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}CASTO Twenty-five cents All's not well Some Russell Village residents are complaining of discolored well water and blaming it on sewer construction. They feel that lowering the Castor River (see picture, page 3) as part of the project has made the water .table drop. Larry Benoit, of the Ministry of Environment's Cornwall office, Vol. 1, No. 11 One Canada Friday, said the lowering should not have much effect on drilled wells. However, he added, blasting August 4, 1978 could disturb the water supply on a short-term basis. There should be no lasting effects, he stressed. The ministry is prepared to investigate any complaints of the sewer project interfering with household water, Mr. Benoit said. The number is 1-933-7402. So far, there have been no complaints registered, he noted. A recent survey by the Ottawa Citizen indicated Russell's water is basically safe to drink with a high coliform count found in only (Continued on Page 11) Russell this weekend The 120th Russell Fair throws open its doors today with a bigger 'n ever lineup of stars, competit- ions and displays. Among the four-day fair's new features announced by Russell Agricultural Society president, Lola Woods, was an exhibition on Saturday of antique horse-drawn vehicles sponsored by Eastern Ontario Pleasure Driving Inc. - the way grandpa got around. Canada's top female country singer Carroll Baker will head the parade of talent signed to entertain fairgoers who are expected in record numbers. Baker will be backed by the Tenderfoot band tonight at the Russell community centre. Also in the lineup of entertain- ers are Ottawa's Octavian, per- forming at a teen dance Satur- day, and CJOH children's favor- ites Willie and Floyd, on stage Sunday afternoon. Also Saturday, Navan's Cent- aur Riding School will lead the action-oriented through a heart- stopping series of vaults and flips on horseback at full gallop. It should be enough to drive the weak-of-heart to the ever-popular beer garden - expected to be under canvas outdoors this year - for a refresher. Those quaffing their favorite ale Sunday afternoon can also partake of a chicken barbecue. Still on horses, a Wendover riding group will perform a musical ride Monday morning. A sunset church service will be held Sunday. Sewing, baking, flower and crop competitions, cattle, sheep and horse shows, saddle and harness shows, horse pulls, tractor pulls, baseball games - all the backbone of any country fair - will be held daily. And what would a fair be without the traditional midway fun and games. All events will be held at the Russell community centre and fairgrounds. General admission to the fairgrounds Saturday and Monday is $2, Sunday is $3 Admission to the Carroll Baker is $5 advance, $6 at the door; Octavian, $3. e e Upcoming Fairs NAVAN Aug. 10-13 CHESTERVILLE Aug. 25-27 METCALFE Sept. 29-Oct. 1 Delay The September issue of the Castor Review will be late because of staff holidays. The issue will be published Sept. 15; deadline is Sept. 8. Gleanings from the Greely Grist Mill, an easy-going look at happenings in that village by resident Mel Thompkins, joins our other regular columns. Russell Fair cow-boy team It's fair time and no one knows it more than Brian Carscadden, 10, of weekend. Barry has been grabbing spare time between chores to R.R. 3, Russell, who hopefully hugs Fairbanks Kenny Lynn in groom FKL, here displaying the composure required of a prize anticipation of competing at the Russell Fair cattle show this 'winner. -- More pictures, pages 6 and 8. T'S FAIR TIME Imagine smearing camphor, mutton tallow, soot, pine tar, turpentine and lard all over your chest. Yech! Disgusting maybe but just one of numerous techniques widely used at one time to cure every- thing from head colds to yellow jandice. These home remedies develop- ed in rural Canada, including Eastern Ontario, were once non- existent, scarce or at least difficult to reach. According to books on the subject and to Castor Review residents who once (some still do) practised home remedies, anything that could be found among the provisions of the well- stocked farmhouses of the day inevitably wound up as an ingredient in treating sickness; ce from water to crush- Sidewalk Talk By Mark Van Dusen Cure worse than disease ed onions, garlic, salt, ginger... But the ingredients weren't always found in the home, nor were they often originally in- tended fer human consumption. Take dog spit, groundhog oil and spider webs for instance. Many of the home remedy ingredients were found in the wild flowers, shrubs and weeds that grew a sneeze from the front porch; wild cherry, yellow- root, wintergreen fern, camel root and red oak among them. They also involved things which people weren't always willing to admit they had around the house, like moonshine or even store boughten' whiskey. And the application often seemed even less likely than the cure itself: sucking salt water up the nose (asthma), keeping a Chihuahua around the house (asthma), wearing a flannel shirt with turpentine and lard on it all winter (chest congestion), turning upside down before going to bed (foot cramps), tying the sufferer's fingernail paring toa live eel (fever), tying a flour sack around the head (head- ache), tonamea few. Here's a few more: Warm a spoonful of urine and put a few drops in ear (earache), bury hair clippings under a rock (headache), rub with butter- milk, vinegar and salt (poison ivy), rub with sulfur and lard (itch), apply a poultice of eggs, cream and epsom salts (freck- les), step in fresh cow dung (athlete's foot), drink red alder tea (kidney trouble), sheep dung tea (measles). Place a nickel directly under the nose between the upper lip and gum and press tightly (nose bleed), drink two teaspoonsful of skunk oil (pneumonia), drink small portions of liquid made from soaking rattleroot, gin- seng, red corn root, wild cherry bark and golden seal root in one gallon of whiskey (rheumat- ism), tie a smelly sock around the neck (sore throat), drink blackberry juice (stomach trou- ble), rub with skin from chicken gizzard and put skin under a rock (warts), drink mare's milk (whooping cough), eat a head of garlic every day (worms) While some home remedies are obviously laughable, many have had proven healing effects since their ingredients contained natural chemicals capsulized in the myriad pills found in today's medicine chests. Evidently, subscribers to home remedies often had to chose between the treatment and suffering in silence. j