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Section Two . The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, August 24,1994 3 Tranquil Scene at Newcastle Beach Fond Memories of Old Bowmanville Dear John: In a column a while back your son mentioned that you were bom in 1910. That figures because when I started at B.H.S. in Sept. 1925, you were in Second Form. I was bom in 1911. (Ed's note: I too was a 1911 arrival. But, somehow, I got into one of those speeded up classes and never quite recovered). That summer of 69 years ago saw the first paving go down on No. 2 Highway between Oshawa and Bowmanville. Bicycling to and from school that fall, we would each day have to thread our way through the maze of men, horses and machinery working its way toward Bowmanville. Bowmanville. There was no "ready-mix' in those days. The huge mixer mixed the ingredients and spewed the green concrete out onto the roadway behind it as it inched its way along. 1 wonder how many layers of asphalt asphalt have been put down on that original layer of concrete in the intervening intervening years? The sounds and scenes of those early weeks at B.H.S. are indelibly fixed in my memory. The ever present hum of the Goodyear plant, the grove of evergreens at the back of the school, in the shade of which we used to lie on the grass and eat our noon lunch. Then, we'd move to the ball diamond at the west side of the'playground. Gradually, the town kids would return from having lunch at home and join in the game until the bell rang. The first residence to the west of Continued on Page 7 Great Ganaraska Countryside Adventure This coming weekend is the last normal weekend left in the summer of 1994. How are you going spend it? What, the CNE? You've got to be kidding! Instead of going there this weekend, weekend, go on Aug. 31, when folks from across our municipality will participate participate in Clarington Day at the CNE. As for the weekend, why not wander wander up to the Clarke Museum and Archives Archives and get into your very own version version of the CNE without the rides? It's better known as the Ganaraska Countryside Countryside Adventure Tour. Early on Saturday morning there will be a ticket booth set up at the Clarke Mseum. At the booth, your's truly will be among the volunteers selling tickets to happy adventurers. While at the museum, folks can leam about the heritage aspects of the area. They leam about the history of the Ganaraska Forest from when it was a dust bowl to the reforestation project which made it the much-loved recreation area it is today. Also, Clarke Museum and Archives Archives Curator Mark Jackman and friends will be demonstrating butter churning, leather carving, and candlemaking candlemaking on both days. On Sunday, a special treat will be a demonstration by farrier Anne Negri of Orono. I must admit I've been curious about how Anne actually makes horseshoes since interviewing her earlier earlier this spring. Even I will be there for this demonstration. This is the second year for the tour and it has been organized by two dedicated dedicated volunteers, Elva Reid and Kristin Kristin McCrea of Kendal. These two women have been organizing organizing this tour far SAGA (Save the Ganaraska Again) since early 1994. One of the stops you have to make if you like quilts is The Grange, # 15 in the tour booklet. Within Wendy and Nick Boothman's salt box bam will be a large show of locally-owned and made quilts, along with a quilting bee. You just gotta love it! Kids will enjoy taking in the sights at the Kendal Hills Deer Farm owned by John and Alice Oudyk. They have a herd of New Zealand Red Deer. The Oudyk farm is # 40 in the tour booklet. booklet. Those of us who enjoy food should get our taste buds ready for some fabulous fabulous eats. The tour starts with home-made muffins and refreshments at the Clarke Museum (#1). Next, swing into the Kirby United Church (#2) for a com roast and home-made pies. Then there is the Rutherford Farm (#4) for some lemonade lemonade and on to Floradale (#5) for dain- . ty cucumber sandwiches and iced tea. Next is Rutherford Farms (#6) for home grown popcorn and then off to The Bam Yard (#8) for cookies and lemonade. If you need time to just let the food settle, check out the Lee farm (#9) where Scott and Carol will help you decide on freezer orders of beef and chicken for this winter. If beef isn't your style, check out the Kendal Hills Game Farm & Kennel Kennel owned by Frances & Tim Tufts (#10). They raise quail and partridge. There will be fresh and pickled quail eggs. At Red Wing Farm, Elva and Kristin's hide-away, a lot of food will be served to hungry guests. There will be barbecued peameal bacon on a bun, ribs, sausage on a bun, and hand- pressed lemonade For those looking towards the future, a booth on the upcoming upcoming Apple Festival in Bowmanville Bowmanville will be there. At Quinton House (#12) there will be an English Cream Tea served on the banks of the Ganaraska River. At George and Enid Brewer's home, you can savor home-made ice- Continued on Page 4 "Balding Blue Jays" It's because of topics like the following that this column is appropriately named "Thoughts Unlimited." While sitting eating breakfast on the week-end and peering out at our bird-feeders, bird-feeders, I noticed all six of our blue jays have gone bald! After asking several so-called aviary experts, nobody seems to have an answer other than they may have been having a domestic feud. One or two maybe, but not all six. So, if anybody has an answer, I'd be interested interested in hearing from you. "Rash of Break-ins" After a series of break-ins in the Beech Avenue -- Concession StreeUaica, several residents of that neighbourhood have asked me to include something in the paper paper about the importance of home security, and the precautions you can take to make your home look as though someone is there. My favourite warning system, of course, is a large German Shepherd that makes lots of noise. Burglars do not like noise. But, if you don't want the responsibility responsibility that goes with a dog, there is now a burglar alarm on the market that barks like a dog. Great idea, and more importantly, you don't have to feed it or pick up dog hair. You can also make your home look lived-in by using timers to switch lights on and off automatically. It's best to buy the kind that has multiple settings so you can have the lights switch on and off every half hour. Another great idea is to put a radio radio or television on a timer to make it sound like someone is home. On the,outside of your home, never leave a key under the mat, or over the door. That makes it too easy for the bad guys. If you're going away, make sure you cancel delivery of milk, newspapers, and any other items that may lay on your doorstep, alerting thieves you're not home. If you take a summer vacation, make sure someone cuts your grass. In the winter, have someone shovel your driveway driveway and sidewalk, or at the very least, have them drive in to leave tire tracks. If you can't find a relative or friend to check your house, there are several bonded companies companies that charge a reasonable fee to do all of the above. Although not related to burglary, something something else to remember when you leave your house for an extended period of time is to shut your water off. The rubber hose on your washing machine is just waiting to burst while you're away. If your furnace were to quit during the winter, you would not enjoy returning home to a basement flooded by a frozen pipe. These are just a few ideas to help guard against the increased number of break-ins around our community. If you are the victim victim of a break-in, you can help your insurance insurance adjuster settle a claim quickly by making a videotape of the contents in each room of your house. Store it in a safe place as proof for the adjuster. If you want more information about burglar-proofing your home, your insurance insurance agent has a booklet filled with ideas to help prevent a break-in. A few minutes of reading can save a lot of aggravation and anger later. "More on Power of Attorney" After a response from Gord Mills in this week's paper assuring us that changes in the "Substitute Decisions Act" will not adversely affect us, I thought it only fair that we include comments from Toronto lawyer S. Wynton Semple who calls the changes a "one-two-three punch to personal personal freedom and civil liberties." According to Mr. Semple, "the statutes are complex and interdependent, and in the absence of regulations, their true measure measure cannot yet be taken. However, at least this much is clear. • Under the Substitute Decisions Act, the authority of the person you have appointed appointed to manage your property automatically automatically terminates upon a certificate being issued under the Mental Health Act to the effect that your are incapable of managing property. • The Substitute Decisions Act puts the exclusive power to manage your property in the hands of of a provincial official forthwith upon issuance of a certificate, no matter what wishes you may have expressed expressed or how you may have expressed them. • The person you have designated to manage your property in the event you become become incapable has the right to apply to the provincial official for permission to manage your property. • The Substitute Decisions Act allows the provincial official 30 days to respond to an application. He goes on to cite examples of how damaging this legislation could be for individuals declared mentally incompetent, incompetent, and their families. As underlined above, none of this comes into effect unless a certificate is issued issued under the Mental Health Act. So, the chances of it affecting you are slim. When I mentioned that to one caller last week, he responded with, "Yeah, and the Titanic wasn't supposed to sink either!" If you're unsure, call your lawyer. If you'd like the government's version of the proposed legislation, you can write to the public trustee's office at... 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H2N8 I'd include the phone number, but all you'll get is a voice mail system with about 10 options to choose, none of which is helpful. "Hang Up on Voice Mail" Which reminds me...the person who invented invented voice mail answering systems should be sentenced to 10 years in a phone booth, calling every computer system in the country, just so he or she knows how annoying automatic messaging systems are. When you consider that most customers customers form their opinions about a business business within the first few minutes of a transaction, these things are possibly the worst breach of any company's pledge to provide superior customer service. I want to talk to a human being!