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| | 2 One reporters'impression by Rob Streich "When the smoke and dust had all cleared away, the cheer- ing and applause had died down and my heart had stopped beating so loudly that I could hear the commentator again, I knew that the little red tractor had made a 'full pull'. The audience spontaneously rose as a body and we all cheered until our throats were too sore to shout anymore." Joys of truck and tractor After what I had heard about tractor pulls, the above description was how I had ima- gined last weekend at the Blackstock Tractor Pull would belike. What I found instead, to my surprise, was hundreds of people sitting quietly on leachers, eating hotdogs and drinking pop. As the tractors came past, tugging at the sled, their eyes followed hungrily, enjoying the dramatics of spin- ning tires and sooty smoke. If the pull turned out to be especially good, either by way of distance, difficulties or per- sonality, the audience would applaud briefly before they sat back to watch the next round of track and truck preparations. With about three minutes of preparation between each thrity second pull, the commen- tators did a great job keeping the audience interested by tell- ing jokes and relating interest- ing details. After the sun went down, and the temperature dropped, very few rose to leave - even when the mosquitoes came out. Not at all like I had expected it to be, but quietly enjoyable just the same. What made the event excit- ing for me were a couple of pulls that I found particularly mem- orable. Friday night after the sun was down, the modified two wheel drive trucks came out onto the track, looking very im- pressive. I had maneuvered my way to the end of the track, in the east corner, to better see what was occuring. The sled opera- tor removed some weight to prepare the load for this new class. I was looking through a 200 milimeter lens when the first driver revved his vehicle up and came barreling down the track, raising a cloud of dust. He managed to keep the sled moving quickly, but the bucking and spinning tires ~ pulled him to the east. As he appeared to be approaching the corner of the track, the two doz- en people around me began to get nervous, and I was jostled back a few steps. When I looked up, the truck was stopped, just beyond the 300 foot mark, less than 20 feet away from where we were standing. District 8 meeting in Port Perry "no byRobStreich "The Kinsmen and Kin- __ ettes are Canada's best kept se- ..cret," says Kinsmen Governor Dave Robinson. On July 1, Dave became the top gunn District 8, which includes most of Ontario -ex- cepting the Southwestern part. Last weekend, representatives from all the county Kinsmen Offices came to Port Perry for aninformational meeting. A male and female repre- sentative from counties as far as Timmins came to discuss policy and learn about the pro- grams planned for the next year. Successful policies and rograms from District 8 have frequently been adopted by the national body, Dave proudly re- lated. "As the only All-Canadian service club, kinsmen make more money per capita (per member) then any other club. Last year the Kinsmen and Kinettes raised 26 million for charity in this country," he said. : The strength of the club is in the members, not the leader- ship. Dave explained that al- though he has some goals he would like to see pursued, with- out the support from the grass- roots membership to imple- ment them, they would come to nought. "If you do not want taxes to rise, why not join a service club and help to raise money to pay for a playground etc.," Dave asks. What Dave sees as sad, is that although people today are happy enough to open their. wallets for charity, they do not have any personal time to give. He holds to a theory that the lack of community involve- ment results in an uncaring at- titude toward community prop- erty and then an increase in PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 1, 1989 -- 33 gy - o. pulling oe Look at him pull. This modified 4 X 4 really kicked up the dust, but it made its way down the track quite effectively at the Annual Blackstock Tractor Pull on Friday and Satur- day. Competitors from across Central Ontario came out to pit thelr machine against the rest of the pack. This made the Masters of Ceremony a little anxious and they hastened to move every- one away from that area. They also added a little more weight to the sled to keep the trucks challenged. The second pull which thrilled me was on Saturday Local man is Governor of vandalism, dumping and disre- pair. Dave suggested that if you see that your parents are unin- volved and solve problems sim- ply by dipping into their pock- ets, you may think that money can resolve any difficulty - you won't value anything simply be- cause your parents are proud of their efforts in building or con- tributing toit. Kinettes also Last year was an impor- tant one for the female half of this service club. Since the formation of this association almost seven dec- ades ago, the women have often been seen as a secondary or supplemental to the Kinsmen. Last year changed all of that, as the Kinettes became equal partners, but separate from the Kinsmen. This helped to foster the massive increase in membership last year. It is important to note that Several dozen Kinsmen and Kinettes were in town from across Ontarlo. They were in- volved In a District meeting with thelr new Governor, Dave Robinson and the District Kin- ette Co-ordinator Vanessa Taylor. Among their goals for 1989/90 are to raise $500,000 for Muscular Dystrophy. night when a vintage, german one-cylinder tractor quietly putted down the track in a very low gear, making the whole contest look easy. ] The outing taught me to have some respect for these men and women who spend so much time fine tuning their machines to get on the track and have thirty seconds to prove themselves. I realized that it is not how attractive a machine looks, or how new itis, ratheritis the in- ternal strength and the heart of the driver that make the win- ning team. (see previous page for results) membership in Kinettes is not based upon being married to a Kinsman, rather it carries the same obligations and responsi- bilities as the male version. Kinsmen/Kinettes is a young persons club, after you become 45 you are no longer eli- gible to hold office. Member- ship requirements are that you attend a minimum one in six meetings - one in three months. A small membership due and participation in the pro- grams is what Kinsmen is all about. " We don't ask to see your income statement or you diploma. We're just darn glad tosee you," Dave said. Members are free to do as much or as little as they desire but the enthusiasm is addic tive. In addition to the fellow- ship, club members develop many skills in organization, communication and socializ- ing. These talents are honed by club activities, and many goon to use them toimprove other ar- eas of theirlives. "Thereis a level of personal satisfaction that you get from doing something positive for the community that money just can't buy." "When you belong to a ser- vice club, even the largest com- munity becomes small" 70th Anniversary Next year will mark 70 years since the Kinsmen were started in Hamilton, Ontario. To celebrate this grand oc- casion, the Kinsmen and Kin- ettes plan to hold a variety of special events throughout 1990. Part of their big push will be a public relations drive to raise awareness of the organi- zation and its activities, and at- cussed at t Ontario Kinsmen tract new members. Since the group was formed shortly after WWI, interesthas risen and fal- len. Today increasing member- ship is an important considera- tion. . White Rose Nurseries has developed a red and white spe- cialty rose for the Kinsmen, This rose will be referred to as the CF rose and all proceeds will go to Cystic Fibrosis re- search. Among the activities dis- e weekend meeting was the possibility of hosting a radio-thon during 1989/90 to raise money for CF. Other or- ganizations would be encour- aged to participate and depend- ing upon the level of success, a telethon may be considered in the future. Additionally, Dave has identified the formation of a provincial kinsmen/kinette foundation as a possible objec- tive. This would allow a unified approach to fundraising and present a stronger, united front tothe public. XL Fastball Club -- VS. -- GREENBANK GAMBLERS Lakefront Ballpark THURSDAY, JULY 13th -8 PM With admission, receive a FREE "EAGLE" Baseball Cap. a eb lb hes rac. CARR. A = SI a es Sauls Tah aaa Eade an i in or a a Tab LL oa Si so = = ot Sra