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t ti a kunditd candle mi cut cake canada 100th birthday party on july 1 will likely be celebrated with the traditional reserve associated with canadians a few will kick over the traces and rosily let go in an orgy of flag waving and yahooing but most canadians will celebrate quietly with en appreciation for their country which goes deep and needs no flamboyant emotional outlet they realize canada is not the gar- d o eden there are many things about canada and canadians which could be better it has been that way since the fathers of confederation final ly convinced the inhabitants of what is now nova scotia new brunswick que bec and ontario they should unite in one federation vision a commodity as scarce as the proverbial hens teeth then as well as now persuaded these bearded patri archs that despite all the regional dif ferences in language race and religion we people in british north america were very much alike theres a com- mon bond not always apparent except to the bbservant most of us are familiar rwfth the stereotype picture of the fathers of con federation on prince edward island looking like latter day moses its hard to realize they were flash and blood figures wrestling with real problems and if you can believe present day research some of them had a bit of the devil in them the devil in those days was associ ated with whisky and women which some of our great grandfathers showed a marked partiality for irtiarae quanti ties and hour glass figures isithat order v despite these human weaknesses they forged a confederation of four very insular parrs of british north am erica which lasts to this day and pro mises to last a lot longer prophets of doom to the contrary how would the folks back home take the news just like youd expect some rhap sodized the new nation so strongly people living in togr cabins in the midst of thick bush had to pinch them selves to make sure they werent already in paradise others forecast dire results charg ing sellout to the enemy unnamed but there nevertheless the old toronto globe on july 1 1867 reported with the first dawn of this gladsome midsummer morn we hail the birthday of a new nationality enthusiastic canadians according to the papers attended fireworks dis plays concerts horse races a grand balloon ascension and musketry feu de joies took railway excursions and danced till the coal oil lamps rattled the unanimity and cordiality en thused the globe with which all sec tions of the people of canada accept the new constitution gives the happiest omen of its successful operation evidently the mayor of dorchester quebec a mr leberge didnt take the globe because he would not sanction holding of a celebration his grounds he believed confederation to be a public misfortune and that before re joicing the people should wait at least one year to see how the union would work down in the bluenose country they were mon vehement the halifax morning chronicle in the style of n obituary editorialized died last night at 12ivclock the free and enlightened province of nova sco tia deceased wasthe offspring of old english stock and promised to have provefd an honour and support to her parents in their declining years her death was occasioned by the unnatural treatment received at the hands of some of her ungrateful sons who tak- ing advantage of the position she had afforded them betrayed her to the enemy funeral will take place from the grand parade this day at nine o clock friends are requested not to at tend as her enemies vithbecoming scorn intend to insult the occasion with rejoicing there was no newspaper in acton and district at rhamime to report on the reaction of folks in this northern es- quesing section of upper canada you can be fairly certain there was mixed reaction like in most other places the pros and cons of the move would be debated with- much bias and little ob jectivity since the times werent noted for fence sitters fence viewers was about as near as you could get without risking a beating the new country headed by the wily scot aaacdonald somehow func tioned so well after its first few falter ing steps there were other parts of the huge canadian shield eager to join up in 1870 the northwest territories came in part of which was divided into manitoba and created a fifth province in 1871 british columbia became the sixth on the condition the dominion pacific railway connect fhem to the rest of canada w- prince edward island long revered ajvthe birthplace of confederation stoocfffelpof until 1873 when the spud islanders fttyrily followed the lead of their maritime brethren unlike the island argus which championed confederation the pa triot suggested it was an unwise move in ap editorial part ofivvhich follows on tuesday whether for weal or woe prince edward island became a province of the dominion of canada the church and city bells also rang out a lively peal and the volunteers under review at the city park fired a feu de joie so far as powder and metal could do it there was for a short time a ter rible din but among the people who thronged the streets there was no en thusiasm a few moments before 12 mr sheriff watson stepped forward on the balcony of the colonial building and read the union proclamation he was accompanied by two ladies and about a half a dozen gentlemen the audi ence below within hearing consisted of three persons and even they did not appear to be very attentive after the reading of the proclamation was con cluded the gentlemen on the balcony gave a cheer but the three persons below responded never a word inspiring wasnt it but despite these bursts of enthusi asm the yukon came into the union and in 1905 the biggest year for con federation since 1867 saskatchewan and alberta entered simultaneously canadas 10th province new foundland first discovered by the great navigators finally entered confedera tion in 1949 and besides bringing a long tradition of individualism started a train of newfie jokes the acton 4fc frff press 51 at amftr anm n m vm r i in i mm a was aajwce wcv f act s siujri in tni heart of the scotch block sits grey stone boston presbyterian church testimony to the faith of those who settled esquesing township in the years before confederation much like the churches of their homeland scottish masons built it to endure the harsh winters of their adopted land it is the oldest church in esquesing preceded by a pine board building built in 1825 the present church was started in 1 866 the 147th anniversary was held sun day june 18 sugar and spice by bill smiley since we are 100 years old this week i should be grinding out an ode to can ada but its so hot the very thought of it nukes me feel about 100 years ode come on smiley it aint that hot j instead lets have an honest look at ourselves to find out what kind of a tribe those ten decade produced trying to pin down the canadian national character is like trying to thread a needle in the dark blindfolded and halfstoned trouble is any way you add up the individual characteristics thejy come out spelling schizophrenic for example the experts tell us that we arc extremely inarticulate people thai means we dont talk much maybe its because we havent anything worth saying and are too proud to show our ignorance but at the same time we are the worlds champion yakkers accord ing to the telephone companies cana dians spend more time on he blower than any other nation proportionately yes jack my wife does too undoubted ly this is a backlash from pioneer days when women often went for weeks with out a chance for a good talk with an other woman theyre trving to catch up canada was complete all the pieces of tfie jigsaw are together it took a hundred years to put the puzzle together some people are pre dicting it wont last much longer weve got separatists in ctuebec yanks to the south and ice to the north weve got troubles troubles troubles funny though isnt it thats the way we started out tjk centennial picture jailer of acton was reproduced as a post card shortly after the turn of the century and the picture was lent fbjr this series by herb ritchie in the centra slightly to the right is st jos ephs church faring on church st rev v j morgans house is farther toward the right to the left of centre at the back is the former methodist church facing mill st far at the back on the left is the storey glove factory which faced on bower ave another contradiction in pioneer ing exploring wars we have shown our selves bold adventuresome brave yet we are timid about investing our money 5 in canada and we also truy more insur ance per capita than any other country why this caution this desire for secur ity theres something freudian about it mothercountry breastfed too long return to- the womb or something but we havent time to figure that one out today we are as materialistic as we could be and with some reason it takes more than a century to get from sod shanty to sonata from barnraising to ballet at the same time we are extremely culture- conscious and are secretly delighted with the stratford festival and the na tional ballet and our sprinkling of sym phony orchestras as long as we dont have to attend despite our reverence for culture we refuse to read the quickest way to lose your shirt in canada is to open a book store in a population of 20 million a new book thlat sells 10000 copies is a runaway bestseller it must be a hang over from the pioneer attitude that a person should be dcng something and that reading doesnt come in this cate gory or is it because we have too much money and too many tovs i something else we refuse to do is walk europeans enjoy walking eng lishmen love it why wont we ojir trouble probably is in equal parts too far to anywhere wanting to get there in a hurry car worship and plain laziness we are heavy boozers as the statis tics show and cant hold our liquor as a glance around at the next party will show whv do we drink so much be cause we are so dull we cant stand each other without the grape or is it because drink has alwavs been associated with sin in this country and man is born to sin yes we play hard and most of us work hard the sad thing is that the only reason ve work hard is to enable us to get things with which to plav hard boats and barbecues and builtin bars cottages and cars and curling memberships are we a religious people well we hae vast numbers of churches of every onccivahle deromination most of them tottering on the brink of bankruptcy but we are decent enough to leave god in church where he belongs he is rarely mentioned on weekdays and usually thn onlv as a prefix for another word we are without prejudice and have laws to prove it but lets go on being honest and admit the nation is riddled wit prejudice based on race religion language color politics and money dont agree just try joining one of those exclusive jewish clubs if you hap pen to be a black muslim or getting a teaching job in a french convent school if your a jewish eskimo we have a few othe little quirks but i wouldnt trade my canadian citizenship for four million to gold bullion row about yon theres a topic for your guest col umn in oar centennial savesmiley con- teat prize is now 50 cash get cracking 20 years ago 75 years ago taken from the issue of the acton free press thursday june 26 1947 tuesday canada wiil mark her eight ieth birthday since confederation can ada has gone far and indications are that the dominion will see even greater ad vances in the years ahead canadians hav- every cause for optimism the midweek holiday this year isnt quite as popular as monday holidays saturday was a feast for lovers of band music in acton judging by the crowds that lined the streets and went to the tattoo in acton park the town and countrv fcr miles around liked the bands the parade was headed by boys and girls band under c w mason and followed bv bands from alton guelph hillsburg rockwood preston and fer- gus as well as the lome scots acton school children paraded with the band little peter lawson who conducted the acton band drew a round of applause w h dcnnv was master of ceremonies the past week has seen quite a lot of activity in launching boats on fairy lake g rognvaldson launched a skiff he and his father and brother construct ed mr j b chalmers had two model freighters and mr f l wright had a model sail boat 50 years ago taken from the issue of the acton free press thursday june 28 1917 from one aspect the semicenten nial of canadian confederation is being overshadowed by the pressing neces sities of war and the series of political crisis through which canada is passing this summer from another view how ever the critical circumstances of the present time make this semicentennial even more significant if it had occur red during a time of peace and pros perity there would doubtless have been manv more fireworks displayed and much more noise and jubilation on tario part in the celebration by its quietness and dignity will it is hoped interpret the spirit of the people of the province the very successful pastorate of rev h w avison terminated in acton last sunday his new field of labor is at welland a large number of members of the congregation were at the station to say farewell rev r s e large and wife and little girlie arrived yesterday sunday morning rev j wilson will preach in the confederation jubilee when the milk bylaw was publish ed it was thought it might curtail the business the opposite has been the re sult already five licenses have been issued for sale of milk in acton john nelson t p watkins a j murray who purchased the business from g w- ma- sales alex donald and s m lasby all milk offered for sale must now be bot tled at a wellattended meeting of halton reform association e h cleaver of bur lington was the unanimous choice of the convention as candidate for the on tario legislature he is the grandson of one of the original settlers his grand father having come from pennsylvania at the time of the ii e loyalists church news trinity church the united church of canada minister rev gordon a turner organist mr george elliott ma phj presbyterian church in canada knox church acton rev andrew h mcjcenzle ba bd minister mr b a hansen ba organist and choir master thursday june 29 800 pjn induction service at trinity united for rev gordon a turner sunday july 2 1967 combined summer services in trinity united church preacher rev gor don a turner 1000 am special centennial service acton baptist church founded 1842 pastor rev stanley gammon res 144 tidey ave ph 8531615 sunday july 2 1967 1000 ajn church school and adult class 1 1 15 am morning worship can we be sure no evening service during july and aug wednesday 730 pjn prayer and bible study thursday 7 jo pjn choir practice thought for the week your faith should show in your face mapi avenui baptist church georgetown sunday july 2 1967 94s ajn sunday school 1100 ajnmoming service 700 pjn evening service wednesday 8 pjn prayer meeting acton 8531956 georgetown 8776665 8vangbl ptktkostal tabbttucul paoc 33 churchill road rev s m thoman pastor 8532715 sunday july 2 1967 1000 ajn sunday school 1100 ajn morning worship 700 pjn evangelistic service rev thomas lato will minister tuesday 8 pjn prayer and bible study thursday 8 pjn christ ambassa dors braeside camp near paris ont job 115 ithvr christian r0ormed church acton ontario sunday july 2 1967 1000 ajn english service 1110 ajn sunday school 230 pjn alternating dutch and eng lish serrice saturday bible classes 101x30 sun listen every sunday the back to god hour radio minis ter dr j h nederhoood christian reformed church chiq 12801000 ajn ckfh 1430930 ajn cjcey 590830 ajn everyone welcome thr church of aujan thh martyr st corner willow st and st joans drtva rev ritchie mcmsrray mx stb peter taken from the issue of the acton free press thursday jane 3 1892 put out your flags and bunting for our national holiday tomorrow acton will have hundreds of visitors to the cele bration the celebration committee has promised a foot ball match gun club contest lacrosse match tug of war horse races in the park and a grand concert in the town hall horses are ar riving already for the races strawberries are plentiful and cheap five to seven cents is the price there is considerable complaint be cause he streetlights arc not lighted these dark nights thirteen candidates from actons schools went to the entrance examina tions at georgetown the public school examinations were not largely attended the pupils acquitted themselves well the first exhibit to arrive at chicago for the worlds fair consists of 13 enor mous logs from canada the school board estimates for the vear were presented and the sum of 1803 u required 1490 of it for salaries and 147 for fuel james grant was paid 70 cents for carting seats and desks miss cleveland has resigned and a new teacher with second class certificate will be advertised for salary not to exceed 275 per annum the redistribution bill after lengthy and warlike discussion has passed the house of commons advertisement here johnnie your mother doesnt understand why i am able to get out mv big washings quicker and nicer than she does take this tab let of sunlight soap and tell her to use it according to directions tell her that this soap will also keep her hands nice and soft and doesnt shrink flannels 100 years ago taken from the issue of the canadian champion june 20 1867 on tuesday last some of the family of john dewar of esquesing saw a young boy running out of their house holding something against his breast on pursuing him he took to his heels and escaped after a search it was dis covered that two ten dollar packages of silver were missing and mr dewar pro ceeded to milton and accompanied by the mayor went to the residence of a miltonian whose son was accused the women who saw him assert that louis was the boy his father was working on the next farm belonging to r graham and it is supposed that the boy seeing no one in perpetrated the robberyhe is a youth of jtmt seven swpwfa aiubwe may well ask if such things be done in the green tree what will be done in the dry the boy strenuously denied it call ing upon his maker to stop his breath if he were guilty so the matter ends for the present but it is to be hoped that the perpetrator will be punished and sent for a few years to the reform atory for if he gets off it is but an en couragement to mm and to other bad boys to go on to yet higher feats in wickedness r i thursday june 29 f of st and st paul the apos 10jjo ajxlrjhoh baefcarlst sunday july 2 1967 trinity vi 1o00 ajnv the hob eucharist the pariah it dejajhted to nave the raw oread brie mills of st gorfe y georgetown once again with savvfe i mob ww beta charge of tfcajsari