HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA host Brian MeFarlane, son of Hardy Boys books' author, the late Leslie MeFarlane, was guest speaker at the renaming of a Remembrances of a popular writer by his well-known son were among the highlights of a ceremony held last week to recognize the Whitby school named after Hardy Boys books' author Leslie Mc- Farlane, a former resident "It was a great experience to grow up in Whitby," Brian Mc- Farlane, Hockey Night in Canada host, said of his youth while recalling his late father's* life He and Bea McFarlane, widow of the late author, attended the ceremony last Wednesday which made "of- ficial" the renaming of the former Whitbv Senior School Brian was a student at King Street School (now R.A. Sennett) and he remembered, as a boy, when he found out that his father was the Franklin W. Dixon (his pen name) who wrote the Hardy Boys. His father didn't want Brian to announce that he was the author, but "I told the kids at school -my status in the schoolyard went up considerably." One of hockey's most recognized figures says his father only earned $2,300 from the more than 20 Hardy Boys books which he wrote. "He got a $100 a book and no royalties," said Brian McFarlane, adding that any funds were welcome during the Depression years. But comparing the returns of then with now, Brian noted that he might receive a royalty of $2,000 after getting an advance. Brian MéFarlane has written 24 books, all about hockey, while his sister Nora is an award-winning writer now living in New York state. Brian said his father, who also wrote scripts in Hollywood for the Bonanza television series, got a lot of kids "hooked on reading" because of the popular Hardy Boys books. "He loved Whitby," said coun- cillor Tom Edwards of Leslie Mc- Farlane, who moved from Whitby to Ottawa during World War IL. He died in 1977. Edwards said McFarlane made the Canadian "vernacular" well- known because of his books. He also told of an incident in one of his books which derived from an actual incident in Whitby, concerning a Less than three weeks are left to nominate persons for the Peter Perry Award as Whitby's outstan- ding citizen of 1987. Whitby residents have until Nov. 30 to nominate someone of their DURHM M-VESI pulot eteieto resident who fought a parking ticket all the way to the Supreme Court. McFarlane's widow, Bea, atten- ded the ceremony last week and unveiled a portrait of her late husband which will join the begin- ning of a collection of McFarlane books at the school. School students performed during the ceremony while student renderings of Hardy Boy book covers decorated the stage walls. Mayor Bob Attersley recalled meeting Brian MeFarlane, who was an all-American, 37 years ago when McFarlane played junior A with Stratford. Brian McFarlane also noted that his grandfather John Henry Mc- Farlane was a longtime schoolteacher. Brian promised to watch the school closely now that it bore lis father's name. choice by filling in a nomination form available from any of the town's banks. Completed nomination forms must be either mailed to the Whitby Chamber of Commerce, Box 268, Whitby, Ontario, LiN 5S1, or hand delivered to the Chamber office in the Whitby Centennial Building, 416 Centre Street South. Nominations received after 3 SEE PAGE 3 Review led to decision: The decision to award Whitby General hospital 36 chronic beds and turn down its request for 43 ac- ute care beds was made only after "an exhaustive review of demographic and related infor- mation," Elinor Caplan, Minister of health has informed Whitby council. The response to the Town and hospital board plea for a review of the decision came in the form of a letter read at Whitby council meeting Monday night. Caplan "Clearly, the need exists for ad- ditional chronic beds. Acute beds were added to two Durham-based hospitals where the demographics supported these additional resour- ces," wrote Caplan. Both Oshawa and Ajax hospitals received acute care beds following the ministry allocation in August. "In total, approximately 300 beds will be added to the Durham Region inventory of beds," said Caplan. SEE PAGE 3 Craig new BIA chairman Stuart Craig was shopping in downtown Whitby recently when a merchant told him Whitby's Down- town Business Improvement Area board of directors was looking for a new chairman following the resignation of Georgina Phillips. So Craig, 25, a University of Waterloo graduate in environmen- tal studies with a major in urban and regional planning, applied for the job. He was hired, and his first day on the job was Monday, Nov. 10. "One of my first duties will be to meet all the downtown merchan- ts," says Craig. Of the estimated 375 merchants, Craig says he knows 10. Craig's family moved to Whitby from Scotland when he was four. During his four-year stint at Waterloo, Craig worked for the Town of Whitby's parks and recreation department during summer holidays. He says it gives him some familiarity with the direction the downtown has taken in the pastfew years. "The downtown has improved 200 per cent," he says. While he is still new at the job and still learning, he does have some ideas about what he would like to see, particularly more specialized businesses. He uses Yorkville in Toronto as an example. "Get the stores here so people will make an effort to come here and buy." His other duties will include reporting to the board of directors, attracting new businesses and "fighting strip.plazas." However, he says he will leave the job of appearances before Whitby council to board chairman Rob Morton. His main duty will include down- town promotions. The Christmas promotion is scheduled to begin on Friday. Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. with the arrival of Santa Claus at the fire station on Brock St. S. The theme for this year's promotion is 'Come Home to a Traditional Christmas in Down- town Whitby.' seasoI ovJr Se<1 21 Whitby band luige 21 STUART CRAIG Lest WeForget Whitby school last week while Bea Mc- Farlane, wife of the late writer, unveiled his portrait during ceremonies. Free press photo Son remembers father at MeFarlane sehool naming Deadine approaches for Peter Perry nominations