. • e. • Elaine Townshend orClinton was born without arms so using her legs, feet and toes has always come naturally to her. She is a freelance writer and Photographer. he has taught herself to type with her toes and to work a camera with her feet_ as well. The physically handicapped are getting out in public more these days- and proving to others that they can hold down jobs, maintain homes, marry and raise families, says ,Elaine. Groups like ALPHA Huron help to get • public awareness for the needs of the physically han- dicapped. (Photoby Joanne Buchanan) THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 1979 punk makes em s BY to say the least and they JOANNE BUCHANAN are not content to sit at home or in institutions as many •,,handicapped people once resigned themselvesto doing In Ontar1O-12,8 per cent of the popplation are physically handicapped and Elaine would estimate . that this per- centage is about the same for Hurn County. The handicapped are getting out in public, travelling and becoming organized these days. Both Mary and Elaine belong to a group called ALPHA Huron. ALPHA's initials stand for Awareness. League for Physically Handicapped Adults. The group was formed in March of i'976 with nine people at- tending the first meeting at the home of Elaine's parents in Goderich Township. Elaine, now past - president and treasurer of ALPHA Huron, had u t has difficulty reaching some door handles - reaching them with her • feetthat is. , Elaine, a young freelance writer • and photographer, was born without arms. She ,does things for herself with her legs, feet and toes in- stead. Mary Howell of Goderich once stood by a telephone booth on the corner. of North Street and the Square for almost an hour before someone came along to assist her by putting a coin in the slot. • has achon- droplasia, a condition of the bones known. to be hereditary. While the bones of - her trunk are normal, the bones of her arms ,and legs , are shortened. In other words, Mary -is not much taller than a child and she also has difficulty walking. She is 75 -years-, old. + Elaine Townshend of Clinton sometimes has to ask people in the grocery store to get items off hith shelves for her when she Because ofa, their handicaps, May and Elaine often encounter problems when they go out in public. But both these women have spunk, groups for the han- dicapped such as ALPHA in London and she felt that one could be ef- fective in Huron County. So, she contacted Jim Hunsberger, a member of the London ALPHA group and a community development ,worker with the March of Dirties. He attended the first ALPHA Huron meeting to give those present some ad- vice on how to get star- ted.. • The ALPHA group in London (whose A stood for Action • rather than Awareness) has since integrated into London's March of Dimes. But the ALPHA Huron group has retained its«separate identity. A L P Hi!). Huron presently -has 2l mem - berg, seven of these being original members. Its purpose is to bring public attention to some of the problems and issues facing the physically handicapped and to prove that the physically handicapped can be ef- fective as contributing members of our society. For instance, they are trying to make simple, everyday things that the non handicapped take for granted, accessible to the handicapped so that integration into society is possible - things such as stairs, narrow doorways, heavy doors, narrow aisles, high counters (especially bank wickets), high shelvesin stores (especially supermarkets), high -telephone-- b oaths a n cl - cu rbs. "There is still a stigmata 'aftached to the harillicapped but this is changing because more handicapped pesple are getting out and that's what we have to keep doing," says Elaine. She says that the physically handicapped have to keep proving over and over again to the non handicapped that they can be effective in - society, that they can hold down jobs, maiptain homes, get married and Turn to page 2A • SECOND SECTION ary HoWell, 75, of Goderich has achondroplasia, a condition of the hones hich affected her rate of growth. She has a few home innovations such -as his counter hip stove adjusted to suit her height and make her life easier. But she often encounters problems when she goes out in public -- like not being able to reach pay phones or use public washroom facilities if there are stairs reading to thern. That's why she feels that groups like ALPHA Huron arc important. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan) Makes me want to•sing Frosty the Snow Man as I strap on 'my cross country skis and prepare for an af- ternoon of winter sports. When I crawled out of the sack this morning and 16oked out the .window was thrilled. A beautiful winter scene. A light snow was falling and the light wind was swirling it around the trees and car forming mounds of white stuff. A real picture. Yeah sure. I think I'd rather board up the win- dow or move the bed so that I can't see out when I rise from my sleep. It's enough to turn me right off mornings. Try as I might I can't fall in love with winter. Don't get me wrong. I kind of like baying four seasons. Everyone in Canada will probably tell you that. Canadians are always saying things like "I enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine in Florida in January but I think I'd get sick of having it hot all year round." But What choice do they have but to say that. If they couldn't say stupid things like that they'd go out of their minds living here. My idea of four seasons is summer from January 1 to December 1. In the first week of December we'll have a little fall what with the colour of the leaves turning and all that. A week of colour and then a little snow:, Two weeks of snow and everyone that wants to can go skiing or snowmobiling and we'll have a white Christmas, Boxing Day will become the first day of spring and by New Year's the temperature will have climbed back up to 70 where it belongs and we can all use the New Year's Day holiday to plant our gardens. I don't think that's unreasonable. For those of you that want to ski go north. I heard 'there was four inches of fresh powder at the Arctic Circle. These comments sound like treason,. To say one dislikes winter in this country is to say one dislikes this Lomat y. ‘tvOILW Is Lu Cdildlid what baseball is to the United States. Look what winter ' has done for Canada. Had it not been for winter and a frozen pond in Saskatchewan we wouldn't have had Gordie Howe. If there were no long, Winter nights in Canada our population would probably still be three million instead of 23 million. Winter has given us such wonderful inventions as salt to rust cars, snowplows, snowblow.ers and more chiropractors taking care of those backs that gave out moving snow with that other wonderful invention, the snow shovel. A romanticist would view a winter day something like this. Out of a warm bed in the morning to have a cup of hot coffee in front of a beautiful fire as you ,gaze out the window at a beautiful h winter setting. A couple of hours on the slopes breaking in that fresh powder that fell during the night. A little cross country skiing in the afternoon and maybe a brief fling on the snowmobile and then back in front of the fire to chat about the day with friends. You've seen those people on beer commercials. The average guy gets up cursing. He nearly freezes his hands scraping ice and snow off his car and then discovers one of his kids has left the window open in the car and there is a drift in the back seat. The snow logs to be light and fluffy and shouldn't need shovelling. Gunning the engine he finds out it did need shovelling. Late for work he rushes away from his car in the parking lot only to discover he left his lights on. Not wanting to take the time to grab a coat he races outside to shut off the lights and slips in the middle pf the parking lot and falls.. Trying to ignore the fact that it has been snowing all day he works away til quitting time whereupn he goes through the same procedure to get horne:Figuring it's all over .for' another day he is greeted at the door'by yet another fuel bill. That is winter. • < I seddon