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6 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2007 EDITORIAL Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com Frances Niblock Mike OLeary Angela Tyler Rebecca Ring Publisher Editorial Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Editorial Contributors Advertising and Circulation Composing Marie Shadbolt Bruce Cargill Danielle McIsaac By Angela Tyler with Hartley Coles (519) 853-0051 Fax: (519) 853-0052 Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. STANDING ON GUARD: member of the Lorne rifles, predecessors of the Lorne Scots, drill beside the Drill Hall in Prospect Park about 1916 during World War I. Wilfrid Coles is the Sergeant in the back row, fourth from the right. Now the new agricultural /sports facility sits gracefully on the foot- prints of the old Acton Arena, many are asking whats happening to the historic old poultry barn/drill hall. It sits rather forlornly on the banks of Fairy Lake, its front doors facing the fae of the new building. Except for fall fair days, the unpretentious 140 year-old barn is used to store Acton Agricultural Societys equipment. Some may say tear it down and create another vista of Fairy Lake, but the old hall is part of Actons social and military heritage. Built in 1867 by the federal government in the year of Confederation for Company No. 6 of the Halton Volunteers, a militia unit organized to defend this new nation from Fenian invasions, its 60x100 feet dimen- sions were larger than any other such structure in the area, Actons Early Days notes. Constructed almost entirely of clear pine it showed some of the finest framing ever done in these parts, the book declares. How then did it regress into its present state? Its a moving tale. Originally, the drill hall stood at the corner of Bower Avenue and Elgin Street, constructed only a few feet away from a little frame Bap- tist church which was situated behind what is now the Holland Shop on Mill Street. It cut off the light from the north side of the church but the tolerant Baptists congregation never objected. Actons Early Days related, even thought it became rather embarrassing in the services there at times, especially when the militia drilled or there was a dance when the plow boys were hoeing it down with their long boots on. Conditions for the congregation didnt improve much when the original dirt floor was replaced by a wooden one. It created a splendid hall for band concerts, political meetings and entertainment such as Harriet Beeche Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin, the popular and fashion- able play of the era. The sound of the big military boots on wood must have increased the vibration for the congregation. That might have had something to do with an initiative by some citi- zens headed by Alex Secord to have the drill shed moved from its central Bower Ave. location to Prospect Park in Acton where it would have a convenient outside parade ground for the militia. Authorities were convinced and the building was moved to the park on a location now occupied by the new agricultural/soccer facility. When the Acton Arena was built in 1927 the drill hall was moved to its present location. However there was some speculation then that Mr. Secords enthusi- asm for moving the building to the park may have had another motive. Once the drill shed was moved he bought the Bower Ave property and built the fine brick residence that sits on the site. The drill shed continued its military role for an Acton company of the militia and served as a base for training recruits for the Peel, Duf- ferin and Halton Rifles during World War I. Few changes were made to the hall although the exterior gradually succumbed to the weather. Inside, however, the strong pine beams and rafters are as good as the day the were installed in 1867 with adze marks still visible from the virgin timber. Most members of the Acton Agricultural Society, we are informed, would like to see the old drill shed returned to some semblance of its former glory by creating a new foundation, a cement floor and new sid- ing to blend with the new building. Its a recognition of the social and military heritage it represents, as unpretentious as it is, as well as the fact they have no other place in Prospect Park to store their equipment. We like the restoration idea and perhaps a bronze plaque should be on the building pointing out its historical significance to Acton. It may be fit now only for chickens and storage but over the last 140 years phantoms of the past, marching feet, and long-ago entertainments permeate its clear pine structure. It is worth seeing. However, there is a fiscal problem about restoring the drill hall. Theres a substantial ($1.3 million) mortgage on the new building and the Agricultural Society has few funds to do the restoration work. Some may even like to see it demolished. Hopefully there may be government or heritage funds available to help with restoration since it represents a time when Confederation was new, the threat of a Fenian invasion was real. As it has been said; Those who neglect the lessons of the past do so at their peril. In its present form it is an eyesore but a lot could be done to spruce it up if funds are available. Do you remember when the cas- sette Walkman came out? It was really expensive, yet you could bring your music with you in a small portable way. With head phones you didnt have to worry about disturb- ing anybody with your choice of music. I was pretty ecstatic when I got my first portable CD player. I thought it was the ultimate. Then as technology always changes, the Dude introduced me to the world of MP3s. It was a little much for me. After about a month and a few dozen phone calls to friends who have mastered MP3 technology I was finally able to download some songs. I dont use my MP3 very muchmaybe a few times a week, yet it is nice to have one and to use one when I want. My dad doesnt understand why I use my MP3. Why cant you just listen to the sounds of the world? he has asked me several times. Sometimes though, I dont want to listen to the world, I just want to escape to my music. Ive even bought a set of CDs to learn Spanish and have downloaded them onto it. It isnt working though as I am still on the lesson where Im trying to count to 10. Lately, however, Im getting frus- trated with them and other portable listening devices such as the IPOD. There are a couple of summer stu- dents at work who I am sure have had their IPOD headphones, or ear buds as the kids know them as, sur- gically implanted into their ears. If you talk to them, unless they face you, they cant hear until you start yelling their name. When they realize they were being talked to, they do this special IPOD head tilt ear bud removal technique. Its hard to describe unless you see it. I figure there is a section in the IPOD manual of how to do it. Ive tried hard to ignore the ear buds. I try to remember they are young and at least they are working, not just staying at home in the sum- mer doing nothing. In a way, Im turning into a motherly figure Im sure they dont want or need. The other day, the one boy was filling a bucket of water. I was about 20 feet away and I could hear the music his headphones were filtering into his ear drums. For gawds saketurn that thing down, I grumped at him. Big sur- prise thoughas he wasnt looking at me he didnt hear me. Then he saw me and did the head tilt thing popping out the ear buds. He po- litely asked me to repeat myself. Dont you realize you are kill- ing your hearing? I asked. Hes young. Things like a woman telling him that he was going to go deaf listening to music that loud wasnt important. With that I told him to yank his pants up because I was sick of seeing his underwear. When will the trend of boys letting their pants fall below their waist end? I was turning into my parents. A few days later I was reading one of the Toronto newspapers and there was a story about how a young man got zapped with lightning while he was listening to his IPOD as he mowed the grass. I figured this would surely get their attention. Maybe, just maybe, I could actually talk to them without having to see the head tilt thing again. After reading the article, they were surprised. I thought I was win- ning the battle. Then the one said to me, Ill give this to my brother. Hes usually the one that cuts the grass. With that they put their ear buds back in their ear and continued their work. Its time to admit defeat. IPODs, earbuds all distractions Saving the drill hall