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McGibbon helps celerate istoric occasion examiner Toadmm 12 1979 Riding the rails on stately queen sights and sounds of the steam era was No 6066 is By LORI COHEN Of The Examiner This prayer has been sent to you for good luck The original copy is from the Netherlands It has been around the world nine times You will receive good luck within four days provided you will in turn send this out This is no joke not send money Do not keep this letter For no reason whatsoever should this chain be broken Sound familiar People the world over receive chain let ters promising them good luck large sums of money recipes and books if they c0 operate or misfortune and even death if they do not Nobody seems to want these letters They arrive by mail usually with no return address The recipient is in structed to send out copies of the letter usually 20 along with either $1 or something else to the first name on the list if indeed there is list All letters must be sent within specified time period generally no longer than 48 hours This maans lot of busy work especially if the lucky recipient doesnt Summer work program makes farmers lot easier Canadian Nationals locomotive The engine thrilled railway buffs during the Cats last own typewriter or photocopy machine The Examiner recently placed an ad in the paper asking for readers reactions to chain letters The response was not favorable Harm ful threatening annoyr ing upsetting and ridiculous were some of the adjectives used to describe the letters Rila Smith of Barrie call ed to say her daughter got chain letter instructing her to send 20 copies within 96 hours or else you or your best friend or member of your family may drop dead within nine days We were both upset by it she said You cant have that kind of thing over your head Ive got too many other troubles Its safer to send it than to ignore it Mrs Smith said her daughter couldnt really af ford the cost of stamps and paper so the two women decided to split the cost At the time of the call they had 36 hours to go and were take ing names from the tele phone directory for their let ters hate to pass it to operational steam Brian Baker friends Ms Smith remark ed know it isnt right to take names from the phone book Maybe those people will have more backbone than and stop the chain ACURSE The chain letter Siske Pratt of Craighurst receiv ed was more like curse than chain letter she said thought it was really rotten she commented For someone whos superstitious it could have been disastrous Although Ms Pratt was very annoyed with her re cent arrival she doesnt mind the kind that ask for books She once participated in chain that asked her to send 49 cent childrens book promising 16 books in four weeks She never receiv ed thing Thats harmless she said And someone gets something once in while Mrs Pratt received her last chain letter in February Its still sitting athome All kinds of nice things happened the first week after got it sol wasnt worried ReCcntly Red Cross nurse went on regular visit Bev Rawn is coordinator of the new Agricrew program which enables farmers to get summer farm help from county students Examiner Photo Chain letters mail threats that annoy and upset people to her 31yearold patient and found him visibly upset The sickly man had received chain letter making the usual threats unless he sent out 22 copies rather quickly That chain letter really bothered him Muriel York said had to talk to him and calm him down Those letters are harmful and should be stopped She said shed return any chain letter with return ad dress back to its sender LITTLE USE Gary Palmer Barrie lawyer has little use for chain letters He recently received one and immediate ly filed itunder for you know what Spring seems to be the season when letter writers fancy turns to chains One woman who declined to iden tify herself said she receives at least six between March and June Being trifle superstitious and leary of bad luck she sends them out if money is not involved sent money out once and never heard anything again she said was young and gullible then What can be done to stop these undesirable letters ALLISTON Life for Simcoe ountys farmers could be easier this year than ever before thanks to Simcoe Coun ty students and the Ontario ministry of agriculture and load The ministry has initiated new program Agricrew in the county to help farmers with their work and help create employment for local students Agricrew is simple conve ment and easy to use said Bev Rawn coordinator of the pro gram it is designed to do jobs that farmers dont have time to do during the busy summer season he said Rawn estimates the program will employ 15 students About 75 however have applied for work with the program Students will work in three crews of five members each in cluding foreman Members meet in the mornings at cen tral gathering place and then proceed to the farm Five young people can do lot of work in day and build up big appetites in the process said Rawn He said however Straw and Hay Train Excursion held June to celebrate the l25th anniversary of the Ontario Simcoe and Huron Railway Photo by Practically nothing ac cording to Richard Porlier postmaster for the northern Ontario district postal region because the majority of them are sent anonymous yUnder the criminal code it is against the law to solicite the transfer of funds through the mail he ex plained And of course it is illegal to make threats but they are all anonymous When complaints are registered few for the vast number of chain letters in circulation the post office attempts to trace the source and if successful he or she will be handed over to the RCMP But investigations have never reached that stage Porlier said The post offices advice is to get rid of chain letters and forget about them he said Edward Roworth whos in charge of public relations at the Toronto post office says people should use common sense with regard to chain letters and simply ignore them It had real threatening feeling about it she said guess its better to send it out than lose my hours of sleep farmers need not worry Crew members bring their own food and water AN ASSEI Book work convenience said Rawn is an asset to the Agricrew program All farmers have to do is fill out work order form The crew foreman keeps track of the hours each member works and the coor dinator is in charge of crew payments and receipts to the farmer on completion of the job Workmans compensation forms are also handled by the coordinator Cost of the program to the farmer is $90 day with $15 day rebate returned to the farmer at the end of the sum mer Students under 18 years of age will be paid $215 an hour Those over 18 are paid $300 an hour Foremen are paid $350 an hour Students will be expected to work at least an eighthour day farmer doesnt stop working at the end of an eight hour day said Rawn We wont either By BRIAN BAKER STAYNER With com plimentary Collingwoodto Stayner ticket sent to us by Peter Oehm president of the Upper Canada Railway Socie ty and special permission to ride in the cab of steam locomotive 6060 on one trip it was with considerable excite ment we awaited the 10am ar rival into Barrie Station of the Oats Straw and Hay Train Excursion on Saturday June The excursion was to celebrate the 125 anniversary of the Ontario Simcoe and Huron Union Railway from Toronto through Barrie to Collingwood the first in Upper Canada Remembering that this is CNs last operational steam locomotive and that it is rumored that it will soon be returned to its former home in Alberta our mission was to record the sights and sounds of the train itself and work hard atit Finally shout went up and everyone in the crowd packing Barrie Station platform turned their heads eastward to see the steam train coming round the corner far down the tracks at Minets Point Approaching fast and to the sound of hissing and ringing bells its headlight blazing Engine No 6060 pulling long passenger train and some seven hundred passengers from Toronto loomed up out of the distance and came marching in like stately queen 300ton steel giant SWARMED WITH VISITORS Soon the platform was swar ming with hundreds of addi tional visitors ladies in colorful 1800 dresses officials in top hats conductors in navy blue Royal Mounted Police in broad brimmed hats and scarlet tunics children and steam buffs wearing striped engineers caps and railway buttons It has been great pleasure to have come this far on this historic run said Ontarios lovely First Lady the Hon Pauline McGibbon Lt Governor of Ontario who disembarked to drive the tradi tional golden spike in Barrie Station hope that one of the good sidelights of gasoline shor tages is that we will come to realize that we can travel in great comfort by train Bringing greetings from Sim coe County the warden of the County and reeve of Innisfil chuckled as he tried to be heard above the hissing roaring locomotive as it backed back from the front of the station and then came back behind the sta tion to pick up the train load of passengers continuing on to Stayner and Collingwood Sadly no ceremony and no decorations honored the monu ment and bronze bust of the Father of Canadian Railroading Frederick Cumberland architect and far sighted manager of the Nor thern Railway in 1860 set in the grounds of the Allandale CNR bowling grounds But as if in compensation Bruce Kearney master mechanic pulled open the steam whistle and sent long deep and beautiful whistle re echoing across the city as he prepared to cross nearby Essa Road As bonus he thrilled car passengers in cars lined up at the crossing by sending the great sixfoot drive wheels spinning on the tracks for two or three revolutions GREETED BY PIPERS By car we followed the train along highway 90 to Angus where it made runby and then on to Stayner where Holland Day festivities in con junction with the train excur sion were in full swing The train was greeted by the pipe band and Scottishdressed bagpipe players Dutchmenin black baggy pants and women in anklelength dresses with starched white bonnets walked the pavement in rattling wooden clogs For the first time we got closer look at the train in cluding the Onakawana car and the luxury antique the Cape Roace coach and the locomotive itself Blackened hands was our penalty for clim bing atop of rear of the fuel and water tender for terrific if somehwat scarey view along the top of this great Mountain Type engine vertible steam andfirebreathing monster We are jright beside the massive engine standing high on eight manhigh driver wheels four on each side as well as pony and truck wheels We can feel the heat radiating from the boiler long as house and well above our heads water pump goes click click click click click click The whistle blows the sound off Now we see the piston thrusting back and the engine creeps forward on creaking rails slowly at first the powerstroke ending with an ex plosive discharge of steam through the stack The move ment of the wheels the piston shaft crosshead main drive rod side or connecting rods the eccentric crank and the valve control rods and cams take up and become symphony of movement Faster and faster the huge engine goes as our run ning fails tokeep upwith it Black smoke and steam jets skyward from the ominously barking smoke stack and the drive take on ponderous metallic clanking We are glad to let the train pull away and watch the passenger train go hurtling by on the ringing rails Later we found the train waiting in the Collingwood ter minal Collingwood originally known as Hen and Chickens Harbor from group of rocky offshore islands did not exist until the railway was extended to the site in 185455 What is now the Collingwood Museum was the original station building CLIMBEDINTOCAB We hesitated then climbed into the cab of the eingine The boiler projecting into the front of it made the cab feel as hot as hot summer day The array of controls and instruments in cluded pressure guages fuel levers steam controls damper train and engine brakes throttle and the reverse lever and most important the whistle lever which later on we were permitted to pull two shorts long and two shorts Ill guarantee these tracks have never before seen an engine as big as 6000 com mented eingineer Bruce Kearney On the second trip from Coll ingwood to Stayner and back we joined our families in the coaches for what could possibly be our last train ride ever behind the incomparable locomotive power of steam Neglected pet dogs cause livestock killings say officials By RICHARD THOMAS Of The Examiner Do you know where you dog is Do you know where he has been Would it bother you to know you may be harboring killer Failure by pet owners to ask themselves these questions results in several thousand dollars in livestock destruction each year say officials with sevegal townships in Simcoe County Thats right Good old Fido or tailwagging Rover may be wantonly slaughtering sheep pigs and poultry without their owners knowledge And the problem isnt restricted to any one area either In Sunnidale Township two years ago claims for livestock killed by dogs cost the municipality about $1700 says clerk Edward Hannan One claim last year cost about $1000 after dog got into farmers barn and slaughtered several pigs Hannan says having to reim burse the farmer for the animals was sufficient incen tive for the dogs owner to destroy it without question but catching the dog in the act and identifying the owner is ma So far 16 farmers have ex pressed intercst in the pro gram Rawn is pleased with their response Of those in terested most have booked crew for thrceday period Every farmer Ive talked to is pleased with the idea of Agricrew said Rawn EXPERIENCED Many of the students who have applied to work on Agricrew are from farming families They will be ex perienced with farm work he said All students will be equipped with safety boots and hard hats both of which must be worn while on the job The only thing required from the farmer said Rawn is equipment to do the job and plenty of work Agricrew will be particular ly good for jobs requiring more than one person said Rawn Some jobs arent easy for farmer to do on his own he said like fixing fences The job is easier if you have crew There will be team spirit they will work fast and they will take pride in their work jor problem as most of the at tacks take place at night In Tosorontio Township the story has been much the same in past years with bad year costing the municipality $700 to $800 says clerk Gordon Mc Cracken COSTLY LOSSES Roy Bridge head of Innisfils animal control department says one year livestock losses due to killer dogs and wolves totalled about $5000 of which roughly $2300 was caused by the dogs And all of them werent from within the township he says We have had them come in from Barrie to do it Whereas wolves might kill in the spring to feed their young to dogs the slaughter is nothing more than fun It becomes game to them says Bridge GRADUATE T0 KILLING Gail Mahew manager of the Ontario Humane Societys Orillia branch says dogs graduate to killing by first wor rying and then nipping animals such as sheep or pigs Neither taught nor trained by owners dogs running loose become aggressive and can revert to instinct Mrs Mahew says People often say My dog wouldnt do that but give them chance and they will And once dog kills youll never be able to trust it again Most canine control officers with the townships agree with Mrs Mahew that neglected household dogs and not farm dogs are the source of the pro blem She says in Oro Township whose animal control is handl ed by the humane society black german shepherd has killed several lambs and ewes nlcll has been eating from the The people who own him probably dont even take the time to feed him Mrs Mahew says What is he likely to do with small children she asks dog is only mans best friend if man is his best friend Mrs Mahew says One which isnt given pro per attention is danger The problem of killer dogs is further compounded when they grow up wild and form packs says Oro clerk Henry Neufeld DUMPS DOG He says people who no longer want to keep dog think the country is the best place to dump it or let it go Thats how got my first dog about 10 years ago So meone abandoned it near my home Under the Livestock and Poultry Act farmers have the right to shoot any dog found in an area where livestock is kept Dog owners get irate but the farmer has right to make living and protect his livestock says Bridge It isnt that farmers dislike dogs as species because most of them have dogs of their own says Mrs Mahew but they are usually trained to do job No matter how destructive dog becomes the true culprit is the owner say township of ficials typical case in Essa Township recently involved two dogs belonging to hobby farmers from Toronto who come up on weekends and like their dogs to run free says Shirley Smith former canine control officer for the township But the lack firmer disciplinary legisla on is also atfaultsaysMr ith It is time the fa ce made bylaw for do trol and made it all the so if dogs cant run in Tom to then they cant run in Essah she said know your county Don Reid of Barrie correctly identified last weeks entry in the Know Your County contest as Crown Hill United Church and wins two free steaks cour tesy of and Super Discount In Barrie Angus and Alliston if you know the answer to this weeks contest send your name and address and telephone number to Know Your County Contest The Examiner Box 370 Barrie L4M 4T6 Winners are selected by random draw of correct answers and will be notified by mail Cg WLhmww mum