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A view of the north side of Queen Street, Port Perry, approximately 1910. Note the use of horse ETE -60-YEARSAGO:= "Thursday, December 16, 1920 While trimming the wick of a coal oil lamp, Mr. Ted Phair of Greenbank was burned about the head, chest and arms. For the first time in ten years, flour has gone to $10. a barrel in the United States. Mrs. Walter Ward has purchased Mr. Arthur Cro- 'sier's house on the avenue. Mr. Crosier is moving to his "home on Bigelow Street. and wagons was the main mode of transpor- tation. [Photo courtesy of Mr. Wilf L. Anthony.] The ladies of the Methodist Church held a suc- cessful bazaar and received $361.00. This brings total raised by the ladies this year to $1000. Here is an item of interest in the Port Perry Star: an advertisement which read, "Port Perry Surgical .and Maternity Hospital, (over the Star Office). For terms apply to Mrs. Cormack, Port Perry." (Turn to page 6) PORT PERRY STAR -- Wed., December 3, 1980 -- § er Crossing Guards roads so that fools do not have to suffer the heartache of having killed a child. We need better laws to support the safety of cross- ing guards or there soon will be no more crossing guards and far more children killed by motorists who think that their time is more precious than the lives of children. Dear Sir:, I would like to call attent- ion to the plight of the crossing guards of Port Perry. These guards are beeing harassed by some motorists who think that the guards are out in the road to annoy or delay them. These drivers sneak up to the white lines and actually nudge or hit the guards. What on earth is the matter with these drivers? The guards are out there to help small children cross the Yours truly, Mrs. Renee H. Sleep, R.R.2 Blackstock port perry star Company Limited J.B. McCLELLAND Editor J. PETER HVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager Member of the Canadian C: ity Newspaper Association and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association Published every Wednesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd., Port Perry, Ontario. Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for cash payment of postage incash Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: In Canada $10.00 per year Elsewhere: $30.00 per year. Single Copy: 25¢ chotterbox ...... - CHRISTMAS What's this, December already? Of course, anyone who has picked up a newspaper or magazine or watched TV in the last few weeks doesn't need to look at the calendar to know that Christmas is less than three weeks away. Already I'm starting to feel the pressure. Not so much from the fact that the Festive season is a tough one on the waist line, or that no matter how many pledges my wife and 1 make not to over-spend, we'll blow a bundle just the same. No, those two facts of life about Christmas are as inevitable as the star on the top of the tree, so I don't really worry about them. But this Christmas in particular I'm starting to feel the passing of the years. You see, my oldest boy is five, and like all kids his age, he's catching on to the game. He knows (man, does he know) that Christmas means goodies, and lots of them. * And everytime he calls me to the TV set to say "see that toy, I want that for Christmas, Dad. Can I have it? I'll be good," I find myself falling back on the lines that my father used to use.on me when I was a kid. It's amazing that the same lines are passed from generation to generation. ~-1find myself saying to the five year old. "Gee son, are you sure you want that? I don't think you'd get much use of it." 7 And then comes the line that goes something like this: "When I was your age, we didn't have fancy toys like that at Christmas. All I ever-wanted was a new pair of hockey skates, and a few plain and simple toys. Not the kind that use four powerful batteries and have more lights and bleepers than a compu Andthenl realize exactly what I've said. My father used the same line on me, only with slight variations, of course. I recall it so vividly. His favourite line was "when I was a kid, the Depression was on. We didn't have much money for fancy Christmas presents, but we sure had a lot of fun, just the same." Now I'm toying with the idea of telling my five year old: "that toy costs $69.95? Is that all? Don't you know there's a depression on?" Or: "We don't need a lot of fancy pricey toys to have a Fao family Christmas. We'll make our own fun." Problem is, the line didn't hold much water for me when I was-a kid, and-I don't think they'd hold much for my five year old today. But in a more serious light, Christmas does pose a bit of a problem for most parents. I'm torn between buying gifts that I think my children should have, and the ones they say they want. I think a five year old should have "involvement" toys; ones that will stimulate him and arouse his curiosity, rather than the kind where he just pushes a button and watches them go "'blink-blink, and bleep-bleep." And my father was the same way. He always bought me functional gifts: warm mitts, a scarf, etc., etc. And while I got my fair share of "fun" toys, I could always count on at least one so-called 'educational' toy. Thinking back on it now, I probably hurt his feelings a little bit when the "'educational' toy stayed under the tree til New Years while the "fun" toys got so much attention, more often than not they were worn out by Boxing Day. I have a feeling that I'm going to feel the same way this Christmas morning when he throws a quick glance at the functional, educational toy under the tree and goes about cranking up Star Wars vs. the Space Cowboys, or whatever. The point of this is simple. Time doesn't change the way fathers (and mothers) relate to their children. One just becomes more acutely aware of the passage of time, and just how my childhood and the relation with my father seems so __fresh in my mind, when-in fact it- was 20 to 25 years ago. The pressure comes when one thinks just how fast the next 25 years may go by. At Christmas my son will be telling his son things were simpler .when he was a kid, and grandfather will sit quietly by and knowingly nod his head in amazement. But in a way, it's kind of nice to know that some things about Christmas don't change all that much from generation to generation. While on the subject of Christmas, a word of praise for the annual Port Perry Santa Claus Parade held Saturday afternoon. Without actually taking a head count on the number of floats and bands, it seems as if the Parade is getting bigger and better every year. Certainly, the line-up of kids (and parents) for a quick visit with Saint Nick at the Latcham Centre is not getting any smaller. (Maybe there are more kids?) Although the Parade itself lasts just about an hour, the amount of organization and work by the individuals who enter floats and bands takes days and even weeks. And of course, the local Chamber of Commerce reps spend a lot of lime pulling the whole thing together. I do have a slight bone to pick about one aspect of the Parade that bothers me personally, and I wish that something could be done to change this one small thing. I'm referring to the practise of throwing bunches of candies from the back of a moving float. As soon as the candies are thrown, several youngsters dart after them, and in a crowd of people with cars, trucks and floats moving slowly along the road, this could be dangerous. I don't want to be overly critical, but possibly next year, the members of the organization could assign a couple of people to walk along beside the float and hand the goodies to the kids in the crowd, rather than tossing them helter-skelter. If you like to watch politics in action, the best show in town this week will take place on Wednesday morning, in the Durham Region council chambers as the 30-member Regio- nal council votes for a new chairman. The process itself will likely take about half an hour as the vote is done openly by a show of hands. The real politicking and wheeling and dealing of course has been going on relentlessly for the past several weeks. The two declared candidates - Gary Herrema and John Aker - have been lobbying intensely to muster enough support for the 16 votes necessary to win the most powerful municipal position in Durham Region. Most observers say the vote is going to be close, but the edge at this time goes to Aker who is an alderman from Oshawa. Once the Regional chairman is decided, the process will continue as councillors vote on who will sit on the council's standing committees. ile this may not be as headline grabbing as the struggle for Regional chairman, the lobbying and dealing can be just as intense, especially in the vote for the committee chairmen. The thing that makes it so interesting is the fact that the voting is done openly. (Nobody has the secret luxury of a closed polling booth.) But by the same token, rivalries and animosity that develop out of the open ballot procedure can linger,and in some cases, carry on for the term of the council, because every member of council knows exactly who supported whom. Andit's a funny thing about municipal politicians. They have long memories when it comes to things like this. They may forget all about a resolution or a by-law but when somebody gets "shafted" in an open vote, they tend to get even over the next couple of years, one way or another. But that's part of the political process; not perfect by any means, but for the outside observer, a most fascinating exercise to watch. I wouldn't miss it for anything. RR FAL TTA PERT AY Da Ean,