Es en ye Oakville- Trafalgar Journal Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Published Every Thursday Morning in Oakville, Ont, by Oakville-Trafalgar Publishers, Lid. 7 DUNN STREET NORTH y Wood, Jr. Managing Editor Bill Cotton, Vincent H. Barrey Advertising Manager Editorial Assistant PHONE 1298 Thursday, February Sth.,.1951 At Long Last The delay in the opening of the arena has heen a bitter disappointment to all residents--and. espec- ially to the members of the board. A February skating party instead of the hoped for Christmas one is too tough for all the eager youngsters to accept without anguish. But there is one consoling thought--the only one we can find--and that is that we are open- ing an arena at all. With the shortages that are oc- curring daily in building materials, if we were today wanting to place an order for an arena, there is little likelihood that it would be in operation for years to come. Anyone who has built a house in recent months will understand the difficulties faced by builders today. We have recently moved into a new house, six weeks later than it was originally hoped we would be able to move. This was no fault of the builder in our case, it was just that every group of materials was in short supply and arrived days to weeks after they were re- quired. The same situation seems to have been at the root of the delay in getting the ice-making equipment into operation although manpower of welders was also badly handled by the ice equipment com- pany. Now that many townsfolk have seen the inside or skated in the arena, they will undoubtedly feel gratified to find that their money has made available such a magnificent arend. When the community hall, dressing rooms and 'other 'facilities are completed, Oakville will have in ils Memorial community centre a building similar to the Memorial hospital . . it will be second to none. You will undoubtedly hear criticism of some of the steps of management which the board will take. That's always the case with any new project. And people always get in a swivet about things when they first hear about them, and when they do not com- pletely understand them. Ifor this reason we would like to point out that all moves made by the board with reference to scheduling of ice, its use and sale, will be made with a pre-experience pattern to follow. The Ontario arena association has a great many towns as members. These have been operating rinks for various periods of years. From this wealth of ex- perience, correct, average, methods of operating a community centre arena have been determined. While small differences will come to light as operations progress, for Oakville is unlike every other town in Ontario because it is a finer place, the board in apply- ing the general principles of operation as suggested by the association will not make as many mistakes as would be the case were if the first board to manage such a project. An example of this is selling the ice surface on Saturday afternoon to the skating club. At first glance this may seem like a mistake. Yet it has been shown, in every case in the association, that Saturday afternoon is a period when few of the children in town, or their parents, wish to attend the rinks now in operation. Apparently the reason is that the Saturday movie matinees are too strong an at- traction for the youngsters: and the parents are busy with ofher affairs. At any rate, the other centres have disposed of the Saturday afternoon ice to either an organization such as the skating club, or in some other way, as holding the ice open for the town folk proved unsatisfactory. It should be remembered that when our rink has been in operation from October or even earlier, as it will be next year, the children will have been skating through many and many a week day after- noon . . . their wish to see a movie on Saturday after- noon is understandable. This year, there has not been this long period of skating, of course; but it should he remembered that there are many months ahead of skating, and that the skating club organiz- ation has been one of the most hard-working during the drive for funds, and most generous with individ- ual donatiuns. It will guarantee use of the ice by a large group who do want to skate at that time. 3! n Those who have complained to us about the skat- ing club having the Saturday afternoon period can see from this that the board was acting along sound lines adopted after investigation of the Saturday question. The first drive for funds for the arena produced a generous amount of money, when all the drives con- ducted auring the same year are allowed for. Many of our most generous citizens, those who support these projects with the large single sums which must be given to assure success, were almost up to the limit of the money they could donate in one year. These puglic spirited, citizenship conscious individuals will give generously in the second campaign which is to be launched in the near future. The final objective will be achieved. It has to be achieved if the children of Oakville are to enjoy their arena to the fullest ex- tent. It would be a sad situation indeed if the arena had to be operated with the profit factor in the fore- ground so that the final indebtedness could be paid off. 2 SUE NOW. BE DISASTROUS! IT SEEMS T0 ME BY P.,W. ;FHOMPSON Human | igengity, In. these modern days, is indeed something at which to marvel Innumerable things have, been devised for con- quering man's natural environ: ment, for exploiting. the resources of the earth and making life more easy and pleasant for its inhab- itants. The wellequiped modern home is a veritable wonderland compared to that of an earlier day. We have performed miracles in the fields of transport and com- munication, - things that a few Years ago would have been con sidered _ as 'forever beyond the range of possibility. In' industry, machines of tremendous power and astounding complexity perform tasks such as formerly required the work of scores or hundreds of men. And scientists and in- ventors are constantly at work devising new ways of adding to our material comfort and enter- tainment. In the face of what human en- terprise has accomplished, what it has failed to accomplish Is rather startling. It has, so far, seemed powerless to prevent large numbers of people from dying sudden and horrible deaths from quite simple caus- es. This fact fis brought home to us regularly every winter, when we read of tragic fires oc- curring with: appalling: frequen: cy throughout a large part of this continent: They make har- rowing reading, these accounts of tiny, helpless children perish- ing amid raging flames; of fam- ilies driven into the icy winter night, while \ their homes are reduced to charred ruins; of aged and infirm people trapped in burning rooms. Considerable attention, we are aware, has been devoted to the matter of fire prevention. Fire fighting equipment and methods are continually being improved. Modern buildings, If mot com- pletely "fireproof," are' less like- ly to burn down than are older structures. And extensive cam- paigns are conducted to teach in spite of all these efforts, fatal fires still occur with distressing frequency. They have mot even been reduced to an appreciable an being, especially a little child) is horrible beyond ly two or which would be quite bad enough, but scores oftimess To put a stop to these ghastly tragedies would surely be one of the greatest things that modern enterprise and' Ingenuity could achieve. Yet there seems no immediate prospect-of it being achieved. There. isi grim sort of irony in ithe fact that people can build machines that will fly at speeds of several hundred miles an_ hour, that they can transmit the sound: of the hu- man voice to any part of the earth and perform scores of equally impressive - marvels, yet are apparently helpless to save numbers, ofi. their fellow humans from being burned to death every winter. It may be that this at least, much sooner grave one. One likes to think thal some method avoiding this terrible toll claim it that has been done already. people how to prevent fires. Yet. .. will be found of Sent BY BESSIE CAIRNS TRAFALGAR TALES I know of only one place that las never been ravaged by wars; where people of many races and creeds live together in harmony without government or laws. Sounds like Utopia, actually it is the loneliest spot on -earth. Yet strangely enough though few people want to live there, those whe do seem, by all accounts, most contented and no amount of bribery will induce them back to ow so-called civilized areas; Tristan de Cunha, named by the Spaniard who discovered it in 1506, lies in the South Atlantic half-way between South America and Africa. It was first occupied by a British Garrison during the war of 1812-14 to prevent it being used -as a base by American cruisers. With the 'wily Napoleon cn St. Helena, a mere 1500 miles ayay the British stayed on until 1817. Though what could be glean- od of his doings from that distance ic a mystery. When the garrison was withdrawn Corporal Wil- iam Glass, a native of Kelso, Scotland, asked to be allowed to stay on the island with his wife and children, For five years they lived alone and whateyer their existence certainly they had neith- er neighbour nor inlaw trouble. The island must have had some lure because two men of the troops returned in the sixth year and joined the Kelsos. Another six years passed and then three Americans from a passing whal- er pulled up anchor and settled on the island. There, were now six men and one woman by the re- cords though by: my Three or four weeks have pass: ed since I received my always keenly anticipated copy of Dr. Chases Almanac, but I've pur- pasely delayed reviewing this year's edition until I had a bit of time to check actual day to day conditions against his weather forecasts for January. And I'm glad I. did, because after several years of trying, I've finally got the estimable doc right over a barrel, From the very outset, those almanac figures went askew. For the first three days of the month, yowll remember, we had mild weather and overcast skies. But not in the almanac, we didn't. No sir, it was fair and cold. It is quite possible that the random flakes |of that fell. from Jan. 4 to Jan. 8 COULD have been painstakingly collected and tossed into a reasonable facsim- ile of the snow squalls of the al- manac predictions. But that, too, would be stretching things a bit far. Along about the ninth of | the month, the book got very cakey. Possibly the forecaster had a pre- monition, or perhaps he was, just plain careful. At any rate, he maintained there would be gales on the coast--all the while omit- ting ta designate which coast. His close to the vest prognosti- cation proved to be correct, I sup- pose, because along about then they did have a bit of a blow out Vancouver way. Gets Better, Though From the twelfth to the twent- ieth, the good doc did much bet ter, though. He had it turning colder, then fair and milder, then cold again. From that point: lon, however, his meteorological | ef: forts just couldn't stand sucess. Flushes of warm embarrassment and frustration must have stain- ed his neck as he vainly waited for' his [cold blizzards, weather. Ah, well, perhaps he'll have better luck with February. Sun Rose On Dot Aside from the 75 percent un- reliability of the forecast column, the January sheet was extremely accurate. New Year's Day fell on January 1, and Epiphany on Jan. 6, just as stipulated therein, and I imagine Septuagesima and Sex- agesima came off on Jan. 21 and Jan. 28 as scheduled--although I was just a bit shocked that the latter entry was included in family publication. I didn't check on any of the sunrise, sunset or moonrise times listed, but our shop foreman, who DOES get up sunrise figures were right on the button. High 'Standard The rest of the almanac, I was pleased to note, more than lived up to it's usual high and pleas- ing standard. The gags and whacky wagers you can pull on your friends (if they don't happen to have an almanac, too) were out of this world. 1 thought I'd early of a morning, tells me the] PUFFS FROM THE COTTON GIN collapse with merriment when yy, Journal's elongated editor that one about pouring a gla water down. your neck Withog getting wet! And Tl never forge the look of haggard chagrin o his reasonably honest face whe I pulled the clincher on him by simply picking up the glass of water and drinking it! Ther were plenty of other nities, to, but his reaction to that singly test convinced me that periap I'd better keep 'em under coye, for a while. Love That Prediction! The Laughing Gas corners wer, pippins, too, and the picture. of Mayor Jim Black drawing tye contést winning stubs from tn, barrel was a dandy, chiefly pe cause it's the first time I aye remember anybody catching Jip bending over. But what realy gave me a lift was the listing of expectations. for those born fy June--which I was, Seems as though 1951. will af. fect me favourably in anything having. to :do. with money, ang that. I'm - in' for: an exceptionally good, year. If I guard against dey. eloping an inferiority: complex and. cultivate: some .activity con. nected with the use of the hands, that is. So I have my ego on 24 hour guard duty, and I am al. ready becoming quite proficient at thumbing my nose in the dir. ection of the editorial sanctum, The other hand? Associate Vince Barrey has 'promised to keep it no end busy when he moves up to the widespread reaches of Kent Gardens a few days hence. All in all, it's ai pretty fair ivol. ume, dot! 'You'imanaged two more pages than Dodd's--and your's! were bigger, too. tr Congratulatorily Yours, oh BILL COTTON heavy snoy and warmer and unsettled |- Lassie Leads Lady Mrs. Don Gibson is. making a special medal for. Lassle,. her neighbor's dog. Mickey, the Gibson's dog, had been Hl. all day. At night, when the was let out, he did not come back des: and back doors. At midnight, Mrs. 'Gibson tnied 'once, imore, but the only response was the barking, of Lassie from across Balsam Drive. Just as she was closing the door, Lassie arrived on, the steps barking frantically. When Mrs. Gibson hesitated, Lassie . took her skirt in. her mouth and started to pull. Quick: ly gathering = flashlight and coat, Mrs. Gibson followed Las sie's lead to a far corner of the verandah under which Mickey was curled up_in agony. Car ried to the house he responded to treatment and seems headed for complete _ recovery, Lassie calis around daily for a bulletin on his condition and will soon be wearing her medal for saying a life. Pite repeated calls from front [i some of the Kelso children must have grown up, they may all have been boys. Not to argue with the facts, in 1827 the men Mailed a passing ship and commissioned the captain to go to St. Helena and bring back five women. In due course he returned with five negresses. The men drew lots for them. From time to time other visitors stayed until the place be- came a veritable United Nations Dutch, Italian, British, Amer- ican, Asiatics and Africans. Then in 1885 a disaster occurred. The seca was rough but a passing steamer could 'not be ignored, the minimum. The thought of a hum-| men manned their only boat to give it welcome. The boat capsized and having to undergo the unspeak-|all were drowned. The three sur- able agony of being burned alive | viving ones having missed fhe words. Yet | boat. Offers were made to (rans- this happens in Canada, not mere-| port the remaining islanders to three times a year, | Cape Colony, they were polite but firm in their refusal. As one can well imagine life on the island is of utter opposite' number. Halton's 1f you missed Irven Fells the first program of the series, which will be devoted to the problems of children's teeth. Fzdd ing Commer Maybe this would be once it would be in order to listen with cne's mouth open! IStarting Tuesday afternoon at 3.30 p.m. "Let's talk atout teeth" will take to the air over station CHML in Hamilton. It is a {jointly sponsor- ed program of the Halton Health Unit and its Hamilton Dr. Jim Mather will be. .on appeal in his Music Album col umn last week on behalf of the appeal to the listening public for funds for the Metropolitan Opera, won't you think about it for a moment, then send aiong your dollar to' go with the two he sent? That is we suppose, if you are an Opera lover. As liven pointed out, $1 for the privelge of hearing 20 operas is a small sum indeed those small sums, which are so vitally needed to maintain an institution wnich Is international in its service to humanity, for great music is truly the possession of all nations. Potatoes are the staple diet but there are cows, sheep, chickens and geese, and an unlimited "amount of fresh water; but no al- coholic beverages. No money is used and the sole semblance of authority is supplied by the min- ister, who is also doctor and school-teacher, he meets « period- ically at the only church with the heeds of the families to discuss island affairs. Some good hearted people in England formed a THistdh de Cunha Fund and among. other! things supplied the islan- ders with a radio. It broke down bafling | VI the result the last war was problem will be solved, partially [IL its second year: before a pass- than we |ing steamer think. While it is not the greatest| dere about it of our problems it is still a very informed the islan- . I much doubt if t they are concerned with the pre- world crisi" Perhaps the - | secret of the island is to be found ed by the flames every year. But [in the simplestatement of one of perhaps the factors entering into | its inhabitants who when asked C are in order for the congregation of Knox Presbyterian church. The last indebteness of ithe church was wiped out last: week, when *, the note was burned. A church entirely free of debt, means a congre- gation that is strong in its support of that church. In these troublesome times the more strong congregations there are in Canada, the better fit will be (for the world at large. Those darned statistics again! It, seems that for every English person who came to Canada in 1950, four went tO Australia. This would seein to indicate that there's something WIOLg. with ou: policy about immigration, Or maybe the Aus: tralians nave offered inducements that we, with a great deal to offer' a newcomer, don't fecl it necessary to place before the English person who is considering leaving his native habitat. But there could be another answer, which would seem a rath er more Likely one. The industralization of Australia is a 108 way behind Canada. The English man who is leaving England usually is an industrial worker. Here in Canada we do not have available the same proportion of opportunities for, (he city inhabitant, tle industrial worker, as we do have for the farm worker or laborer. This type of laborer comes rather from the Huropean countries thai from England, We, have had & great number of Dutch farmers come to Canada, for Instance yet many of us forget to send along | So the disparity between Aus lian figures and Canadian may this problem are such that noth- [why ing much more can be done about [South Africa replied, 5 remain happy." she wouldn't emigrate to "I prefer to Well be because we do not have to.offer, in this particular case: as much orportunity. Which is a somewhat salutary though for us Canadians to swallow. =