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Page THE HERALD Wedneiday The general store Still the centre of community activity BILL owner of Hornby General Store business Is on the up The tiny Core fa kept busy with he Post Office bringing villagers in daily HAROLD FORD left and Charlie Tyler both from Ballinafad keep up the country General Store By Doris Herald Reporter with the invention of the automobile the horse and buggy were forgotten With the shedding of the bustle the bikinis ruled supreme With disappearance of the fox trot the Jitterbug raged With supermarket springing up at every other corner the old country general store has become obsolete Or has Have those buildings which once served as the centre of community the centre of activity the centre of gossip the centre for Just passing the time disappeared As far as Hal ton Hills Is concerned no Urn house Terra Cotta and all still have general stores and all are doing tremendous business Bill Cooley owner of the Hornby General Store stated that In the past year business bas Increased by percent However the hustle and bustle atmosphere of the larger supermarkets is absent from the areas general stores Because of the Post Office in the store you see tho same people almost every day Everyone still meets and talks In the store Its a very friendly place One thing Ive learned Is that I nave to keep up on my current events or I Just get lost in the conversations The Hornby General Store which was built in the late still carries some hardware products along with canned foods fresh meats and fruits We still carry hardware material but not as much as we used to The farmers are disappearing from this area There are under ten dairy farmers left in Hornby now whereas ten years ago there were at least 30 ex plained Bill The General Store did at one point carry fooda hardware goods and other miscellaneous articles but now the store only sells food products and a few other necessities However it still remains only store In VI and Matt Stevens who were strangers to Llmehouse when they moved to the area have owned the store for six years now You get to know everybody In You have so much contact with Ihe people Its a dropping off spot for people on their way home Once they have reached the store they then know that they have made it commented Vi No one is sure when the Llmehouse store began however a brief unofficial history of states that the present post office was built In 1898 thus one could assume that the generalstoro began at that time Sam Gisby a resident of Llmehouse since recalls those days when the general store was the meeting place In the village next to the church Everyone would stand around and talk They would rather talk than do anything else It used to be a really busy place I remember when there was no stove to keep the place warm so often our conversations were cut I also remember coming in and buying a double loaf of bread for five cents and a down eggs for seven cents VI explained that even If the store is not a general store in the true sense it still Is the centre of activity Its still an Important part of the community Its the heart of the village Its still a place where people come when they have no other place to go Its a good place for those lost souls to come Its a nice atmosphere The rat race is left behind in the city One of Ihe busiest general stores in this area Is la Terra for It not only serves the villa go residents but the many campers who stay in the area In this location there are a lot of summer people who come in and do a large amount of grocery shopping With the village people it is mostly last minute articles or things forgotten after doing their weekly grocery shop ping explained Heather Warn owner of the Terra Cotta General Store However once again the store has not lost its at mosphere of years ago In the win we always have the coffee pots going People will stop in and have a friendly chat With the Post Office there are always people coming In Often people will stop In Just to have a coffee continued Heather Mrs Harvey Puckering of Terra Cotta did a bit of reminiscing on the years when her mother owned the store from to 1MB It was the centre of the community I always said that the men would do more wood chopping our stove than they did in the bush We used to have benches set up around the pot belly stove and they would gather around and talk for hours Of course in hose days we had no closing hours We would close whenever the last person The store built Just before the turn of the century still remains open In Older to accomodate the people in the village Opening on the most days at 7 30 In the morning the store serves as a days beginning for a lot of com In the morning many commuters in for gas or coats to running shoes to fresh meat the store with activity Penny Shorthlll of Ballinafad whose mother owns tho store explained some of the everyday happenings at the store Often the men will come in todo some shopping for their wives and they end up standing around talking for hours The older men in the community will tit on the bench outside talk reminisce and gossip Mrs Rita a resident of Ballinafad for 50 years talked about those years when the general store was just about the only place to go I remember going down to the store In the morning Ce cr ITS A FAMILY AFFAIR at the General Store The Stevens have owned the store for the past six years From left to right are Vi Peter and Laura Stevens cigarettes or what have you stated Heather When school Is open children will wait here for the bus and often when it rains or snows heavily they will wait In the store So over the years it hasnt changed much at all con eluded Heather One of the oldest and biggest general stores left in Hills Is In Ballinafad The first general store to serve the community was built in Ihe and after a fire destroyed the wooden structure it was rebuilt In 1906 and that structure still serves the community as it did way back then Still selling everything from horses saddles to winter and it would Just be full of people who were Just standing around talking I guess it was more gossip than anything The atmosphere of the store hasnt changed at all over the years They still have everything from a needle to a hog as I always say Perhaps the large supermarkets do draw the people for their weekly shopping but then there Is always that slam bam lhankyou mam atmosphere will not let the general stores die off at least not In the smaller communities They are needed If not only for convenience sake than to serve as simple means of escape from the hustle and bustle of the outside world Tempest In A Teapot This is In a of excerpts from the unpublished book Tempest in a Teapot written by Renaissance founder Rev KenCampbell It tract In documentary form events leading up and the establishment of the The work Is slated for publication at he end of August Chapter Three Defying Caesar The next day I prepared Ihe letter to the mayor of our municipality announcing my Intention to wllhotd the payment of the educational portion of our property taxes a protest against the domination of public education by the new state religion of secular materialism Fir Feb Mrs Anne MncArthur Mayor Town of Milton Ontario Dear Mrs MscArthur This is to protest against the moral pollution to which high school students arc being irresponsibly and Indiscreetly exposed in our public educational system As the father of two high school girts who have grown up in the school system I have became increasingly alarmed at the filthy literature which Is recommended reading in the High School libraries Because of the accelerated program in the earlier grades my daughters began this year in Grades and at ages 13 and 14 respec lively They are certainly too young to be discriminating in such matters nor should thev have to sift through such recommended literary sewage in search of the ennobling and beautiful of great literature God knows and all of us as parents are aware hat theres enough moral corruption In our society with which our children hove to learn to cope without such Influences being officially fostered within our public educational system When my 15yearold daughter came home yesterday to report a visit to a Grade 12 Health class studying human sexual com paubllity of four representatives of a university Gay Liberation Movement two homosexuals and two lesbians that was the last straw Human sexuality cannot be taught in the moral vacuum that exists in such a classroom As Christian parents we seek to teach our children to love not Just tolerate nil others made in the Image of God At the same time we recognize that there are those whose perversions of mans noble role in Gods universe is of such a twisted nature that as the Scripture warns It Is a shame even to speak of the things that they do secretly To foist such twisted sexual styles on 15yearold Grade students is too much In previous conversations with our high school principal I have found him to be a gen lie man who is sympathetic to the con I have expressed and willing to be as helpful as possible However I recognize that the solution to this problem lies In a sphere beyond his Jurisdiction Thus I am addressing this letter to you as mayor of the municipality in which I pay property taxes from which the school system is financed In seeking to fulfill my responsibilities as a parent and as a concerned for the future of our country I refuse to pay another cent of property taxes for the support of this educational until there are some radical Improvements ThiB disease demands surgery not a bandaid Sincerely Ken Campbell A copy of that letter together with a persona tetter to our principal was delivered by my wife lo the Burlington high school office Friday afternoon Feb at the same time as I was taking my letter to the Mayors office Dear I appreciated the opportunity to speak with you by telephone the other day and for the explanation of the basic policies which you observe in the discharge of your ad minlstrative responsibilities at Although I had been quite disturbed for the past few weeks over the apparent lack of discrimination In the selection of books for the library and In the authors who are recommended for reading In the classrooms our conversation had been helpful in putting things in perspective as far as I was con cerned My wife and I had concluded that we would have to work closely with our children In training them to be discriminating In their reading material However my concern about the more basic problems relating to the philosophy which appears to be all too dominant in public educational system was triggered to alarm by Ihe report which my daughters brought home Wednesday of visit of the group from the Gay Liberation Movement a Grade 12 health class As I Indicated to you when you graciously Invited me office forn visit I deeply appreciate your splendid work as the principal of Within the context of your sphere of responsibilities your service Is tops Hence my reaction to the aforemen tioned report was to set the wheels In motion in the larger social political context In which Im convinced the only adequate solutions can be found Hence the enclosed letter Be assured of my warmest and highest regards for you personally and of my confidence In the in and excellence of your administration as principal of I trust we 11 have opportunity for further helpful exchanges In reference to these matters In days to come Sincerely Ken Campbell At the advice of a Journalist friend Rev Scarborough a contributing editor to the quarterly publication of our Association Encounter I prepared a news release so that he press and the public would have an explanation of the action I was taking Les warned that regardless of how carefully sought to identify he cause and nature of my protest It would be derstood but that I ought to make the effort to be as clear as possible In my presentation An embargo was put on the news release dated February 30 Thus there were two days between the time the letters were taken to the mayors office and the high school office and the time the information is released through the press to the public Hod there been any reason to have retracted that position the news releases could have been withdrawn prior to embargo on the Since there was no reason to retract the There hove been many who have criticized taking this Issue to public through the press Education Is everybodys business and I was determined that he public be shaken out of its apathy and that the crucial issue unresponsiveness of public education to the parents and taxpayers be Identified and a public debate be In stigated over that issue Chapter Four Tempest In A Teapot On Monday morning February the lid blew off the teapot as the news media focused In on the story Over the next two weens I lost 15 pounds trying to keep up to the response of the press and the public to my protest To highlight some of the most pertinent developments of those 20hour days let me begin with an exchange of letters with our high school principal February lff74 Dear Mr Campbell I am sorry that in my absence to attend a headmasters convention in Ottawa your concern was triggered to alarm Had I been here I expect that you and I could have examined your concerns and our practices and the events of last week I expect that you would thus have had abetter view of the context and the event and that I would have had a clearer view of your concerns As I Indicated to you when you called me on Tuesday invite your specific concerns about the book list that you complained of I assure you again that when I receive It I will determine whether our policies are being followed and that good Judgment Is being This school Is concerned that our students develop their greatest potential as moral sound discriminating sensitive and ef fective human beings capable of good citizenship high endeavor and personal fulfillment We believe this requires the development of empathy for others and understanding and respect Tor self and In contemporary literature there arc books highly by some that deal with topics or use techniques that some of us find offensive It is the policy of this school that these arc used In the program students should have some foreknowledge of the nature of the work and must be able to select alternative op ions do not know of any book in our library or in our reading lis Is hat cannot be Justified as valuable on some basis in education 1 do know that some of these books contain passages that I seriously disagree with and that arc repugnant to my values However If each of us restricted our book collection to opinions we agree with we would have a very small library Indeed If you object to I will consider the objections and decide whether there Is value In having these books available to our students 1 took forward to hearing from you further to this connection The following is a summary of the events that culminated in your reaction and public expression of disapproval Far the past four years our grade physical a the issues involved in human sexuality This topic has been dealt with in ways Intended to foster respect for and sensitivity to the moral and spiritual Issues It has attempted to be as valid and as valuable to the real needs of our students and society possible In an area of controversy It has respected diversity of viewpoint and by bringing in people from the community it has attempted to bring derstandingtoourstudents The students arc well aware thai they may choose not to come or may leave any part of this program offends them One of the guests that had contributed to this program in former years J Walker a medical doctor of McMaster University was unavailable to present this part of the program this year When we learned his from the Medical School at Ma a they referred us to the McMoster Sexual Education Centre who in turn agreed to arrange for a speaker or speakers to come and discuss Interpersonal relations including Interpersonal relations of homosexuals and lesbians 3 Withoutourbeingfurlherinformedthe four speakers arrived Tuesday morning and I became aware of who they were immediately before they were to be with class Knowing the nature of the program the ef fectiveness of previous classes the discrimination and good Judgment with which these students had discussed previous topics and that four teachers would be present I did not Interfere with Ihe program 4 The assessment of the four teachers present Is that the topic was Intellectually dealt with that aberrant behavior was neither advocated nor made to appear desirable and that the students gained useful insight Into this problem of human behavior 1 must take full responsibility for the circumstances and there arc some judgments and decisions of mine that you may well question However you are quite wrong to attribute these to moral corrup tion being officially fostered or to attempt foist such twisted sexual styles The very opposite is Intended This event and these books do lie within my Jurisdiction and your criticism of them should be directed to I would appreciate an early opportunity to discuss these concerns with you Please call so hat we can arrange this Yours truly Name withheld