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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 28 1968 -- 7 Viewpoint by John B. McClelland Who else but Margaret Thatcher could touch off a storm in the Canadian Parliament? Maggie, a.k.a. the Iron Lady, stopped off in Ot- tawa one day last week on her home from the Eco- nomic Summit and delivered an address to the House of Commons. : Usually, when visiting heads of state are invited to speak to Parliament, they deliver pablum and melba toast platitudes so as not to ruffle any feath- ers, least of all the feathers of the host country. But not Margaret Thatcher. She jumped right into the hottest political fire in Canada right now by openly endorsing the Free Trade deal the Tories are trying to cut with the Americans. As might be expected the Libs and NDP on the Opposition benches were out-raged at this intru- sion into Canadian affairs. What they heck did they expect from Thatcher. This lady ain't no shrinking violet. She's built her po- litical career on speaking her mind, no matter who takes offense, and if you don't like what she's say- ing, that's tough. Here's a lady who has tackled the IRA, the Brit- ish unions, coal miners on strike and the Labour Party. You think she's going to shy away from the Free Trade debate just because John Turner or Ed Broadbent might take offense? Hah. More so that any other Western leader, Marga- ret Thatcher is a classic liberal. She stands for less government, she hates artificial subsidies that prop weak and inefficient industries (including farm sub- sidies) and she obviously believes that the nations of the world should trade freely without govern- ment imposed barriers. And she has spent her po- litical life attempting to dismantle several decades of post war socialism in the United Kingdom. Maybe her remarks in Parliament last week can be considered an "intrusion" into what is a domestic issue in Canada. Depending on what side of the political spectrum you sit on, you either hate Mag- gie T. or think she's just peachy keen. What she has is more guts and courage than most of the weak-kneed politicians in her own Parliament or in the House of Commons on this side of the Atlantic. And besides, when you invite Margaret Thatch- er to say a few words, you don't write the speech for her. Of course, you can't blame Turner and Broad- bent for being a trifle upset. Every time these guys hear the words "free trade" they break out in a cold sweat, especially coming from someone like Marga- ret Thatcher. THE STORM Summer officially arrived last week with a loud crash and flashes that lit the night sky. I'm referring to that violent thunderstorm that hit our area the night of June 21-22. The thunder woke me out of a deep sleep, and it also woke my ~ eight-year old daughter who doesn't like thunder storms at all. It wasn't long before | heard her footsteps com- ing down the hall, and she crawled into bed beside me. | asked her if she was scared and she said "no, well, maybe just a little." | knew otherwise when | felt her small hand reach for mine, and saw her head disappear be- neath the pillow. | got up to close the curtains, but that didn't keep out the rumble and the crash of thunder, or the brilliant flashes of lightning. At the peak of the storm | could feel my daughter trembling, despite my words of re-assurance that it was "just a storm, nothing to be afraid of." It was a dilly of a storm, that's for sure. My mind began to wander a bit, and | thought to myself if this is what the blitz was like in London. And | could not help but think what it must have been like for a parent to try and comfort a young child when the flashes and crashes were bombs going off. | felt helpless in the face of a severe storm, knowing my daughter was scared, terrified even. | tried to imagine the feeling | might have had in Coventry, or Dresden, or Rotterdam, or Leningrad. What horror for the children, what despair for their parents. | shuddered to think of the parents who could do nothing but pull a blanket around a shivering child to "ward off" the bombs and artillery shells. The summer storm passed, as they always do, without incident. | looked at my daughter, sleeping peacefully, though the hair on her forehead was still damp with perspiration. Thank God it was only a summer storm. But even in the silence | had trouble getting back to sleep. Yesterday's Memories | 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 27, 1918 Mrs. E.R. Dunk of Edmonton is visiting with her mother, Mrs. Weir in Port Perry. The congregation of the Methodist Church were pleased to hear her sing on Sunday evening. Sergt. Hardy Purdy is home this week attending the wed- ding of his sister, Hazel Dhel to Mr. L.R. Bentley, Jeweller, Port Perry. The Port Perry Quartet consisting of Mrs. D. Archer, Mrs. A.M. Roberts, Mr. F.W. McIntyre and Mr. T.H. Follick have just completed their first musical year. In that time they have sung at twenty-one public gatherings, giving sixty-five selections. Port Perry High School Form I Promotion Results: Honours - Elizabeth Allin, Amy Beare, Bessie Crozier, Miriam Harris, Percy Malcolm, Helen Mellow, Etta Morris, Laura Parish, Ella Spence. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 24, 1942 Last Saturday was an important day in Oshawa for the pro- duction of military vehicles in Canada. Upon that occasion Hon. C.D. Howe was presented with the 500,000th military vehicle who in turn presented it to Col. Ralston for use in the Canadian army. Mr. Clarence Harrison, Myrtle, has moved the little store and residence from the south lot onto the new foundations on the north lot. i Mr. Jas Ewen has purchased the A. Willard property on Perry Street. Congratulations to the newlyweds of Utica - Cpl. Maunsell Gerrow, R.C.A.F. and Mrs. Gerrow (Jessie Walker). : 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 25, 1853 A purebred Holstein cow owned by A.W. O'Connor and Sons of Maplehurst Farm, Pickering, has given birth to triplet calves - one heifer and two bulls. This is a most unusual case since the birth of triplets is rarer in cattle than it is with humans. A severe summer storm which occurred last Saturday after- noon did considerable damage. Many trees and branches were broken; a silo on the farm of H.O. Dobson, Manchester, was destroyed by lightening and a newly laid foundation for Don Parageter's new home was partly washed out. Art Brunton, Port Perry was elected President of the On- tario Poultry Breeders' Association for the third consecutive year at the Association's Annual Meeting in Guelph. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 26, 1958 The sixteen members of the Port Perry Volunteer Fire Brigade with Chief Guy Raines and Assistant Chief Benjamin Pi received their new uniforms recently. This brigade is (Turn to page 6) Letters Surplus farmland a tax liablity ? To The Editor: RE: Farmland Surplus - A Tax Liability Presently hundreds of thousands of acres of marginal farmland in Durham Region are being used to produce hay only. As we can see around the coun- tryside now, farmers are building up a surplus stock of hay from over-production. This surplus building is a way of keeping the land growing and then allows the farmer to get a total refund on his taxes on that land. We have no quarrel with the farmer using his land as he wishes. We have no quarrel even with the farmer receiving a par- tial rebate on his taxes. We do take exception, however, to that procedure being used to withold Skateboard, BX park To The Editor: Port Perry (Scugog Township) skateboarders and B.X. bikers I believe may soon get their own park area. Since skateboards and B.X. bikers traversing Port Perry roadways and sidewalks, do pose a considerable safety threat to vehicles and the walking pedestrians in town. I recommend a community ser- vice club committee, go to our Scugog council and have someone monitor this much needed recrea- tional situation. Oshawa is in the process of getting a skateboard park. Beaverton has a skateboard park. Skateboards and B.X. bikers I have surveyed have indicated a desire for a skateboard park with proper equipment and sophisticated ramping. People should get into this project with an open mind and see where it goes from there. If a proposal is approved work with a Toronto- based skateboard promoter could be established in an area on a "trial-and-error" basic, as in other communities. For our young athletes, so- meone should seek funding for this project. I believe Port Perry (Scugog Township) B.X. bikers and skateboarders shall soon have a park. Young athletes, moms and dads, anyone, write a letter to Scugog Township council and the editor of the Port Perry Star, voice your remarks and opinions. School 'is out. "Happy Holidays". : Roy Walker Smith, Port Perry, Ontario. land from the public housing market where reasonably priced land is causing a crisis in our housing for people in today's market. Following this direction now will make the crisis even more difficult for the coming genera- tion - our children. In effect, we are paying tax to subsidize surplus farmland and keep it out of the market place. In this way a greater shortage of land is created and the coming genera- tion must to pay for it in two dif- ferent ways. Firstly, they pay in the higher price of a home, because of the high price of the land. Secondly, they pay for it in their taxes that are used to subsidize this surplus farmland. This is not a Catch 22. This would appear to be a manipula- tion of the land rights of the peo- ple of Durham Region. All of us are paying the cost even now in higher taxes for subsidies. Higher (Turn to page 8) | Letters to the Editor to the editor. ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. | We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous letter While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer.