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The Acton Free Press Wednesday Year of recognition It has been a tough year for the Acton Volunteer Fire department and chief Mick Holmes it has also been a year of recognition for them With three major fires in less than three weeks of each other some residents of Acton were forced to realize the responsibility laid on the moulders of the men who race to fires without concern for their own well being Most of the firefighters have been in the department for several years No matter what time of day it is no matter what they are doing their lives are governed by the wailing siren calling them to the Without hesitation these men jump in their cars and race off never knowing the dangers if any which he ahead Some residents are annoyed at this siren disturbing the peace at meal time or waking them the middle of the night However they keep on eat ing or roll over and go back to sleep while the firefighters head out However with the three destine tive fires so close to each other these people in town were shown that these men are firefighters in every sense of the word it was three homeless families that underline the fact that these men fight more than grass and chimney fires With the Chamb r of Commerce decision last week to make the fire fighters and Mick Holmes citizens of the Year came the recognition the man have deserved for years The fact that a record number of nominations- for this group came into the Chamber shows the men are appreciated by everyone not just those who have needed them to put out a fire The men are being honored at a special banquet on April There are hundreds of people who would like to attend to offer congratulations and heartfelt thanks for the round the clock protection Unfortunately but unavoidably there are a limited number of tickets Those who wilt not be able to attend should take a few minutes of their day to congratulate the firefighters personally After all they take more than a few minutes to protect you and your family Biking weather soon With the advent of spring and warmer weather old and young enthusiasts will be thinking of getting out the bicycle The Ontario Safety League suggests a few preliminary steps you should take to insure your bike is safe Ride a bicycle that fits you The size of your bike affects your ability to reach and use the steering pedals and braking controls You should be able to reach the ground comfortably with the ball of your foot white sitting upright on the seat Check the tires for wear and tear Also check the wheel spokes chain and your lighting and horn systems Make sure the bike is well oiled and get down to the nuts and bolts of things tightening any loose nuts where necessary Before taking the bike onto the street check the braking ability of your machme on both wet and dry surfaces Your bicycle should also be in good alignment If the bike veers to one side when pushed forward it is out of line and needs adjustment Remember that the bicyclist is considered under the law to be a driver and as such traffic rules regulations signs and signals apply just the same to the cyclist as to the motorist For those who wish to brush up on the law there is an excellent pamphlet published by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Ontario Laws and Your Bicycle It is available at all Driver Examination Centres and through most police depart The Ontario Safety League reminds you that you re one of the smallest units on the road and it s not always easy for motorists to see you Use reflective tape as required by law reflectors and wear light coloured clothing at night Of this and that We got a letter this week address ed so Mr G Dills President Dills Printing and Plumbing Co Ltd No comments please We just filed in under Amusing with envelopes addressed to the Action Free Press the Active Free Press Mr Kay Coles and Mr Ed You say you want a job in this office What can you do Nothing You should have applied sooner All those high salaried positions were taken long ago Time flies but not love Valen tines took a full week to reach Toronto A robins eye view- Sugar and spice Then are limes when I am need that I was born years too soon One of them occurs when I see the wonderful opportunities for travel that young people have today They make me pea green with envy When you and I were young Maggie much farther than the next town A minority visited Ihe city occasionally and It was considered a big deal And a whale of a lot of people never did get to see a big city In their entire lives And were no worse off for it of course Man how hat has changed Nowadays young people go galloping off to the four counters of the earth with no more thought about it than we have given to a weekend in the They so blase about il that it sickening to an old guy like me who has always yearned travel and never had time or money or freedom to do It In my day during Ihe Depression the only people who could afford to travel were he hobos They could afford it because they I have any money They rode free on the tops and Inside the boxcars of freight trains And they I have any responsibilities except the next meal and a place to sleep Looking back I was one of the lucky ones Most of my generation of youth was forced by circumstances to slay home get any job available and hang on to It like grim death never venturing forth on the highroads of life I was the envy of my classmates when at 17 I nabbed a Job on the upper lake boats and could come home bragging of having been to such bizarre exotic places as Sault Marie Detroit the Lake head Today youngsters would sneer at such bourgeois travels They exchange a nee dotes about Morocco and Moscow Athens and Australia Paris and Port Prince Delhi and Fair nauseates me it does By the time he was 22 my own son had lived on bolh coasts of Canada been to Mexico New Orleans Texas Israel Ire land and a hundred other places that are Just names in an atlas to me Right now he In Paraguay South America and has visited Argentina and Bolivia He speaks four languages I speak one not too well My nephews have seen more countries than Chris Columbus or Sir Francis Drake One an airline pilot and knows Europe North America and the West Indies tl way I know my way to school Another has worked in the Canadian north Quebec the Congo Jamaica and Is now living in Costa Rica My nieces are Just as peripatetic They ve been among them to the West Coast Prance England Russia A four day trip to New York for them Is worth mentioning Migawd Id have given my left eyeball to see New York when I was age I thought it was pretty earth shaking the first time I saw Toronto Toronto Fire lazy workers Buddy can you spare a dime Dear Editor Wo all want the most for our the blggesl bang for our buck In spirit I have introduced the lowing motion in House of Commons to control the size of the federal bureaucracy and protect our tax dollar That In Ihe opinion of this House the government should consider the of discontinuing hiring In the public service for period of one year requiring staff to be acquired by Internal ment the freeze to bo reassessed at the end of this one year period with the possibility of extending It further If desirable Even though growth of the federal civil service has Been reduced to less than one per cent a per cent overall and ab solutely reversed leu than one per cent annually in many departments ft la im perutlve that he size of the bureaucracy be reduced to an even more manageable level Through attrition It can be achieved This freeze goes hand In hand wilh another motion which I have seconded on behalf of my colleague Dr Frank Maine the Liberal member for Wellington That in the opinion of this House the Government should consider the ad visability of introducing legislation which would make merit or lack of it the deter mining factor in the civil service em by expediting the dismissal of incompetent employees giving bonuses to highly competent employee and ending all automatic raises These two motions would go a long way to make the public service more efficient and economical Adopting he private sector practice or firing lazy and Incompetent workers and providing merit Incentives to others decreases the size of staff while increasing efficiency and morale The remaining employees are usually the ones who get Ihe job done anyway According to the old saying One rotten apple can spoil the barrel The many good civil servants would welcome the change as much as anyone The work ethic Is thereby promoted both the public and private sectors Since the honor system does not succeed in each and every case In the civil service or elsewhere a stricter work place relationship Is needed to eliminate abuses with greater emphasis on the employee to cam the right to keep his Job and the super visor to enforce this responsibility A start has been made it will be pursued Yours sincerely Frank A Member of Parliament More letters on page 5 Thousands of university students an lake a year off borrow some money year of bumming around Europe the Mediterranean North Africa India Rotten kids In the last decade the travel bug has spilled over into the high schools Some of them are beginning to sound like agencies with frequent announcements over the P A system Will the group going to Rome in the winter break please assemble In Room 202 at 3 for a lesson in tying your toga All those taking the Venezuela trip arc requested to see Mr Vagabond in room at 3 15 today Those who are Involved in the spring break rip to the Canary islands should have their passports by March 1st There will be a meeting today in Room Qua tone for all students going to the Quebec Winter Carnival No separatists please An urgent meeting will be held today for those who plan to take the London Paris trip during spring break All seats are now filled If enough are Interested we hire another plane It fairly makes your head swim espec ially when your own idea of a trip south is 100 miles to the city for a weekend a trip west means a visit to great grandad and a trip east means you re going to a funeral or a wedding among he relatives Next thing you know this travel binge will bulge over into the elementary schools and great loads of little shavers from Grade Eight will be descend ing on the unsuspecting residents of Hong Kong and Rio Janeiro Lord help them The residents not the kids Perhaps this sounds like sour grapes Well It is As Shaw said The trouble with youth Is that it Is an the yourg And as Smiley says The trouble with travel is hat Is wasted on kids who don know a Grecian urn from an Italian plz Oh it not that haven travelled I ve been to Great Britain And spent two years staggering around in the blackout or wading through the torrential rains of Scotland I ve been to Slept five weeks in a tent in an orchard In Nor Been to Belgium Antwerp buzz bombs Know Holland well Spent Iwo weeks locked in a boxcar In a railway siding at Utrecht Am acquainted with many Was bombed in and Leipzig and spent a delightful six months in salubrious as a guest of the Third Reich Oh I ve been around all right But some how It wnsn t quite same Rattling through Deutschlnnd on a train with a to day stubble of beard on your chin and a tagend of sour black bread stuffed into your blouse is not quite similar to climbing aboard a 747 with your totebag and waiting for the stewardess to bring your first meal Would I trade Not on your life The Free Press Back Issues 10 years ago Taken from the of the Free Press of Wednesday March I Ml Mr and Mrs David Russell celebrated their wedding anniversary Sunday at the home of their son and daughter on Main St Both ore still active They have spent most of their life on the family farm on the Fifth Line of Erin Township Mr and Mrs Syd Lamb and family flew to Miami Beach last Monday on the caslon of their wedding anniversary Mr Lamb returned Friday and Mrs Lamb and children will return this Thursday years ago Taken from be of Free Press ofThmday April IT Fire destroyed the home of Mr and Mrs Thompson In Erin Township on Tuesday morning of this week Believed caused by faulty wiring the fire had made headway before the arrival of the Acton Fire Department Following a five minute run to the scene firemen had the blaze under control within a short period of time Neigh bors assisted in carrying out belongings before the roof caved In Acton Chamber of Commerce held a special dinner meeting last night Wed nesday In the Legion Auditorium when men end women attended to mark Chamber of Commerce week Honored during the dinner was Miss Hulford of Acton who set a new women a record for Eastern Canada in the world of five pins by bowling a triple Also honored was Acton Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year GA Dills 50 years ago Taken from thehsue of the Free Press Aprils The meeting of Knox church Young People Society on Monday evening was of a devotional nature The scripture reading was given by Near and Miss Emma Robinson led in prayer Miss Isabel Anderson contributed a splendid vocal solo An Easter story was given by Miss Nellie Anderson which was very appropriate Misses Bessie and Lorraine Wilson contributed a vocal duett and a solo chorus number by Mr A Burton and members of the choir Thefotlowingis the list of pupils who won a place on the honor roll during Ihe past month at the Acton public school Senior fourth Esther Taylor Leshbrook Herbert Taylor Norman Gibson Velma Blair Lois Atkinson Junior fourth Wilo Near Joe Marguerite Roszcll Audrey McComb Kathleen Cook Tom Nicol Se iior third Harvey Hassard John Nicol Ezio Marzo Teddy Elliott Teddy Hansen Sidney Worth and Tommy Cbole Junior third Margaret Arnold Harold Shilling George Switzer Elsie Anderson Vera Violet White Junior third Ruth Jennings Barbara Taylor Annie Roderick Ryder Jessie Trotter Jennie Senior second Kathleen Huard Harvey Frank Jones Henry Neil McNabb Hector Lambert 100 years ago Taken from the of the Free Press April una There was very little April fooling done here Monday The Whiteside murder case was reviewed in the Court of Chancery when he will was disputed A host of lawyers were engaged by both sides Robert Whiteside who is admitted be a miserly old man was foully murdered In he township of Esqueslng near Acton by some person or persons unknown Mrs Whiteside said she knew her hus band was odd before she married him but not as bad as he was He was a shoemaker in Ireland and Ihey were both natives of Ireland Mrs Whiteside said From 1S47 to 1863 when the will was signed we were fed on very inferior food I clothed the children by my own labours or by gifts from friends my husband used to eat grasshoppers and said they were the locusts mentioned in the Scripture he look bran and put goose berries in it and called It fruit cake fit for Queen Victoria as a beverage he preferred the water potatoes had been boiled In he mostly slept in his clothes At the time he made out his will I do not consider his mind was right That week he swallowed pieces of frozen mash and said I had put fish hooks in it He was strange on religious questions He put an my nightshirt and cap one night and went outside the house to frighten some men he supposed to bo there THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Ed Off c DM hMtMng Co ltd Copyright 1978