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The Acton Free Press Wednesday Oct Press Editorial Page Whats your concern Probably at no time have Ac- tomans had more things to worry about The people have had to band together on a couple of occasions recently to put their case to councils in particular the 2000 signature petitions on the saving of the town hall and requesting a review of regional government But there are a lot of smaller concerns too Like the road work vandalism Meals on Wheels parking Not to mention tax in creases and the mysterious reasons for them The planned improvement for downtown will affect the whole town The Chamber of Commerce has invited the three town councillors to attend a special Public Forum to be held Wednesday November 2 As well there will be wellinformed representatives of various government departments there Among them they should be able to produce explanations for many of the things that are vexing in these days of change The people of the town will surely respond to the opportunity and attend this special meeting called especially to provide the people of Acton and area with information Back to the leaves The delightful smell of burning leaves is seldom enjoyed the late autumn any more The awareness that its against the law lingers unpleasantly the mind The Department of the Environ ment decided a few years ago smoke emissions from all sources were too high and everything possible should be done to eliminate smoke and purify our air But up above smoke drifts cosriy from more and more fireplaces in town and district This old time necessity has been revived New homes include fireplaces and older homes are having them added The value in heat expense of wood or ready made logs is a favorite topic of discussion Actually Department of the Environment is there much differ ence between smoke from an October bonfire and smoke from a fireplace The joy of raking leaves on a sunny afternoon like last Satur day is dampened a little by the effort of bagging all those leaves And the huge quantity of leaves just adds to the volume and cost of garbage Acton produces tons of gar bage in one single week now Those crisp yellow leaves are adding their share While composting is the natural route for leaves many of us dont have the room or time to do it properly So where does alt this leave us Back out in the leaves Kids and smoking Its distressing to see the young age at which our local young people smoke Even public school children think they look jaunty as they walk to school with a cigarette burning in the hand They wont likely be the ones to attend the local Cancer Societys film night dealing with cancer and young people but their teachers are all being especially invited to attend Children begin smoking at grade three level now Each year in Canada 5000 people die of lung cancer and it is usally fatal Smoking causes cancer The facts are simple yet so many choose to ignore them The more publicity the better Of this and that The Rat and The Goose by Fred Eunnger Thats the first story in an anthology of new Canadian stones thats available in the library Fred grew up in Acton going on to become a playwright and author He now lives out west His mother lived here for some years after Fred had left for school and career and she and Fred were back for a visit not long ago The story takes place Acton when his father was still alive and begins And then another one of my phobias goes back to an affair I had with a rat Its dated about or 1945 Mentioned in an off hand way is a classmate who had six toes and Acton friends verify the fact Heroic Germans of many faiths who suffered and died rather than compromise with should be among those honored on Remembrance Day The United Church Observer says editorially in its current issue We seem to have forgotten that vast numbers of German Christians accepted imprisonment and death rather than give in to Hilter The Observer points out At least Roman Catholic priests died by hanging star vation lack of medical aid and as victims of medical experiments ft says A papal encyclical to be read from every Catholic pulpit in Germany on Palm Sunday 1937 called on the people to resist the Idolatrous cult of race and state Hitler was infuriated by the churchs defiance The Observer says and from then until 1945 waged systematic war on it FALL MEANS falling leaves and a Free Press photographer captured the feeling in this shot of a tree surrounded by its summer foliage Sugar and spice It a pretty good idea to slop once in a while and give thanks have to be Thanksgiving Day but it a good i time as any It s to lake stock look around be glad re alive and if you have anything it M be thankful ibout perhaps mutter ink God The art few a very few who haven t one single world to be thankful about and heart goes out to them Bui most of us ire honest can find ill sorb of things if we dig around in the detritus of our lives For example wife is inclined to get bags under her on the slightest provo cation I nevergetlhem which m ikes her funous because she is five years than I and infinitely better looking Because I have i pur heart and clean mind I retort which doubles her fury Shi is the who does Yoga exercises and goes on diets And gains weight lam the one who never docs anything more strenuous than take the cap off bottle of beer cats anything in sight and has n waist like a wasp You see there lots to In thankful for Just being alive is one thing Millions of people And while hints may be prelty groovy in heaven and pretty some in hell I doubt sinously that either has as much to offer as being a human on this rotten earth I hive bursitis in my shoulder arthritis in my foot disintegrating discs in my spine ind a tooth that falls out every time bite anything more substantial than a banan But on the other hand I don have cancer a bum heart high blood pressure dnhetes or the I can still hobble nround holes of golf catch a fish and The story of a gold brick The high school graduates were a group to be proud of on Friday Lively attractive and ambitious they are leaving home to take jobs and to study for their chosen careers Theyve had a good start in a good town and they will soon be making their contribution to whatever community they live in Lets hope the regional review committee hasnt lost sight of the brief from Acton with its com ments on regional government Soon children across the country will undergo a mysterious and magical change from child to ghost goblin or any number of other beings from the imagination in observance of a special holiday just for kids Halloween night Therefore motorists if you must drive on Halloween night keep a sharp eye out for trick ortreaters walking in the dark Television violence is getting clobbered The report on violence in the media finally forces people to consider the fact that there are more important things to consider in programming than which program will sell the sponsors products best A medical study also released recently has found that television violence can even make people physically sick Doctors recognize the relationship between television watching and problems related to violence Parents are beginning to realize they must ting by the Re Chuck Beaton Trlnllj United Church Acton One day a shipment of gold was being transferred to another part of the country involving a hold over in an airport warehouse The bricks were stacked on a pallet to be handled by a fork lift truck When the next morning came and the gold was about to be shipped they discovered one brick was missing Everyone feared the worst Theft was expected although they wondered why a bur would take one brick The police were called and an investi started The insurance com pany eventually paid for the loss It looked like the gold was gone for ever About six or eight months later an employee was cleaning up the warehouse and moved a tarnished object that was holding open a stubborn door It seemed heavier than necessary for the job and in the process of replacing it the employee discovered that this dusty block was the missing gold brick It had been there all the time in plain view passed by hundreds of people and survived the mop and the dustbane There was some rejoicing and a lot of red faces Sometimes there are very valu able things in our lives that are nearby and overlooked Jesus said The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you Luke 17 21 and went on to tell the people many parables about how the King was hidden but really there The life we seek in God the life that is secure fulfilling enriched and happy is likely very close to us right now We need to start dis covering the gold bricks around us like our health our loved ones our work our community our church and our Lord These are great gifts which we have been given and often overlooked I hope your discovery brings rejoicing sow was make by Bill Smiley stay up till four clock in the morning and put in day work Boy am I thank happy to although it gets little eich year what with ilion unemployment pollution 1 ibtr government that is to gel every nickel out of me before I die so I on take it with me Hut the government tan our delight in i fall I in Belgium Holland Germany in the autumn And believe mi baby none of Ihem is within light of our wild and glorious October when the starts throwing the colors on His palette I delighted to hive two grandsons illhough I would be with a ivc spoken seriously to daughter this And I am deeply grateful that the littler one who went into il with meningitis last spring suffered no lasting effects and is ibout is sturdy is a Sherman tank I quite thit three of the shutters ire missing from my house id of three they could all have blown off in those terrible storms last winter And I expect to the three back on any ear now ir to have a Grade Nine class to tenth it a pleasure their bright minds ind facts are after coping with the blase apathy of senior students for Hie boys ire naive eager The girls haven jet decided to become hey t formed yet the musks they ill present to society in a year or so In I exceedingly thinkful to have a job I like Many persons dont have a job all or Into ihc one they re doing I cm take young minds within a year or two have have them writing and spelling like this The squirl wich was in the tree letped onto the fence were he seen ruddy to be ate It facinitlng how one in mold young minds thing to be extremely thankful for is the to sleep My wife has insomnia A lot of my friends have it lean lie down after any kind of a hellish day and fl ike out like an old rubber boot to rise fresh and diwe eyed no remem ben for the next I m not ugly 1 am fur from handsome but I don t scare little children Hell if I ot my teeth capped dyed my hid ficelifl I could pass for which I will In next June I m thankful hat I have few friends and doubly thankful that they are all in worse than I My nose been broken so often I can I smell n thing This detracts a little from enjoyment of food But it also means I can t onion breath whiskey breath body odor or dead mice between That s the good old silver lining I a little resentful that my wife is so young vibrant But at the same time I m thankful When I get old and miserable and dribbling down my front II have built in nurse Provided she t run off with the mailman If he on strike Finally I m sincerely thankful that our cat has taken off for greener pastures my garage I down my wife tolerates me and I have nearly finished this column Thank You God I The Free Press j Back Issues 10 years ago Taken from tie of the Free October IS IW7 A to raise money for UNICES is being arranged this week by an eager Robert Little students Other groups are also planning other special events to raise money On Saturday morning at clock a group of energetic It L students will set out from to walk to Acton with Peter Morrison is chairman of the group of youngsters who arc pledged to wash windows of stores for two dollars the day after Ha Howe en An old fashioned pancake social is the project of grade eight classes Official opening of the nine room addition to BrookvlUe Public School in Township will take place riday evening Again this year Acton Firefighters will be calling doortodoor for donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada On the campaign committee are Milliard Price Don Van Fleet and Duby The I ions Club of Acton decided to sponsor a public speaking contest for high school students with first prize a trip to Chicago USA during Easter week at their regular dinner meeting Monday 20 years ago Taken from Issue of the Free Press October With Remembrance Day on November 11 Ihe Acton Branch of the Canadian Legion have been busy arranging for Poppy Day and the Remembrance Day service In this issue of the Free Press Mayor E Tyler has proclaimed Monday November 11 as Remembrance Day in Acton Bruce Andrews 17 of Acton added another feat to his running complements Saturday at Hamilton Competing in the two and a half mile race at the Canadian Cross Country Bruce crossed the finish line 31 seconds ahead of the previous record Proceeds from the sale will go towards buying equipment for the slates secretary Dave Docherty In the summer of a Toronto Scout saved the life of a Rockwood boy and when thanked for his deed remarked All I would like in thanks is to see the young boy become a Cub Scout On Monday of this week the Scouts wish became a reality when Douglas of Rockwood was invested into the First Cub Grey Pack 50 years ago Taken the issue of The Free Press October 1527 The town new high school was opened for public inspection Saturday Students started using the classes Monday A neat portico was erected over the doorway A beautiful stained glass window is at the head of the stairway and enhances the building appearance Most of the floors arc of birch throughout The new school boasts nearly feet of black board in four rooms Special attention was given to the school forced air tilator Council sanctioned the purchase of 100 feet of fire hose and necessary hydrant wrenches A 5 fine and costs were laid in police court at Georgetown because a milk dealer tried to evade a bylaw concerning pasteurized milk The man separated the milk sold the cream and gave away the milk 100 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Thursday October 1877 We learn that several of our young men have organized themselves a company for the purpose of building a large skating and curling rink in the village The proposed location is on low ground opposite M Speight barber shop We have no doubt that the investment can be made a profitable one If properly managed After a long rest the Village Council met for business Thursday The minutes of the last meeting In June were read and adopted Approved for payment for the year were the assessor salary streets and sidewalks accounts of county rate charity and uncollectable taxes Mr Christie introduced the subject of the great need of something being done toward procuring a site for a new cemetery He referred to the delapidated condition of the burying ground and injurious effects of con linumg to inter the dead in so close proximity to the centre of the village THE ACTON FREE PHONE 2010 Business and Editorial Office Copyright