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The Acton Free Press Wednatday January He wore a boyish grin and bow tie It is significant perhaps that while the attention of the world was focussed on the death and obsequies for former US president Harry Truman Lester Bowles Pearson died quietly his Ottawa home Mike Pearson as he was known to close friends and associates was never ostentatious while he lived Somehow it seemed typical that he should slip away from us while attention was elsewhere His boyish grin and bow tie were trade marks of one of the worlds most accomplished diplomats but it was obvious when he served as prime minister of Canada that many never really understood He introduced the new Canadian flag in a flurry of controversy that saw ultraloyalists label him a traitor for daring to give Canadians something with which everyone could identify He tightwalked through some tumultuous years in Ottawa never seeming to be strong seemingly losing battles but emerging on lop in the end to the chagrin of many opponents Lester Pearson looked and acted like- the guy next door It was perhaps this quality which endeared him most to Canadians but at the same time made them less appreciative of the tremendous talents he possessed If he had been more physically prepossessing been endowed with oratorical powers his road might nave been less arduous But Mike Pearson liked baseball talked with a lisp looked ordinary took on no haughty airs While Canadians appreciated these facets of his character they overlooked many of his finer points which really motivated his life It was Mike Pearson who first recognized that Qucbecers could never really be at home In Canada while French was reduced to a minor role In Government circles It was he not Pierre who introduced the bilingual measures which are still rocking the country He did this because he believed in it You remember when the Canadian flag was being introduced Pearson walked right into a hostile Winnipeg Canadian Legion meeting and told veterans the reasons he favored a distinctive Canadian flag He could have avoided that meeting No one would have blamed him But he was a veteranand proud of It He wanted his views known He showed courage and courtesy in the face of provocation all the time preserving his sense of humor Mike Pearson won the Nobel peace prize for his efforts In solving the Suez Canal debacle when Britain and France resorted to some of the old gun boat diplomacy which was fashionable in the 18th century Mike Pearson the boy next door who had a distinguished academic career showed Britain and France how to bow out of the dilemma and save face He preserved peace in the face of a powder keg that could have ignited another world war They buried Mike Pearson on Sunday in a little cemetery while freezing rain pelted down Only a few people watched as his remains were interred but many Canadians were there in spirit Winter struck swift sure and without mercy this year Five days before Christmas wed had about two feet of snow in these parts along with the usual combination of blizzardforce winds and a generous sprinkling of freezing rain Today with my driveway plugged again and my sidewalk drifted in a toot deep and myself still nursing a deep cold contracted two months ago Id be Just as happy If somebody marched me out stood me with my back against the garage and shot me right under the flowerbox It was a pretty uncbeery holiday at our It wasnt planned it just turned out way Id bought the usual pair of trees a spruce and a Scotch pine Too sick to put and theystt by the back door covered with snow and Ice ft- The Old Lady caught her second round of flu and just didnt feel like coping with family decorations and the whole Christmas scramble She was even too sick to lash me on to greater heights which is mighty sick We had for our festive dinner Missed three holiday parties and had to cancel our own Didnt even get out to church Thought desperately of fleeing the whole thing going to Montreal to spend Christmas with number one son and eating out Couldnt get a plane or train ticket and didnt feel up to driving Thought even more desperately of fleeing south whatever the cost Same thing No seats Didnt get our cards started let alone finished Didnt get the wreath of holly on Winter visitor Bill Smiley Farmers have it upstairs the door or the mistletoe up In fact you name it and we didnt get it done This is a solemn warning to whoever is in charge of things If they dont get better smartly in 1975 theres going to be trouble Ive been through two rounds of antl- and about 300 pounds of calcium tablets in an effort to shift ray cold It worked I shifted it from my head to my chest and back again and now Its penetrated as far as my big toe My this IS a dreary little of woe iflit it Come on BUI surely something remotely pleasant happened Well yes We did enjoy getting cards from all the old friends Its good to know that not everybody has one foot both physically and mentally on the edge of the grave And there is the cheering thought that everything has no place to go but up Lucky that came out spdled right Typed it with my fingers crossed And there is one thing to hang on for Were going to go south for a week in March and try to make the sun and the rum put some life back into the reluctant bones There will probably be a revolution on our Caribbean Island the week were there But I dont care By March Ill probably be quite happy to be planted under a palm tree even if its permanent Its a better way to go than a snowshovelling heart attack or getting lost in a blizzard between the house and garage and being frozen to death Even the calendar conspired this year School teachers can usually count on a weeks holiday to recharge the batteries before plunging back into the long winter term Wouldnt you know It This year with Christmas and New Year falling on Monday we got exactly three days of holiday aside from the legal Mies I know what youre saying Eat your heart out teach Oh well you cant win them all and Ive won some good ones I do admit that Im feeling a bit like Job except for the boils But then of course my hemorrhoids are acting up so were even I guess until we see what has in store well Just have to go around muttering things like Hang in there and Keep the Faith baby and We shall overcome and Next year Jerusalem Theres no use complaining is there Especially when youve already been doing so for some six hundred words Whatever befalls me and mine I want to end rotten old 1972 which seemed eight years long by thanking all the readers who sent cards and letters during the year and wishing all readers a great big beautiful year to come with unexpected pleasant surprises and lotsa luck with the tax collectors MiniComment Wellington County Council following the lead of people in the area went on record as being opposed to any large dump being set up in Wellington to contain Torontos garbage The township of Minto asked the countys support in objecting to the site Acton council appointed a special watch dog committee to ensure the provincial government does not sneak through a proposal while councils are changing between 72 and 71 People In the county are afraid the provincial government might overrule local by laws to establish a Toronto dump and they intend to oppose It at any level as well they might Toronto with its enormous resources surely can solve its own disposal problems without afflicting the surrounding countryside Although it is not yet official it Is quite likely Ann MacArthur will be the Warden of for 1973 Mrs was selected to head the county at a closed caucus of county council last week She must be of ficially endorsed at the first county council meeting next week The press was excluded from the caucus but both and Hamilton dailies released the news Mrs MacArtnur was the of the majority of those at the meeting Two deputy reeves were not present We cant understand the secrecy involved In these decisions to choose a Warden or any other county official If everything is above board and reproach members of councils should have no qualms about releasing results of meetings concerning public business Those who were responsible for stealing the halfmast flags at the Acton post office and library are candidates for the dubious honor of THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editorial Office own a mill LI fnfti An editorial writer in the Fergus News Record John Marshall points out that the well worn opinion among city people about rural people being slow and unprogressive is a legend that has no basis in fact City slickers think of themselves as the epitome of efficiency he says but in truth the farmers arc far and away the most proficient in increasing pro duction In the past decade Ontario farmers have increased output per man hour by 68 per cent Nonfarm in dustries have increased by only three per cent Farmers have been able to achieve this through the transition from horse and plow operations to big fast tractor equipment use of fertilizers weed killers etc But other industries also have new equipment and methods including the use of computers which do away with many man hours The explanation for the ruralurban dis crepancy involves much more than machinery Although vast technological knowledge managerial skills and highly trained workmen has been available to secondary industry it is the farmers who have been able to boost the production man hour more than twice as fast as the average in other industries And this has been accom plished despite all the variable such as weather quality of land and natural disasters So just who are the smarter the fellows sitting at large desks in company offices or the men sitting on tractors in the fields The writer concludes it is the latter and by a two to one margin Must examine small town views A conference of representatives of the Federal Provincial and large city governments went on in Toronto recently and weve heard plenty of baloney about the views of various levels Its about time such a conference was held although we could do without all the propaganda that spouts from the mouths of provincial officials at all of these gatherings The provincial government people Charlie MacNaughton in this case always pretend they are just about destitute and always blame the greedy federal government for the problem The federal government they say scandalously refuses to hand over all their money to the province And of course the municipal governments are dependent on the provincial government whether it is liberal or Conservative At these conferences the municipal people get a chance to hear the federal side of things and get out of the position of begging to the provincial government Even cities like Toronto are virtually under the thumb of the provincial government because they depend on grants for nearly all segments of their affairs If huge cities are slaves of the province how much worse is the of the small towns and rural municipalities They dont even have the weapon of a large population to scare the government They can only take what Mr and his buddies deign to handout And the situation will get worse as the province imposes regional government What is needed is a conference similar to the present one but one to examine the problems of small towns Many government people In both the federal and provincial levels think only cities are important but the future of the small town is Immensely important to the province and the country There are problems that must be examined and examined soon before it is too late The Standard being the meanest thieves of the year It is unfortunate that the official emblem of the country cannot be displayed in Acton without some sneak thief furtively swiping it but its the facts The flag at the library has not been flown lately because each time a new one is raised someone steals it A new one was raised to honor Lester Pearson and true to form disappeared How do you measure the success of the bus service Acton council sponsored over a day period before Christmas If numbers mean anything the fact 2445 people used the bus indicates success But how many of these people used the bus to shop in Acton object of the experiment No one will ever know but we would hazard a guess the majority of the adult users had this in mind It is interesting to note that If everyone who used the service was charged 25c one way the service would have made money Costs were a day which amounts to If riders paid 25c revenue would have amounted to leaving a small profit We con gratulate members of council for taking the step as a wrinkle to help Acton businessmen and filling a need when the weather was especially inclement Safety is respect for ones fellows being courteous or thoughtful Back Issues of The Free Press 20 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press Thursday January 8 199 Sales of Christmas trees and the profit realized were doubled this year by the Mens Club compared to last year About 250 trees were sold from the farm of Doug Manning was In charge The highest amount of town taxes ever was collected at the town office during 1952 The number of births registered was and the number of deaths distinctly higher over 33 the year before Don Clayton and secretary Bob working 27 hours straight repainted the staircase downstairs hall games room floor and kitchen floor a smart combination of cream and dark grey They just paused for hamburgers and tee Tom Watson was named chairman at the inaugural meeting of the public school board December gold star winners at the were Ruth landsborough and Don Queen Elizabeths commendation for valuable service In the air has been awarded to Fit Robert P Burn of Hcspeier husband of the former Joan of Acton He is one of seven members of the and one army sergeant who received the awards for service in the Pacific theatre One of Ontarios most forceful premiers Mitchell Hepburn has passed from the scene Placing fourth and ninth In the three mile race at Hamilton on New Years day Ed and Dave Cook were the entries of the Acton Whippet Club Coaches Andy and Tom were well pleased Stating in the arena has begun for the years ago Taken from toe Issue of the Free Press Thursday December It is years this month since Acton Citizens band was organized The organi zation took place on December 12 1672 The young men who joined the organization were required to pay eight dollars each for the privilege of being enrolled spending their own tune at learning to master the art of producing musical sounds and securing the possession of an instrument A popular sub scription list of was raised by our citizens to assist In the organization and purchase of instruments So far as can be ascertained the following were amongst the members John Cameron John Hill Jacob James Thos Kennedy John Hutchison Andrew Stratton Maunders John Harry Gibbons and Dave Lightheart Of all these John Hill is the only one still a member of the band For many years Mr Hill was band- master He held the institution together and loyally stood by its interests through all these years Prof J W Davey of Toronto who bad organized bands at Georgetown and Glen Williams was the first band master He proved too fond of liquid refreshments of a strong alcoholic content and after compromising the members once or twice when out fulfilling engagements a deputation of the members called on him and advised htm his services were no longer required The band was never in a better state of organization than it is for its Jubilee year Mr Amos Mason the bandmaster Is bruising the players up to a good state of efficiency and numerous engagements are booked 75 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Thursday January 1898 The Club which has for its object the edification of its members and securing funds for the purchase of a piano for the town hall has been organized with a working officiary The annual teameeting Methodist church will be Friday evening Addresses will be given by three clergymen and Mr P Moore will give a chalk talk All report having a good time at the grand assembly at Eden Mills Friday night A sleighing party had a ludicrous spill at the corner of Mill and Main S Tuesday evening Now men lets have the sidewalks cleaned to the and kept clean all winter Mr A Mclntyre who bas been teacher at S No a Erin tor the past two years ended his labors here Wednesday a brief program was given by the scholars Ernest Near read an address and a pres was made by Edward Mann and Roy Wanfl- On Christmas Day the ladies of Johns church Brookvllle presented their pastor Rev Stracnan with a fine pulpit gown He wore it on the at the communion service at which then was the largest attendance In the history of the church Twentyfour persons were to death in London Ontario when the town hall Door gave way on election new Gibson girl drawn by society artist Gibson win make bar debut on the caver of Ladles Home Journal Bogus ten cent pieces are freely In Burlington J