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BNC et a 2 Oe RL ns DITORIAL PINION Vote for the candidate of your choice Monday, July 8 is election day in Canda. Following a far too long and streneous campaign on part of party leaders and candidates they can sit back on Monday and await the verdict of the Canadian voter. All of them have been working hard and as far as efforts are concerned they probably all deserve your vote. Naturally this can't be done. Only one from each riding can be elected and this is the important task each elector has to consider and elect the candidate of his or her choice. More promises than ever before have been made by the four party leaders and all the candidates have echoed this. The Canadian votes are quite aware of the fact they will never receive all the promised benefits, but the duty to vote still remains and a large turnout on July 8 is most desireable. The Star will not voice an opinion as far as who the readers should vote for, but we have asked the Ontario Riding's candidate to make a statement on their parties behalf. Contributions from Joyce Bowerman, P.C.; Norm Cafik, Liberal and Bill Lishman, NDP, are printed elsewhere in this issue. Compassion fatigue, convenientignorance From the newspapers and from radio and television we learn a great deal about suffering and distress at home and in all parts of the world. In recent years we've had so much of this that many of us are now suffering what has been called "compassion fatigue." Our hearts have been prodded so frequently and so insistently that they become fatigued, developing reluctance to make compassionate responses. Our compassion fatigue drives some of us to cultivate a convenient ignorance. If we don't know too much about the suffering of others, we will not be made feel uncomfortable about it. Life can be much pleasanter for us if we don't know too much about suffering and deprivation in the world's underdeveloped regions, in other parts of our nation, in our own communities and neighbor- hoods. Compassion fatigue and the cultivation of convenient ignorance nourish us in a mood of indifference, the kind of indifference that easily says, "Charity begins at home," and then adds, "and that is where | intend to keep it." In one of his plays Bernard Shaw said this: "The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them but to be indifferent to them.' Shaw then described indifference as "the essence of inhuman- ity." The complexity and confusion of our life today, with the compassion fatigues it engenders and the convenient ignorance it encourages, 'causes indif- ference to settle rather easily on our hearts. 'Perhaps indifference, the couldn't-care-less attitude, is the great sin of our day. (Contributed) {FRR PORT PERRY STAR Company Limited ] Sas, Gr CA 3 (olin) : ra Serving Port Perry, Reach, Scugog and Cartwright Townships P. HVIDSTEN, Publisher J. PETER HVIDSTEN, 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., Port 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 Rate: In Canada $4.00 per year. Elsewhere $8.50 per year. Single Copy 15¢ A AAA AAA AAR AAR AAA AAA ANA AAA AAA Aron BILL MILEY UGAR ano RALLY AROUND THE GARAGE, BOYS Occasionally, something interesting or unusual comes along to brighten the daily routine, just when it seems to be getting dreary. A couple of these happened to me recently. First, the good Samaritans. The story really began one night last winter. I have an ancient and venerable wooden garage, which bears on both sides of the entrance the honourable stars left by my wife and daughter as they tried at various times to get the car into the garage or out of it. acquaintance who can try to back a car out of a garage and get it wedged kitty-corner across the building. On several occasions 1 have almost had to have the garage demol- ished to get the car out. Anyway, on this night last winter my wife and a friend were trying to close the garage door. This door is as old as the garage, which will probably never see forty again. The door is not exactly electronically controlled. It is a massive thing, about six inches thick, of hardwood. It would cost about a thousand dollars to build today. The chap who installed it was quite ingenious. He installed a couple of rails, some pulleys, and two huge weights at the end of some heavy wire. While the door could not be raised and slid back with a couple of fingers, like those in a modern garage, a strong man, with a good heave, could get it up and sliding back along the rails. I am not a particularly strong man. In fact, I am a weak one, in more ways than one, as my wife could tell you. As aresult, I usually left the garage door open. I couldn't see the point in all that heaving and hauling. this annoyed my wife. In the fall, leaves blew into the g , In the winter, snow blew in. Neither bath ered' me, but you know what women are like. Well, on the night in question, the two ladies decided to close the garage door, because the snow was blowing in. They gave a great heave, the wire came off the pulleys, and the door came off the rails. Fortunately, the car was not in the garage, or I'd have been looking for a new car. The door weighs about six hundred pounds. It did not come crashing right down, but hung, suspended by the wire, at a forty- five degree angle in the garage. You couldn't have driven a kiddy car in there. I was going to organize a work party and get it back on the rails, but it was stormy, and then I got the 'flu and time went on and things cropped up, as they seem to. A couple of times, I went out and looked at the stupid thing, and once tried to get it back on the rails, which almost gave me a double hernia. Well, time went on and my wife nattered away about getting that door fixed and the neighbours dropped a few hints but I became sort of fond of that crazy thing hanging there, as one might get fond of a cross-eyed cat. One fine evening recently, I was sitting in the back yard, enjoying my preprand- ial aperitif, when an old truck pulled up and a sweaty, dirty young man came through the gate. Under the grime I identified Jamie Hunter, whom I taught last year. Grinning, he announced, 'Mr. Smiley, I'm going to do something for Canadian literature." I was baffled. He went on, "When are you going to get your garage door fixed?" 'Oh, that. Any day now Jamie, as soon as I can find someone to do it. Why?" "Well, every time Mike and I drive by and see that door, it bothers us. We're going to fix it for you." '"'Great!", enthusiastically. much?," cautiously. "It's not going to cost you a nickel." I insisted I would pay the going rate. He refused. They were doing it for Canadian "How literature. Jamie said they were pretty busy, and asked when I wanted it done. I said whenever they could get at it. I thought he meant in a couple or three weeks. I went in to dinner, delighted at this display of gratitude or whatever. After dinner, I heard a bit of a din out back, and there they were, four young men, getting that ridiculous door back on the tracks. I was almost overcome with something or other. All four were former students of - mine: Mike Laurin, Mike Dragoman, John Sachs and Jamie Hunter. At least two of. them had been working since eight o'clock that morning, and here they were, twelve hours later, slugging away at a brutal, awkward job for their old English teacher. I was touched. They absolutely. refused any payment, I was just as astonished as I was moved. Here were four young gys who, instead of moaning around about no employment, or living on welfare, had formed a loose partnership, and were doing construction, painting, anything they could get. They were immediately offered the job of taking off my storm windows and painting my house. And that's how you get ahead in the world, which does NOT owe you a living, young man. In addition to this lucky strike, I have Dan St. Amand, another student, and the best cornet player in the whole area, cutting my lawn, so all in all, it looks like a good summer. 50 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 3, 1924 Fred Jennings caught an 18 pound lunge measuring 44 inches in length, in Lake Scugog. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Whiteg» are moving to Fenelon Falls where Mr. White has purchased a bakery bus- iness. An interesting meeting of the School Trustees was held in Brooklin. In. reorganiza- tion that 'followed the pro- gram the following officers were elected: S. Farmer, Port Perry was made Presi-® dent and Jno. Mark of Sea- grave was made Sec'y Treas. Mr. R. Holtby Myers and family of Los Angeles, atten- - ded the Rotary Convention held in Toronto. they also visited their cousins, R.M., W.W. and J.E. Holtby. Printed in the paper of this year (1924), a British miningeg. expert said that within 2,000 years. the oil resoursces will have exhausted and therefore civilization will have to end when fuel is gone. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 7, 1949 Mr. Harold R. Archer, donated wholeheartedly a "1949 Chevrolet Car to the®- Recreation Centre. Port Perry bowlers showed up well by winning Carruther's Trophy with the highest total score. Joe Allan (Skip) and Merlin Letcher were the winners. Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Farmer and family of Timmins are moving to Port Perry so Mr. Farmer can be a member of#§- the Port Perry Star. Rev. Mr. Bick has been made new minister of Head Memorial Church in Scugog. 15 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 2, 1959 St..John's Anglican Church in Blackstock held its 109th Anniversary, the first to visit the church was Rev. G. Bag, Snell. At the Head Memorial (continued on page 15)