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y~" Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, August 16, 1094 -- 9 pA WORKING THE TOBACCO ROWS Early August always brings back memories of my youth when I worked the tobacco fields of southern Ontario. N I know it's not fashionable these days to talk about tobacco, or even acknowledge that it exists, but back in the late 60's (when I did my time as a primer) the August harvest paid one heck of a lot of college tuition fees, including mine. - And anyone who ever worked a full harvest will attest that we earned every dime. When I first went to the tobacco fields along the north shore of Lake Erie, the pay for priming (that's picking) was $15 a day plus room and board. A few summers later, by then 1 was in college, the pay had climbed to about $21 per day. Working seven days a weeks for about six weeks, a student could put away a nice stash for back to school, if you stayed away from the beer halls in tobacco country. Even now, nearly 30 years later, tobacco is an important part of the Ontario economy, worth some $300 million each year. And the industry employs 20,000 people, many of them students. Priming (that's picking, remember) tobacco on foot was brutish, back- breaking work. Horses were used to pull the "boats" up and down the rows with the primers. You'd snap off three leaves, stuff them under your arm and then place them carefully in the horse drawn "boats." Picking sand leaves (the ones right at ground level) were the toughest. Canada's immortal Stompin' Tom wrote a song about the tobacco fields and said his back still aches when he thinks of Tillsonburg. So does mine. A year or two later, the horse drawn "boats" had gone the way of the horse drawn carriage. Primers sat on gas propelled machines which inched their way up the rows. Snap off the three leaves, put them in a large basket in front of you. At the end of each row the baskets were hoisted onto a wagon and replaced with empty ones. The priming machines saved the old back, but didn't take any of the mind- numbing drudgery out of the work. Every row, every plant looked exactly the same. Our daily quota was to fill a kiln (a large shed where the leaves were hung to dry) A hard- working crew that knew how to prime could fill a kiln by early afternoon. But I worked with a few crews who were still in the fields long John B. McClelland past supper time. The treatment of tobacco workers ranged from absolutely terrible (lousy meals, filthy bunk-house in an old stable, hold-backs on wages) to superb. On one farm where I worked, the crew had use of the outdoor pool, the meals were great, the bunk-house had indoor plumbing and showers. After the day's work was done, the farmer would often drive us to a Lake Erie beach for a swim or into town for the evening. Needless to say, he got a lot of work out of the crew. There was a certain urgency about the tobacco harvest. Hail, an early frost or a severe wind storm were the farmers' worst nightmare. Black clouds on the horizon would send the farmer's blood pressure up a few notches. A single hail storm lasting all of 15 minutes could destroy a year's work. The best part of the tobacco harvest was the last day. Nobody griped about going into the fields and when the last leaf was safely in the kiln, it was party time. Usually the farmer would buy the beer and hot dogs. The primers took part in the time honoured ritual of burning their work clothes--jeans, shirts, shorts--all tattered and soiled beyond salvage with sticky, black tobacco "tar." Then it was "pay-day," six weeks wages in cash plus the bonus for sticking it out 'til the end of harvest. It was not a good idea to walk around tobacco country at the end of harvest with so much cash in one's pocket. More than one harvest worker lost everything at the point of a knife. I used to keep enough for bus fare home, then buy a money order to myself and pop it in the mail. I worked the harvest for four years and have good memories and bad ones. I worked with guys just out of the sl and students in school. It was always interesting - hing of an ad Above all else, the harvest made it possible for this guy to get through college and university. Every August, 1 still remember. IN CLOSING........ 1 am pleased to report that Scugog Citizen feature writer/photographer Heather McCrae is gradually getting back to work after being off for several weeks for medical reasons. Her absence has been missed around the Citizen office and likewise the stories and photos she provides week in and week out. Heather is recovering well and says she'll be back to "full speed" in a week or so. Welcome back, Heather. Vandals strike Kinsmen Hall for the second time To the Editor: Open Letter to the parents of the vandals of Kinsmen Hall (or what was the old Scout Hall) This past Monday morning it was discovered that some Port Perry youths have once again broken the windows on the Perry St. (east) side of the Kinsmen Hall, particularly the downstairs section. This is the second time in three weeks that we have had to pay for repairs caused by them. You should be aware that we have a description of them and will be using it to pay more attention to the hall. If they are seen around the hall again engaging in destructive behaviour then to see their picture in the papers in the next issue. Pm sure that this will lead to a great deal of embarrassment for both your family and the youth involved. You will be held responsible for the damages and arrangements will be made for the youth to either pay out of their pocket, or provi services to cover the winddw repairs for the next and the past two incidents of vandalism as well. The least desired option is that we involve the local police. The Kinsmen are a group of public minded individuals who contribute much to this community. We ask you, the parents, to please be aware of wht will happen when the culprits are caught. you will need to know that you can expect The Kinsmen of Port Perry. Programs like U.I. strapped for cash by Alex Shepherd, M.P. Durham Fact: We can no longer afford an unemployment insurance system that for some of this country's citizens is viewed as a way of life for them. Fact: The federal government is under severe pressure-because it doesn't have the money-to reduce spending in all areas of social welfare. The U.L system, when first put in place, was supposed to be self financing by both the employers and employees. Fact: It didn't happen. Taxpayers are on the hook for a $6 billion deficit in U.L pay . And as I explained in past col the money has been borrowed and now has to be paid back. Where does this leave unemployment insurance? Well it certainly isn't going to be abolished. But the-government wants the system to be pro-active. In other words if you have a skill no longer needed you must retrain to collect U.I. One of the ways to foster retraining is to have employers match grants with employees to build up an education fund. I would work to see employees receive tax deductions for paying into these funds similar to those enjoyed for RRSPs. The funds could be drawn on by employees to allow them to upgrade their skills. And the funds would be mobile between companies. What I like about this is that employees play a major role in deciding their professional future rather than some over-worked bureaucrat in a U.L office placing an unemployed person into a course. Daycare is another area where there, in my view, isn't unlimited amounts of cash to maintain the system. Having said that I recognize many single Women are trapped | ina lifestyle and we have a duty to assist in changing this. Thereft hould However taxpayers money doesn't have to be wasted, Why can't more single mothers, as a caréer path, go into daycare in their own home. Wouldn't we rather pay people to contribute rather than pay them to do nothing? Don't we want to replace hopelessness with dignity and self respect? At the same time this would provide day space for other areas to raise their own standard of living. As | said above the federal government is under severe pressure to reduce spending for social services. This isn't a smoke screen to slash spending in U.L and social services. The banker has no more money. The taxpayer has no more to give. These are just a couple of areas where spending improvements have to be made. In the months ahead I will be holding a public meeting to find out from you how the government can best spend your money and how the government can best save some. You can rest assured that your individual views, although seemingly insignificant in a sea of opinion, are extremely important to me and the government you elected last October. : Please get together with your friends,talk in your clubs, unions and associations. And when I call upon all of you to take part in these discussions be ready with your ideas. They are going to form part of the future policy process. If you want to take part in these meetings phone my office at 721-7670 or from Uxbridge at 1-800-565-4105. h ing to retrain in At the Flics with John Foote THE MASK hk 2 Now in Whitby The Mask is such delirious fun you find yourself actually giddy while watching the film. Rubber- faced Jim Carrey of Ace Ventura fame is wonderful as a timid bank clerk who finds a magical Viking mask. When he puts the odd-looking thing on, he becomes something of a super-hyper hero with wild powers. Now sure, the visual effects do a lot of the work, but Carrey is a genaine talent, like a gifted Robin Williams combined with Jerry L#wis, and mixed with Roger Rabbit. Watching him here is a wonder because he is something the movies sadly lack... an original. THE LITTLE RASCALS * Now in Whitby Call me Scrooge, call me grouchy, call me whatever you please, the Little Rascals is pure junk. Director Penelope Spmeeris (Wayne's World, The Beverly Hillbillies) has once again served up a load of dreck that is nothing but a pale shadow of the original. Cute to faults, the director went on a talent hunt to find dead ringers for the original rascals, then put them in modern day, with nothing to do but look cute. The charm of the original was that the background was the depression, and the kids remained happy. Why touch a movie institution unleds you are at least going to attempt to match it? This mess makes the original seem even more of a work of art. Truthfully, I doubt the kids will even like it...I promise adults will hate it. THE NT xk 1/2 Now in Oshawa Susan Sarandon's strong performance virtually carries The Client, a surprisingly ho- hum thriller based on John Grisham's terrific book. witnessed a suicide, and before the man died he told the boy information both the FBI and Mafia want. Running to Reggie for help, they become hunted fugitives, and good friends...of course. Perhaps that is what I missed most, the book's prickly relationship between the two. Wasted in a small supporting role is Tommy Lee Jones as the As Reggie Sawyer, a alcoholic lawyer, Sarandon is often terrific, ending up the legal counsel and protector of a young boy in deep trouble. It seems he on a mission to find the boy, for self gain. It's as if the writers focused only on the Reggie role... Mercifully they cast Sarandon who is superb. .