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6- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 17, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PUBLISHER - J. Peter Hvidsten GENERAL MGR. - Don MacLeod MANAGING EDITOR - Jeff Mitchell REPORTER - Chris Hall OFFICE MANAGER - Gayle Stapley ADVERTISING MGR. - Deb McEachern Jocna Member Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Company Limited, 188 Mary Street - Port Perry, PHONE (905) 985-7383 FAX (905) 985-3708 E-MAIL: port.perry.star@ sympatico.ca 1 Year - $37.95 (includes GST) Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES Six Months - $19.79 (includes GST) % CNA Ontario - LIL 1B7 Foreign 1 Year - $96.30 (includes GST) BUSINESS OFFICE: Judy Ashby, Kathy Dudley, Janet Rankin, Heather Callan. ADVERTISING: Ginni Todd, Cindy Jobin, Gail Morse, Heather Mack, Linda Clarke, Janet Archer PRODUCTION: Trudy Empringham, Pam Hickey, Daryle Wright, Robert Taylor, Richard Drew, Scott Ashby Editorial comment How long since you heard... Ah, summer. A season during which time means much less, and the pace of life slows. Mornings are relaxed, the days languid, and the nights long, lingering and tranquil. School's out, council meetings are suspended, and the various community organizations that are typically so busy throughout the rest of the year are on hiatus. There's next to nothing happening. The news machine grinds nearly to a halt. Ah. Summer. So itis we spend a little more time talking about people and the things they're doing than issues. There's a distinct change in the tenor of the local news in the summer. We spend less time fretting, debating and blaming, it seems, than we do examining, appreciating and getting to know the community better. For instance, when's the last time you heard about: a Taxes, etc. No council debates on mill rates, parking or bylaws have occurred for months. There's no hand-wringing about downloading and transfer payment cuts. There's no council. a Mike Harris. Everybody's favourite tax crusader/protector of the little guy/evil persecutor of the poor has been conspicuously absent from the daily press for weeks. Not bad. Not bad at all. a Teachers. It's been ages since we've heard about contract disputes, extracurricular activities, preparation time, and the like. It's summer. It's quiet. It's nice. a Lucien Bouchard. Aside from the occasional obscure reference, his gloomy mug is nowhere to be seen. Gotta like that. a Snow/ wind chill factors, etc. It'll be back, but the weather now is benign. And fleeting. 1 DON'T SUPPOSE. You WOULD CARE TO MAKE A PLEDGE? \ Ay, En A , -- -- GR a Re ; % LJ To the Editor: A couple of years ago the Great Blue Heron Charitable Casino and Bingo Hall came to Port Perry, and everyone was so excited. A lot of community bingos had to shut down because they could not compete with the new hall. These bingos helped the communities in their own small way, by contributing to minor baseball, hockey, the church and other various charities. Then on Aug. 11, after many months of rumours, the big announce- . d ment came: as of Aug. 18, there will be no more bingos, to make room for the slot machines. Even though we all knew it was coming, it still hit pretty hard. I listened, watched, felt the anger and sadness throughout the hall. What a sad ending it will be. Let's hope that many of the small bingos that shut down will start up again soon. Sandra Day, Nestleton Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten SOME MEMORIES STILL HURT This past week | had two unex- pected, but pleasant calls, regard- ing the Remember When photos we publish each week, as seen on the opposite page. The first call came from an elderly woman from Oshawa. She had been shown the photo we ran a few weeks ago of the Birdseye Pool. The photo depicted a number of kids enjoying the swimming pool shortly after it opened in 1940. But what caught this woman's attention was a sign posted at the poolside which read "Gentiles Only." The woman, who is Jewish, said that the picture brought back many sad memories for her. She won- dered why we would run the photograph. She remembered being brought to Port Perry by a friend as a young woman and swimming in the posted pool, because, she said, "| did not look Jewish." - But it troubled her and the photograph brought back entirely. enough, in 1913 he and his wife barely escaped a fire in the Seagrave Station which destroyed the building memories she thought had been buried. | assured her that while we were sorry it troubled her, it was not run with any intent to hurt anyone. Remember When is a snapshot of our past, and this particular picture illustrated an unfortunate time in our history which should not be forgotten. : Only by remembering our past do we have any chance of not repeating the same mistakes again. The second phone call | had was in regards to a pic- ture of the Seagrave railway station as it looked in the early 1900s, from Iva Fralick. Apology: The photo was provided to The Star by Marjorie Wanamaker, not Gertrude, as it stated last week. Sorry, Marjorie! Mrs. Fralick identified the station agent as James Louden Crooks, who was her great-grandfather, and added a bit of information regarding why he was stand- ing on crutches. : Apparently Mr. Crooks lost one leg after his foot became trapped in a railway switch while he was work- ing on the rails. As the train approached, unable to free himself, he laid back as far as he could and the train passed over his leg. And if that bad luck wasn't Thanks to Mrs. Fralick for the new information, and Mrs. Marjorie Wanamaker for the photograph. MORE PHOTOS Remember When is one of the most popular fea- tures of The Port Perry Star, and we're always on the outlook for new, original photographs. Many people have pictures tucked away somewhere in closets or attics that they've completely forgotten about, and we ask that you take some time to find a few of these treasures, : Why not set aside an evening and rummage through your old family photo treasures? It can make for an enjoyable evening and at the same time, you might uncover some old photographs of buildings or street scenes from the area which we could use in our weekly Remember When feature. Currently I'm doing research on the causeway, or Scugog Bridge, as it was known during the early part of this century. . ~ If anyone has any photographs of the causeway taken during this century, I'd love to see them. Give me. a call at The Star: 985-7383, 23 . Thanks to those who have contributed in the past. B