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2 - Orono Weekly Times 1937 - 2012 · Celebrating 75 Years Subscriptions $42.86 + $2.14 GST = $45.00 per year. No Refunds. Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund for our publishing activities." Wednesday, May 30, 2012 ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON L0B 1M0 E-mail: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax: 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Production and Display Advertising - Roxanne Johnston Classified/Sports The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Opinions expressed to the editor and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Orono Weekly times. Letters must be signed and contain the address and phone number of the writer. Any letter considered unsuitable will not be acknowledged or returned. We reserve the right to edit for length, libel and slander. If your retail or classified ad appears for the first time, please check carefully. Notice of an error must be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. Guardians of History It is absolutely fitting that a village that has the distinct honour of having a total of five provincial historical plaques honouring its local history, has an active Historical Society. From its small beginnings 156 years ago as a clearing in the hemlock with a tavern, the village has had its share of boom and bust cycles and survives as a vibrant community. Sitting with members of the Newcastle Village and District Historical Society (NVDHS) on Saturday morning in their wonderful room in the Newcastle Community Hall, we learned that Newcastle was a booming place when Bowmanville was no more than a widening in the road. From Out of the Mists, A History of Clarke Township we learn that from a handful of inhabitants in the early 1830's the village grew to a population of 300 and included two churches, eight stores, one druggist, two tanneries, two taverns, one axe factory, two saddlers, four blacksmiths, two wagon makers, four tailors and two shoemakers. With a population 1,200 in May of 1872 the village lacked a bank, a barber and a watchmaker. It did however have one of the largest woolen mills in Upper Canada employing 60 persons. In 1880 the mill went up in flames, ending that part of Newcastle's history. By this time the Massey's had left town with their farm implement manufacturing business, and Northrop and Lyman, later to become the Canada's largest dealers in patent medicines also left town, and population of the village dipped to 787 by 1891. Five years later two disastrous fires gutted the downtown core and by 1921 the population of the village reached a low of 559. The village did bounce back and today has a population of approximately 9,000 inhabitants and growing. (With the amalgamation of Newcastle into the Municipality of Clarington in 1974, exact population numbers of the village are hard to pin down). While there remains today a good inventory of old buildings in Newcastle, a great many buildings have been lost. It was from a desire to preserve these old buildings that the NVDHS was born. While the early group did not manage to buy the old Catholic Church, it was preserved and still stands today. The Society now has a very prominent location in the Newcastle Community Centre at the four corners of the village, where they can continue to archive the village's past and receive visitors without the burden of maintaining their own building. In 2005 the NVDHS launched a campaign to save a home which could possibly be the oldest home in the Region of Durham, and likely the oldest home on its original foundation. The Walbridge House, at 483 King Ave. E. was used by Dunbury Homes as a construction office for a number of years as they built a new subdivision around it. The fate of the house, which looks much the same today as it did when it was built between 1825 and 1826, was in limbo after the municipality designated it as a historically significant building under the Ontario Heritage Act in May 2007. The developer was looking to demolish the building if it was not sold or moved from the site. The municipality had no appetite to purchase the building and the NVDHS made it clear that their mandate did not include acquiring heritage buildings to ensure their preservation. We have just learned that the Walbridge house has been sold and the new owners are planning to restore the building and make it their home; another good news story in the fight to preserve the history of a village. Kudos to the many people who take the preservation of the past to heart, and make sure it lives on for future gen- Conrad a great Canadian? To The Editor: Tracy Tonkinson's interesting article entitled "From ermine to vermin" brought back memories of my times spent with Conrad Black. Conrad is a brilliant man, is a splendid public speaker, with a subtle, but remarkable sense of humour. Conrad has a deep knowledge of history, he founded the most successful new newspaper in Canada, is an outstanding writer and a deeply religious man, and has been active in matters of the Roman Catholic Church for decades. During those years, he has raised considerable sums of money for church charities. While imprisoned, Conrad did good work in educating his fellow prisoners and won respect from hardened criminals. So I often wonder; "why is such a great guy so disliked in his home country? My guesses are becasue he was born rich, and has stayed that way, he infuriated the Canadian Labour movement by showing neither respect for their claims, nor fear of their threats to strike, legally or illegally. As mentioned in Tracy's article, Conrad has become a lightning rod in the ongoing debates between the right wingers in Canada and the left wingers. He is seen (accurately) as someone who believes strongly in the conservative approach to politics. Conrad firmly puts his mouth where his beliefs are, thus, some people (who might be labeled as "left wingers") see him as evil incarnate. Conrad has some character traits that make him easy to dislike, arrogance being near the top of the list. After his marriage to Barbara, he not only lived the life of the rich and famous, but he flaunted it. As detailed by Tracy, he renounced his Canadian citizenship. Tracy suggests he did that for a "glittering bauble". People (especially - as Tracy mentioned--left wingers in the Canadian political scene) wanted to see Conrad humiliated and have outdone themselves to support the American legal system in its case against Conrad. If being rich is a crime, our country is in grave danger, most people reading this, or any other Canadian newspaper--- are "rich" by world standards. Should we all go to jail? The majority of voters in our area have persistently elected conservatives to both Ottawa and to Queen's Park. We, as a group of voters, do not like Mr. McGinty. Thus, we could be labelled "right wingers. Conrad is easy to dislike, but that is not a crime. Flaunting wealth is not an admired trait, nor should it be; but everyone who drives a new or nearly new car is guilty of that. A number of Conrad's critics become quite emotional regarding the fact that Conrad renounced his Canadian citizenship. Conrad made it clear at the time, that he preferred to retain his Canadian citizenship however Prime MinisterJean Chretien would not allow that. Did anyone think that Conrad, offered such an important post, would turn it down because of Jean Chretien's vindictiveness? Would you? Conrad broke no laws in Canada or in Great Britain. All of the charges brought against him in the U.S.A. would have been laughed out CONRAD see page 5