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| ey ee ote ae THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005 EDITORIAL with Hartley Coles Two who left lasting legacies Acton and area lost two community-minded men in the deaths of Brendan Aherne and Vic Bristow who both passed away on Janu- ary 6. They ieft.a legacy in a variety of organizations over decades of community service in the 85 years they lived and with entirely different personalities. Brendan, a quiet unassuming picture of an Irish country gentle- man with tweed hat and appropriate pipe, was a founding member of the Acton Community Credit Union, now the Prosperity One bank on, Queen St. Born in Ireland he never forgot his roots but as Father Bob Bulbrook said in a memorial eulogy he was able to bridge his native Ireland and his adopted country, Canada, like few others. He felt a bond with the poor and disadvantaged which translated into 20 years on the board of The Acton Social Services and Information Centre (ASSIC), the predecessor of the Halton Hills Community Support and Information (HHCSI). He was also a "grass roots" member of the New Democratic Party, as-well as serving on the Acton Parks Board. Brendan's interest in the Irish roots of St. Joseph's Parish contin- ued with extensive work in the history and burials of the Catholic cemetery on the Dublin Line in collaboration with his son, Sean, and Ray Arbic. Eventually two brass plaques identifying all the grave sites were installed at the cemetery entrance. Unlike Brendan, Vic Bristow was a native of Acton who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War 2. After a stint in Hamilton Vic returned to Acton and opened a photography busi- ness before joining the staff of the Acton Post Office where he was a familiar figure until his retirement. Described as a "small man with a big heart," Vic served as a trustee and chairman on the Acton School Board and was an enthusiastic member of Brendan Aherne the Acton club folded he joined the Georgetown Lions Club where he continued in community service work with Lions Club charities. He was awarded the highest award in Lionism, named a Melvin Jones Fel- low in 1992-93. Vic gave unstintingly of his time to work with the Heart and Stroke Foundation as well as the Canadian National Institute of the Blind and the Canadian Cancer Society, his favourite charities. He also served as a member of Heritage Acton which saved the old Acton town hall from destruction and is gradu- ally being restored to its former grandeur as a community centre. Vic was named Acton Citizen of the Year for 1986 and his years of volunteering earned him an Ontario Bicentennial medal in 1984 for his volunteer-work. Vic Bristow Vic and Brendan were not only longtime Acton residents but had been married for well over half a century, Vic to Penny for 60 years, and Brendan to Elizabeth (Liz) for 55 years, surely another mark of their dedication to their community and family. _ The esteem in which both these citizens of Acton were held was evident in the memorial and funeral services at St. Alban's Anglican and St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Saturday and Friday of last week respectively. Both churches were filled to capacity in tribute to both men who had "made a difference" in long and fruitful lives. We mourn their passing but are so glad they passed this way. the Acton Lions Club. Later, when . 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS: Halton Hills Electric celebrated 30 years in business at an open house at their office and workshop at the corner of Commerce Court and Wallace St. in Acton. The business was started i by Lyle Preuter and wsife Marie, January 1, 1975. They were later joined by son Trevor and recently by Ryan, The business was recently expanded to double it original size. Left to right are Trevor, Marie, Lyle and Ryan Preuter. - Ted Tyler photo. Dear old dad was right! When I was 14, there were two things I wanted more than anything. The first was to wear make-up. The other was to get my ears pierced. When I reached grade 9, my par- ents set some rules which included no dating until I was 16. I was al- lowed to wear some make-up, but only clear nail polish. The biggest one was no ears pierced until I was 18. My world had come to a halt. My arguments didn't matter, nor did my "but so-and-so has hers pierced." My dad's response was: "when you're 18, you can do what you want." At the time I thought he was acting like it was the 1800s, but the rules at the time were there for a reason, one that took me a while to understand. Like many teens, I tried to push my parents' rules. One day as Le- anne and I sat at the end of the aisle in the library, my nails were soon a glowing purple. The colour didn't last long because when I got home, I was quickly reminded of what the rules were as the nail polish remover came out. : When I turned 16, I couldn't be- lieve my luck. My dad had a change of heart and offered me a choice of two birthday presents. I could have the camera case I craved or my ears pierced. The need for a camera case quickly vanished and I was soon donning pierced earrings. However, I don't think my dad ex- By Angela Tyler pected me to remember his "When you're 18...." rule. No sooner did I turn 18, did I come home with three more holes in my ears, and streaked blonde hair. Nor did he expect me showing up at 30 with an additional two more to complete my collection. The first was me being a teenager. The second one was me trying to prove to myself that 30 wasn't old. I know now both were dumb things I did. In hindsight, I should have never gone past two earrings per ear. The extra ones took ages to heal; the last two took a year. It was painful; TI couldn't answer the phone on that side and they still give me problems. However, after suffering like that, I am too stubborn or still too dumb to admit defeat. I understand the teenage rebellion or in turning 30 the need to do some- thing "young." However, I cannot understand why lately there are so many young people getting facial piercings or doing weird things to their body parts. On Saturday, the Dude and I had stopped at Harvey's for a late afternoon snack. The girl taking our order was probably about 18 and seemed nice. However, it didn't seem to matter how nice or how ef- ficient she was, she looked like she could be in a carnival freak show. There they were: facial piercings including below her bottom lip and her ears, with these spacer-type things where one would pierce their ears: As she headed back to get our drinks, the Dude leaned over to me, "Did you see that," he asked. How could I not? You could look through the holes and see the kitchen behind her. The holes were big enough that you could probably fit a finger into them. It was like driving by an ac- cident scene. You want to look, but at the same time you can't stand to see it. Earrings are one thing, but I just can't handle facial piercings and such. I wondered if she regretted the spacers or was she like me...too stubborn to give in. There are health regulations for people in the food industry regard- ing hygiene and I know you can't discriminate when hiring someone because they decided to get their eyebrow or tongue pierced or even spacers put in their earlobes. How- ever, as a consumer, I can choose not to dine where the business has people serving or preparing food with pierced tongues, lips, eyebrows or perhaps even giant spacers in their earlobes. Pa ay IF We ARE HERE T HELP | WHAT ARE Whe OTHERS Fog? ) 2005 jacy c. THE <Taaner 373 Queen Street East, Unit*1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com \ (519) 853-0051 Fax: 853-0052. Publisher Ted Tyler Advertising and Circulation Bruce Cargill > Marie Shadbolt Composing Danielle Mclsaac Laura Maitland Janine Taylor Editorial Hartley Coles Editorial Contributors Frances Niblock Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler Janis Fread Rebecca Ring Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. to legal action. Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is cofrectly printed. 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