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The Huron Expositor, 1979-11-29, Page 2• .• • Since 1860. Serving the Community First Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO every ThursdaY morning by McLEAN BROS. PUBLISHERS LTD. ANDREW Y. McLE.AN. Publisher „SUSAN WHITE, Editor ALICE GIBS. News Editor Member Canadian Community Newspaper Associaton Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associaton and Audit Bureau of Circulation Subscription Rates: Canada (in advance) $13.00 a Year Qutsi4e.Ca,na4a.(in advance) S25,00 a Tear SINGLE COPIE.8,-10 CENTS EACH Second Class Mail Registration Number 0696 Telephone 527.0240, SEAFORTH„, ONTARIO, NOVEMBER 29, 1979 Jr(ho's interested? What does it take to shape up a downtown? What's the ingredient that v{III get small town merchants working together to promote what the whole town, as well as what its individual •businesses, have to offer? Do stores In Seaforth want business? Those were some of the questions floating around at the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting in Seaforth last week. While some merchants were discouraged at the lack of attendance of downtown business people at the dinner, and at their lack of participation through the year, others were quietly optimistic, That very guarded optirnism came from a very strong message two speaker delivered. Seaforth must work together, has 'to offer shoppers something unique in its downtown or Seaforth's downtown will be in bad trouble in the eighties. That was the meat of what Sally Hannon from the government branch that helps organize Business Improvement Areas, and Deb Shewfelt who's active in the Goderich BIA had to say. And they were backed up by the comments of small town merchants in towns all over Ontario on a film shown that night. These towns have started downtown revitaliziation schemes and have succeeded in turning around a declining interest in downtowns and in offsetting a pull to shopping centres that's noticeable even in Seaforth. If enough people on Seaforth's Main Street are interested, we could turn Seaforth's downtown around too. But that means work and the same old people who've been carrying the ball for Chamber of Commerce activities are tired of slugging to promote Seaforth without a whole lot of cooperation from many of those who ,benefit from that promotion. It's been suggested that Seaforth needs, a new group, for retailers only; the name, Business Association or Board of Trade or whatever needn't matter. Perhaps that would provide a psychological lift, a feeling of starting fresh, that the active people in downtown Seaforth badly need. But it could split what fragmented support Seaforth's downtown has, now, and would have to be carefully worked out. The name of the group which jolts downtown Seaforth enough to bet individuals working together at irnproving what we have to offer doesn't matter. But' the work if, can do is crucial. • A Business Improvement Area would seem to be a logical. step. Three other county towns have, thought so. Goderich, Exeter and Clinton downtowns all have approved BIA's. 1 • Those at the meeting heard all about the benefits the BIA has brought to downtown Goderich. Things like new sidewalks and lighting, people spaces and, parkettes, unified complementary architecture, a historic flavour and downtown -wide promotions could be translated to Seaforth too. • The next Chamber of. Commerce meeting should take a serious look at the subject. But only if enough downtown merchants attend and 4 show they are interested in improvemetns. If business isn't interested in downtown Seaforth why should shoppers be? In that case, a Business Improvement Area for Seaforth would be a waste of everyone'stime. Sugctr•a nd spice By Bill Srniley WHO AND WHEN? — Thi0 group taken by an early Seaforth photographer belonged to Mrs. Belle Hamilton of Auburn. The men are all carrying tools of their trades so the photo may have been taken after completion of some project. Anyone with clues is asked to write the Expositor. In the years' agone ��,d sleighing in 1879 decorators are busy at work, A good many names of subscribers have been received to start a public library in Londesboro, The snowfall of last week has made pretty good sleighing in the Hensall neighbourhood. Mr. Cruickshank of Hensall has opened up a tailor shop in the Hodgins block. NOVEMBER 29, 1929 The west end beef nng held their annual meeting at the home of C O'Brien of Tuckersmith. James Rivers of Seaford-, has just completed 21 years work for the ring which is surely a record. Friday evening was the scene of a happy event when 100 friends and neighbours met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W.S. Broadfoot in honour of his son Ross, and his- bride, formerly Miss Mary Broadfoot. Dancing was enjoyed to music by Messrs Armstrong, Norris, Forsythe, Dickson and McCartney. Wm. Mcdonald of Kippen has purchased the handsome brick residence of Joshua Dennison on James Street. Wm. Kruse had oneof his finger amputated at Scott Memorial Hospital alst last week. Winter has set in at Walton at least from •*the appearance of the ground during the last few days. Word has been received of the safe arrival of Nurses Gretta Mustard and Nettie Sinclair at Bypsumville where they will open a hospital. Mr. and Mrs.. Peter McLaughlin of , Manley have moved into their new home • know as the Simpson farm. The regular choir practice of Egmondville United Church took the form of a presentation and social evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Finnegan, when Miss Eleanor Snider was made the recipient of a watch' rreitrtin pink Pullman set and a clock and comport to Tyndall,uedothe onPage n;de NOVEMBER 28, 1879 John Britton and George Browlee of Hullett have been appointed constables for the county of Huron. Messrs A.G. McDougall and Co, have shipped this season 1800 barrels of apples to the European and American markets. The sleighing of the past few days has had a good effect on business. The presses in the Expositor office are now ran by steam power. It rained heavily nearly all day on Thursday at Se.aforth and now good sleighing is once more gone. A couple of gangs of lumbermen, one of them from Quebec are busy in the woods cutting timber for shipping. John Dayman of Tuckersmith met with a serious acciden when a colt being chased by a dog ran over him, breaking his collar bone and otherwise injuring him. DECEMBER 2, 1904 • H. Proctor of Constance returned from a: hunting expedition in the wilds of Logan and reports lots of sport shooting rabbits, fox and mink. • A new boiler is being put in the saw mill and heading factory of J1. McDonald of • Constance. It was purchased :from the Bell Engine Co. of Seaforth. • John Bennett is engaged in drawing brick for a new residence which he purposes erecting next summer. • From balmy Indian summer into, the rigours of midwinter has been but a short step this year. Cardno Broswith their usual enterprise have added a new gasoline engine and a dough mixer to their bakery outfit. J.K. Richardson has returned from the Northwest where he was buying and shipping eggs. The carpenters and glaziers are now about done with the addition to First Presbyterian Church in Seaforth and a large staff of • o tlieedt Read er c a s 'hiring un fair This letter is a eopy of one sent to Grey Township Council, I would, like it to be published so that the ratepayers' of Grey know the facts about what I consider to be an injustice. The letter reads: It is with regret I find it necessary to write, however a very disappoinflng and unjust situation has developed that several of you know about and those of you that don't should be enlightened. Apparently there are 2 applicants to choose from for the job of snowplowing for 1979-80. (grader) John •Gillis and James Hart. Your road superintendent led Mr. Gillis to believe the job was his if he wanted it. Mr. Engel was asked in the summer by an employee of 19 yrs if he intended that John Gillis snow plow. His answer was in the affirmative, Again in the P,M. of October 18, 1979 on the 16th concession of Grey Twp. John Gillis approached Mr. Engel with with, the request that when his route was opened in the early a.m. he be allowed to do his chores and return to snowplowing duties. This request was approved.. A man would hardly make such a request if he felt he was not hired, Why then, you tell me was John not, informed then and there that Mr. Hart had also applied for the job. It is difficult for me to believe Mr. Egel would not know that is and to lead Mr. Gillis down the garden path is unforgivable. rn most other townships the Road Superintendent is responsible for hiring road, maintenance personel, Is Grey Twp. different? • John's work record is excellent and he was always available and willing to work when called upon. A councillor for 2 years and an • experienced $now Plow Operator evidertir means very little to you •people. It ig disgusting to think you would hire ms inexperienced man behind the back of the person who was led to believe that he would be rehired. Mr. Roy Williamson for one was aware of John's desire to work for Grey TvFip., It is unust and unfair the way this hiring was done and the ratepayers of Grey Twp., should know about it. (and shall) I once was proud to live in this twp. How Mr. Engel could be present at a council meeting and not say he as much as gave this position to another is really quite amazing. This unfortunate blunder on your part has, developed into an atmosphere of bitterness and • mistrust • between your road superintendent and your long term grader operator. What happened to the Golden Rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". I suggest a reconsideration of this matter is called for. John Gillis turned down alternate winter employment in the belief that he had employment as a snow plow operator. Dealing with former employees in such a manner leads to mistrust and hostility which is hard to forget The tension and explosive atmosphere this: has caused is most assuredly going to be detrimental to a smooth road maintertace operation. A reconsideration at this time would be honourable and just and would also, make it unncessary to obtain professional advice. • A Not So Proud Resident Mildred Gillis RR2, Brussels Street corner "just like glass" In regard to our townof Seaforth, it's a very nice clean town. But I think our street, West William St. is very bad in the winter time. The center of the street on all four corners is just like glass and is very dangerous for us elderly citizens. As we have quite a number living on this street, I think there should be either salt put on or the sidewalk, or plowed out on the sidewalk. • Sincerely yours, Mrs. Netzke • Photo got results (Editor's note: Several weeks ago the Expositor carried an old family photo along with a request for identification. The sender writes below.) I was very happy to receive the Nov. 1 issue of your paper this a.m., as well as the death notice of my grandfather Johnston Rinn. Last week I received a letter from David Watson, of Walton, who said "I am the little boy in the picture," so I have vvith your considerable help, solved another • mystery. Thank you. Also in this morning's mail I received a letter from a •cousin on another branch saying "I don't know anyone in the picture but from the names given your mother must have been . It was. I enjoyed reading the entire paper, and would like to remark that we have a wee boy in our area who also has twelve grandparents, and they think it is one for the records. ' I enclose a cheque for two dollars.• Sincerely, (Mrs.) Velma M. Beyette, 105 Parkdale Road, Dryden, Ont. P8N 1S1 here were the merchants? Where were all the merchants and councillors InseWednesday when Business • Improvement Areas were being discussed? Sixty-seven merchants, four councillors and •the Mayor were missing. Perhaps they are fully knowledgable on the subject and if an association is formed to or the curse of the drinkingclass There has been a tremendous change in the manners and mores of Canada in the past three decades. This brilliant thought' came tome as I drove home from work today and saw a sign in a typical Canadian small town: "Steakhouse and Tavern." • Now this didn't exactly knock me out, alarm me, or discombobulate me in any way. I am,* part of all that is in this country, at this time. But it did give me a tiny twinge. Hence my opening remarks. I am no Carrie Nation, who stormed into ialoons with her lady friends, armed with hatchets, and smashed open (what a waste) the barrels of beer and kegs of whiskey. I am no Joan of Arc. I don't revile blasphemers or hear voices. I am no Pope John Paul 11, who tells people what to do about their sex lives. I am not even a Joe Clad, who rushes up to a barricade prepared to jump for some votes, then decides to go back to the starting -line and send in a real athlete, Robert Stanfield, an . older and wiser athlete, to attempt what he knew he couldn't do. And the "he" is Joe. I am. merely an observer of the human scene* in a country that used to be one thing, and has become another. But that doesn't Mean I don't have opinions. I have nothing but scorn for the modern "objectivae" journalists who tell it as it is. They are hyenas and jackals, Who fatten on the leavings of the "lions" of oUr society, for the moat put. 1 admire a few columnists: Richard, Needham of the Toronto Globe, Allan Fotheringhsm of Maclean's, not because they are great writers, but because they hew die wood for which this country is famous*. and let the chips fall where they may. That's the way it should be. Let's jet back on topic, as I tell my stedeati. The Canadian society has rough - seed Mad coarsened to an astonishing degree *est thirty yews. Fit, dm Steakhouse and Tavern. As a kid worlds. Oil the beak ea the Upper Lakes, I was tucked mad Utiles sea* when I saw that Assitiesa ports: iluinth,,,,Detroli, I 00106.1finsit the tested poverty &Ontario ki doe Thirds', aad I was slightly appalled, sad ately attreated by then sips! the tiny though that drink could be publicly adver- tised. Like any normal, curious kid, I went into a couple, ordered a two-bit whiskey, and found nobody eating steaks, but a great many people getting sleazily drunk on the same. Not the steaks. In those days, in Canada, there was no such creature. The very use of the word "tavern" has indicated iniquity. IT was an evil place. We did have beer "parlours". later exchanged for the euphemism "be- verage rooms." But that was all right. Only the lower element went there, and ttey closed' from 6' p.m. to 7:30, or some such, so that a family man could get home to his . dinner, Not a bad idea. In their homes, of course, the middle and tipper class drank liquor. Beer was the working -man's drink, and to be shunned. It was around then that some wit reversed the old saying, and came out with: "Work is the • curse of the drinking class",.a neat version of Marx's (?) "Drink is the curse of the working classes." If you called on someone in those misty days, you were offered a cuppa and something to eat. Today, the host would be humiliated if he didn't have something harder to offer you. • Now, every hamlet seems to have its steakhouse, complete with tavern. It's rather ridiculous. Nobody today can afford a steak. But how in the living world can these same people afford drinks, at current prices? These steakhouses and taverns are usually pretty sleazy joints, on a par with the old beverage room, which was the opitome of sleaze. It's not all the fault of the owners, though they make nothing on the steak and 100 per cent on the drinks (minimum). It's just that Canadians tend to be noisy and crude and profane drinkers. It has crept into our educational System, where teachers drink and swear and tell dirty jokes and use language in front of women that I, a product of a. more well.mannered, nr inhibited, your. cioler. era, could not bring myself to use. And the language of today's students, from Grade one to Grade whatever, would curl the hair of a sailor, and make your maiden aunt grab for the smelling salts. Week from the lowest slunts'aad shunmiest barnyards create rarely a blush on the cheek• of your teenage daughter.:, A graduate of the depression, when people had some reason to use bad language, in sheer frustration , and anger, and of a war in which the most common four-letter word was used as frequently, and (Continued on Page 3) Fxpositor asks:. Are you going to see Santa in Seaforth? BY DEBBIE RANNEY • Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! It's • almost time for the Santa Claus parade in Seaforth and with that in mind, Expositor Asks decided to find out if area people will be taking their children or grandchildren to see Santa in Seaforth on Saturday. Mr. Debbie Rau of Egmondville said, "Yes, in fact, my oldest girl goes to the nursery school and they're putting a float in the parade." Her daughter will be on the float. She is taking her two girls to,see Santa and said it is the first time her youngest child will have seen Santa. "They're both quite excited about it," she said. Mrs. Brian Kennedyof R. R. #2, Seaforth said, she didn't know whether she was taking her children or not since she didn't know if they'd be in town on Saturday. Her children are four and six years of age and • she said she usually takes them down to the London Santa Claus parade because they used to live in London. She said if ste takes her children to see Santa in Seaforth, it will be for the first time since they've lived here. Mrs. Effie Stephenson Of Franklin St. in Seaforth said,, "All my grandchildren, are in Toronto or Ottawa; so I can't take them." She added that she only had ,one grandchild who would be interested in going to see Santa because he's eight years old and the rest of her grandchildren ate g r o wnP DonnaMcLlwain of Egmondville said she would likely be taking her children who are six and two. She said both had been to see Sant a Claus before. Mrs. Jan Moore of Seaforth said yes she was taking tier children who are both going to be in the parade. Her son Brad who is almost four will be on the nursery school floatand her daughter Andrea who is six is going to be in the parade with her school. Mrs. Orville Storey of R. R. #1, Seaforth said she didn't expect she would be since she's giving dancing lessons that day. • Mrs. Charlotte Lauzon of R. R. #2, Seaforth said she had gone with the neighbours and their children to see the Santa Claus parade in London but that her own Children are too grown up for her to take to the Santa Claus parade in Seaforth on Saturday. She added that she liked going to Santa Claus parades because, "I just like to see the excitement on the childrens.' faces," Mrs. Linda Jones of 108 Goderich St., Seaforth said, "Yes, I think so." She has a. live year old son and she said last year was the first time he has ever been to see Santa Claus and this would be first time he would have seen Santa Claus in Seaforth. Mrs. Jill Johnston, who livesjust outside Of Sealforth, said she was going to be taking her children, who are soon going to be five And three years of age. She said this is the third or fourth time the children will have been taken to see Santa but it will only be the second time in Seaforth. proceed to investigate the feasibility of proceeding with a Business Improvement Area, they will understand what the value is and not be holding up meetings, seeking information. Clinton, Goderich and Exeter have all proceeded to use Business Improvement Area boards to update and improve munic- ipal owned property in the business areas. It requires co-operation between the business people and the municipality to make any improvements successful. The Chamber of Commerce initiated the subject of Business Improvement Areas as the philosophy and objectives are directed to assessing, improving , and encouraging the quality of life in the community. Many councils work closely with the Chamber by joint Development or Industrial committees or by seeking advice as the Chamber of Commerce is the spokesman for small businessmen to all levels of govern- ment. In 1980! would like to see the Chamber of Commerce become more active by initiating:. A) An Industrial Relations Night. hearing suggestionsexchanging ideas. B) Municipal Night - where community concerns could be addressed - e.g. the concern by some of the, loitering and vandalism existing in our town. C) Joint meetings of all Service Clubs - again an exchange of ideas. • These are only some of the topics. I'm surethere are many more. A newsletter was initiated during the past year to create interest and obtain feedback. It perhaps created street talk, but did not provide the positive resulti desired. The indications to some of the member- ship has been , that the Chamber of , Commerce must develop a new direction, • obtain new members that are interested in their community. - Let's hope the new President will have this support for 1980 and make the Chainbet a positive force in our community. —Betty Cardno OPP officer pays tribute to tecichers How many of us look at school teachers •balking at their wages for what they do and the time off they get in the summer,! Christmas and Spring break? Oh yes, and those P.D. days (Professional Diveloptnent) where they get a day off practically every month and the kids have to stay home and babysitters have to be hired. Boy! Those (teachers sure have it estsy! Well after i working with most of the teachers in most of the lihools in Huron County, I found that teachers were working through 'recess, noon hours and way 'past 3:30 p.m. It was difficult to carry on a complete conversation at times as teachers would be marking test papers or preparing a new one. A teacher's lounge is' sure no real hideaway either. Students knock wanting a soccer ball or a spoon for their soup or to telt that "so and so won't let rne play and they keep slapping me." I have teacher friends who go home with*, stack of material they can hardly carry and work till the wee hours many nights. To add up ill the hours a teacher works, I'm sure , that they have more than made up for the 'summer break, Christmas and Spring break. , Oh yes, those P.D. days are not holidays; they are learning days where the teachers are taught new ways and means for teaching your sons, daughters and monsters. I know all this because 1 have been teaching for 31/2 years now and certainly have a better insight into the teaching profession. As I resign from the position of Community Services Officer, I would like to express my appreciation to every teacher and every principal I have worked with in Huron County schools. I would particularly like to thank the principals for accepting me and arranging class Schedules for my programs, the secretaries for their efforts in copying printed matter for me, and 1 can't forget the Media. Centre Staff of the Huron County Board of Education, Dave, Marilyn and An. All in all, it has been a great leataing experience for me and I am now aware of the difficult task and long hours of tesehise staff. r*, think retie* 0.10.10.1tOmiselak. Wilja • e