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4 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1998 EDITORIAL A place for Acton's sports memorabilia Although the hockey trophies and skating costumes con- signed to the scrap heap by the demolition of Acton's old arena were moldy and broken, it disturbed many Actonians to learn of the cavalier fashion in which they were destroyed. Angela Tyler's column last week recorded exactly what she saw as the arena came down. It was a dismal picture. Only prompt action by Doug Fread saved the $8,000 arena time clock, which the Rotary Club had donated. Unfortu- nately, some of the trophies donated by business and individu- als were in poor condition and, according to The New Tan- -ner's information, not worth saving. Skating costumes, moldy and disfigured by conditions in the arena, had been relegated to the scrap heap by the skating club, which saved all their trophies, now stored in the park boat house. Perhaps the dismay at the destruction of so much sports history points out the need for a place to enshrine this memo- rabilia, other than a Town of Halton Hills arena. There are some noteworthy events which will end up on the scrap heap of time if some local effort is not made to find a suitable place for them Not only are there Ontario championships to enshrine but lots of local sports lore. Photos, press clippings and trophies show the prominent part Acton played in the province's hockey, baseball and lacrosse history. There's even a Canadian title in tug-of-war competition, a popular sport in the early years of the century. : Perhaps many people aren't aware an Acton team captured the Ontario field lacrosse championship almost a century ago, in 1899, winning the final game against a Galt (Cambridge) team considered to be the class of the field. Maybe you also aren't aware the Acton Tanners won the Ontario intermediate 'B' hockey championship in 1939, when amateur hockey was in full bloom with skill levels that would reach into professional hockey today. And, of course, you knew an Acton baseball club won the championship of Ontario in 1949, long before the Blue Jays brought the sport back to prominence. And we have had minor lacrosse titles here as well. Back in the 1920s, the Beardmore tug-of-war team ruled the sport in the CNE competitions in Toronto; no one could match their pull. Surely we should have some place where these feats are recognized. Trophies, photos and press clippings of these events and many more are scattered all over town, many of them family legacies. They could be lost to posterity unless some place is found to show place them, not a dusty museum, but some place where there is plenty of pedestrian traffic. The new arena, yes, if it were a strictly Acton and district home - but we visualize another trophy disaster. Maybe it would kindle more interest in the new building the Fair Board contemplates if part were reserved for our history, including sports. It would be a place to display a distinguished and proud heritage as well as giving a financial campaign an expanded boost. Salvation Army thanks supporters Dear Editor: 68 families helped, including 85 The Salvation Army, Acton children. These people had a much Family Services together with the better Christmas because of your Lakeside Chapter of the IODE, help. Acton Rotary Club and St. Vincent We express thanks as well to the de Paul, would like to express heart- many volunteers who helped make felt thanks to the citizens of Acton, _ this year's program a huge success. Rockwood and the surrounding ar- Thank you once again and may eas for your generous support ofthis | God bless you in 1999, year's Christmas Hamper Program. Sincerely, Without your kindness, we could Larry Jennings, not fulfill our goal of helping those Corps Officer, in need. This year's program saw The Salvation Army, Acton Corps meeting in the early McDonald, Margaret Davidson CHRISTMAS MEETING: The homec in 1960. This photo of the group, 1960s. Shown standin Matthews, Laura Dennis, Jessie Madill, Eleanor Thompson. Seated are: Elva Pearen, Reina Morrison, su and Mabel Van Fleet. - raft division of the Acton Agricultural Society was formed often called the Ladies Fair Board, was taken at their Christmas g from the left are:Emily Wallace, Mary Archibald, Gladys Robinson, Evelyn Aitkens and Ruth Linham, Ida Matthews, Isabel photo supplied Erma McEnery, Mary ° Editor's Notebook GY By Hartley Coles In the event readers are confused about the nature of their submissions to The New Tanner, we should dif- ferentiate between a news article and an advertisement. News is an event, often already past, while advertising is an event yet to come, with excep- tions, of course. The New Tanner has received a spate of faxes and letters advertis- ing an event or a program in the past week requesting admission into Grapevine or Mark Your Calendar. Some of them can be accepted, but most are plain advertising. If they were all accepted as freebies then this newspaper wouldn't last two weeks. It is the advertising which drives the newspaper and enough free stuffcan soon put it out of business. If you want to make sure your event is promoted in these pages, then an advertisement is the only way to go. Depending on Grapevine or Mark Your Calendar to promote an event or business is just not feasi- ble. The latter only appears when all advertising and news is already in- cluded in the pages. And it is usu- ally crowded out. Grapevine by its very nature is a news" column and while sometimes a new business or non-profit fund raising event is featured, it is not a vehicle for advertising. So please don't ask us to turn your important event down. Our advertis- ing rates are reasonable and The New Tanner goes to over 6,000 homes in Acton, Rockwood and dis- tricts. It is well read and advertising in The New Tanner's pages pays. There also seems to be some con- 66 fusion about letters to the editor. We accept all letters provided they are signed by the writer and include his or her phone number so they can be contacted in the event we are unsure about identity. This week the publisher received a letter signed "Anon" which can't be used because the writer obviously preferred to remain anonymous. He or she may come into the office at 59 Willow St. N. and sign it if they want the letter published or send us a note with their name and phone number identifying them as the writer. In limited cases, a pseudonym can be used when it is reasonable to assume the letter 's publication would jeapordize their safety or em- barrass them. But in most cases we ask writers to stand behind their opinion with their-own name. Bo Neighbour told me this Christmas, he got a new car for his wife... Now that's some trade !f! It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Homes and busi- nesses are sparkling with lights of all description, lights that were prob- ably out the earliest in history. Some of the displays are downright daz- zling while other consist of only a few bulbs and decorations. All wel- come in this joyous and festive sea- son. Yes, I know, we don't yet have snow. Maybe you are dreaming about a white Christmas but unless the weather patterns change, it is possi- ble Santa Claus will have to use his pick-up truck instead of the tradi- tional sleigh. Old timers used to say that a green Christmas and New Year often meant a full graveyard while a white and cold season killed the bugs which bear us to the grave. Obvi- ously they based their finding on experience, downgraded now be- cause of its lack of scientific back- ground but often true. > Those crazy geese on Fairy Lake. The incredibly warm weather has meant they are either bamboozled by the warmth or just delaying their trip south until real cold sets in. They are arriving in the hundreds each day and taking shelter on Fairy Lake, fly- ing by night in the light of the bright autumn moon. The geese aren't the only ones whose patterns are upset by the warmth. Theresa Matheson, a resi- dent at the Elizabeth Drive seniors' apartments, reports the caretakers were cutting the grass there on Mon- day, Dec. 14. And you put your lawn mower away? ste 59 Willow Street North Acton, Ontario L7J 128 (519) 853-0051 Fax: 853-0052 Tanner Editorial Frances Niblock Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler Advertising Sales Maggie Circulation Marie Shadbolt Publisher Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Composing Penny Zurbrigg - Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as Ellen Piehl adjoining communities. Petrushevsky ADVERTISING POLICY 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. 3