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The Huron Expositor, 1983-06-15, Page 2--c�he Iiuron 6fxpositor-- since 766p'Se.ivie fhhiCammunity Biel ,p Incorporating prptistiS Post founded 172 12 •Main $t. 527-0240 Published It $EAFORTH, ONTARIO every Wednesday morning Susan White, Managing Editor Jocelyn A. Shaer, Publisher Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspaper Association and Audit Bureau of Circulation q member of the Ontario Press Council Subscription rates; • ganada$17.75 a year On advance) outside Canada S50. a year (In advance) Single Copies - 50 cents each' SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 1983 Second class mall registration number 0696 Enjoy it The rain that has delayed planting for weeks finally stops. The sun comes out and we all brighten as we realize that, yes indeed, there's going to be a summer In Western Ontario. It's the best time to live, here. ' You keep your eyes open and what you pee leaves a mental snapshot behind. Kids swim in the river down the road on the first warm day. Three generations, grandmother, mother and daughter probably, ride their bikes down a quiet concession road on aunday afternoon. a Children whose two -wheel bike ,Iding skills improve from wobbly to accomplished in the space of two days. A child w-ho'S learning to skip takes her skipping rope with her absolutely everywhere. That minute of standing still while mom puts groceries in the car is time that can be used to get in a little practice. Tiny kids it their bright -coloured new summer finery show off to each other and put into ac1'13n the gyrations they see every night on TV. The under -fives were the best dancers at the community centres opening ball. Older kids slowly walk, gather to bunches on Main St., or aimlessly drive around. Mating rituals and they don't much, notice any out -of -it adult who blunders along. Old people, without the fear of snow and icy streets are free to get out and around. Some sit on a bench downtown or in one of the parks and soak up the sun. Sure there's work to be done. And there's anxiety because cropping has been delayed so long. But we got it done, like we always do. And then we pause and look around. It's a good time to be living right here. Enjoy. - S.W. +Opi ion Old -and young As anyone knows who visits one regularly, nursing homes are now fairly lively places. Thanks to the concerned people who work in them, volunteers from the community, Ontario's medical professionals and provincial policy, a lot more is being done to keep residents in touch and participating in the world at large. Witness for example, the barbecue at Seaforth Manor last week. Or the Pitoh-tn program 'tn,May_thatIonought local school chtidrefr to,help .the older people who rive BCklit7 r@han: ' "' Many Seaforth people, from tiny ones who live near -by to their elders'who have friends and relatives who are residents, make life a little more interesting and a whole lot brighter for those- afuho can't get out much any more. The trend towards school children making regular visits and really getting to know nursing home patients is especially welcome. Both age groups benefit; the kids from wisdom and'experience, the old people from infectious fun and energy that they've forgotten about if they only see other adults. A pilot program at a Toronto nursing home has taken this one step further and with terrific success. Eight babies and their parents visit regularly in the basement recreation room at Christie Park Nursing Home. The babies love it; the seniors turnout in Targe numbers and young parents get a bit of a break as they see their babies enjoying, and being enjoyed by, an older generation. The babies, cooing, laughing and singing, "are picking up some of the love these ladies are radiating," says the nursing director as 12 residents, aged 70 to 90, fuss over their tiny visitors. So far expenses have been provided by the small group of parents involved. But there's some hope of a small city grant to pay a part-time co-ordinator who'd extend the program to other nursing homes and other young families. It's a super idea, potentially beneficial to all involved. All that's needed to get it going around here is someone to make the connection. Thanks Bryan and Jim r© odNOQ It was my pleasure to participate in the Grand Opening of the Seaforth and District Arena and Community Centre on Saturday. June 4. 1983, It was a well planned and fun event for the entire family, the beginning of many years of successful community activi• ties at the complex, I am certain. It is unusual and heartwarming to see five municipalities join together to provide an excellent recreation and sport facility for the citizens of a wider community than municipal boundaries can contain. Municipal Councils and Staff are to be commended for their foresight and planning acumen in meeting the leisure needs of the future by co-operat- ing and sharing costs of construction and operation of the Arena and Hall. The hard work of the building and fundraising committees were applauded loudly and deservedly at the Opening Ceremonies. Two individuals who were not mentioned and who invested many hours of thought. worry, and work are Mr. James Crocker, Clerk•Treasurer, and Mr. Bryan Peter, Director of Recreation, both of Seaforth's municipal staff. The excellent work of these two men in developing agreements and by-laws, in executing the necessary paperwork for accessing Wintario and Community Recreation Centre grants, and in working on behalf of the five municipalities with many government de- partments is to be highly commended and should be brought to the attention of the people of Seaforth and District. Without the contributions of Bryan and Jim the paper- work necessary for this project (and there was a mountain of it!) would not have been completed as diligently and correctly as it was. it was a pleasure for me to work with Bryan and Jim on this project. 1 would like to offer my congratulations to Seaforth, Hullett. Hibbert, Tuckersmith and McKillop for a job well done, Keep up the communication and co-operation in the years to come and your Community Centre will continue to be a source of pride and family fun. Yours truly Melanie McLaughlin Consultant Community Programs Ministry of Tourism and Recreation The community . supports the nursery school Another successful year is drawing to a close at Seaforth Nursery Schl and the past Board of Directors would like n those members of the community who so graciously and willingly help us each year. The list includes Paul Carroll who offers support each year and works us into the Katimavik program; Bill Eisler who picks up our garbage; our neighbour Bill Austin who cuts our front lawn; the police station, fire hall, post office, hospital and area farmers - Peppers. Martenes. Eckerts and Wester. • Summer Photos by Wassigk veus, au of wuom took time from busy schedules to show the children around on field trips. Also the local business people/and members of the community in general who' support our various fundraising projects through donations or purchases. The Nursery School has an excellent teacher and facilities and fifers high quality preschool activity, none of which could have been achieved without the full support of the community. Rowena Wallace Past President Community spirit makes this place work The Seaforth area is riding a pretty big ((77 ��tt,, j�.� wave of community spirit right now. The \1(nll ni%i 1 r' I r11 n f f1i �i •t fi \ �nM success it. But so do events like the mammoth fashion show Seaforth and District Ringette put on receptly .Qsshg_Iprge proportion of local people who work as volunteers for one thinge' or another knows, it feels good to work together for a good cause. Those who worked on the fashion show, with the large amount of organization and behind -the -scenes ,effort it entailed, deserve to feel really good. They gave more than 100 people the chance to learn about being a model; more than 400 people a good night's entertainment and many Seaforth stores some terrific exposure. And they raised some money for a sport that is less than 10 -years -old here, and still not well known in the country as a whole. Ringette is popular in Seaforth; probably the .1102036ii Whilst® taQws is one of the pioneers in the sport. It 7iih' 's girls winter activity too'in'this boys' • hockey stronghold. The commitment to the sport, to the girls who play it and to the community as a whole by those who,brought us the fashion show is impressive. if you looked up, 'way up, at the ceiling of the downstairs hall during the arena opening last weekend, you'll have noticed hundreds of Japanese paper lanterns. Young ringette players made them and they were left up for the opening. Many other sports and service groups contributed to that event too. Beaver Oldtimer hockey players and their families were setting up tables; Lions Members poured coffee; Optimists tended bar, and many other groups did other chores. Community spirit, working together not just for a buck, but for the good of all of us, pulled that big event off too. You wouldn't see this in the city, several city people commented at various times during the opening. It's true that you wouldn't get the wide, across -many -house- holds involvement there. Some people would put out and come out for a new arena, others would save their bucks and their enthusiasm for the ballet, the circus or the theatre. There are fewer of us here and just about all of us use the community centre. It is a central meeting place in fact, that would be impossible to duplicate in the big city, ty There �r,rt,•t •, are just too many people.i That too is why small town,and rural people develop that ability to talk to all sorts of people that Clare Westcott said last week is one of the secrets of his success. The people pool isn't large enough here to allow us to pick out our own little group and stay tightly inside it. We've got to get to know nearly everybody. We need each other and that's more important than the fact that we've got lots of little differences. in the city a theatre fan and a hockey parent move in different circles. They might never meet each other, let alone talk a lot. Here they are friends and neighbours. And they use the same building, the arena. The shame of building our world on waste Nope, they don't make them there models no more." "Musta been a computer error." "Hell, we ain't stocked them things for ten years." "You gotta be kiddin'. Haven't seen that rig since '75." "That part's obsolete. You'll hafta buy the whole unit." Does this all sound familiar? Are you as sick of it as 1 am? if the answers are, "Yes!" , what are we going to do about it? We hit the pits, although this has been a long -simmering fester, when my wife went to a super -market the other day — not a little corner grocery, mark you — and the only potatoes they had were new ones from California or somewhere at a hell of a price. We love new potatoes. But we like them in August, fresh out of the patch, boiled or fried, slathered in butter, along with some new corn and green onions and real tomatoes that get red from the sun. not a lamp. I wonder how the farmers of P.E.I. and New Brunswick, as well as the local chaps. feel when they hear there are no good. old potatoes, even though they had to plow half their crop into the pigtrough because they couldn't get a decent price. But potatoes are only one little symptom of a disease that affects this country. It seems to me that with our economy in such a deplorable state, merchants and kicgwQ cod op G, by ©SOI Si noy contractors and skilled workmen would get off their butts and get back to the business of keeping their customers happy. One way they could help is be refusing to accept the airy waves of manufacturers that there's a "shortage" of this, and a "new model" of that land "We don't make parts for these any more," of the other. During a war, people grumble, but put up with, more or less cheerfully, shortages, making do. using what's available rather than what they want. Last 1 heard, Canada was not at war, and I'm fed up to the teeth with lame excuses ./bout this being out of stock and that being out of fashion. ,Buy something new. Two years later it breaks down. Take it in for repairs and they look at you as if you were crazy. What? Mac, you gotta be kiddin'. Repair that toaster (iron, TV set)? Cost you too much. Have to send it back to the factory. Dunno if they still have the parts. Better off with a new one. What we should say is, "Well, listen, Mac, I happen to like my old one. It was a wedding present, and it cost plenty. Fix it or 111 find someone who can!" You learn It's spring, and around our palce out at Muddy Lane Manor there's a lot of young new life teaching a lot of plain old truths about human and animal behavior. Watch animals for a while and you can see why old farmers are often seen as being very wise. There is so much to learn about people by watching the behaviour of animals. For instance, there's our new litter of kittens, four in all. We humans generally have our families one at a time. Cats get whole families at once. Psychologists have long tried to tell us that the personality of a child is shaped by his environment. Two children in a family, because they are brought up at two different times with inevitably different experiences, end up having different personalities. Yet each of our four kittens has a different personatlty just as each of our four children has. There's the one kitten that's the real scamp, always tackling the others from behind, jit:Ring on top of the others when they're sleeping. And sleeping is what one of the others likes to do best. This cat is laid back. Of course just like our own children the 4 Instead, we mumble angrily, frustratedly, and wind up buying the new one,which looks cheaper, costs more. and will break down in ten months. By which time it will be obsolete and impossible to repair. There's something else that bothers me about this whole syndrome — the utter waste. R scently, we bought a new TV set and a new fridge. No, we weren't trying to get the ecol,omy rolling, though every little bit helps. The old ones were — well, old. But both were still working. Know where the old ones went? To the dump. Something in my Presbyterian soul rebelled when 1 learned this. The TV set had a fine wooden cabinet. It would have made a great liquor or record container, or hope chest. or something. into the dump. And the fridge, in ny other country, (except possibly The Sta s) would have had a new motor and insulati n installed and gone on happily keeping the beer cold for another five years. Not to Mention the several hundred pounds of metal hit. Into the dump. i seethed inwardly. But 1'asp not a cabinet maker. Nor can 1 instal motors dad insulation. Alt : can do with a fridge is take out the beer ;did put in the butter. But, into the dump? 1 felt rotten. Somebody could have used that old TV set, somebody who didn't have one. it still produced a picture and sound. Somebody could have used that old fridge, even though the -kt/-cream melted and the butter froze. And I'm just skirting the fringe. Our entire society is built on waste, forced consumption, and passing the buck, the latest recipient of the passed buck is the computer. Get a bill for something you never bought.. Write the people who sent it, protesting. You get a letter with interest added and a threat. Write another letter and the varlets suggest they will take away your home and throw your aged grandmother in jail unless, you pay the original bill, plus more interest. if you take it to the Supreme Court, you might, just might. get a real letter admitting there was an error. but it was the fault of "the computer." Cut down the old trees. Destroy the handsome old buildings. Pave everything in sight. Erect structures that will be slums in two decades. That's Canada today. Send it to the dump. And when somebody comes into your store, waving something he wants to replace, be sure to say. with ill -concealed, malicious triumph, "Oh, they don't stock them there things no more." a lot by watching the animals aohnwd 2conoe, by Gat ith F © O340W kittens have more energy than they know what to do with. rolling and tumbling fighting their own reflections in shiny surface and generally providing a four ring arcus for any of us who want to watch. And you can see a mirror of parents everywhere in the poor mother cat who sometimes while being suckled by one kitten while one plays games with her ears and another with his tail looks up at us with weary eyes as if to say "How did 1 ever get Y y i�S this mess? 'BABCIM We've also got a new batch of baby chicks eating their way to quick adulthood. Now while kittens show the fun side of humanity, I've always found that chickens show the worst human character flaws. These range from mildly arousing to disgusting. It's easy to get a kick out of the birds, for instance, if their feed has run out and you refill the feeder and they all stampede over each other as if they didn't get to be the first to eat, they might never eat again. Humans are like that too so often particularly if there has been teal hardship involved. Look at the fighting that will go on between starving peopoa tote first in line if a truck bringing food arrived. Our human fault of discriminating against individuals who are different is taken to its worst conclusion in chickens who will peck at a stranger, or sometimes even a family member who has gotten a stain on its feathers and looks different, until the outcast dies. MACHO CHICKENS - And talk about your macho men, there's nothing to compare to the men of the chicken house. The expression "cock of the walk" comes to life for you if you've kept chickens. The roosters strut and preen.and act as if the world would stop if they weren't around. There's also the small -man syndrome in evidence in the barnyard. 1 remember a few years back we had a rooster who was considerably smaller than all the others who seemed to need to prove he was the tougher for it. He earned respect with his tactics from theother roosters and he tried to impose it on us humans. He'd fly at your face with his claws extended. It got so no one in the family would go into that chicken house but me and if 1 went, 1 made sure 1 always ,kept one eye neeled so the little sneak wouldn't iumo me And the human failure of foolish pride gets shown in the hen house. We once had a very proud looking rooster. a real show piece. He was larger than all the others. His feathers were a nicer colour. And he knew it. But one day he got into a fight with a smaller rival and he lost, badly. That proud bird crawled away in a corner and refused to eat. It wasn't long before he was dead. As people move more and more into city environments where animals aren't every- day neighbours. I think we're going to lose a lot of the insight into our own human behaviour they can provide. And we're the losers fns (i 1