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Need improved phone directories Much maligned Old Mother Boll will soon be making an announcement on Improvement of its telephone directory system a representative of the company told Esquoalng council recently Directories will be revised Barnes assured councillors Regional government announcements would also play a big part In changes deputy reeve Com echoed a familiar complaint In town and area when he told the Bell man that people from the Georgetown exchange did not have a book with Acton numbers in it although It Is a free calling area And vice versa Arton Is included In the Guelph- Kitchener book while the Georgetown area shares a smaller directory with Brampton and Milton among others Acton phone users also have a free colling area with but there Is a long distance charge to phone Brook ville the capital of Improvements In directories arc long overdue Mr Coxes suggestion that free calling areas be Included In the new directories makes sense even though they may not be In the same phone district Although the company has declared that directories for those within the free calling area are free of charge to those who request them few people follow offer up l it be more convenient for everyone if the directories were Bent to subscribers along with their own book It would also go a long woy towards improving the Bell Image which is slightly tarnished In this area anyway Acton Wednesday Fob 7 1973 Unemployment insurance valuable CONSTANTLY BUBBLING water keeps ice from forming on the pond at Beardmore plant Quacks and honks still relay midsummer enthusiasm as tho birds seem serenely oblivious to the icy conditions of their environment They waddle up on shore and Into pens provided for them Photo by K Dills Bill Smiley my cheeks with cotton and went Into the next room or afternoon tea I could hear the teaspoons tinkling and the heartless swine exchanging Jests with the nurse as I lay there quivering llko a trout just pulled out of the water It began with hurling empty pint beer mugs at the clock on the mantel When we ran out of mugs and clock another game began This was an old A favorite The hero takes off shoes and socks lies down on his back and blackens the soles of his feet in the cold fireplace He then makes Unemployment Insurance possibly the best buffer ever devised against a major depression is getting slapped across both ears with almost monotonous frequency these days Granted the changes made in the act by the liberal government a year or bo ago were not well thought out but the intent was probably good At least we can give the party marks for an effort From the days the Unemployment scheme was broadened to Include fund automatically much more self supporting The eight week qualifying work period was a horrible blunder The period should be smartly Increased to at least twenty weeks Facing facts the socolled welfare bum should not be blamed for the present debacle simply because these people never have been on the work force in any great numbers We submit that the main offenders are part time relatively well heeled free loaders more I break a piece off a tooth go to the footprints up the wall as high as he can ffl advantage of a good thing dentist and whine you lust build reach He blackens feet again gets up on a employed help trouble has Some random shots and shafts this week Today we were missing some students from among at school That s about double for this time of year Its the flu I never seen so many kids and teachers dragging around as though they were not this world Croaking sweating dull gray in color they are like so many zombies Why don t they all stay in bed Well I have a theory about that Bed is boring unless you arc engaged in sleeping or some other pleas urable occupation Dental Health Week is upon us and I can avoid the feeling that the cruel month of February Is the logical time for It J I have considered dentists as honorable but mortal enemies since I was a kid As a teenager when my teeth had the con of cheese every visit was a trau experience Crawl into the chair wishing the dentist would have a heart attack or something before you did Clutch the arms in a deathgrip Open the mouth and prepare to render up your soul Mutter Aggh as he asked stupid questions about what grade you were in this My attitude to the man in the white coat dktn change in the service Just before I I had fillings in one afternoon No anaesthetic The maniac who did me filled about six canyons then stuffed whine that up one more time Doc It rather like handing a man a single brick and asking him to construct a high rise with it However young Jane Almond of Mea ford thinks dentists arc pretty fine fellows Sic has won a prize and a plaque from them for a poster chosen the best for Dental Health Week Jane designed the poster in Grade and she now only twelve And come to think of it dentists deserve a decent living and some recognition They are far more interested In saving your teeth than pulling them And any man who spends a lot of time looking into mouths like mine can be all bad And an Ontario reader who hails from Wrexham North Wales wrote after I mentioned that town in a recent column I spent a dreary winter there during the war Edward J Jones wants to know if any old contacts looked up or have any anec dotes for the Wrexham Leader Please Mr Jones I am a happily married man Any old contacts would be strictly As for anecdotes well You might mention the night they cancelled night flying the abomination of fighter pilots because of fog We were so overjoyed both instructors and students that quite a celebration developed gets up on chair and makes further footprints higher up This continues until he is held up to the celling by some mates standing atop a table It looks exactly as though someone has taken a run at the wall gone right up it across the celling and down the other side It was hilarious We topped this off with a game of rugger in the mess Arfd by the time this ended it indeed tor some reason the CO was not amused when he surveyed the mess in the mornkiu Surlyoldcoot quid each to redecorate the officers mess Ah dear Nowadays they call it flagrant vandalism and sock the taxpayer for the damages In those days it was high spirits and we paid the shot ourselves Or Mr Jones you might mention that Wrexham had one of the best hockey teams in England We were about per cent Canadian with several hockey players of A calibre Our CO an Englishman had lived in Canada and loved the game We won every game except the crucial last one Our goalie nit the ice with about twelve pints of bitter in him He was outstanding Every time the opposing team shot he stop two but miss the third Score And a happy Valentine Day to all been brewing The upgrading of benefits In the last change of the Act merely added a few gallons of highly volatile fuel to a fire that has been smouldering for years For a start we maintain the plan should be restricted to regular not seasonable workers thus making the The suggestion that the fund should be eliminated as a source of retirement income for a period docs not sit well with this writer Personally adding up the years we will have paid into the fund a total of thirty six years before retirement If God willing the writer is still kicking by he expects to get a little jam out of this fund In no final is available from whit should be considered only as built up equity this lad for one will raise a little old fashioned Coin and put a prop under KicKing off well heeled free loaders is one thing Knocking out people who have paid in without drawing out for well over years is quite another We will admit Unemployment Insurance is basically term but for the people who hove supported the less fortunate in some cases and the deliberate looters in others over the years such a final payoff is only their just due in our opinion The ills of the fund can easily be cured by chopping in the proper places The benefits of such insurance are too visible to allow the plan to fall into disrepute St Mary Journal Argus Back Issues of The Free Press years ago Taken from the of Free Press of Thursday February 12 Operation Flood Relief sprang into action in Acton Wednesday night of this week as representatives of various organizations gave on entnufastlc green light to the suggestion that maybe something should be done to assist the people in Great Britain and the Netherlands whose homes and land were swept away in the worst floods on record Joe Hurst was named to head the committee of five to start the ball rolling Lakeside chapter of the I started the fund off with a pledge of and principal MiniComment MiniComment Acton mayor thinks North Halton would be the suitable name for the area which encloses Acton Georgetown and most of Esquesing and in one proposed municipality If that Is not popular he would like to see MT EGAN selected as the areas name EGAN of course is a compound of the first letter of the four northern mumcipallUes and the stands for Mount in recognition that this area several hundred feet above the municipalities to the south thanks to the presence of the Niagara Escarpment commonly called the mountain Other names we have heard suggested How about Escarpmento which reporter Ralph Kelly dreamed up The Globe and Mall says those who howled longest and loudest at the recent regional government proposals were of course those who wanted pie left as It was such as Mayor Hazel of Streetsville and those who wanted to get their hands on a much bigger pie such as Mayor Copos of Hamilton Many showed their displeasure announcement night with loud for the Minister showing they not only lacked good manners but knew TV transmitted boos to a much wider audience than in the auditorium The Globe suggests the provincial government has been called upon to perform as Solomon In the BurlingtonHamilton case We would suggest they be better performing as Joshua and knock some of the walls down which divide communities We don t think there should be any difficulty in deciding where Burlington should go in a new regional system The people of Burlington voted over whelmingly to stay in Halton where Chivalry still exists in the world of pork if nothing else Consider the pig which became a ham act was togivehlsseattoalady in a sandwich During the nine months ended last December 21 the weather on a degree McKenzle reported the plans of the school to present their operetta Tom Sawyer on Thursday evening with all proceeds to flood relief Named to the committee were E Tyler McKenzle Mrs and Mrs Bean with J as clerk Other representatives indicated their groups would cooperate and Velma West were elected president of the United church couples club with Don and Van Fleet vice president Cranston and Chris Griese secretary Jack and Bunny Stewart treasurer and Edgar and Marie pianists H Deveau reported someone stayed In the theatre at the end of the final show Monday and tried to locate money but nothing was taken Principal showed slides of his Christmas trip to Florida to tbe high school students and to the Rotary club this week Mrs G W McKenzie was elected regent of Lakeside chapter of the I O E Bob Holmes required 30 stitches to his right hand when be got caught in a carding machine at the Wool Combing plant years ago Taken from Issue of the Free Press of February J ISO The fancy dress carnival at Acton rink on they hav- been since Joseph Brant basis was per cent colder than in the Saturday evening attracted a large hriMl hf attendance of costumed ska and his hatchet at the former Wellington Square Hamilton never has had a claim on the community other than claiming it was an extension of the Steel City by geography and casting covetous eyes on assessment Burlington of course would rather be a big frog In the Halton pond than a tadpole on a Hamilton same period of 1971 says a report from the gas company Obviously the weather is trying to make up for the harsh treatment of last year with wanner than normal temperatures this winter Let us hope the warming trend stays with us through spring and summer as well even if the company gets gas pains visitors The lee in tbe welllighted rink was In good condition and the scene was a pretty one when the large company appeared together in kaleidoscopic array on the ice Winners were best lady Miss A Clarke as Bo Peep Miss Jean Kennedy as Pierrot gents Gamble as Highlander F Morris as jockey boys race under A Bishop Herald suggests carving Halton into five areas Although there seems to have been little adverse reaction from residents of Georgetown to the proposed regional government setup announced on January possibly because the town would dominate the North area not all is considered rosy as some politicians seem to mink In the February issue the Georgetown Herald which deferred any comment up until then has decided there ore disad vantages to the proposed North area which centre around tbe inclusion of two established urban communities In one area government This is what the Herald editorially NOT ALL GOOD Theory and practice are not always compatible Regional government has announced last week for County has one decided drawback for this arealDclusion of two established urban communities in one area government While this is not unique we question tbe wisdom of operating one municipality with two sizeable communities eight miles apart in most cases where a larger region has been created such towns are much closer together geographically and can be fitted together with minimum of venience In Halton other major towns will be the only urban centre of a new area Surely an extra area would requirements and accomplish the aims of a larger region Acton Nassagaweya and perhaps a small portion of Esquesing could be another This would eliminate most of infighting which Is bound to result when the four portions of North by to get together on the makeup of a new area council NOT SO NEW Examining new look it would seem that a region could have been created with less fanfare and less fuss by phasing out Halton a two regaining townships ana making a few boundary changes Nelson and Trafalgar townships disappeared into OakviOe and Burlington some years ago with slight opposition and could have gone the same way at same time altering boundaries where needed as has been done in the new plan Essentially Halton regional government sticks to county boundaries All that needed doing was to turn over more powers to county council have five area councils instead of seven and we would have a new look As noted above the New North Halton area comprising Georgetown Acton and the northern parts of and will be unwieldy A rose by any other name as the poet says but It is quite a tug to see historic names like Georgetown and Acton disappear Administration will be a problem too Locations of a central municipal office combining staff solution of problems not common to both towns will be difficult THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Bus Editorial Off Mosaics best costume girls under 18 Dorothy Campbell snowman V nurse boys under W Coleman rajah F Coles Mrs Murphy girls race Miss V Miss Jean Kennedy best costumed couple Mr and Mrs I sheik and queen Miss McLam knitting bag and Mrs Bishop Black Prince boys race under 14 James Fred girls race under 14 Mad dock Addle Hurst obstacle race H Kennedy best dancers couple Miss S McLam and Mr A Miss Jessie McGregor and Mr Bishop most original costume Doris Hollo way as Jackie Dorothy as Britannia Acton Citizens Band discoursed a splendid program is epidemic in many parts of Ontario There has not been so much illness since the flu epidemic of 1918 Last Thursday evening the employees of the Shoe Factory met at the post office at 7 and went by sleigh to the home of Mr and Mrs Early They enjoyed singing to the organ and dancing and a midnight supper It was 30 when somebody thought it was time they were getting home and they reached Acton at There were no absentees from work the following morning Old Bruin had no difficulty In seeing his shadow on Candlemas Day 75 years ago Taken from the issue of Free Press of Thursday February 19 An important session of Council was held on Tuesday evening at Sunderland Villa the home of the reeve The liquor license bylaw was passed limiting the number of licenses to three with a fee of A bylaw was passed appointing a municipal officer to attend to the following duties assessor collector sanitary inspector caretaker for the town hall caretaker of public school caretaker of public park caretaker of cemetery lamplighter repairing and building sidewalks cutting weeds village constable poundkeeper and whatever other duties may be required R Graham the present Incumbent was re engaged at an increase of salary to per annum though members of council were not unanimous in support of the increase Council appointed three members of tbe library board Rev James McLachlan Mrs A Macpherson and Moore The municipal treasurer was authorized to deposit all monies received by him for taxes etc in the bank of Storey Christie and Co Acton and all monies received on ac count of sinking fund in the Bank of Hamilton Georgetown The clerk was instructed to correspond with Mr Parke electrician of Berlin requesting him to give a detailed statement of cost an electric light plant of capacity to supply Acton with an arc and incandescent service also the cost of fuel and other running expenses Councillor Murray introduced the matter of ringing the town bell for the church services on Sunday morning The matter was favorably received but held over with a view to securing uniformity In the hours of services The auditor report presented and 300 copies ore to be printed The meeting adjourned at