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The Free P attached bucks four feet drifts along Five in one recent township and county snow plows Winds have drifted snow three and Weekend Work crews say the winter has been one of the toughest in four deep have snowbound many rural areas for several hours memory Staff Photo Almost hidden by snow this grader with plow and wing Sugar and Spice by bill Well I ve got the of Canada on my back almost unanimously after a recent column which suggested mildly that the machines are Instruments of Satan at best the finest tool for noisestink pollution since the automobile took to the roads That makes up about onequarter of my readers This week I shall alienate another twoquarters of them by giving my unvarnished opinion of cats Cats like snowmobiles have their uses They re handy to have around a farm where they help keep the vermin under control They have in the past been Just the thing for the proprietors of some chicken palaces when the price of chicken was high There were some in prison camp presumably to keep down the rats Their numbers wore diminishing with increasing speed until the German camp commandant Issued the dictum Prisoners will cease and desist killing and eating of longtailed rabbits He had a sense of humor Which la more than you can say for a cat Then they are useful when kittens for putting on calendars And finally 1 11 admit they provide company of sorts far lonely people who pamper them stuff them with tidbits and turn them from sleek felines Into bloated contemptuous parasites who The mysteries of turning out newsprint from pulpwood logs has always baffled me Consequently when the opportunity came at the Kapuskasing newspaper convention to tour one of Canada large paper mills I was almost first in line to catch the bus I have always marvelled at the huge piles of pulpwood outside of paper mills Not only because thev reach large heights but the IS hours later they emerge from the other end of the mill as rolls of paper is almost a modern miracle A few hours later they are bundled Into box cars with special equipment and it could be possible for It to be shipped and appear as a printed page in some Urge metropolitan newspaper or weekly the next day The Spruce Falls mill we visited supplies a large part of the newsprint for the New York Times Detroit News and Washington Post Every day a of paper is shipped from most bound for the United States You might think this Is a good case of Canada shipping out exports and benefitting from hard American currency that bolsters the economy Unfortunately the mill is more than half American owned in fact we were told per cent of the huge complex Is owned by the New York Times It kind of gives you a start to think the company owns and leases land for their operation as large as the State of Israel and all In Canada about GOO miles from your own home Most of the men who work In the mill are Canadians and the company seems to that phrase must companies love to use corporate citizens Wages in the mill are good the standard of living In the Kap is high the company runs an efficient operation that replaces most of the trees cut down either by planting or by natural Officials of the company were more than generous hosts to the hordes of newspaper men who descended on operation with the curiosity and sometimes hard questions newsmen have They made a good case for American ownership of Industry in Canada However I help wondering why we Canadians couldnt develop our own resources and get off this hewers of wood and drawers of water kick We have the technical natural and take over the best chair in the house shed hair over everything claw the rug and upholstery at will andwantoutatfiveinthe morning If should grow old and lonely I would prefer a snake a pet Like cats they Just sleep and eat They also eat mice But they don t come fawning and whining and rub bing fiercely against your legs when you re getting their food out They don t want out in the middle of the night And they don get pregnant every six weeks It a a well known fact that cats have no love for anybody Not even for other cats A beautiful female will marry any flea bitten oneeyed torneared philanderer who comes along And torn cats are Just plain sex fiends In some ways cats are like children When they re kittens they re sweet and loveable and cuddly And always making a mess When they grow up they mooch unashamedly stay out half the night sleep half the day And are always making a My wife Isnt fond of cats and I loathe them But we always seem to be stuck with one Daughter Kim picks up a stray kitten and brings it home With the deepest misgivings we adopt the scrawny little wretch They re always female which we don find out until too late id Pepper by hartley coles the resourcefulness but somehow we lack the capital or perhaps it Is our lack of faith in our own country that makes us hesitant about pouring money back into its development The most fascinating part of the huge mill I found was the block long paper machines which turn pulp into paper after it has been debarked washed ana shredded into chips which are reduced to fibre before they enter the huge machines At this point the pulp is mostly water The pulp flows onto a wire section where natural draining and suction removes enough of the water to form a sheet Speed of the machine is almost half a mile a minute So you can see how the mill can turn out tons of newsprint a day Freight costs for shipping out the paper run to ill million a year we were told but mill and townspeople were unhappy about the railway service they were getting in the north a universal complaint over the province Trains which used to run from Kap to Toronto no longer have diners on them fox passengers THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editorial Office Not too early to start Councillor Bill Coats plea for an early start on planning for Actons centennial celebrations In Is one all of us should sit up and take notice of Two years may seem like a long time but unless planning is done to mark the celebration of years as an incorporated municipality the year will come and go without suitable recognition It an occasion which should move all organizations and individuals in the community to participate fully and with all the resources at their command It has been proven on other occasions that various groups in this town can work together for the benefit of the entire community Celebrating 100 years as an incorporated community happens only once In a lifetime so there is more than ample Justification for Acton to stage a really big show It is too much to expect councillors to bear the burden of the planning and execution for celebrations of this magnitude but most of us anticipate that they will supply the initiative in getting It started Perhaps this may mean appointing a committee to organize the town and Its people Or maybe they could act as a clearing house to accept or reject various kinds of suggestions as to what form the celebrations should take Perhaps there should be a contest to see who can come up with the best suggestions If the prize was worth- You gotta have a heart Then Kim breezes off somewhere and we re guardians and grandparents There no parleying about birth control Kim insists that her protegee must fulfil her function as a female After the drama of the delivery and the period of nursing we have a hysterectomy performed And in about our months the slim sleek pretty young thing is a great fat cat knocking off tins and tins of cat food and producing nothing except extreme on Try to get her to put her out when you think it time and she darts upstairs and under a bed Have you ever tried crawling under a bed to catch a cat who doesn t want to go out into the snow It a good way to give yourself a stroke from sheer rage Leave her outs and she darts between your legs when you re bringing in of groceries and Is It to safety undej another bed or down cellar the door of which your stupid wife or husband has left open The soluUon of course is to have her put away But somehow I never to accept euthanasia After all you donfkdl your kids or even your parents Just because they you Id Many will not agree with me But I got off to a bad start this week All set to go to work Monday morning Cat in back kitchen with odd look on her face Threw her out Went into the downstairs powder room and there was the evidence Not one but two distinct evidences of mass diarrhea It the only good thing I can say for them At least they know enough to go to the bathroom The number one health enemy today is diseases of the heart Deaths from heart disease alone total more than the deaths from all the other causes put together One of every two deaths In this country is caused by cardiovascular disease that is diseases of the heart and blood vessels February is heart month Tie ail these facts together and it hard to grasp the reason for the Canadian Heart Fund Cardiovascular disease is an individual matter Trie way to combat it is through research and through making the findings of research available to the public the medical profession and the patient Giving to the heart fund is also an individual matter The way to help research is through making funds available so we can find out the causes of heart disease That the major job research scientists are working on now Great strides have been made In treating heart diseases Greater strides will be possible when we know what causes them There are three different kinds of heart and blood diseases in which nine out of lOcaswlfall And we do not know their causes Who susceptible to heart diseases Almost anyone But you 11 notice which mention heart are often for men in the 30 to 50 age bracket family breadwinners in the prime of life while there would be lots of suggestions that couldn help but benefit planning a celebration There is also time to decide if the people of the town would like to erect a suitable building to mark the occasion You recall the centennial library one of the town s real beauty spots went up during Canada s centennial Why not another such project to supply a need and at the same time add something worthwhile to the town centre With a positive and constructive attitude there are no limits to what the people and the community can ac complish All that s needed is leadership and a desire by the entire community to cooperate The heart is tough It is the hardest working organ In the body It repairs itself It can stand hard work and vigorous sports It adjusts to the demands put on it But when something goes wrong it is essential the disease be treated by a doctor You hear about the many dramatic cases of heart disease but you don t hear much about the many people who have coronary heart disease and live long and productive lives In spite of it Early diagnosis Is Important When the doctor has the information totreathcartpatlents in many cases it has been supplied by research made possible by the Canadian Heart Fund Be generous Instead the lways has substituted a sandwich bar for the long ride we were told now take lunch when they board trains for the trip to Toronto much like they did when excursion trains were the rage The Polar Bear Express which runs from Cochrane to Moosonee I found was a trip most northerners would like to make but never have Those I talked to about taking the mile five hour ride had a few stories about the train but admitted they had never taken what is fast becoming one of Ontario real tourist attractions It s a case of not recognizing what is unusual in your own backyard I guess One gent fondly related the story of the conductor and a lady passenger who complained about the tardy train schedule And look at the condition I am in she told the trainman She was obviously going to have a baby Well said the exasperated conductor Anyone in your condition should never have came on this trip But I wasn t In this condition when I got on replied an equally exasperated lady Hard to believe but it is typical of the north They do everything on a grand scale up there including slight exaggerations to make a point The point I been trying to make over the last three weeks is the north may be our last front but it is livable even in the worst time of year People who there have turned to their advantage I hope to return for a more extensive examination some day Off the cuff It more dignified to say we re moving in cycles rather than running around in circles but it means about the same thing Mate sure your motor is warmed up before entering fast moving traffic or crossing railroad bracks advises the Allstate Insurance Company A stalled engine in either of these circumstances could be fatal A safety sign reported by the Ontario Safety League says Watch That Freezy Skid Stuff years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press February22 For some months there have been disquieting rumors that Baxter Laboratories of Canada Limited who are located in Acton have been viewing locations In Ontario with a view to building a new plant However BUI Benson was told officially by Mr Graham that it is the considered opinion of the directors that Baxters will remain in Acton in the present building indefinitely This was welcome news to the or 60 employees Minus scarlet coats horses and dogs a band of district hunters gathered at Comers Saturday for a wolf hunt organized by Conservation Officer Gordon Matthews and township of Two wolves were sighted but the hunters didn get one of the Invaders Veteran hunter David Mennan of R declared wolves are cute animals alright and claims he knows of dens In this district alone There Is a widespread outbreak of respiratory infections Norman Douglas Is very seriously injured after panel truck went off the road last Tuesday Carolyn Oakes Yvonne Brunelle and Crawford Douglas will represent Acton in a 300 voice choir at Eaton auditorium The condition of the main streets was improved when crushed stone was put In some of the holes However cars look like bucking bronchos and the bus driver calls Fasten your seat belts we re arriving in Acton Bom to Mr and Mrs Jean Marcoux a son to Mr and Mrs Ralph McKeown a daughter Mr and Mrs Bill Buchanan a son Actons tax rate is struck at mills nine above last year In comparison the taxes here are not too high regent Mrs L B Shorey ViceRegents Mrs J Holmes Mrs Cooper secretary Mrs J Gould treasurer Mrs A Dills Asst Sec Miss Bennett standard bearers Mrs A B McLean Councillors Mrs Bell Mrs J Leishman Mrs Arnold Mrs J Kennedy Mrs Forbes Mrs C C Henderson Mrs Malcolm McLean MlssFoIster Mrs C A Conway 75 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press Thursday February 1896 It Is a good many years since the annual convention of our County Teachers Association was held In Acton Our citizens this morning welcome the teachers to their town and homes The matter of passing a by law to tag all dogs in town was discussed by municipal The members all expressed themselves favorable to the introduction of such a bylaw The Chief of the Fire Company applied for a room In which to hold their meetings The matter will be considered Mr A I has disposed of his grocery and crockery business at the corner of Mill and Main to Messrs C Moore and Son Mr Hemstreet has done a good business at this stand but his Inherited love for farming is so strong that an unconquerable drawing to the old homestead in Trafalgar possesses him end he will return thence In a few weeks It is with much pleasure that our citizens anticipate the presentation of the popular cantata The Haymakers in the town hill on Monday evening An excellent company In has had the cantata In assiduous preparation for several months The company Includes over persons the e JVuqicipality of illuqt of Statement 50 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press of Thursday February 24 Council has raised the age limit for boys to enter a pool room from 16 to years Rarely If ever before has the congregation of Knox church been favored with such delightful weather for the anniversary as was experienced last Sunday The selection of Rev Dr Wallace as the preacher and the presence of the Baptist and Methodist congregations gave a very large attendance The sermons were reviewed in IB Inches of type On Monday at the oldfashioned tea meeting at Knox Rev Banks Nelson for two hours poured forth a Niagara of wit and wisdom and prophecy concerning Ireland and the Irish people He told entrancing stories of the fairies He said compared to the Sinn Feiners the Bolshevfki are saints Russia is a Christian nation compared to the south of Ireland It is absolutely Incapable of selfgovernment But it will be governed in the best interests of the people as a whole when it is taken over absolutely by Great Britain Excerpt from a very long account Mrs Gray and Miss Laura have purchased from Mr P E Toronto the vacant lot at the comer of Church and Frederick Sts and will erect a new residence there in the coming season The Duke of Devonshire chapter of the elected officers for the coming year Hon Regent Mrs R MacDonald I till ii A ShSSI I To a cot 1ijabe h Am h J PEARSON THE GOOD OLD DAYS really were the good old days as far as municipal tax were concerned This Acton bill made out in 1893 for the YongeSt home of a Mr Potter for on an assessment of is a good indication homeowner budget The rate was IS mills on the dollar of assessment tax bill was lent to the Free Press by Mrs