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Published Wednesday by Publishing Co Llmiiod Willow Strmt Acton Ontario Telephone Subscriptions Sinfjle cop each per in Canada in all countries other than Canada Tho Acton Ftw a one of Inland Publishing Co Limited group of suburban news paper which Include Whitby Pic News Advertiser Brampton Guardian The Burlington Post Eloblcoka Goiolte The Georgetown Independent MarkhamThornhtll Economist and Sun Milton Canadian Champion Tho News The Newmarket Aurora Da Oakville Beaver This Week Qjhawa This Weekend and The Sioulfvills Tribune Founded In 1875 Don McDonald Publisher Advertising a the condition that in the typographical error that portion of advertising occupied by the erroneous itom together reasonable allowance foi will bo lor but advertisement will be paid for at ml In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price goods services may not bo sold Advertising is merely an offer of The Audi Bureau Association and The Ontario Weekly Newspaper A The Canadian Community Newspaper EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor Han lev Cotes News Editor Helen Murray Ra porterlP her EricEtstone Sports Editor Robin In ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Cook Unified Advert lino Marylln BUSINESSACCOUNTING OFFICE Office Manager Fran Gibson Rhona Thornhill Shirley Carolyn Duval CIRCULATION PHONE end Editorial Office 6 Tho Acton Press Wednesday Jan 311979 No way arts centre here When the architects of regional government drew up plans unite Acton Georgetown and quesing into one municipality they based much of their reason ing on financial studies Geo graphically they struck out This is evident in the recent de cision by Hills council for a study of the feasibility of an arts centre for Halton Hills Ward One Acton councillor Ed Wood after listening to the arguments both pro and re using a new addition to Wrigglesworth School in Georgetown asked Rex chairman of the group pushing the centre if the study was just for Georgetown or did it also include the whole of Halton Hills Mr Heslop replied the study was intended to cover the whole of Halton Hills Councillor Wood reminded the group which talked Wrigglesworth school there was also a new high school in Acton which just might have the necessary facilities Despite the groups good inten tions there is no way the com mittee or council would vote to erect an arts centre in Acton Georgetown has the majority of members in most cultural groups within the town and their weight will clearly decide where the facility is erected It is one of the problems council and groups interested in the wel fare of the entire town face when they talk about the future For in stance it is unlikely more than a few people in Georgetown are interested in the preservation of Actons old town hall Conversely few people in Acton would be interested in a cultural centre in Georgetown Georgetown being the largest centre of population in Halton Hills will continue to receive the lions share of the spoils If the centre were located in Acton the interest in Georgetown would dwindle to almost nothing A similar centre in Acton would evoke sympathy and interest from people of this community but we doubt if the idea of an arts centre in Georgetown awakens much interest here now That is still the major weakness of regional government as con ceived for Halton Hills Uniting two communities spiritually and physically is a giant sized job for council and all the best- people in all walks of life but that seven miles of road separating the two urban centres does more to keep them apart than any opponents of bill 151 the document that united or split Halton into four from six muni cipalities Evening meetings better A letter writer this week com plains the Ontario Municipal Board with three months of dump hearings scheduled in Milton 15 adopting an Alice in Wonderland approach by barring evening meetings She says meetings where pbulic arbitration on evidence presented for and against destroying prime farm land should be held in the evenings not in the daytime when it is most inconvenient for the public affected to attend It is true of many lengthy OMB hearings not only the current ones in Milton The interested public unless they have plenty of time and money at their disposal finds it hard to attend daytime meetings when they must report for work each day or face losing pay or even a job The writer points out that only two members of the OMB are involved in the Milton hearings and they are funded with tax dollars taken from people who must spend more of their own money to sacrifice time from work We can concur with her con clusions Too many OMB hearings occur in daytime Evening meetings might be more profitable both for the board and the public No doubt the status associated with appointments to the OMB would soon dissipate if members had to work evenings but surely the practice of daytime meetings goes back to the time when only professional people and those with a great deal of money had the power or inclination to challenge the existing authority In this age of participatory democracy daytime meetings seem outdated and elitist Planners for the Police Village of are ensuring that buildings of historical interest or character are protected in the vil lages official plan At a meeting in the village hall last week draft amendments to the secondary plan spelled out protection for these parts of the past many of which are in an excellent state of preservation or have been restored Included in the list compiled by a committee named for that specific purpose are such places as St Johns Anglican Church the house and bam on the Dunbar property which relate to village pioneer Squire Strange and Sir Casimir Gzowski respectively the Academy and branches out into Eramosa town ship to include St Peters Catholic Church Oustic the old hotel on the corner at Eden Mills and Speedside United Church Many of these fine buildings re flect the masonry of early Scottish pioneers who built in stone that would last Their work can be seen in the fine stone bams of Nassagaweya township now Milton in hamlets such as Eden Mills or in the cities of Guelph and Gait It was the insistence of village residents that historical buildings should be protected by the plan which also is geared to orderly slow growth for the village Because has an ex pensive new sewer and water system it was deemed necessary that infilling in the village on serviced lots until population reached 1630 people by 1990 would be the only desirable avenue of growth It was an astute move to help villagers pay for their new system with the aid of infilling on existing lots Further subdivisions have been discouraged If planners allowed growth beyond the new systems it would make the new systems more ex pensive for users However there is also a provision in the secon dary plan to review it every five years Changes can then be made if conditions warrant Of course the plan cant be all things to all people but it does seem that planners township and village officials have carved out a unique agreement to preserve Rockdoods unique character and setting and at the same time allowing reasonable growth Would that all communities had the same protection If Acton had such a protection for historical buildings no doubt the old town hall would have been better cared for over the years and buildings such as the CN station would still stand secondary plan looks like a model for all photographers dream after the heavy snowfall and rain Wednesday However the aftermath wan a hi ma re s who had to dig out either with shovels plows or blowers The heavy snow caused havoc or drivers some of whom got stuck In the middle of the town streets before plows could Parking was Photos bj Robin Incae Feeling sorry for hardy pioneers plan looks good Just struggled home through about the tenth blizzard of this month You could sec your hand before your face it you had a large hand and good Found my street more by feel than sight turned off with skid went through the routine of getting into the garage Its rather like launching a small boat in a large surf It lakes a lot of skill and a fair bit of nerve At the entrance to the driveway are the boulders These are huge gobbets of snow thrown up by ho which then freezes them bigger than a large mans head Then there is a flat space shovelled about the length of a car Then just at the entrance I he garage itself there is a sort of reef of ice built up to a foot or so of frozen snow You have to hit the driveway and there is a large maple a foot to one Hide at about miles an hour There is a great rending noise from beneath just like rocks tearing the bottom out of J boat But you dont even slow down With a judicious touch of brakes here and accelerator there you sashay past the maple line her up for the middle of the garage and goose her Just a little on the flat patch There Is six inches clearance on each side All being well you than ride up over the reef of ice with another rending noise this time part of your roof peeling away slam the brakes at the last minute so that you dont go through the end of the garage switch off and sit there wiping your brow My wife is a big chicken She wont even try to put the thing in the driveway let alone in the garage Maybe thats because she has hit the side of the garage door about six limes both going In and coming out enjoy It I feel like a skipper whose ship Is sinking and who has launched a boat taken her through the surf over the rocks through the reef and beached her on golden sand But inevitably on such occasions my thoughts turn to the poor devils our pioneer ancestors who had to cope with the same weather and snow conditions with a pittance of what we have to work with by Bill Smiley When Ive shut off my engine feeling a bit like Captain on one of his good days all I have to do is wnlk4Q yards to the house Inside there is warmth from an oil furnace light an electric stove to cook dinner a colored television to take me lo lotusland I can huddle in the cowardly safety of my modern home and defy the elements Let er snow let er blow No chores to do No trips to the barn to feed water milk the beasts by the light of a lantern in subzero temperature No wood to lug in from the woodpile or ashes to carry out AH I have to do is sit down with a drink unfold my daily paper and wait for dinner And its no dinner of salt pork or canned beef with a hearty helping of smashed potatoes and some turnips or carrots my wife had to dig up from root cellar topped off by some preserved raspberries from last summers crop No the refrigerator is one of our modern gods and one of the most popular I think it takes precedence even over the car as a twentiethcentury deity We kneel before it contemplating us innards We place offerings of food inside it much as lhe ancients proffered food to their gods And just like the ancients we are smart enough to take food back and eat it after the god has been placated Not for us the pioneers meagre fare We have fresh frozen meat to hand fresh vegetables nothing from the root cellar We have cheese and fruit and eggs and orange juice and a myriad other exotics that would moke our ancestors blink In awe and fear On the shelves in the kitchen we have another host of luxuries canned fruit and vegetables and soup coffee and tea and and smoked oysters arid sardines and salmon and tuna In the bread box cookies and cakes and bread cost money but no labour After a meal that would appear to a pioneer as food for the gods even though half the stun in It is going to give us can according to the quacks we dont have to sit huddled by the stove trying to read a week old newspaper by the light of a kerosene lamp We can sit in comfort and read a book from among thousands in a library five minutesaway Orwecanlistentomusieor drama from hundreds of miles Or we can watch the same or the news of he day from thousands of miles By merely twisting a dial How did they stand it those sturdy fore bears of ours Wouldnt you think that theyd have gone under the burden of neverending toil neverending cold and snow never ending monotony and loneliness in winter Not a bit of it They thrived and multi plied Many of them didnt survive of course Children died in infancy Women were old at 30 But it was a lifelong test course in survival and the tough ones made it What a lot of complaining slobs wc are today mplacent Back issues 10 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Preis of Thursday February 1969 Susan Shoemaker topped five other ora tors on Wednesday morning in the public speaking contest finals between Actons two schools Others in the finals were Sutherland Glen Lerj Deborah Anderson Karen Atkinson and Richard Roc her Acton post office Is among those chosen to conduct an experiment determine whether post office lock box offices will remain open 24 hours a day seven days a week Bad weather Is delaying the construction of the M Bennett school by at least a month says architect Donald Skinner It had been originally planned to end staggered classes in February council members ore all unanimously opposed to any dissolution of the township in plans for regional govern The Pairs Squares are planning two dances at the ft auditorium this month a Novice Night and a Hard Time dance Mr and Mrs Jack MUne celebrated their wedding anniversary Heidi Merrill Rockwood won the Wellington county public speaking semi finals mam street will hove new lights 20 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Tree Press of Thursday February 1959 With hearts beating fast and smiles on their faces of countys new Canadians declared an oath of allegiance and became citizens Monday Mr and Mrs John Van were In the group Water consumers in Acton are presently using 150000 gallons a day all supplied from the new water source on Churchill Residents are finding the water softer Since the Christmas holiday lhe Water swimming club has met Friday for swimming at Guelph At the congregational meeting of Knox Church lhe Rev A revealed that one out of four persons in Acton Is under the Presbyterian pastorate The urgent need to increase library at the M Bennett School was discussed at the Home and School meeting Longtime friends made a presentation to Mr and Mrs Nelson Anderson and Doug as they are moving to Acton At the request of councillor Rachlin a caucus excluding the press was held following the council meeting During the meeting council agreed to make ap plication for warning signals at the Main St railway crossing and granted taxi licenses to Reliable Taxi and Mildred Becrman Councillor F Walts told council something would have be done about the icy or the roads 50 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press of Thursday January 1823 The congregation of the Baptist church has secured a minister to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of pastor Baxter lo Toronto Mr has received the unanimous call of the congregation The orchestra under the leadership of Mr Chas Mason gave splendid music at the evening service at the United Church Sunday Statistics prepared by the Waterworks Department arc very Interesting There are now patrons of the waterworks deportment and only residences In Acton are without the convenience of water being piped Into their home The growth speaks well in view of the fact thai it is only eight years since the waterworks were installed In The number of gallons pumped during the year was Mr J Robertson the wellknown breeder registered sheep and swine held an auction sale Thursday Young sows brought as high as and sheep were sold at The United Church had a prosperous year The finances totalled 41 which is a record amount for this church wilh its 400 members Rev C L Poole the minister had charge Reports were given to Miss Fern Brown Miss Kitty Savage Mr Duncan MeTavIsh Mr John Kennedy Mrs Fred Cleave Mrs Malcolm McLean Mr A T Brown and Mr William Wilson Need or Greed Our now is working Alongside Solar Joe Theyre catching heat lo cook my meat And met away my snow Theyre harnessing the sunbeams So I can worm my checks With lhe price of oil this turmoil Has sold us to lhe But weve still got old Windy Bill We dont need hydro lowers To do my chores and wash my drawers And save on kilowatt hours But if they TAX these things still free Then wed be out of luck My Sunmoblle every meal Would cost me my last buck It seems no matter what do To supply the things we need Well have to pay in every way To satisfy our Greed