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

The Acton Free Wednesday January Editorial Planes grounded rumors fly Air Canada may be crippled by the strike of air traffic controllers but there is still one facet of the air business flying rumors about the site of the new Toronto International Airport They are flying thick and fast and in all directions since lost week when it was reported the area had been stroked off the list of four possible sites for the new Now according to officials In Queens Pork and Ottawa we can expect a decision and an announcement within the next two months Before you hold your breath it is wise to remember that an announcement was to have been made about this time last year Both governments procrastinated throwing a wrench into area planning for almost two years months could stretch into two years again although Charlie Smiley A lot of people would give their eye teeth for some free publicity In this column for whatever they re selling In fact I have a large case of mounted eyeteeth which I haven bothered returning For once 11 make an exception In this case it a plug for a television series Im not much of a T V hound Most of the content is aimed at the mentality yearold Three BBC series however were well done enough to interest me They were The Wives of Henry VIII this years Elizabeth and The Forsyte Saga In each case we had superb entertainment without the violence offcolour Jokes and utter inanity which characterize so many wellknown and avidly followed shows might add that one reason they appealed to me was that they were not trying to be significant merely good drama I remember saying to my wife during the span of the Forsyte family Wouldn the novels make a wonderful series She agreed whereupon I put a nick In the doorpost I do this every time agrees with me Therearelhreenickstherenow Of course we ve only had this house for ten years Now we have it A Canadian series produced by the CBC which can turn out firstclass stuff when the creative people manage to wiggle out from under the meaty thumbs of the administra tors The series Maio la Roche creator of the Jalna novels will never be ranked with Shakespeare or Pickens But she was an excellent with a shrewd knowledge of the reading public able to blend romanticism and realism into a mixture that had a universal appeal It was the same old story Practically unknown in Canada she submitted her novel to a S contest and won the Atlantic Monthly for best novel of the year She had found a rich vein of gold Like Ian leming who wrote the James Bond nonsense and that character who chums out the Carry On Doctor stuff she mined her lode to the depths extracting every last nugget and even panning for grains toward the end Don mistake me she was a far better writer than the others mentioned The novels deal with a large extremely complex family the living on a big farm near Lake Ontario and it covers several generations Our pioneer ancestors were about as much like the as Pierre is like me And Jalna is about as real in rural 19thcentury Canada as Camelot was In the barbaric dark ages But this is part of the charm They re escape novels in the best sense of the word Yet the author creates characters who ore not only attractive but memorable And the lovehate relationships within the family are believable because they arc familiar I predict a run on the Jalna novels if the TV series Is any good Regardless treat yourself They are available in most public libraries A little incident during the war proved to me that despite their regionalism the novels have an international appeal 1945 The Russians had just liberated our prison camp They were pretty drunk and disorderly celebrating May 1st one of their big and they let us out for the evening Next day they locked us all up again But one glorious spring evening of freedom I set off for the little town near the camp with Nils a huge Norwegian who spoke German I left you last week as the ship Sunward sailed out of Miami harbor bound for Key West after we had struggled on board with luggage because of a dock strike Just as we boarded the ship the heavens dedded to get rid of some excess and as we struggled to get our bearings in the two by four cabin the ship slipped Its moorings and headed for the open sea Now Ive never advertised the fact that Im descended from some of those stubborn British sea dogs on my mothers side of the family I had reckoned this would hold me up through the voyage However we had not gone very far on the Sunward into the open sea when the old tummy started to feel a bit It was only by a determined bid to keep my sea legs that I weathered the first night and the magnificent meals on the ship Confined to the cabin after a tour of all the decks and a look at the bars and other amusements such as slot machines which merrily started to tinkle once wo got beyond the territorial waters of the US I started to develop claustrophobia If hare ever to sleep in the top bunk of a small ship cabin with the ceiling about two feet above your head youll know what I mean The ship rolled and pitched as the sea got rougher in the storm Despite almost complete exhaustion I managed to stay awake for most of the time I spent in the bunk At about 3 30 a I stand any more of the rolling so I dressed slipped out of the cabin and headed for the deck whee fresh Caribbean air was I gulped in prodigious quantities of the warm moist air starting to feel better almost immediately noting at the same time that I could detect fights from the Keys the little islands swing out to Key West from the tip of continental Florida to the west We passed beams from lighthouses and every now and again met a ghostly looking ship in the night Ontarios Minister of transportation and communications has been reported as saying Were very close lo resolving a site and there should be an announcement fairly soon A freeze will be put on the estimated acres picked for the once the announcement has been made to rule out the possibility of land speculators making large profits from the sale of lond We have heard from several people that they positively know the site will be in Nassagawcya township Others are sure the new facility will be located just north of Acton in Erin ore plumping for a site in between Acton Georgetown and Milton There are also strong rumors to the effect Peters Corners is the site Its a small community of about five houses two service stations and a motel at the junction of Highways 5 and slightly west of Hamilton peters Corners hos been described as being miles southwest of Toronto but anyone who can read a road map knows the hamlet is about seven miles from Hamilton which would make the new airport the Hamilton International Airport a severe blow to Toronto promoters No we have no inside information about the site as some readers seem to think We ore as much in the dark about the new airport as the federal provincial government team We are only guessing when we think the preferred site is in because that township has all the light population a lot of undeveloped land with the heavy rock base of the escarpment and above all easy access by rail and road to the present airport and Metro Toronto whether we like it or not the hub of Ontario We were Czeched Friday with vast moustaches riding a Slung over one shoulder was a machine pistol Dangling from his saddle was a balalaika On his other shoulder perched a tiny monkey So help me We drifted Into town watched the Yanks picking up German girls or trying to We saw a big house set back among the trees Went up and knocked out of curiosity A frightened old woman finally opened the door a crack Nils spoke gently to her in German She scuttled away After a few moments a stately whitehaired lady with great poise appeared and imperiously demanded to know what wanted Nils said we were just visiting told her were a Norwegian and a Canadian She turned to me and in stilted but grammatical English asked eagerly You know Vhiteoaks of confessed that I didnt know them personally but we had a lively conversation about Rennie the old uncles Finch and the other characters followed by a cup of ersatz coffee Just a little Incident but one I never forget All this free publicity should gratify the But I Ham them that if the series is rotten I shall sear them scorch them fry them and boil them In their own oil Frankly we were surprised at the lack of advance publicity for the appearance of the world famous Cscch String Quartet at Acton Public Library night The event wos sponsored by the South Central Regional Library System which is presenting a number of concerts featuring the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra throughout the system which includes Acton Altogether the Philharmonic is presenting over 560 live performances this season in groups varying in size from quartets to full orchestras of members We were aware that the Czech String Quartet was appearing in Acton Several others also knew of the concert but we think we could say without exaggerating that the vast bulk of the people in Acton and district knew nothing of the event Probably fewer still would know the identity of the group As a result only handful of people showed up to listen to some of the worlds best musicians perform In the limited confines of the library We realize chamber music Is best performed to intimate audiences but arc also aware many people missed the performances who would have liked to have heard these four musicians play The quartet is composed of four of the leading string performers of Prague who fled their native country in Russian As an admirer but hardly a connoisseur of classical music this writer appeared at the concert to record the event on film We expected to stay only a few minutes But we were so charmed by the music we stayed through to the end There is a big difference in the quabty of a performance when you actually ore there Never a lover of chamber music we now have a deeper and better appreciation of it especially as played by the Czech String Quartet We sincerely hope the South Central Regional Library System books more outstanding concerts for the Acton library At the same time we would hope they would publicize their efforts better Editorial notes Success is having your name In everything but the telephone directory Town employees must have lots of influence with the weathermaker Snow for them means long hours and little sleep Rain is Just wet Last Thursdays snow meant working all day Thursday returning at midnight to clean up the business section and then taking to the plows during the daytime until five oclock Friday afternoon Tact has been defined as the ability to close ones mouth before someone else wants to do it You ve heard rank Sinatra croon that song Strangers in the Night 1 thought it was appropriate wondering who else was wand iring along the sea at that time of night also If their stomach was churning at the same rate as mine It was about then felt rather than saw another presence beside me at the rail I turned to greet the stranger whom I expected would be a member of the crew blading me stay well away from the rail since the sea was sure to have some hungry sharks eager to start a meal with Coles But the new presence turned out to be Charlie with the same wan drawn expression 1 had on my face Ah ha I said grinning from car to ear another Caribbean casualty I t sleep he confessed The on 20 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press Thursday January 31 A resident of Acton for over 30 years Mrs Peter Smith Main St will celebrate her birthday Mondoy She lived formerly in where her husband was super of the Bracebndge plant of and Co Skating on the Speed River at last week a lad Bobble Lawrence 12 fell through the ice and was rescued by a who pulled him from the water Kenneth Petty nine who was with the lad grabbed him and was able to pull turn back onto the ice Bobbie went right under water but he hurried home warmed up and evidently had no after effects Further arrangements for the completion of the Halton County Home for the Aged were made when Mr and Mrs Clark of were appointed super and matron of the new institution was a breath of spring flt the farm of Charlie Cutis Acton Outside in the bitter cold a pair of spring lambs were born A pioneer in teaching music in the public schools Annie Grace died her home in on January She had lived all her life in the district Acton Rotary club has agreed to co- opera with the Home and School Association in the purchase of some playground equipment for the school Vic gave his classification talk and two new members were welcomed Harold and Ken A group of ladies from the Arts and Crafts groups meet each week to hook rug Smocking instruction has just started as well Groups of boys and girls have been taking swimming lessons at arranged by the Mens club Miss Gnndley and the grade students had a toboggan party at the Bralda farm 50 ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press Tburtday January 192 Another success was registered for Acton Skating club in the carnival last week At intervals the lights were turned off and a colored lantern used to illuminate the skaters Best ladies costume Mrs H Garden Britannia Miss Jessie McGregor Little Bo Peep gents Mr G I wis Spanish officer Mr Gamble Redskin Indian best couple Mr A Mochne Miss Garvin Witch Mr Somerville Uncle ham Miss Armstrong Queen of Hearts best girls costume Dorothy McPherson Doris McDonald Little Red Riding Hood boys Russell Piccanini Max Stark- man Indian race winners John Fred Ewing Mason Armstrong Jean Kennedy The large attendance of members at the annual meeting of Acton Fall Fair Monday afternoon in the council chamber manifested a very interest In the popular fair Sandy Mclean was elected president Wallace Lasby first vice president second vice president C secretarytreasurer George Hynds Hie fire inspector visited Fergus on Friday and as usual on such occasions found the brigade napping The chief was out of town the alarm was frozen up hydrant wrenches could not be found while some of the members never heard the alarm at all When things got going we believe the test was satisfactory THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE 853 Business and Editorial Office At the annual meeting of Acton Farmers Club was held In the town hall The turnover of shipments and store sales aggregate over G Murray Is president R Davidson vicepresident executive Robert Kerr A Storey R John McGregor C M Beswlck Nelson McLaughlin M D Brown and When you see silkclad ankles these days you wonder If she trying to catch pneumonia or a man 75 years ago Taken from the the Free Press Thursday February Old bruin t much of a chance of seeing his shadow on Tuesday unless he got up before breakfast The T authorities like all other employers of labor are economizing The wages of freight handlers earning 25 per day and over have been reduced cents a day One of the most comfortable and attractive residences for its size will be completed this week for Mr Aiei Ramshaw at the corner of and Agnes Sts Itlsa frame edifice with neat verandah hall parlor and dining room separated by folding doors and from the upper open three bedrooms The house Is very conveniently laid out school has been closed for a couple of weeks on account of scarlet fever Australia has turned against the customs of her mother country and abolished barmaids Mr J W Burt who for years has been the painstaking secretary of Erin Agricultural Society has resigned his position owing to foiling health He is suc ceeded by Mr James Kirkwood M P The society last week presented Mr Burt with a complimentary address Mrs McDcrmott 90 years of age was picked up near Ottawa apparently frozen to death The neighbors had a wake on the body Saturday During the wake the old woman caused a panic by coming to We She is now as well as ever Ad The marvellous cures by Celery Compound in the month of January make a record far surpassing that of any other previous month Hundreds of letters were sent in by saved men and women truly plucked from the grave Try it once a bottle or two will wk wonders