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The Press Wednesday February INTERTWINING BRANCHES stripped of everything but a few solitary dead leaves form an archway for this low rambling ranch style home at Sundays blue sky and subzero temperatures framed the home In a sparkling setting Photo Smiley In a nostalgic mood today Ive been thinking that with the onslaught of the Speed Age many of our fine old Canadian traditions have fallen by the wayside died on the vine or simply lain down and curled up their toes One of the first to go of course was the blacksmith It hurts me to face the truth that most people today under 30 have never known the sensory joys of a blacksmiths At this time of year small boys used to squeeze through the ramshackle door and edge as close as they could to the fire freezing their bums and roasting their cheeks There was a fine acrid stench of horse manure and scorched hooves There was the leaping flame as the bellows blew There was the ringing clang as the smith beat out the whitehot metal between hammer and anvil and the satisfying hiss when the hot metal was plunged into the cold water At a certain age most mole kids would have settled happily for the life of a black smith a free soul who spent his days doing the most fascinating work In the world The decline of the smithy of course was brought about by the gradual phasing out of another tradition the horsedrawn vehicle I wonder how many kids of this generation have ever spent a winter Saturday catching bobs This was our term for jumping on the backs of farmers sleighs All day long the farmers came and went to and from town And all day long we hopped on behind a load of grain left that for a load of supplies going the other way picked up a sleigh piled with logs for the return trip and shivered with delighted fear as the farmers shouted at us and even sometimes flourished their whips in our direction As we grew a little older about graduated to catching on the wing a cutter This was more daring and more dangerous because they could really fly the runner was much smaller and the farmer could turn around and belt you one on the ear Most of them of course were pretty decent I know now that they were more worried about us getting hurt In a fall than they were about the extra weight had to pull Then there were the butchers cutters These consisted of a sort of box with runners beneath and a step at the back for the driver to stand on The horses were not plugs but real roadrunners that went tike a bat out of hell They were every bit as exciting as a Roman chariot and the drivers were the envy of every boy in fur caps reins in one hand whip in the other as they tore through the town like furies And I wonder how many boys have played hockey all day on a frozen river when a hard shot the goalie missed might We never had to worry about icetime or changing lines We could ploy until we were pooped then sit by the bonfire until rested and have another go And there were always twenty or thirty playing at once so everybody got a whack at the puck Some great stickhandlers come out of that era Think of the depths to which we have sunk The smithy with its light and shadows Its reds and blacks Its earthy smells its sense of life has been replaced by the garage a sterile thing with its cement floor its reek of gas and oil and Its un spoken assurance that thislsgonnacost buddy The cutter swift and light as a bird no longer skims the snow It has been replaced by a stinking snarling skidding beast that only modern man could abidethe snow mobile No more meatcutters careening around the comers on one runner delivering in any weather Now we plod like zombies through the supermarket to moronic piped in music and pick up the odourless antiseptic packages the great gods Dominion Loblaw or Safeway have assigned to us and carry them humbly to our cars three blocks away Our kids have to get up at five a m to play hockey and if they re not real killers get about four minutes ice time Ah those were the days And I haven t even begun on the most vital of all winter equipment the puck consisting of a frozen horsebun Press public council triangle Although Milton Council has decided to keep the press out of committee meetings their counter parts Acton are debating and could have decided by now whether to open up a 15 minute question and answer period to members of the press radio TV or the general public There may be a difference in attitudes but both are symptoms of distrust members of the news media are meeting from some members of public bodies Councils have been seeking the shelter of the committee rooms for more and more of their business Public meetings then become realty no more than rubber stamping of decisions that have already been made As a result the press is denied background on a subject which has many facets and cannot report ob jectively We realize there are times when the press must necessarily be excluded from discussions about councils business especially when it could affect some long range planning or confidential material At other times when public business is being discussed we think councils and other public bodies are morally obligated to let the public know what is taking place In Acton council has been good enough to allow the press copies of the committee minutes This has been an aid in delving into the background of information with which we are not familiar The mayor clerk and other members of council have always shown a keen desire to keep us posted on current problems council is tackling We appreciate these privileges and try our best to live up to our res ponsibilities although it must also be said that sometimes information coun cillors relay to us is used to disagree with their line of thought However if individual councillors are convinced they are taking the right side on an issue we find it hard to believe they would be reluctant to let the public know about it even if it is an unpopular decision Popularity is not necessarily the distinction between muddled and confused thinking We hope that Acton council has decided to open that 15 minute question period to the news media and public Vie will do our best to keep questions OUR READERS WRITE Suggests check dental prices Georgetown Ontario 31 Byron St Dear Mr Editor In rent lo my editorial of January regarding the high prices being charged for dentures Doctor Greenglass of Georgetown in answer says that the cost of a product or sen ice should not be a prune factor when one health is concerned I ask how can it be other than a prime factor when the product is priced the average ability to pay and is so necessary to good health If it is presumed by the dentistry profession they must regain the total costs of theu education plus healthy profit within the first year of operation then it would appear that this is their objective The government recognizes the cost of dental is very serious and has stated that because of this it is impossible to include dental care in the health program I see where Hamilton dentists are preparing plans to supply full dentures at a cost of Let us hope they will be of first quality which such a price should demand in view of the statements of that Ihey could provide full dentures at less than In conclusion I recommend that anyone requiring dental services check what the profession in this county is charging In comparison to centres such as Toronto and Hamilton In these centres the overhead is much greater yet prices in some instances are only onethird to onehalf of those charged here Buy where you can save your hardearned money Editorial And who is my neighbor Perhaps this is a poor time to talk about brotherhood Catholic and Protestant are fighting each other in Northern Ireland blacks and whites are struggling with each other in Rhodesia South Africa and the United States Moslem is pitted against Hindu in India and there are other world troubles which could turn the most optimistic person into a pessimist But the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews has named this week Brotherhood Week so sit down and think about our own relations with our fellows Making the world safe for differences a neverending job And there are glimmers of hope in some places where hate and rejection were once the norm Sometimes we sec a shining light hat gives one a glimpse of what this world could be like if we rejected hate and social exclusion and replaced it with love As the president of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews has the reverences of others requires a new morality which rules oat mam destructive nihilistic activities Today Protestants and Jews are grateful for the pleasure of each others company Tomorrow we hope various racial strains will enjoy social parity and from these we see nations and ideo logical systems evolving rules for fair What age do we stop being friends Short comment Although there was almost a 33 per cent increase population between and the projected population for the countys elementary schools shows a severe reduction in I960 ac cording to an article published in New Dimensions official organ of the Department of Education Figures show a drop in public school registration to in as compared to in while separate school figures reflecting the projected drop go from 7073 to 5897 Obviously there will be some empty school rooms The sudden death of Herman Freuler came as a shock to his many friends and acquaintances in this district Hermans open friendly manner and fluency in several languages made him popular over a wide area and among people in all walks of life Although he has left the ranks of the Hermans love for his adopted country will always be with us in his Hymn to Canada which was published during Centennial Year and became well known across the country A Swiss native Herman loved his home family good music and good books with a fervor we would all do well to emulate The groundhog must have seen his shadow February 2 and responded by diving down his hole for another six weeks of winter How else can we explain the frigid temperatures and copious amounts of snow since February began Saturday s and Sundays cold snap was play in friendly competition Man has been compared to a caterpillar crawling across an Oriental carpet At any one moment he will respond lo the red or blue coloring to the white yellow or green He may have a preference for any one of the many colors but from his prone vantage point each will merely be a part of the whole fabric Why then damage the design of life by false prejudice Idealism hollow slogans and wordy speeches no longer suffice Wc must practice what we preach believe in the brotherhood of man There cannot be peace without brotherhood and there cannot be brotherhood without justice Brotherhood like charity should begin at home whether that be here In Acton Georgetown Milton or on the farm or rural community in which you live It can start with your neighbor have liked the old catechism definition of the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan where it is asked Who is my neighbor The answer is Mankind of every description creed or color well below zero The winds chill factor was estimated at degrees below at one point Those who had to be exposed to it would no doubt agree with the estimate Then Monday night it The Eden Mills request to secede from if regional government descends on us is reasonable of course since the entire village is Wellington County and Guelphoriented However this is also true of parts of and Esquesing townships and there are also good arguments about this for Acton as well One well known telephone company paper reminds employees it does not publish photographs of office Christmas parties No comment is needed straight to the point although at the same time cognizant of the fact that individual councillors need not reply to our queries There will be no attempt on our part to put anyone on the spot if the question session is allowed We think it will enable us to gamer any back ground information we may need for objective reporting We endeavor to be fair to both council and public recognizing at all times that we bear the responsibility of relaying accurate information between town councils village trustee boards and township councillors to the public 20 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Thursday February Henpecked Henry was the feature presentation of Knox church choir thai attracted capacity audiences on Thursday In the cast were Bella Inez Clarence Coles Helen Rachel Mullen Bill Mainprise Lorraine Mullen Mrs Mann Jim Greer Mrs Ted Hansen and Ken Mann Mrs A Buchanan was the director About mothers and daughters turkey friendliness and a varied program lait Friday in the C A This first annual banquet for Acton mothers and daughters was sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary with members of the Mens dub acting us waiters The guest speaker Mrs Don Guelph spoke of the ideal mother and daughter Good housekeeping kindness helpfulness and beauty of Mrs Wilson as the attributes of an ideal woman accent is on navy Acton ladies saw the works of latest fashions at the Show sponsored by the Friendly and Wednesday In the town hall Over 100 attended Models were Mrs Kmread Mrs Mrs Joyce Buchanan Mrs Charles Mason Mrs Rail line Mrs Marguerite Taylor Mrs Joan Mrs Baxter Mrs Bunny Stewart Mrs Helen Virena Johnston Barbara Baxter Jean Harris Elaine and Maureen Kinread Mrs W McKenzic played the piano and the audience was welcomed by Mrs I aura Ixivcll and Miss Clara Mrs makeup Mrs Edna Johnson was in charge of the show 50 years ago Taken from the the Free Press Thursday February 1922 The Methodist Sundaj School orchestra discoursed splendid music last Sunday There were nine pieces present including Mr EarlC Brown of Kitchener a former player and Mr Ernest Brown of Toronto another old member This orchestra has greatly unproved its musical service lately under Mr A T Brown the new superintendent A very letter has been rcccned from Miss Margaret Bennett who ii teaching in I and on England and has visited Paris Milton new hockey arena has been officially opened most enjoyable evening was spent at Dublin school An amusing program was presented Pupils of S S No Nassagaweya put on a play Uncle lp Miss Irene sang Knox church quartette sang Messrs James Smith Thos Leonard Worden and Alex Mann violin selecUons were given by Messrs William Frank Andy Frank James Isaac and Kennedy The proceeds were devoted to the Children Aid Society Milton The Toronto Star contained particulars of a peculiar court case whereby a couple were promised 000 of wedding presents and launched a successful suit Mr Black a former Acton hoy who is practising law in Toronto handled for the couple THE ACTON FREE PRE5S PHONE and Editorial Office Acton Hydro Commission Let Violet Ray Give You Health and Happiness member of the family con receive benefit from its soothing rays Call in for demonstration of this electrical kit Mr J W Barbaree has sold his house on Main St to Mr John Mellon ill was too soft for the big hockey match with Saturday 75 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Thursday March An aged saint was tailed home when Mrs Adam passed away A happy Christian she had been an invalid lately and unable to leae her room Mr and Mrs Dickson came to Acton in 1851 In Mrs Dickson was a lady maid In London was an eye witness of many of the events of the great coronation ceremonies of Queen Victoria Constable of Woodstock spent several days this week with his father at likes Woodstock well and is doing the best he can to make the rowdy element keep the peace New regulations went into effect on both the and C lines which abolish cheap fares market rates and special rales to school pupils The most serious change is the larce increase in school tickets For instance scholars attending Georgetown high school must now purchase trip at and use them in a month or to they must pay 10 for a ticket sufficient for a months travel The rates will be prohibitive in a majority of cases and is a serious matter to high school pupils Two worthy Acton families removed to the North West by the first settlers excursion this season Joseph Anderson bought a farm near Mr John Ruddtck and family have not long been residents here The two families took two Anderson having fix or seven horses The necessity crossing at the T R on Mill St was spoken of by council The sermon on Dancing by Rev Howell Sunday evening was listened to by a large congregation It was an abb Indict ment of this pastime which has been by a number of the church