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Esquesing fears people not Hydro REFUGE FOR FOWL on the farm of Mr and Mrs D 3 Acton is this shaded pond mirroring the new Spring foliage on its placid top HColes Photo One minute you are a Dad In your prime Jut a broth of a boy taking a breather after raising a family The next you are a Grandad doddering heading into the lean and slippered pantaloon stage Thats what happened to me this week Over the phone longdistance a familiar and dear voice asked with a giggle Hi Dad you like to be a grandfather Immediate reaction was Oh no Followed at once as I realized the enormity of my mistake by Oh yes Great The kid then talked to her mother but for some reason didnt mention the main item on the agenda She left that to me When Id picked the Old Lady off the floor tanned her back into conscousneaif and wiped away the tears the whole thing struck me in its bleak truth Here we were Not even middleaged except by the calendar My wife still attracts whistles I still have an eye for a thigh at the beach And were about to be plunged back into a world of bottles and nappies and colic and constipation and talcum powder At first It seemed as though someone was playing a practical joke But for tunately the resilience of human nature came into play and we bounced back to not only acceptance but anticipation That girl should be right here with me announced her mother if shes as tick as I always was And was she sick She threw up every day all day until you could see the Insfdes of her heels This lasted for about four months with each of them It runs in the family Her mother was the same I used to bring my wife tea and soup cola drinks and not and came up Bill Smiley Youd think the babies would appear looking like something out of or But then shed settle down eat like a hyena for three months ana produce a little fatso However maybe the child will escape Modern girls dont seem to do anything the way their mothers did Last night she was eating beef as though the last steer In the world been slaughtered and today she was out raking the lawn Anyway Im now looking at the positive side lean hardly wait for the kid to arrive Ive been watching the television com mercials for those disposable diapers and am keen to have a go at them Ive told everybody so often about haw I won the war practically singlehanded that all I get now when I casually mention the Normandy campaign and the Gap is a rolling of eyes which then become utterly apathetic Here comes a new listener And then there are the bedtime stories Theres nothing finer In life than to blow and burble in the stomach of a freshbathed child bundle It Into Its nightwear then launch Into a story with its eyes wide the occasional chuckle then the eyelids falling and the gentle breathing of deep sleep So I must dust off some of my dandles They were a mixture of Mowgll and and Kaa the Snake and the oldest wisest monkey in the whole jungle They might have been a little confusing to the adults who had read the books but the kids loved them Geography got a bit mixed Tigers turned up in Africa and gorillas in India but nobody cared Sometime I must tell you about how Mowgll the wolf boy after seeking the advice of MunkleUnkleUnky scattered a band of marauding elephants by swinging through the treetops and sprinkling the ground with thumbtacks It was a real gas to see those elephants hopping around on two feet trying to pick out thumbtacks from the other feet with their trunks Then theres fiolnfc to be the fun of teaching the little lighter all sorts of things if its a boy Ill leach him to fish swim If Its a girl Ill teach her to swim and fish Their grannie can teach them all the other things everything from playing Mozart sonatas to making out the income tax return Shes much better at practically everything than I So she says anyway Maybe itll be twins I have a vision of the Old Lady and me she silting with boy on her lap I with the girl on mine burping them on a Saturday night while their mother is out on the town world is the Tittle stranger going to grow up In I hope the general outlook improves by about 300 per cent in the next ten years or its not going to be a pretty place to be young in Theres only seven and half months to go Wouldnt it be a real bummer after Ive adjusted so well and made all these plans it turned out to be a false alarm Back Issues of The Free Press 20 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press Thursday Jane Bunting lags and colorfully decorated buildings lined the halfmile parade route for the largest parade ever staged in Acton with more than lCO0 participating The crowd at the park was estimated at 2500 to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Mayor led citizens in proclaiming loyalty Speaker was Capt Crawford Smith A choir under the direction of Ted Hansen was accompanied by Miss Acton Band Pipe Band the Canadian Field Artillery Trumpet Band and HWsburah Citizens band played There was a band concert in the park In the evening The town halt was decorated with flags for the Coronation Bail Monday evening sponsored by Lakeside chapter About danced to the music of the A J Buchanan headed the Coronation committee planning the celebration with Mrs G Angel J H Gov Mrs Anderson Mrs J C BradshawE Mrs A Gervais Hansen Heard Mrs A Mercer J McHugh T K Mrs G Mrs Symon Weick and D Dills The Boy Scouts lit a beacon fire on the eve of Coronation Day at Blue Springs scout reserve in conjunction with scouts all cross the Dominion An English oak tree was planted at the school on Sunday before the ceremony dedicated by Rev Price Coronation medals were given to all the school children and they received flags to cany la the parade was killed In an accident Saturday b Ma year be was a radio tactakUn with radio station CKEY CamtrflcUon of the junior swimming pool fat Bearing completion years ago Saturday was an unusually busy day In town Farmers were here from a wide area with stock Messrs Holmes and Son shipped two cars of cattle and one of hogs ana the Acton Farmers Club a mixed car An oil stove which exploded at the home of Mr Wesley Masales dairyman Sunday caused a fire alarm to be rung The fire was extinguished with a few palls of water Members of the Acton Great War Veterans Association have removed the small Soldiers Monument which has stood for the past two years on the lawn of Sun derland House now to Fairview cemetery It will be there oc cupy a commanding position in the plot The marriage of Mr Allan Smith and Miss Anna Maria was solemnized The annual Empire Day prises presented by the Duke of Devonshire chapter were presented at a tea at Mrs D Ross home to George Switxer Fred Wllda Nora Helen Phyllis Howard Eva Wheeler Howard Statham and Olive Precious Mr William Lake Ave Is preparing the site for new brick residence Main St roadway from Mill to the railway crossing has become very rough A day with the road drag would prove beneficial Two young men of Acton who have been taking the course at the Faculty of Medicine at Toronto University have been successful in passing their years examinations Harold who Is only 22 has completed bis college course C Kenney has passed bis third year with very creditable standing councils decision not to support the application of the Credit Valley Railway to have the old Canadian National Railway line between Cheltenham and George town declared abandoned could be interpreted as councillors are opposed to the scheme to convert the line into a steam railway line However councillors made it clear at a recent meeting that they were not opposed to the application they Just were not going to support it By this means the council hoped to shift the onus of the decision from the local council back to the CN where they felt it belonged Reeve Tom Hill indicated it would be up to the to shove the decision on the people not council By this Pilatelike attitude council is also saving face because it was obvious they were split about the merits of the scheme to run a steam railroad line Reeve Hill made no bones about his opposition He sympathized with residents who declared the railroad would be nothing but a damn nuiBance and pollution- cause At the other end of the table Councillor Wilfrid Leslie steam buff himself indicated he supported the proposal Other councillors were more cautious and never publicly asserted they were pro or con This newspaper has stated the proposal could be a good one and with the proper safeguards could make excellent tourist attraction satisfying of the nostalgia for the good old days when steam trains thundered into every hamlet Our opinions have not altered We have seen a similar operation In Florida which created no pollution and created many hours of pleasant diversion for steam people as well as ordinary laymen like ourselves We dont blame the township councillors for partially sitting on the fence but it does seem their decision Is totally unlike the position they have taken regarding Ontario Hydros request for per mission to build two distribution stations in the township In this case the township has taken the position that Ontario Hydro must abide by the same agricultural holding bylaws as anyone else a dubious stand in view of Ontario Hydros veiled threat that power In might be affected if an amendment is not soon forthcoming The township council obviously has decided Hydros threats of a power shortage are pure bluff In their view Hydro is just exerting pressure to force the issue The council has also decided the people of the township opposed to the steam railway are much more to be feared than the giant Ontario Hydro which wants the bylaw amendment to build power stations which likely will be con structed anyway in time Editorial B2 The Acton Free Press Wednesday May 30 1973 Attracting Amerks with local foods I believe Americans visiting Canada would prefer to feel that theyre really in a foreign country wiUi a foreign flag over their hotel canopy Thinking like a tourist I believe that Americans visiting us would prefer Habitant pea soup on the menu instead of New England clam chowder imported in the can I believe that Americans would like to hear something about Canadian heroes on the juke box instead of eulogies to one of their own heroes of the Alamo These sensible words were spoken by Ontarios minister of industry and tourism Claude Bennett a clean cut Ottawa bachelor who recently took over the post and in this instance was speaking to a convention dinner for the Association of American editorial cartoonists To become good marketeers of tourism we must learn to think like a tourist Bennett says noting the Canadian community must offer the American visitor more than Old Glory Southern fried chicken Virginia ham Boston beans and the late Davy Crockett If you have noticed lately the Americans are spending many hundreds of thousands of dollars attracting Canucks to the republic to our south And they are not using bits of Canadlana to dangle as bait They offer something different and exciting to entice us If tourism is to become a two way street we have to offer the Yanks things they cannot get in their own bailiwick Bennett says there is now talk of such things as wild rice fresh pickerel and smoked herring in Ontarios north and theres increasing talk about Canadian wines Ontario cheese and fruit spreads He could have gone on indefinitely with attractions we have that the Amerks would like to see or taste and touch For instance if this penman was going to attract tourists to his restaurant or tavern he would serve such local delicacies as beef mutton watercress from Acton fresh mushrooms from local growers Hillsburgh potatoes com MiniComment 75 years ago Taken from the of the Free Press of Thursday May IBM Dr Buck commenced the practice of his profession in Palermo years ago on the of May The doctor looks good for number of years yet When last December the Methodisl Sunday School decided to celebrate the Queens birthday with the rendition of Mr Paynes cantata The Arch of Fame their most sanguine hopes railed to anticipate the splendid success which marked the con summation of their efforts in relation thcr to last Tuesday evening the community turned out en masse There were num bers Monarchs were represented In splendid costume The crowning event was reached when Miss Lizzie McLam in her regal robes crown and jewels followed by her pages Masters Charlie Matthews and Willie Kenneyas Queen Victoria Miss Annie Stephenson in a dainty gown with maple leaves and coronet per sonified our native land Miss Minnie Nelson followed as Christianity in robes with soldiers Walker who recently took a position in Berlin Clara Moore and Maggie Wilson To cure a cold In one day take Laxative Quinine Tablets Druggists refund money if It fails to cure 35 cents Complaints are made that certain fanners in the south east of town seem not to care how much their stock cattle sheep and pigs annoy the residents in that end of town It is very annoying to get up In the morning and find those animals enjoying in toe gardens and ruining the Harris dentist will visit Acton professionally today These are sheepwashing and shearing days The Dominion complains that after studying the long lists of those awarded Opportunity for Youth grants Ridgetown and area was never mentioned This may be greed or sour grapes but we are just wondering how you go about get ting such grants whose job it is to push for such grants and on what basis are they given the paper asks Advance publicity and application forms came to this office and to all other weekly and dally newspapers as well as to local schools Indeed Rtdgetown was short changed if they did not receive them Canadians Involve months pay The centennial signs on the towns fleet of trucks are a constant reminder that is the date of Actons 100th birthday The design stands out well on the red vehicles THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE 8532010 Business and Editorial Office Georgetown has decided to spend for acres of land north of 7 High way to build their new arena and hall complex and has also applied for a loan under the federal provincial winter capital project fund The land is direcUy across from the Georgetown market centre the large plaza along Highway where industry tikes up most of the space at What ever you may think of Tom Ramautarslngh president of district of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation one has to give him full marks for his zealous efforts on behalf of the high school teachers in Tom has decided to throw in the towel and give some other member a chance at the office His militant policies during his two year term have not always endeared himself to the board of education or those of the public who think teachers should be seen and not heard but he has done a good job and leaves a large pair of shoes to fill Speaking of retirements we are sorry to see Dave Muckle shaking Actons dust from his shoes and heading for Guelph A pilot never got that much spare time but be served on planning board Joined the of course safe flying To use an old bromide Actons loss Is Guelphs gain Taxpayers In Fergus are anticipating a 122 drop In taxes this year as a result of the new provincial grants Prior to the In crease the town contemplated mill hike in taxes The drop for the average taxpayer seems to be a general figure across the province as the government attempts to take some of the load off the property tax load and put It on the con sumer with sales tax The Milton Canadian Champion again champions Sunday as a day set aside during the week for reduced activity We fully endorse our sister newspapers stand The Champion suggests Sundays should help stop the erosion of family life which the wide open concept endangers concerned drop George Kerr Jim Snow or Premier Bill Davis a fine and let them know you are Many people are c with the trend of booming business on Sunday Some day It might mean all of us have to work and miss the one day In the week when we can be with families During the annual meeting of the Womens Institutes of the on the cob from Erin township cherries and Mcintosh apples from growers along the Niagara Escarpment How about some scrumptious turnips from Eramosa fresh Acton asparagus juicy local strawberries and raspberries in season and top it all off with some buckwheat honey and a glass of fresh homogenized milk which local cows have produced Perhaps we could even sneak In a few imports such as fresh peaches from the Niagara region some delicacies from KitchenerWaterloo and ice cream topping that crusty apple pie There is really no need to go so far afield as Habitant pea soup or Nova Scotia lobsters We have all the ingredients In the area to make any American mouth water As the late President John Kennedy said about USCanadian relations Geography has made us neighbors History has made us friends Economics has made us partners A little table talk should bring us even closer area here last week it was disclosed merchants are being forced to stay open Sundays by some plaza operators If they wont they are either evicted or in Ihe case of new malls or plazas are not rented space It is this kind of pressure which will eventually force the Government to act against their own wishes If something Isnt done We think the majority of the people would never relish going back to Sundays which were the of Ihe week but they dont want it to become just another day either Business has six days of the week to perform For Ihe seventh lets get off the treadmill and allow time lor relaxation rest and worship and not necessarily In that order Uncle Bill and Uncle Bob My Uncle Bills most bitter pill Has all my money spent tricky cracks he raised my tax From five to seven per cent He knows I have to buy some pants To cover up my bottom Some shirts and shorts like other sports Because I got em I dare not go round naked Its against our Moral Law My tailorshop would call a cop And tell him what they saw My girl friend too pays sdven percent For her dresses and pantyhose My Uncle BUI will get fill Because we must wear clothes From fathers shirt and mothers skirt He reaps a pot of fold Each dollar spent gains seven per cent On everything that Mat His government take a hefty From most e we buy InftaUon sura well never core No matter how we try Now Uncle Bill may lose job Cause in wrong with Uncle Therell Vietarfenlth