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The Acton Free Press Wednesday May Must preserve heritage Imminent development on the south side of town known locally as the cemetery hill has created municipal moving problems First the cemetery gates had to be moved to a new site on Road to make room for an apartment building Wisely we think Acton council decided to preserve the gates which were fashioned by a local craftsman using stone from this vicinity Perhaps new gates could have been fashioned with less money than It cost to move present ones but there were more considerations than mere money The gates are a heritage in Acton enhancing the entrance to one of the most hallowed places of the community They framed the entrance to Fairview cemetery a tribute to the Womens Institute and others who spent a great deal of time and work arranging the job in 1938 Since the gates were an outright gift to the town from community- minded women and it would have been a discourtesy to have treated a gift shabbily without proper consideration to those who first displayed the public spirit and initiative in having them built The new location shows the gates off very well and preserves a town tradition which we think there are few enough of to be careful they do not fall to a wreckers hammer Next landmark to disappear from Penalty of leadership WHITEWATERS of the Eden Mills dam were a popular spot for anglers on the week end Staff Photo Sugar and Spice by bill smiley Its only when youre dying that you truly appreciate living And Im dying right now Dont scoff I mean it Youll be sorry next week when this column appears as a blank white space with a heavy black border around it I dont want any eulogies in that white space At least nothing fancy Nothing like Here lies a noble soul Torn from this earth before his time His words were nothing But his soul sublime No I dont really want that sort of thing Although It was my first suggestion as I lay gasping for breath trying to choke down the rye and hot water and honey and lemon Juice that somebody had suggested to my wife might save me We compromised after some discussion concerning how much a letter the tombstone man charges And will say this for my wife She wiped my forehead and brought me cups of tea while she sorted through my insurance policies We settled on After all Bill knew Hed die So do It wasnt quite what I had in mind but I dont quibble about these things and I did like the last line Also we saved on the lettering Thats almost enough to buy an automatic dishwasher Lets put first things first Theres been a lot written about the rights spring poetry music and stuff like that To be dying of the flu is one of the rights of spring in Canada Its one of the few inalienable rights we have left Oh there are other rights of spring in this country but theyre becoming polluted like everything else Theres the right to go trout fishing on Opening Day This was once an indefinable and inexplicable delight Nowadays its about as thrilling as climbing onto a subway train at rush hour Theres the right to go out and shovel and sweep back onto the road all the sand the has thrown up on your lawn during the winter This has a tendency to pall after the first five or six years Theres the right to cheat on your income tax This used to be day rigerre as we used to say but so many people arc doing it now that its as we say now There are at sorts of other spring rights like giving birth to twin lambs going for a swim as soon as the ice goes out or discovering that your kid quit university a week before final exams But were not all cut out for these things Theyre sort of spotty The only spring right that has not been interfered with by govern ment big business labor unions or the womens lib is the ordinary Canadians spring right of dying from the flu I think its probably the last spring right well have in perpetuity And I think Its fitting that we should Practically anybody can die of prac tically anything these days according to the experts And theyre probably right though I have yet to know an expert to be right about anything But to die of the flu every spring is something thats fairly precious to us Canadians and I hope the advertising agencies dont catch on to it or theyll spoil the whole doleful business Cant you see the ads COME TO CANADA FOR A NEW THRILL INSTANT INFLUENZA Probably sponsored by drink Canada dry and relax with Canadian club The Yanks would flock in Dont let them Lets keep something for our mess of pottage Im dying of the flu and I dont want a bunch of tourists horning Having kicked around the community for several years this writer can agree almost without reservation with an editorial which appeared in the Advance- Times regarding the penalty of leader ship in this and almost any community The Wingham writer says he Is sometimes amazed that small communities continue to provide men and women for public office when the rewards of service are bitter to say the least If you happen to be the type of person who feels some obligation as a responsible citizen to take your turn on town council the public utilities commission or the hospital board you Safety first As an example of horse sense the Ontario Safety League points out that horses had the intelligence to be afraid of the automobile during the period when pedestrians laughed at it Most drivers know car engines give off carbon monoxide but few people seem to appreciate exactly how dangerous it is It takes only about five minutes for an average car left running in a closed garage to poison the air to the point where it would cause death Drivers never try to pass another car if there is the slightest doubt in your mind that you have room enough Conflict and Contrast rjio an ancient city is reborn The time had flown and we were on our way back to the airport and the return flight to Nicosia after a frisking passing between metal detector plates and a close check of personal baggage Our arrival in Nicosia was in time to keep a promised date with Canadian Forces officers entertaining them to dinner at the Cosmopolitan It was a full meal from soup salad prepared fruit and fresh fruit It reinforced our Ideas of the Eastern method of eating which makes it a full nights affair Im sure there were four or five changes of plates and cutlery during the meal which extended from to 12 midnight there Is in this leisurely fashion and the fresh fruit is huge My two hands couldnt encircle one orange It was larger than any grapefruit Ive encountered The next day provided a short time in Nicosia before we began our return trip Beginning before am we boarded a bus to visit the port city of stopping along the way for a look at an interesting excavation and restoration at Salamis The traditional founder of Salamis was son of the king of the island of Salamis and one of the of the Trojan war It dated back more than 700 years and on the grounds we could see the very impressive theatre with its massive rows of seats stepping up in a The theatre had been built early in the imperial period and had been repaired and remodelled during the first and second centuries There were rows of seats and the seats near the bottom had been dressed with white limestone This was preserved in the first two or three rows Standing in the centre of the theatre at the podium area ones voice carried quite effectively to the top row where the seat was available The reconstruction of this theatre was continuing as is work on the remains of the gjmnasium and Roman baths which were equally impressive Huge pillars outline the gym of the early Roman period and there are some fine restorations of early Byzantine baths complete to the mosaic lining of the baths themselves The restoration work is impressive and gives an excellent view of a very interesting old city But on to a climb along the old walls and a look at the Othello tower made famous by Shakespeare A look too at the Miamilike developments along the seashore and the beautiful beach Row upon row of new apartments and hotels appear to be under construction bearing no evidence of the distress which continues to divide the nation of Cyprus into Greek and Turk Back again to Nicosia along the broad flat lush green plain Shepherds were tending their flocks and in the distance ahead could be seen the Mountains A brief spell In the sun on the Jasmin Terrace at the Palace Hotel where the first warm rays of the season could be felt and it was time for another bus trip to catch another plane Skipping lunch we ate oranges which had been picked by one of our group in an obliging Cypriot owners garden and our plane took off for an unanticipated stop at Athens Greece There a young Canadian and two friends who had some problems One was confined to a stretcher after his Volkswagen van had overturned and he had been hospitalized for two weeks The Canadian Forces plane accepting a call from the Canadian delegation in Athens had picked up he and his friends for a return trip to Canada We werent able to leave the plane In Athens for a quick look at Greece and it was 13 hours since our last meal but our plane was soon heading back up the coast of Italy over Florence to Zurich Switzerland and into our scheduled stop at Lahr Germany So far away from home It Is unusual to be able to locate anyone who knows of places called Milton or Acton but In three cases we were successful Captain Jim McDonald who stationed with the 3rd of the Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry in Cyprus knew of Milton His uncle Dave McDonald had been a former herdsman at Aberfeldy Farms with Gardhouse Continued on Page can rest assured that your unselfishness will bring you plenty of criticism and very very few compliments The vast majority of your fellowcitizens will natter on endlessly about all the things you are doing wrong but you can rely on the fact that very few of them will be seeking your office at the next elec tion says the paper Even the service clubs arent immune from the unending critics and their bitter shafts People who join the clubs with high motives soon discover that others who belong to nothing and assist no one are always ready to criticize The mayor is often the butt of every Hie Ontario Safety League points out that if you are doing 60 and passing a car doing 45 it is like passing cars parked bumper to bumper A survey made by the Insurance Bureau of Canada has shown that per cent of those questioned would favour laws requiring manufacturers to produce harder to damage cars and per cent would be willing to pay more for such cars The Ontario Safety League says the results were based on 4229 detailed personal interviews conducted throughout Canada in the summer of Pregnant women often enquire if the cemetery hill will be the old water tower which has been a beacon for motorists and an Acton landmark The tower hasnt been functional for many years but with its new baby blue cover conceived by former deputy- reeve Ted Tyler Jr it took on new lustre in the last two years Certainly the town stands to gain from an agreement with Construction to move the municipal works department to a new site in the industrial park but we wonder if there isnt some way the old water tower couldnt be saved and turned into the towns conversation piece much like the much discussed Archer in front of Torontos city hall Well miss it when it is torn down carping tongue His phone rings at all hours of the day and callers have lots of abuse and complaints How many phone when they feel the mayor and council have done something well The Wingham paper wonders what would happen if all the men and women who continue to serve on these bodies were suddenly to decide it was the critics time to run the show How many would be willing to take over the responsibilities Valid criticism of course is vital to a democratic society but it must be backed with ability and willingness to suggest other better alternatives If these are lacking the critic mustnt expect a very intelligent audience wearing a seat belt might be damaging to the unborn child in the event of a crash Doctors reply that a belt worn correctly cannot hurt the child and motherstobe have particular reason to be belted in at all times The right position is for the lap belt to be comfortably snug and as low as possible so that in the event of an abrupt stop the strain is taken on the strong pelvic bones Generally speaking a persons driving improves with experience says the Ontario Safety League But if a man starts out with bad driving habits and poor attitudes through lack of proper instruction years of experience may accentuate the deficiencies rather than diminish them years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Thursday May 1951 The first sod for Actons new school was turned officially by Dr G Oakes chairman of the school board on Thursday morning of last week Present for the ceremony were J Hargrave Tom Jones C Heard Wes Wolfe and Jack of the school board Although the bulldozer had been at work on the site the first digging with the steam shovel began Thursday and school classes carried on an usual with the steady noise of the machines in the background Fred Krantz worked with his helper for nearly eight hours to cut down a 100yearold elm tree on the school site He said It was the toughest tree he ever felled There are several building improvements being carried out in the business section tons store has an addition which doubles the former size with full basement Talbot has added a new brick and cement warehouse at the rear of his Mill St store It matches up his brick store and connects it to the former warehouse On Main and Perrys new show rooms and workshops are nearing completion Brick is ready for the renovation of the front of Harry barber shop This will mean an alteration in the front windows and shop entrance Jim Dills of Acton and Murray of Etidgetown graduated this week from with silver medals for proficiency Graham Guild of Rock wood graduated from the School of Mechanical and Industrial Technology The first concert of the recently organized Acton Omens Band was held in the Roxy Theatre Ray and receive their B degrees from the OAC next week 50 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Thursday May 1921 On Wednesday evening of last week a dance advertised as being under the auspices of the Battery CPA of was held in the Town Hall A number of young men accompanied the visitors who were a disgrace to any company Some were in uniform and others in clothing These young men were more or less under the influence of liquor and behaved themselves like hoodlums and were guilty of vile language in the public street They had flasks of liquor and brazenly drank from them at the Hall and also on the Manse lawn and on the street Citizens were disgusted and some timid people residing near the Town Hall were alarmed The Licence Inspector is looking into the matter and It is likely several of the offenders may find themselves mulcted of fines The officers of this esteemed and reputable battery will do well to sec that further orgies of this nature are not permitted in connection with functions held under its name The announcement was made that Rev has resigned as pastor of Knox church and will go to Medina N Complaint was made at council by THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editorial Office persons who are desirous of beautifying their home surroundings and boulevards that delivery horses are let run on the boulevards and are destroying shade trees and shrubs Offenders will be warned Rifles will be issued with new Enfields Mr A B McLean has installed the latest type of automatic hot water heaters for his barber shop equipment Two collided in Georgetown Monday Motor traffic is growing larger here dally 75 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Thursday April 1836 The met on Monday evening The Orange Order was granted the use of the park on the of July for 3 The Committee on Finance reported paving D Graham repairing lamps cents two torches postage feeding tramps Robert Morrow re planting at park Robert Morrow trees and planting at cemetery Symon Bros Hardware tin and granite ware Jewellery silverware books stationery patent medicines grocers and a full line of Gurneys famous stoves Only taken in exchange Thursday was an eventful day at Rock- wood About 730 George Pike manager of the lime works dropped dead from heart fadure at years of age About nine oclock John M a farmer dropped dead of apoplexy He was years of age saw null is running again for a few days Elegant full sized cabinet photographs of Her Majesty Queen Victoria are being sent to the buyers of Diamond Dyes Master Eddie Holmes of Acton has commenced working at Cripps shingle mill at Comers Eddie is a smart boy He walks three miles from Acton every day A very sudden death occurred at the home of Mr Thomas Moore in when his sister Miss Annie breathed her last She had suffered from lung trouble but was fully resigned The funeral was a very large one there being carriages In the cortege