The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

h 11 the tribune thundjy january 5 1967 teacher writes home from borneo mission j the following news letter was received at christmas time from air and airs hugh merbison of borneo airs herbison is the former agnes klinck of stouffvule with her husband and five children iney left vancouver in august on a twoyear teaching mission their eldest daughter kathle is teaching in india wendy is married and living in vancouver she is an accomplished vio linist playing in a sym phony orchestra in that c 1 1 y al r s if e r b i s o n writes as follows simanggang sarawak december 1966 borneo land of pirates headhunters tropical jun gles exotic beauty apes and snakes steaming swamps sluggish rivers flowing from the dark in- interior of the third larg est island we landed in borneo at a modern airport near the capital city kuching pic- turesque enough in spite of tall buildings and auto mobile traffic beside the broad sarawak river chi nese shops crowded to gether along the sidewalk traces of british authori ty remained in the white official buildings and old canon guarding the river a hundred miles by land hover toward the indone sian border and a more primitive borneo through a small town a mile further and there was our home the gov ernment secondary school simanggang scattered around the hillside amongst hibiscus bushes and banana trees the green jungle all around are thirteen homes for teachers and cooks dining hall five classroom blocks and six hoarding houses for 200 of our 340 students houses are on stilts set in concrete gutters for the daily down pours all have electricity running water and louvr- cjl windows breakfast in the dining hall is at 7 classes from 740 to 1210 and 2 until 30 then chores grass cutting weeding sweep- i ihg and games soccer volleyball basketballbad- j ininton after supper study from 7 till 9 lights out at 930 boys are lithe brown j gods in blue shorts and white shirts girls darkly winsome in blue skirts and white blouses 40 of- them are chinese 40 i iban 19007 malay 003 european namely brenda hers the only gold en head amongst glisten ing black on staff are 17 teachers and 5 others a friendly group from many racial backgrounds we teach forms one to five grades vlf to xii ter minated by the cambridge senior examinations in struction is in english ex cept for courses in chine se malay and iban lan guage academic standards are high students diligent and willing we are very happy with them school ing here is still a privilege back home the fireplace would be blazing cheer fully and the first snows might be swirling about here we perspire under a ceiling fan hoping for the daily drenching to relieve the heat actually the weather is not all that bad we keep healthy flights are fairly coolgood food is available our shopping centre is the chinese bazaar a mile away wonderful crowd ed shops selling everything announce new healing substance shrinks piles aferiak fetrrhtlf 4 rtpair- 4anaif4 iihi a rrtrm rnurch institit kit fcrd unlcc hcallf aebfunc ih th alility vjirv brxtsr xhom rata it rtlirtm itchier fi iffefctt in mifiotn and fpti hfalir tha ibjow mjayd lo t9 fr caf wkilt rntly riwiej pain n rrcuetto jt tc fae meat irnpcrtaaf ef at ittoiti 7 o hrocr tin tba imprcnr- wt ic1ru4 er r hi f naijr irtrtt tw aa rivf itk a ij iiitirtf btodjx wfk cicvir kr bferh ad austsara fwrth o rw tew i sv 61dt is scrt4 ti et- rrt nri roy form rci tt7lna h ai tcw it at aj dns avvi 5aaa r jka tacit rrlwiih prawns and perfumes rice and radios theres a bank a theatre a swim ming pool so refreshing these hot december days and sidewalk eating places where the service is plain but the cooking is fancy all this beside the famous tidal bore river batang lupar downriver are malay kampongs moslem vil lages of fishermen and farmers even on the mud dy bank their boats are graceful but atloat each with unique design and- colorfui passengers they look like dreams of south east asia come vividly un believably true one day last month on official duty we found ourselves beyond the mouth of the lupar in a small boat out in the south china sea singa pore was westward viet nam a thousand miles to the north sarawak only a mislv line on the horizon southward back to that shoreline we snaked through sandbars at the mouth of the krian along lowlying swampy coast crowded with mangrove trees then nipah palms used for sugar roofing and cigarettes stopped at a malay fishing village where a thousand thatch ed homes crowded togeth er on pilings above the mud along the river bank would sometimes be a sago mill with booms of logs waiting to be ground into flour every where were low muddy padi farms where cone- hatied chinese or lban men and women stooped under the torrid sun planting rice tall coconut trees were in the distance our travels took us over land through hilly country charred and smoking from fires set to clear ground for the planting of hill padi a rice grown tradi tionally by the ibans in dry jungle soil soon we came to the wide 350- mile long rejang went by speedboat 60horse john son outboard made in canada for two hours and arrived at sibu whsre oceangoing vessels were loading rubber timber and pepper someday per haps well ascend the rej ang to its ulu upcoun try and sec the kayans kenyahs and shy punans but now here we are sliding along another river this time a narrow stream meandering through quiet forest we sit low in a long slim native boat skilfully manoeuvred by a dark sea davak monstrous vine- covered jungle trees arch across the clear waters of our winding waterway an idyllic- picture perfect scene by trril through a forest of rubber trees to a real iban longhouse what would it be like this typical communay home of the sea dayaks makers of legends about head hunting picacy and pagan beauty fifteen feet above ground for sanitation and protection 400 feet long the front steps are notches in a sloping log inside remove your mud dy shoes a farreaching porch of bamboo strips covered by woven mats rice storage bins above a few old heads hanging around a young man in loin cloth squatting trim ming withes for a fish- trap the old tuai rumah coming to meet us his kindly face smiling a wel come tattoos on neck and chest and on hands show ing the number of heads the women and children hesitant intrigued bv nancys braids and bren- das coloring sound the gong a huge shaped cir cle of bronze with muled hammer call everybody in guests have come we must bathe in the stream and after a while tea is served with sago biscuits not a feast but thats an other story about sinewy men dancing by lamplight girls wearing silver dollars gongs syncopating till dawn we squat on mats admire the womens beautiful weaving play with the pet monkey pre tend to exchange children the wizened old ladies laugh in glee their lips salesmen very large ultramodern real estate office at brimley road and eglinton avenue east requires sales staff both men and women experienced people welcomed but not required as training clinics provided i commission basis bonuses psi blue cross ontario hospital canadian pension plan plus other important benefits a real opportunity for a diversified real estate career call mr reid 2667731 bowes cocks ltd realtors 2751 eglinton ave east fertilizer now and save stouffville coop 47 edward st phone 6401530 ludicrously red with betel- nut juice we ache to talk their language trying by helpless gestures to close the wide gap between our cultures our students return next week for the christmas holidays to the kampongs the longhouses the homes above the chinese shops and try to relate the old to the new brenda will be going home with an lban sea dayak girl nancy has had no school to go to so has made few friends her own age david is in kuch ing teaching a class of 46 grade fives kathie is fin ishing two yers teaching in india may join us here in july wendy is both housewife and symphony violinist in vancouver the appointment here is under canadas external aid colombo plan address government secondary school simanggang sara wak please write well be thinking of you at christmas time the herbisons hugh agnes david brenda xancv annual census rarest bird species in conservation area exterior lighting enhances markham home markhams several subdivisions look on a new look during the christmas and new years season one of the most eyecatching was the residence of edgar fisher paradise avenue staff photo by edgertox pegg this census is organized and compiled annually by dr j ml speirs and was taken on december 26th a full report which is made in the interests of the national audubon sqc- iety is not available as yet last years 60 species was a record for that date those who took part in our section which was bounded by brougham claremont balsam and kinsale areas were ken mctaggart don and steven goodwin charlie christie of oshawa ial pegg and myself we found birds plenti ful and feeders well sup plied at the homes of the kortrighls t r e m i e r s deaths and at general and lady ritchies at broug ham we stopped to count uluejays and cardinals as they flew to a feeder at the storry home a huge flock of goldfinches caught our eye just east of brougham as we drove up a sideroad birds were coming from all directions at the andy- bates home and eight species were chalked up rarest species at this time of year were found in the claremont conservation area they were a great blue heron a pair of black ducks a whitethroated sparrow and 2 field spar rows another rarity was a cowbird at kinsale some of the results of the day show that wood peckers are down in num bers northern finches have not appeared as yet and cardinals are on the increase as are house sparrows and starlings after travelling 70 miles by car and a number on foot here is the score goldfinch 260 house sparrow 235 starling 17 chickadee 116 junco 54 rock dove 46 tree sparrow 40 blue jay 23 cardinal 15 downy wood pecker 9 northern shrike 5 hairy woodpecker 4 whitebreasted nuthatch 9 redtailed hawks 4 great horned owl 3 ruff ed grouse 2 black duck 2 comon crow 2 field sparrow 2 whitethroated sparrow 1 cowbird 1 birds of canada on sale the national govern ment has published a pro fuselyillustrated 428page reference book lor bird lovers titled birds of canada the book was recently roughlegged hawk 1 sparrow hawk 1 great blue heron 1 released by ottawa the now publication de scribes 51 bird species found in canada and in cludes 69 color plates and 6s blackandwhite lino drawings in addition there arc 3s0 range maps and a glossary of ornitho logical terms revival services sunday jan 8th 11 am and 730 pm preaching salvation divine deliverance for all rev masonic hall situ line stouffville c weese and rer t johnson now available from any member of your stouffville lions club flags banners symbols pennants and more to help you celebrate canadas centennial year see the display in aikens pharmacy window feature save 3c york fancy kernel corn 1367 tin feature save 10c k ovale 333s 3fly facial tissues 1 feature save 13c moderne bathroom tissues 4 roiis i feature save be heinz assorted 1ioz jars i specially selected value cheekd canada choice red brand beef sale blade roast 55c tm meily roast i short rib lb 59c s jjotielmw shoulder m pot roast lb 59c si for roiling is rib beef lb 35c rib steaks lb 89c freshr minced ground beef lb 49c bonelie stewing beef lb 65c strained foods 4 for m feature save to kraft miniature ioiio cello marshmallows iu feature ft varieties cello bax biscuits supreme save 4c kelloggs lloz pk special k 45tf h holiday farms beef steakettes lb 65c 1 i fill your freezer specials h raai ulnrfbs lo b av round steak rumpi aqi p deei nipsroasts stew beef ground beef m 9v roof fkllflt rto to m lb slmrt kib il kkf- r dccl viu shoulder ront ground chotk sl d jjv- ib 69c i nine d 1bavo louis roi k ifb chops centre cuts roast best but salt 4c red white nomogenlzed ioi jr peanut butter 35 best buv si 10c instant so jir red a white coffee 77c best buv silt he a red white blend ground fresn 1lb bar aunt marys coffee 73c bakery specials best buy aunt marys sliced bread save he oz ioave3 rhg 43el wertori or sunbfiim itti 12 l tg cinnamon buns 39c best buv sar 13c krait deluxb cheese slices 1 k 69 best buy saie tc deep browned 19ot tin libbys beans 4 8fc frozen foods 5 hllh tiner mb pknibsupnme brand tender 2lb bar fillets of cod 2 for 89elgreen beans 57c save lfic wagstaffe for your brealifast table 9oz jar with pectin jams jellies 359 24oz jar 39c save loe with pectin 2fruit marmalade sunshine fresh fruit- vegetables bradford 311 poly bag march carrots 19 california lemons 6 ij39t new cabbage ib 12c 31b poly bag mcintosh apples 39c edwhite w vhite goods- kbonuss feature j0096fjw cotton pillow cases granulated sugar 10lb bag 67 carnation milk tall tim 2s29 lean rindless side bacon mb vac pac 69 canada no 1 potatoes 25lb bag 77c schells red white stouffville