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WIIIIIßY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER I1, 1985 PAGE 5 "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson 46wd i S l THE CROW'S NEST by Michael Knell Move Lynde House to Cullen Gardens God willing, this will be the first, last and only time I will discuss the future of the Lynde House, Whitby's most treasured monument to its heritage. The future of this house has been the subject of considerable public debate in the last few months - ever since Len Cullen offered to make a permanent home for the structure at his Taunton Rd. W. tourist attraction. Those of you who are regular readérs of this newspaper may have read ac- counts of my stand on this issue. I support the move. I believe it to be in the best, long term interests of Ahe house. I believe it is also in the best interests of the community that the house be moved. In the light of the recent meeting of the Whitby Historical Society, that is fast becoming a minority opinion. It seems that a lot of people are changing their minds on this subject every time a cloud passes in the sky. Too many people are wavering in their commitment. Those who have put a lot of hard work into trying to find a way to ensure the house's long term preservstion and operation are rapidly becoming discouraged. An always reliable source tells me that many of those people will resign from the society - walk away from something they care about deeply - if the society refuses to take some sort of positive, af- firmative action. To review a little ancient history: the Loblaws supermarket chain donated the house to the Whitby Historical Society in 1972 on the condition that Lynde House be moved from its present site at the corner of Dundas and D'Hillier Sts. within a year. (Loblaws now says that the society forfeited the gift when they failed to move the house so it now legally belongs to them.) For the last 13 years or so, the historical society operated that house as Whit- by's museun knowing that they had to move it - they accepted the condition when they accepted the gift. Yet, to the best of my knowledge and I have seen no evidence to the contrary - the society took no public action to fulfill their obligations under the gift. They did not engage in a fund raising campaign, a public awareness campaign, write letters to the editor or call news conferences. In effect, they did nothing. Every year they go to council and ask for money not only to operate the museum but to fix this and that. Never did they say anything about the long term operation and preservation of the house. Well, at least they didn't during any of the budget discussions I attended. So, as far as I'm concerned the historical society must accept most of the responsibility for the current situation. They failed to act when they were sup- posed to and now they have to make a decision under the gun. And they don't seem to be able to make it. There are some factions in the society and some groups in this town who don't want the house moved. Well, I've got news for them. No one wants the house moved. These people are under the impression that the owner of the land is going to either give them the land or sell them a small piece of it for a good price. That, in my opinion, is well wishing and pipedreaming. Loblaws has too much invested in the land to give it away and what good is a small piece of land? Some have suggested that we buy a parcel of land about 300 feet square. That's great, it will give the house a place to stand but where will cars park? Where will there be room for expansion? How will the house be developed to its fullest potential on that piece of land? I would also like to point out that the number of visitors to Lynde House has never exceeded 600 per year. I don't know how you feel, but I don't want tens of thousands of my tax dollars invested in something that has nohope of paying for itself attracting less than 600 visitors a year. Cullen Gardens atfracts 300,000 or more people every year. If only 10 percent of them visit Lynde House its guest list would jump 50 fold in the first year alone. Not only would those kinds of numbers give the house a fighting chance at self-sufficiency, it would share this community's heritage with thousands of people who would not have seen it otherwise. Those who oppose the move also say that a tourist attraction such as Cullen Gardens isn't the most appropriate place for Lynde House. Actually, those who have been to Cullen Gardens would remark that Lynde House would find a most comfortable home there. It offers a more than suitable atmosphere for a house dating a full generation before Confederation. No matter what the society decides to do, they will have to raise $250,000 at the very least. Lynde House is in need of about $100,000 worth of restoration work if it is to meet the standards laid down by the Ontario Ministry of Citizen- ship and Culture. Something else that has to be done,'no matter what they decide to do, is the development of a long term marketing, promotion and prograrn stragedy. The society has to attract more visitors to the house not just to make it financially viable but to fulfill the museun's mandate to share Whitby's history and heritage with all. Personally, I feel the best way to accomplish al of these goals is to move the house to Cullen Gardens. It's not something I really want to do. But I think it's in the best interests of both the house and the town. But I don't have the last word. The society does. They are going to have to live with the consequences of their decision. I hope they make the right decision, even if the right decision is to leave the house where it is. As a final note: I'm looking forward to the letters this column will bring. I'm sure mine isn't the only point of view. And you never know, I might even be wrong. WITH OUR FEET UP By Bill Swan Popcorn created the problem. I eat it as though I believe the commercials. Nightly. In big mixing bowls, full. Hot, with margarine, hold the salt. This is the gourmet's life: a bowl of popcorn, a good movie on television and a big stick to beat off thieving hands as they try to steal the treasure. In television commercials, vulgar things like un- popped kernels never mar perfection. In real life, things don't work that way. Which is why, when I crunched down one night on light fluffy morsels, one crunched back. Splat! One rear molar disintegrated into a fine fluffy powder, exposing a few nerve ends. Fortunately, my regular visit to the dentist was scheduled for a few days hence. I spent several days avoiding cold drinks and hot meals on the left side of my mouth. Enter my dentist. Let other columnists tell you about their families; let others run on about the secret life of their pets; but let me tell you about my dentist. I arrive late. No problem. He smiles. Patiently. Other people talk about waiting for hours to see a dentist. Never with me. No waiting. Punctuality. And when I am late, patience. While we wait for the freezing to take hold, the assistant and I talk, briefly, about working Christ- mas Day. And a salute to those who do: police, firefighters, newspaper editors, nurses, taxi drivers. "And for their families," I said, "a special medal. Nurses, they're the ones. Surely they deserve shift differential for some of the shifts they work." If you've been wondering the point of all this up to now, be patient. This dentist reads the Whitby Free Press. And Swan's column. And a few weeks ago I wrote about doctors and extra billing. So it was no wonder that he looked for the first opportunity to turn the subject to politics. That's one of the things about dentists. When you're upright and able, they look vaguely out the window. But let them get you down, your mouth frozen and weighted down with drainage pipes and applicances - that's when they start peppering you with questions. So as soon as the freezing takes hold, I am gently eased back in the chair and a miniature set of jaws of life pry my mouth open. "No worse than doctors," the dentist says. "A doctor delivers a baby, he gets the same money regardless of the time of day. Even at 3 o'clock in the morning. He gets no premium..." You think I'm going to argue politics and economics with someone who is about to put sharp objects in my mouth? No way. So I mumble. I do that well at any time. But in the dentist's chair I ex- cel. "Just a trim, please," I said as he gently pried my mouth open a little wider. "Leave it long on the sides and thin out..." I try this line often. It always fails to get a laugh. I prefer to think that is because it comes out sounding like, "Jfft u rmmm, leez. Eeve i ung un uh ides u fun ooo..." He was so amused he revved up his drill. Nice tone in the medium speed range, could use a little more power in the heavy going. He inserted the instrument in my mouth. "Of course, if it got any worse for doctors, they would be like civil servants," said the dentist. "Imagine, a professional man not able to set his own prices." "Mmmm aaat oooo uuuud!" "What did you say?" "Ith uh penupil ee ant let uu go ammm," I replied. "Of course, this whole field of medical care is a rather complicated subject. Far beyond the capabilities of any of us to solve, isn't it?" Well, talk about a put-down for a columnist. As though any subject were too complex to fix with a few daft strokes of a typewriter key. Nothing ls too complex for us columnists. "Eeak er ushelf," I replied. I don't think he heard me. The suction machine was making slurping noises around my bicuspids, and his drill was beginning to smoke from over- work. By now I realized I was in the middle of a serious political debate, no holds barred. Worse, I was losing the initiative. He had the drills, the speed, the freezing, the position all on his side. When you're in SEE PG. 30