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The Huron Expositor, 1984-09-19, Page 2Huron xpositor SINCE 1860, SERVING THE` COMMUNITY FIRST) r +c�f Incorporating BLUE BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1983 10 MainvStreet 527-0240 ' Published in SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning, JOCELYN A. SHRIER, Publisher RON WASSINK, Editor JANET L. MacDONALD, Advertising Manager Member Canadian CommunIty Newspaper Assoc Ontario Cornmunity Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council - Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription rates: Canada $18.75 a year (In advance) Outside Canada $55.00 a year (In advance) Single Copies - 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARBO, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1984 Second class mall registration Number 0696 Fair weather The month of September means it's fall fair time. And this week, both the village of Brussels and the town of Seaforth are hosting their annual fall fairs. Fall fairs mean getting entries ready in the baking, sewing and vegetable competitions. jt means grooming 4-H calves --calves that have been trained and raised over the past year by area 4 -Hers. Fall fair means' Queen of the Fair contests, tractor pulls, livestock shows, breaktaking rides and parades. But'for a fall fair to succeed, it means the dedications of hundreds of volunteers who organize and plan events. And events are so well planned that they come off without a hitch. Agricultural society members are a dedicated group of ,people--a-group dedicated to keeping their local fall fair a viable entity In their community. But the absolute requirement for any fair to succeed and grow is public participation. And in rural Ontario, the public appreciate their fairs. Fall fairs are a time for reflection, a time when harvest is winding down and Indian Summer is Just setting in. Fal) fairs are where neighbors relax after a busy summer of non-stop work. But most of all, fall fairs are where old friends meet. The Seaforth and Brussels agricultural societies have done all the organizing. The rest is up to you. Show your appreciation and go to the fair. - R.W. Live in love Pope John Paul II visited Ontario on Saturday. it was a visit that was marked with much pomp and ceremony, but was also a visit of an historical nature—never before has a Pope set foot on Canadian soil. The cost of bringing the Pope to Canada has been estimated to cost $50 million. To the pessimist, the expenditure was a foolish waste of taxpayers money. The optimist loops at the visit as a job creation program; a time when the Catholic and Protestant churches needed upbuilding; but to many it was a time for strengthening their faith. That's what several Seaforth area residents said when they returned from Midland and Toronto after seeing the Pope. They all wanted to see the Pope, the head of the church, and as one man said, the leader of the world. Papal visitors didn't treat the Pope as a celebrity, but as their leader. In this respect, the papal visit has been a success. For those who didn't have an opportunity to see the Pope In person, they missed the opportunity of a lifetime. But more important is the message of Pope John Paul, He Is telling Canadians and the world, Catholics and non-Catholics, that we must help others who are not as fortunate as we are. He said we must work together, but most of all, live In love --mutual love. That was his message in Winnipeg and a message he continues to proclaim throughout his 12 day Canadian visit. More Importantly, it's a message from a man who lives by his actions. - R.W. Conflicting viewpoints COUNTRY CORNER by Larry Dillon Not too long ago 1 wrote a column pointing out that today's farmers were businessmen. They were not a special group separate and aside from operators of other small businesses. 1 recently had a gentleman honor me with his opinions on the subject. He did not believe that farmers were actually operating a business. He and t discussed the point at some length. We were unable to reach any agreement on the subject. f. This gentleman's opinion was based on his unshakeable belief that farmers receive] government subsidies to keep thein—`operation and therefore were not bust ess- men. He went on to point out that c ly farmers received stabilization payments and subsidies. He'did get me to admit that 1 do not agree with supporting any segment of the economy of government handouts. The fact that I do not like the policy of taxing people and then returning it to them in the form of government cheques does not make it wrong just in the case of farmers. 1 had not been expecting a debate on the subject and was not prepared to have to support my arguments. titter we parieu company i had time to prepare my response. The facts will probably not sway this man. He seems to be just as stubborn and bull headed as i am. Government stabilization payments to farmers do leave a sour taste in the mouths of the general population but They are not the only handouts of government money in this country. They are far from being the largest of the government "gifts". Canada's economic system is an absolute tangle of government handouts and hidden taxes. There is some form of government support appearing in every sector of the economy, Farmers are not the lucky recipients of WI the taxpayers money. Farmers are taxprpers themselves who want to be treated as fairly as other businessmen in this country. Our friendly businessman must not read his newspapers. Has he not beard of the bail out of Dome Petroleum? The Canadian National Railway also receives government money. Chrysler received a big helping hand from several different governments. Most, if not all large corporations in this country receive and use government grants and forgiveable loans. This unending fountain of money is not limited just to large corporations. Small business operators qualify for employee training grants. Job creation money is offered to them. If they are willing to develop business in new product areas or hire handicapped people, funds are often '-available. The federal government is offer- ing to help pay to develop export markets for small manufacturers. The individual who does not own his own business is not left out. We have the unemployment insurance program. He can also get grants for reihsulating his house or replacing his oil furnace. We get two forms of payment from the federal government just for caring for our own children. Some students qualify for bursaries. scholarships or low interest loans, There are actually books published which specialize in listing available grants and handouts that the government gives to citizens and businesses,. Me. Businessman should really have known better. In fact he should be careful about advancing that opinion about farmers too often. This inan is employed in a position where he is selling to 'farmers. 1 was absolutely flabbergasted. This overweight, overpaid and overbearing lout w.as sitting on his fat fanny behind a'big desk in the company's new brick building and telling me that he was a businessman and That farmers, like me, were not. His company's cash flow comes exclusively from farmers, We paid for that building. We paid for his oak desk and for his -soft chair. He receives a portion of all the money that farmers pay to do business with hit eon/Any. t do recognize that this gentleman is operating a business. it is unfortunate for CONFLICTING/ PAGE THREE Grade nine initiation day 1011 1s Cathy Lynn Hak,Lola Blnnendyk and Sandra O'Reilly, 1n the front row. Top right, i - doing the crab walk down Main Street are Cheryl Cooper and Sonja Fehr. Bottom is Lynn Bezalre. WEDNtSDAY was Initiatlonl day at the Seaforth District High School. Grade niners were required to dress in long underwear and diapers. They were sold at a slave auction and had to obey their masters' every wish. Top D Thousands wait to see the Pope I was shocked and surpised at the sante time on Saturday. 1 had waited patiently at the bottom of the steps at Martyr s Shrine in Midland. 1, like 80,000 other people at the church were waiting for one reason only •• to catch a glimpse of Pope John Paul 11. The popemobile finally came into view, pulled up to the church steps, all the while Pope John Paul was waving to the crowd: When the Pope stepped out of his bullet/ rocket proof mobile, the wind was taken out of my sails. The Pope is short. I'd seen hundreds of photos of the Pope. watched him in action on television and judging by his barrel.Shest, !assumed he was a big. big man. instead, i had in front of hie, a small, whitehaired gentleman, who had the kindest looking eyes in the world. And when he smiled. the corners of his mouth seemed to reach from ear to ear. Thal alone made up for all my assumptions. The trip to Midland to see Popc John Paul was for me, the culmination of filling out endless' forms. several phone calls to the SENSE AND NONSENSE —by Ron Wassink Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ottawa, and numerous letters. When I first heard that the Pope would, for the first time in history, travel to Canada, 1 then decided 1 wanted to see this man everyone was talking about. That was balk in May. My first concern was the escalating costs, spore of which was taxpayers money. When i clipped my first' news item to be kept as reference material, 1 labelled a file folder. "Pope Dope". And up until the final days before he visited Midland, my Pope Dope file grew to two inches thick, As I glance through my file today. 1 find clippings such as. "Cost of Pope's visit mounts --the federal Government has added S2 million to its 515.8 million budget for the tour." "Train service boosted for Pope's visit•- , Via Rail and the GO train system will be beefing up their services when Pope John Paul visits Toronto. Interested parties are advised to buy tickets early to avoid being left without a seat." "Popemobile rolls off assembly line •• a company best known for its fire trucks built the so-called popemobile which features a 3.2 centimetre thick laminated plastic cube built to withstand bullets." "Boss of papal security team worried about cults, kooks --Police will keep watch on satanic cults because t(tey have said they planned to disrupt the jI ur. The Mounties also expect protests from anti -abortion groups.' That's only a small part of what i have in my file. The rest is taken up by material from the Conference of Catholic Bishops concern• ing the visit and road maps showing where the Pope would tour. 1 -had decided if 1 was going to at least get a good look at the Pope, maybe even shake hands with him. then i would need press credent(als. Let me tell you, receiving accreditation is no easy task. I filled out countless forms, including an RCMP form so the mounties could check my background. had to include a mug shot and then 1 waited. By mid-July, 1 was getting impatient --1 phone Ottawa. The good bishop informed me there were no problems, i would have no trouble receiving my press card. Less than two weeks ago. I picked up my precious pass from an undercover RCMP officer in Stratford. 1 was all set. I arrived in Midland Thursday night. went to the "media centre" and only got in the door when 1 produced the necessary pass. The Pope was coming. and i was there. (Next week: Papal tour). Media- used to report, now wants to lead In the modern world, lawyers. account, ants. doctors and teachers are important but one group is even more important: journal- ists. Just ask journalists. Journalists can get very boring talking about the importance of their profession how it can save democracy and all. And if you're bored now, just wait for the next few months when the television reporters and syndicated columnists see themselves as the only really effective opposition to the huge majority government and start to strut their stuff. An example of the ego -inflating. booster• ism of journalism by journalists was a recent column in Macleans magazine in which the columnist took the CBC to task for the audacity of cutting the amount of new coverage. and moving back The National to 11 p.m. during the Olympics. Now nothing gets journalists (especially television journal ists) in a lather quicker than postponing the news for a hockey game. a baseball game or other sport. Horrors! BEHIND THE SCENES by Keith Roulston My college president may come back and rip my journalism degree out of my hand, but I'm going to go on record as saying hogwash to the idea that the news is inviolate. immeasurably more important than the Olympics. it's not just that 1 happen to be a sports fan as well as a journalist. it's just that i think journalists are taking the business too seriously for their own good. 1'11 say that the Olympics shouldn't bump the National the day 1 hear Knowlton Nash say, "It's the middle of summer and there really isn't enough news to justify 20 minutes prime time tonight so the National will only be five minutes long." Now what did we Lose if we got less news or maybe got tired and went to bed before the National at 11? A few more minutes of reporters standing in front of John Turner's bus telling us how bad the campaign was going? A few more feet of film of Brian Mulroney shaking hands with big crowds? A few more minutes of "analysis" that could be the same "Analysis" you saw on the Journal the night before last and the night before that and the night before that?' Since Watergate, the media has seen a more and more impott.:nt role for itself in society. It now feels free to make all politicians accountable to its chosen Stan• dards. grilling politicians with tough. often rude questions, declaring that public people don't really have a right to a private life, The media that once reported. now wants to lead. It helped create the Mulroney bandwagon by playing up mistakes by Turner but later, once the trend was strongly toward Mulroney, often ignored Mulroney's weak- nesses such as his limp explanation of the cost of his election or.•mises. The media gets so far ahead of itself that the election was not only anti -climatic to LIS readers and viewers thanks to so many polls. but some media personalities in order to have something interesting to talk about were speculating on future elections into the 1990's and how the Conservatives would fare. The journalism professors at universities have done too good a job convincing their graduates how important their profession is U would be refreshing to have a Iittle'of the irreverance of the days when re -porters were just under -educated "scribblers" No hotel manager next year Just a few rather dour comments on a few things, as summer drags to a close. 1 now know what it is like to run a summer hotel. without benefit of staff. i undertook to take my grandboys for two weeks. They were here for four. Their mother joined us "for a few days" and stayed two weeks. Their Uncle Hugh has been up from the city at least every other weekend, often with friends. Trouble is that it's beautiful around here, with trees. swimming in fresh water, breathing in clean air, and eating fresh food: sweet corn picked today, green or yellow beans the same, real tomatoes instead of those hard, bitter little pellets from Florida or California, strawberries and raspberries and blackberries just off the vine. 1 don't blame them. The city can be pretty gruelling in a hot summer. But next summer I'm going to lock up the big brick house with the jungle in back and the massivd oak in front, and take a motel room, with one bed, no swimming pool. First two weeks with the boys were fine. Made their sandwiches every night, popped them in the freezer (the sandwiches, not the boys). Drove them away froth the television at 11 p.m. (they have, at home, a tiny black and white with two channels). Turfed them nut of a sleep like the dead at 7 a.m. Supervised breakfast (kids can drink a barrel of orange juice in a week). Checked to see they had sandwiches, an apple or banana or pear, wrapped• their bottle of pop in their towels, made sure they had their swim suits, and booted th m out the door in the general SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley direction of summer camp. Tried to keep them in clean clothes, no easy feat. Speaking of feet. they have the happy , faculty of playing football or baseball or basketball in the back yard in their bare feet, just after the lawn sprinkler has been on for rwr hours, then rushing inside, across the rug and going for a pee. then rushing back across it to resume activities. 1t didn't seem to bother the boys, but it played hell with the rug. 1 dont think 1 can get it cleaned. Might as well throw it out. Their Gran would have killed them. On the spot. But there are so many spots now. it doesn't seem worth it. Dinner was fairly simple, 1 didn't fuss around like Gran, getting a wholesome meal, with chicken thighs. taties, salad and dessert. Small boys love hamburgers and chips. Needless to say, we dined out quite often. Thanks to Ben. the younger of the two, the back lawn looks as though several goats had been grazing on it, and. after eating all the Bs, had started eating dirt. en, to the amusement of my neighbors, can play any game without equipment, or opponents. Baseball: he can take a called strike, scowl at the umpire, foul one into the stands, then hit a double and stretch it into a triple, sliding into third base. He can dribble a basketball. flip it to a team-mate. get it back and drop an easy basket, walking away, dusting his hands, He's eight, and at seven decided his given name, Balled. was not for him, so re -named himself Ben. Quite a kid. Lives in his own world. And pretends to be deaf when you try to call him out of it. As soon as their mother arrived, of course, the boys went ape. Eve?hy grandparent knows about this. Don -t ask me why. i m not a child psychologist. Dear Kim has an overabundance of talent. She composes music, writes like an angel, is an excellent teacher, and has been stone-cold poor ever since she got married. She's a bit sick of being poor. But she's an excellent mother. Sick f being poor. she spent ost f her time here writing new songs that er �going to make a million. and pumping itle'to find out how to be a syndicated columnist within a nfonth, at the outside. And we fought. She is a bristly feminist; and i, as she thinks, a male chauvinist. But we love each other and when the fights got near the blood-letting stage, one of us would grin and declare truce. Shelook me for about one grand this summer. counting every- thing, but you can't take it with you. so why not? • Hugh is another fettle of kish. He lives in one room in the city. with cooking privileges. but doesn't cook much. When he's home, he is either standing at the fridge. door open. as he used to do when he was lb. or standing over the stove. cooking some infernal but delicious concoction full of almonds, raisins, garlic and whatever, with a pasta base. He's not an old waiter for nothing. This weekend he brought a friend. Elena. She's on a very strict diet, because of allergies, and brings her own food. Not wanting to be beholden. she bought some Mod. 1 came down to the kitchen yesterday, and she had out for dinner eight huge lambchops. i asked how many were coming to dinner. She said just the three of us. Two chops each and a couple to share. I turned green But she and Hugh had another couple for breakfast. 1 bought some home-made bread and Elena has six slices. Hugh ate the rest of the loaf, at the same sitting. except for one slice, which 1 surreptitiously snagged wfiile they were sitting around belching. Tough diet, eh? Threw them onto a bus to the city this morning. laden down with plastic bags full of corn, beans, blueberries. tomatoes and green onions. All fresh, local stuff. They left me with a refrigerator full of Elena's diet soup (ugh!), Hugh's dried corn, and a lot of other delicacies from the health food store that are going straight into the garbage. it's a lot of fun, running a summer hotel, With rio staff. Next summer. there's going to be no manager. either. 1