Tue Stratroro MIRROR Published Weekly by the Stratford Mirror Press, 1253 Ontario St. DAVID RAE, Publisher ------ at Vol. 24 Circulation 4,200 STRATFORD, OCTOBER 4, 1946. No. 40 ee Veterans Gather For First Reunion The glory of the Perths, the reg- iment that has made Stratford famous in military annals, will be re-lived again over the week-end when veterans who served in the regiment during the II World War gather here for their first reunion. Men who trained here in the early days of the war, went through the long period of intensive preparation in England which climaxed in the D-day invasion, and fought through the bloody battles on the continent, will renew friendships and compare notes with buddies not seen since demobilization. The committee in charge of the reunion is headed by Lt.-Col. M. W. Andrew, D.S.O., former Command- ing Officer of the Perths, and many other former Commanding Officers of the regiment have signified their intention of being present. Altogeth- er about 600 veterans are expected to take part in the affair, coming from Toronto, Windsor, London, St. Mary's, Owen Sound and many other centres. A feature of the two-day program will be the Sunday morning church parade to St. James' Church, where the veterans will be addressed by Rev. D. Crawford Smith, former padre of the Perths. A wreath will be placed on the Cenotaph in mem- ory of the men who paid the supreme sacrifice while fighting with the regiment. Building Boom Expected Here It would seem that Stratford is an ideal place for an architect to lay the foundations of a flourishing bus- iness. In the past year there has cer- tainly been enough local contracts to keep even the best architect busy. The drawing of the plans for the new hospital netted one Hamilton firm a neat sum, and the blueprints of the proposed vocational school will further enrich the out-of-town designers. Now a Kitchener firm, which has a part-time office here, will start on plans for the new $15,- 000 building to be erected by the Industrial Commission. Certainly there would be no lack of opportun- ities for the right man. This venture of the Industrial Commission is definitely a far-sight- ed move. Stratford does lack indus- trial accommodation, not only for prospective industries but also to provide room for the expansion of industries already established here. Lack of adequate floor space is a common complaint among local ex- ecutives, and any move to relieve this condition should be endorsed. If, as and when the suppy of building: materials returns to nor- mal, there should be no lack of bus- iness for any branch of the construc- tion industry. Many firms in this city are contemplating expansion of their present premises or erection of new buildings, and when this is add- ed to the expected boom in residen- tial construction, the picture looks bright indeed. : All of which is scant comfort to the tradesman who has dozens of orders on his books and yet can't get the necessary material for any one of them. hn ge MS) Oh ge BR BY ELMORE PHILPOTT NOT LONG AGO, I GOT A LETTER FROM A SOLDIER IN Singapore which reads, in part, thus: "You may remember me as one who sat on the platform at Yorktown, Saskatchewan, back in 1934, when you spoke. Your statements, so strongly and pithily stated, form some of the deepest imprints on my own thought, such as when you said gg order is dead--and the only decent thing to do with a dead thing is to bury ate. as "I was very much interested to find that recently you. were even quoted on the editorial page of a newspaper here in Singapore as to the necessity for getting over our racialism. You might be in- terested in a letter I recently wrote my wife about a discovery here." * * * THE SOLDIER'S LETTER TO HIS WIFE WAS NOT FOR PUB- lication, but I take the liberty of printing parts of it: Dearest: We were stationed on this vast rubber plantation for many weeks before making, almost by accident, our most memorable dis- covery. - In a lonely spot, almost at the very heart, there is a large open space suddenly smitten flat by' one mighty driving force of flame and steel. Over this kindly nature has already spread with a healing hand a restful carpet of flowers and fragrant shrubs. In the middle is an enclosure surrounded by a fence of wooden brush. Approaching the entrance we see a horrible pile of twisted steel that once was a Wellington bomber. But what first captures the eye is the twelve-foot wooden pillar rising in the centre above a mound of earth. The Japanese-carved inscription we immediately recognize as the work of an artist. Before the pillar plantation coolies (non-Christian) had, of their own initiative, raised a plain, uninscribed Christian symbol of the Cross. But laurel-like plants line the well-beaten path that leads to this strange Oriental shrine. We pause to admire their neatly-planted direction signboard: "Graves of Heros of Royal Air Force", and to smile at the mistake in spelling. ; - But we bow in awed reverence at the thought of those who lie buried there and at the rare beauty of this tribute: MEMORIAL TO HEROES OF THE R.A-F. These brave men came forward to the help of their country at a time of danger. As death knows no barriers, we pay our tribute to the daring fighting qualities of these men. -- While we also strive to reach greater heights, may the souls of these gallant gentlemen rest in peace. (Continued on page 4) I FOUND the!/most comfortable pair of shoes at Boyd's ... Lhey're Smart, Too! oe 99 » ONTARIO mgs ST. "= GOOD SHOES PROPERLY FITTED Columnist's Life Unhappy Fate (By Q. E. D.) The demands of writing a column, even a simple one like this, can be very embarrasing at times. Those of you who have, in a moment of weak- ness, glanced over any of our past notes, may think it's quite simple. You probably think that the approv- ed formula to follow is to slice a fresh lemon, chew it vigorously until you have acquired a sufficiently sour face, sit down at the typewriter and proceed to grouse. That's very simple, but the principal ingredient is lacking. That is the subject. You can't just grouse, or even sing paens of praise, unless you have something to talk about. And there are lots of weeks when the so-called mind be-. comes completely blank, and you just can't think of a thing. In fact, this is one of them. Although we hope we'll never have to stoop to it, there's always the weather, usually. good for a as the weatherman seems to have turned over a new leaf. By now, you should be able to see what we mean when we say that we can't find anything important to talk about. With this situation in mind, we were struck by the thought feel that that would be original. Our contest would be called "What Can Be Done to Improve Stratford'. To enter the contest, all you would to do would be to write a 10,000 word essay on the subject, "What Can Be Done, Etc.'"', tear the top off your nearest Alderman and mail it, along with your name and address, to "Civic Improvement", care of the Stratford Mirror. The winner would be given the privilege of making the necessary improvements, and the loser would be given the job of col- lecting the money to make the im- provements possible. Seriously though, if you have any pet peeves, constructive ideas for the improvement of Stratford, drop us a line. We'll be glad to give you 2a hearing in our column. The only necessity is that your ideas must be constructive. Teen Age Dance Bigger Each Week With a live orchestra replacing the juke-box brand of music, the kids who like to caper turned out over 300 strong to nrake the second dance of the Teen Age Club the best so far this season. But, judging by advance indications, this Saturday's jamboree is going to surpass it. The Optimists are leaving nothing undone to make their parties enjoy- able for the youngsters. Last week Mr. and Mrs. L. Iutzi again were in Cree and Mr. and Mrs. G. Wyndham. Jack Mitchell and Walter Gibson also helped out when the refresh- ment period rolled around. Prize winners were Peggy Mc- Ewan, 20 Hesson St., and Bob Sav- age, 112 Nile St.; Elinor MacDonald, 224 William St., and Stanley Mitch- ell, 35 McNab St. Tomorrow night's dance will be staged at the City Hall. couple of paragraphs of old fashion- | ed snarling. But, at the time of writ- | ing, we're even denied that solace, © that we might run a contest. We do. charge, assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Ted _