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The Herald Homo Newspaper of Georgetown Acton A Drvisn of Canadian Newspapers Company Limited Main South Georgetown Ontario RICHARD CAMERON PaaUeker Page THE HERALD Wednesday DEC 12 1173 CHRISTMAS SHOPPING Do It On Home Ground There may not be much snow on the ground or even too much frost in the air but winter is upon us and with it the Christmas Most of us still face one great requirement Christmas shopping It matters not if we believe that Christmas Is too commercial or not commercial enough each of us thinks about giving And Hiving means When you think about getting or buying this season think about shopping at home By at home we mean shopping in the community In which you reside Living next to large centres of population always raised the attraction of shopping where the stores are bigger and the lights are brighter But the deals arent necessarily better or the selection much greater There may only be more stores to visit For most of us if not all of us Christmas buying can be done with success close to our front doors In small communities the people know the merchants and the merchants know the people The one should rely on the other There are bargains to be had in our home town there is a wide array of merchandise to fit gift lists And there is the knowledge that shopping can be quick and convenient This Christmas do yourself and your community a favor and settle your shopping on home ground An Oldtime Christmas Christmas cheer among the earliest pioneers in Upper Canada varied greatly for what we think of as Christmas fare was very scant In the earliest period before the War of 1812 salt pork potatoes and Indian corn were the only supplies available To obtain flour the settlers grain had to be carriedoften on Bis back to a distant mill for grinding Children were fed porridge made from Indian corn boiled sometimes for a whole day to produce a soft mush Oc casionally the settlers were able to shoot partridge pigeon or game but powder and shot were scarce and fish while plentiful took time to catch With little or no fencing chickens and livestock could not be kept because of the allenclosing forest into which they were likely to stray and be lost As for the quality of the pioneer cooking William the Backwoodsman who wrote one of the earliest accounts of life in Canada quotes the old saw God sends meat and the devil cooks Not surprising since without cold storage facilities butter milk and cheese soon become rancid As the years passed and con improved holiday fare became more plentiful Ann in her journal published as A Gentlewoman in Upper Canada describes a Christmas party in 1838 just a year after the Rebellion Ann tells of popping three plum puddings into the pot for a holiday dinner which in eluded soup boiled pork the national dish roast goose chicken pie and vegetables with a second course of plum pudding apple tart and a trifle Winters were really cold in those early days The winter of the mercury froze in the thermometer which touched below zero But travel on Upper Canadas primitive roads was better when they were snow packed And Christmas visiting was popular the snugly dressed guests arriving In sleights or even in wagon boxes mounted on runners The Welfare Humbug Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year Thats not a realistic greeting for the welfare community For them Christmas is a frightening experience seasoned with booze shattered hopes blighted dreams Dare we slip them a Christmas bonus to make life a pinch more joyous Even that special Com mission of Senators inquiring into the wages of poverty 3 years ago suggested a minimum wage floor through which the poor shouldnt be allowed to plunge But welfare remains fragmentary arbitrary closefisted and subject to whim For instance Quebec has just raised payment to foster parents to and a month which sounds great but it favors one group at the expense of another Parents on welfare must pay through deductions for their children in detention or foster homes to the tune of to per month Perhaps if we paid welfare families the same rate as foster parents they would be able to care for their own children more adequately It is a delightful Christmas present idea YEARS AGO Coun Bill Smith of Georgetown called a provincial study vitally important which would look into the feasibility of rail commuter service extending between Georgetown and Toronto The area was one of several to be examined won the Lions Club trophy In the Georgetown Santa Parade with Its rendition of the Good Ship Lollipop Provincial Paper got the award for second place lis Night Before Christmas It won the chamber of commerce trophy A Georgetown teenager Gllllanne Swan wrote to the provincial department of highways to protest the condition of Highway in the eastern approaches of the town The department told council the and the town would have to share in repairs Deputy Reeye William Hunter called on council to allocate the funds In the new year Acton brigade of St John Ambulance was joined by 12 new members from Georgetown Fred Rigley who helped establish the brigade said he was pleased explaining that he hoped membership would spread to Milton and Fergus Four curlers at North Halton Golf and Country Club hit the curling jackpot with an elghtender In the sixth end of a scheduled match Skip Harv Chappel and hit crew of lead John Mlntern viceskip Jim Flack and second Currie Op posing skip Don Schenk complained that his team must have been using narrow rocks YEARS AGO Mayor Jack Armstrong was the only nominee and was returned to office- by acclamation during nomination proceedings In Georgetown He could look forward to a third term of office Also acclaimed were Reeve Stan Allen and deputy reeve Allan Norton A member of the family which gave Glen Williams Its name Charles Edward Williams died In at the age of HewuthesonofJosephWllllamsandwas bom In the Glen In 1868 where he worked mill later to become AppleProducUCorapany He spent most of his adult life in Chicago St Joans Memorial Hall was decorated for till Mth wedding anniversary ctiebraUon of Mr and Mrs Thomas READERS FORUM Charity Concept Refuted Sir reference to the report In The Herald of last week entitled Halton To Keep Support For Local Charitable Services may I through your columns make a rebuttal to Reeve Morrow concept of charity and to his objections of grants being made to local services What constitutes charity A grant was made last year by the Halton County Council to the North Service not to the Georgetown Red Cross as reported in your column last week This Service is applying for a grant again this year The Service tries lo help people who are nielher so poor that Family Services will assist nor rich enough to pay the whole cost of having a Homemaker when the wife mother is so incapacitated that the family cannot function properly This Service functions financially and Regional Municipality of voted themselves annual salaries for per forming a service to the taxpayers of the Region Such a remuneration for the wellbeing of that one person Grants made to such organizations as the Burlington Rotary Club the North Homemaker Service the Multiple Sclerosis Association go for the well being of a large group of taxpayers of the Rent on New Chief Wished Best TIME TO PASS THE PEACE PIPE BILL SMILEY ECHOES FROM THE PAST One of the first district men to start trucking livestock to the Toronto stockyards Robert Carlisle died at the age of in Acton He had farmed in Grey County and later at Caledon and He helped develop trucking as a fast efficient shipper of live cattle Mac Sprowl of Acton 26yearold far was awarded the 1954 Lord Nuffield scholarship for eastern Canada The scholarship provided for a six month visit to England and a chance to study farming there Directors of Esqueslng Agricultural Society ended the season with a dinner party at Esqueslng Community Hall in Among board executive attending were president Harding Price vie president Spencer Wilson treasurer Cleave and secretary Garfield Wilfrid Bird was elected reeve of Township by acclamation George Leslie was also nominated but declined to stand for election Deputy reeve Walter also was elected by acclamation 30 EARS AGO Georgetown new mayor for 1944 Harold Cleave was a member of sick list during a bout of flu that struck the community His wife reported that he expected to be in good health for the new Warden J McDonald reeve of Ac ton was host to more than 60 guests at he annual Halton County wardens dinner held in Burlington Only a light vote was reported In Georgetown municipal elections In Ward 3 a political newcomer S headed the polls District governor Walter Fisher of St Catharines was a guest of Georgetown Lions Club He was Introduced by club president Ralph Roti with thanks ex tended by Bill Long Mild weather was the rule this December with only a shower of tight recorded The Herald reported a Do They Ever Grow Up Some Parents Wonder Perhaps someone who has gone the whole course can tell me when one children stop depending on their parents when It comes to the clutch Is in their forties fifties sixties Ccrtainlv It Is not in their twenties we received a note from our son Hugh to us he was taking some holidays and would be home for a few days visit I thought Good lies saved some money and won t arrive broke as usual He had TO CHICAGO Some days later in a telephone with daughter Kim we learned that Hugh had dropped in to see her and had drifted off muttering something about going to Chicago That is a slightly roundabout way of gelling to our place And a few days later there was a collect call from Houston Texas You guessed it Hugh flat broke Could we wire him money for bus fare to get home He was crafty enough to call when I was at work I it later Or have snouted No I will not send you the price of one serving of Kentucky fried chicken and slammed up i the receiver But he sweet talked his mother for five minules before he popped the question She was not only affronted but taken aback and t think quickly enough to tell him we were just off to Florida or west coast or anywhere She waffled a bit and eventually said she d see what his Dad said but not to expect anything He sighed with relief and told her where to send the money WITH THE SHOES I come home from work on a Friday after a hard week All I wanted was to get my shoes off have a quiet drink before dinner anp read the latest goodies about the energy crisis And all I got was a family crisis a scramble o the bank and a dash to get to the telegraph office before It closed for the weekend At first I stood my ground Not a penny Let him starve in Houston At least he won freeze to death he airily told his mother It was 90 degrees down there And she agreed with me He deserve a cent He was told he was never to do hat again young pup Why t he hitchhike homo Well I said some of I hose southern states are pretty tough on hitchhikers Throw them In Jail for a monlh I could just see her thinking of her first born slaving on a Georgia chain gang or something Of the sort a heated half hour agreed that money I everything that you can take it with you thai he s the only son we have that it would be nice to sec him that I better hustle if 1 wanted to got to the bank in time It cost me about counting the bus fare and grub to get home the cost of the collect call and the charge for sending money MONEY AFTER GOOD That what I call sending good money after good Of course Hugh dream of accepting a gift It was strictly a loan Ac cording to his figures he now owes me without interest and will have Ihe whole thing paid off any now According lo my figures he owes me 880 at eight per cent interest and he II never pay it off This has been happening to for years First the kids to their mother soften up Then she come lo and softens mc up Then go back to he kids and practically apologize for being so slow with the loot Of course treason Hughs only a kid Practically a baby He won be twenty seven until July You can expect him at that tender age know enough to save some money for bus fare But that kid Mies a different matter She almost a mother And she pulled a on us this week Another collect call on Sunday Nice to hear her Asked how big Ihe tummy was All very matey and maternal Then came the punch line Don her husband was on the way up from the city with heir cat to put in our care He hod lo hitchhike because he couldn bring the cat on a bus Her mother nearly blew a cork The danged cat t trained So we have two additions household this week Two fat cats One in Ihe backyard yowling to get in The other watching TV sleeping till noon and waiting to put bite on me for more bus fare back to his job in Quebec I should been a cranky old bachelor Sir The issue of your paper today Dec states hat our present police chief in Georgetown will be replaced by the present Milton chief Ray on Jan 1974 Floyd Schwa who came only recently to Georgetown has given a very creditable performance and we wish him well in his new I have known Ray for many years when he was with the Ontario Provincial Police Milton and sub as chief or Milton At Milton he has won the confidence support of the council and of the public has established a force second to none for the size of its membership We wish him the best Ed A Peters Georgetown OCONNORS OTTAWA Absolute Haven For Incidentals One of the least Important issues in Ottawa at present ranking about after energy Inflation ploymcnt and others one concerning private members and their written questions on the order paper In their role of government expenditure watchdogs and policy performance critics back benchers and especially opposition back benchers have the right to submit written questions to government about its activities These queries are recorded in Hansard and are reprinted at frequent Intervals until answered They dig pry and attempt to expose all manner of government foibles mis spending of public funds and things done or not done by ministers departments They include questions Ihe cost of the Prime Minister s trips the number of people he took along how much business was actually done and questions on the number of prisoners In penitentiaries over the last years their sentences and the average cost of keeping such prisoners The contentious Issue arises between the govern Bible Verse Confess faults one lo another and pray one for another thai be healed The effectual of a righteous man much James If we hove a need Tor anything vc should first pray far others with the same need whoever ihey are whether we know them or not God 111 use our concern and and for others to bring into reality answers to our own requests Praise Him for it BYDONOHEARN TORONTO- TOADS There might still be people who believe can get warts Irom loads This of course Is an old wife tale Warts on a toad back arc really glands How thai for a piece of scintillating incidental In formation Passed on to you Indirectly from the news letter of he ministry of natural resources One of he Incidental and little known aspects of this centre of government is that it or would be on absolute heaven for any magpie or Incidental information Thousands and thousands of words thoughts and from the factual the fantastical flow dally from Ihe reports speeches studies pamphlets news releases and Just plain statements of the many segments of government and many members of the Leg lure Example Surprisingly people get drunk from the feet up Ontario Traffic Safety quotes that rare Item of information from A Eugene Blanc of the Addiction Research Cation Intended as ice to try to drink standing on your head No a caution that your driving is only as good as your feet which get boiled first The smallest municipality in Ontario Bet you don know this one It s the township of Cock bum Island In the District of It population Zero That s from a speech by Treasurer John White And when can the needle cure the disease of the needle When It is used In acupuncture At least that the claim of Fred A Burr member for Sandwich Riverside Mr Burr that a drug addict was undergoing brain surgery In Hong Kong Acupuncture was being used as the anesthetic To familiarize the there were seven rehearsals It was found that during this process the patient lost his drug craving This led to other ex perimcnls Reportedly 40 drug were treated Ana so were completely cured persons wbo have a real need for financial and other help May the taxpayers money be given where It is really needed Congratulations to those members of Regional council who understand the true meaning of the word charity and who also seem able to assess priorities Richard C Perrott One Member of the Service Executive Grape Boycott Pushed By Georgetown Group Sir In your issue of Nov carried an in formative letter from Bob Melcombe concerning the California grape boycott Since that time a group of concerned Georgetown citizens has formed the Grape Boycott Support Committee lo aid the cause or the United Farm Workers We will be distributing leaflets speaking before local organizations and all concerned citizens Georgetown to aid the farm workers in achieving justice and democracy for the farmers of North America by not buying California drapes M F Mills Georgetown John Hole Georgetown for Georgetown Grape Boycott Committee Total Lack Of Concern The provincial and federal governments have asked citizens to conserve energy in light of current evidence of diminishing resources This seems reasonable request Responsible people will co operate One is not encouraged to make sacrifices however when others show a total lack of concern An obvious disregard Is shown by public utilities municipalities citizens or businesses who show outdoor Christmas lighting Indoor lighting seems acceptable for It contributes to warmth in buildings and to lis inhabitant or others who use outdoor Christmas lights Indicate their irresponsibility and we individuals are discouraged from voluntary restraints Therefore ft is necessary for legislation to restrict use of energy for all members of society in order that everyone gets a fair share Lights Or Donations Sir In view of the present shortage of world energy surely Georgetown Town Council should reconsider Its recent purchase and future installation of worth of Christmas lights Just yesterday Donald MacDonald Federal Energy Minister recommended that Individuals limit their Christmas lighting to a few hours a day how can the use of worth of Christmas lights be justified Since Christmas is a time for goodwill amongst men women would It not be more humanitarian for the Town of Georgetown to donate the above money to anyall the service clubs In Georgetown or to a community project such as a recycling depot Having participated In a recycling survey which gained over whelming support by the town residents we were amazed to learn that neither the Works Committee nor the Town Council were willing to show any support for this worthwhile project Considering once more the world resource and energy situation why has this project not received support Mr and Mrs Sheekey men and the opposition parties The government says that the opposition is asking far too many questions the answers to which are public knowledge and that in any event their record of answering them is exemplary The opposition soys that It tabes ex long periods to get answers ana even when answers arc forthcoming they ore Incomplete and evasive To the end of November some 3 questions had been placed on the Order Paper A lorge majority of them 82 cent had been answered within a reasonable time usually about six weeks But they ended lo be the ones which caused little em harassment to the government or could be easily evaded The politically sticky ones remain unanswered For Instance two questions asked the first day of the session January have still not been dealt They neck Information on the amounts of money spent by deportments on outside consulting services names of those who got contracts and particulars of the contracts Answers would obviously expose something of Ihe government patronage machine Many more in this vein remain from February March and April The issue blows up into a shouting match in the House about once a month Usually Rainy River quotes statistics of questions answered In jig lime all in defence of the government stellar performance of lis responsibility to the Canadian people Tom Cosslll PC Leeds usually harangues on about In credible delays gross Inefficiencies and govern fears of the truth Most questions are seriously seeking in formation to cause political em harassment Nearly all of those not answered are left so In an attempt to avoid political umbrage Recently in frustration Tom Cosslll asked for the names and the job designations of ihe persons assigned answering his many long unanswered questions Determined fellow he If you have a problem idea comment criticism or If you simply wish to get In touch with me please stop by my Riding office at Rd OakvJUe or telephone Fran Balnea at THE MARKETPLACE Housewife As Politician Its A Complicated Life The poor housewife has ti consider a lot of angles when she makes her weekly food And Ihen there the question of how nutritious it is Now she has to ask herself whether Is en couraging exploitation by buying the products she does Some people have been avoiding South African goods In protest against that country racial policies More recently coffee and grapes have been the objects of boy I la In the Portuguese colony of Angola Africans including the are liable to do forced labor on plantations In the process being from their homes north to the coffee growing areas They work under brutal conditions for starvation wages In the average white agricultural worker earned the average black Lost year the Canadian government voted tor a UN resolution ex pressing sympathy for the liberation movements in Portuguese Africa and condemning the ruthless measures of troops like the destruction of villages and the bombing and napalmlng of civilians to dominate the black majority Yet last year too he Canadian people were the third largest customers for Angolan and their purchases contributed at least 3 million toward the colonial warfare There are parallels In the lot of the Mexican American grape workers In California The taws against child labor are rarely enforced yet whole families working make only about a year Working and living conditions are poor the Infant mortality rate Is per cent above the national average Their plight though not as pronounced as the Angolan a still makes a contrast to what the average north American can expect In moat parts of this continent the day of unions fighting tor rights is long past but that Is not so In California A boycott pressured growers to sign contracts with the United Farm Workers In bringing many such as the use of dangerous pesticides near he workers But the contracts have expired and the growers are fighting not to sign new ones The workers responded with a new strike and boycott Because of intimidation and violence at the pickets in which two Chicanoa were murdered and hundreds hospitalized the pickers have decided to devote all their energy to the boycott In Hills local people concerned about the cause have been handing out leaflets at supermarkets selling grapes It Is nard to judge how effective the long and all inclusive South African boycott has been The effects of the other more limited efforts are more readily visible When the Presbyterian Church in Canada this summer urged to avoid General Nestles Brands Instant coffees the last company responded by saying Its Chase and Sanborn brand would no longer cantain beans from Angola Canadian Imports of Angolan coffee in the first halt of this year have been cut almost in half The grape workers won contracts three years ago because of their only and hope to repeat that success The individual shopper does affect these Issues by her decision to buy or not to buy such products In the modern global marketplace even buying groceries can be a complicated matter Deadlines For Christmas Mail A Canadian Forces post of flee has been set up In the Middle East to handle letters and parcels being sent to Canadian troops with the United Nations emergency force outside Cairo Mall for lbs should Number Rank Name Unit CFPO Rates for letters up to one are eight cents for surface null and 15 cent for air malt Information on tatters over one ounce and parcel post can be obtained from Georgetown post office