WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1975, PAGE 7 by Norm Mealino Hello there. Once again, this column appears on these pages bringing you all a little bit of what'shappening now, and in the future in-West Lynde. Before we begin, however, let me offer our congratulations to our new Mayor, Jim Gartshore, and our new Councillor, Dr. Ken Hobbs. Both Mayor Gartshore and Councillor Hobbs waged excellent campaigns and won handily. Now, we all watch closely and hope that Mayor Gartshore will provide the fiscal leadership for our town and that Councillor Hobbs will provide the effective representation of our interests that we in the West, Ward have come to expect. Santa Claus is coming to town next Sunday, December jr a H istorical Whitby by Brian Winterj GEORGE HAM HOUSE A white frame hou3e on the south side of Mary Street west of Brock has its plà ce in Whitby's history as the boy- hood home of "The Mark Twain of Canada". The "Mark Twain of Canada" was George Henry Ham, who for many years was public relations officer for the Canadian Pacific Railway, one of the greatest raconteurs and story tellers this country has known, and official guide for nurnerous famous visitors to Canada who journeyed on the CPR. % The Ham family plays an important part in the history of Whitby in the 19th century. George's father, John Vandal Ham Sr. was born in the Township of Fredericksburgh near the Bay of Quinte in 1814. He started out his career as a medical-doctor, but found medicine not to his liking, so he became a lawyer. He studied at the office of John A. Macdonald who was to become Canada's first prime minister and probably would have remained as a lawyer in Kingston, had it not been for the death of ?5ter Perry, the founder of Whitby, in August 1851. Mr. Ham's father was Mrs. Perry's brother, so the family called on John Vandal Ham to corne to Whitby to settle the Peter Perry estate. This was a massive job because of Mr. Perry's extensive business interests, and took several years to complete. Mr. Ham moved into the house on Mary Street and continued his law practice in Whitby until his death on September 30, 1865 at the age of 50. His illustrious son, George H. Ham was born in Trenton Ontario on August 23, 1847, and came with his father to Whitby in 1851. He started a career in journalism in 1866 when he was hired by W. H. Higgens the sole proprietor of the Whitby Chronicle to write a story of a political meeting which Mr. Higginis could not attend because of another committment. After a short time as a cub reporter for Mr. Higgins, Mr. Ham became editor of Whitby's other newspaper, the Gazette, about 1.g70 . Shortly afterwards he journeyed to the newly-opened Canadian West and became editor or publisher of a number newspapers in the Winnipeg area. He also served as a school trustee and alderman in Winnipeg. He continued in the journalism field until 1891 when he was appointed advertising manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He became known across Canada as a public relations spokesman for the railway, and his keen wit made him a famous after dinner speaker. Among those he entertained was Sir Wilfred Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. A Winnipeg newspaper once said of him: ."He has loaned matches to kings and potentates and autographed photogravures lor admiring authoresses of best sellers. There did once seem to be a time when the truly great would not venture to come to Canada without first ascertaining whether George Harn could receive them". Mr. Ham's autobiography, Reminisces of a Reconteur, published shortly before his death in 1926, gives a colour- ful personal account of his career from his boyhood days in Whitby tO the tours lie provided lor diginataries through the Canadian Rockies. A copy of this book is in the Whitby Public Library. George H. Ham is buried alongside his father in St. 14th, and he will be touring West Lynde, beginning. at 1:30 p.m. from the Lynde Creek Public School. He is. brinrging his own ulowns and they will be making their own music. So, boys and girls, listen for the car horn honking. That's the signal that Santa is only one street away fron yours. I counted on my fingers, and, unless I am missing a finger or two,.next-Saturday, December l3th, is the second Saturday of December. Thus, if the Cubs and Scouts are on schedule, it will be Paper Drive Day. So, watch for the signs and, if it's on, bundle up your papers, and get them out for the boys of the 5th Whitby Scout Troop. The W.L.C.A. is going to try and help us all get rid of those after Christmas Blues. They are holding an After Christmas Blues Dance on January' 16th, beginning at 8:30 p.m., at the Heydenshore Pavillion. Tickets are $8.50 per couple, and the price of admission includes a hot meal. D.K. the D.J. will be laying down the sounds. Tickets are available from any of the executive, so, why not give Karen Kerr (2244), Bob Hopson (6088), Tony Bate (6130), Bill Hoffman (7170), Marg Boyce (9691), John Giles (7485), or Ed Dawson (9856) a call now and get your tickets early. John's cemetary in Port Whitby, and the front porch of St. Jhn's Anglican Church was built as a special memorial to him. Long before the days of women's liberation, George lam saw the need for recognition of wornen in journalism, and founded the Canadian Women's Press Club in 1904. The porch is the club's memorial to him, dedicated in 1927. Although George Ham attained a nationwide reputation of being the Mark Twain of Canada, he is almost forgotten by the present generation, and his story is largely unknown by Whitby residents. An.interesting footnote is that the Han house, once the home of a lawyer is today a lawyer's office. County Town Christmas on Monday and Tuesday A special treat for Whitby residents is in store Monday and Tuesday when the County Town Singers present their annual Christmas show at Anderson Collegiate: The concert, which begins at 8:15 p.m. on both nights, will include some of the old favorites such as Go Tell It on the Mountain, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Deck the Halls, O Come All Ye Faith- ful, O Holy Night, and Do You Hear What I Hear, but there will also be a number of lesser known Christmas songs to add variety to the program. Among these are: Fan- fare for Christmas, And There Were Shepherds, Christmas is the Warmest Time- of the Year, Lo How. a Rose Eer Blooming, The Glory of the Lord, Tiny Little Baby, Twas the Night Before Christmas, and The Sign of the Dove. Tickets are available at Schatzmann Real Estate, Rousseau Heritage House and Russell Travel in Whitby, and Elizabeth Beauty Salon in Oshawa, at $2.50 for adults and $1 for children under 12. The Russians' are Coming! No, children., thai old Jonathan Winters' movie is not being re-released. Real Russians, in the form of one of the Soviet Union's top amateur hockey teams, are coming to Whitby. The Moscow Khimik will be playing the Whitby Warriors at Iroquois Park on Sunday, December 28th. Tickets aie now on sale ai the box office at the Arena, and they are $5.00 each. It promises to be one of 'the top, if not the top, hockey attractions of the year, so, dad, why not'include a ticket to Russian game on the list of what to get junior for Christmas. West Lynde Mixed Bowling League: Thanks to Mike Bible, here are the·league standings, and individual scores of the W.L.C.A.. Mixed Bowling League, as of December lsi, 1975: Won 21 19 17 '17 15 Team -Yo-Yo's Hot-Shots Pat's Fat Cats Gutter Crawlers Sweathogs Blood, Sweat, and Tears Dynamos Alleycats High Single, Jean Booth Flat Jan Bentley Myra Bate Higli Single, Handicap. Jean Booth Myra Bate .Jan Bentley High Triple, Marlene Short Flat Jan Bentley Jean Booth High Trijle, Marlene Short Handicap Jan Bentley Jean Booth High Avcrage Jean Booth Jan Bentley Marlene Short Barb Holweg Lost Pfp Points 9 7 49 11 6 44 13 7 41 13 5 39 15 5 35 30 24 18 309 Ivan Booth 286, Gerry Schempp 283 Don Short 376- 332 319 328 Gerry Schempp 381 321 Ivan Booth 376 312 Don Short 329 Rick Baxter 329 757 Ivan Booth 910 744 Gerry Schempp 855 729 Len Logan 762 841 Ivan Booth 822 Gerry Schempp 804 Leon Thornburn- 202 200 196 196 Ivan Booth Gerry Schempp. Tom Cox 910 900 856 241 215 212 , Well, that is all for yet another week, people. See you right here next week, for more Words from West Lynde. Singers Beat the mail strike While most Whitby resi- dents were frustrated in their efforts to send Christmas cards overseas during the recent mail strike, the County Town Singers had the problem licked. In mid-November, Frank Gosch, passenger representa- tive of an international airline who arranged the transporta- tion for the 1974 visit to Austria, flew to Austria with Christmas cards and letters from the County Town Sin- gers to their counterparts, the Liederhort Tosters. He returned with greetings from the Liederhort Tosters, of Feldkirch by the end of November. In all, about 70 lettersor cards were exchanged by the choirs, which have been ôffi- cially twinned since 1974 THE CORNERSTONE GIFT SHOP PINE: Toys Furniture 122 Brock St. N., - Whitby MON. to FRI. 10 - 9 SAT. 10 - 6 "Gifts for People who care"