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Vol. I Issue 8 Wednesday, June 1, 1988 by Murray Moore Martin Lamers has sold a lot of paint and wallpaper since he started to learn about the business at age 14 in Holland. Lamers Paint and Wallpaper opened in Midland 25 years ago. Lamers sold paint and wallpaper by himself from the southwest corner of King Street and Domi- nion Avenue for 10 years, from 1963 to 1973. In 1973 the business was moved to its Paint and wallpaper experts | Dorothy and Martin Lamers stand near the sales counter of their 2,400 square foot store at 313 King Street in Midland. Martin Lamers has been in the paint and wallpaper business present address, 313 King Street. By this time he was joined by his wife Dorothy, and employee Ed Mortiboys. Today six people are on the Lamers payroll. For three years starting in 1981 there was a Lamers store in Orillia. In 1983 Lamers Decorating Centre was opened in Mountainview Mall. Through 25 years he has seen the ascendancy of latex over oil base paint, for 40 years, since age 14. At age 17 he came to Canada from Holland. Lamers Paint and Wallpaper has been in business in Midland for 25 years. Lamers learned his trade in Holland the growing popularity of paint rollers, and most significantly, the introduction of dry strippable wallpaper. Twenty-five years ago wallpaper was put on walls to hide cracks. Today wallpaper is decor. New home owners immediately paper the kitchen and bathroom, he said. Twenty-five years ago Lamers Paper and Wallpaper carried one line of wallpaper, five books, and 100 patterns. Five books was a big selection in 1963. Today Lamers Paint and Wallpaper carries 200 books of wallpaper samples. In 1963 there was one Canadian manufacturer of wallpaper. Today Canada has eight such manufacturers. The business imports from outside the country too, from Holland, Germany, Italy, Korea, England, and the United States. Ten years ago, wallpaper that could be easily taken from a wall became available to consumers. People preferred paint over wallpaper before dry strippable wallpaper. Today an average room can be given two coats of a quality paint for $30. Wallpaper for the same room starts at $30. The same room that can be painted for $30 can be wallpapered at a cost of $300. Lamers has a sample of a dried grass wallpaper woven by hand in the People's Republic of China. Ninety per cent of wallpaper sold today is dry strippable. Waterworld, a safe park by Adam Siebel One of the fastest growing concepts in recreational facilities is the waterpark. Found across North America, this relatively new idea is spreading like wildfire. Offering high speed thrills found at amusement parks combined with a refreshing dip in cool waters, it could be said that waterparks combine the best of both worlds. ) Although waterparks are primarily located south of the border, the past few years have seen the construction of many such facilities across Canada, most notably at Edmonton's famous West Ed- monton mall. Wasaga Beach is one of the Ontario areas lucky enough to have a waterpark which can be enjoyed by families, teenagers, locals and tourists alike. Wasaga Waterworld on Highway 92 is a waterpark in the true sense of the term in that it offers not only the popular waterslide, but additional facilities in- cluding a giant wave pool, a thermal pool and a kiddies pool. Waterworld offers these facilities and more to visitors who are seeking a truly fun filled afternoon of splashing down a slide at high speeds or just lounging around in the suntan area. Park manager Dave Smith says that Waterworld is getting better every year. » Originally built in 1982, certain facilities re- mained within the park unfinished due to a lack of finance. In 1986 it was taken over by the people Smith represents, and the long awaited wave and thermal pools were opened, making it a true waterpark. "It was built in 1982 but it was much dif- ferent then than what it is now. There was no wave pool, thermal pool and the kiddies pool was full of remote control boats," said Smith. Other facilities to be found at Water- world include a video arcade, a gift shop, picnic grounds and a snack bar. However, it is the tube slides which are the main at- traction at Waterworld. Constructed out of fibreglass, concrete and pressure treated lumber, two of the tubes are serpentine and the remaining tubes are designed for the adventurous at heart in that they are straight and steep. Riders of the slides are treated to a refreshing splash at the end of their rides. Although the slides look somewhat dangerous, the safety record at Waterworld is virtually spotless. With the exception of a few cuts and bruises, there have been no injuries at Waterworld. Safety, Smith says, is a very high priority at the park and he stressed that only top notch life guards are present at all times to make sure that nothing goes wrong. "All my guards are L.S. (life saver) qualified. That's the highest you can go. We could get away with bronze cross guards, but | feel a little safer knowing that top notch guards are out there," said Smith. Probably the second most popular at- traction at Waterworld is the wave pool. Bathers are treated to a four foot swell that bounces them along on inflateable rafts. The waves are created by air that is pumped through channels creating a safe simulation of a windy and wavy dip in the lake. Once again, Smith stressed that there are always guards present and that the waves can be shut off and the water will settle in about seven seconds. A truly popular area attraction, over 50,000 visitors seek fun filled days at Waterworld each summer. Smith says that it is not uncommon to get up to 1500 visitors a day during their operating season, which runs from early June to the Labour Day weekend. Although it attracts a largely teenage clientelle, families enjoy visiting Waterworld also. "We thought that we would have a big percentage of kids, but we really don't. We get a large percentage of families here. They are out for an enjoyable day, kids and families. | had a kid come here and ask for his money back because there ~ were not enough women here," laughed Smith. Waterworld also employs a large number of area students, university, college and high school alike. Anywhere between 45 to Cont'd on pg. 2 = Supplement to the Midland Times, Penetanguishene Citizen, Elmvale Lance and Wasaga Times, Wednesday, June 1, 1988