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tehe Herald Home ler of Halton Hills A Division of Canadian Newspapers Company Limited Main St South Georgetown Ontario PETER BROUWER BILL JOHNSTON Editor PHONE 877 Second Clasi Mall Regliicrrd Number Yes Cornelia there is a Jesus Christ EDITORS NOTE The following Christmas editorial by Publisher Peter Brouwer is a letter to Till youngest daughter Wed like to think that a lot of dads all over Halton Hills are writing letters to their 10- at this time of the year Dear Cornelia In a few days it will be Christmas and youll get up at six in the morning and wake everyone else in the bouse and the dog and the cat because you cant wait to gather round the Christmas tree with two brothers and three sisters and your mother and me I remember your first Christmas when you were just big enough to sit up by the tree and you ripped your way through the wrapping on all the presents your big brothers and sisters got you It was even better than a bir wasnt if And I remember too the second and the third and fourth and fifth and by PETER sixth Christmas with you taking it fall in from your little tree I suppose because youre the little one in the family Ive con centrated on you all those Christmas mornings But now youre getting to be girl Youre getting so Dig that on Christmas morning youll probably be watching me as much as Ill be watching you I know well both have a beautiful Christmas this year For many Christmases now Ive tried to tell you what Christmas is all about and why were giving gifts to each other Remember the first time you asked your dad is there really a Santa Claus I remember the question I probably didnt give you a very good answer But you know dont you We all have to be Santas in our own way I know youve been very busy these last being a little Santa I check up on these things Youve been spending a lot of time behind your closed bedroom door Things must be happening En there told you how I grew up with a different Santa and how he was not a jolly fat man in a red jump suit but how he was like a real saint in a long robe and a saintly hat and how he came on a white horse and many weeks before Christmas on December I also told you how both Santas even though one was a tall saint and the other a jolly fat man were both pie same in a way because both came with many gifts And of course you remember about the wise men from the East who came to Bethlehem to bring gifts to the baby Jesus this giving of gilts is really what I want to talk to you about When you re happy for someone when youre pleased with someone when you really love someone you want to give to them You dont give gifts to people you dont like right You don give anything to people you dont know You keep to your family and friends and maybe even the teacher and the principal and the mailman and the carrier who delivers The Herald And that where we all make a big mistake Did you know that When that little baby Jesus who started Christmas became a man he showed us every day what Christmas is all about He loved the peoplelie knew and the ones he didnt know He gave gifts even to his enemies He gave people the greatest gift of them aD love He gave it to the people who lived was willing to die for them And hedihVlAistlowhe pple who came In a nice suit to listen to him and who had good jobs and money and a nice warm house with a big porch He made a special effort every day to give love and friendship and gifts of alt kinds to bums and drunks and poor people He made sick people better He told people like you and me and all your brothers and sisters and your mother and the neighbors and aunts and uncles and everybody that weve got make every day like Christmas He Cornelia to be a little bit like him He told you to love people Even the ones you dont like He told you that the biggest gift you can give comes without fancy wrapping paper and a ribbon He told you that you can give it days of the year So lets you and I try to make Christmas last a little longer shall we Like all year Merry Christmas sweetheart And many happy returns of the dayl Your dad Whats new We would like to thank the On tario Federation of Agriculture for one of the more meaningful press releases to filter through our morning mall In many a year Not only wafl it meaningful but for the first time since God invented the Canada Post Office we have to admit that we totally agreed with the point of view and facts presented in the OFA statement For that reason we publish the contents of the news release in its entirety Thats right Besides the OFAs address telephone number the release was blank Perhaps thats their way of sayingfor eight centsNo Com ments Well Sarffa here I am agafn Dear Its been so long Santa Im afraid I feel a little foolish penning this letter I guess the last time I did it was When I was eight or 11 or 13 or Funny I cant recall the exact year I finally didnt bother writing you a note on Christmas Eve and burning it so you could see what I There were years there when I suspected and then eventually knew THE SECRET OF SANTA CLAUS but still carried on because well that was just part of Christmas Which is probably why Im writing this year Santa lust maybe by writing this letter some of that magic of Christmases past of the best Christmases will somehow return You see Santa things have changed drastically since I last wrote to you Some of the changes are for the better some for the worse Some just well well wait and see But vou know the worst thats happened Santa Ive grown up Yes Im an adult now full of obligations maturity sociability stability even a little morality Everything that I pledged to myself would never happen to me has happened I no longer laugh unless Its right to laugh I dont get mad unless its proper and possible to get mad I no longer look at people and accept them just as they are cant do things anymore without weighing the pros and cons And the cons are winning and more often these days Santa I dont do a lot of things I used to Santa because of the simple fact that I have to play the role of an adult a grownup a responsible citizen in a supposedly responsible world You know the worst Santa I haven t thrown a snowball Santa in I guess it must be five years now Remember that time back in college by BILL JOHNSTON when we Well Im sure you remember Santa It was a lot of fun Those were the I realize that when this letter to a match this Christmas Eve all Im going to end up with a pile of blackened ashes but you know Santa I dont think in all of my years Ive wanted to believe in you so much as tonight Here I sit surrounded in Christmas decorations not only wondering what this Christmas scene is all about but why Now thats a new one Whats the why of Christmas Why did I just Bit through a newscast that seems to have repeated 365 times this past year Bombs in Belfast Food prices going up Another strike Arabs retaliate against the Israelis Oil crisis So little has changed in 1974 If anything I think weve 1 back Why dont know whats going to happen in the coming year Oh ve never particularly worried about that before But looking at 1975 I feel a tinge of apprehension Recession Depression Inflation Familiar words Important words in our lives yet words and things over which we have little control Bay Street and Wall Street be kind to us in Why do these thoughts weigh heavier and heavier upon us with every morning start I guess Santa if I knew you were there and I knew you could help bring me what tonight I wanted most I would ask for only one thing a child like attitude to face the coming year with all its Inevitable problems Through rose tinted glasses I might be able to see more clearly what possibly makes this world worth loving I would ask for a little peace on earth good will towards all men Santd you know and I know that the soldier now oiling his gun in Israel or the bomber making another in strument of death in a grimy London flat or the robber stepping into the Detroit liquor store with a gun in his hand really arent going to be moved much less affected by such glorious sounding request So I won bother Man being man his path is always going to be a difficult one He usuauy makes it difficult But you know Santa better than anyone else that children dont believe in complications and in- furiations For them the simplest way from point A to point B Is moving along that direct line To get from Christmas 1974 to a better world circa you travel the most direct route Thats the road of friendship cooperation and lot of love I guess Santa Ive rambled enough Merry Christmas to you Bill Johnston To our Doc From the OakviUe Journal Record Dr Frank Philbrook Member of Parliament Parliament Hill Ottawa way nothing mow how things front As you can well imagine folks hereabout are Id a fizzy now what with last minute Christinas shopping and all Boy crowded Oh but dont get us wrong though Were all pitching in and tightening our belts just the way you fellas Not that theres much choice With prices the way they are these days we suppose folks should be glad theyve still got belts to tighten right Ha Ha Seriously though Doc this In flation thing really has some people down hard pressed as they are just to make ends meet much less come up with the extra cash to pay for the kids -gifts- Andif that wwenttadenoogh now theres all this talk of recession layoffs and such Frankly Doc theyre scared Cant really blame them either Seems every time they turn around it costs them more to keep bread on the table clothes on their backs and even a roof over their heads We thought It only fair to let you know that a lot of those folks are beginning to wonder if you people In Ottawa any thing to help them This public confidence sure is a fragile thing Actually Doc thats really why were wailing You see weve heard tell thatyou fellas are thinking about voting yourselves a GO per cent pay hike And weve got to tell you that people in Halton arent likely to take too kindly to theMdea To tell the truth we cant think of anything you could do that would more alienate them Not to say that you dont deserve more money Certainly you and most of your colleagues took hefty cuts in pay to take on the burden of public office And we recognize that It costs a lot of money to maintain two residences keep the riding organization in tune and be everywhere youre supposed to be when youre supposed to be there And with the Hours you fellas work and the responsibilities you have to shoulder theres no question that you earn every penny you get But the guy on the street whos got to make every dollar count now and who doesnt know what the future holds Is unlikely to look at It that way All hes likely to understand Is that a bunch of people who already make thousands of dollars more than we are on the one hand telling him not to be greedy and on the other dipping into his pocket to give themselves even more We just dont know how you could explain it to him Doc Or how you would tell a family facing a ChristmaB little more than bleak and a coming year not much brighter than you just cant get by on much less than a year We cant for the life of us see how you could do It Sorry to have been so somber Doc We Just thought youd want to know what the folks back home are thinking After all knowing what the people think and how they feel might help you make better decisions