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7| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,M ay 17,2018 theifp.ca A COOL TREAT Victoria Day weekend often signals the "unofficial" start of summer, and what's more synonymous with summer than ice cream? In this 1966 photo, Jan Kitchen and Julie Parsons prepare some of the tasty frozen treats for customers at Dairy Queen on Guelph Street, a favourite summer destination for many Georgetown residents. EHS photo THE WAY WE WERE Everyone knows Win- nie the Pooh and his group of friends, Owl, Pig- let, Eeyore and the hyper- active Tigger. And most people are equally familiar with the children's book entitled 'Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.' During the recent storm of May 4, I was re- minded of good old Win- nie and his bunch of friends as Mother Nature decided to do some seri- ous tree pruning and structure redecorating locally. Our power went out in the late afternoon, com- pliments of an old pine tree up the road blowing down and bringing down the wires. I did the chores right away, as we knew we'd en- dure hours of darkness before the power was re- stored. It was a very dark night, reading by an oil lamb. Personally, I cringe during windy nights. I worry about trees on the farm blowing down on the wires, or hitting one of the buildings. But my biggest con- cern is the welfare of our two barns. Barns are vulnerable in windstorms, particu- larly if they are empty. Barns used for feed and hay are not quite so much at risk, as the hay supports them inside. But if the wind blows off some boards, or a big barn door off its track when it's empty, the sud- den opening into the structure can create a high-pressure area inside the barn, and can poten- tially blow the roof right off the barn - or even blow the barn down. So when we have a windy night I don't get much sleep. Years ago, on a very windy day, I arrived home from work and as usual, checked the barn. I checked the stable and nothing was happen- ing, so I climbed the stairs up to the haymow. I heard a weird rat-a- tat-tat sound, almost like a tiny machine gun. The sound emulated from the upper part of the barn. When my eyes became accustom to the dim light, I could see the source of the sound. The steel roofing on the far end of the barn was lifting with every gust of wind, and I could see day- light showing through. The steel sheets were vibrating in the wind, hence the 'machine gun' sound. I went outside to the back of the barn where it was happening, and I could see the sheets lift- ing about six inches, then drop again. I was terrified. I had vi- sions of the entire roof lifting off the barn. When it comes to barn roofs, there's one huge challenge - barn roofers are not very common, es- pecially in this area. My dad and I had em- ployed a barn roofer years before, but I couldn't re- call his name. More importantly, I wasn't sure he was still in business. I checked online for barn roofers, and his name jumped off the page. I called his business, which was located in Shelburne. After introducing my- self, I was amazed he re- called the job at our place a decade or more before. He said he'd be there as soon as possible. That was the longest hour and a half as I wait- ed. Fortunately, by the time he arrived, the wind had dropped. A couple sheets of the roofing were still curled up a bit, and he could see where it was lifting. He said he'd have his crew there ASAP. True to his word, two roofers arrived and screwed down the entire barn roof - and did the smaller barn roof beside it. It was a close call, and I'm forever grateful of their speedy response. But no matter what shape the roof is in, I will always become uneasy whenever the winds blow like last Friday. Sort of like Pooh Bear was uneasy - on his very blustery day. - Ted Brown is a freelance columnist for the Indepen- dent and Free Press. He can be reached at ted- bit@hotmail.com. OPINION It was a very blustery day Barn owners are no fans of wind, writes Ted Brown TED BROWN Column Finally, we are about to receive an apology from the Canadian government for their atrocious behaviour during the Second World War. A ship containing ap- proximately 900 Jewish peo- ple sailed into Canadian wa- ters and was promptly turned away. The US and everybody failed these people in their great hour of need, and our country failed them as well. I do understand that it was a different time and dif- ferent laws, but this problem has upset me for years and in 2018 the Jewish communi- ty is finally getting their dues! To understand what these people went through just to breathe another day, even a minute is heart- breaking. Even though there were 900 Jews aboard the ship, three hundred were not very lucky because they died in concentration camps! 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