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page 2 the tribune thursday jan 19 1970 sympathy for home owner there is a growing disenchantment among homeowners in the ponder- osa over structural flaws now show ing up in houses some less than one year old many couples invested all their savings to meet the down payment now to be faced with added costs through repairs is more than they can stand an organization has been formed in an effort to exert pressure on the contractor to correct these problems pressure tactics of this kind should not be required workmanship when found to be faulty should be made riirht if repairs are such that ac tion must wait on the weather then the owner should be given assurance in writing that he will not be left holding the bag once the guarantee has expired the ponderosa folks we have talked to enioy living in stouffville thev also yke the area where their homes are located but thev want the warps and cracks corrected at the con tractors expense and not next year but now milk stores easy targets the frenuency with which armed robberies are occuring at metro milk tores is alarming news reno tell of such holdups every week as more and more of these estab lishments pre onened in this area the roerv threat here also increases the theft at unionville recently is an exmnle one store in markham has been hit a couple of times milk stores are easy marks many are located in outoftheway places they remain open long hours the ma jority until 11 pm many are man aged by women some utilize part- time girls receipts from a days busi ness can exceed four figures we would suggest that locations of this kind be equipped with a manual alarm system preferably with a di rect hookup to the police station where possible a police dog should be kept on the property and perhaps even in the store at night bank de posits should be made more often maybe even three or four times a day such practices might tend to dis courage these unwanted customers from calling foolish spoil it for the many one can hardly pick up a paper these days and not see where some municipal council in the province has had an avalanche of complaints about the operation of that fun machine the snowmobile some communities have already banned them from the streets and there have been some accident deaths even the provincial government may take a hand in the restrictions it is always regrettable that there must always be those few nitwits who fail to use common sense and discre tion and bring on these restrictions they also bring along the wrath of property owners who do not like to have their hedges and ornamental shrubbery flattened by trespassers the snowmobile is real fun which can be enjoyed by a whole family it is an ingenious piece of winter transportation equipment but those who throw caution to the winds about its use will turn it into a dangerous and bothersome nuisance it was ever thus that the majority are made to pay by the stupidity of the few confrontation coming while the government in its plea for voluntary restraints in pricing to help the inflation fight is having some success from the management side a confrontation is certainly com ing with labor which has turned a deaf ear to any such restrictions it is obvious to everyone who has scanned the recant wage increase proposals that the unions are out to make as big a grab as possible before the government puts the arm on both prices and wages should either side ignore the governments warn ing ottawa will have no recourse if its really serious about curbing the upward spiral the refusal of labor unions to even discuss such a proposal as holding the line or restricting themselves to reasonable figures should surprise no one any union boss who would sug gest such a thing would not be a boss very long his followers would be following someone else with wage demands of thirty per cent and more being announced for 1970 something has got to give sugar and spice a love affair that died where town and country meet a winter sceno in the country not qullc just a section of unopened road looking cast from the north end of church slrecl in stouffville peter harris 1 snow is something you like or dis like you cant just ignore it at least not around these parts if you ignore it at our house theyd find you in the spring in a high state of decom position when i was a kid i loved snow the more the better fighting in it rolling in it making angels wash ing girls faces in it throwing it at the enemy and coming home for sup per rosycheeked warm as toast and soaked to the skin somewhere along the line our love affair has withered and gone stale oh i admit its beautiful to look at on a bright winter day when theres been a fresh fall of a few inches and the whole world is like adam and eve but whenit vkeeps coming down arict coming d6whand tyou haveto get rid of it you remember that the abovementioned pair got kicked out of paradise and the rest of us have had to slug it out ever since putting out the garbage is a simple thing rut when the snow is over the top of your boots and you have to carry the cans 80 yards its a minor nightmare deciding in the morning whether or not you can ram your way through the threefoot bonus from the snow- plow across the end of your drive is similar to russian roulette i tried it once last week and had to leave the car sitting there like a stranded whale tail stirking out into the street and body straddling the sidewalk one hour shovellintr after work we have an excellent system of snow clearance in our town extent that the operators have a diabolic sense of the perfect moment to strike the big street plow lurks around the corner while you shovel your driveway then the drivers mate says ok hes all ready and they whistle around the corner and dump about three tons of new snow back into the driveway the only way to beat them is to throw your shovel away as though it was molten metal jump in the car and roar out back wards before they make it then we have a sidewalk nlow if you beat the big plow the little one will get you he comes around when youre at work and kicks out a one- fct pile on the streetside and an other on the drive wayside this is frozen into crusty snowice by the time you get home and you need an alpenstock to break it up one big help though is the kids theyre right on the- job if it snows two inches of fluffy stuff theyre at the door with big boyish smiles can i shovel your walk mister you could do it yourself without strain but figure on assisting free enterprise give them the job and overpay them comes a real downfall say ten inch es of that wet slushy stuff when every loaded shovel weighs six pounds and is a potential coronary and theyre all home watching tele vision the final aid is the snowblower when the banks have built up to a height where you can see only your neighbors roof and a bit of sky when the banks are so high not even the abominable snowman would tackle one the blower comes around and throws 2 tons of snow salt and sand well up onto your lawn great for the grass well if you cant beat them what do you do ive been turning over a scheme no dopey snowmobile no downhill skiing because of a couple of crook knees and if i wanted to ski i could do it in my own backyard practising jumps off the picnic table no ive decided to relearn to fly take lessons at the local airport surely some of the old skill such as it was is still there ive done plenty by bill smiley of winter flying and its great up there except when you run into a snowstorm and have to set her dov in a farmers field but i could sail along at a couple of thousand feet and sneer down at the snow enjoy its beauty and may be even get to like the filthy stuff again it would be a lot better than having the snow sneer down at me as i try to hoist a loaded shovel onto a sevenfoot bank and wait for that sharp pain in the chest with each hoist dear mr thomas something rather wonderful oc curred in claremont jan 18 it was really a happening and it took place during the memorial service for el len carter family friends and acquaintances old and new gathered in the baptist church to pay tribute to ellens memory and demonstrate in a tangible way the warmth and admiration felt for her parents and sister during a difficult year it was a beautiful memorial the well chosen passages from the new- testament eloquently read the simple happy memories shared with us by her sister the affirmation of her deep faith and love of all things and then a spirit of quiet joy permeated everyone we felt glad we were there later at the carter home both strangers and friends shared the familys love for ellen with happy talk of days past her spirit was everywhere we came away feeling more lov ing towards one another because we had known ellie along the way truly we live in deeds not years rhoda almack claremont ont mr editor in answer to your illustrious edi torial roaming around it would appear that you object to our kids having a school bus in reading your editorial i see you are one who likes to compare present times with the past you laugh at the fact that we have requested a bus to take our kids a mere 16 miles to school yet you state further along that you had quite a hike of 17 miles it kind of strikes me funny that you consider when you were a kid 17 miles was quite a hike but as an adult you feel that its nothing you dont seem very consistent in following with your line of thought it would mean that because we never had something as a kid our kids shouldnt have it either i wonder what your youngsters would say if you told them i didnt have tv when i was young so you cant have it to me this seems like a very narrowminded way of looking at life today dont you agree in the summer i would agree that the walk wouldnt hurt them unless it was raining but its winter we are mainly concerned about ill tell you one thing id like to see you walk to school with these kids when the weather is down around zero or when its wet and slushy and they are getting splashed with slush then lets see you justify your editorial remember one thing when you and i were kids the weather stayed fairly consistent not constantly fluctuating like it does today this is one fact i think we must all bear in mind when we compare today with yesterday lloyd mclntee south street stouffville editors note as a lad i did con sider 17 miles quite a walk to school but at age 6 and 7 not 12 and 13 in addition there were no sidewalks on the ninth concession of markham twp and no i dont object to the service of a bus all i ask is that those who benefit by it also pay for it wat wriium established 1888 c h nolan publisher jim thomas editor noel edey advertising published every thursday by inland publishing co limited at 54 main st stouffville ont tel 6102101 single copies 15c subscriptions 500 per year in canada s750 elsewhere mmhr of audit bureau of circulation canadian weekly newspapers association and ontaro weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number 0896 wjnp the magic box by jim thomas i own a magic box everywhere i go it goes at work it occupies a position of importance only an arms length away at home its elevated to some lofty pedestal well beyond the reach of curious hands in my car its a constant front seat companion public reaction to it varies some admire it others despise it some are attracted to it others shy away from it no one ever ignores it in sixteen years of sharing its com pany it has seldom let me down in return for such devotion i have treated it badly its been rained on snowed on and stepped on its been dropped kicked scraped and scratched any other instrument so obvi ously fragile and so supnosedy tem- permental would have folded up and died but no not this one it just keeps on a clickin and a poppin week after week month after month its my camera when i bought this magic box in 1954 i didnt know the front from the back in fact so little did i know about the entire nhotoeraohy field that i opened the first 100sheet box of film in broad daylight but like any other beeinner ive learned by mak ing mistakes and believe me ive made my share on occassions when stricken with feelings of nostalgia i stare at my magic box and wonder at the stories it might tell if it could only talk some would be tales of traeedv so tragic in fact they might be better left untold like the fireravaged home at milliken and the blackened forms of three little children once happy and carefree like my own like the crumpled jremaimjipf a car a coffin for four following a headon crash with a solid truck on don mills road near gormley like the man slumped over the wheel of his car near box grove a rifle with price tag still attached leaning on his shoulder like the mother screaming hys terically as lakeside rescurers at tempt to rekindle a spark of life in the body of her little boy but all is not sad some would be tales of joy like the crowning of a high school queen a diamond wedding anni versary a family reunion a student scholarship award a babys first birthday a sweepstake winner a pet show champion a holeinone and many more the most difficult picturestory as signment thats easy it was the visit of prime minister pierre tru- deau to the markham arena may 25 1968 my magic box barely survived the ordeal in fact it still retains visible scars of the tussling tugging pushing and pulling bee that occurred on that nearfateful night by now you may be wondering why i refer to my camera as some thing magic its not because of any complicated procedure connected with its opera tion the truth is the rules and regu lations are really quite simple the magic part is the cameras impact on people for some reason or other most folks are attracted to it a cas ual walk down main street is proof enough you should hear the com ments like who you gonna shoot today or did you remember to put any film in it and just dare to venture into the arena park or school playground kids appear from every where youre mobbed but best of all the pressmans camera is a pass to places the pencil and pad man could never enter like an afternoon date at ringside with cassius clay the little spadina avenue gym was packed to capacity with dozens more trying to get in i lifted my magic box high over my head and pressed forward like the red sea the crowd suddenly parted providing an unobstructed path to the champions corner but even cameramen have their moments of frustration such an oc casion was my visit last summer to the glen echo nudist camp tell me how do you hide a 4 by 5 graphic under a 2 by 4 fig leaf