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---- ho tial GA rea AL Li a 3 Yesterday's Memories 60 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 10, 1925 Mr. R. Schell of Port Perry has accepted a position with the C.P.R. in Toronto. The Scugog Chapter of the 1.0.D.E. are making Christmas bags for the Navy League this year. A new subsc. iber to the Port Perry Star this year would pay $1.25 per year. Realty transfers this year, Mr. Jos. Holtby's 50 acres in Reach, to Mr. Martin of Sask., Mr. John Medd's farm on Conc. 6, to Mr. J. Millar of Victoria Corners. Mr. George Aird of Utica has just returned from a two week vacation in Florida. Mr. George West took the services at Ashburn Church in the absence of the Minister. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 14, 1950 Port Perry High School Literary Society are staging a Mistletoe Dance at the High School. Admission for students is 35 cents, non students 75 cents. Mrs. Fred White and Ernest of Blackstock have moved to their new home in Port Perry. One noon hour this week the student body of Port Perry High School spent some time marching around the new Recreation Cen- tre to help level the sand in preparation for the ice surface. They were under the capable command of Mr. MacDonald. Members and friends of Woodbridge and Vaughan Telephone Association met at the Veteran's Hall in Markham for a final get- together as the Bell Telephone Co., is taking over the Company as of January 1. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 8, 1960 Oshawa elected their first woman Mayor this year, Ald. Christine Thomas defeated Mayor Lyman Gifford. Dr. Ernest A. Hodgson, A.B.N.S. Phd. of Port Perry was honoured by St. Louis University when they conferred an Alumni Award on him. Firemen fought a blaze for more than four hours when the garage and mill at Greenbank operated by Ivan Spencer was completely destroyed by fire. The Ontario Farmers Junior Debating team won the first round in the Provincial Junior Farmers competition in a debate with South Simcoe Junior Farmers team. Winning team members were Donna Johnson, Walter Barkey, Ted Gordon and Dean Batty. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 9, 1965 Mr. Roy Cornish, Principal of Port Perry Public School was the guest speaker at The Principal's Association for York County Inspec- torate No. 7, and Ontario County Imspectorate No. 1. The meeting was held in the library of the Uxbridge Public School. Doug Butt, a member of the Thursday night men's league came up with an all time high triple of 913. Two women were elected Councillors in the Township of Scugog (Turn fo page 6) PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, December 17, 1985 -- § Letters Geer family says "Thank You" Dear Sir: At this time last year, we were thanking everyone for their friend- ship and consideration regarding our family. Once again, we would like to thank everyone and wish them a Merry Christmas and best wishes in the New Year. There is a considerable amount of money left in the trust fund set up for Matthew. Margaret and I would like to donate (on your behalf) part of the money back to the committee and people who were so kind to us. Former trustee's education comments Dear Sir: I would like to comment on three issues in education: 1. Re: R.C. Byer"s comments on jeopardizing the educational pro- cess. Each point is well taken, ex- cept that all three issues are the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. Chronic and systematic underfunding is the real problem. My recent experience as Trustee has taught me how hard teachers work, how complex and challenging their tasks are, and how worthy they are of full support so that no strike is ever seriously contemplated in Durham. Our children would be the losers. 2. Re: School Accommodation Com- mittees at Epsom Public and Cart- wright High. The issue of closure in both instances is illusory, purely smoke and mirrors. The real issue is how can the Durham Board of Education and its educators model the rest of the system on these schools' many fine points: i.e. lower class sizes, a strong sense of com- munity with strong community sup- port and a dedication to learning within an atmesphere of a strong school spirit. 3. A society that allocates funds for the education of its youth at a much smaller fraction of that which it allocates funds for its senior citizens is unbalanced in its priorities. When they are equalized we will be closer to a more enlightened society. Sincerely, The Revered Stuart McEntyre Port Perry, Ontario With everyone's blessing, we would like to donate $5,000 to the Library Fund in Uxbridge; $5,000 to the Han- di Transit Fund in Port Perry and $3,000 to the Community Hall in Prince Albert, with a special thanks to the Ladies of Prince Albert.who served after Matthew's service and to the many people who were so kind and helped Albert and Theresa Love (Margaret's parents) during their lengthy stay at our home. Thank you all. The remaining $11,000 -- we would like to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society as we feel everyone either has a relative or knows a friend who has had some experience with cancer, and would feel as we do that this is a worthy charity. We trust no one will object to these wishes. Once again, thank you everyone. Margaret and Ivan Geer Prince, Albert Lj -- ] | & { | € _-- \Q d = A ors - "COME NOW, JOHN B., WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO OUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING SOONER OR LATER" ' - THE WORLD OF Bill Smiley DECEMBER TOO SOON slid into your car door on the parking lot. and vulgarity of the holiday rush. If nothing else, it would give us a break from the December is a trying time. For one thing, it's so dang SUDDEN. There you are, tottering along a day at a time, thinking it's still fall and you must get the snow tires and storms on one of these find Saturdays, and throw some firewood into the cellar, and get some boots and replace the gloves you lost last March. Christmas is away off there. And then --- bang! ---- you look out one morning, and there's December, in all its unglory, a bitter east wind driving snow, and a cold chill settles in the very bones of your soul. Winter wind as sharp as a witch's tooth sneaks in around uncaulked doors and windows. One's wife com- plains of the terrible draught from under the basement door You investigage and find that one of the basement windows has been blown in and has smashed on the woodpile. You clamber up over the wood, knocking pieces off shins and knuckles, and jam some cardboard in the gap. Creep cautiously outside, and nearly bust your bum There's ice under that thar snow Make it to the garage, and find that your car doors are all frozen solid shut beat them with your bare fists until the latter are bleeding and your car is full of dents. Finally get them open with a bucket of hot water and a barrel of hotter language Slither and grease your way to work, arriving in a foul mood and with bare hands crippled into claws, bootless feet cold as a witch's other appendage Come out of work to go home and find a half-inch of frozen rain and snow covering your car, and no sign of your scraper, and another deep dent where some idiot I could go on and on, but it's only rubbing salt in the wounds of the average Canadian. Get home from work and find that the furnace is on the blink, and the repairman is tied up for the next two days. And your wife is also fit to be tied up over your dilatoriness. Surely there is some way around this suddeness of December. Is there not some far-seeing politician (if that is not a contradiction in terms), who would in- troduce a bill to provide for an extra month between, let's say, November 25th and December 5th. I wouldn't care what he called it. It could be Lastember, referring to your fast-dying hope that there wouldn't be a winter this year. Or Last Call, or Final Warning, or She's Acomin! Anything that gave us a good jolt. It would be a good thing for merchants. They could have special Lastember sales of gloves and boots and snowtires and car muffs and caulking guns and weather stripping and antifreeze and nose warmers, before plunging into their pre-Christmas sales, which are pro- mptly replaced by their January sales I' would be great for the Post Office, which could star warning us in June that all Christmas mail must be posted by the first day of Lastember if we wanted it delivered before the following June It would make a nice talking point for all those deserters and traitors and rich people who go south every year. Instead of smirking, "Oh, we're not going south until Boxing Day Hate to miss an old-fashioned Canadian Christmas," they could really shove it to us by leering, 'Yes, we thought we'd wait this year until the last day of Lastember, you know. Avoid the pushing massive nauseating volume of pre-Christmas advertis- ing, which begins towards the end of October and con- tinues, remorselessly right into Christmas Day. Best of all, perhaps it would give dummies like me a chance to avoid looking like such a dummy. Pro- crastinators, who flourish during a sunny November, would have no more excuses. All their wives would have to do is point to the calendar and say, "Bill, do you realize it's only three days until Lastember_ Isn't it time you did your Lastember chores?" Infact, if that fearless politician who is going to in- troduce the Lastember Bill in the house wants some ad- vice, here is a codicil for him. Somewhere in the Bill should be the warning, in bold type: ""Procrastinators will be Prosecuted!'"' Jeez, why not? They prosecute you for everything else. If such a month were added to the calendar ---- maybe we could start it with Grey Cup Day ---- people like me wouldn't go on thinking that Christmas is weeks away Instead, on the last day of Lastember, with all their winter chores in hand, they'd known that Christmas was practically on top of them, like a big, old horse blanket, and they'l leap into the proper spirit, lining up a Christmas tree, laying in their booze, tuning up their pipes for the carols As it is now, we know that Christmas is like a mirage It's way off there somewhere, and no need to panic Then, with that startling Suddeness, it's December 22nd, all the Christmas trees have been bought, the only remaining turkeys look like vultures, and the liquor store is bedlam. Who's for a Lastember?