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PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, J UNE 19. 1985, WHITBY FREE PRESS w hitby MICHAEL KNELL bM.I.M. Publishing Community Editor andl Photograpiy ine. Phone6iN-f1Il 1VALERIE COWEN f Auu 1 Advortlslng Manager W S IS The Free Press Building, Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher . Managing Editor 3 k Stret. NorthÜnt<>N5. The only Whitby newspaper independntly o ed and operated Whityesidents for Whithresidents.P.O.Bx206O m Between French and English Canadians Twmnmg tears down barriers One of the highlights of the Whitby social calendar Is the annual twinning weekend with Longueuil, Quebec. For the last 17 years, the residents of Whitby and Longueuil have hosted each other - on alternate years - to a weekend of fun. This past weekend, It was Whitby's turn to host the delegation from Longueuil and It was a time to renew not only old frlendships, but to re-affirm our falth In the future of this country. If nothing else, the successful twinning of Whltby and Longueuli has proved that the barrier that many see between French and English A weeklr new e n n*un7trryo one of Canada's outstanding nuws purmoanties BEST OF grOKrmaN1 TOR GLOBAL NEWS One of the great tragedies of the North American landscape has been the loss of our elm trees to the insidious beetle. When I was a young reporter at the Montreal Star in the mid-fifties, I was assigned to write a series on Dutch elm disease, and some early suc- cesses against itl in the New England States. There followed an idyllic tour ln a company car with my pregnant wife, from one picturesque New England town to another, and a half a dozen somewhat cloying articles. I shudder to think of them now, and I doubt I could face reading them again. However, the series outlined how Dutch elm disease came to North America ln the late for- ties, courtesy of a crate made of diseased elm wood, shipped from Holland to Sorel, Quebec. When the series was published, my editors received an angry letter from a newly arrived Dut- ch immigrant suggesting it would have been bet- ter if I'd called it "The Peter Trueman disease." .Thirty years later, I realize that my critic had a point. There is evidence that the disease originated in China, centuries ago, and that Holland, like North America, was only a recent vic- tim. The evidence lies in the fact that elms native to China are Immune to what we have unjustly called Dutch elm disease. The scientists believe that elms in China developed an immunity to the elm bark beetle after centuries of struggle. What this means to North America is that our devasted landscape may one day look almost normal again. A group of scientists in Illinois has been ex- perimenting with Chinese elm stock, and no mat- ter how hard they try to get the resulting trees to succumb to the elm disease, they haven't been able to kili a single one. They have created a num- ber of hybrid elms, and once they have named them, at least a limited number will be put on the nursery market. It may never be quite the same, of course. It was a much higher power than man who planted the vast majority of our vanishing American elms. And it will take a long time for the Chinese hybrids to propagate naturally in significant quantities. But at least the elm-lined streets of our youth are not longer consigned to the irretreivable past. Canada is an artificial one that can be torn down by open hearts and understanding minds. One lnteresting fact that came to light during the weekend was that the twinning association between Longueuil and Whitby Is now the oldest in Canada and neither community has shown any interest ln discontinuelng a long and fruitful relationship. In fact, several .people from Longueuil would like to expand on the concept. Coun. Jacques Morissette, deputy mayor of Longueuil has ex- pressed a desire to see greater co-operation bet- ween his council and ours in WhItby. Morissette points out that Whitby and Longueull share many problems, among them the delivery of water services and garbage collection and disposal. He has advocated that the two communities pool information noting that if one does a study on a matter of grave importance It would be easier and more economical to translate It into either French or English then it would for the other to conduct its own study. Admittedly the studies would have to be modified to suit each municipality's unique situation, but the ideas and solutions to problems would probably not change in any substantial way. Morissette also expressed an interest in Whit- by's ability to attract new industry and other forms of development. Whitby's ability to prosper in an age of economic uncertainty is something his council would like to know more about. He would like to see the Longueuil City Council and Whitby Town Council meet during the twin- ning weekend to discuss these matters to the benefit of both. This newspaper agrees wholeheartedly. The twinning between Whitby and Longueuil has been so successful that we belleve it is now time to ex- pand upon It It can be more than a social and cultural exchange. Both communities have much to give and receive from the other. Lucile Roy, the president of the Association Soclo-Culturell du Longueuil who Is responsible for Its twinning activities would lîke to see the weekend expanded by at least a day. She says that three days just don't seem to be enough. She would also like to see a joint Whitby- Longueull committee set up to organîze the twIn- ning festivities. Roy says that It would probably only be necessary for this committee to meet on- ce or twice a year, but believes that It would go a long way to further strengthen the ties between our communities. She, too, believes that It is time for the twinning process to grow. While the twinning visit can no doubt become more than it already is, we must keep in mind that it is foremost a social and cultural event. We learn more about our fellow Canadians from Quebec In those three days than we do in an entire year of reading the newspapers and watching the nightly television newscasts. The twinning has made us more aware of our Canadian heritage. Because of it, those who par- ticipate are better Canadians. We no longer see Quebeckers as hot headed separatists bent on destroying this country. We have learned that they are people who are warm, compassionate and loving. Over the last 17 years, they have given Whitby a great deal. They have made Whitby a better place to live and have helped those who participate to be better human beings and better Canadians. Who can ask for more than that?