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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 3, 1998 - 7 LETTERS Remembering the long-gone days To the Editor: (Re article on Marg Foster's memories) Margie's letter turned the clock back 47 years in one minute when I read it. I'm sure it affect- ed many others in the same way, and I wouldn't be surprised if it set off a chain reaction of response as fond memories come to mind. My family lived behind the Hewitts on Bigelow St., across from the Emmersons. In the late forties and early fifties, brother Alfred, Margie, her brother John and my selfenacted our fantasies of the Old West in the vacant field between our homes. I also had the good fortune of being in Mrs. McFarlane's class, where I gained many qualities that have had a major effect on my life and career. After embarking on my own teaching career, I often met Mrs. McFarlane downtown where I received additional pointers and resources that were invaluable in my classroom. [ wonder how many people of that vicinity and era recall riding the 'Webster bobsled' (that sat in the ditch during school hours) down the hill from Cochrane St. at noon hour or after school with Mrs. McFarlane in the middle? We occasionally ended up in the ditch, but that never bothered the stately lady, who was one of the greatest. My brother and I had the unique experience of delivering the Toronto Star throughout the town with our horse or ponies (Guy, Polly, Bud and Silver) from 1951to 53. Our friends shared many rides and experiences dur- ing our equestrian adventures. The 'magic of Port Perry', as mentioned by Margie, will be with us forever. As often stated, you can't go back to your home town and expect it to be the same, however I have had the pleasure of renewing acquain- tances with many of the people in recent years and they have changed very little. The friendships and memo- ries of Garnie & Dale Warriner, Bob Carnegie, Gerald Hooey, Jim Kite, cousin Muriel Wallace, Gloria Hastings, Beryl Palmer, Margie Hewitt and many others will remain with me forever. Now that I am retired, I come to Port once a week to enjoy curl- Ing, renew acquaintances with old friends, make new ones, pick up the paper and keep in touch with the town and its friendly environment and people. Yes, those were the days. Harvey Webster Bowmanville Musher disappointed with local races To the Editor: I set out for a great racing weekend at Trillium Trails in Oshawa (held by The Kinsmen Club of Port Perry) because it sounded exciting: A minimum purse of $1,200 that would increase, and guaranteed our money back if we placed in the top 10, plus prizes. ; I wound up racing on an extremely fast, hair-raising trail where sleds were being broken, mushers hurt and lost, and teams finishing without drivers. After all that the teams that hung on both days, drove hard, took risks, finished second through 10th place, received a lousy $40 cheque, yet paid $50 cash to enter. I'm sure all the mushers drove home Sunday night totally dis- appointed, with no reason to cel- ebrate how well their dogs had done for them. Not only were the mushers not rewarded for placing well, but neither were their dogs. There was not even a thank you to us or our dogs, without whom there would be no event, yet there were plenty of thanks for the media, St. John Ambulance, Radio Club, Kinsmen Club and on and on and on.... We mushers, brought out spec- tators and lots of money to Port Perry and Oshawa, yet we were the losers. We all paid to race, yet they only gave us back half our money in prizes; so where is the incentive to race there again? It all looked great on TV and the newspapers but in actual fact I ran the hell out of my dogs, placed great, and lost $10, so in my opinion it was a waste of time and money. My advice to Kinsmen Club 1s to go to other races before hav- ing one of their own and show you appreciate the mushers and their dogs for bringing all that money to your town. Without us you wouldn't have your damn race. Peter Smith, Marmora Snowarama raised $8,800 To the Editor: On behalf of the Port Perry Snowmobile Association, The Great Blue Heron Casino and the Port Perry Rotary Club Easter Seals Committee I would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the many businesses and individuals who participated in this years Snowarama, a ride to raise money for children with physical disabilities. We are pleased to report that $8,800 has been raised. This success was made possi- ble only through this generous support and the dedicated snow- mobilers who collected the pledge donations from the businesses and individuals of Durham Region. They have always shown that they really care about improving the quality of life for our children with disabilities. We hope the people in Durham Region will continue to support our Snowarama ride and help these extraordinary kids do the ordinary. Marion Lee, Chairperson for Snowarama 1998 Editor's Notepad by Jeff Mitchell DEEPLY DISTURBED (PART I): | have had it with these big-city papers, and their knack for bringing their cynical, suspicious view of the world north with them. | refer to last Thursday's column by Jim Coyle in that Other Star, a piece seething with innuendo and salacious speculation. He's writing about politicians having it on while on duty, as it were, and gets the nudge-nudge going about Scugog by saying he called Mayor Doug Moffatt, but couldn't get him on the phone. Well: We got our crack investigative team on this -- a motley crew consisting of journalism school drop-outs, beer hall refugees and former U.S. Special Attorneys -- and got to the bottom of the matter. Turns out the mayor was at home, watching Flipper reruns on cable teevee. Nothing wrong with that. No sex scandal here. Sorry, boys. DEEPLY DISTURBED (PART II): It was with dismay last week | read this study from the University of Toronto, where researchers have determined that smoking among Ontario's youth is on the rise in the 90's. It irritates me that despite the laws prohibiting sales, all the information about the killer substance being circulat- ed, and all the warnings at home -- "If | ever catch you smoking, I'll (insert preferred threat here)" -- kids are lighting up, and a good many of them becoming addicted. | am irritated when | see crowds of kids, some of them looking as young as 13, standing around, puffing away. | am irritated that | see so many young girls smoking. It bothers me that coming along is another generation who in 10, 15, 20 years will be saddled with an addiction that makes it easier to continue smoking than quit. A DOOMED PROJECT? ... Sorry to hear the Kinsmen have decided to scratch their Ice Palace skating rink again this year. But to hear tell from their spokesman Dave Goldberg, ice conditions off Palmer Park are such that it simply isn't safe to open the rink to the public. It seems that it's either vandalism or adverse weather conditions shutting the thing down every year lately, doesn't it? WHEN IT RAINS... Durham Region coppers were flying all over the place Thursday. At one point on the scanner that afternoon they could be heard dealing with the armed robbery in Port, a speeding vehicle on Regional Rd. 57 south of Blackstock, a house alarm in View Lake, a break-and-enter in progress in Oshawa, and an MTO that had lost its plow in the collector lanes on the 401. Who says life around here is dull? habit, and there were one or two dishes in particular that | enjoyed. ~ David will also be missed. He most often was too have yet to experience the bitter cold and heavy snow- falls we should be getting at this time of the year. Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten WILL MISS THEIR SMILING FACES... AND THEIR FOOD! By now, everyone knows that two of Port Perry's longtime busi- ness friends, David and Helen Chow, will be closing their doors soon. Like many others in the community, | will miss the trips to their Chinese restaurant for tasty lunches, or to pick up a generously packed bag of our favorite dishes for home consumption. : Not only will | miss the delicious food, but also the warm, smiling face of Helen, who greeted us by name and always asked about the family. Helen had an uncanny knack of knowing what | was going to order without bringing a menu. | guess that can be partly attributed to the fact I'm a creature of busy in the kitchen to greet his customers, but always had a friendly greeting and wave when he did manage to poke his head out of the kitchen for a few moments. - More than a few people are now wondering where they are going get their regular fix of fried rice, chicken balls, ribs, chow mien, egg rolls, etc. . David and Helen dished up their Chinese fare in both quality and quantity, and in doing so built a cus- tomer base for miles around. : Over the past 25 years many of the customers have become good friends, and as always, it's hard to say goodbye to friends, but it is time... Goodbye Helen! Goodbye David! I, along with your many friends and customers, will miss you very much. When you lock your door for the last time... many hearts will be saddened. ~ We extend to you both best wishes for good health and prosperity in the coming years. + WINTER - IT AIN'T OVER YET! Can you believe it? February has arrived and we As | write this column, Canada's most famous groundhog, Wiarton Willy has yet to show his head. Due to our deadline | was unable to report his findings, but I'm a little cynical about the old 'hog's' predictions anyway. The way | see it... we're in for six more weeks of winter regardless of whether he sees his shadow or not. So don't be too hasty putting away the heavy win- ter duds... we're in for a blow or two yet. Speaking of winter blows, if you take a look at the Remember When feature this week, there is a picture of a frightened man stranded in his car during a snow storm. I'm sure many from this area will remember the 'winter storm of the century' when more than 400 cars were stranded along the Oshawa Rd., between town and the Ridges. One woman was killed and dozens more injured during the storm, and snowmobilers res- cued trapped motorists. Temporary shelters were set up in the Odd Fellows Hall and the Fire Hall and restaurants were packed with stranded motorists. It all happened the last week of January, 1978.