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INO a ---- a. Aa LS son |! letters ~~ Dear Sir: effort to present to your Please accept my appre- _readersa perspective which, ciation for the feature article" on the Harrison Estate which appeared recently in the Star. As a temporary resi- dent on the estate and a permanent resident of the area, I am, of course, fam- iliar with the condition of the surroundings,-and of some of the determined efforts to attract potential buyers and renters to the property. Despite these pressures (or was it because of them?) I was-most pleased to note that your reporter actually took the time and made the in my opinion, reflects the true state and condition of the property. It was an honest report, and this was refreshing. Much is not as it should or could be here, and it is stupid to pretend -- as The Toronto Star did -- that this little corner of Scugog is the happy playground of beautiful people. There is indeed a sadness and a deca- dence about this place which will not be overcome until it receives a great deal of honest, loving care. Your report will, I hope, succeed Appreciates honest report in attracting some of that concern. As a former daily news- paper editor, I am frankly' appalled at the servile puffery which too often © passes for news reporting and news feature writing. It is heartening to see that there are, occasionally determined attempts to reverse the shallow commer- cialism which seems to have infected whole sections of the industry. Sincerely Rolf H. Pedersen R.R. 3, Port Perry PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday August 24, 1982 -- § the sto PORT PERRY STAR CO. LIMITED 235 QUEEN STREET. P.O. BOX 90. PORT PERRY. ONTARIO. LOB INO (416) 985-7383 % CNA J.PETERHVIDSTEN Publisher Advertising Manager J.B. McCLELLAND Editor BINADIAN COMM uN IS A ey \O 2 APRS AssOCIAY =) {cn | ©) Member ofthe Canadian Community N@wspaper 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 in cash. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: In Canada $15.00 per year. Elsewhere: $45.00 per year. Single copy: 35¢ bill smiley A FAMILY REUNION Summer is the time for family reunions. Other people -- fighter pilots, newspapermen, Legionnaires, Women's Insitutes, Librarians -- have them any old time. But in almost every weekly newspaper across the land, every week of our two-month summer, you can read that the Jojes family, or the McIntosh family, or whatever, had a reunion, followed by a list of who was there, who came the farthest, who was the oldest, who was the youngest, who hosted the reunion, and everything down to what was on the menu. Not too exciting to the average reader, but important to the family, so dutifully reported. ~ After the reunion, on the way home, there' s the usual obituary. "My God, wouldn't you think that Esther would stop, after having seven in 10 years." And, "Tina's got terrible fat. She's due for the big slab if she don't stop eating. Seven pieces of pie after a feed a shanty man -eouldn't handle." Or, "Too bad Wilbur's got so fonda the stuff. They found him out behind the barn at 11 a.m. and hadda use a block 'n' tackle to get him up to the table." And so on. fellow who could walk people like me up a mountain and leave them, gasping, about halfway up, as he reached the summit. Born in 1892, on the island of Calumet, in the Ottawa River, in the lumbering days, he graduated from the school of hard knogks. His father was sluice-master at the Roche Fondue, a rapids in the river, where the logs were diverted down a wooden sluice so they would not be smashed to splinters in the rapids. Young Ivan had to work on the family farm abutting the river. In his youth he was an athlete, playing hockey for Shawville, which produced NHL star Frank Finnigan. With little formal education, he went into business, did well during many years in Montreal, retired, and bought some land along his beloved Ottawa River, where he built, mostly by hand, a beautiful log cabin which he still visits every summer. In every respect, he is a self-made, self-educated and widely read man. He's my idea of what somebody with guts and initiative could, and still can do, in this great country. But, besides those virtues, he has charm, wit, and Well, I avoid family reunions like the plague, but this great vitality. And these are why I've loved him since I "summer I was guilty of attending one. My reasons were three fold: a sense of responsibility, love and a chance to spend some time with my only and beloved daughter. The occasion was the 90th birthday of my uncle, Ivan Thompson, a patriarch of the clan, last of a family of eight, and a remarkable man. When you think of a 90-year old, you think of an old man, huddled in a shawl, - toothless, senile or almost, sitting in a rocking chair, eating gruel. You don't think of a bright-eyed, lively, keen-minded was kid, not because he "made good." On my way overseas, I visited him in Montreal, was treated like a son, and slipped a small cash donation. When I got back from overseas, same thing. His life has not been all roses. He lost a brilliant young son who was in his 20s. His wife died in an automobile accident. But his spirit, though deeply hurt, bounded back. At 80, he seemed like 60. At 90, he seems about a "year older than I. And we look alike. When I was a kid, about half the time my mother called me Ivan before she: remembered I was Billy. After serving in World War I, he worked hard in forming the Canadian Legion, to make sure "you boys" of the second war got a better deal from government than his generation did. He was also active politics, and is a great environmentalist. He is beloved by his huge collection of nieces and nephews, daughter and grandchildren and hundreds of cousins. Dear Uncle Ivan, I salute you as a great Canadian, 'and will be there for your 100th, even if I have to take an ambulance. I had two bonuses in going to Ottawa for my uncle's birthday. I got away from my grandchildren for a couple of days, just about the time I was going to crack up, and I had a good visit with my daughter. We ate at an outdoor cafe. We went to a horror movie. We ate a gigantic pizza in Ottawa's burgeoning city centre. We went to hear a rock group in which an old friend of hers, and a former student of mine was playing. My ears are still ringing, but I must admit I enjoyed it. We ate and drank in a swanky cocktail lounge at the Chateau Laurier and heard some excellent jazz. And we talked and talked and talked, without her kids or her mother interrupting. That was a treat. She was in great spirits, doing well in her university courses, and has found a place to live in a good section (but in a crumby basement apartment). She told me Ottawa was a beautiful city, as she drove me around, but you couldn't prove it by me. My eyes were shut tight and my fists clenched in my lap. She drives a beat-up old Datsun as though she were in the Grand Prix. Most of us slow down when we see an orange light. She speeds up to beat the red one. And everyone else in the city drives like that. Anyway, that was my big summer adventure. I'm still shaky from that driving, but have recovered enough to start making peanut butter and honey sandwiches again. oo remember when? -60 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 24, 1922 Burglars entered the store of W.F. Crosier on Sunday evening and stole a quantity of merchandise worth $300.00. The average salaries for the Port Perry High School this year is as follows: Principal 2,350.; Vice Principal $2,250; and teachers received $1800. each, An advertisement in the Star placed by Mr. M.J. Stone of Seagrave advertised Toronto Ontario Wind Engine and Pump Co. stating, 'You pump over a ton of water every day. Your wife carries over two thousand " heavy pails of water a year.- My Toronto Windmill will do away with all that drudgery." ; 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 21, 1947 Two fires were reported this week when the Hogg & Lytle elevators were struck by lightning. The fire damage was light but the water soaked some ten thousand bushels of wheat and corn. The house of Mr. Edward Thompson, be in charge of the new station. Mrs. Louise Patterson won third prize for a crocheted dinner cloth in the handicraft division at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Mr. Larry Kendall, utica, has just returned from a trip to North Carolina. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 23, 1962 Reeve, J.J. Gibson will officially open the new lighted ball park on Saturday night and Mr. Ted Jackson, a for- mer Port Perry ball and hockey player of thirty years ago, will handle the M.C. chores. Toronto Maple Leafs will lead the NHL All-Stars into Port Perry for the big game against the Merchants. Brooklin's Stevenson Motors ball team defeated the Port Perry Merchants in the O. A. S.A. playdowns by win- ning two games to one. A shed located on the Kent property was completely destroyed by fire and the blaze became a threat to nearby south of Borelia, was. badly burned. The estimated loss homes. 'was $2,000 Due to-a bad storm, the barn on the premises of Lioyd Pogue on the 8th concession of Reach had ihe roof torn completely off. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 22, 1957 The new Texaco station is open for business on High- way, 7A. Charles Reesor, well known Port Perry man, will The new Holstein shelter at the Fair Grounds is now completed and should be a decided asset to the exhibitors in this class. 15 YEARS AGO Thursday, August 24, 1967 Two local livestock breeders, N.D. Hogg & Son of" Brookdale and Malcolm Bailey of Epsom, made excellent showings at the Peterborough Exhibition. Each had grand champions. Ontario County Junior Farmers won second place at the Quinte District Field Day held in Peterborough recent- ly. Dianne Wallace, 18, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T.D. Wallace of Cochrane Street, Port Perry was the recipient of an Ontario Scholar certificate having obtained an 83.2 percent average.. Mrs. W.E. MacGregor and Mrs. W.H. Ploss of Toronto have arrived home after an enjoyable cruise and holiday in Bermuda. On their return trip the ladies also toured to Gaspe Bay and attended Expo '67. 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, August 23, 1972: Port Perry Lions Club are gearing up for a Newspaper Bingo game which will appear in the Port Perry Star. Recording artist Diane Leigh entertained at the Port Perry arena during Western Weekend activities to a crowd of more than 1,000 people. Two, young ladies from near Manchester, England were recent visitors to Canada as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ken Jackson, Port Perry. Congratulations were extended to Mr. George Bathau who has received a Certificate and Provincial Medal for his long service with the Toronto Fire Department. Mr. Barthau, now a resident of Port Perry spent 31 years with the department in Toronto. ~g . LEE p-- Retr Pe Tag POAT NT en vr "i om ny SP oC Ce SB Tr he CNA Sw