The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

n a the acton fres preas wodneaday january 8 1969 ttt jurtss editorial page s mm o w 4mt aw a few eyebrows lifted und some advene comment were heard but the recommendation from the ontario department of l duration that teachers und prfncirials in the province school refrnlrr iron the uie of corporal pemiiriimcnt in any form t to huve iwerl well received by the general public white corporal punishment generally known us the strop bus never been specifically uuthoriud it nevertheless was condoned under section 40 i b br ontario regulation 33066 which stutes tluil a pupil shall submit to such discipline us would be exercised by u kind firm und judicious parent it was assumed u kitid firm und judicious parent would not hesitate to apply corporal punishment il he or the deemed it necessary tuiichers interpreted the regulation us giving them the authority to administer the same brand of justice tlie department or i ducution without commenting in uny way on the responsibilities of parents now suggests that this regulation should be interpreted us providing un utmosphero of respect and trust between students und teachers with the cultivation of nuhvidiiil responsibility us u mujor gout not niuny will quarrel with that interpretation of the regulution however u few of us will wonder it it is not figuratively trunsferring some of the teachers exercise of power into the hands of the immature students we must admit schools have changed extensively since- the days we attended there has been marked improvement in all urcus from types of building to the quality or instruction however wc doubt if students huve changed very much a mischievous boy or girl out a upset tlic equilibrium ol the chissroom with a little deviltry could tometimes be controlled by the threut or joying on of the strap it was normally done on the palm of the haiulv the victims werj of course idolized by lellow chissmuies for u few days but il memory serves correctly the teacher was the object ol new respect und above all the undivided attention of the entire cl iss from that point om wed ho interested in knowing what the teacher is going to do now to commund the same respect and attention and would yon believe teachers who wielded the most authority were the opes you thought fondly of after school duys were over and done with we will acknowledge there were abuses of authority sometimes but it was generally due to extreme provocation perhaps the more sensitive students suffered from the teacher laying on the strap but it has been our experience that few sensitive pupils were on the receiving end and if they were we doubt they were marked for life by the experience cicncrally it seemed to be the teacher who suffered more than the student we have seen teachers break into tears alter strapping someone perhaps this new interpretation of the regulations is primarily for their benefit wc wish the strapless teachers and the department every success with modern methods ol maintaining discipline hut we still cant help wondering it the old suw spare the rod and spoil the child might not have more truth in it than wc care to admit these days o ttt a bad u place it is no bud thing that canadians in whatever province they may live should be reminded from time to time of how good u lund this is we ore all apt to have romantic ideas ubout whut life in other countries may be like particularly those of the old world und it is salutary to have someone hnng us down to earth as for example did the irrepressible mr real cuouetlc member of parliament for villoneuve speaking in the house of commons recently on his return from a visit to france said mr caoucttc in part in france quebec is often quoted as un example they tell us france is going to save you mr chairman the contrary is lur more probable for canada could perhaps help to save france during our stay in france we learned that the i lat company is controlling today 10 per cent of c itrocn because the french did not have the necessary capital to save their own automobile industry sony tell us that france will save- us financially i studied the french standard ol living please note that i am of i rencji descent but i am a canadian and if the two countries must be compared let us not he shy ubout it mr chairman the difference is unbehevuble the salaries in france- do not amount to even so per cent ot the salary paid to our canadian workers the worker in france pay about 35 to 45 per cent more rent than u worker in canada and here in canada how we complain about the rents being too high you ym imagine what the situation is like in i ranee q pketca frw the paat h i cosy refuge 20 years ago taken front the iuue of the free prats thursday january 13 149 mr and mrs william mainpdxe on tuetday celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary quietly they have been esteemed retidentt of acton for 36 yuii all members jf their family now reiide in llie community mn m schroeder gave a tea and shower for uium clayton bride tobe on monday afternoon mrv w cowdy poured lea milled hy mn ii hlnum anlhlii c lealheiland ohimerulap hi 100 ytr at itiunlcirnllty natugaweya township on mdiiday marked the occatlocv with honoring many of ihe living official of former years and paying lilbute to ihe man who down through the century of likoiporallihi had laid well the foundations and had guulcd the ilfu of ihe towndilp m efficiently the mild weather of ihe weekend spurred on ihe workers at ihe acton seoul i tall and they succeeded in flnldilng ihe roof coating for the entire building now iniide woik can be proceeded with during ihe remainder of ihe winter inonlhi the dayt are now noticeably longer i videnee of ihe teeenl mild weadier wai found by koy arnolt who on sunday saw a frog in ihe creek on the seventh line ftaiher unuuial for january in ihii section weston steam rolled to an overwhelming i 2 2 victory over acton in the fin game of the leaion in ihe arena inia tha first horn appearance of ihe tannen wai completely ipniled by their very had performance bac k issues readers will be interested lit knowing that mr harold npatnter ma ban later of oakville haa taken over ihe mseklnnon buiineaa and office and will practice hli kofeuioti here he will be suiitcd by hli iher iw t farmer a retired hamilton lawyer of much renown themndkitlortt are that the faimen will have 2 25 wheat for tome jjrjie to come at uail foe several yeait y the rint annkeiuiy uavkct lince price waa declared will be held in the methodiit church ibte sunday tbli wills ihe 73rd annlveieary of ihe founding of ihe methodist church in actim ttie congietauuri of the llaplitt church will attend in the morning and frni kiioa church in the evening 75 years ago ttken from lit luue nl ihe i ree cieii ttiululjy jinuiiy ii w the old ferry uow at minimal on ana lui been repaired hy mr ounun ol hiulingtun who uwie lime ego purthsuij ii from the government and hei now wild it to idem iaiii the new uow tank j oil hy ihe iform hat never iveen vecn time ucn tlnce john matthew hat puixhaied ami taken pjhwtiiim of llortopt i lihir and i eed tlore on mill si 1 he puhlu will he j ad to we him in hu linen mn jounh mlllwaid wai trvarely injured hy falling down ihe cellar one ul vwett she it recovering 100 ilev years ago sugar and spice so years ago by bill t m i i y nothing like a good doie of the flu to nuke you feel like turning out a column of dcalhleu prose i feej like a fighter on the ropei in ihe fourteenth round with ihe crowd yelling to ihe other guy kill hunt kill him so perhaps youll forgive if we donl sparkle too brilliantly today and juit clear up some ilenu itut week then begin the new year with a fredi date and a tound constitution we had a very merry christmas thank you but an insidious old custom it being revived no lesi than three different groups of carollcrs appeared at the door and had to be suitably entertained by the time the last gang had left we were well into christmas morning among other things its a charming old tradition but i hope it doesnt spread too far if it does next christmas eve i think ill just call the cops and have the carollers charged with disturbing the peace it would be a lot cheaper i ask about the cost of a pound of butter and i am told it is 1 35 a pound i am speaking about france not about china and their workers earn half as much as ours to our question how much does an automobile worker cam in the employ of citroen or renault we get the reply from 2400 to 2700 in canadian dollars and with regard to modern conveniences they know nothing about it absolutely nothing i was staying at the hotel royal de versailles it is timeworn it is old they have not got around to installing toilets next to each bedroom you have to go down the hall as we used to do here in canada 35 years ugo their way of life is not at all like ours ttmo wedding priotpgrapha wan found in n ou acton album but the name of the bride and groom or their guttaat the ocrtrioor reception are unknown the acton free press phone 8 s3- 3010 busineu and editorial office klueuftd u ww mat mfcltaawi hawv nlij u m wilts 4 acum otftulrtt mafcahr w tw auitl rumw ot clwadeuaoa tiki cwua fajfeej owma ajfciivtkiehj ttatt wtymt nlnrriy tttkt auiabw m avdiewm mn u ctuuau 10 tea til iwuutim ukkk lsav clmat taaajw cakalgel lc almkklwtmd w tettme oeau hauu tnasvi offtkat bumhraarau otuui aketkaj u implij jjj ikkf cumuion uuu w llm mtmkl taf 1 ll ijlll til rrttf llol tutlafall ill laaf ianrillba ifah atv cetrj foe buj ilk ulmacaj tal ufet fcitaarrtliwiiall uui tf ma4 mbi irtf tat tm ttat u a ltwajt enmaf hiaalh ttlil w tattnlm tl mrtaraj wicax haaait mm mh w utu tklaj u awgfitr l wli wad mm w wufcrjaiiwaj kl taaraf llii- meahby cola cnkliwi nil i tor once everything fitted when the glftt were opened see me in my new off white turlleneck tweater and pierre trudeau will look like somebody from hayfork centre kim with her usual exquisite sense of i timing almost turned boxingday into a boxing match when the announced died like li go to israel and work on a kibbutz for a year after finishing high school so a couple of years from now i may be a jewish grandfather that would be a switch church bells and a blazing log fire and jolly evening with old friend brought in the new year on a pleasant note not for me the 30acouple new yeara eve in a nightclub with a lot of idiots in paper hats throwing streamers blowing their little horns and killing everyone in light speaking of belli lt col john mcewing qf spokane wash retired has a bell in the bellrey which it bothering him describing himself in a letter as a sentimental nut he uyi he haa bought the bell from the little red tchoolhoute he attended as a boy near port elgin ontario that bell has many memories for him he planned to present it nb ltrings attached to the new consolidated school which has replaced the little oneroom country schools as a symbol of all of them those humble institution where many a great man got his start the coloei dew east and talked to the architect responsible he was enthusiastic but the trustees stalled they were going out of office at the end of the year and couldnt make up their minds about having someufcng as oldfashioned as an i s7s school bell on the premises to me it seemi an excellent idea and i hope the new board will be receptive to the colonels idea we talk a lot about canadjana and preserving our heritage why sell it to the scrap dealers this brings us in a rqundabout way to the new school system in ontario which promises to be interesting the old local school boards chosen in their own communities ore being scrapped and county boards elected have already replaced them theoretically the idea is a good one it should give equality of educational opportunity to all children thats the purpose in the bad old days before 1969 the fatter centres apt the best facdlties and bften the best teachers while the leaner ones had to struggle along with what they could afford i hope it works but i have reservations many a time have i seen samethirig made bigger so that it would be more efficient ana cheaper to run usually the opposite occurs expenses increase and efficiency decreases because of sheer size parkinsons law takes over empirebuilding begins already hundreds of new aumlatstrative jobs have been created for the new system under it board members will receive a stipend and no doubt expenses the old boards worked for nothing paperwork will double then triple and so om hope im wrong it will take a couple of years to tell and by that time the system may be so rigid that changing it will be like getting an elephant to atop standing on your foot any comments taken from ihe iuue of ihe i ree preu thursday january in i 1 v tlie municipal skating kink opened on saturday night wllh good ice comfortable walling rooms brilliantly lighted and a large attendance this will be a healthful popular retort during the winter metus beatdmoie and co have stinted on nothing to make the rink an attractive feature of the towns social activities for the winter mr ii s wdton drover had ralher a trying experience on monday evening he was driving a cow and her calf in a sleigh on main st a little chap jumped on the sleigh and this scared lite cow which jumped over mr wilton and out the front of the sleigh tlie horses ihen ran away they got detached from the sleigh at queen street and headed for mdlon liner former home thrf damage was slight but the mlxup looked serious for a while salt and taken from ihe luue of 1 he t misdijn t haiupion milton january 7 ixhh at ihe dote of a political meeting at ihe boyne trafalgar on the i6lh ull a dlipule arose between i lljah met und hubert l when the former used violence and a row teemed imminent on which benjamin waldbrook i tq j p interposed and commanded peace in the oueent name stating that he was a magistrate mcc struck at him with lilt halfclosed fist and seizing him by ihe breast tore open his vest i or this he was arretted on monday latt and tried before messrs john white jas mcluftm and j ii willimlt pji tlie sentence of the court was a fine of four dollars and costs amounting to about seven dollars immediately thereafter a charge was laid against mr mcc hy mr iri of assault on the same occasion as the former the charge was admitted and a nominal fine of one dollar and costs inflicted die magistrates and the bailiff j a hirer devoting their fees to charitable purposes pepper by hartley colas maybe you read in a recent issue of this newtpaper where eramou council was presented with a picture of james peters one of the first township cleiks my curiosity was aroused cleiks are appreciated during the years they serve in office but usually they receive no further recognition what was so unusual about james peters outside or the fsct he was clerk in pioneer days the answer belongs in the countrys archives but my source of information was tlie iste frank days book here and there in eramou and a smalt booklet from the pen oftlugh templln entitled a few leaves from the past james peters it appears was quite a man one of the founders of speedside congregational church a total abstainer at v time when whisky was the common beverage at settlers bees peters was also accused of being a rebel along with other prominent eramou men at the time of the 1837 rebellion early wednesday momlng december 13 1837 peters was roused out of bed by squire inglis of guelpli with a glittering sword drawn from its scabbard and a company of 32 men with rifles and bayonets he was bundled into a sleigh with other prisoners and taken to jail in hamilton their crime peters then age 36 john bulchard 49 and james benham 43 were accused of being ringleaders of a gang of rebels who were planning to bum the then village of guelph down in fergus a bastion of tory politics rumors were rife that captain peters and so men supported by township officials were x plantiing to destroy the bridge over the grand river special guilds were posted eramou jn the imagination ot thou ultraloyal tories was a hotbed of rebellion this conclusion came from a public meeting held at the central school in eramou near where the stone church now stands peters township clerk was elected secretary and requested to draw up a resolution expressive of the will of the settlers on the state of the country the resolution was short and to the point that we return home and mind our own business the government interpretedjhla form of rail fence sitting as treason they arretted seven men they released tour m calvin lyman hiram dowling william armstrong and james parkinion after levying fines peters butchard and benham went to jail in hamilton the accused occupied two cells had no heat no blankets or bedding of sny sort in weather not unlike that of the last week later they were put in larger quarters with others accused of treason one attempt to send them to a higher tribunal before their trial resulted in a narrow escape they believed and with good reason that a jail fire was set by persons anxious to blow them up because there was gunpowder stored in sn adjacent cell the prisoners managed to extinguish the blaze after eight minutes of deliberation at their trial on march 8 183r the jury decided on a verdict of not guilty prosecuting attorneys sir allan mcnab and solicitor general draper used every means to have the men hanged peters lost hit position aisjerk but regained it in 1840 when public feeling was practically all on the side of the arrested men no wonder night raids from guelph on eramou settlers which seem to have been little better than looting expeditions kept the settlers poor paying fines eramou township voted the reform ticket almost from that date it might be added that the prisoners were founders of some of the most respected families in the township funk day said that at least 75 per cent of the land owners in the township in 1953 were connected by descent or marriage with families of the principals in the 183 affair over in hillsburt the issues were not so clouded william how the first settler in hltlaburg was arrested about the same time as the eramota rebels sixteen wellarmed loyalists from toronto surrounded ma hlusburg home one day and carried him to toronto where he was convicted and relieved of the 500 acres of land on which he had performed settlement duties he like james peters and others of his ok bom what was truly then this neck of the woods were the forerunners of re government in ontario thats why james peters hangs in framed picture in the eramou totvnship council chambers instead framed tohsjajjon a gibbet of being