Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star, 19 Aug 1986, p. 15

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ad 4 This week's photograph is of the Brooklin - Creamery located on Winchester Road, taken in 1927. The creamery was built by Ernest Patter- son around 1908 and was destroyed by fire in Viewpoint 1929. Rebuilt as a dairy, it continued to operate until the outbreak of the second World War when it was turned into a private residence. See the following page for a more complete history. by ROXANNE REVELER I am starting to get a little paranoid. Every time I get behind the wheel of my car, I am convinced there is a horde out there that singles me out. They are out to get me and you can't convince me otherwise. Why else would I constantly be a witnes to some of the craziest driving stunts ever seen. For instance .... last week, I was driving through the streets of Whitby, in a four-lane stretch of road, following a car in the slow lane. On goes the right-hand turn signal, so as there was no traffic in the fast, or centre lane, I pulled into it. Lo and behold, my little friend in front made a left-hand turn .... from the slow lane, mind you, pulling right in front of me to boot. It was slam-the-brakes-on-in-time. But the laught of it all, was when the guy had the nerve to stick his arm out of the window, shake a fist and give me the "finger" as he completed his turn. I was sorely tempted to follow him and at least take down.his license plate number, but as he was a "senior" gentleman, with a capital "'C"' I decided against it. Therein pro- bably lies the error. Since that occasion, I have paid particular attention to older people driving cars and come to the conclusion that most of them shouldn't be. I have seen them stop dead in the middle of the road while they try to decipher the name of the street they are at; have seen them pull out in front of you at the last second; have seen them change lanes without looking, or perhaps not seeing. Many, many other things. And although I know other drivers are guilty of these acts, it appears that the elderly are more grossly negligent. Another true example. While driving along Highway 12, in the general vicinity of the Beaverton cut-off a few weeks ago, we came to a long line of traffic, that had slowed to between 40 and 60 kilometers an hour. The procession was miles long, and looking up front, you could see that people were gradual- ly passing whatever the obstruction was at the front of the line. There were those, however, who were not satisfied in waiting their turn to "get up front." They were attempting to pass us all en-masse. Never mind there was nowhere to go. My heart was literally in my mouth as I saw many near misses with traf- fic coming the other way. On several occa- sions, I was positive there was going to be a tie. One group, believe it or not, passed us, and the rest of the line, on soft the shoulders. The foursome, in a little toy of a car, were going like a bat out of hell up the gravel, missing the cars they were passing by a maximum of three inches. ; When we finally caught up with the culprit who had sparked such irratic driving on the part of so many, it turned out to be a little old lady and her three, equally old, passengers. By her appearance, I would judge this lady to be in her 80's, and that's being kind. She had a death-like grip on the steering wheel and everyone in the car was giving her advice and pointing in every direction. She was probably one of the sweetest old ladies in the world, and would not have hurt a fly, but the problem was, she almost caused the deaths of many in- nocent people, whom she had frustrated to the point of recklessness. I'm sure many of you have been in the same boat, but I don't want you to get the idea that I am picking on little old ladies. Little old men are just as bad. To wit .... coming home from the same trip, we were travelling the section of the 11/69 where the shoulder is to be used to permit others to pass. There are signs every few miles advising drivers of this, so there is no excuse that anyone doesn't know the rules. Anyway, another long line-up of cars .... another long wait, and jangled nerves as other cars whiz by on curves, over hills, in the slow lane etc., trying to "make time' and get around the line-up. About a half hour later, we finally made it to the front of the line and sure enough, guess who was there? You're right .... it was a senior citizen and by the looks of him he had claimed that title for at least 20 years. He was (Turn to page: 16) PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday. August 19, 1986 -- 15 Editorial - Comments More Than Just A Tradition The *'grand old lady of the Lakeshore' in Toronto .... the Cana- dian National Exhibition .... returned once more as she opened her doors to the public last Wednesday. The promotional literature tells us it's the 108th edition, but it is really only the 103rd because the Ex was cancelled from 1942 to 1943, during World War Two, while the park was used during the war effort. If the truth really be known, both of these figures are wrong. The exhibition's history goes back a lot farther than either 103 or 108 years. It goes back 140 years to 1846 when the newly formed Pro- vincial Agricultural Association and the Board of Agriculture for Canada West, jointly decided to hold an exhibition where leading agriculturalists and manufacturers of the day could present their pro- ducts to one another and the public. The first fair was held on the grounds of Government House at the south-west corner of King and Simcoe Streets in the downtown core of the 12-year old City of Toronto, right where the Roy Thomp- son Hall stands today. The one-day fair was such a success, it was decided to hold the event in a different community each year following. In 1878, Toronto made a pitch to have the annual event held in "the provincial capital each year. To show they meant business, city fathers moved the huge Crystal Palace, which had been built at an earlier fair site south of the asylum on Queen Street West, to the new fairgrounds at today's Exhibition Place. Most people thought that a permanent annual fair in Toronto was a good idea. That is, everybody but the Agricultural Association, which decided to hold the 1879 edition of the fair in Ottawa. Not daunted, Toronto created its own association and held its own annual fair, The Toronto Industrial Exhibition. The first show was held over a three-week period starting September 3, 1879. In 1912, the Toronto Industrial Exhibition under- - went a name change and continues today as the Canadian National Exhibition. One of the best things about the annual CNE, is the grand old buildings that for the most part, are only used for the three-week period of the Ex each year. Two of these old structures are celebrating special anniversaries this year. At the extreme west end of the grounds and adjacent.to Lakeshore Bivd., is the former Ontario Government Building, which was erected at the cost of $600,000 over a period of nine months, opening just in time for the 1926 exhibition. Today, the building, which is starting to show its age, is known as the Carlsberg Building : A decade after the Ontario Government Building was officialy opened by Premier Howard Ferguson, the new CNE Bandshell was erected at a cost of $50,000. Deemed "acoustically perfect" when completed, the shell replaced a small bandstand that stood about where the Carillon stands today. On August 28, a special concert from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Band- 'shell will mark its 50th anniversary. Did you know the CNE Grandstand was built in 1948? The other three predecessors had burned down. | The history of the Ex is filled with firsts. In 1939, Torontonians and other visitors, saw television there for the first time. The 1939 CNE pamphlet called it a "demonstration of science's most modern miracle." How surprised those initial viewers would have been to realize how far this invention would be perfected. X-rays, nylon, motion pictures and frozen orange juice were just some of the other firsts at the Ex, which was also the first fair lit with electricity in 1882. Unfortunately, this year will also be the first time since 1906 that the cat show will not be held. The Royal Canadian Cat Club had a conflict this winter and split into two groups. CNE management was uncertain which group to invite, and finally decided it would be best to cancel the show altogether. Since the very first fair was opened by hn A. Macdonald in 1879, the CNE has been a place to witness inventions and be aw- ed by all that Canadians produce and manufacture. It's no wonder the Ex was called the "Showcase of the Nation." This year, Lt.-Gov. Lincoln Alexander officially opened the 20-day Ex at 3 p.m., Wednesday, August 13. The Grand Old Lady of fairs will be maintaining her tradition of firsts. Although, it won't create the excitement of the first television set, pig racing is one event you won't want to miss at this year's Ex. Chrysler has a Performance on Ice show four times daily by the Princess Gates. It's a 35-minute show with graceful figure skaters, Vegas showgirls and jugglers. And the Italians are coming. The Italian Air Force's Frecco Tricolori will perform for the first time in North America during the Air Show, August 31 and September 1. These daring pilots will leave trails of red, green and white smoke as they perform their intricate feats in the air. (Turn to page 16) a -- cn

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