The Huron Expositor, 1979-12-13, Page 21111'011 xpO5ut�
Sine WO, Serving the Contorntity Virg
Pohlkbe4 at SEAPORT% ONTARIO every Thursday Mer10.0
by McLEAN BROS. PUBIASHER$1,TIL
ANDREW Y. McLEAN'. Publisher
SUSAN WHITE, • Editor
ALICE GIBB, News Editor
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Associaton
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associaton
and Audit Bureau of Circulation
Subscription Rates:
Canada (in advance) 513.00 a Year
Outside Canada (in advance) $25,00 a Year
SINGLE COPIES --,;30 CENTS EACH
Second Class Mail Registration Number 0096
Telephone 52-40240
SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, DECEMBER 13, 1979
The public ,gets hurt
There seems to be a growing tendency on the part of municipal
councils to discipline fellow members who take positions on public
questions that are not in agreement with the majority opinion of
council. We wonder whether this practise contributes to a better
working of the democratic process as it was intended to apply to
municipal councils or whether, in fact, it tends to stifle discussion of
public questions about which the puNic is entitled to know,
The desciplinary action takes the form of the removal of the member
from a comm ince on wh iCTI lie or the serv-6-ranis witridurany atscussion
or without any reasons being announced. With more and more matters
being discussed and decisions taken in closed committee meetings, the
• action has the effect of denying, to the member concerned, information
and the opportunity for input on questions that may concern not only
• the member, but, more particular by the voters who have choosen him
to represent them.
• There are many matters that come before municipal councils that
should not be considered or discussed in public, but too often other
matters that should not enjoy such privacy are treated in the same way,
and see the light of day only for the time it takes council, generally with
no discussion, to adopt a committee report. Serving on council
frequently is a thankless task and members may feel by avoiding
taking a public stand on an issue their problems are lessened but this
isn't always the case.
Councils are critical of the press for What it is claimed is "unfair
coverage". What apparently is meant is that a particular story may
refer to the action taken and include comment by a member or others
at a meeting' who were opposed to the action. Perhaps council had
• excellent reasons for acting as it did, but if these reasons are not
advanced in open council how can the press report them or the public
assess them?
A more open discussion, more explanation, more background would
• do much to remove the contention that, unfortunately, has come to be a
part of too many council proceedings.
•The weekly business
The community, or weekly newspaper, such •as your weekly
Times -Review is often jokingly the brunt of little jabs by some readers
who look at the news content as somewhat trivial in Comparison to what
they read each night in the larger dailies.
How can you compare a news report on the church ladies social
•group to the daily story covering the hijacking of a Dutch aircraft that
was ordered flown to Iran? There is no comparison, there isn't meant
to be. ••
The weeklies report in depth for their community readers, not just
for anybody who wishes to put their .money down and read stories
ranging from wordly affairs of state to what actress recently split from
her husband because of an alleged association With her co-star in her
latest film. Dailies also report news of their own COMM yriities but can't
• touch the depth of the weeklies in that respect.
• The following is an excerpt from an article which recently appeared
in Canadian Business, written by Doug Fetherling.it illustrates that
the weeklies across Canada are fast becoming known less and less as
small and traditional businesses but are outstripping the dailies in
• circulation and small magazines in revenues. It is the age of big
• business for the weeklies.
"Few institutions in the land are so beloved -by readers •and
non-readers alike -as the weekly newspaper. The weekly represents a
• tradition of homespun wisdom, an idealized cornerstone of democracy
• and enterprise. The weekly of our imaginations, often with a cutesy
name or one too overblown for its minute circulation, is owned and
operated by a lone crusader in a green eyeshade. He prints the full
names of everyone attending spaghetti suppers at the church. The
• photograph on his front page is either of a fisherman holding his catch
• or a hunter beside a dead •deer strapped to the hood of his
car -depending on the season. His office is a sort, of meeting place: he
sells stationery in the front and does job printing at the back.
"That image is still a fair representation of some small newspapers
across the country. But it's no longer an indication of the !Dig business I,
that weeklies have become.
"Canada's 1,000 or so rural and suburban weeklies and consumer
• papers have a total circulation of 6,5 million, which is 1.5 million more
than all our daily papers combined. They had 1977 advertising
revenues of $141 million, which is more than all of the country's
general, trade and business magazines combined. And though some
may • still be owned, edited arid written by folksy old country
• journalists, a growing number belong to publishing conglomerates
• owned by peopia'whose names are familiar in the ranks of Canada's
corporate .elite. ••
"During the past few years the weeklies have achieved sorne. of the
economic power (and some of the problems) that should logically go
ong with their numbers. They have grown up, and the reasons aren't
hard to find. A middle class that once looked down its sophisticated
nose at weeklies is speedily turning to them nOw, This new audience
coincides with a great mechanical revolution in the printing trades that
• has made papers cheaper to publish, and hence more numerous. Also
• the weeklies provide one of the few advertising outlets for thousands of
local retailers, which are the Weeklies' main source of revenue."
n s
DECEMBER 19,1879 12 month old Shorthorn WI "sandy's.
Peter McEwan and Wm. Campbell of Choice."
McKillop have returned after three weeks Alex. Mcl3eath of Stanley, the Ltinther
hunting in, Mnskoka.bringing with them Kingshipped from the Kippen station two
One deer, •
'hundred thousand feet of lumber to the
F. •Fowler of the Huron .road, Hullett, Massey Harris Co. Toronto.
shipped from Seaforth, station a carload of At the annual fat stock show at the Union
dressed beavers and a car load of dressed stock 'yards in Toronto, John O'Keefe of
sheep and lambs for the Winnipeg market. town captured 2nd prize for his load of
1The freight on two car loads to Winnipeg, wili. butcher steers and 3rd prize for a lead of
amount to 5800, butcher heifers. The steers were fed by
There is now splendid: sleighing. snow Joseph porrance,
having fallen ,more or less every 'Clay this As an evidence of the persuasive powers
week. • of John Hinchley he sold in one afternoon. a
Wm. Sproat of Tuckersrnith met with a land roller, horse rake, cultivator, turnip
rather painful accident while assisting in sower, washing machine and wringer. It is
• dressing hogs. As he went to lift one up, his needless to say that John came home happy.
foot slipped and he fell backwards, breaking The teams of Messrs. Crich, Habkirk and
several ribs. • Ament brought in three immense sticks of
P. McConnell of Dublin has removed his timber to Atnents Mill here. The three logs
harness shop to Kidd's Modern block. were elm and were all parts of one tree.
• C. Predergast of Dublin has taken John Bell, of the Seaforth steam laundry,
possession of his new brick house, which is Nas placed a handsome new delivery sleigh
• large and commodious. • on the road.
• DECEMBER 18, 1904 •John Van Egmond has secured a good
' While John Carbert of Hullett was driving position in a printing office in Collingwood,
cattle homeward along the concession near Mr, John Cowan of McKillop has sold his
Geo. Farquehees, a couple bolted and ran fine young stock bull, "Hot Scotch."
down the railway track just as the train was
coming south. One of them. a 2 year old
steer, was killed. • DECEMBER 20, 1929
George Webb of tondesboro. has secured The many friends of Mrs. W. Stackhouse
a position in Seaforth, and left for that place of Brucefield regret to learn that when
on Thursday last. milking she was knocked under the feet of a
Smillie of Tuckersmith has sold to beast, and was badly hurt in the neck and
Alex Sinclair of Tuckersmith, the handsome head,
Little Jackie McDonald, son of Mr. and
Mrs, James McDonald of Brucefield fell and
broke his arm!.
The late snow storm has tied up traffic and
has made it dull for Christmas shopping.
Raymond Fisher of Zurich has sold the 100
acre farm which he purchased at the sale of
LH, Smith to Lawrence Denornme from near
Drysdale for 55,800.
A.W.E. Hemphill of Hensall, has been
receiving large payments of taxes during the
last few days.
Nott of the Huron Highway, !NW*
brought into town the largest specimen of an.
owl that has ever been seen here. The •bir4.
had a wing spread of five feet five inches.
and its feathers were striped brown and.
white.
• There was a large attendance at First
Presbyterian Church on Sunday evening at
lite service of song, under the leadership. of
Mr. and Mrs. M.R. Rennie.
• At the annual meeting of the Young
People's Society of Northside Church E.R.
Crawford was re-elected president.
At the annual meeting of the Seaforth
Canadian Legion officers, elected were:
president- S.W. Archibald; 1 st vice pres. -
G.A. Adams; 2nd vice pres. -• W.C. Bennett;
secretary - Dr. J.A. Munn; Treasurer - G,
Scott: Committee - John Earle, B.O. Muir,
C.F., Neely.
DECEMBER 17,1954
Mr,. and Mrs. Crawford Simpson marked
Ole 50th anniversary of their marriage at
their home in Eginondville. Friends and
neighbours took advantage lithe occasion to
present them with a number of beautiful
gifts.
A Christmas party was held in the 100F
Hall when the OES entertained members of
their families at a turkey dinner. Two,
moving pictures were shown by Jack Crozier
and solos were rendered by Lois Whitney
and Edythe Daley. Ruth Ann Crozier and
Anna Kling each gave piano selections.
Seaforth Farmers Co-operative opened a
-riew mill and introduced fully modem grain
handling facilities. Taking part in the
ceremonies were R.S. McKercher, R,W.
Campbell, Clair Reith and R.E. McMillan.
H.H. Leslie was re-elected president of
the Ontario Creamery Association. Mr.
Leslie is well known as the owner of Seaforth
• Creamery.
The Shell service station, .Godetich St,
West, which for a number of years has been
leased by Neil C. Bell has now been
purchased by Mr, Bell,
Messrs, Clarence Regele and Wm.
Koehler of McKillop are at present cutting
timber at Arkona.
Miss Dorothy Smith of Hamilton and Dr.
Gilbert Smith, who was taking post graduate
work in England, have been in Seaforth
owing to the illness and death of their
mother Mrs. C.M, Smith.
The Married Couples Club of Northside
United Church held their ChHstmas party,
Sugar and spice A family Christmas again
By Bill Smiley
It looks as though the Smileys are going
to have a family Christmas this year, for
the first time in quite a few.
As I write. son Hugh is to arrive
tomorrow from Paraguay. There's no way
we're going to get rid of him inside a
month,
Daughter Kim and the grandboys are
going to get out of Moosonee for Christmas
if they have to hire a dog -sled.
We are a very, close-knit family, and it
should be a grand occasion. Close-knit. As
in, pulled together by needles.
Hugh, in • his inimitable way. has
wandered from Paraguay by easy stages.
spending a, few days here, a few weeks
there. He seems to have friends, more
commonly known as "marks", all over
North and South America, who will pu4him
up for a few days, and feed him, for the
sheer pleasure of his companionship.
He started out from Paraguay in
September. In October we had a letter from
Florida, saying he was -staying with friends
and taking a course in massage or
something from an ancient. Japanese
gentleman. A month later he phones from
Toronto, collect, and announces his second
• coming. Actually, about his .fourth.
His mother was ready to welcome him
with open arms and a half -open Wallet. But
the more he dallied and dillied, the hotter
• she grew.
• By the time he phoned, collect, she had a
"Well. I'm sick and tired of you kids
(he's 32) coming home without a penny and
expecting to be taken in and coddled,
And more of the same. Hugh hung up.
My wife, in an agony of guilt, promptly
phoned everyone who might know where
he'd called from. No luck. Then she called
her daughter, who retorted, "Do you want
to hear another of your children hang up on
you?" And promptly did.
• I was quietly watching the Grey Cup
game, and wondering why I should be
• interested in a lot of burly young
Americans smashing each other around.
About 24 hours later, Hugh put through
another call, this time not collect. He was
sticking somebody else for the phone call.
He knows his mother. She apologized all to
hell..He said, typically, "Mom, you could
have bought me a winter coat with all the
money you spend on long-distance calls."
It made her mad again, but she couldn't
help laughing.
That's what I mean. We're a close-knit
family. With needles. All I do is hold the
wool and try to stay out of needle -range,
not always with success.
I remember when I used to tell the kids
stories about what happened to me in the
war.. They liked them better than the usual
bed -time stories and fairy tales. Most of
them were fairy tales, come to think of it.
I can see what will happen this
arrive spaced out. drunk or pregnant, and
the horrors of the unreliable taxi service
into town. My wife will be absorbed,
terrified..fascinated..
The grandboys will be eating peanut -
butter and honey sandwiches all over our
brand -newly -recovered chesterfield suite.
Their grandmother will be just plain
furious.
And I'll be Sitting in a corner, relegated
to getting some more wood for the
fireplace, taking squealing. furious Balind,
off to bed, and wondering when I can get in
a word about the dreadful kids I have in -
Grade 9 this year, my battles with the
administration. and the shrinking of my
potential pension through inflation.
In the face of all that exoticiSin, I'll
probably be driven to the grave. If this
happens, the .utkey won't be prepared,
'cause 1 always do it.
There'll be rivalry in the horror stories.
Both of our children will plead extreme• .
poverty, demur the! value of the presents
they got, and nip out to visit friends on
Christmas Eve, while the Old Battelle
and I make the gravy and whip the turnips.,
And beat the grandboys, if we can catch
them.
Ah, but it'll be grand to have the family
together again. There's nothing that can
touch getting up on Christmas morning, ,
hung, and looking after the grandboys for
• five hours while the "young people" sleep
till noon.
On the other hand, there just might be. I
am investigating a return ticket to Hawaii,
single, for the holiday season.
If 1 left quietly, without fuss, and nobody
knew where I was, I could come back on
January 2, knowing full well that my wife
would have kicked thewhole mob out.
Behind the scenes •
by Keith Roulston
The bad old snriall t
• • • • • full head of steam on, and the conversation Christmas. Hugh will be regaling us with own
• went something like this: stories of swimming a barracuda -infested
• river, struggling in the coils of an
"I! suppose you have no money. as
• usual. .anaconda, being shot at with poisoned There's a favourite way that people
"Right, Mom."
• - • blow -pipes. My wife will be wide-eyed. • (particularly big city writers and media
I suppose you have a winter overcoat?" Kim will be regaling us with stones of people) like to portray small towns. They just
"No. Morn." the tough Indian kids she's teaching, who • love to get one of those stories that show
small town people as small people. ready to
• persecute those they don't understand,
delighting in rumours whether true or not.
• .•, 0 I don't think there is anything that can
X 0 Si or as
t
, • make.small town' people moreangry than
that kind of image of small towns. We prefer
• to see small town people .as willing to help
. ,
••their neighbours, friendly and understand- ,
ing. And most small town people areof '
What was your moat memorable Christmas?
. • wrong. When t
course. But then the city image isn't always
hey want to be, small town
•people can be amongst the cruelest people
anywhere. •
The truth of the situation of course is that
BY DEBBIE RANNEY
Memories of Christmases are often some
of the better remembrances that people
have, so this week Expositor Asked
decided to find out from local area people
what their most memorable or best farm in Londesboro and they gave her
Christmas was and why. presents.
family to spend Chirstrnas with, says she
enjoysthem all.
• Gertrude Hellinga of Egmondville said
her most memorable Christmas was four
years ago when she went over to her son's
"I think it's going to be this Christmas,
m going to go home after 27 years. I
haven't been home for Christmas in 2-
years,- said Mrs., Else DeGroot of R.R.S,
••Seaforth V. hose home is in the Netherlands
While she has been home to the
Netherlands before, she hasn't been
•there for Christmas,
She said she thought it would be pretty
. good because her mother and dad are still
alive and she also has two brothers still
living over there.
A .Gibson family tnember who lives in
Hensall said, "All my childhood
Christmases were far more memorable
than anything I've had since."
She said her father's two brothers and
their• famuly took turn-aboutsand e
Christmas festivities included music and
dancing and two meals.
• From the Fort Erie Times Review Ida Dickert of Kippen who still has her
To the editor:
• Alfio leatuied,�n T
'On Wednesday, December 19 Co My T.V.4,
show cat 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. we shall present
"Alpha helps Alphie, Alphie helps us'flt is
A 4:hr. presentation with research material
glettted from the Huron Expositor,. on
Prete Press and Kitchener Record p 'the
iDalea. Thanks to John Tepker for editing
•and filming the story.'
My sincere appreciation to the media for
alerting me to the story and making this
human interest doeurnentaly further
available to the public,
Gratefully,
John B. MeCarroil
ALPHA- Awareness
League of Physically
Handicapped Ad ul ts
P.S. Please check further shows in the
advertisement of the Huron Expositor.
e.g. January 234 1979-a three hour
presentation on the town of Seaforth,
Sandra .Murray of West - William St.' in
Seaforth thinks this Fhristmas will be
memorable for her because she has a son
who will be 19 months old lit Christmas and
he's just sort of starting to become aware
• of it.
She also mentioned that she was going
home to Pickering and that her son was her
- parent i first grandtsidd. Her sister had a
son nine days after she did.
She also said that she and her son Scott
also were going to visit his great grand-
mother. '
Kathy Hoegy of R.R.1, Dublin
remembers a Christmas, "One year when I
was little and we had found our presents
beforehand, and then trying to look
surprised On Christmas day.
She said she and her sister came down
the stairs with their dolls tinder their arms
trying to look surprised. She said they had
• found some of their presents on top of an
old corner cupboard and they had to pile up
a chair and a footstool and then she and her
sister crawled up. Then after they were
done looking they had thrown all the
presents back up on the cupboard.
'Kathy is still enjoying Christmas and
said they sing Christmas carolsout in the
bush while they're picking out their tree.
Mary Anne McNichol' of R.R.4, 'Walton
said, "I guess wheti was about seven, and
I got a doll house for Christmas. That was
pretty' exciting at that, time. atristMas
Man always great," she added.
small town people are simply people. They
are subject to the same qualities of good and
bad as people in big cities, or isolated
ranches or the moon for that matter. What
makes small towns different is that they are
in effect a world in miniature, The small
town society has nearly everything a big city
society has except that it's all on a much
smaller scale. Whereas in the city people
tend to congregate in specialized groups and
• deal only with their own kind of peopleyin
small towns people of all interests, all
professions, all classes exist side by side.
While in the cities people are isolated from
One another, people in small towns must
interact with each other as a fact of daily life.
This can have its good side. When there is
an emergency we see the best side of human
nature in small towns. Whatever normal
differences we may have with neighbours
and fellow citizens are set aside in order to
come to the aid of others. While in a large
city people may be able to sit back and say a
problem doesn't concern thernjhere we are
dealing on a one-to-one bais and the human
element is very real. You can't turn your
back on someone who needs help if you know
him as an individual not just one of millions,
On the other hand small towns can be very
cruel at the worst of times. The very isolation
f the individual in the big city can be a
blessing if a rumour campaign begins
against him. He knows so few people and
they are so split up around him that the
rumour can't travel Very far. But in a small
town, a vicious rumour can virtually affect
the whole world the person travels in, The
people he works with, the people he has for
neighboursAll are likely to hear the rumour
sold whether It is true or not, be affected by
it. There is not escape.
Discrimination can be so much worse in a
small town for the same reason that there is
nowhere for the individual to go for relief.
Class distinctions can be rigid in some
communities, though not all, for although
communities are made up of individuals
each somehow takes on a collective'
personality.
• Where city people make their mistake;
' however, is in assigning either the best ire
the worst of small towns to small town,
people. We're either angels or devils.
• The fact that these same qualities can
apply to much larger groups of people
though is evident by recent happenings in
the news. On the good side, take a look at
the historic evacarion of nearly the entire
population of Mississauga, more than a
quarter of a million people, People' from
• around the world were amazed at the
peaceful, orderly way the evacuation was
•carried out and the way the whole
community responded. It's especially re --
markable when compared to the blackout
that hit New York a few years ago and ended
in large scale looting, rioting and murder. Or .
the heavy looting that came out of the
crippling snow storms in the eastern U.S. a
couple of winters ago.
On the darker side however) one only has'
to pick up the paper any day of the week to
see the horrible hatred that is brewing over
the Iranian situation. Our media has become
a vicious rumour -spreader, making it hard •
for us to know what is true and what is jast
hate propaganda making Iran and tre
Ayatollah look like devils and madmen. On
• the Iranian side the same thing is going on
making Americans, President Carter and
anybody who supports them appear evil. It's
the worst of smalltown intol,erance 'on, a
huge scale.
• And it's frightening. It's perhaps the most
frightening aspect of the whole hbrrible
Iranian hostage affair. Whole natioas now
have the kind of unthinking hatred shown by
lynch mobs.
It's more frightening than the kind of
into, erance sometimes exhibited 0 small
towns because there is no easy w* out. In
a small town an outside authority can usually '
restore order, But there is nu outside
authority capable of restoring order in tat
situation. The United Nations and the World
Court can talk but that's all, It makes the
worst of sMalltowns look like peanuts. 4