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Oro no Weekly Tueis, Wednesday, February 4, 1998- Il Friencis of the Library Arthur Black The birth of a world famous poem is an exceedingly rare event. Not many of us get to be in on such a thing, but Cyril L. C. Allinson did. He was there on May 3, 1917 when one of the best known poems in the Engiish language was written. "I1 saw him (the poet) sitting on the ambulance step, a pad on bis knee" Allinson later wrote. "He iooked up as 1 approached but continued to write... .He wrote on for five minutes more, then, as I band- ed him bis mail, he handed me bis pad ... The poem was aimost an exact description of the scene in front of us both." The 'he' was Lieutenant- Colonel John McCrae of Guelph, Ontario. The poem -- the most famous war (I'd argue 'anti-war') poem in the worid - was "In Flanders Fields". if McCrae had been British held have been knighted for that poem. Had he been American, he'd -have been transformed into a demi-god, the subject of books and Hollywood movies. Alas, he was Canadian. And because of it, ail but for- gotten. There is a tiny museumn in bis old homestead in Guelph. Occasionally, his name sur- faces in a 30-second sound bite during Remembrance Day cel- ebrations, but that's about it. And last year the memory of John McCrae suffered tbe ulti- mate indignity _--bis war medals were put up for public auction, for sale to tbe bighest bidder. Did the federal government rush in to stop the travesty and save the medals? Nope. Nary a peep froni the Feds. Did the public cry out "Foui!"? Afraid not. In the end, the medais were saved by the intervention of a single Canadian citizen. By a man who hadn't even been born when McCrae wrote his poem. By a man who wasn't even born in Canada. Arthur Lee was born in Canton, China in 1955. His famuly came to Canada when he was ten years oid and settled in Sudbury, Ontario. Lee worked in the Inco Mines to get enougb money to go to uni- versity. After graduation he went into tbe manufacturing business and prospered. And somewhere in that process, Arthur Lee became a Canadian witb an intensity that few of us wiil ever be able to dlaim. Canadian enough to enter the public bidding against pro- fessional foreign coilectors bent on buying the McCrae medals and spiriting theni out of tbe country. Canadian enough to iay out $400,000 of bis own money buying the medals. Did he do it for the glory? No. Arthur Lee is a sby Canadian. "It's been a littie bit too mucb" be says. "My wife and 1, we're realiy flot into tbis public life, and she is getting realiy rather upset..." Did be do it for profit? Hardly. Arthur Lee immediate- ly donated the McCrae memen- tos back to Canada. No charge. "It was more or iess desper- ation, to make sure the medais stayed in Canada, rather tban taking a chance at their being lost" explained Lee. "I just feit I was doing my duty as a Canadian... nothing more than that, really." A lot 'more than that', actually. Arthur Lee's gesture calis to mind perba ps the most famous line of John McCrae's immortal poem. UI' referring to the line that goes: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high We Canadians bave funi- bled the torch a couple of tumes in the past few years. One or twice itfs almost gone out. We can thank our lucky stars there are stili Canadians like Arthur Lee around to show the rest of us how a torch ougbt 10 be held. d g"gi1* Heart-Shaped' Cookies, Cakes 0 P' - apU ' for Valentine's Day! Proprietors: Gary & Carol Vreýker 983 -9779 MIain Street, Orono Closed Sunlday & Monday logo (,,ontest Caiiing ail artisticaiiy incline people in Clarlngton! The Frielids of the Clarington plibiic Library, a group of conemred citizens who want to promote and enhance the services and pro- grammes offered at the Library, neeeJ your heip, in designing a lo0. Logo entries must be submltted on a 8 1/2" by il", §heet of paper. contain two êolours or less, and include à brief expiana- tion of 25 words or less describing what the logo syrn- bolizes and how it relates to the iibrary or learnlng in gen- eral. The contest is open to ail ages and prizes wili be awarded to the flnaiists, who wili also have their winning entries posted in the iibrary. We thank everyone for entering. but only finalists will be contacted. The dead- line to submit entries is March 31, 1998. by OntarWê White-Tailed Deer Producer-s' Association For the iaât two decades, white-tailed deer farmers havie been sùçcessfully pro- ducing quality deer in Ontario. 1Ajiêr proving itself to the Ontario govern-ient as a prosperou§, responsibie. and safe industry with no negative impact on Ontario's native wiid deer, the Ontario government has recognized the white-taiied deer on December 18, 1997. This gives farmers the confidence they need to invest in this new industry and market their products to their full potentiai. Canada has a $45.6 mii- lion white-tailed deer indus- try. Aberta and Saskatchewan hold the maj ority of the value as their governrnents recognized the potential of their lndustry years ago. It is feit that Ontario, with its abundance of marginal farm land, along with the new regulations, will catch up with the western provinces in the next 5 years. If you are Interested in exploring this new and excit- ing- industry, make plans to attend a workshop organlzed by the Ontario Canadian Whlte-Tailed Deer Producers' Association. Toplcs include: fencing, nutrition, handling facilities, breeding stock. eco- nomics, and much more! Sessions xiii be held on April 11, 1998 at the Highwayman Inn, Orillia and on April 25, 1998 at the Royal Canadian Legion, Lindsay. Sessions begin at 1:00 p.m. For more information and registration contact: Ontario White-Talled Deer Producers' Association at (5419) 633- 1125. RM"ECYCLE r C7 Whitedâtailed deer producers happy about new regulations