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the tribune thursday december 22 1377 ht rtfmne john montgomery editor established 1848 charles h nolan publisher barre beacock advertising manager editorial oept annegret lamure kerrh boleoder oisplav advertising oept loll widtnaa alt dues business office joan marshman doreen duoa eileen glover publuied every thursday at 5 main st stouffville on tel moj101 toronto phone j41um single copm c iubif npiwnj no 00 per year in canada smm elsewhere member ol audit bureau ol circulation canadian community newspapers association and ontario weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number mm the tribune is one ol the inland publishing co limited group ol suburban newspapers which includes the aiaxwnitbypickering news advertiser brampton guardian burlington post etobicoke gazette markham economist and sun newmarket aurora era oakvilie beaver oshawa this week and mississauga news 6402100 3611680 editorials my perfect christinas by elizabeth crittenden christmas is that time of year for all the fun and joy and cheer the first one up takes a peek to see the many presents under our christmas tree the playing all day out in the snow makes all our jolly red faces glow the good smells of dinner as it cooks the turkey and trimmings how delicious they look now it comes to our quiet time as we sit around our tree so fine then we remember like others do the meaning of our christmas true we read the special christmas story and sing his songs of praise and glory we say to god our little prayers of thanks because we know he cares the end of christmas day has come weve had our laughs our joy and fun 30 years ago this week excerpts from the december 18 issue of the tribune santas visit old st nick never received a warmer greeting than that which was tendered him in stouffville on saturday afternoon santa claus handed out a candy treat to an estimated one thousand kiddies the white whiskered gen tleman was taken aboard a bus when he arrived at ringwood from the northland and escorted by several of his clown helpers on a motorcycle another half dozen clowns assisted santa with his heavy bags of good things when santa mounted the stand in front of the municipal hall to the strains of christmas carols a number of the local lions were on hand to assist in the distribution to further brighten the christmas hustle for the business section carols will be wafted on the air on the open evenings prior to christmas under the merchants auspices whats the use this appeal to save hydro in stouffville just doesnt add up fairly for the town said reeve a v nolan at a meeting held last wednesday we are asking our customer and forcing merchants to cut down on hydro consumption yet when the monthly bill for power comes along it is just as high as ever and we do not take in the necessary cash to meet the bill under that condition he ex plained the peak load is reached on tuesday mornings due to many housewives ironing at that time irons draw heavily and with a couple or three hundred pulling at the same time the peak demand for power is reached for the month the reeve said there is nothing that we can do except pay the bills which for the past snonth was equal to the total receipts from our customers- leaving nothing for upkeep and other charges now were snuggled in our beds to dream of pleasant days ahead- ed notes elizabeth is a grade 6 student at dickson hill public school strange idea of christinas spirit the christmas spirit in town this year has been marred for some people by the theft of a christmas tree from the lobby of testa villa and of wreaths from the winlane dr apart ments the tree was erected by the apartment residents and they had been purchasing decorations for it over a long period it was set up in the apartment lobby for the en joyment of everybody but sometime over the weekend it was stolen decorations and all christmas is not a time for ranting raving and denunciations so we will suffice it to say that stealing a tree to help yourself celebrate the season is a sickening perversion of everything christmas should but doesnt always stand for we can only feel pity for the warped in dividuals who did this editors mail belonging dear sir last spring many of us shared a very rewarding and emotional experience music mania 77 this show has done a great deal over the years to promote a sense of loyalty to and awareness of the community bond that exists among many of the citizens of this town stouffvilles centennial provided an appropriate theme for this annual show and we the participants were acutely aware of the impact one hundred years a century a century of living and working and growing together a century of changes but always with the happy memory of the way we were and how it all began whether you have lived here all your life or only part of it it is our wish that the spirit of this town will have touched you and will always remain a part of you we met old friends and newcomers to town we shared a wonderful experience people put forth the effort to become involved longtime residents extended the hand of welcome and rookies indicated a com mitment and desire to share in the satisfac tion of belonging but it didnt just happen we made it work and thats what our centennial was all about welcome neighbour and lets step into the next century smiling as we count our blessings for the privilege of living in such a fine community a stouffville maniac wht rxhum staff q charles nolan john montgomery barre beacock joan marshman lois wideman doreen deacon eileen glover mary jane hey worth annegret lamure art dixon keith bolender j9 window on wildlife how the jay saved a christmas grandma jensen stood at the open doorway and squinted into the midafternoon landscape it had been two hours since neil and joan had left to go and look for young kris two long hours that now with each passing moment deepend the furrows in the old womans brow nervously she fumbled with the latch and finally feeling the chill of the sharp winter air she reluctantly closed the door the windblown webmarks of the snowshoes criss crossed the ridge and followed the old lumber trail down through the swamp up again on higher terrain where icecoated spruce trees dotted the gentle slope neil paused cupped his mitts and shouted and like so many times during the past several hours only the biting wind returned an answer for the first time in his life big strong kids stuff jolly jumping jack gives joy by annegret lamure this tireless little guy flings his arms and legs about in a most amusing way and will captivate the heart of any small child in stantly hes not all that easy to make however besides stiff smooth cardboard string and some sort of fasteners to hold the limbs together you will also need a very strong hand to cut out the cardboard rather than copying you will probably want to design your own jumping jack its best to make the head and body in one piece and then add jointed arms and legs the hinges can be made of wire but the legs always seem to flop loose after a while a jumping jack u not all that easy to make but this toy is a lot of fun and makes a great last minute gift the strings can either be attached on the front in fall view or be discreetly hidden in the back its important to attach the legs far enough apart so that the lops have room to pivot but paper fasteners the kind that hold notepaper together bent paper clips or even small nuts and bolts seem to work better in a pinch you can even resort to buttons as i had to do sewing them on is pretty tricky though since the joints have to pivot one advantage to using nuts and bolts or buttons is that they add substance to your jumping jack and the weight makes for better action however if you are using bent paper clips the same effect can be achieved by simply taping a penny to each foot arrangement of the string is very im portant so try to copy it exactly otherwise the little fellow may refuse to throw out his arms and legs when you pull on it christmas bike ride by greg taylor one day on december 8 i sat down to write about a perfect christmas i would like to sit down with santa and give him a snack and we would talk about what i wanted people these days make you worry because they get so busy you should just lie back and drink egg nog and dream about christmas day when you get lots of presents and thats a perfect christmas greg is a grade 4 student at whitchurch highlands its presents time by doug sanderson christmas day the church bells chime because its opening presents time all the children sing the rhyme its christmas time- its christmas time doug is i student at dickson hill ps rawboned neil jensen felt helpless all his love and lore of the northwoods wasnt helping him a bit his 14 year old daughter was still lost vanished without a trace as if the forest had opened up and closed over her for what seemed like the hundredth time he went over in his mind the events leading up to her disappearance for the past several years they had talked about spending christmas at the cottage this season it had become a reality the four of them had driven up late friday while eric an older son would be coming up saturday af ternoon this morning neil and kris had gone and cut a nice shaped balsam while joan and grandma had busied themselves in the cot tage later when eric arrived they would trim the tree then all drive down to the little village church for the midnight service it was after they set the tree in place that young kris decided to try a little cross country run on her skis dont go out on the lake and be back in time for luncn neil cautioned as he turned and tugged the chain saw into ac- tion kris followed along the lakeshore trail for a while then cut over to the west where several high ridges would provide her with some long downhill runs the area was not entirely new she had been there before with her brother and his girlfriend at the top of the highest crest she hesitated its like a king- sized christmas card she mused gazing at the etched forest stretching out below then she pushed off to become part of that winter scene ordinarily such a hill was for her an easy accomplishment with five years experience she had been on hills much higher than this wooded run but there was something on that slope she hadnt counted on something that has spelt trouble to more than one skier or tobogganist the young outdoor enthusiast was nearly down the first run when the effects of a recent ice storm overtook her suddenly she felt herself accelerating on an icy crust almost immediately she went off course and lost control racing between trees aown a steep embankment fighting to keep her balance and remain upright sne caught one ski in a protruding root in an instant she was trans formed from a clownlike character in an ice revue to something that resembled a catapulting sky diver with a crash she went head first into a grove of pines at the bottom of a deep ravine the thick evergreens cushioned her fall somewhat but left her in a precarious position her right foot was somehow caught in a crotch of tangled limbs while a sharp branch had gone part way up her sleeve ana out through the shoulder of her snowsuit and although ner weight arched the green bran ches downward she ended up suspended face down just above the mixture of snow and pine needles her arm was numb and the more she tried to extricate her foot the more it hurt she yelled as loud and as long as she could for help but her voice was muffled by the forest floor and lost in the increasing wind when all her struggles proved useless she realized she was trapped sobbing with pain and overcome with fear she lapsed into unconsciousness by artbriggsjude from its sheltered perch in the top of a nearby cedar the gray jay watched the girls unheralded entrance into the pine grove but now when the figure failed to reappear the birds curiosity was aroused it slipped off its twig and on hushed wings glided down to in vestigate landing at the edge of the nines it began working through the needled limbs then its ebony eyes focused on an immobile form strung like a hammock in the lower branches the bird flicked its long tail and dropped down closer to where the skier lay when there was no movement the inquisitive bird hopped along the girls back cocking its head from side to side as it went then as it moved to her shoulder which was partially draped with a tattered wool scarf the girl stirred instinctively the jay spring up in alarm but in its haste to get away one of the birds teet caught a loop of loose wool the jay was held momentarily then pushed off with a rapid thrust of wingbeat it was free almost for now instead of releasing where it was caught at the birds foot the red yarn was pulling out of the scarf like a string unravels when you open a bag of grain the startled jay landed in a bush a short distance away and using its short bill finally pecked free of the woolly snare when eric arrived at the cottage an almost hysterical grandmother greeted him without waiting to change he opened the back doors of his van pulled out a ramp and drove down and away on his snowmobile soon he was following along the lakeshore looking for any traces of ski marks the wind hadnt obliterated then he remembered the ridges of last winter and headed in that direction but instead of coming out near the top of the hills as he planned he ended up too far to the south and had to cut back along the bottom it was while he was trying tomove around an icepatch that he noticeda long strand of red wool blowing in i the wind somewhat puzzled he shut off his machine and went over for a closer look thats when he heard the muffled yell and it seemed to come from where the line of wool entered the pine thicket eric moved forward and forcing the boughs to one side reached in to touch his sisters arm later that night after their parents and grandmother haa gone to the christmas eve service eric stoked the fireplace turning to kris who was propped up on the studio couch with her arm in a sling and her bandaged leg resting on a pillow he snook his head and said its a good thing i saw that piece of wool hanging there i wonder how it got strung out like that kris shrugged her shoulders then after a long pause she spoke it was awful i couldnt get my arm out of my sleeve or my foot down or anything my hood was pulled tight over my ears and i couldnt hardly hear anything then after another pause she continued i must have passed out but just before you came someone touched me on the shoulder it was like an angel and it gave me new hope then i heard the snowmobile and knew you were near out in the cedar swamp the gray jay fluffed his feathers and pressed close to the trunk of his favourite roost he winked at the starlit heavens settled down closed his eyes and went to sleep