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Leslie.MeFar EDITOR'S NOTE Leslie MeFarlafle wa§ very dedicated to the Town of Whitby during the 23 years he lived hiere. Fie wrote miany words on mnany subjects; but his most eloquent plea for the preservation of the identity of his home town was made at a public meeting of the Oshawa Area Planning and Develop- ment Study on Oct. 20, 1970. On that'night more than I150 citizens of Whitby crammed into the old town hall to protest a proposal by Oshawa to take over Whitby. In that supercharged atmosphere of emotion, many people spoke out against the proposaI, but Leslie McFar1afle expressed the feelings of the people of Whitby better than anyone else that niglit, and fris remarks were greeted with enthusiastie cheering and applause. The political problems which resulted in his spéech that night have faded into the background, but the following best sums up Leslie McFarlane's feeling for Whitby and small-town life in Canada. 0f everythiflg he wrote, it stands out as one of bis best writings, spoken fromn the heart. Mr. Chairman, fellow citizens of Whitby: It seems pretty clear that we are facing the threat of a takeover. Now a takeover can mean many things, as we learn from the briefs, but 1 would like to confine my remarks to one element, the mnatter of identity, the identity of this commuflitY . The chairman observed that we have shown courtesy toward our neighbour and I'lm glad everyone has resisted any temptatiOn to say nasty things about Oshawa., 0f course there are some who feel thal 9)shawa is a nice place to visit-briefly-but they wouldn't -care to liye there. But we don't say these things. There may be others who think Oshawa hasn't demonstrated any vastly superior capacity for managing its own affàirs in the past, but we wouldn't think of saying so,.not for a minute. Courtesy, that's us. Let me get back to this matter of identity. Let me say a few words about what Whitby really means. This is a communitY. A communitY with a long hfistory. There was a Whitby when Oshawa was nothing but some kind of anonymotis landing place on Lake Ontario-and from what 1 hear, a lousy landing place at that. Rowboats got hung up on rocks and canoes got snagged on lo.e while sailing ships were heading serenely into Whitby Harbor.' This is the County Seat, a communitY with many traditions. And let us not forget that the small communities, the small towns, have always con- stituted the real heart of" Canada. It is no accident that Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town has always been regarded with affection as the best of ail Canadian books, the best and most widely read because it has always struck the most responsive chord in the hearts of millions of our countrymen. Scratch any successful man in any big city an.io you will usually find a small-town kid or a farm boy. To me, Whitby is more than a municipality. Tt is, a state of mind, and a very good state of GREAT WALL MNItESE àb CANA.DIAN RESTAU RANT 668- 70916570 FREE DELIVEIT BUSINESS HOURS Monday -Thursday .................1a.m.-I1arn. Frideyand SturdaY ................. 1arn - 3a.m. Sunday ... i................. ................iI10n.. now open Tuesdmys 116 Dundas St. W.st Whtby WHITBY1 ln e'9s-pleato Now that rmay be regarded as a sentimental point of view, and people who think only in terms of money and regional expansion and ail the rest of it are disposed to regard sentiment pretty coldly. They think there's n-o place for it. But 1 think sentiment has its place, because it's part of human nature; affection for the community in which you live, a sort of farnily feeling, a personal identification with a special place in the world. Anyone who despises it, anyone who loses it becomes less of a human being. Whitby is my town-by adoption lI11 admit--but 1 have a deep affection for this town, a feeling which I arn sure is shared by ahl of you. And if anyone tells us if .won't niake rnuchi difference, that we'd be just as happy living in Oshawa East for Ajax West or Brooklin South or whatever the hell they want to caîl it, they're just out of their minds. But if we feel this way we have got to spe*ak up and assert ourselves. If we face a takeover lying down, we '11 be We have got to oppose this threat of takeover firmly. And loudly-by every device of publicity, protest and demonstration that we can manage. We can't be passive about it. We have got to make ourselves heard. 000000000 * RENT-A-CAR * * GUSSROWN MOTORS Ltu.* '120i DUNDAS ST. E. WHITBY 90 DAI LY WEEKLYO *MONTHLY VEARLY@ CARS& TRUCKS* aeat I >MORTGAG ES 1lst and 2rid "Residential "Cottage~ " Farms Commercial $ VIndustrial Spec Mortgages$ WE BUY MORIGAGES wHITBY 668-1556 TORONTO'839-7304 ANUBIS INVESTMENTS LIMITED 10) Marye;t. W.: whi'tby $194,50 To quarfSi.d di FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMB ER 14$,1977, PAGE 5 save Whitby ANNOUNCING THE OPENING 0F À NEW Dental Office for the practice of generaland family dentistry at 400 Dundas Street West, Whitby (corner of Kent, three bloccs west o3f Brrck St.> DR. He WEINGARTEN Dentist eveni-ig & Saturday app-)intments available 666-1555 we also 2 or 3 Year Lease ffthly. asod on maximum 45,M00 vidUalS only miles & 3 yr. Uess. 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