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THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2004 THE NEW TANNER ) GRA CHOKING HAZARD REMOVED Jawbreakers -- larger sized gumballs -- are no longer avail- able at four banks of candy vending machines in Town facili- ties after a seven-year-old Acton boy choked on one recently at Acton arena. The boy put the jawbreaker in his mouth and ran outside and be- gan to choke, an "unfortunate set of circumstances," according to Paul Stover, the Town's manager people choke on hotdogs, but this was the only jawbreaker incident. The Town's vendor will replace the jawbreakers with smaller gumballs -- sales of which will bring the Town a tidy profit of $8,000 this year. DEAL Unidentified investors from Halton Hills have purchased the former Foodland grocery store on Mill Street from the olde Hide House. The deal closes June 18. Plans call for the 6,000-square- foot building, most recently used asa furniture factory outlet, to be divided: into four units, and leased. NO DEAL Problems getting a water allo- cation killed a conditional offer from an unidentified out-of-town developer forthe vacant former Force Electric site, also owned by the oHH. That developer did purchase two vacant lots on Eastern Ave. and on Church St., from the oHH. CONDO CASH Want first crack at one of 64 adult lifestyle condominiums in a four-storey building in the Parkside Meadows subdivision on Wallace Street, opposite Com- merce Court? A refundable $1,000 cheque will pre-reserve a unit in the project, being built by Finoro Homes of Guelph. Royal City Realty broker Damian Nikic said it is not com- mon to market a condo development this way, but they want to give local people "first crack" at the project, which is still being designed. Nikic said they would start to market the project next month, and already have five cheques in hand, just from word of mouth. keke At least 10 families have moved into the adjacent 74-unit freehold and detached townhouse develop- ment, and more closings are scheduled throughout the sum- mer. GOOD BYE, MR. WARREN Robert Little School won't seem the same without principal Don Warren who retires at the end of the school year. © * " Warren will be honoured at an open house at the school on June 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. Those interested in attending the open house should call Mrs. Pope at 853-3540 for details. eee Proceeds from a used book sale at Robert Little School on May, 20 will be used to buy new play- ground equipment and for snacks for the Food for Thought pro- gram. Thousands of books will be priced from 50 cents to $1. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Robert Little Parent Group is looking for book donations, which can be left in the desig- nated box in the school lobby. Letters 'Natural' not better if public can't enjoy it To the editor; Although I do not live adjacent to Fairy Lake it is one of the rea- sons that I moved to Acton. I saw this lake as a nice, safe place to walk my grandkids and our dog. The first few years this was won- derful. Some of the people cleared behind their houses, and they took very good care of this area. I only saw one incident where someone had thrown sod on this property. There was still about 50-feet or more to get to the water, and there were usually two-three small pathways about two feet wide that would take you to the edge of the water. From here you could look across the lake and watch the ducks and geese coming and going, boat- ers fishing, and swans gliding across the water. The view was spectacular and the lake was so peaceful and beautiful. Last year when I tried to take - the kids down to the water, to watch the swans, it was awful. There was so much growth with weeds, and wild shrubs full of thorns. The golden rod had grown about four foot high mak- ing it very difficult to pass. Our legs got cut and scratched and we got eaten alive by the mosqui- toes. Needless to say we could not get anywhere near the water. The only residents that can en- joy any view of the lake now are those residents who have backyards facing this area and they now must do this from the second floor of their premises as the vegetation is so overgrown. "Natural is not better if it cannot be enjoyed by the public, that help support it." Kathleen Percy Birchway Place BLACK GOLD: Bart Clark and Jason Brown help a customer load bags of Black Gold Compost at the sale held by the Acton Agricultural Society the past two Saturday mornings. The sold-out sale raised over $1900 towards the Ag Society's future endeavours.- Photo by George Henderson. When the Rev. Ezra Adams settled on the east half of Lot 28, Concession 2 Equesing, in 1823 the attraction was a splen- did stream that ran through the property that could be harnessed to provide power for a saw mill or grist mill. Adams, a saddleback preacher with the Wesleyan Methodist Church, was tired out. He saw the property which later become the hub of what became Adamsville, Danville and later Acton, as an opportunity to re- join his health and ease the strain of preaching on the Wesleyan circuit. He was soon joined by other members of the Adams family who came to Lower Canada (Quebec) in 1798 by way of the United Statés. The settlement of what be- came Acton had begun and like other municipalities it started out with good water as a major attraction. The stream which at- tracted Ezra Adams we now know as the Black Creek. It flows out of Fairy lake which is fed by four other streams which were harnessed by a dam which still stands on Mill Street and at one time powered the flour mill which still exists, and a saw mill. All up and down the Credit River system it was the same. Settlements grew where water could be harnessed to provide power. The Black Creek, of course, joins Silver Creek in Georgetown and they join the main Credit River at Norval. Completion for mill sites along the Credit and its tribu- taries was fierce. It is estimated there were five grist mills and 14 saw mills in Esquesing by 1848. Acton, along with Alton and Orangeville were "lumber- ing villages" by 1859, each with two or more saw mills. Tanner- ies and woollen mills soon proliferated along the rivers as well, the first tannery at Acton (Nelles) was built in 1842. Other industries soon followed including shingle mills, cooper- ' Yes, it's all about the Credit with Hartley Coles ages, carriage factories, glove shops, etc., etc., most of which put some sort of strain on the Credit River system. The Credit was once renowned as a "Salmon River." In the Ca- nadian Gazeteer, printed in 1846, this reference was made to the Credit: ".. This river has long been celebrated for its salmon fishing, immense quantities having been annually taken, in the spring, during their passage up the stream to deposit their spawn. But, from the great number of mills which have been erected on the river during the last four years, the fishing is destroyed, the salmon being unable to make their way over the dams. Im- mense quantities of lumber are sawn at the mills on the river, and _ shipped at Port Credit.» It appears the last runs of salmon occurred about 1841-42. Now the river supports several species of fish belonging to the salmon family including brown * trout, rainbow trout and Eastern speckled trout as well as alewives, suckers, several mem- bers of the minnow family, pike, perch, sunfish and brook stickle- back among others. Creek chub probably are the commonest fish in the river and its tributaries. The Credit, besides its fisher--- ies, has a great deal of spectacular scenery. Probably the area around Forks of the Credit, Belfountain and Cataract where the river cuts its way through the Niagara Es- carpment is the most spectacular but it has some beautiful and in- ~. teresting stretches along its 99 kilometre length'as well includ- ing its run from Glen Williams to Norval through a deep, wooded valley. ._ first saw the stream would no \ Over half.a million people live in the Credit watershed, a fact which the early explorers who doubt find unbelievable. The first published informa- tion about the location of the river came in a 1660 map when all the region was the territory of the Five Nations Iroquois who began more and more to depend on Lake Ontario for both fish- ing and trapping but it is unlikely they used the Credit for their activities. It's more likely it was the Mississaugas, an itinerant tribe which moved around in small bands. They called the river or part of it "Small Pine River" using a word that would be written as Chinguacousy. Surveyor Augustus Jones called the river "Mes.sin.ni.ke" and translated it as "Trusting River -- Credit." The name Riviere au Credit appeared on a French map on chart of 1797 made by a French naval officer on the Lake Ontario squadron who evidently connected it with trading. On credit, perhaps.» In any event the river's storied past is part of our own and pro- tectors of the stream and its environs has been the task of the Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) for the last 50 years. It was officially established on May 13, 1954 by an Order in Council. In their own words, The CVC has worked for the last 50 years in the watershed "to minimize drought and flooding, improve water quality, support socially and economically viable com- munities, protect natural features and green spaces, and restore damaged ecosystems." They've succeeded 'so well it-is hard to believe that half a century ago the Credit and its tributaries were threatened by unbridled pollu- tion, rampant development and a misinformed public. Let's hope the next half cen- tury succeeds as well as the first 50 years. Ly