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The Acton Free Press Wednesday Februarys 1977 Editorial Page Notes on a long winter Those snowstorms could be Mother Natures way of telling everyone she is still in charge The public relations department of the Niagara Parks Commission is rushing out news releases to newspapers this week If youve never seen Niagara Falls in winter this is definitely the year to do so says the letter The worst winter of the century has produced the most beautiful scenery of the century there A significant portion of the face of the American falls is frozen solid The swirling freezing mist has created a build up of ice on the rocks at the base of the American falls that is utterly fantastic nearly 100 feet thick Even large portions of the turbulent rapids above the mighty Canadian Horse shoe Falls are frozen over The famous ice bridge is well formed and extends from the base of the Horseshoe Falls to the Whirlpool Rapids bridge a distance of two miles The Huron Expositor the weekly newspaper from Seaforth last week carried dramatic pictures of the big snowstorm and several stones The town was cut off for five days Emergency calls fires chickens without feed huge snow banks closed factories and schools strangers kept over night all are recounted Our nicely regulated lives are out of kilter for a few days writes the editor Old timers up there agree it s the worst winter ever With no mail and nothing much happening the staff decided theyd better stat ion the mayor on the mam street ready to present a snowball trophy to the first car to make it into town Snow had fallen there then for straight days The Dominion also carries tales of the worst storm in decades The weekly newspaper is the only med mm to report on snow conditions in Ontarios towns Certainly they dont get the coverage Buffalo does with TV crews right there and a ready and waiting audience of Canadians A jester of protest We have done a good deal of thinking and we have come to the conclusion that cold weather is responsible for the lower tern this winter It was originally thought that native persons were at the root of the falling mercury as a ploy to drive us out of the land but this was rejected because the Indians said they didn tdoit Incidentally we have spoken with God and he has agreed that the cold weather should go away sometime When pressed he mentioned spring Some of the other problems whose cause is believe to be cold weather are snow population in Teases and shorter days The cold seems to shrink the actual fabric of time and truntates the normal span of the hours Some folks tried to tell us that it was actually the low temperatures which caused the cold weather and not vise versa This is pure a clear case of putting the cart before the horse We are planning to circulate a petition demanding the end of cold weather in a effort to relieve the low temperatures which plague the area Anyone interested in distributing the petition and collecting signatures can go right ahead we won stop them we ourselves will not go out in this weather in a gesture of protest JohnBottomley Of this and that It does you no good to sit up and take notice if you just keep on sitting Thanks to two gals CaroleAnn Blake and Karen Vanderlaan who drew a huge Valentine card and sent it to the whole town of Acton via the Free Press It is very large and dark with fine lettering and wouldnt show up in the paper if it were printed It was a sweet February thought anyway Last Wednesday was groundhog day It was sunny so believe it or not spring is far away Canadians spend 1 5 hours a day working for Ottawa and hours a day working for provincial and local governments That quite a bit higher than the figures in the United States OLD MAN WINTER must have had a grudge against this poor truck during last week s storm Until owners Peter and Jean Hanslip shovelled a path to the door only the roof of the cab visible However it will be a long time before e snowdrift engulfing this vehicle is cleared away The Hanslips moved from England on January Asked about the winter they said they have never seen anything like it They live just east of Acton on Highway DUSTING OF fresh snow covers tree branches and transforms Willow St into a winter wonderland rtus week Willi no great stark theme demindmg my intense I thought have inter musings or cluing Show mi the Canadian who can be ficr in Februarv and I shuw a saint Or devil One Hung I sun of I hey rt going to tome with butterfly nit one of these days cart my wife aw I sleep well a miming pitch dark when the boy through the snow with our morning paper hi looks into our brightly lighted dining room and sees this funny lady in her sewing a fine seim tin dining room tabic on her new machine last night or ralhcr four this morning a curious passerby nughl have been rather intrigued had he looked through our cellar window I hen crouched on Hit door was this pctuh worn in with a blowtorch burning ghtly in her dressing gown and slippers She wis removing the wax from our skis It s good thine we don I have anything resembling a Gestapo in this country They have had her in a concentration camp long ago on general principles My daughter s going a the same v herself After a mere years of education and only two decided lo enter the real world She going to slop being a student and go to teachers college Maybe My son in law who is measly years of schooling is no such Tool He knows lhal when you end your education run into the world dirtiest four Idler word work andhewnnisno part of for a few years yet A pound coffee soon S5 queries a newspaper headline Who cares Then still a lot more mileage in a pound of than there is in a quart of good rye at 7 And nobody will force you to drink either So we still have some freedom of choice in this country The news story said People will get hysterical In June just as the Brazilian winter ends 1 doubt it And if Ihcy do as Antoinette would have said let cm drink brandy At 12 bucks a bottle A Toronto borough is bottling keep unrelated people from sharing a dwelling Why I nol related to my wife and we shared Ihc same dwelling even the same bedroom for many a year What the fuss The only reason I can think of for the concern is that people looking like each other If they live together loo long For some this is a real bonus for others a nightmare disappointed me hugely when after refusing he gave in and agreed lo wear a while addressing a bunch of American big shots in a pitch for loans for Quebec So much tor vaunted independence of the new Quebec West German Chancellor Helmut Sell midt soya Germans arc annoyed about the way they are depicted In World War 11 movies on British television Tough toe nails Helmut How would you like lo be represented As a dedicated band or social workers A movie about Germans In wartime without a couple of good in it I be worth he powder A couple or Items a judge In Brampton ordered a 20yearold woman who was defrauding the Unemployment Insurance Commission to donate a pint of blood every six months for two years a guy in Illinois is living with his In a cave and his healing Ihls winter will cost Sugar and Spice by bill smiley him only SI is oil fur his chain I his is the of that restores in ingenuity of tin human spinl inil dullness Mich ins m ig underlines the re so if us linn those horrible puncvurs Amine in frit en Imly mi excellent book and rtvu Tin Mil ill si is tin exciting sporls event of i is liking w in Ihi old jumpin w is I born ill loo spending ibouUOl li from tht 1 w iruek I a block in new old tor the cold spell ended and I duiHnctdlhi thine rSli the When ihe ice on my roof built up lo a height of about inches I moved swiftly got a gang in to remove it before we were plunged willy nilly into the They did a great job for and threw in a bonus half a dozen shingles removed along with the ice columnist says our government is si lit exhausted would have used the words Hamlet did Stale flat and profinblc It has the same stale demands for t the same flat denial of any reasonable against them And Ihe nly people who make a profil from dialing it art civil servants and bureaucrats It been all bad this winter Inert been some great news from londa All those rats who leave ihe ice coaled ship every winter to bask in the sun run been freezing their off this year So much for mid winter OUR READERS WRITE Home town boy comments I IW The I fret Press Ontario Sir a regular to jour news piper I hive followed with interest the reports n activities of regional iht highly competitive election of your region il was especially rthy and 1 note Hint in a edition of jour paper you quoit tin ruw chairman as saying II iii ilc for tin to be paid a silary less than thai pud a regional councillor from of Miss report further to stale Ihis pay to be HXI i year set the record a rihional councillor in receive s a plus SI I for being a mem her of council of ilj of as well I cm assure you that with the various meetings and Committees of both councils plus the day to day constituency work it is a seven day week job The ward that represent there are nine words in align has over residents Having in mind lharyour new chairman intends lo devote three days a week lo the jub 1 would further advise that despite the experience and capabilities of our chair man he finds It lo be a job I look to further news items and Ihe developments of your for Actum though I been aw for some Iwenty years 1 m still a home town boy ours sincerely rank Bean Councillor Cily of Mississauga and Councillor Regional Municipality of Peel Too cold for the cats Free lress Atlnn Out Dear Sir Different ones huvi been asking me how 1 manage with my large family of in such a ptrsislenlly told winter I will admit has difficult Only one small Persian iioonit of tht family of fourteen tnjoys being out in severe weather for a short period Tin others find it loo colli One night I I had m all under cover ami warm in tin fairly spacious kitchen around three am I heard pliuntlw mew 1 arose and opened Ihe door immt diatt ly and was oonle bedraggled and He begged to lulnkcnup 1 took him in my arms tried to warm his stiffened toes and prepared him i drink of milk He recovered but another hour would have finished him I remembered that Jesus had said Nol sparrow fallelh without he know tlh If 1 haven t accomplished much this winter have at least saved the lives of fourteen of His little ones what pur pose He alone Knows Yours truly I The original mother was a home less unwanted cat who later saved me from snakebile so the do not owe me anything Calculators in Gr 4 Dear 1 was appalled and shocked to hear recently on radio station It that the Peel board of education was going to allow calculators o be used in grade four In their schools The Rood lord gave us brains to think with and use What if He takes this power away from Ihe human race if we no longer need or use I shudder lo think of ill Concerned Mrs Lillian Thomas l The Free Press Back Issues 10 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press Thursday Februarys 1987 All but one or two members or the Acton Legion will be attending Expo when the choir is slated to slog Sunday July and Monday July 3 Another visitor there the same weekend will be the Queen Champion rural correspondent of the year honored this Friday at the annual convention of Ihe Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association is Mrs G Robertson of Mrs Robertson has been writing her regular column of news from her area for Ihe Free Press for the past years Plans for transferring about volumes from the old library to the new building have been tentatively set The library in Ihe M C A will close Friday February and library in Ihe new building will open for business on Monday March about a week and a half later Acton P constable Bruce lost a race to the stork in the early morning hours Thursday Called lo take an 3 woman to General Hospital after her husband car was ditched in a snow bank Constable didn make it A premature baby was born in the back of the police cruiser at a m on Highway about three miles north of Acton Father of two small children himself it was the first time the constable had assisted a birth Two babies were baptized at the United church Sunday morning Catherine Alice daughter of Mr and Mrs Coats and Will David George son of Mr and Mrs Peler Morrison 50 years ago Taken from the issue of the Press Thursday February 10 The annual carnival of Acton Skaling rink had that spirit this year lhal has made so many public events in Acton successful There were costumes of all sorts and a from Toronto did quite a business renting costumes al Johnstone and Co store ail day Best costumed couple were Mr and Mrs V B I Parker and Minnie Blair best couple Masales and Miss Nephew J McGregor and Pearl Richard son Winners of gents race Alf Bishop Tom Mochne Other winners included Joan Cross Alfred Beard more Doris McDonald Kathleen Cook Helen Isabel Smith May Bruce Marshall Grace Skilhng Mrs Garden Afler the carnival Mr and Mrs G T Beardmore were host and hostess lo those who had taken part A delightful dance was given at their home The Beverly House Acton now has 3S4 enrolled In the public school Drivers of have done more stunting an streets the past month than Ihe tumbling bears we used lo sec aboul the streets Old Bruin had no difficulty seeing his on Michaelmas Day years ago Taken from the issue of ree Press Thursday February 1871 At the meeting of Esquesing township council a resolution was adopted fixing the sum to be paid for tavern licenses at S90 It was last year The park lot on the north side of the rail road track at head of Mill St known as the property has been purchased by Mr P Armstrong for S800 It would be a good idea for the corporation now lo open up Mill St across to the third concession as we understand from Mr Armstrong that he is willing to give a grant for the necessary of land for a mere nominal sum TheescapadeofMrs McNair has created quite a sensation in town during the past few days Her numerous friends here were greatly surprised and pained to learn she made her escape to Detroit leaving her affairs here in very unsatisfactory con dilion We shall say nothing of the ugly rumours thai are current It is hoped they will nol turn out lo be true The Conversazione under the auspices of the ladies aid of St Alban s church was well patronized A novelty was labelled a fishing pond where with a silver bait of five cents and larger the fisherman threw his line and hook into the pond and drew out a prize this amusement continued for an hour or more THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editorial Office 1976 award winner J Jon Ave It on nw Com 111 locl1li in In SW In all ion lit mil I Numb- lion 10 by ronnui a foi