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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, August 16, 1988 -- 7 Viewpoint by John B. McClelland THE BIG TRADE Some dates have a way of sticking in one's mind for a long time. For me, and presumably for most Canadians, hockey fans or not, August 10, 1988 will be one of those dates. That was the day after the Big Trade, the one that wrenched Gretzky from the frozen steppes of Northern Alberta to the or- ange groves of Southern California. I'll remember the morning August 10, stumbling from the house to the curb about 7:30 to collect my daily paper, the one that comes in a transparent bag of blue plastic. | could see the headline splashed across the top of the page, a huge headline,of a size usually reserved for news of earth-shattering magnitude, like a declaration of war, the crowning of a King or the killing of a President. It was none of the above, of course. But stand- ing there in the still-cool morning air staring at the headline | felt a sense of something terribly amiss. . Wayne Gretzky traded to the Los Angelas Kings? Never, | thought to myself as my eyes moved to the top of the page just to check that the date was not April 1. * But it was so. And in the days immediately fol- lowing the news, the daily papers have been filled with all kinds of stories about what REALLY hap- ned to the best hockey player ever on Planet arth. | missed seeing Gretzky's tearful press confer- yes. he wanted to make the move south to be with is new (and pregnant) bride. But over the next couple of days as more and more of the story began to come out, the blame was pushed onto Pocklington, the owner of the Oil- ers who wanted to trade the Great One now for a big chunk of cash ($15 million) plus future super star Jimmy Carson and three first round draft picks, rather than two years down the pike when his "marketability" would be diminished. Initially, ple blamed Janet, the bride of three weeks for "luring" Wayne to Hollywood. Now, the finger is pointing at Pocklington and Bruce McNall, the whiz-kid owner of the Kings who can write a cheque for $15 million and not blink more than once. Frankly, | don't give a damn HOW Gretzky came to pack his long johns to toil in the yellow and mauve jersey of the L.A. Kings in a place they call "The Fabulous Forum." | guess | refuse to acknowledge or believe that hockey is just a business, and anybody, including Gretzky can be bought, sold and traded, just like pork bellies on the futures market if there is even a whif of profit to be made. The guy in this sorry mess | feel sorry for is Jim- my Carson. Imagine how he will feel stepping into the Oiler dressing room for the first time and looks into the intimidating stare of one Mark Messier. Seriously, young Mr. Carson will do quite nicely in an Oiler sweater. He and those three first round draft picks will help Edmonton to several Stanley Cups over the next decade. that leaves me with a deep sense of sadness. He's 27 now, way past middle age as a profes- sional hockey player. He will, | know, give it his all in L.A., (that's the kind of individual he is) but they don't call it Tinsel Town for nothing. Fickle and totally without a hean, soul or con- science, Hollywood has ground up a lot of talented people over the years, and may do the same with Gretzky. The last shred of the myth that surrounds hock- ey in this country has been ripped apart. Gretzky paying hockey in L.A. is like Babe Ruth hitting aseballs in Yellowknife or Foster Hewitt broadcast- ing a cricket match. It doesn't fit. | guess for me, it comes down to this. Hockey is a cold weather, red-nosed sport that springs from the frozen ponds of Canadian winter. It really has no place in southern California where kids play basket- ball or go to UCLA on track scholarships. And now the best player ever is going there. His great skills, learned light years away on the back- ard rink Walter built in Brantford, will be watched alf-heartedly by film producers, surfers, P.R. flacks in funny shirts, two bit actors with designer sun- glasses, and sportwriters who have never been on skates, let alone played the game in January on a backyard rink in Brantford or Moose Jaw. Still, | wish him well. Things change, life goes on, nothing is forever as they say in the movies. Wayne Gretzky will be a curiosity piece in L.A. for a year or two, then he'll retire, gone from the game at ence with Peter Puck Pocklington in which he said age 29. Very sad. | wish it wasn't so. But I'm not so sure about Wayne Gretzky, and BN alia TN Yesterday's Memories 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 15, 1918 ~ For some three or four years bees have been thick up at the Primary School, and Mr. W.H. Doubt thought he would in- vestigate matters. After some search, the swarm was located and Mr. Doubt found about 150 lbs. of honey. A barn owned by Mr. James Lakey, west of Manchester along with hay, barley and implements was totally destroyed by fire. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 5, 1943 Arthur Williams, C.C.F. won the Ontario Provincial election August 4 with 8415 votes, against J.D. Anderson, Liberal and Geo. Hart, P.C. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 13, 1953 Michael Starr won the Ontario Riding for the P.C. party in the federal election Monday with 1284 votes over John Lay, Liberal. Seen on our street - two cars racing neck and neck down Queen Street, one afternoon. Fine weather and good crowd marked the Civic Holiday Celebrtion in Port Perry. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 14, 1958 Port Perry and Uxbridge Fire Brigades fought a blazing fire sweeping across about 250 acres of reforestration at Brookdale near Uxbridge. An estimated 100 volunteers also took part fighting the blaze. About 60,000 young trees were destroyed and the loss estimated at $50,000. . 140 cats and dogs, one rabbit and one lamb were present for vaccination at the anti-rabies clinic in Blackstock. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 15, 1968 The final result of the check of cars held on Mary Street from August 6 to 9, does not speak too well for Port Perry drivers. Of the 247 vehicles checked, only 3. passed the tests. However, ccepted after they had had minor repairs. 158 needed extensive repairs and will be checked again before being per- ; ts Port P: and Mrs. Cathryn Mar- Mrs. Dorothy Naples, wii Institute of the the Ross Couper- Public awareness program Crime Stoppers mailing out brochures with water bills Your next water bill will proba- bly contain more than just a re- quest for money. The Durham branch of Crime Stoppers, a volunteer organization that asks for the public's help fighting crime, is mailing 84,000 pamphlets about the program in- side Durham Region water bills. Sgt. Sandy Ryrie of Crime Stoppers says the mailing started about a month ago and will con- tinue for two more months (most bills are mailed once every three months). Letters Sunday in the Park To The Editor: Sunday afternoon at the Park of Port Perry. As I look out my pic- ture window, 1 think of the Sun- days that I have enjoyed at the Park. We have been entertained by the Pipes and Drums, the Senior Citizens Choir, the Cloggers, and others. It has also been a pleasure to be one of the performers with my band "The Golden Slippers." People came out with their lawn chairs, blankets or they sat on benches, or on the green grass to enjoy the music and dancing. The children played on the swings. Dogs were walking their masters. Seagulls seemed to be dancing to the music. Young teenagers bathed in the lovely background of Lake Scugog. The older people seemed to enjoy it the most for it was their Sunday outing. I could not attend a few Sun- days, but I could hear the wind in- struments and the drums across the water at Portsview Beach. It will stay in my memory for quite a while. The beautiful setting of the gazebo, the lake, the cool green trees, the music, the dancing, -- all seemed to add to the enjoy- ment of Sunday in the Park. Violet Hanley, R.R. 3, Port Perry. "We're doing it to make the public aware of the Crime Stop- pers program," he told the Star. Already, he's crediting the mail- ing program with a dramatic dou- bling of Crime Stoppers calls. Forty-four calls were received in June, before the mailings, while 88 were received in July. So far, 40 calls have come in August. "It's working pretty successful- ly," Sgt. Ryrie said. Program coordinators are also wanting to speak to employers who are willing to enclose the same pamphlets in employee pay envelopes. Employers are encour- aged to call Sgt. Ryrie at 579- 1520. Anyone with any information about any crime, is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 436-8477. Callers won't be asked for their names, and will not have to ap- pear in court. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. Letters 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 to the editor. While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer.