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> I PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,'1977, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby Voice of the Cou nty Town *Mîi The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and opei .SERVING O-VER 28,000'READERS ke Burgess, Publîsher-Managing Editor rutu uy v uicy 'esuiiîis iur ittoy resideiits. Community Editor, Published every Wednesday Contributlng Editor Production Manager by MB.M PubishngiPrint & Pro motionat by MB.M Pubishng1Manager and Photography 111C- Classified Ad Manager Phone 668-6111 ICircutation Manager Mailing Permit The Free Press Building, Member 121 Brock Street North, Better Business Bur P.O. Box 206. Whitby,_Ont. Whitby Chamber ci -Brian Winter -Jim Quait -Malrje Burgess -Robin Lyon -Martene Byrom -Sharon Lyon it No. 460 rof the: ireau of Toronto of Comerce Leslie MeFarlane:g much more thai In the ' deatlb on Sept. 6 of Leslie McFarlane, Canada lias lost one of its finest fiction writers, and Whitby bas lost an honored residetît and faithful supporter. Mr. McFarlane was a writer of many talents in m-any fields, covering newspaper reporting, pulp fiction, radio and television drama, children's books, historical documentary, anîd sports stories. Recently lie had gained considerable faine whenl it was reyealed lie wvas the autlior of tbe Hardy Boys books, one of the miost popular series of juvenile fiction ever written. Leslie McFarlane aptly described Ibiniself as "The Gbost of the Hardy Boys", for lie was a ghiost writer wlio wrote tbe books for a flat rate fe under a publisher's pen naine, mainly to feed bis family during the bard lean depression years wbeni the fiction market nearly dried up. Recently hie cominented: "Because tlie Hardy Boys really represent sudh a very small part of îny output over tbe years and becauise I was a sort of foster-parent, 1 doni't take tliem very seriotisly. However, 1 realize that millions of boys did take tliem seriously and tbat millions still do. So maybe tliey are more importaint thaîî 1 imagine. This is a visuial age, kids prefer to look at pictures (comic books anîd TV) so anytbing that induices the reading habit is A to the good. Obviously, no kid in bis riglit mmnd will stay witb tbe Hardy Boys but if lie goes on to read better and better stuff and learns tlie )oys of reading. be'll be a better mai and a bappier man". We must not let tbe glamior of tlhe Hardy Boys oversliadow Mr. McFarlatie's contributions to iiîany other fields of Catiadian literature. His television plays and documentaries won him many awards, lie shaired McLean's Magazine's first natiotnal fiction comtest prize withi Mazo de la Roche, and he was chief editor of television draina for the CBC. One of bis documentaries was îoiiîated for a FIollywood Oscar, and lie was one of the pioneers of the National Film Board of Canada. Mr. McFarlane descrîbed mnaking one's living as a professional writer in Canada over haîf a century as a "&survival course". Few writers in this country haive been able to stistain tliemselves in that survival course over so many years. With his love of history, sport, aiid young people, Mr. MeFarlane was able to offer mLîcb to many people tlirough bhis writing, and one cati tell from reading his books that lie enjoyed what he wvas writing about.. H-e coiisidered the Hardy Boys book layouts were too stiff and starcliy for young readers, so lie iiivented a comnic character called Auint Gertrude, who completely replaced one of the publisher's cliaracters as a childreîî's favorite, and contributed largely to the success of the sertes. During bis 23 years iii Whitby, M r. McFarlane kept a rather low p)rofile. Many people did not know that a televisiomi draina they were watching was of his maklng, or thiat the author of the Hardy Boys lived iii tleir towvn. Leslie McFarlane did flot lilow his owiî horn. He servcd bis town iin a quiet way, on the public :('iool board aîîd public library board. [n returti for his service to Canadian writing, lie received the i the Hardy B-oys Mayor's Medal and a street was namned after him. Leslie MeFarlane regarded himself as a writer 61 entertainînents and flot as a serious novelist. But he took bis work seriously and was one of the fevu Canadian writers willing to devote bis entire career to a profession which depends so much on unreliable economic factors. "There are two kinds of writers--story tellers and novelists", he once said.' "Marty story tellers have mun aground trying to become novelists". Leslie McFarlane wvas a true story teller and his Hardy Boys stories have delighted millions of youngsters for haîf a century. He liked to encourage young writers and had very definiite ideas about writing for y*oung people, which he expressed in his autabiography, "The Gbost of the Hardy Boys". In his last years lie became something of a folk bero arnong yottng people who admired the Hardy Boys books but neyer- knew who wrnte them. Children were deliglited when lie visited schools and talked to them about the Hardy Boys. But there is so mutch more to Leslie McFarlane than the Hardy Boys. It wouîd be well for sorneone to repýint bis magazine stories of 30 to 40 year ago to show wliat else he wrote. Hiere was a man of so rnany talents, of whicb only one seemed to grab the limelight, niuch to his own amazeinent. [He neyer did take the Hardy Boys seriously. We in Whitby are proud that sucli a man as Leslie McFarlane was a citizen of our town for nearly a third of his lifetiîne. His stature ini the field of C anadian writing is higli indeed; and will grow with the coining years. Goodbye, old towr EDITOR'S NOTE Leslie MeFarlane, who died on Sept. 6, left Whitby after 23 years in this town, last October. The following article which he wrote as a fare- well to Whitby, was printed exclusively in the Whitby Free Press of Ott. 20, 1976. By LESLIE MeFARLANE This is a farewell. We are leaving Whitby to live elsewhere. 1 came here in the late summer of 1936, forty years ago, with my family. A writer can live anywhere, so we were looking for a smnail town within reasonable distance of Toron to, where a house could be rented. The choice 'of Whitby was entire- ly a matter of chance, but we felI in love with the town with its court house,' its smailistores, its grey stone post office with a dlock in the tower to sound the hours, its. small industries such as the tannery and the buckle factory and the blanket factory, its old brick houses with their neat lawns and tlower beds. There was an amrbience of' peacefulness and leisure. Whitby. had, been there for a long time; one feit that it would remnain- unthmnfged**or a long tlie t corne. Peuple described it as "'a typical Ontarlo small town- which was true' only, in part. ,Whîtby mray havé, been ýypical iIn thsat If hâd a population of about four thousand, with the usuai quota of churches and a town hall and farnlands on the outskirts, but every town has its own character. a history peculiar to itself. an economny of its own and a -social life based on the fact that most of'its people have their roots fïrmly planted in a community that respects its past and tolerates changes only if they evolve slowly. A pleasant town, a friendly town. You walked to the post office twice a day under the avenue of trees on Cenire Street. This was the meeting place whiere you encountered your neighbours and exchang- ed the trivial gossip of the day. Chief Quantrell strolled down Brock Street to the Four Corners and watched the light traffic on Numnber Two. At night Constable Thomas would -patrol the silent and empty streets wvith his dog. They maintained Iaw and order, an easy task, because there was seldom any crime and a disorderly citizen wvas rare. On Saturday night every- one came downtown to do the grocery shopping for the week, to visit t he store%, to go to the Brock and see a movie and mingle Witlî tue country folk froml up Clareniont and Myrtie way to whom Whitby was tlhe mletropolis. This was 'the ..Wl;itby- of. the thirties, whiere iiy children aîeided, the ilew King Stret Sclîool . uand old Coiborne Scliool wh ich ia îd been the Iligli Scdi ouiyeu us ugo. wlhere miy boy played hockey on tuie lxck yard riîîks before lic griudua ed Io thie ol d aremui near t[lie taniiery. There wverc no plai.as ' or shopping centrtes theiî. We couild find everv- thling wc necded ini the vuy of tîleat o1r groceries in the store across froîîî the to\Vn hall where Joe Shiieldsgrceted you as a friend. Nexi 'door mis the tiny sliop of lini th'e Buttoti Mai, whiere littie Binm, Brooklyn borti and a great reader sold tlîread anid dress lengths and knickkinicks. And you could go to the library. thanks to Andrew Carnegie, the scotch miîllionaire who' brqight books. and reading to the millions in North Anerica. It was a fine and friendly little. town. We lived on King Street and to the west lay empty fields from whicli pheasant wandered mbi our back yard. 1 renemiber it with deep affection and we were ail sorry when we had to leave, with so many others, during the war. 1 can recal the day France fell, when a deep, stunned sillence feil over to the town, and every- one gathered in. the town hall for a "patriotic rally". There were speeches. It took no special gift for prophesy to say that the imîpact olt what- had happened across the sea would go far beyond anything we finagined, that the Wiliby we knew would soori be lust foreve,., \Vliein 1 îeturrîed iin I1961 witil I îy ilew lafnîily I tourid mîany chaiîges. Wsi tli nii lions of othieis 1 %vatclied on television wileîî a Wlitby hoc key t euîî lîud nimade niy oIdld owv i 'iious )y vîiiig a wouiId ch1iinipiotiîship. 'lîisý %vus orobubllv flhe Iligli poinit et t(lie comm i lty s Ihist ory. Ymu cuti uch ieve u ineuasure ot lu tciii as istlie hiritluplace of ai Pimne iii iii ister ýoî asistlue sitie of, a greu t inuvetition. bu t Mivlnyen coic righ t dowiî te il tliete is iiiliîîgt like ai houckey ftlle Ite caînuIlle respect of* ('aiii.idiaiuis. ButlIle chiainges %verc tîtere anîd still iii flie îîaîkiîg. I ligliwaîy 401 lîaid bru ugli t Toronîto dloser. so close thiat Tor-oiîtoiaîîîis cou Id ow live iin Whithy an'id occupy the nev subdivisionîs of'iîmodern lionies. Tlîere %verc new shopping plazas aîîîd super- markets wliicli consigned &dilie.dUelds to retire- nient. Thé oîd post office was prne, replaced further duwn Duiidas by a brand- new building of nu character at -ail. You wouldn't dream of going thcre to gussip with you r neiglihours. Besides, flue mail was vow delivered tu your door, but only once a day anîd neyer un Saturday any muore. The old town hlIl lîad been tom down and there was a new aena. High-rise apartments were rumomed. The Four Corners seemed much the 'same, apart trmm the fact that a bank had replaced the' old stone post *office with its cdoc but îîot very miany people came downtown- to shop orn Saturday night any more and if you weîît to the Brock you found a new breed of niovie goer's attuned itu filins thut bcwildered theie middle- aged. And strungers. You wverc given to comiplain tliat you scldom saw anyonc you knew uny more. But this was mierely the beginni ng of' change. Caie a nlighitwien 1 presided ut tlîe last meceting of the Whi thy Public Schsol Board, an historic meeting svhich passcd alinost unnoticed. Theie had once becit a veckly nlewspuper which would have giveil proper space aind a ttenition to th is evenli. but tîhe papel vas lon~g gone and the buildingdcstiroy- cd. The old paper miiissed lit tIc iat wemt on in the o[4 town, even to coiîrespondence from the outl»ing villages. It was a sort of journalistic glue that held the community together. 'Now the changes have come more rapidly. Some- thing called Regional Govern- ment has arrived, designed to abolish small. communities as such and govern them moice wisely and efficiently. Somehow we also seem to be governed more expenisively as well but we are assured that this is ail for our own good. In true democratic fashion, of course, we were given a 'chance to voice our feelings., There was a meeting- at which a commlssioner came ail the way from Toronto fo sec ,that our opinions Wore given veight. 1 recall getting to my feet and remraxking that we would be swallowed up, that Whitby -w*-uldFoiiéits ideRtity and that this would be the end of the town 1 knew.: But even then 1 knew tl1t the decisions were already made and that our opinions were flot wanted, that protest was futile. Opposing Regional Govern- ment was like standi n ginthe path of a steamnroiler. VQU can regret change, which is inevitable although flot always for the better, but you can't fight it. Now the postmark "Whitby" doesn't mean anything any more because when y ou mail a letter to someone in your own town ,it goes first to Oshawa. If you need a policeman you search the phone directory until you learn that you must phone an office in Oshawa., It's Durham Region now. If you need further proofs of the loss of identity, of the smothering effects of the new bureaucracy, you need onily look arouncf you. Instead of school teachers we have a tribe of education- ists, instead of public-spirited citizens of* a com munity we have a small army of planners, Planning whàt? And so, regretfülly, we move to a new address Rural Route Num'ber 2, Minden ,.Ontario. I wouldn't say we are actually leaving Whitby. The Whitby we knew and -loved is gSone. Whftby,, in fact, bas left us. I lqmbl.- rý MMý Umm