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Acton Free Wednesday April 30 1980 The Founded In 1875 t si Co L ickcnnn News The Gcor Don McDonald Publisher Iisino is I On In i event of he occupied by erroneous id Of at cabin rain In iho a may sole EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor Goid Murray Eric Into no SporliWomon Dam Wnltrmrirt Fur Contributor Helen ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Manager Cook Salai ClaHlIlad BUSINESSACCOUNTING OFFICE Offlco Triomh Shlrloy Carolyn Marvin CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT TELEPHONE Business and Office Spmckman tactic not new Plaza developer Gerry Sprack man has demonstrated he isnt a good corporate citizen of Acton Sprackman builds plazas throughout Ontario and wants to build one containing a Zehrs supermarket and five other stores on the east side of Acton Citing planning reasons Hills council rejected Sprack- proposal despite the fact the developer showed there is con siderable public support here for a plaza His next step was to take the is sue to the Ontario Municipal Board a justifiable move While it may be a somewhat costly time consuming method of settling a dispute between a dev eloper and municipality that is what the OMB is for It exists to ensure municipalities develops and citizens all have the chance to voice their points of view before an impartial body It ensures everyone is treated fairly and hopefully good planning is the re sult However regardless of which side of the issue you support all Acton should be disturbed by the latest development in the battle Halton Hills council has rezoned about acres of rural land for in dustrial development north of the CNR tracks and west of Highway 25 It will add more industrial land to Acton and could be important in attracting new firms here Sprackman has asked for an hearing on this item too It means it will be some time be fore the rezoning can be approved by the province and the develop ment of the property can proceed During this delay countless firms which might like to locate in such an industrial development will set up shop elsewhere Sprackman is opposing the industrial development on the grounds sewage capacity he needs for the plaza may be eaten up by the new industries This seems unlikely If Sprackmans decision is the start of a pattern he will oppose every major development in Acton until the question of his development is settled It is not a new tactic It is a fav orite of many developers and they employ it in many towns It is also perfectly legal and Sprackman is well within his rights He is in effect telling the mun lcipahty hell prevent any development and halt progress until such time as the town fathers view his project more favorably It could be years before the in dustrial land is rezoned or the issue of the plaza is settled While this tactic is legal it is far from fair There is no question Acton badly needs more industry and in the present economic climate is difficult to attract firms here While there is unused industrial land in the town the industrial development Sprackman has op posed is still needed The more op the town can offer a firm the more likely it is manufacturers will choose Acton Sprackman has demonstrated he doesnt care about Acton or the towns future Acton is just a place where he can make a profit by building a plaza This move could well errod some of the support he has re ceived from citizens for his pro posal Pilutti donation significant Is Halton Hills becoming one town other than just at the pol itical level The donation of to the Acton town hall restoration fund by Georgetown developer is a hint that Hills might just become something more than a political unit in the years ahead For this reason Piluttis generous contribution is far more significant than just a donation to town hall fund Were one town and Id like to show it and hope others will fol low suit declared in mak ing his donation He feels it is time more people in the larger urban partner in Halton Hills showed an interest in Acton He is correct It is time for peo ple in both urban areas of Halton Hills to take a greater interest in activities in each others com munities This is not to say Acton should give up the fight to maintain its own identity But that can be done at the same time strong bonds are built between areas the amalgamated municipality Hills is a long way from being a perfect marriage of Ac ton Georgetown and At the same time many good things for each area have hap pened because of Halton Hills Far too often people rap reg ional government without dif ferentiating between the Halton Hills kind of regional government and the Halton region breed Even some councillors who beef about the region will grudgingly admit Halton Hills hasnt been so bad Maybe when a building of historical importance needs sav ing here in Georgetown the peo ple of Acton will rally round hopes Its a hope we share And maybe it doesnt have to wait until an historical building needs saving down the road in Georgetown When plans are in place to raise funds for the town hall restoration people in Georgetown should be given the opportunity to help out financially This year Georgetown has a major fund raising project More money than is needed for the town hall must be raised there to help the municipality pay for a new librarytheatre complex The people spearheading that drive should look beyond their com munity they should look to Acton for some financial help Maybe plaza the answer Dear Sir I now know the complete frustration of who find they must look out of town for satisfaction In the years we have lived here apart from the furniture and drug stores we hove found Home Hardware and Swetmans Shoes the moat pro fessionally run with quality and money back guarantee Our two children have always been fitted at Swetmans There have been times when we have actually been told they didnt need shoes Mrs Swetman assured me that two of her would still be that service and quality would be Ihe same Two weeks ago a complete stranger fitted or mis fitted my son She was pleasant but Im sure didnt know any more than I did about whether the shoe was the right one or my son This means I now have to go out town for my childrens shoes as well as my groceries Maybe a plaza is the ans wer Just frustrated Mrs Hlggins Acton GOOD LUCK yARS GOLF Madness seizes the nation every Spring Spring actually sprang this year instead of limping in with a bad cold its wont in these climes Usually in Ihis country we dont really have a We leap from the lingering frigidity of a cold and wet April rather similar to an English winter Into a hot spell in May that leaves us dizzy stunned stupefied And before we know It were into a humid June complete with mosqultos and things including young ladles busting out all over This year after one last wild blizzard near the end of March Spring decided to live up to her name A sunny winter a mild March and suddenly one looks out and there is no snow on the picnic table One hurls one s clumsy rubber into one s closet One disrobes from the mass ive blanket like contraption in which one has hidden ones frozen bones for the past five months One skims ones hat into the lop corner of the closet And one comes down with one annual spring cold snuff ling and sniffling toward summer that apogee of the Canadian psyche Deep in that Canadian psyche lurks the suspicion that possibly just possibly this year the winter will never end and that we shall go through a summer of frozen branches etched against a gray sky frozen ground under foot no flowers no foliage no hot summer sun to peel the skin At least thats the way I feel and Im an average My wife would say ordinary Canadian in every way Perhaps that the reason Canadians go winging off to hot places all winter at phenomenal costs When it comes to getting away m the sun we have no equals on earth except perhaps the Scan know couples who If they were having you for dinner would argue about to give you the barbecue or the tuna casserole the cheap plonk or the ex Former Acton and district residents Dill and Pat Wilson were closely Involved with the visit of Princess Alexandra to Toronto the post week She la the Colonel InChief of the Queen Own Rifles of Canada and wo3 here for the 120th anniversary cele brations of the regiment Col Wilson Is the Commanding Officer of the Queens Own Canadas oldest existing regiment The Wilsons were presented to the Prin cess when she arrived and also took part In the special events an inspection of the regiment at Moss Park Armouries dinner at Harbour Castle hotel church service and regimental parade QUI and Pat Wilson and their three daughters lived near town for several years moving recently to MIsslssauga Fifteen years ago Actons own Davey Holmes proved himself to be an honest citizen by returning a lost wallet to Its upset owner Mrs Bill Duma rah pensive wine with a body Yet theyll blow a couple of thousand dollars for a week In the sun living and I etching and drinking and browning for seven days and re turning to the gray grim landscape they left Its Insane But then theres something about ell Canadians when they feel they are es once again the icy talons of winter They go cuckoo Just the other day I saw an old lady wrapped to the cars so that she could scarcely move out raking leaves simply because the sun was shining and the though not the temperature told her it was spring She should have been in by the fire Before the snow has even begun to melt our department stores have packed away their winter stuff and are flaunting bikinis that would make a stripper blush Boats are hauled out before the Ice on the bay has begun to melt Ardent curlers stash their brooms and dig out the golf clubs though they would sink to the hocks on the fairways Trout fishermen who have been chained to the arduous icefishing for perch during the past few months get a wild gleam in their eyes go out and buy small fortunes worth of new tackle and rush like 1cm to the choice spots on Opening Days elbowing and struggling with thousands of then- ilk to get a line in the water Kids go goofy They like winter but spring drives them right around the bend Now after all this time Davey wants the people of Acton to remember his honesty in hopes of discouraging would be thieves Dnvey found the wallet while hiking back from a morning fishing trip He chat all Actonians to perform such an honest deed Last summer an unidentified resident of Knox Ave showed her honesty when she found a lost wallet In Prospect Park Inside was WOO The owners a family of tourists travel ling through town discovered the wallet missing several hours after leaving the Park The who found the wallet waited for the family to return The tourists notified the Acton Free Press and wanted the finder properly commended Actons Indus rain made it Into the Inter company newsletter The Indusmln Link again last month this time with almost a full page of pictures of their recently com pleted office renovations f Hero we go again with another Homecoming This time it is the Hanover Memory Lane Homecoming July to July 1981 Former residents of Hanover can write to Memory Lane Homecoming Box 308 Hanover Ontario 3H6 for Input into the weekend For those who really are from Hanover and may remember a few names John Kirkvaag la Publicity Chairman Marilyn chairperson Jack Blnkley co- Puddles to splash In Mud to tumble into Exploring to be done into all those secret corners that the snow had kept hidden Housewives go hairy Their well kept homes dusted and vacuumed and polished to within an Inch of their lives all winter arc suddenly as the suspicious spring sun peers in shabby filthy disgusting and they launch Into an orgy of cleaning and decorating that drives their men up the wall and into debt Old people behave oddly With a sort of glint in their eye they realize that they ve licked the old graveyard one more time and go out and get terrible cricks in their back planting flowers and gardens And filing people Well we all know what happens to them when Canada oc casionally enjoys a real legitimate Spring They stand on street comers after school bunting each other like young calves They strip to beach wear on days that would freeze the brains of a brass monkey They fall wildly in love with someone they hadnt even seen all winter except as a sniffling snuffling stripling across the aisle In Grade 10 English They go wild with the sheer delirium of being young in springtime The boys drive too fast and recklessly The girls have strange fancies and dream of summer and secrets What do aging school teachers do In the spring They re Just as nutty as the rest They look with aching longing to their long summer wishing their lives away They try to retain their dignity while they feel like kicking up their heels running off with a Grade 11 girl or boy shooting golf in the seventies catching a whopping rainbow trout And dreading retirement It a grand madness that seizes this nation come Spring Long may It cont chairperson Dorothy Van Home treasurer and Thchna Winkler is secretary A magazine article by an Acton woman may have broken a Normally western barrier The piece was published in a magazine exclusively for those involved in the Scouting movement The leader has been rumored to be very biased towards the west but Andrea Sharpies has made the first move in letting the rest of the know Ontario Scouts in particular Acton exist Mrs Sharpies wrote a lengthy story about lost October Huck Finn Raft Race on Guclph In which Acton boys participated The boys were split into teams and each team made their own rafts using no noils screws or other modern securing tions Each team was given a treasure map and set out on the lake in search of gold CBers were scattered at various points around the lake and gave out the gold when approached with the secret password Teams from Oakville Burlington North Halton participated Everyone involved enjoyed a variety show that evening put on by Speysides Karen Vince Mountsford was master of ceremonies with Burlington MPP Julian Leading a sing along Hopefully Mrs Sharpies article started a trend and other people will write In to The Leader with experiences their Ontario Scout groups enjoy Back issues 10 years ago Taken from Issue of The ree Press Wednesday May Acton students raised for the can a walkathon Of the walkers completed the walk and two Roe and Gary Dobbie walked miles Dave Hodgson Bill Ron McGuln Scott Watson and Robin Salt were leaders of the group which left from Prim rose The tulips of the Holland Liberation Soc sold by the Acton Liberation Com are now blooming They com the liberation of Holland mainly by Canadian troops years years ago this week The official opening of store attracted a huge crowd Mayor Duby cut the ribbon Store owner is John Ed munds Creamery closed up operations two weeks ago but the small business of ing suckers which was cramped at the back is now expanding to fill all the space Doug Coleman who operated the cream cry is also in charge of the candy business The newly formed Antique Arms Collectors Association will hold its first show in the music centre Nine schools sent singers to he music festival in the M Bennett school 20 years ago Token from the issue of The ree Press Thursday April 1960 Warmest appreciation for dedicated viceofDr WGC Kenny and recognition of champion bowler Gayle high lighted the Citizen of the Year dinner in the Robert Little school Wednesday George Bar beau read the outline of Dr Kenney varied career An engraved locket was presented by Bert Wood to Gayle Chamber president Ted Tyler presided The annual Cancer Drive in Acton Is be ing sponsored by the Legion Ladles Aux iliary again this with Mrs Robert Angcll in charge Twenty five years of faithful service to the township of Esquesing were recognized when assessor A Benton was honored by councillors at a surprise party at Haw thorne Lodge He was presented with a ring by councillor Wilfred Leslie The Scottish Dance Club ended their most successful season with a ceilidh in hall The Junior Pipe Band led by Phil Caddick led off the proceedings President Robert spoke on the clubs progress The Duke of Devonshire I0DE held their second annual delicatessen sole with Mrs J Beatty charge 50 years ago Taken from the Issue of The Free Press Thursday May 11930 The Post Office was quite an inter rogation bureau on Monday Time of Clos Ing Time of arrival of trains Is my letter on lime Will I get an answer tomorrow Will the evening mails be distributed the evening they ore received Daylight Saving Time did it Mr E J new store on Mill St next door to the post office Miss Lettie Scott who has held an im portant position at Acton Tanning Co since the removal of Mr and Mrs Scolt to Kit has resigned and left to live in that city She was for some time librarian residents signed a petition for Daylight Saving Time The eighth annual event of the employees of Co In the town hall provided o mirthprovoking and social event Mr T E McCleary was the Jovial chairman The program was oil by the men with Ernie Coles and Frank Conley the leading ladies The tannery and town teams will have the first ball game of the season Saturday The boys are at practice these evenings Several seagulls have been seen around Corporation Pond It Is an unwritten law these birds not be molesled 100 years ago Taken from he issue of The Acton Free Press Thursday April Two children of the village died suddenly this week The daughter of Mr Thomas Cameron 11 years of age had diphtheria Other members of the family are now fllcted The son of Robt Agner years of age was subject to epileptic fits wus preached to the Oddfellows In Ihe Congregational church in honor of the anniversary of Oddfellowism In Canada Monday evening members and friends to the number of assembled in their tastily furnished lodge room for sup per a social evening of the Excelsior Bakery catered the most inviting spread Acton Parlor Orchestra will soon take their place on the platform A meeting was held of those interesting in settling in Nebraska The interested parties gave account of the very superior ad vantages there