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} l i | Ry Slay ei 0 TR ER "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, September 19, 2000 - 7 of the sending its garbage to Question Week... Do you agree with Durham Region Kirkland Lake? Don Crosier | don't like it too well. We should look after our own garbage, and so should Toronto. Julie Allen | think they could find a better place. Dave Noble Every municipality should look after its own garbage and not dump it on someone. else. Phil Hobbs I'm opposed to it. It's not a safe site; | think they could find better ways to dispose of it. Dean Mitchell It sucks. That's not the real answer to the problem. They're just passing the buck. Lets el council We want a 2pool | Jo the Editor: For two summers now, we the citizens of Port Perry, have been without a public swimming pool. It is high time that the township starts constructing another one. Later in the month | am approaching town council on this topic and my argu- ment would be strength- ened if | had proof that a pool is what this town wants. It takes just four words: "We want a pool." What is worth more the cost of postage or a refresh- ing means of exercise and entertainment to make our future summer more enjoy- able? Please help support this cause by mailing your letter to me: Alexandra Haagaard, 440 Fralick"s Beach Rd., Port Perry, Ont. LOL 1B6. Alexandra Haagaard, Scugog Island To the Editor: Thank you for your sup- port in promoting the Port Perry Terry Fox Run on Sunday, Sept. 17 which was held at Palmer Park. The success of The Terry Fox Run world-wide and locally is because of the dedication and commit- ment of individuals who are willing to promote this event that result in this one day event being the Thanks for supporting run largest one day fundraiser for cancer research in the world. Again this year we have proven that we are a caring community. Through donations, pledges and merchandise sales we have raised an incredible $23,042. There were 372 participants and 50 volunteers. Elizabeth McArthur, Coordinator, Port Perry There's an old saying: | shoulda stayedi in bed. Okay, maybe it's notan old saying. Maybe Y just heard it somewhere. In a movie, probably. An Abbott and ture. Or maybe it was an episode of The "Eeesh," 'says the recipient of some manner of bad fortune, usually the latest in a string of comic-tragic events that have befallen him, "I shoulda stayed in bed." And indeed, we all have days like that; around 11 am, 'sometimes even earlier, we arrive at the conclusion that we would have been much better off had we never ventured beyond the edge of our warm, cozy beds, let "alone the front door. Like the Monday morning when you 're speeding to work to get a head start on the week, and getinto a fender-bender that takes until noon to 'sort out. Or the day you arrive, as optimistic as your experience will allow you to be, to find a long line-up of disgruntled customers, employees, or some other constituents. Or when you show up and find something has gone really, horribly wrong. No other industry is so prone to that occurrence, | believe, than the news business. When we err, it's always very evident. Some boo-boos may be larger than others, mind, but for glaring, in-your-face embarrassment, there's nothing like 30,000 copies of a mistake you have made, then distributed far and wide. | remember once having an editor who caught wind of a bad accident. A bunch of local drunken yahoos had been careening around in the back of a pick-up truck when the driver lost control, flinging them, as we said in that time and place, all over Hell's half-acre. The editor Page Seven TALK ABOUT EMBARRASSING by Jeff Mitchell went with a front page story of the sad and untimely death of one of those yahoos. Which made for good copy, until said yahoo strode into the office a few days later, his arm in a sling, and demanded a correction. We did not dodge the issue. We printed a retraction. That same editor, feeling goofy one production day, thought he'd have some fun with Your Correspondent, who had recently been recognized by a community group for his efforts at promoting their events, and was given a plaque. A picture of this happy occasion was taken and, this being a long time ago, pasted on a page. The editor took his blue pencil and wrote a witty remark below the picture. Which was dutifully set by a typesetter. And the next moming, there was a picture of me, with a local community volunteer and a plaque, and a 40-point, black-face head- line: "Boo-hoo! Jeff got a plaque and | didn't! Boo-hoo!" Several years ago | did a feel-good feature on a local boy, home from service in Bosnia. The next day, Port Perry was treated to this 70-point headline: HOME FOR CHISTMAS. In this space recently, | referred to a part of my car, the gear shift, and omitted a most critical "' in shift. And there's a legendary story around this building about a long-ago front page article, describing the acci- dental death of a local man who had been motoring through Burke's Balls. When we see these things our knees may buckle; we may feel like throwing up. But we brace ourselves for the inevitable ridicule that will come our way, and go about our business. After all, it comes with the territory. And the only altemative is to stay in bed all day. Random Jottings by). Peter Hvidsten CANADIAN HISTORY | was pleased to see when my young lad came home from school this week that he was carrying in his backpack a heavy textbook on the subject of Canadian history. I've always felt it's important for students to learn something about the country in which they live, and the fact that he'll be studying Canadian history in Grade 10 pleased me immensely. But not only should the kids learn about their home- land, it would be valuable for them to learn about local history, meaning the town and area in which they live. Realizing course outlines are primarily set up by the province and the local board of education, it would probably be difficult to incorporate the subject in the curriculum, but I'm sure many students would find some of the stories pertaining to the settling and development of the area very informative and interesting. Of course, | must admit my bias when it comes to the heritage of our community, since |, along with my col- league, Paul Arculus, have been researching and writ- ing books on the area for the past three years. But, due to the large wealth of printed material now available to the public, it would be so much easier for students to access this information than it would have been only five years ago. Until then only the odd copy of Samuel Farmer's book "On The Shores of Scugog" was available for viewing, as all the copies were long gone. But today, there are three books available - The Merchants Of Old Port Perry, Out Of The Ashes and Steamboats on Scugog, which provide an abundance of information about our past. And by mid October, my second book entitled, "Scugog: The Early Years," will be off the press. This book will take the reader on a journey from the earliest days of settlement in Reach and Scugog Townships, to the settling of Scugog Village (Port Perry), the tremendous growth of the town and the dev- astation created by the destruction of the town by fire. '. . The book also contains the reprint of an article pub- lished in the Toronto Mail newspaper of 1885, along with almost 30 hand drawn sketches that accompanied the article. In all there are more than 400 photographs or illustrations in the book. There is also a special chapter which documents the difficulties the early settlers had constructing the floating Scugog Bridge, and later the Cartwright/Port Perry Causeway. Of special interest is a section devoted to telling the story of the syndicate lands, south of the causeway. These lands, which have become known as the Scugog Marsh, are traced from the 1870s, when they were pur- chased with the idea of draining the swamp and reclaiming the lands for pasture, through to the present day. Scugog: The Early Years will provide a glimpse at early life in the Lake Scugog basin, and provide an important source of historical information for this gener- ation and generations to come. So whether you're already a history buff, or are someone new to the community who would like to learn more about the the Scugog area, you can see there is an abundance of local history now available.