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4ffe K fete5S The Acton Free Press Wednesday Mar 1978 Our readers write Mountains full of history Again this year Catherine Graham baa Bent to the Free Press a contribution for St Patricks Day by Catherine where I was born was famous for its blue granite taken from the Mourns mountains You cannot walk far in the without encountering some of these hardworking skillful tradesmen They are usually placid and unhurried men as working with stone takes great patience Every man had in him something of the fisherman farmer and Before their could till the soil they had to clear the ground of the countless boulders that Impeded the spade and the plough The unique stone dishes are a i memorial to their industry and splend skill In olden days much of the stonework was in fashioning square sets for city streets hose were the horse and buggy days and making A foothill farmer would In the good weather ascend the slopes with some of his sons to do this work Thus most of the boys grew up with the hammer and chisel in their hands In those days It was piece work today like all other Industries an hourly wage is paid This craft was handed down from one generation to another as a rule in the same families amongst these people can still be found the names Smith Burden McCartan Trainer McDowell McDonnell and The same can be said of the merchants that employed them here you find the names Linton Gordon Robinson and Hamilton In prewar days many Mourne men put their skill with granite to good use in the Eastern part of the cutting kerb for city streets In talking about granite one must not forget about the beautiful heads tones tombstones that were found all over In the cemeteries there I was admiring some of them in our local cemetery on my last visit They are not going in for these elaborate tombstones anymore They are too costly these days I will close with a few lines from Percy Frenchs poem The Mountains of Mourne 0 Mary this London is a wonderful sight Where people are digging both day and night They dont grow potatoes or barley or wheat But there Is gangs of them digging for gold on the street At least when I asked them thats what I told So I just took a hunt In the digging for gold But all I found there I might as well be Where the Mountains of sweep down to the sea A St Patricks Day memory by Jean Whiting I had a new boyfriend that I was eager to impress He was going to take me out on the evening of Saint Patricks Day to a club In downtown London England Being very young I had no idea what to wear but I wanted to look chic and feminine I had pur chased a new spring outfit which included the most glamorous hat that Id ever seen full blown pink roses and violets enor mous I Just loved that hat When my date called for me that evening his faced grimaced as he met the hat Instead of diplomatically telling me that I was far too overdressed for where we were going he managed to aggravate the Libber in me by saying that hed never take me out in a hat like that Weill that did It I was determined to wear the hat now I told him that it was either me and the hat or neither ever After a little thought he decided to take me and hat out but to teach me a lesson before we went to the club he stopped off at a very questionable pub In Hammersmith London for a quick drink and a quick smirk so he thought The celebrating Irishmen It was a real shady place and even had sawdust on the floors I rose to the challenge and majestically took myself over to the bar to buy our drlnksThewhoIepubstaredatme Every thing went quiet They even stopped playing their darts game to look at the walking flower garden One Irishman that was sitting close to me eventually came and sat right next to me openly staring at my hat Hoping that my embarrassment wouldnt show I gave him my most beaming smile By this time my date had come to rescue me and sat down beside me putting our drinks on the table and staring back at the Irishman The man tilted back his cap off his fore head to get a better look and said in the most beautiful Irish accent sure now if dont radiate spring and sunshine Into this dreadful place and smile is brighter than the roses on yer lovely hat made my day and Id be obliged if let me buy you and yer man a drink I could have hugged him We accepted the drink and a game of darts The hat had to come off for the dart game as I couldnt see the for the rose leaves Incidentally I married that date and I still have him but the hat vanished myster iously many years ago But I still have that memory of my favourite hat and my best St Patricks Day Love legends and laughter Ireland Isalandoflove legends and laughter by Helen Stelner Rice There are many many legends About St Patricks Day About the Shamrock and the Blarney And the leprechauns at play And that most delightful story That God blessed the Emerald Isle With the beauty or his goodness And the sunshine of His smile And how a dear beloved saint Taught the Irish about God Just by showing them a shamrock That was grown on Erins sod And all these lovely legends Of a wellloved Irish race Has given every Irish man A very special place Not only Just in history But in everybodys heart For of this old world laughter The Is made of Smiling Irish eyes And mirthfilled Irish jokes Oh what a dull world this would be Without Gods Irish folks Last year Mazda sales grew almost twice as fast as any other import Thanks to GLC Wii You sure see a lot of them aroundl Tut drlvt a Gnat Cor today at achilles SALES fr SERVICE 357 QucmStrMtEut Acton 880200 Cheers and think green With March 17th rapidly approaching and womens lib seeming to have been rele gated somewhat to the background per haps some of my childhood memories regarding Ireland may be of Interest I will never forget the remarkable courage of my mother and father who left Northern Ireland and landed at Halifax on May 1024 They left behind friends and relatives after I am sure much soul- searching I was only three years old my older sister six and brother only 14 months old I could add too we didnt travel first- class either but what a wonderful and mar velous gift our parents gave us A new and beautiful country where there would be op portunity for all who wanted to work no class distinction or religious prejudices Only a person who has Uvea in that kind of environment can really and truly appre ciate what we have here When we were old enough to ask Dad why he left Ireland his answer was Your mother and I wanted you kids to have the chance we never would have Of course it was a long time before I really could appreciate his statement He and Mum never lost their love for Ireland and often regaled us with stories of ghosts banshees Irish wakes and that wonderful world of the leprechauns But he always emphasized hat Canada was our country Our little sister was born here and we used to tease her about that Yet one of the happiest days of my life came last June when my husband and I received our Canadian citizenship certificates Many of the Bocalled Irish songs were Tin Alley American style When Irish Eyes arc Smiling My Wild Irish Rose etc and do you know I never In all my life heard a real Irishman say bejabbers My one big disappointment was finding out that Ill Take You Home Again Kathleen was written by an American living there Library board shocked It could cost as much as to replace a broken win dow In the Acton library a figure which shocked mem bers of the Hills Lib rary Board meeting last Wed nesday Librarian Betsy Cornwell explained the window an expensive was built into the building making it more costly to fix Members of the board in structed Mrs Cornwell to get estimates from local window business before going ahead with repairs Librarians have been un able to trace those respon sible for damage to the win dow although they suspected It was an accident rather than vandalim and writing this In honor of his wife on holiday In America Incidentally Danny Boy Is not a love song but the lament sung by a father to his son going off to war Back to childhood memories What neighbors we had after we came to Acton The three families friends for life I can close my eyes and still hear Mrs Abel Bralda singing so beautifully In Italian to one of her children Mrs and Mrs Gene ah what wonderful people they have been The Paddy McCrlstalla Paddy who helped my dad on the farm and what a help he was and Catharine who to my long memory never had a bad word or gossip about any one The MacDonalds Fields Lawsons Wilsons Withers Wilds Colemans those were the days when true really counted And never to be forgotten dear Mrs who fed my appetite for literature and the greatly beloved Dean Gibbons God bless them all What originally started out as a St Patricks day letter seems to have got sort of sidetracked but one of lifes greatest gifts Is memory something that Is Incor ruptible In later years while indulging in some of my in famous letters with the tannery my dear dad would laugh and say youre not remembering how often tannery pay put bread in your mouth My Invariable answer to him would be Maybe if theyd put less In my mouth Id have a heck of a lot less on my lips To end on a more serious note I have although not having the poetic expertise of George Graham put together a poem about the troubles that beset Ireland What a wonderful gift my parents gave our family when they brought us from there to our beautiful Canada Northern Ireland 1KB Theres terror here on St Pats day The bombs go off In Belfast and blow the folk away The guilty and the Innocent are caught up In the spelt Of hate and fear and violence the awful stench of hell Down the street behind barbed wire a British soldier fires And cuts In two a lad of twelve and breaks right down and cries He longs to be back home again In Englands happier climb But here he against his will to serve out all his time A little house a wee ways down opens to a knock A man Is blown apart his wife falls down in shock Their little child asleep content is heedless of the deed And res in quiet comfort until he wakes to feed The flow of blood runs thick and fast Three more souls have breathed their last And terror stalks again this night While good folk shudder with their fright Oh gentle Patrick where once you trod This sacred Island blessed by God Here men once brothers In senseless hate Now raze their land with awful waste Men and boys held fast In Jail Kept like dogs no hope of ball Their women weep in sad disarray And on their knees they sob and pray If you could come to show the way Oh Patrick on this special day To put an end to this sad strife When Irishmen could bless their life Could you not bring us back again To where we called each other friend And let us stand once more In peace God bless us all let this war cease Sheila The 17th of Ireland TownofHattonHlllt Rociestion Park 30 Main South Ontario L70 is accepting applica tions for the position of parttime caretaker at Esquesing Stew- arttown Community Centre Duties Include unlock ing and locking the building for scheduled users and light house keeping Must have own transportation Deadline for applica tions Tuesday March 28th 1978 Book Nook 81 MILL STREET EAST 863 TOM ANN PROP I Now Open Official Opening SATURDAY MARCH 18 WITH MANY GRAND OPENING SPECIALS lag JENNIFER BARR author of AND THE LORD RODE A DONKEY will be on hand Saturday 1 pm to pm to personalty autograph your purchase OPEN TUESDAYSATURDAY to THURSDAY NIGHT SHOPPING TIL PM THE FOLLOWING MERCHANTS ARE OPEN THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS TIL PM PLUS PARTICIPATING MERCHANTS WILL BE OFFERING A SUPER SPECIAL EVERY THURSDAY FROM PM TIL PM ONLYII Olympic 8TRACK PLAYER Hahon Hills Apofancss 2G2 BIC DISPOSABLE LIGHTER Limit 2 P A NT Y COO HOSE LIMIT 3 PAIR PER CUSTOMER Nielsens MILL STREET 8532280 Acton Pharmacy CORNER MILL MAIN Colgata TOOTHPASTE mm ANACIN LIMIT 2 PER CUSTOMER ON ABOVE 59 99 RAINWEAR A1 a vinyl Alton TODDLERS I TEENS SHOP ft SAVE IN FRIENDLY ACTON If i Gifts Cards Varloui Stylti PENDANTS Regular 300 YARN BARN Bornat SKIEN Reg 135 HAVE ARRIVED Order Early for Easter shoppe Mill St I CHECK THIS AD WEEK FOR THURSDAY NIGHT TO SPECIALS II jii ii