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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 31, 1989 The Rovf Pere Slac 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second dass mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: InCanada $20.00 per year Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50¢ EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features -Julia Ashton PRODUCTION Annabell Harrison Trudy Empringham Darlene Hlozan BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope (eCha Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil ADVERTISING Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Ellis Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburn Advertising Sales Respresentative - Tanya Sheehey Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Lid. Port Perry, Ontario Editorial Comment THE POPPY With the month of November upon us, Canadians in all corners of this vast country will be wearing the bright red poppy on their lapels. The poppy, of course is a visible reminder of the sac- rifice paid by by 114,000 Canadians during the First and Second Wars and the Korean War. And the donations Canadians make for their poppies in the days leading up to November 11, are used by the Royal Canadian Legion. Last year, the Poppy Campaign raised about $5 million in this country. The poppy has become the symbol for sacrifice, and in a few short days on November 11, we will stop for a moment or two to remember all who went to war and nev- er came home. : The poppy has been making its annual appearance each November since 1926, and it was five years prior to that, when the flower was first adopted for use as remem- brance in this country. Nobody is quite sure exactly why or how the poppy came to be so closely associated with remembrance for the war dead. As far back as the Napoleonic Wars, one correspon- dent noted how brightly the poppies grew over the graves of the fallen in Flanders. And the same observation was made more than a century later, also in Flanders, by an officer in the Canadi- an Medical Corps. John McCrae was 43 years old when he went into the line at Ypres in April, 1915. For 17 days he worked virtually round the clock, try- ing to save the wounded. Often the dead and wounded just rolled into his dug-out from the banks above. The burial plots were filling up, and when McCrae wrote home, he summed up in a few words, the thoughts of all who were there. "We were weary in body and weari- er in mind. The general impression in my mind is one of a nightmare." And somehow through that night mare at Ypres, John McRae found the time to pen a short poem, just 13 lines in all; a poem that quickly became enshrined in the hearts of the soldiers, who heard in the lines their innermost thoughts. "In Flanders Fields" has become one of the most widely quoted and hauntingly beautiful poems ever penned. In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our places; and in the sky The larks still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard among the guns below We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders Fields. Take up the quarrel with the foe: To you from falling hearts we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders Fields. Nothing more needs to be said. THANKS This is, without a doubt, the most difficult column | have ever written having a few weeks ago said | would no longer contribute to this space. - : So the question of "how do | write again, and retain some dignity" was most prevalent on my mind when | sat down to begin this column. After some soul searchings, | finally made the decision to come clean and admit to myself, as well as those who read this column faithfully, that | had acted in haste. Quite simply, | made a mistake. It appeared the only way to "write" the situ- ation, at least for myself, was to get started again, and the sooner the better. With that said, | have been completely overwhelmed by our readers response over the past few weeks, and would like to thank all those who took the time, (with phone calls, drop- ping by the office, letters, or chance meeting), to express their disappointment in my decision to stop writing. Your comments were very much appreciat- ed, and are instrumental in my decision to con- tinue with this column. So here we go.... GHOST STORIES At first, it almost sounded like a Hallowe'en prank, but last Sunday's discovery of the skele- tal remains of a man along Scugog Island's fa- mous Ghost Road was no joke. Speaking with Jack Kane a couple hours af- ter he made the gruesome discovery, he said that the Ghost Road has been a dumping ground for most everything over the past few years. He spoke of finding refrigerators, clothing, shoes, and has even seen the remains of deer, and smaller animals that have been dumped along the roadside. Sitting in the Kane's kitchen, enjoying one of their famous cups of coffee, Aileen said that Jack had often joked that the only thing he has never found in the ditches was a body. Well all that changed Sunday, and I'm sure the shock of stumbling onto a dead body is one that Jack won't forget for years to come. The fact that a body was found on the iRandom Jottings by }. Peter Hvidsten Ghost Road just days before Hallowe'en is obvi- ously just a coincidence, but you can be sure there will be many local residents trying to draw a parallel to the Scugog Ghost (unexplained flickering light) that has been seen by hundreds of local residents along that dark road. During my discussions with Jack and Aileen | asked them if they saw the story last week on the TV show "Unexplained Mysteries" about a Ghost light sighting in Texas. They said they had, and like |, couldn't believe the parallels be- tween the lights in Texas and the Scugog Ghost Road lights. For those readers who did not see the story last week, here is an account of the sightings as best | can remember...... ceeees | watched an interesting story recently about a mysterious "ghost light" which has been appearing near a small town in Texas for over 100 years. Apparently the light was first reported in 1883, when some settlers noticed a flickering light in the distance, which they decided must be an Apache campfire. The lights captinued to appear for years, and in 1916, a local resident labeled the strange light the "ghost lights", and it has been know as this since that time. . Efforts by many, including scientists, profes- sors and technicians have been unable to solve the mystery of the lights, although they now agree that it is caused by a natural phenome- non. They have ruled out any possibility that the lights are man made. The lights have been recorded on video, with the pulsatin glow appearing to brighten, and then eventually fade out. Legend has it that the ghost of an old Apache Chief refuses to give up his land. The entire story had some striking resem- blances to the Scugog Island Ghost Road, which to this day is still unexplained. As one elderly resident of the Texas town said, "it's a mystery and it should stay that way." Maybe that's the way the Scugog Ghost should remain, a mystery, which future genera- tions can enjoy and talk of for years to come! Any thoughts that the body found last Sun-. day is the Seige Island Ghost should be layed to rest. Let the lengend live on! DE.