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4 -- PORY PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 8, 1985 the (echa Pe Vee "re [ | 10 AI= mL! Eo cn [of ANC TAR yes (= | es, ves TM) Pe J PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager J.B. McCLELLAND Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontarw Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co Ltd Port Perry Ontario Editor Authorized as second class mail by the Post Ottice Department Ottawa and for cash CATHY ROBB payment ol postage in cash News & Features Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 an (Ou <CE Muay; X Ue Subscription Rate: In Canada $15.00 per year. Elsewhere $45.00 per year Single Copy 35° OCOPYRIGHT -- All layout and composition of advertisements produced by the adver tising department of the Port Perry Star Company Limited are protected under copyright and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher Editorial Comments Via In The Past? Is Via Rail living in the past? It would seem so. To our knowledge, Via has not spent a single penny promoting the fact that passenger rail service between Havelock and Toronto was started again last June. The daily train, which makes stops in Burketon, Myrtle and Dagmar, is on the rails for a two year trial period, and the Conservative Government in Ot- tawa has made it very clear that it's a "use it or lose it proposition." That means in the neighbourhood of 200 passengers each day. However, the average daily ridership 1s about half that. The fact that repairs are being made '0 the road-bed and track has forced the train to travel at slower speeds may have something to do with the low ndership But we are convinced as well there are many people in the Scugog area who don't even know there 1s daily passenger service from Myrtle to Toronto Via spokespersons said recently there is no money for promo- tion and advertising the Toronto-Havelock service. We find that very strange because Via right now 1s in the process of launching a major public relations project at EXPO 86 in Vancouver dealing with the herntage of passenger service in Canada Just last week, this newspaper received two fancy, artsy booklets outhning the history of passenger service in Canada from 1836 to the present Obviously. a great deal of work and expense went into the preparation of these booklets And Via tells us proudly of the gala exhibit being planned for EXPO 86 How much it will cost 1s not disclosed. of course We find it hard to comprehend how Via seems to have plenty of money for tancy brochures and major exhibits to tell us about the history of passenger service. but no money to tell the public that to- day in 1986. there 1s a train running between Havelock and Toronto Is Via serous about keeping this train on the tracks? Heck, even if people wanted to take the train on a daily basis or for a day tnp to the city. they'd have trouble finding when the train arrives in Myr- tle in the morning and returns in the evening We have no doubts that if ndership does not increase on this train, the Conservative Government will pull the plug in a year or so And the way Via 1s promoting this, it seems a certainty It's all very well to pay attention to the history and heritage of the railroad in Canada But what about today. and what about the future? If people don't use what passenger services are still on the rails in Canada. the whole system 1s going to wind up as history The Real Loser The itany of woe continues tor Prime Minister Bnan Mulroney The smell of Tunagate lingers in the capital. the national direc- tor of the PC Party back-tracks on earlier comnents he made that appeared to contradict the Pnme Minister. several MPs have done some fancy back-tracking as well. the minister of communications resigns because of an RCMP investigation into his campaign finances. the present minister of state (former environment minister) is forced on the defensive over whether she wasted tax-payers money on two tnps to Europe earher this year In short, it has been a month Brian Mulroney would prefer to forget Not only has he had to weather the storms created by those around him. he has been forced into a position of having to assure (Turn to page 6) . & Lug ro) | NNERS Of THE NMERWEDN VEC E EASY. Pe A Chatterbox by Cathy Robb S------ THE GRAND POO-BAH First there was Fred Flintstone and sidekick Barney Rubble decked out in obscenely furry hats with horns sticking out the sides. '*Aak-ack-a-dack,'"" was their secret password, allowing them past sentinel Joe Rockhead and into the mysterious passageways of the Water Buffalo Lodge. Now there's Dorothy Robb, alias my mother, a k.a. Dot, recently installed as the Worthy Matron of the Markham chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. "Ack-ack-a-dack,"' I say to her on a regular basis. 'How's the Grand Poo-bah doing today" She doesn't like this one bit. Mumsy 1s as serious about the Eastern Star as Ronald Reagan 1s about blowing up the world and she doesn't real- Iv appreciate my comparisons. fortunately [ just can't help myself. Ever since she joined the lodge a decade or so ago. she's been fair game where wisecracks are concerned When she first signed up for the Eastern Star. me and my brother were certain she had joined the Foreign Legion Either that, or she was the kingpin of Markham's largest cocaine ring At any rate, we were convinced she was up Lo no good. Why else did she keep the goings-on at her meetings a secret? "Alright, mom "we'd pester. "If the Eastern Star isn't a house of ill-repute, what 1s it?" "The Eastern Star is a benevolent organiza- tion," she'd reply serenely. "Yah, but what does it do?" we'd shriek, frustrated "It does benevolent work ""ARRGHHH!""'! Mother had this thing about using the word benevolent whenever referring to the Eastern Star. She'd say 'benevolent' much like the minister might say "Amen." with a placid. peaceful Mona Lisa smile on her face "Okay." we'd counter, "If the Eastern Star 1s so benevolent, why does it have to keep everything a secret' "That's just the way 1t 1s. she'd say. look ing down at us "You dort have to know everything. do you" At that. my little brother began to cry "They re going to put you in )ail, aren't they mommy' he sobbed We were totally convinced my mother was do- ing something against the law and for one brief moment, even considered the fact she might be a member of the Klu Klux Klan "Why else would you wear a white dress to all your meetings?" I recall asking. Exasperated, Mom explained that all the of- ficers wear white dresses. Unless they are men, in which case they don't. Wear white dresses, that iS. It took a long time but eventually I was con- vinced the Eastern Star was a perfectly legitimate organization and not the hot bed of sin I first thought it was. It is, in fact, a close relative of the Masonic lodge, an all-male bastion of goodwill and fellowship and who knows what else. Masons, by the way are allowed to join the Eastern Star (which 1s largely made up of women) while Eastern Star members are not allowed to join the Masons. (But that's another story). The Worthy Matron is the head honcho of all llastern Star branches (in Port Perry, the Blue Ray Chapter, the Worthy Matron is Marguerite Mitchell), followed closely by the Worthy Patron, the top male position. There's also the Associate Worthy Matron and the Associate Worthy Patron, but nobody gets the glory like the Worthy Matron. When my mother was installed as the Worthy Matron last week, my aunt and | were joking about all the Worthy people around when a lady walked by carrying a stuffed Canada Goose. "I wonder what they use that for" said my aunt That," I replied in a confidential whisper, "is the Worthy Goose." Me and Auntie Ellen cas I fondly call her) giggled and tittered about the secret workings of the Eastern Star prior to the installation, carry- ing on merrily until my mother silenced us with a dirty look "Look "Ellen said conspiratorially. "If you so much as crack one grin in my direction, I'll break up So keep it straight or I'll kill you " Oh, great, I thought A genuine threat in the midst of all this benevolence. And I thought I was going to lose my sudden- ly attained composure a couple of times when several ladies in the installation ceremony walk- ed backwards Seems once the Bible on top of the Star alter 1s opened, nobody can leave its circle with their back to it So everybody walks backwards I glanced at Auntie Ellen and noticed her teeth gritted But once the real meat of the installation got underway. I realized what a solemn event I real- ly was witnessing. It was actually quite beautiful once 1 stopped being so close minded (Turn to page 6) TT I EE a AA at st to er Ain i. a nl Ep eek RYN ae i» i fal ha Bl