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pr ~~ Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday Hoy 9, 1995-- 9 i "VIEWPOINT by John B. gosh land > LETTERS TO EDITOR! THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY When I was a very young lad, one of the most popular activities for the neighbourhood gang was "war games." Using old scraps of lumber we built elaborate back-yard forts where our small hardy group would hold off the siege of a vastly superior (in numbers) German attacking army. One of the boys in our group talked about how his Dad had fought against the Germans in the real war in Europe. And to prove his point, he took us into the basement of his house one day when his folks were out, opened an old chest and pulled out a German helmet. heavy and had a jagged hole in the side. The boy said his Dad had brought the helmet home from France. We were mighty impressed. When I got home,'T told my Dad about this and for the first time asked him what he had done in the war. He replied quickly that he "worked on the ships." That was pretty impressive for an eight-year old who immediately thought his Dad had spent the war on some battleship blasting enemy planes from the sky, rooting out those evil U-boats, maybe even helping to sink the Bismarck.. It was not until several years later that Dad told me he was indeed in the Canadian Navy but had spent the war behind a desk in Ottawa, He had joined the Navy in 1940 expecting to serve at sea (he had crewed on the original Bluenose, so he was no stranger to the open ocean) but when the Navy found out he was a designer of ships; he was shipped to Ottawa where hé put his special talents to work on mine sweepers, frigates and other vessels that were going to the bottom of the Atlantic in great numbers. Dad had many photos of the ships he worked on during the war, including the dates they were sent to the bottom. I-think he may have sensed his young, impressionable son was a bit disappointed that he didn't spend the war dodging bullets and didn't have a trunk full of souveniers like German helmets with bullet holes in the side. As I grew older I came to realize that not everyone in uniform was on the front lines. Ship designers were in short supply. Those vessels that went to the bottom as part of the great convoys had to be replaced I remember it was grey, very and aie in a big hurry. The convoys were the life-blood for the British and the Soviets in their life and death struggle against the Nazis. Without those ships the outcome of the war would have been different. Dad was discharged early in 1946 and for a year continued to design ships for a private company. He then joined Atomic Energy of Canada in its infancy and spent the rest of his working days in nuclear technology and design. Dad did not come home from the war with a brace of medals for valour under fire. But he did his part, and an important part it was. As his son, I am certain he would have done his duty, no Jan: where or what. I am very proud of Dad, not only for what he did in the war, but for the way he Ted his life: fair, honest, easy going, a fine husband and a great father. As this is the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe and nearly two years since he passed away suddenly, I just wanted to say this once, thanks for the effort. IN CLOSING: The face of pro hockey in Canada has changed 'dramatically in the last ten years. A decade from now you won't recognize it, if there is anything left to recognize. The Winnipeg Jets are moving out to some hockey hot-bed like Atlanta or Memphis--maybe Minnesota--a city that lost its NHL team two years for lack of support. Figure that one, if you will. Quebec City and Edmonton are certain to follow, and Calgary may be a contender in the hjg exodus out of this country. In a few years, the NHL will be played in Toronto, Montreal and. Vancouver, perhaps. but even the future in these cities is suspect. If the NHL wanted the Jets to remain in Winnipeg, Gary Bettman would have found a way. = It may be a 'bitter pill for Canadians who consider this game our national sport, but that's the way it is. It started with expansion two decades ago and was given a big jump-start when a Canadian owner by the name of Pocklington dealt the world's greatest hockey asset to a Hollywood wheeler/dealer looking to put a Stanley Cup in the vault with his rare coins. Canadians will have to face the cold hard facts of hockey life: even the Habs and the Leafs could be sold and moved south, for a price. " Blackstock High School in Thompson's school bus, a converted - Steps being taken to clean up tras To The Editor: Re: Trash Problem In response to the letter in last week's edition of the Scugog Citizen, management, commercigl, and residential tenants of Lakeview Plaza are striving hard to keep said property clean and orderly. A substantial portion of said waste is haphazardly being tossed onto said property by both local citizens and tourists. Wg. ®Would not throw our garbage into IMF backyards and ask that the hat plaza guilty pdrties refrain from tossing the same on our property. . We appreciate your concern as it is also a major concern to the tenants of Lakeview Plaza and certainly not amusing. The property in now being monitored and any or all outside persons found dumping waste onto said property will be prosecuted to the fullest. We thank everyone for their co- operation. P. Quan Development Ltd. Betty Ireland "Cost of road upgrade just part of our concern To the Editor: The interim report from Durham Region concerning the costs to up-grade the Scugog Island Road 7--at a cost of $155,000, highlites only a portion of taxpayers concerns about the proposed casino for the Island. Since Oct. 17, 1995, Chief Gary Edgar has been remarkably silent about the plans for-the casino after promising Scugog Township council full information on a continuing basis. Is the casino dead? We hope that it is. In the meantime, we are studying the Rama proposal--which seems to be treading water. There will be more to come. ( Respectfully, Joel Aldred DFC Chair--Save the Scugog Island Committee. Mixed feelings for girl at end of the war By Elaine (Thompson) Bailey It was a sad time, it was a happy time. Where was I May 8th, 1945? I was a student at Cadmus Public hool S.S. #5, now the home of Ken & hirley Hudson. My parents Grant & Ruth Thompson, my two sisters Marion (Marlow) & Eleanor (Werry) our dog Sandy & I lived in the apartment above the General Store at Nestleton which we owned & operated. That morning Marion & Eleanor rode to Ivan hearse. I rode my bicycle to S.8.#5 with my friends from Nestleton. At school we had a well for drinking water but as our water had tested unsafe, we students took turns carrying water from the closest farm. It was my turn with my friend Faye Ferguson (Collins) to be the water carriers for this particular week. We had taken the white water pail & cut through the fields to Mr. & Mrs. Geo. Prosser's farm at the corner of what is now called MéLaughlin & Edgerton Rds. We had just started to fill' the pail from their pump when Mrs. Prosser came running out the back door waving her arms & yelling, "The war is over, the war is over!". ! Faye & I grabbed the pail & ran as fast as possible across the two fields back to school. Needléss to say we had no water left in our pail when we arrived there. Of course * Mrs. Maude Johns, our teacher heard us screaming & came out to see what was the matter. We both screamed "The war is over!". She clapped her hands and said what marvelous news and told us all to go home and celebrate. 1 am certain I have never ridden my bicycle 1 1/2 miles at a faster Speed than that day. Of course when we arrived home everygne in Nestleton knew the good news by then. Our store was full of happy friends & neighbours toasting the war's end with cake and ginger ale. It was a happy, happy time & I remember it well. But it was not so happy for one of my best friends, Gladys Emerson Stutts. Her older brother Ralph Emerson was not coming home. He had been killed in action. It was a happy time. It was a sad time. Let us never forget to be thankful. Ontario enumeration starts this week The enumeration of all eligible voters in Ontario for the 36th Ontario General Election begins Thursday, May 11th and continues until Wednesday, May 17th. Over 40,000 enumerators, working in pairs, will enumerate more than six million electors within four days. To be eligible to vote in this election, individuals must be 18 years of age on election day, a Canadian citizen at the time of voting and a resident of Ontario for the six months prior to election day. .No information is requested by enumerators concerning an elector's marital status or occupation. Individuals may choose to register their initials in place of given names and there is no requirement to indicate Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms. prefixes. The enumeration will be done by pairs of enumerators appointed by the Returning Officer in each of 'the ince's 130 electoral districts. In undertaking their duties, enumerators, carrying formal identification, will: -- visit each household to determine the names of all qualified electors in the residence. -- ask questions relating only to voter qualifications. 8 'have -- provide each enumerated elector with a Form 301, an enumeration receipt listing the electors name, electoral district, -poll number and polling place. When enumeration takes place in apartment and other multi- dwelling buildings, the Election Act requires that enumerators free access. An enumeration notice will be provided for such buildihgs stating the dates and times of door-to-door visits, as well as the times when enumerators will be available at a designated location in the building to accept the names of qualified electors. To confirm enumeration, the Office of the Returning Officer sends cards to those enumerated, notifying the recipients that they are qualified. The location of the polling place is also confirmed on the card.