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Georgetown Acton Wednesday Sept TELEPHONE and Founded if Prnmg El Lid i Widow Straw Acton Ttriepnon Single cop Acion Frtu Pies the Ltd gimp wuwn Whitby News Admrtecf Aurora Era Thn Bolton Burlington Tho Bun ngtoi ThotnhtS and Son The Champion The Vtuijgi The News Weekend The Noon Ooivift- Ths Woek This Weekend Rlvrund The Scaiboiough The Tutmno The Ken Bellamy Publisher Don Ryder Director of Advertising Hartley Coles Managing Editor pOfcoot occupied by the tugettiet with lot signature not be charged to but the balance adveftaen lot at the applicable fate In in event a advertising good lemew I wrong price good or may not be told AdvertoinQ a to mi and time u mail Number EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor Cord New Editor Helen Munsy Sports Datkroom PetvMiUs ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT EUn Cook Retail Manager Susan Stone Jennifer Alton Davy CtauJfttd Advertising- CeioynAnem BUSINESSACCOUNTING OFFICE Office Manager Jean Shewed CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT Manager Menfan McArthur Theyre not protesters they are strictly vandals As the days and more im portantly the evenings become cooler and autumn rains start to fall it must be something of a relief to Acton merchants Its been a long hot summer for them Most local business men really dont want to be in the news they just want to operate their stores profitably As if slumping sales and hefty interest rates for carrying stock werent enough of a head ache merchants have been swirling in a storm of contro versy First there was the repeated nights of groups of teenagers and young adults roaming downtown streets at all hours and some breaking windows like it had become a national pasttime Now they seem to be em broiled in controversy over their bid to not add to the day time and evening loitering problem with opening up down town arcades The vandalism and arcades issue have produced a number of front page stories this summer So too have they pro duced letters to the editor Dont get us wrong We wel come the letters as long as they are signed and the writers will sit still for editing for libel and slander as one person who wrote recently did The paper is and should be a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions on any issue We believe Ed is entitled to his own opinion and respect him for having the courage to express it The same holds true for those who have come forward in support of his view as well as those who have spoken out against statements But make no mistake by pub lishing a letter to the editor on this subject or any other for that matter it doesnt mean we support that opinion We wouldnt call the police vigorously enforcing loitering laws as well as traffic infrac tions by giving out tickets downtown and in other parts of town such as parks harass ment We call it simply enforce ment enforcement which because of manpower and budget problems apparently couldnt take place until it was absolutely necessary and the situation downtown threatened to get out of control We cant point a finger of blame at the merchants for pushing for police action nor do we think they were wrong in speaking out against opening updowntowntoarcades They werent reflecting just their views They were speaking for their customers other citizens who we have heard repeatedly say they dont want to go to their own shop ping area because of some of the language and conduct of teens and young adults loitering downtown We know just as the mer chants do that all arcades arent hangouts for juvenile delinquents and make no mis take we have some in this town But some arcades are trouble spots and Acton just doesnt need more fuel for the fire now We also know and are sure the merchants and police are aware of this that not all teens and youths who hang out down town throw bricks at windows and cause other damage to private as well as property Our parks are almost as big a target of vandals as our shops A minority of young people are giving a majority a bad name However we doubt the people referred to in his letter as having hung a- round downtown Acton in their youth and grew up to Be fine upstanding community leaders threw very many bricks And unfortunately it ap pears in todays society that the minority of really bad young apples is growing We simply cant see how the policeman is going to dis tinguish between the potential vandal and the youth who simply wants to hang out down town without damaging any thing when he meets up with a group late at night on the street or in a park And we certainly dont think we need a park downtown or to have our parks open later simply to accomodate those who wish to hang out Tax payers today simply cant afford to pay for something which will appeal to such a small group of our young people It would be too costly at just about any price to supply such an unproductive form of recreation for so few If we have excess bucks to throw around than throw it at more more minor sports facilities for the majority Back issues From the editor s desk By Gord Murray Its not easy finding a way to get a little humor into the paper Yet out on the news beats around Acton there are a few laughs A lot of the funniest things we hear said about people happen at the many retirement dinners awards banquets attend- Ive been to downs over the years and often our politicians are on hand and the target of speakers Jibs- Unfortun ately they dont fit into a serious story say about Doug Masons retirement Rev Chuck Beatons night for being Citizen of the Year etc But with column I hope to quit leaving these little gems in my note book and share them with all who werent at the function I wish I could recall some of the beauties Chuck Beaton told back In April Some with a slight off color tinge but still suitable for a family news paper were priceless I also remember when Bon was honored all the politicians took some shots at MP Otto which readers might have enjoyed Anyway our affable mayor Peter was the target of some cutesies from Hills Hydros Graham at Dougs retirement do at the Legion One was that Pete shakes your hand before an election and your confidence after Another was that when Pete asks you to vote for him for mayor and good government hes really asking you to vote twice Now Im not sure if Ihesecome across as funny In print as they did when nell dropped them maybe his timing in delivering the lines was a factor Youll let me know how they came before decide if Ill print any I hear in the future Had a fella in my office Thursday morning when you read on youll know why he didnt want his name men tioned and he said he recognized him self in my comments last week about people parking close to intersections on Mill St making It extremely difficult and dangerous to turn left from a side street To my surprise he agreed with me than its a problem in downtown Acton But he had an explanation Seems this chap stops downtown each morning to buy smokes Hed like to park near Village Variety and just dart in But what he often finds Is that there are a couple of police cruisers parked there He wonders why with three re served spots on Mill across the road and two around the corner on John South why Ihe cops need to use other parking too Why are they parked on the north side of Mill he asked Well Ive never seen this situation but Im sure Its happened However its hard for us to get an answer from the police when we dont have specific dates and times of when they were parked there Anyway with parking spots used he winds up parking his truck between the intersection and where parking does start Maybe lots of people have good reasons for parking close to the inter sections but it still doesnt make it any easier to turn onto Mill from a side street And speaking about parking Ive a little tidbit to pass on about the over night parking Issue Im sure some of you are groaning not again about now but read on As Ive made abundantly clear this one bugs me It obviously bugs coun cillor Dave Whiting too Just as vously it bugs at least one resident of 17 Actons streets as well Well Dave got another complaint about the overnight parking ban but this one was from Lindsay Like a number of councillors he was in Toronto last week for the Association of Ontario Municipalities Convention He saw a woman at the convention approach his colleagues Terry Grubbe and Russ Miller standing a little ways away He noticed they turned and pointed him out to the She strode over and without in troducing herself said youre from Hills About not being able to park overnight on the streets I was up visiting my two daughters in Acton and got a ticket Dave never got the names of the two daughters who live here but thinks they reside on Greenore and either Elizabeth Dr or Elmore Dr The woman whom he found out from other convention delegates was a coun cillor in Lindsay informed him she sent ticket to the police with a note that was visiting and it was cancelled didnt see those signs at the entrance to town saying Hires a three hour overnight parking limit Dave didnt get a chance to find out how they handle the problem in Lindsay before she walked off One last Item A litUe girl recently died after a lengthy illness We didnt have an obituary and there were a few queries as to why Obituary forms arc available from the funeral home but it Is strictly op tional if its filled out If we dont re ceive an obituary form we dont contact the family seeking a report I firmly believe this is the proper pro cedure to follow despite the fact it means readers do occaslonaly miss reading a final tribute to the life of a friend or acquaintance Smieys 90 year old uncle has charm wit and vitality Summer is the time or family re unions Other people fighter pilots newspapermen Legionnaires Womens Institutes Librarians have them any time But in almost every weekly newspaper across the land every week our two- month summer you can read that the Jojes family or the Mcintosh family or whatever had a reunion followed by a list of who was there who came the farthest who was the oldest unit was the youngest who hosted there- tin ion and everything down what was the menu Not too exciting to the average reader but important to the family so dutifully reported Afie the reunion on the way home theres Ihe usual obituary My God wouldnt you think that Esther would stop after having seven in 10 years And Tinas got tumble fat Shes due for the tug slab the dont stop eating Seven pieces a pie after a feed a shanty man couldnt handle Or Too tad Wilburs got so the stuff They found htm out behind the barn at 11 am use a block tackle And so I avoid family reunions tike the plague but this summer was guilt of attending one My reasons were three fold- a sense of responsibility love and a chance lo spend some time with my only and beloved daughter The occasion was the birthday of my uncle Ivan Thompson patriarch of be clan last of a family of eight and a remarkable man When you think of a you think of an old man huddled in a thaw toothless senile or almost sitting In a rocking chair eating gruel You dont think of a brighteyed lively fellow who could walk people like me up a mountain and leave them gasping about halfway up as he reached the summit Born in 18XZ on the island of Calumet in the Ottawa River in the lumbering days he graduated from the school of hard knocks His father was sluice- master at the Roche Fondue a rapids In the river where Ihe logs were diverted down a wooden sluice so they would not be smashed to splinters in the rapids Young Ivan had to work on the family farm abutting the river his youth he was an athlete playing hockey for Shawwillie which produced NHL star Frank With little formal education he went into business did well during many In Montreal retired and bought some land along his beloved Ottawa River where he built mostly by hand a beautiful log cabin which he still visits every summer In every respect he is a selfmade selfeducated and widely read man Hes my idea of what somebody with guts and Initiative could and still can do in great country But beside those virtues he has charm wit and great vitality And these are why Ive loved him since I was a kid not because he made good On ray way overseas visited him in Montreal was treated like a son and When I got back from overseas some thing His life has not been all roses He lost a brilliant young son who was in his His wife died in an automobile accident But his spirit hough deeply hurt boun ded back At he seemed At he seems about a year older nan I And we look When I was a kid about half he time my mother called me Ivan before she remembered I was Billy After serving in World War I he worked hard in forming the Canadian Legion to make sure you boys of the second war got a better deal from government than his generation did He was also active in politics and is a great environmentalist He is beloved by his huge collection of nieces and nephews daughter and grandchildren and hun dreds of cousins Dear Uncle Ivan I salute you as a great Canadian and will be there for your 100th even if I have to take an 1 had wo bonuses in going to Ottawa for my uncles birthday I got away from my grandchildren for a couple of days Just about the time I was going to crack up and I had a good visit with my daugh ter We went to a horror movie We ate a gigantic pizza in Ottawas burgeoning city centre We to hear a rock group In which an old friend of hers and a former student of mine was playing My ears are still ring ing but I must admit enjoyed We ale and drank in a swanky cocktail lounge at the Chateau Laurie and heard some excellent jazz And we talked and talked and talked without her kids or her mother Interrupting That was a treat She was in great spirits doing well In her university courses and has found a place lo live In a good section but in a crumby basement apartment She told me Ottawa was a beautiful city as she drove me around but you couldnt prove it by me My eyes were shut tight and my fiats clenched in my lap She drives a beatup old as though she were In the Grand Prix Most of us slow down when we see an orange light She speeds up to beat the red one And everyone else in the city drives like that Anyway lhat was my big summer adventure Im still from that driv ing but have recovered enough to start making peanut butter and honey sand wiches again 10 years ago August A charge was made by professional engineer Alfred Chan that the Acton arena is structurally unsafe during per iod high winds Mr Chan estimated It would cost in the neighborhood of to stabilise the building New Corporal for Acton detachment of the is Bob Arbour He replaced the late Corp Ray Mason Mr Arbour is a native of Tecum set All is set for the Ihree day Acton sportsmens show that starts on Friday night with the celebration at he arena Specials this week at the 1GA a four of peaches it lin of pink salmon cents bread 23 cents a loaf wiener or Hamburg buns 29 cents beef potties lb Si young tur keys cents lb and a case of tins of CocaCola tor Five scouts and three leaders of the first scout troop travelled to Jamestown New York last Saturday Fire completely dcslroyed the barn and contents at Hitching Post Ranch on the Seventh Line north of Ballinafad Monday night 20 years ago IW2 Actons newest industry a division of Agencies Limited of Toronto is expected to start in the Wool Combing building in two weeks They will produce plastic surfaces for cabinet work and vertical wall paneling Already a champion at age sc Margaret Slaven danced her way lo t fame at the Canadian National Exhibition Thursday August when she won the Canadian championship for Scottish dancers eight and under Specials liiis week at the AB Super market arc all steaks cents a lb wieners cents a lb roasts cents a lb toilet tissue two packs for and tomato juice tin two for Five elm trees Robert Little School grounds were toppled Ihls week The culprit was Dutch elm disease for which no cure has been found Playing at the Gem DriveIn Theatre this Thursday Friday and Saturday Young at Heart starring Frank Sinatra and Doris Day Ttapp starring Hans Holt and Lcuwcnk 50 years ago August 1032 Acton Egg Grading Station opened for business last Saturday and a num ber of farmers of the district are taking advantage of this method of marketing their eggs Specials this week at your Red and White Slorc are- lbs of sweet potatoes for cents two Ins of Heinz Pork and Beans or 25 cents eggs IB cents lbs of pure Clover Honey for cents and oranges cents a Mr and Mrs Tosh Swain and Mrs M Middleton of Toronto spent Sunday at Mrs EF Colliers Brock Avenue Playing this week at the Gregory Theatre on Friday starring Ronald Coleman Saturday Polly of the Circus starring Marion Davies and Clark Gable and on Mon day Big Timer starring Ben Lyon and Thclma Todd 75 years ago August Acton schools will reopen next Tues day under most satisfactory conditions Notwithstanding the changes in the teaching staff caused by he resigna tions of Miss McKinnon and Miss King he board and he pupils are to be con gratulated upon the Tact thai two of the most successful teachers of the pro vince have been secured fill these vacancies The second week Is just closing since Moore Municipal Clerk under went the operation for appendicitis As many friends will be pleased to know he is making rapid progress toward re covery years ago August ISM At present Acton is a busy Utile town as any of its size in the country New buildings arc in progress rapidly The frames of six of the houses three double buildings are up and ready for the brick and other four will be a far advanced In a few days It is said that the rumor circulated last week to the effect a secret wedding had taken place In ftockweod with a young Acton lady as bride is In correct should be more careful how they circulate stories of this nature as it untrue some persons feelings are generally wounded A more pleasant day for civic holiday than last Friday could not have been desired and the general way in which holiday was observed by our citizens was a proof of It acceptability