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SIDELIGHTS Progress Report The last meeting of council on June started late ended late- Scheduled to commence at 8 pm members were tiptoeing in around Super fluous speechifying not by Councillor Gundy pro longed the session until after midnight And what did those four hours of talking achieve Only two things of practical value A bylaw asked for by the barbers and a bylaw restricting unlicensed hawking and peddling- Preceding these was the verbal scrimmage between the mayor and the deputyreeve W7 WHAT THEY ARE SAYING PAGE ELEVEN THURSDAY THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF JUNE NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTYONE Deputy Reeve Murray is chair- man of the streets committee He and his committee Murray and Gundy had ordered gravel and fill at a cost of When Mr Murray asked that the accounts be passed the i mayor reminded him that it was contrary to byJaw to exceed spending more than without V council approval The- fact was the deputy reeve in submitting the accounts was in reality asking for council But the mayors quib- vas opposed to all past procedure He hadnt questioned any other account Why then did he question the accounts of the streets committee They were all there for him to ex amine Deputy Reeve Retaliates Mr Murray pointed out that he and his committee had fol lowed past procedure The roads needed attention and they had received it To have waited for a meeting of full council have meant time lost They had acted in the best interests of the town But the mayor had a hunch with the bylaw He was not satisfied that the conditions of the bylaw had been observed He rapped on that in a manner suggestive of a squeam- ish spinster upbraiding the butchers boy The mayor all up and peeved because of the neglect of the bylaw The Deputy Reeve rightly re taliated He announced his in- tention of resigning forthwith if he and his committee had acted improperly Council immediale- gave the deputy reeve a unan imous vote of confidence That was eight up for the deputy reeve and eight down for the mayor- Not a bad score for the deputy reeve Few Reminders The mayor was peevish over the neglect of the bylaw training expenses without per mission to Let us remind him that he himself broke that bylaw last year when he the buying of fire without council approval He disregarded the bylaw for the best of reasons and we sup ported his action when a mem ber of council questioned it Our published support is on the record It was a breakdown and the mayor did the right thing in disregarding the chicken feed peanut bylav He was just as right in what he did as the deputy reeve and his committee were right Hut what about the counts that were brought into question last February by Coun cillor Gundy incurred by the arena board Councillor Gundy stated that he wanted on the accounts before lie vote their approval A motion moved by Councillor Gundy and seconded by lor was carried by inviting the arena board to come to council and clarify That resolution of council was disregarded and the arena board never put in an The mayor made no protest on that occasion where a sum of the taxpayers money was He expressed no words of disapproval at the absence of the arena board in disregarding the wishes of the council over which he presides Nor have we ever heard him question the manner In vhich the planning board spends the fax payers money Opus When Reeve Cook arises from his seat you never know he is going to travel north or south east or west in civic matters We have often felt that lie does not know himself just which direction he wants to go This is revealed by his frequent abstention from voting But the reeve achieved a at last council session when as chairman of the parks committee he read a report which contained two remarkable pronouncements i The first of these was as fol lows The Cousins pond to be assigned to someone to produce a map and plans as to the acceptance of deed and everything to progress with the project theres a remarkable pro nouncement apparently it has been decided that the Cousins Jpond Is to become the property of the town Or is the reeves report just an attempt to put It I across Goodness only knows y- what it means It could mean even nothing It Out The reeve is a with only trouble 1 that produce a map and plans for the Cousins pond And accep tance of deed and everything to progress with the project Tax payers will ask Whos going to pay for the map and plans And who wants the Cousins pond Apparently theyve decided to take over the pond But where is the pond And every thing to progress with the pro ject What project It might almost seem as if the reeve had been taking tuition from the planning board Such a mixture of language as one hasnt heard since Dickens inexactitudes of an inebriated The reeve was riding high His report also contained this choice bit That all weeds grass and hay be cut at the suitable lines That all projects be com pleted and a daily progress re port turned in to the clerks of fice for future reference and good business practice Theres about as much likeli hood of a daily progress report being turned in to the clerks of fice as there is for the mayor to fly to the moon Plain Ballyhoo Its just plain ballyhoo to talk about the cutting down of the weeds Through the of last summer sow thistles and weeds in abundance grew in the McMahon park We appealed re peatedly for attention to this ne glected park the gift of a donor who did well for his town Nothing was ever done At this moment of writing the condition of the park is nothing short of a public dis grace It is becoming a recep tacle for rubbish Yet all that is needed is a man with a scythe and a couple of hours work to put it in order Daily progress report says the reeve Such talk is enough to stop all the canaries in from singing and cause them to bury their little heads to hide their tears And there is someone to be assigned to produce a map and plans for the development ac ceptance of deed of Cousins pond No wonder we have to put in over four hours at each council meeting The reeve resumed his seat without any visible apprec iation of the ironically humorous situation in which he had been the principal actor But it wont be humorous for the taxpayers if council agrees to accept the Cousins gift Pond or no pond they will hove to pay for its upkeep The Linton Proposition It was back again in a new form Councillors Gundy and got a motion through to the effect that Mr Linton bo authorized to sell his property at the end of Tyler and subject to the reservations that the town be granted property for the extension of both Tyler and across the prop erty westerly and that the town be granted on casement along the east bank of the creek Councillor Gundy modestly confessed that on this occasion he did not propose to make a speech Instead he requested the town clerk to bring out the former planning board report the one that asserted that now the strategic time to do this and do that Will the town really buy the Linton property Ah Theres one for you Your guess is as good as mine Its all a mystery A mystery How Will They Vole When it comes to a vote we think there will be strong op position from the deputy reeve and Councillors Field ing and Jones to the acquirement of the Cousins gift That is the line these members of coun cil have so far token Councillors and Field ing have taken the wise view that council has more parks than it can handle Deputy Reeve Murray expressed the view that the Cousins gift would be costly to the town Councillor Jones wanted the to be explained so that the town would know just what was ex pected of it As for the other new park ad joining the new high school Councillors Fielding and Jones were opposed to Its pur chase Wo are not quite sure on the deputy reeves position on this matter It is a fairly safe bet that the mayor reeve and Councillors Gundy and will for its acquisition if the vote is a recorded one Met This problem has been relegat ed to the consideration of the police committee Mayor Bell Councillor Fielding and Jones in mind that tho mayor EDITORIALS By J G SINCLAIR POOR FATHER The first celebration of what has become known as Fathers Day took place in Spokane Washington on the third Sunday in June 1910 There is an interesting history associated with the origin of this sentimental orgy in which ties and shirts for father arouse emotions that are often adroitly concealed by the recipients It was a woman who originated Fathers Day Her name was Mrs Bruce Dodds an American who per suaded a Ministers Alliance to look into a day to honor father With characteristic American zeal a report was issued on the matter Here is a quote from it Dad is often the forgotten man but this is the one day that father sits in regal splendor at the head of his family this is the one day we all do little things to show our appreciation for fathers kind attention in the previous days of the year Poor father Is there one among us incapable of blushing for very shame over such an outburst of irresponsible sentimentality The words we have quoted are a scoop for any budding satirist Forgotten man forsooth Why father is never forgotten Some one is always pushing him around imagine father sitting in regal splendor at the head of his family Regal splendor Why the poor guy is fortunate if in these days of spiral climbing of food prices he can get in at the table at all Anyway what father worthy of the name would not feel him self an ass if he were invited to take up a position of regal splendor at the head of his family Fathers Day We have no illusions on the matter It was an afterthought of Mothers Day Somebody said Oh yes theres father too Poor father KNOW YOUR MERCHANTS Clifford Griffiths i DO THEY EVER MEET We suppose they do Rut we get no account of their meetings and deliberations There is about of public money invested in the Aurora enterprise which they were assigned to supervise It would be immensely helpful if from time to time the public was informed of their activities We refer to the arena board What have they been doing lately We have no report that we could publish for public information Last year a was issued Why no report so far of the winter season The arena is one of Auroras chief assets We suggest that it is a report covering lust seasons activities was issued showing the present assets and liabilities We remember the rejjort furnished last year by the recreation director Tom Dickson It was an excel lent report of that seasons hockey and skating activi ties We presume that the present absence of such a similar report from the recreation director is a matter for the arena board to decide We lake this opportunity of paying a tribute to the recreation director and his assistant They have done much to promote good healthy activities in Aurora Of the recreation commission with which we are familiar because of the press admission to its meetings we can attest to Mr Dicksons ready co operation in all matters that concern community wel fare We have received no invitations to attend the meetings of the arena hoard If we had the public of Aurora would be more enlightened on its doings At present like the public we dont know what it is doing or failing to do The press ought to be present at its meetings CLOSE NEIGHBORS It has given us great pleasure to learn from New market businessmen and others that our AUKOUA PAGE is supplying a medium of community contact that they appreciate This is not surprising in view of the immediate proximity of the two towns whose interests arc in so many ways identical We know of Aurora residents who regularly do some of their weekly shopping in Newmarket and of Newmarket residents who come to Aurora for the same reason In an exceptionally unusual degree the two towns are interlocked For such reasons NEWS PAGE is welcomed in Newmarket as the AND EXPRESS is welcomed in Aurora Through these mediums our two communities obtain neighborly news of each others doings Our full page of Aurora advertisers in last weeks issue of the AND EXPRESS provided abundant testimony to tho merits of North Yorks leading weekly newspaper with its circulation of ov copies Advertisers have the guarantee of Audit Bureau of Circulations and of the fact that from among over weekly newspapers the ERA AND EXPRESS is numbered in the list of weekly newspapers holding the distinction of Class A Weeklies We greatly appreciated the ready willingness of our Aurora merchants to cooperate in giving tho Aurora Horse Show such wide publicity Had there been the space at our disposal last week we have been assured that a far greater number of Aurora merchants would have added their names to our list In AUKOUA NEWS PAGE we are just at tho be ginning As time goes by we shall expand its use fulness We have pride in our newspaper and in our everincreasing number of readers and advertisers- To leave ones native land and begin a new life in another is a test of character and adaptability on the part of every such adven turer Many there are who fail to survive such tests and return to their former domiciles defeated and disgruntled It would have been infinitely better had they stayed at home and never heed ed the subtle call of the seven seas and what lay beyond Britain is an old country and its thouand years traditions are bitten deeply into the hearts and habits of its natives For a Britisher to abandon the ancient ways of life that he inherits is a severe trial to most And yet Britons have found places through the centuries in other lands where they have often found happiness and success Great numbers of them have in recent years emigrated to North America North America is not Britain Those who have realized the fundamental differ ences that divide the way of life here from that of the Old Land and have learned to appreciate those differences have usually found friends and success here Successful Newcomer A successful newcomer to North America who immediately found himself at home here is the subject of this weeks word- portrait lie is a merchant in amusement and relaxation His name is Clifford Griffiths and he is manager of Auroras Royal theatre He is a young man of no more than Before he came to Can ada he had achieved one of lifes supremo tests He had made a happy marriage He wanted something more than that His wish was to try out his fortunes in Canada He made the decis ion and arrived in Toronto in December He came here with no pull awaiting him His credentials were youth ambition and a good family and business back ground A little money added to these and you have the com plete picture of an old country emigrant trying out his abilities in a new and different land from what he had known Way to Success We wrote an article in which we expressed the opinion that no newcomer to Canada could fully appreciate this country until the lapse of about three years Unless a newcomer had become thoroughly Canadianised in three years the feat could never he accomplished Our view was that after three years in Canada no one would ex change it for any other country in the world without prejudice to native loyalties Clifford Griffiths adapted himself to Canadian ways of life with amazing speed Although he arrived in Toronto in Decem ber before that month was ended he was appointed to his present position of manager of the Royal theatre How did he do it He had of course ex cellent credentials But he had something more He had the will to accept the first opportun ity that came along and make the best of it He has proved himself most acceptable to Aurorians He is a popular theatre manager be cause he is a most likeable man Patrons come to the theatre to enjoy themselves They are met at the entrance to the theatre by a manager and by a staff who make them feel that their pat ronage is appreciated and their presence very welcome Credentials A native of Cardiff Wales Mr Griffiths was employed from to by the General El ectric Company of England in various positions From to he was manager and super visor in the government depart ment of National Service Enter tainment in England in which capacity he was called on to tour throughout the country From to he was theatre sup ervisor for the Sound Film Com pany of South Wales Mr Griffiths father was a wellknown professional pianist and musician and emulating this parental record Clifford himself gained wide distinction as a theatre organist and pianist with dance bands with engagements of countrywide range Besides his professional work Mr Grif fiths has long been actively in terested in movie photography and in the making of recordings on his lateststyle recording ma chine Personal Clifford Griffiths is possessed of a pleasing personality He is good company at any hour of the day gift not possessed by too many This would explain in part at least his early suc cess Of his future success none who is acquainted with him will be in doubt A member of the masonic or der he is devoting himself among other leisure employ ments to a study of the history of that ancient fraternity There are many types of mer chant Mr Griffiths merchandis es fun education movie laughter and tragedy for six nights week ly at the Royal theatre That is a good measure of service as an Aurora merchant AURORA NEWS PAGE wishes him and his wife Pauline all future happin ess MM Telegraphers Honor Former Agent F Hughes Comm Plans For Summer A very interesting meeting at brought an unexpected gift to a wellknown and respected Aurora citizen Frank Hughes It was a banquet for CNR telegraphers held in the Anglican hall and about sat down to an excellent repast Presentations were made enclosing a cheque for a eight members of the telegra phers present and among the recipients of gifts was Mr Frank Cook of Newmarket Mr Hughes with justifiable pride showed us the English billfold which was presented to him and which contained a sum of money He said it was a very fine meet ing The chief speaker of the even ing was Mr J Dickson of Otta wa general chairman of the C telegraphers and with him were Mr J the local representative and chief des patches Mr Patterson of Frank Hughes The march of time has treated Frank Hughes so kindly that it is almost impossible to believe that he commenced duties with the CNR as far back as the year In fact the was not then in existence having origin ated as the Grand Trunk rail way Mr Hughes had continu ous service with the railway until his retirement in During that long period he witnessed many changes over take the service In the early days of transportation two small engines were used in hauling about cars each with a load of tons Then came the time when one engine was capable of hauling to cars with an average load of tons to each spend a day in the country ear Swimming Classes Other memories include a Discussion centred sight of the first gold brick pro- grant to assist the valuable work of the Commission Other very interesting reports were presen ted by Steadman Tom Swin dle Mrs Stavcrt director of Handcrafts and by Tom Dick son Recreation Director On a motion by Mr Swindle seconded by Mr the secretary was instructed to write a letter of appreciation to the education department for the grant received The commission expressed great satisfaction at receipt of the grant Summer Activities Among other summer activi ties swings are immediately being erected for the use of the children A Hobby Show and an exhibition of Handicrafts will be arranged for Saturday June 16 at tle United church under the direction of Mrs Stavcrt Another very important branch of the Commissions work concerned the ShutIns Ar rangements can be made Tor any Shutin to have a pleasant out ing during the summer MI that is needed is the name and ad dress to be sent to either Coun cillor Mrs Fielding or Rev Purchase members of the committee responsible for these outings It is hoped that any Shutin will avail himself or herself of this opportunity to Aurora Junior C Of C Has Charter Dinner Hear Outline Of Aims A remarkable demonstration of interest in Charter Night of the Aurora Junior Chamber of Commerce was evidenced by the fact that no less than sat down to dinner at the on Monday night Juno Representatives attended from Junior Chambers of Commerce at Weston Niagara Falls Hamilton and Toronto The Aurora Junior Chamber of Commerce got off to a brilliant start Brad president of the Toronto Junior of Commerce was the presiding chairman at Monday nights func tions and was supported at the head table by Mayor Bell Rev J Harold N president election Aurora Lions club president of Aurora Rotary club D Gil bert vice president Aurora board of trade Others at the head table includ ed John Hamilton past national president Junior Chambers of Commerce guest speaker Harry Smith Toronto Doug Fisher president Aurora Junior Chamber of Commerce and George Marshall Falls representative of the nat ional office Objectives of In a brilliant address the guest speaker of the evening out lined the objectives of Junior Chambers of Commerce Mr discussed five points of their credo namely personal velopment and Improvement work on behalf of their com munities vigorous development of Canadian sentiment internat ional fellowship and develop ment of community fellowship In the course of his address which was given the closest at tention the speaker expressed the view that Canadians general ly ore not sufficiently informed on their own country His topographical descriptions were of so varied a character that Larry Rubins who expressed the thanks of the meeting for the speakers address was moved to say that Mr hud given the best lesson on Canadian geo graphy that he had heard for a long time President Fisher Following the presentation of the charter and induction of offi cers president Doug Fisher Aurora Junior Chamber of Com- addressed the meeting briefly but of He indicated that it was the purpose of the members to apply themselves vigorously to self- improvement in every possible way through study and discus sions in class Each member would be expected to play on active part in their proceedings and to equip himself with on understanding of community problems and to work for the betterment of the community The president outlined immed iate procedure concerned with their Chamber m Other Speakers Other speakers taking part in the proceedings included Mayor Bell Hurry Smith Gilbert and Ken Moses Grace was said by Rev J the singing of O Canada the meeting was declared ad Later a reception was by Little Long Lac gold mines This memorable event was witnessed by Mr Hughes at the time he was agent for the at in He saw also while stationed at Red Rock the erection of the great paper mills owned by the Paper Company on the shores of Lake Superior Four thousand workers were engaged on this enterprise working night and day for one year Agent at Aurora Frank lies was agent for ten years Those years embrace both joyful and tragic memories The latter were con cerned with the war years when it was his duty to receive casual ty telegrams In moving words he recalled experiences when as many as eight such telegrams were re ceived in Aurora in one week Some of these telegrams an nounced the names of the woun ded Others alas were notifica tions of the supreme price hav ing been paid for service to king and country Mr Hughes remarked on the moving tasks he often had to perform in bringing to parents the information with the utmost need for tact the bitter news that some loved one had made the supreme sacrifice Journeys After years of service with the Frank Hughes reach ed the end of that long and al ways interesting journey His retirement provided the business men of Aurora with an oppor tunity to evince their regard for Frank Hughes The gift he re ceived on March is one that he displays with sincere pride and speaks of with affec tion for the donors This gift lovely gold wristlet watch was presented to him at the home of Mr George Baldwin Mr Baldwin made the presentation in the presence of about business men and fol lowing this tribute a gift of two dozen roses was presented to Mrs Hughes by Mrs George Baldwin Nothing that 1 ever received said Mr it gave me greater pleasure I deeply value the Aurora business mens gift and will treasure it throughout my life Not Retired It was journeys end with the CNR but not journeys end for Frank Hughes Having al ways led an active life he wise ly decided to continue it So he went to work with Walter Mil- gate and when Mr Milgatc sold his business to Mr Frank Hughes continued On as accountant and treasurer tor the new owner He greatly enjoys his work His leisure hobbies vary from vegetable and flower gardening in summer to needlepoint work in winter A past master of Rising Sun lodge Mr Hughes at present holds office in the chapter in Royal Arch and is devoting con siderable time to the duties of that appointment AURORA NEWS PAGE ex presses best wishes to Mr and Mrs Frank Hughes Recreation Commission A meeting of the above organ ization was held in the Firemens Hall on Thursday night June and was as usual characterized by much active discussion Mrs Helen Dickson secretary- treasurer read minutes and treasurers report Don Glass chairman read correspondence which included a letter from provincial department of h question of swimming classes which it was feared would have to be abandoned for this season owing to shortage of funds It was pointed out that the larger number of children would nec essarily have to be catered to and this would mean extension playground activities Many useful suggestions for summer activities were consider ed by the Commission and the meeting adjourned at Jr Of Criticism has been heard on the number of organizations in Aurora some of which are active and many others dormant One new organization has recent ly come into existence and it promises to be not only active but useful We refer to the Junior Cham of Commerce whose Char Night at the was most successfully consummated on Monday night June 11 This organization has enjoyed a bril liant start which holds promise of future success Its objectives are civic betterment in variety of directions in which objectives all members must play their in- dividual part This new Aurora organization has been fortunate in securing for the office of secretary a young man who has had a great deal of experience in the work of a Junior Chamber of Com merce He is the assistant town clerk Ken Moses who was secretary for some years of the at his home town ami who also held other live positions Inaugural Meeting The inaugural meeting of the Aurora took place on Ap ril 1951 in the east room of the Firemens Hull following a good deal of earlier spade work on the part of Doug Fisher and a few other enthusiasts There were potential members at that meeting which now about paid up members The Toronto club sponsored the Aurora and were most helpful The officers of the J are Doug Fisher president 1st vicepresident Larry Rubin 2nd vicepresident Frank Caru so treasurer W Harvey Bell banquet chairman Howard Case membership chairman Stephenson finance chairman Harrison secretary Ken Moses The Aurora Horse Show was a great success Until late in day the weather was fine if a little cool Both entries and on lookers achieved record num bers Great credit is due to the organizers of this outstanding North York event for the sue- cess that crowned their efforts The Royal theatre manage ment is presenting an unusual- feature during its show com mencing June which will be greatly appreciated by Aurora patrons and visitors Special re- are being released the Aurora High School Cadet Band mainly composed of marches This youthful band was described as having no equal in Ontario having regard to its size On the same date Rudyard Kiplings Kim will be shown at the Royal These special lions will doubtless draw large houses to Auroras popular theatre The Kipling film is in- technicolor The capital of the Union Africa is Pretoria although the lions Parliament meets in Capetown