The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

p POPP "Hats off for council" Guest Editorial -- by Dr/ Ralph Price An on again, off again, increasingly energetic campaign started last summer to awaken interest in the salvation of The Old Port Perry Town Hall. It has consisted primarily of letters to the editor and some scattered lobbying. This culminated with Catherine Christie's magnificent model of this important building which was viewed by many at the recent Home Show and over 500 entries in the "Guess the Height of the Town Hall will be" contest. This campaign reached a significant milestone on the night of June 17th when council agreed unanimously to lease the building in question to "Town Hall 1873," a varied group with many different reasons for wishing to save this, the oldest of our public buildings. We are grateful to council for this wise decision and in the months to come we hope to show just how wise a decision this was. The various proposed uses to which the Town Hall can be put have been dealth with at length in the "Star" over the past few months and | shall not list them again now. Our present plans are to have Mr. Napier Simpson, the renowned historical architect, guide our steps as we first make the building safe for public and secondly as we engage in a total restoration, working the glories and memories of days gone by. When we take over the lease in September, 1974, we shall be soliciting public funds. Certainly if the response is as generous as it has been thus far voluntarily, success will be ensured. Thank you, Township of Scugog for your support thus far and we shall meet again this autumn. Comments It was indeed evident that the election of Mrs. Grace Love as president of The Rebekah Assembly of Ontario was a popular choice. The 350 persons attending the banquet and reception in her honour at the High School Saturday night were unanimous in the approval and the speeches and presentations in her honour were filled of warmth, respect and sincerity. Mrs. Love in her acceptance speech proved a dignified and charming personality with all the qualities this high position demands. The Star takes the liberty of extending the best wishes to Mrs. Love during her term of office. Despite the fact we have stated it time after time that we do not print unsigned letters or articles in the Star, we still receive them. Last week we received such a letter and the "brave" writer critized one of the Star country correspondents. The person felt that too many good news items were left out in preference of mentioning the same items and names mostly every week. This in our opinion is negative criticism. If the person is so concerned about the content, why not support the correspondent by relaying some of the news items he or she is in possession of. After all, it takes considerable time and effort to gather the news every week and any correspondent we know of would definitely be more than happy to receive some assistance. When the Port Perry Kinsmen Club was organized a few years back, the general public opinion was it would be a short lived experiment. The club is still going strong and also has added a "sidekick" in the formation of a Kinette Club about three years ago. We had the opportunity to sit in on the last meeting of the season, where the executives of both the Kinsmen and Kinettes were installed. The meeting procedures were handled very well and the atmosphere at the meeting gave a vived impression that both clubs are "well and kicking." ): ANN PORT PERRY STAR Company Limited P. HVIDSTEN, Publisher WM. T. HARRISON, J. PETER HVIDSTEN, Plant Manager Advertising Manager Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Member of the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association Published every Wednesday by the Part Perry Star Co. Ltd., Por! Perry, Ontario Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa. and for payment of postage in cash Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rafe: In Canada $4.00 per year. Elsewhere $8.50 per year. Single Copy 15¢ BILL MILEY UGAR ano YEAR END ALWAYS MOVES ME Both teachers and students look forward eagerly to the end of the school year, for different reasons. For the students, especially the younger ones, it's like a rebirth to get out into that beautiful June, out of that hot class- room, away from that cranky teacher. They go belting out that door on the last day like bees coming out of a disturbed bee's nest. A few of the more sensitive ones, especially the girls, will trill, "'See you next year," or "Have a good summer, Mr. Smiley." The boys leave in a slap-dash, jostling mob, with never a look behind. And who can blame them? It's been a long ten months. They want to get out and do some real living, to break the routines that even in these permissive days, make school a drag, and for some, unfortunately, a simple bore. When I was in high school I took off in May or early June for a job on the lake boats, with a tremendous sense of release. I didn't care whether they passed me or failed me. After the first summer, I knew it was going to be four months of drudgery, at coolies' wages, but I didn't care. I was living, seeing new places and new people, and delighting in it. Yet, strangely, by September, I had a great nostalgia for school, school friends, football and track and field, and could scarcely wait to start the long hitch-hike home. Each fall was a joy. Football every day. A new girl, or the old faithful one, to hold hands with on crisp fall evenings. Some money in the pocket, after the summer. This euphoria lasted until about the end'of November. By the middle of January, life and school were deadly dull. The money was pretty well gone. It was too cold for out- door smooching, and in those days no girl was allowed to have a boy into her house, unless her mother was sitting there looking suspicious and her father sitting there with a gun. We couldn't afford ski equipment. We were lucky if we could scratch up the price of a hockey game or a night's skating at the rink. We couldn't afford to smoke or drink or party or tear around, so, on the whole, we were a fairly moral lot. Believe it or not, I was president of a Young Man's Bible Class for three years. My high school principal was the leader, and he forced me into it. I figured I had to stay on the good sie of him, or I'd be in high school until 1 was fifty. There was only one thing I really learned in those long winters at school. With no money to do anything else, my gang tended to spend most of our time in the pool room, despite constant abjurations and threats Srice from our mothers. There are quite a few things you can pick up in a poolroom; psychology; a colorful vocabulary: a smell of spittoons. I got all of these. but I also became a pretty darn good pool player, and I've never regretted it. You have to become good when you are "playing on your nerve." This quaint old" expression means you haven't the money to pay the proprietor for your table time, if you lose. Winner plays free. So you either won, or vou sweet-talked the boss of the poolroom into adding what you owed to your bill. This was about as easy as President Nixon standing before Congress, hand on heart, saying, "I cannot tell a lie." It usually meant expulsion from the poolroom, which was like being thrown out of the garden of Eden. : Then there was the drowsing through long, spring days, waiting for school to end. I remember a poor man called Dr. Wheatly, saying to me one June day, head wagging sadly, "Bill, you will never pass physics or chemistry, should you stay here until you are a grandfather. So I'm going to recommend you." I've never forgotten this wise remark, and have since, as a teacher, always tempered justice with mercy. But I drift. School was then, is now, and ever shall be, a place to get out of, come June. Yet there is a little sadness among the older students who are graduating. They are finally mature enough to realize these were possibly the best years of their lives. They - sign each other's yearbooks. Some weep. They promise to keep in touch, but knowing they probably will not, after the first year. They are scattering. Halcyon days are over. They are stepping off. sometimes fearfully, into a world of work and responsibility and striving for success, and raising families (which alone, in these times, is enough to make one want to stay in school forever.) I deplore sentimentality. But sure enough, last class. last day of school, I turned around and there was a beautiful cake, inscribed, "Best Wishes, Mr. Smiley, from 13B, "74" Even the punctuation right. I was touched." And astonished. I expressed my admira- tion and appreciation, and said, "Wait 'till my wife sees this." The response was more or less, "Your wife, our foot. Look in the paper bag." Sure enough, it contained paper napkins and plastic forks. there was a knife in the cake box. So we had our cake and ate it. communally, and quietly listened to a funny record. Then we left, happily. And sadly. Remember Blood Donor Clinic July 3 50 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 26. 1924 The Methodist Church in Manchester is holding their garden party at the home of Mr. Jas. Strong. Mr. Alexander Richard, son of Mrs. and Rev. J. Richard is making a motor trip and has already travel- led 3,900 miles in 16 days starting from Portland, Ore- gon but still has quite a way to go. The crossing of Wyo- ming desert and Wilmington, Illinois. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 30, 1949 At the County Council Meeting, the County agreed to establish and maintain a Home for the Aged for 200 bed capacity. The assessor for the meeting was Ralph Wilson. The Junior Committee of the Recreation Centre held its first meeting. President is Marian Peel, V.P. - Daird Brunton, Sec. Wm. Harrison, Trea. Robert Helm and Publicity Eleanor DeNure and Peter Sulman. 15 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 25, 1959 The Junior Farmers Rifle Shoot under the supervision of H.-L. Fair and Alan Blades, held their annual session on the farm of William Stearman and Son. The competition was won by Stewart Annand, Norman Meek, Walter Kerry and Ron Shier. Barbara Grace Love, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Love graduated with second class honours in the Bachelor of Arts course at the University of Western Ontario. 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, June 25, 1964 John Maw, President of the local Legion Branch Edward Mulholland bunred the paid off mortgage of the new Legion Hall. 200 members and guest celebrated the 16th birthday of the Blue Ray Chapter. A warm opening was given by Dora Suggitt.