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v markham roderick stewarts biography of norman bethune soon may become a major motion picture mr stewart of walkerton drive markham told the tribune that movie im- pressario otto preminger has picked up the option on his 1973 book bethune and that ring lardner jr has been tapped to adapt the book to the screen the story of bethune a hero to 900000000 chinese for his medical role in 193839 during chinas war with japan would cost on the order- of 56 million according to mr stewart 7 screenwriterlardner is best known for his work on the movie mash mr stewart said he was told he would serve as an advisor in the writing of the screenplay preminger had bethune in mind as a film subject for five years btit had been unable to raise money for the project partly due to the fact that bethune was a communist the last three years of his life mr stewart said he added that the deal is riot yet 100 per cent and that he has an agent negotiating the final arrangements ymr stewart said he is actually more pleased with a deal recently reached with a first class tokyo publisher to have the book translated into japanese the biography was written by mr stewartaf ter four years of research on the life of the controversial canadian physician mr stewart now a teacher at birch- mount collegiate in scarboro had first decided on the project after screening the national film board treatment of bethunes jklife a history class in 1969 he toured england france spain and china on the trail of an objective evaluation of the man as described it the result was a heavilydocumented v conciselywritten story of bethune who mr stewart says will emerge as the worlds best known canadian speaking about the reaction to the biography mr stewart said that both the right and the left are suspicious the left because they know im not a marxist and the right because any tribute to a leftist is irritating i smr stewart himseltis no stranger to pdliticalconflicthaving4 served y as a markham cbuncillorfrdm 196638hif 38day tourof china in hesaidj did riot affect his political views but my understanding of china has changed v v i have seen a remarkable society in china when compared with the sloth and- laziness in our school system arid the society thats crumbling said mr stewart the book bethune he said has been a fair seller with 10000 copies of the book sold across canada almost more important is a shorter biographical sketch of bethune he wrote that is being distributed to canadian schools recognition of bethune increased when in 1972 the canadian government declared him a person of national historic significance mr stewart worked fulltime for the federal government last year gathering further in formation that would be used for remaking bethunes childhood home in gravenhurst into a museum he returned to all of bethunes old haunts around the world and even revisited china last year every place in china bethune trod on became a historic site mr stewart said he and his wife travelled for five hours over rugged terrain to reach a remote village of 1000 and there found a huge museum to bethune he said mr stewarts office in the basement of his markham home is itself a tribute to bethune framed on the walls are famous photographs of the man and of the book jacket of mr stewarts biography bethune mr stewart summarizes had an incredible desire to do good and was a man very hard to live with two previous biographies of the man written by communists portray bethune virtually as a saint but the bethune that he discovered said mr stewart was con tradictory and manyfaceted his biography makes it clear that bethune was a communist but he was a medical man involved in saving lives not in throwing bombs said mr stewart perhaps the major lesson to be learned from bethunes life was being yourself bethune would have made a very poor politician because he insisted on being true to himself he said in todays society on the other hand i see deceit creeping in as we become twisted in our search for values mr stewart con cluded roderick stewart of markham stands beside a poster for bis biography of dr norman bethune a canadian who is a folk- hero in communist china he is presently negotiating with filmmaker otto preminger for the movie rights to the book ted wilcox stirring book of renegade doctor by ted wilcox bethune was a fascinating obnoxious attractive man with highly erratic ambitions and personal oddities that offended many people so saysa summary on the dust jacket to the book bethune first published by new press in 1973 he also meant for millions of people whom he had never known inspiration healing education amusement and finally a- heroic example subject of the biography by markhams roderick stewart is norman bethune a maverick canadian medical man whoended up behind the lines aiding the chinese com munists in the war against the japanese in 193839 bethune was the sort of person it was hard to be neutral about he tended to be either admired or disliked by those who knew him his paradoxical character- an egotistical man driven to help the disad vantaged is carefully i described arid documented in mr stewarts book which last november was issued in paperback by the paper jacks division of general- publishing toronto when it came to his practice of medicine bethune was something of a renegade run ning ahead of his time and using techniques that some branded irresponsible and reckless in his personal life as well bethune somehow didnt fit in he mixed more easily with artists and writers than with his professional colleagues and even in his manner of dress was often outlandish raised the son of a presbyterian minister bethune soon went his own way as a young adult he perused fame fortune and wealth in the medical field as he put- it until he was halted in the headlong endeavor by a bout with tuberculosis- after spending a period of years being treated for the disease bethune whose two marriages to the same woman ended in divorce changed his perspective on life he searched for some ideal or cause that would give meaning to his restless existence finally- he labored to have socialized medicine tested in the province of quebec only to discover other medical practitioners to be completely opposed to the plari angered bethune decided to turn his energies to the spanish civil war where he organized a system for transporting blood transfusions to wounded soldiers after the period in spain bethune set his sail for an adventure that few others even of his own political persuasion could appreciate he went to china and with maos army finally found a niche where he was ap preciated in a wholehearted way the lack of medical supplies necessitated the kind of innovation that bethune excelled in but just as important in that situation bethunes communistic political views were shared rather than opposed it was bethunes political beliefs which kept him and still keep him from being admired by very many canadians it is in conceivable to most of his countrymen how anyone could giyeup prominent and lucrative positionsirimedicirieto serve international marxism v- mr stewarts book at least makes it possible to understand how a man like bethune coulddo such a thing the canada of the 1930s and the canada of today to a lesser t extent tends to reject people who climb above and stand out mr stewart remarked to stand out in a crowd you have to make waves be controversial take stands and that said mr stewart is not altogether the canadian way v there was a sameness a conformity a blase acceptance of the status quo that bethune simply couldnt stand in this country however as to whether bethune chose a worthy cause in which to vent his frustrations is another question while through his natural talents and tempefment bethune made an impact on history some may question if that makes him a great man he- labored strenuously for the welfare of the sick butstill retained a selfconceit and arrogance that many found disgusting in short does greatness mean only making wavesor should it have to do with inward qualitiesas well pnf those same kindspf questions probably should be applied to most of the men we consider worthy of esteem whatever their political persuasion great race challenge in only a l6foqt epno by don bernard stouffville gary t smith r r 2 stouffville enjoys a challenge but the challenge of paddling a i6foot canoe from toronto to montreal in time for the opening of the olympic games is the greatest one hes ever faced mr smith and his partner barry mcmahon will attempt to paddle the 450 miles in eight days as part of ih great canadian race local firefighters are involved in the project- the duo isaccepting pledges with money to go to the muscular- dystrophy foundation the stouffville fire department will have pledge cards available for those people wishing to pledge money according to mr smith no money will be accepted unless they finish the trip the idea for the race came from damian lee a former professional skier and will include all sorts of unusual modes to travel from toronto to montreal air sea and land modes are all in cluded mr mcmahon who is the chairman of the md committee for the north york fire department was attending a meeting for muscular dystrophy a representative of- the great canadian race was there it was there that the idea of paddling a canoe in the race first was formulated the two men have been paddling together for the past 10 years but the 450 miles in the treacherous conditions of lake ontario is by far their largestunder taking the canoe is a standard 16foot fiberglass one with a keel r being added to help combat the high winds to be encountered on the lake they will start out june 19- from ontajffo place and hope toarrffre in montreal in time for the opening of the games hesaid that the men will paddle about 1214 hours per day and under ideal conditions can cover about 70 miles in that time gary smith said that they have been training for some time now and the two men will try out their canoe in lake simcoe and lake ontario before the big race they presently have about 3000 in pledges most of it raised through the north york fire department hesaid that no money will be ac- cepted unlesswie finish he vowed that they would finish the race if theymust carry it in two pices along the beach t to montreal it was just sort of a lark until we realized what we were up against mr smith told the tribune in an in terview weve been planning it for two months he said that 70 per cent of the time theywill be in sight of shore but there will be some long stretches of open water as they will have to cross the mouths of a number of large bays swells of 12 feet are not uncommon on lake ontario and sudden changes in the weather are another threat although the canoe is standard the two men are experimenting with different kinds of pad dles ones with wider blades are being tested to provide more speed if the water -tern- peratures does not rise above 45 degrees fahrenheit the two men will wear wet suits hand ball gloves will also provide good grip on the- paddles despite the wet conditions there is quite an element of danger mr smith said they say it cant be done mosf people feel they will either lose the canoe or be unable to withstand the fatigue the two men who enjoy challenging each other vow that they will finish the course were going to get there if it takes two months he stated the two men have teamed for other challenges they com- pletcd the 22mile otoonobee river race in three hours and 10 minutes last year the smiths have lived on the bethesda rd- east of highway 48 for the past eight years the previously operated the wooden nickel clothing shop on main ststouff- viller he presently operates his own cartage company avenue parcels delivery service but- his primary interest is the upcoming race and physical preparations he has lost 20 pounds and is training regularly for theracea those wishing to pledge money for the duo should contact a member of the stouffville fire department for a pledge eard v gary t smith is embarking on a reahifeadventurewhen he sets but with his partner barry mcmahon to paddle a 16foot canoe from toronto to montreal money received in pledges will go to muscular dystrophy g v lsa v m r fdon bernard big move to new quarters for ycbe staff members york county fridays moving day for the 80 employees at the york county board of eduction church st- headquarters the working day ends at 3 pm friday- when the movers move in v the entire operation is expected to last the weekend with the board getting back- to normal operation monday in the but trustees who dont venture to the aging church st building in the next few days havent seen the last of the old board room y js desks used by trustees are due tobe refinished prior to installation in the new facility since the project will take two weeks the april 12board session will be held in the old building to permit a twoweek newvwellirigtonj stbuildirigr gap between sessions in the old shared with the town of aurora and new board robmsvs vts ui uiirounas mn spjk h m at the christ rf hutcwln ttrcini smythet sally boyd church anglican for thelrsnccessfnl effortsat v ald patxappietomissmgfwerehruby keeping their weight downleffto right in iwiulams irene c6nl3lri andgayle i duhfofd front are mildred barrett queen for the night 9 i