4 The Acton Free Press Wed March Dont split the riding Mayor Tom Hill is urging people in Halton Hills to fill in the coupon in last week s paper objecting to the splitting of Halton Hills in the new electoral boundaries decision Surely the decision to put Georgetown in with Brampton leaving in with Oakville Milton and a few rural areas is a foolish one One government forces Acton and Georgetown together and then another government forces us apart And Erin township which only a few years ago was included with Halton would now find itself in another riding altogether But the Electoral Boundaries Commission has decided to lump Georgetown and the former north east end of Ward Two Esquesing with Brampton in a new federal riding Last October M P Dr Frank and Mayor Tom Hill appeared before the Electoral Boundaries Commission to urge that Halton Hills be kept together in one riding They said then it would be ridiculous to split Halton Hills which is just beginning to get off the ground as a political unit However the commission seemed to think Georgetown should go with Brampton in one riding The commission perhaps out of lack of knowledge has ignored community interest says he 11 keep fighting Join up have a voice The Chamber of Commerce is making a mail appeal for more members If there s any group in Acton which should have support surely it s the Chamber these days It s the one group which should have a voice for all Acton people It s the one group open to everyone interested in the town Petitions from the Chamber could be the mam way our voice is heard at council for instance But of course the Chamber can speak for the people unless it has a strong membership Right now it t Wintario grants abound Four municipalities in have received grants now Burlington Oakville Milton and Georgetown That leaves only Acton without one Burlington get 627 for reno vations to the Mohawk Canoe Club and up to 000 for the Burlington Sailing and Boating club to a sail training program A grant of is being made gtoQakville Yacht Squadron Sailing to assist in the buying of two inflatable rescue boats for use in summer training programs The Milton Major Midgets Hockey Club is to receive to assist in the travel expenses to the St James Invitational Hockey tournament April in Win An equipment grant of 280 has been given the Olympic Soccer club in Georgetown There have been 23 million dollars worth of grants given to over projects in the province It sounds probable that Acton could get one too A few spring things Remember the bottle found in the wall at the former Caswell house The people who remember those days are trying to get in touch with each other and hold a gala reunion at the Legion here some time in May Charles Caswell is trying to round up as many old friends as possible He has taken an ad the paper today with a coupon foranyonetofill in It sourids like a great idea Milton hospital officials learned they were to close 25 of their tal beds only to discover soon that it was all a mistake Health Min ister Miller wanted to close the beds but Jim Snow personally interceded Comments the George town Independent Bet some of the hospitals that were closed in small centres wish they had Jim Snow in their corner It seems a record number of lo people are enjoying holidays in the warm climes tnis winter It has been the longest most discourag winter many years no doubt about it Spring is here and more snow However the wind was from the west on the first day of spring and fellas who have been around a long time say that s good Ads letters and posters are all out this week to encourage every one to drop in to the new Commun Services Centre in the Y this Saturday afternoon Wonder what going on there Just walk in and ask Its purpose is to be a centre for everybody And that who s invited on Saturday THIS BEAUTIFUL portrait of a milkweed pod won a first prize for the Free Press from the Ontario Department of Natural Resources The photographer was Peter The award was presented at the recent Weekly Newspapers Association convention in Ottawa EVEN THOUGH POOLS of spring water sit on top of the ice on Fairy Lake a pair of ambitious fishermen dared lady luck for a year end catch One of the ice fishermen said Saturday that he had no bites during the day Sugar and Spice by bill smiley YOU have teenage children who may in the nexl decade gel married and have children is not loo early for you lo start gelling into condition The life you save may be your own I suggest a lot of jogging for a start Get your wind together You need it Then you should get your back in shape Pratt lean over a bath tub until you can do it for 10 minutes without a stitch or a twinge Next you should work on your arms and shoulder I suggest you buy a baby cot and a chair Then get hold of a large bag and fill it with pounds of sand or old iron Nails might be even belter Now Put Ihe bag of sand in the high chair and practice hoisting it out until you can do it in a row without puffing Do the same with the baby s cot with the up is only a facsim le of course not real thing One hopes thai the bag of sand 11 not be struggling or screaming that it want its b b on or t want to go byes byes Next put on your v clothes tuck the bag of sand under one arm and a lb bag of groceries under the other and walking out to the car with them over the slippery sidewalk If you see a dog or cat or kid you must stop and look for a suitable interval saying See the n doggie about eight If you followed this regime for five years or so you might be physically able to cope with a lively twoyear old grandson or daughter I someone had warned We re into our third week with Pokey and we re getting tattered around the edges When I was a young father and had young children of my own for some reason I I get so Of course then I I get home from work until about The kids were fed bathed by their mother and I told them their bed lime story There was nothing to It Nowadays I get home about and a little demon hurls himself at me He just up refreshed after his nap and I a little pooped after coping with the life styles of adolescents It no contest I beginning to have the deepest pathy for young mothers With one child it s about a 16hour a day shift With scv young ones it s got be the modern answer to the Chinese water torture How many of you old timers have tried recently to get an Infant into one of those winter The boots won t go through the legs the uppers won zip Yesterday I spent eight minute getting one leg in and for once the zipper worked I straightened up to draw breath and case my back looked down with some Hon and saw to my horror that the child leg was in Ihe wrong leg of the Back to scratch Sunday there was a fresh fall of snow and I thought I d take Pokey for a ride After the usual ordeal of getting him dressed I was sweating and puffing He was calm and keen to get going Unfortunately our house is surrounded by hills If you start off downhill you be going uphill on the way home I was smart I tackled the steepest hill going up so it would be easier downhill on the way back when I be tired I was smart Near the top of the first hill an elderly lady out shovelling hersnow remarked Well you must be a devoted grandfather I ve seen men pull kids on a toboggan before but I ve never seen one doing it on his hands and knees pretending to be a sleigh dog I pretending After three blocks all uphill we hit the road home I didn know by this time whether was going up down or side ways I was lathered in sweat and my knees were trembling like a virgin s on her honeymoon If you re wandering how your heart is take your grandchild for a toboggan ride preferably with long patches of bare side walk covered with sand By the end of it you 11 either be dead or you 11 know your ticker is in pretty good shape But the outdoor games are mild com pared with the indoor At least when he s swaddled in a he can move much All he could do was yell Go more every time I stopped gasping Indoors he a living breathing mobile Favorite game is to line up at the other end of a foot room- run as fast as he can chortling fiendishly and hurl him self head first into my stomach On Saturday mornings I like to read the book reviews in the daily paper Last Saturday I spent four hours trying to read a six paragraph review In between I was changing records on the record player which must be playing simultaneously with the tope recorder fetching drinks of juice and crackers with peanut butter hoisting him onto the pot he s too busy to be bothered helping him build a tram trying to keep him from pulling the cat tail and or things No wonder he likes it here He like a little prince with two servile attendants who leap to cater to his every whim OUR READERS WRITE Remember them with love Ontario March 15 1976 The Editor Acton ree Press Acton Ontario Dear Sir As parents of one of the young people who so tragically lost lives in last weekends accident we should like to ex press our sincere thank you to the people of Acton for the many expressions of and offers of assistance received Campaign goes over top We would like to make a particular reference to the beautiful young people who lost so many of the friends and whom we knew mainly by first names only and are unable to thank them each and all in per son We were deeply touched by com passion In Rev Beaton words please let the anger go and remember all with love and smiles as they would liave wished When the final results of the Christmas Seal Campaign were released to our mem at our March II Board Meeting a motion was passed unanimously that we extend our sincere appreciation to your newspaper You gave excellent coverage to the Campaign when it showed every sign of faltering during the postal strike ana we feel its success Is attrlbutible to a large extent to this coverage In our going over the lop the public can be assured that we will carry on the pro grams initiated during the past two years- Smoking Withdrawal Clinics Asthmatic Children and Adults Conditioning Pro grams Summer Day Camp and Pulmonary unction Screening in industry We would also like to thank our donors Many of these people went out of their way to make to the campaign when the mails were not available to them Of the 33 Associates in Ontario there were only five showing Increases and some were down over per cent Thanks to you and our olher Christmas Seal friends we arc in the former group Gratefully Mrs E secretary Thanks from UNICEF Dear Editor The Ontario Committee would like to take Hi is opportunity to thank the for their generous support of the hlted Nation Fund in 1975 We feel very grateful to Ontaricitcs They have responded generously to the children who come to their doors on en night with their trick or treat for boxes They have purchased hundreds of boxes of Greeting Cards calendars and stationery They have shown real concern for Ihe needs of the children in our world Community We we feel the public would like to know where some of their are going in and here are a few examples 1 people In Southeastern rural India will now have access to clean water 1 hand pumps will be Installed and maintained In each village of people by Canada We take good nutrition for granted Many of the children of tea plantation workers In Sri Lanka are sorely lacking In the most basic elements of nutrition Here again donations are used to provide sup plementary feeding for the most severely malnourished children In addition nutrition training Is being given and a plant is being built to produce rehydration fluids required for these malnourished youngsters In Bangladesh UNICEF is providing enough Vitamin A capsules to save is million children from the devastating results of this vitamin deficiency every year over children become blind In this country due to this lack Six cents per child does make the difference between a productive life and blindness The Canadian International Development Agency often matches grants towards projects such as above and the host country provides goods and ser vices times this grant Thank you so much for your help your interest and your enthusiasm Sincerely Adele Robertson Public Information Chairman Ontario Committee Another reunion Finch Avenue East Public School in Willowdale Is its an with a reunion on May 1 There will be an Open House from 1 to 00 m and a dance from to 11 Music and friends will be from the and s and the school would like to sec as many former students and teachers as possible Contact Mrs Carole Brandt or the Finch Avenue East Public School The Free Press Back Issues 20 years ago Taken from the the Free Press March IKS Sunday two years to the day after the same family was burned out of their township home flames again forced the large family of Mr and Mrs William Lalng from their Churchill home Smoke from a fire believed to have started in a bedroom rolled from the small frame house as Acton firemen arrived in time to save the home from going up in flames Mr Lalng and four of the nine children were inside when the fire was dis covered Saturday a tenth child was born to Mrs in Acton Nursing Home Six members of an Acton family In volved in an accident on the Queen Eliza highway late Sunday night were released from hospital in after ail were examined and two treated for slight injuries Mr and Mrs Harry Arbic Teresa and Danny and Mr and Mrs Ray Arbic were returning from Toronto via the Queen Elizabeth Way Sunday night when their car collided with the rear of a vehicle making a left hand turn into Miss Beryl escaped with mino burns Friday when an explosion occurred in the kitchen of her home just south Of Acton Miss was using the propane gas jet of her stove oven when the explosion took place She was burned about the face and hair but covered herself quickly and called W Kenney Three Acton athletes leave here tonight for Montreal where will compete in the annual Canadian Amateur Athletic Union indoor meet They are Frank Cooper Frank Mnriscak and Emerson Baxter who are entered in juvenile and midget track events 50 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press of Thursday Match The concerts by the Mendelssohn Toronto have always attracted the people outside the city as well as those who reside there Last week the following citizens who enjoy good music attended the Mendel ssohn concert in Massey Hall Rev and Mrs Zimmerman Mrs J K Gardiner Misses Bertie Speight Marguerite Kathleen Mrs Minnie Moore Misses Craig Anne McDonald Clara Savage Mrs J M- Misses Pearl Smith VidO Mrs Martha Armstrong Miss Elizabeth Graham Miss Merkt Mrs J Mr Mo rely Ramshaw Mr Mr Grenville Masales The church choirs are engaged in pre paration of special music for Easter Municipal Officer McPherson is busy getting the drams opened Mr Charles Bailey of Guelph a former esteemed resident of Acton and former member of Acton council returned from St Petersburg He saw the phen excitement over real estate in Flor ida Tourists continue to flock in Messrs Beardmore and Co have decided to cease operating their farm below the tanneries New York bricklayers arc to make a day this season which makes one wonder if a college education is really necessary 100 years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press of Thursday March 16 1876 By an oversight we entirely omitted any mention of last month Cattle Fair It was altogether the best that has yet been held here a large number of cottle having etianged hands at good prices Several buyers from Toronto and elsewhere were here Tor the first time and they bought up all the cattle that came in except for a few head On The neighborhood about two and a half miles west of was thrown into a state of excitement on the evening of Friday last by the news spreading abroad that a certain well known gentleman whom for convenience sake we shall aril Bachelor had committed matrimony with niece of the worthy Irishman who owns farm It appears that Bachelor mother is at the po of death and he not wishing to be left an unprotected orphan in this cruel world has come to the monial point very suddenly after running against the gauntlet of bachelorhood for years Mr Little the inspector told county council there was a falling off in attendance last year Only two per cent attended school year round In some cases attendance was so bad entire classes were sometimes ab sent This was the greatest evil that mil against our public schools He thought the evil was promoted by frequent changes of teachers and the engagement of those of a low grade The cause of the fre quent changes of teachers was purely fin ancial in most cases Mr Warren said it was humiliating to find after a very large expenditure of money the working of our educational In was so Indifferent THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editbnal Office Yours truly Carole Brandt