l> LI o. W[DANLSI)AY. NIARU I -4, I9 IMIl B 1<+P Between You and Me By RUTH COLES At this time of the year when spring is just around the cor- ner I often wonder how many people from Whitby visit Charleston, South Carolina and how many just bypass it. My parents took me there many years ago when I was seven, our first visit but not the last. As a child I used to say that sometime when I grew up and had children it would be the first place I'd take them to. It was, not the first but almost. The charm and the wonder of the city still remains; I often long just for a few days there when the masses of spring flowers are blooming and at their best. The old world at- mosphere, the beautiful buildings, the wonderful flowers, maybe the flowers most of all hold me to the point where I am almost mesmerized when I hear the name Charleston. On our last visit, two grandchildren asked me if we could stay there the following year rather than going on to warmer sun and the Fiorida beaches so I was not alone as a lover of this old, old city. One thousand miles from Toronto, a lovely drive for two days, maybe a bit longer now with less speed but still not far. Past Washington, another great place to visit, very beautiful in certain parts and always interesting; through Virginia and North Carolina where a lot of southerners spend their sum- mers. Charles the Second of England rewarded several loyal friends by making them Lords Proprietors of Carolina in 1663. Around 1670 the settlers who had been sent to establish a colony renamed the settlement Charles Town in honour of the King. Charles Town with its wonderful, deep harbour became a very busy seaport. The ships sailed out heavily laden with deer skins and other pelts, hemp, lumber, rice and cotton to other parts of the world. Returning with luxuries and staples from Europe and otherplaces helped to make this city very cosmopolitan. Historically, Charleston is well known and has been the foremost city in preserving a sense of history. Cultural af- fairs, drama and music were always important and artists, authors, scientists and statesmen left their mark on this city. Devastated in the past by dreadful fires, hurricanes and wars, the city always came back to rise again as a prosperous place. Fortunately many of the old buildings escaped destruction and stand to this day. The buildings I loved as a child are still there. I have many 1IISS About Charleston South Carolina VON made 3,300 visits to Whitby More than 4,000 visits were made by the Victorian Order of Nurses last year to patients who could not af- ford to pay for the total cost of their care, according to the VON annual report presented by Elizabeth Shantz, district director, at their recent annual meeting. The report stated that while the majority of these cases were adults that required care for medical and surgical conditions, the number of visits to prenatal patients were six times greater than previous years, visits to infants doubled and nursing service provided to pre-school and school aged children increased by 50 per cent over last year. "As patients are returning to the community at an earlier stage in their illness, the nature of the caseload of the VON changes and. patients require more inten- sive and complex care," stated the report. About 250 night calls were made by the VON, an in- crease of 37.6 per cent. "Availability of 24 hour nursing care has allowed patients whose treatments require specific time inter- vals, or whose illnesses were terminal, to remain in the comfort and security of their own homes," read the report. The VON provided ser- vices to several com- munities, breaking down as follows; Ajax 2,070 (7.2%), Pickering 2,137 (7.4%), Oshawa 14,454 (50.3%), Whitby 3,357 (11.7%), Newcastle 2,640 (9.2%), Scugog 1,078 (3.7%), Ux- bridge 1,386 (4.8%) and Brock 1,642 (5.7%). The report said that mem- ber nurses of the VON atten- ded various "inservice sessions" to "keep abreast of recent developments in health care philosophies and techniques. " After the report was presented a hypno technician, John Barnes, was introduced as the guest speaker. The next meeting of the VON directors will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43, V.I.P. room on March 16at5:15p.m. Daffodil drive begins With the approach of spring, members of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority have, once again, volunteered their services to the South Durham Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society. For the fifth consecutive year, Beta Sigma Phi will be undertaking the selling of daffodils to aid in cancer research. This year's co- chairpersons are Barbara Smith and Elizabeth Beech. Beta Sigma Phi members will be selling daffodils to the general public on April 2, 3 and 4, 1981. The majority of sales will be to local businesses and merchants, by making use of pre-order forms. Businesses which have not been contacted can order daffodils by calling Smith at 668-7240 or Beech at 668-5197. CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF WHITBY NOTICE CLOSURE OF THE BROOKLIN SOLID WASTE TRANSFER STATION The Regional Municipality of Durham, at the request of the Town of Whitby, will be closing this facility effective April 6, 1981. Now that garbage collection service is provided for the en- tire Municipality of Whitby, the need for the Transfer Station is reduced. The annual cost for operating this Tran- ster Station to the Town and Region is estimated at $80,000.00 at it is therefore Council's decision to close down this facility and remove this financial burden from the Municipality and the Region. Any residents who are not receiving Municipal garbage collection service, but wish to avail themselves of this ser- vice, may do so by requesting in writing to Mr. G. Mclntyre, 575 Rossland Road East, Whitby, Ontario, LiN 2M8. Any resident who wishes to continue to dispose of his gar- bage personally may do so by taking these wastes to the Regional Sanitary Landfill sites in Pickering (Brock Road) These facilities are open to the public daily to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturdays to 12:00 noon. They are closed on Sundays and Statutory Holidays. There is no charge for anyone disposing of a nominal arnount of household gar- bage. R. A. Kuwahara, P. Eng.. Director of Public Works. pictures which ny Dad took or we bought well over fifty years ago and I have replicas which i have taken lately. Many of the homes have been preserved and others which became delapidated have been restored to their original beauty. One house which h always admire looks as though it is made of marble blocks but in reality it is hand eut, polished wood, The people of Charleston saw in the homes of their fathers sorne priceless and irreplaceable values. I too see this in Toronto, my past home and home of my forebearers and thankfully most of these buildings are still standing. In Charleston the preservation movement began in the 1920's with the dedicated program of the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings. What followed has been adopted by other cities across the nation. In Canada it seems we have just started to realize what a priceless heritage we have. We certainly are babes in the woods by comparison but in years to come our country will be old too with a few hun- dred years behind us. Probably called the Historie Charleston Foundation now, the city has become a gem, with it seems a great deal of im- portance being given to any effort to keep and preserve the wonderful architecture of the city. For years there has been a walking tour, which one can take to see these buildings. As you wander about, the sense of history, the past of this wonderful city almost overwhelms you. One house open to the public is where Abraham Lincoln spent some time. Shining, wide planked, pine floors laid with pegs, with stairways done in the same way. During the summer plantation owners moved into the city to avoid the yellow fever, malaria and other diseases which plagued the countryside in the hot weather. Each home seems to have a story associated with it and at this time many still are owned by descendents of the people who built the original buildings. Charleston was well known for its industry, furniture making, iron work and silver. The homes reflect these trades, full of old world charm, magnificent furniture, beautiful china, a great deal of it brought from England, crystal and absolutely gorgeous silver. In such an atmosphere, the Charlestonians reflect their heritage, their old world charm, their graciousness and good breeding. Tall, thin houses, the "double house", square in design with four main rooms and a wide hallway on each floor. The "single house" of the early 1700's, one room wide. Porches and piazzas, both planned to catch any breeze during the hot weather. Beautiful doorwà ys everywhere with highly polished brass fittings and simply beautiful and lovely gar- dens often protected by walls with much iron grillwork in evidence. The flowers in spring time defy description, azaleas, by the thousands, walls of them; many of great height, others small bushes of almost every hue. Splendid and mighty oak trees, magnolia, mimosa and oleanders make an impression not easily forgotten. Lunch in an outdoor restaurant with wisteria cascading down from arbours overhead and enclosing the site almost takes your breath away. Southern food, sea food a speciality, hominy, red rice and okra soup. The food is compatable with their gracious way of life, delicious and inviting, a treat in itself. The city appeals to children and this could partly be their sense of history. The harbour is a special place of interest to both young and old. A boat trip with well-informed guides who tell of the various battles fought in these waters many years ago. War ships, present day ones, submarines and so on all at berth by the naval base. On shore in the park facing the water are huge cannons where children clamber up and down. These cannons date back to the 1700's and one, a very powerful one, goes back to the American Civil War. Not far from the city are well-known gardens, plantations which have been kept in good repair often magnificent homes filled with treasures. My favourite the Cypress Gardens with beautiful walkways bordered by flowers leads to a lake which was made by damming cypress swamps. Once at the lake, a short distance, there are boats and paddlers and you are paddled around the lake which is walled with azaleas I guess almost by the millions, very tall azaleas that reflect in the black water. To me it is the closest thing to heaven I can think of, mysterious and tranquil. There are other gardens, all of them beautiful in their own way. They each have their own story, years old and if you are fortunate enough to meet one of the family whose descendants built the place maybe two hundred years ago you may hear some interesting things. I would like to think in some small way we could emulate the Charlestonion's sense of the past even though we are so young. We have a good beginning now with the Heritage Act as they had many years ago. For many years if you buy property in a designated part of the city you must adhere to certain rules and agree to maintain and keep the architec- ture of the building in good repair and its original design. This means there will be no deterioration and there will be an upgrading of all buildings. Our history may be young but in time to come we too will be hundreds of years old. For those who will inherit our place let's leave them something to value in our Durham Region.