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The year 1987 If one thing was to stand out in our mind above all others in 1987 in Canada it would be the completion of the "Man In Motion Tour" by Rick Hansen and the second, no doubt, would be the individual accomplishment of a new world sprint record by Ben Johnson. Both began from humble beginnings accompanied accompanied by individûal determination, hard work and a belief in self that has had rewards for not only the two themselves but sets forth for others that there is purpose in this life. Both are fine examples Of the Canadian way and of human strengths. Next in line would likely be the partial arms control treaty signed by Gorbachev and Regan pn behalf of the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. This act should soften the threat of war between the two leading nations, one that no one would ever win. We contribute contribute a lot of the success of this treaty to Gorbachev who appears appears to have the charisma to be a leader and as well a defined purpose of where he intends to go for his people which he realizes depends a great deal on a matter of peace with most of the rest of the world. He, stole the limelight prior to and during the meeting of the two leaders. It will be interesting to watch what advancements may be made in Russia over time. In Canada we watch with interest the issue of Meech Lake Accord, Free Trade and the revising of taxation. Although we have considerable reservations on all three issues we have to recognize the determination of Mulroney and Wilson to surge ahead with these changes. Both Mulroney and Wilson are quite rhetorical and do put up a good sounding case but without too much substance to back up their arguments. The federal government has backed-off to a considerable degree on social change and totally backed-off on unemployment unemployment insurance change. One can hardly blame them for they do have considerable on their plate at the present time and an election election is in the offering in 1988. When it comes to the Province of Ontario its hard to put a handle on the liberal government of David Peterson. Maybe we expected too much with the change but then we did expect something of a change. But the same old problems are still around and we don't see too much movement in the matter of garbage disposal leadership, the environment, hospital acom- modation and education. Whether it be a lack of funding or worn out systems the province is the key to solutions which, of course require determination. determination. Locally the Town of Newcastle did get a number of projects projects underway with the administration building and after considerable considerable difficulty, the Bowmanville arena. Development has been strong in all sectors but still with the emphasis on residential residential which does put a strain on taxation and there is much to be done in the Courtice area if this new community is to be brought in line with soft services and facilities. Speaking of the Courtice area and especially the water problem surely both the Town and the Region have to carry some of the burden of the problem to a haste in grabbing for development. It is interesting: to' note that the 1983 Gardner and Lee consultant environmental report carries a note that no investigation investigation was made as to the status of water in the area due to the short period of time allowed for the completion of the report. As a result this issue now facing both the Town arid the Region was not addressed before development was granted by both bodies. Perhaps a costly mistake. 1988 may be the interesting year for both the town and the region. First it is an election year, generally a time politicians want to keep the tax rate increase at a minimum. For the the region there is the matter of garbage disposal facilities which it cannot continue to ignore. One might suggest time has already run out. , , The Town is to consider, full-time firefighters for Cour- tice and surely such a service would not stop at Courtice, Bowmanville must also be considered. A partial force in Cour- # tice increases taxation by $125,000 and a complete full-time force some $600,000. A sizeable amount when doubled. Garbage will be a big issiSe not only to the Laidlaw plans but also "the considering of a town-wide pick-up system. The library will be in with their feasibilty study and development of another library facility will not come cheap. And then the northern northern sector of the Town would like a fire station in their area. KENDAL NEWS Christ alone knows the coming year. He holds the key. There are many things he could tell us about it, but we cannot béar them now. He will lead us into it step by step. That is better than seeing the distant distant scene. Written Jan. 3, 1982 by Rev. A; Tizzard. "I know hot what the future hath Of Marvel or surprise; Assured ' v ' death His mercy underlies." The New Year Tree A great deal has been written and sung about the Christmas tree but very little about the tree that belongs most to the New year - the Apple Tree! The flower for the New Year in ' lands as far apart as ancient Rome and modern Japan is the apple blossom. In old Rome small branches branches would be taken off the leafless apple trees, - and kept in water, in a sunny window; these would leaf, and if they flowered, too by Japuaryl, the Roman New Year's Day, it was regarded as a sure sign of good fortune during the year, to the household whose branch had blossomed. So' naturally apple blossoms, often artificial or in pictures pictures were put with the Latin greeting cards and gifts at the New Year. > Inland Palestine, like Egypt was too hot for apple growing, but today, today, along the sea-coast of the Holy Land, are large apple orchards, so there is no reason for thinking that Solomon meant anything but apples, apples, when in his Song of Songs, he makes LOVE say of the Beloved, "As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my Beloved among the sons," while the Beloved says: I raised thee up under the apple apple tree! The Greeks and Romans were both great apple lovers. In Greek poetry we find the famous apple of discord, by which the shepherd Paris was bribed by the Goddess of Love. Then one of the twelve great labourers of Hercules was fetching the apple of the Hesperides, those mysterious islands in the far west. Certainly the Greeks were fond of apples, and Homer tells us of the garden of Alcinous - we would call' it an orchard four acres, fenced in, and planted with fruit trees, which are named, the first being the apple. The Romans worshipped the Goddess of all fruits Pomona, from pomme, apple, and it was to invoke the blessings of Heaven on their orchards orchards and gardens that they used the flower of the apple on New Year's Day. The Italian apple trees were probably probably first brought from the highlands of Asia Minor, and were thought so much of by the Romans that as they went out to conquer and colonize the world, they tried to grow apples wherever they went. One of their greatest objections to the British climate was that its frosts and snow were too much for the apple apple tree of Italy to stand. Britain had apples - hard, tasteless crabs - growing wild, and with patient skill, the Romans grafted cuttings from their own apple trees on these, till they had a British apple, with the flavour of the Italian, while its tree had the strength of the parent crab to flourish in the British climate. ; The Romans left Britain but their apples stayed. It was the influence of those old forgotten things that made the farmers of England and Scotland pay homage especially to the apple tree on January the 6th or January 1st. Beside the apple being the pleasantest of foods, it has great value as a preventer of sickness. We are very doubtful of many of the medical suggestions of the Middle Ages but we still quote the old sayings: sayings: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," and "If you eat an apple when going to bed, your doctor doctor soon will be begging his bread." The Canadian Church Calendar has a photo of the Apple Blossom for January. Remember to start the New Year off with clean stove pipes. Bum them out on the driveway with paper. Sunday morning, January 3rd was a beautiful sunny cold day with very little wind. The roads were perfect. Before the service we had our hymn-sing as is our custom the first Sunday of each month. The choir sang "Jesus our brother." The children's discussion touched on epiphany. The baby Jesus was shown to the wise men twelve days after Christmas January 6th. Epiphany means to show. How did they find the baby Jesus? Yes they were led by the Star of Bethlehem to the very house where, Jesus was staying. • . The scripture reading was Isaiah 60:1-6; Eph. 3:1-12 and ^Matt. 2:1-12! Sermon: The Fourth'Magi: The minister dramatized the story - of the other wiseman. First as a lad, second as a youth and ten years later as a man telling us of those he felf called upon to help along the way-on his journey to see the King. January 10th Annual Congregational Congregational Meeting at Kendal. There will be an added feature to the Pot Luck Lunch. We hope you all will be able to come and celebrate with us after the regular service. , On December 23rd the Young People of Kendal- Church and choir went around to the homes of the Senior Citizens and sang carols for them. Their singing was appreciated. appreciated. Mrs. Pearl Clark had Christmas dinner with Mrs. Hazel Elgear and family in Kendal. Miss C. Stewart journeyed to Scarborough to have dinner with her niece, Mrs. Jean Keane and family. There were twelve sat down to dinner. Mr. & Mrs. Bernice Martin and Miss C. Stewart entertained Mrs. Edna Dobson and Mrs. A. Cathcart , for New Year's dinner. Could Be A district attorney was having trouble with one of the witnesses, a rather pugnacious old man. "Are you acquainted with any of the jurymen?" asked the district attorney. attorney. "More than half,", grunted the witness. Are you willing to swear that you know more than half of them?" The old man flicked a look over the jury box. "If it comes to that," he drawled. "I'm willing to swear to know more than all of them put together." Sunshine Magazine. Chain letters are usually written by people .who have travelled during the past yeàr. I received three. This one is from a young couple who live in Hong Kong, the girl, tqy cousin was a Regina girl. Her .brother "got a position in Vancouver 'and married a Vancouver girl. So Glenda, went out to the wedding. She met her brother's best friend an English "Chef". Six months later they were married, in July, in Regina. A year later they went to Europe. He was particularly interested in' Italian foods. They spent Christmas with his family in England, and then returned to work èmd explore the continent. They spent the summer " in Ontario but he lined up. a position position in Hong Kong as chef of an International International Club.. They have been there three years or more. I will touch some of the high spots in the letter. Greetings from Hong Kong: Another festive season has rolled around. We have had a good year. The longer we live here the more we seem to enjoy it, although it's still just a temporary home. I received a computer for my birthday birthday but I have not yet given a lot of time to using it. I have been waiting for the cooler weather so I could concentrate better. For holidays we went, 'Down Under'. We went to Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne; visiting the Opera House, Great Barrier Reef, and many other attractions. The highlight of the trip was staying with friends in Melbourne, a good time was had by all. We even had a Real Aussie B.B.Q. (throw another" shrimp on the Barbie mate, pass the fosters). I was lucky, to win a trip for two to anywhere in the Indian subcontinent subcontinent through a newspaper contest. contest. We decided to use the Singapore part of the trip and spent 5 days in a luxurious hotel there. After a relaxing time by the pool in 26 - 30 celsius weather we flew to Korea for 8 days. We really enjoyed Korea and could have stayed there longer. We spent the entire time in Seoul except for one day trip out in the country. The weather was a lot cooler so we had out our mitts and scarves. We saw some of the sights but spent a lot of time shopping! It was an excellent excellent place to buy some items. Graham got himself a new casual Wardrobe - all the things that he cannot find to fit him here (Graham is a small man). Of course the prices were very cheap too so we really enjoyed enjoyed it. We also bought a few pieces of antique furniture that should arrive before Christmas. Korea is definitely, a place I would like to travel back to. 'Unfortunately several of our friends have moved back to England so our social group has dwindled down. We don't know how much longer wé will be here but will think about that more in the New Year. St Saviour's Anglican Church MILLSTREET ORONO, ONTARIO SUNDAY SERVICE and CHURCH SERVICE 9:30 a.m. ® . ORONO PASTORAL CHARGE ' Minister: Rev. Fred Millies Organist: Ross Metcalf Telephone: Church 983-5502-, 1 Manse 983-5208 ORONO UNITED CHÙRCH Sunday Church School 11:00 a.m. Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. KIRBY UNITED .CHURCH Sunday Church School 9:30 a.m. Morning* Worship 9:30 a.m.