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THE COLBORNE CHRONICLE, Thursday, February 25th, I960 Diary of a Vagabond by Dorothy Barker If I hadn't been half an hour early to catch my train east recently, I would not have missed it. This is how it happened and it is the tale of a frightened little teenager who helped me discover I have an overpowering good deed complex I hadn't been forced to recognize before I had just checked my cruise case and was about to pick up my train bag and head for the comfort of a parlour car seat, when a timid hand clutched my elbow and the most frightened pair of brown eyes I have ever seen looked into mine. She finally got up enough courage to tell me she was in great trouble and needed help. Foolish child, she said that for safety's sake she had given her ticket to a friend who was a regular commuter, because she was a little overcome with all the things there were to learn on her first day in the business world. The friend, who worked in another office, had told her when the day was done to meet her by the big clock in the centre of the station. A seasoned commuter can be forgiven for forgetting a new responsibility and from what I was able to piece together, after I conferred with the attendant at the gate as the train was pulling out, my stranded young girl's friend was aboard, complete with extra ticket. This young person, who had so suddenly appeared on my horizon, had been indoctrinated by an overly anxious mother with all sorts of possible haz-, ards with which the big city; 'fairly teems'. She had advised! her offspring "never speak to a1 Plumbing and Heating ALTERATIONS --- REPAIRS -- NEW WORK ALL WORK and MATERIAL GUARANTEED FREE ESTIMATES GIVEN L. V. BEAMISH Phones: Shop 159W -- Residence 159J strange man, never get into taxi by yourself and never take money from anyone you don't know." All good sense, but terrifying for a youngster to cope with the middle of a huge union station and not even blessed a dime for a telephone call. After inquiring about when her next train left, and finding it was hours away and just before midnight, I tried to contact the Traveller's Aid lady only to find the door to her office locked. She was probably powdering her nose, but with time running out before I was to leave, couldn't f|imble on when she would return. I grabbed the young girl somewhere in the region of her pony tail, hurried for the checking counter to deposit my train case, ran to the front door of the station, hailed a taxi and told the driver to "heed the speed limit but drive like mad | to the bus station." i When we arrived I bought her I a one way ticket to her destination, stuffed a dollar bill into her hand and admonished her never to be without some money in her purse again. Then I started my return journey to the station by taxi. My train had left minutes before I arrived and circumstances reversed. It was the soned traveller who now found [ herself stranded. I tried to servations for the next train, but was told it was all booked up and my only chance of catching a bit of shut eye en route would be if a reservation were cancelled. How to spend the next few hours also posed a problem. I could contact friends, but I have found my city acquaintances are usually booked up for the evenings by 5 p.m., so I discarded that possibility. I finally settled for a sandwich and Ben-Hur. I had ar emotional jag when I emerged from the theatre to'wend my way back to the station again. I was all mixed up with the brutality of early Biblical times registered in the film I had just witnessed, the fix my own soft-heartedness had gotten me into and the foolishness of mothers who don't realize the phobias with which they infect their youngsters, without providing any sensible preparation for an :pected situation. How littli they condition them these days for the world outside the home, I thought. If anyone, ever again, tries to tell me teenagers are bold-self-sufficient, self centred and callous lot, I'll have ready argument for them. As I totalled up the sum my Samaritan act had cost while sitting in a coach 01 ay to Montreal, I wondered hat her name was. I felt su any young girl who owned pair of such honest brown eyes » worth the price of two tax-bus fare, theatre ticket and eight sleepless hours. With a glow of having done something worthwhile. I wasn't able to k up much regret that all my plans and reservations to the Maritimes and train connections in Montreal were completely balled up. That could easily be straightened out, but ight have happened to that miss, if she hadn't gotten up enough nerve to speak to me will have to remain merely a conjecture. Weekly Newspaper Editors Visit Hamilton Steel Plant Observe Operation* Members of the Ontario Weekly Newspapers' Association and their families attending the annual convention in Hamilton toured the nation's largest steel-making plant on February They were guests at Hamilton Works of The Steel Company of Canada, Limited, which is marking its 50th Anniversary this year. Stelco produced 2,438,000 tons of steel in the past year compared to 93,000 tons in its first full year of operations. Located on 860 acres of property flanking the south shore of Hamilton Bay, Hamilton Works reflects a great deal of the $300 million Stelco has spent in the past 20 years to expand its capacity. Editors saw the giant blast furnaces, visual symbols rjf the industry, and watched coke being pushed from batteries of 191 ovens. They walked through Stelco's No. 3 Open Hearth shop. Here they witnessed construction of a new furnace which will bring the Company's capacity to 3,000,000 tons in 1961. Stelco is spearheading an anti-air pollution drive in central Ontario by building a million-dollar, precipitator into that furnace. Last stop on the tour allowed the Editors to follow operations $25 million blooming mill which began production in 1958. It is considered to be'one of the most efficient primary rolling operations in the steel business. Following the tour Stelco was host to the Editors at a recep- • tion and luncheon. jm 5 CYCLES SERVE EVERY DRYING NEED 3 FABRIMATIC SETTINGS for fully auto-matic drying of regular, heavy or delicate materials. • EXCLUSIVE BREEZE-WAY DRYING • KANDY UP-TOP LINT FILTER • CHUTE-SHELF FOLDAWAY DOOR • SATIN SMOOTH DRUM • ACID RESISTANT PORCELAIN TOP • AUTOMATIC INTERIOR LIGHT * DYNAKOTE SEAL BONDED CABINET F'NISH . 5 WA'-'S TO VENT. NEW" DRYING PERFECTION IN EVERY ARTICLE IN EVERY LOAD WITH EXCLUSIVE Thermo-Time computer Thft new Dryer has overcome the 8 elusive obstacles that made it impossible to achieve absolute drying perfection. These variables included the size and wetness of the load, the type and thickness of fabrics, the room temperature, the humidity, the line voltage and type of venting system. Only the Beatty has solved the problem of these fluctuating variables that other dryers cannot control . . . Only Beatty has the Thermo-Time Computer. It automatically adjusts drying time and the amount of heat to meet all varying conditions. The result is complete drying perfection throughout each and every load. .OO Re8u,ar $319.00 $259 WM. GORDON SMITH Repairs to All Makes of Washers PHONE 169 COLBORNE. ONT. Savings, too, have a way of growing And just like her Junior Depositor's Account, your Savings Account will grow with regular deposits. THE CANADIAN BANK OF COMMERCE MORE THAN 800 BRANCHES THROUGHOUT CANADA Colborne Branch: R. E. F. PACEY, Manager