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ins iniovnc auuusi 31 van ht trthum john montgomery editor established 1888 charles h nolan publisher barre beacock advertising manager editorial oeptsljuuwgrct ltmunkub botendcr display advertising dept lois witenuo art dues business office jms mjnhaim owhi dmcoo eikb gkvr pumillwd tvery thursday jt 54 min st stuttvui oat ttl w02i01 toronto phone mium single cspm 20c wbknptioas 11040 par yoor in canada 2400 tbewbart member of audit bureau o circulation canadian community newtpapen auociation and ontario weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number 00m the tribune is one of the inland publishing co limited group of suburban newspapers which includes the aiaiwbitbypickenng news advertiser brampton guardian burlington post etobkokt gazette markham economist and sun newmarketaurora era oakville beaver oshawa this week and mississauga news 6402100 3611680 editorials mayor proves crowdpleaser dumps tub in lake ontario mayor gordon ratcliff by his virtuoso performance last week in the mayors bath tub race at the cne once again displayed the keen political acumen that has kept him on top last chance to preserve station in about 60 days stouffville station a local landmark for more than 100 years will be demolished when it was announced earlier this year that the station was to be moved or demolished there was more than a little grumbling heard up and down main st a great variety of suggestions were put forward to utilize it but when it became ap- l parent that no matter what was done with the building it was going to cost money the ideas just sort of disappeared we have heard that preserving the building would perhaps cost 10000 or even more everybody acts like this is some phenomenal sum but in fact compared to todays construction costs it is a pittance we have heard a good deal of lip service given in this our centennial year to the lofty topic of preserving some historical remnants of stouffvilles past but when it comes to the possibility of actually shelling out a few dollars such sentiments are quickly forgotten all our eulogizing over stouffvilles small jpwn past amounts to little more than empty platitudes v- 30 years ago this week excerpts from the september 4 1947 issue of the tribune farm hand absconds like a thief in the night albert denardo employed by mr william smith gormley farmer folded up suddenly and left for parts unknown he was supposed to be taking in the exhibition on monday but he never returned and later it was discovered that he had taken a wrist watch valued at 35 and a signet ring valued at 15 further he had pried open a strong box in the home expecting to find money or other valuables but was disap pointed in this effort a strange thing in connection with the man is that denardo was wellliked by the smiths he was an excellent worker seldom left the farm and when he did it is now recalled that he always wore dark glasses he never wore glasses about the farm however constable clarence wideman is in vestigating he located a torn up letter giving the name of a person in sault ste marie which may prove of help in locating the missing man denardo was secured by mr smith through the office of the farm service force on the 28th of july and from the first day the new farm hand proved efficient and most agreeable about the place thieves rob theatre ransacking the stanley theatre over the weekend in search of money thieves found the hidden cash drawer with about 20 in silver but they overlooked 200 hidden in a brown envelope and which no doubt was the object of their search manager bob bone had been leaving the receipts in the theatre but he will not do so any more evidently persons who were familiar with what is done with the theatre receipts were in on the robbery and if finger prints were taken this could ultimately be proven v the thieves disturbed everything in the place in their search for money and when they canie upon the cash drawer with the silver concluded that the main receipts were not in the building and they departed through the main entrance where they forced their way in perfect turmoil stouffville residents or many of them were thrown into a perfect turmoil last thurs day when a road construction gang descended upon the town and in a few hours transformed our macadam top roadway extending through the whole village into a i veritable gravel road a rush was made to the of fice of the reeve only to find that this official was quite i unaware of what was going on however he promptly contacted the county road engineer in toronto and was assured by him that the job being done by the toronto and york road commission would prove entirely satisfactory within a period of two or three weeks when the oil applied to the surface before the small stone was laid had a chance to penetrate to the surface 3h in the dog eat dog hard scrabble world of stouffville politics of all the mayors assembled there that day and some from pretty large and powerful municipalities our mayor was the only one with the intuitive sense so necessary in political life to immediately take stock of the situation and without hesitation to act ac cordingly floating around out there in his tub mr ratcliff realized that those thousands of cheering fans were not interested in watching a bunch of bonedry mayors zap across the finish line the mayor realized that if he failed to act men women and children alike would go away disappointed and perhaps further embittered against our political processes when he felt the right time had come mr ratcliff upset his bath tub unflinchingly throwing himself into the frigid waters of lake ontario alone and defenceless against the elements at whatever cost the mayor was deter mined to stand by that motto that should be but isnt always the watchword of all politicians always give the people what they want as a result of following his instincts it was mr ratcliff although he never even got close to much less crossing the finish line who walked away the hero of the day it was his sterling deeds that were shown againand again on the television news programs and that are talked about wherever groups gather to talk of daring exploits there is no doubt about it mayor gordon ratcliff stole the show at the same time bringing renown to whitchurch stouffville in our centennial year letter to the editor appreciate support dear john i on behalf of the fifteen players on the ken may midgets we would like to thank all the parents and interested citizens of stouffville who took the time to venture to kitchener and support the team their fine performance we feel directly reflects the fine support they received by far the best given any team participating special thanks to mr gallamore mr dart and mrs jackson for their kind and generous assistance the oasa expounds the theory play the game when people show they care for how its played its much easier to play it well thank you sincerely gerry ratcliff peter sanderson coaches sugar and spice golf is o silly game and yet by bill smiley a great many people look down their noses at the game of golf scornfully they ask how can an adult with a mind walk around a few acres of manicured pasture hitting a little ball with a long stick and i am inclined to agree with them its a silly game and at least once a week i determine that im going to quit but its just about as easy to quit golf as it is to quit smoking its a game that reduces strong men to tears of impotent rage and turns honest women into cheats who move their ball from a bad lie when nobody is looking even the parlance of the game is ridiculous combining terms from the butcher shop hook slice shank with those from an v birdie eagle and those from a horror movie bogey scull its an expensive game membership in a club can run from 300 a year to 5000 or more even the basic equipment can easily run to 500 for clubs cart bag shoes those who dont belong to a club can pay as you go eight or 10 dollars a round and add to that three 2 balls lost in the bush and a couple of drinks in the club house and youre getting up around 20 for four hours of mut tering at a little ball pursuing a little ball and occasionally hitting that little ball so sweetly that nothing can quite compare with the feeling and you are hooked all over again on this silliest of sports come to think of it golf isnt a sport any more than chess is its more like a way of life and there are a lot worse ways of life for a teenager once bitten by the bug its like a disease but a kid who has played 27 or 36 holes of golf on a saturday is not very likely to be out smashing windows in the local school on saturday night hes too pooped for the oldtimer who plays nine holes every day with his foursome of cronies its a lot better life than sitting around the legion hall or the beverage room grousing about the government he still has a challenge he knows perfectly well that one of these days if the wind is right his arthritis isnt acting up and the dam club will connect with the dam ball often enough he can bring his score down equal to his age an 80yearold can still play golf and enjoy it but you dont see too many of them surf boarding or parachute jumping of course its an evil game ive heard it rumored that there is sometimes betting involved especially among the older guys sometimes staggering wagers of asmuchasa nickel a hole and then of course its a dangerous game physically emotionally and psychologically you can be thumped on the head by a golf ball travelling about 300 miles a hour you can be struck by lighting right at the top of your backswing if its storming some golfers have gone into sand traps and never been seen again emotionally it can turn a calm college professor the epitome of reason into a raging maniac who is capable of throwing all his clubs into a water hazard and stalking from the course purple eared i have seen one of the sweetest natured chaps ive ever known after hitting the ball three yards three times in a row put his foot in the middle of a per fectly good four wood bend it double and hurl the crippled club deep into the nearest woods i have heard a poised young matron a regular churchgoer using language on the golf course that would curdle the blood of a drunken danish seaman and if the game doesnt scar you physically andar emotionally it will probably destroy you psychologically there are 40 people watching as you take your three practice swings each one a marvel of symmetry a machine that is grooved and oiled you step up to the ball and hit it 60 yards straight up and 20 feet ahead of you or right over the fence on to the road or straight into the woods while the gallery snickers discreetly and you desperately try to grin non- chalantly it can get worse your wife whom you can outdrive by 60 yards steps up and hits a beauty right down the middle and then gives you one of those looks marriages may be made in heaven but they can become unmade on a golf course golfers do have a couple of things going for them for one thing theyre extremely generous theyll tell you without charge what is wrong with your backswing your downswing your stance your grip and the kind of balls you are using for another theyre tough they wouldnt think of walking to church in the rain but theyll play 18 holes in a torrent on sultry summer days when people are dropping with heat stroke and on cold fall days when people are huddled by the fireplace the golfers are out there hacking and hewing around the course well there you are the game is silly expensive evil and dangerous golfers run the risk of being scarred for life in one or more ways and should be locked up for their own safety im definitely going to quit and yet and yet the other day i had three good drives tuesday my putting was improving wednesday id have had a birdie if i hadnt hit the tree yesterday i was chipping well x i think maybe ill give her one more go its all got to come together one day surely window on wildlife slithering serpents make people shiver byartbriggsjude to the average person a snake is a slimy repulsive creature its the lowest form of slithering reptile and one that should be feared avoided and if possible killed this built in apprehension is quite understandable during the course of history fact and fiction about snakes has become so entwined that any separation today is hard to come by to prove a point ill mention several of the common stories concerning snakes and although theyve been proven untrue a large percentage of people will still cling to these old beliefs first of all snakes are not slimy but unless you handle one youll have to take the word of those who have theyll tell you they are really smooth and glossy and about that flicking tongue the forked stinger of the legendary serpent well its not a stinger but rather a harmless sense organ used in smelling in fact all snakes poisonous or not have these tongues then of course theres the ancient tale about milk snakes sucking the milk from a cows udder i thought that one had gone down with the titanic but judging from a recent conversation overheard at the sales barn its still being bandied about this story it seemed had so much merit they even named the species milk snake because of its cowshed exploits but alas if the farmer who killed the socalled culprit had taken the time to open up the dead snakes gullet hed have found rather than traces of milk the remains of rats and mice the dairyman had in reality elminiated a better mouser than many of the cats in his bam a few years ago when i was a rover skipper in st catharines i wanted to make sure my scout crew were familiar with all the various snakes in ontario part of the program involved making a temporary snake collection to study and then release one of the first specimens taken emphasized in short order the absolute fear some people have in regard to snakes returning from a fishing expedition to the rapids of the lower niagara river i spotted a really large milk snake stretched on a rockledge sunning himself now if youve ever lived in that area or been down in the gorge you probably have heard that its rugged terrain was the last stronghold of the diamond back rattlesnake in ontario my companion and neighbour must have known this too for when i asked him to hold my fishing rod while i reached up and deftly took the snake off the rock he gasped and disappeared up the trail later as i walked across tne niagara parkway towards tne car with the big wriggler cradled inconspicuously inside my windbreaker several groups of tourists got up and left their picnic lunches i was only then did i notice several feet of the reptile were dangling from the waistband of my jacket incidently this same 40inch mottled beauty caused a bit of a stir around our own premises two days before it was to be released during their short stay with us the various snakes were housed in specially constructed boxes in a walkin space under our side verandah somehow after one of the instruction periods the lid on this particular snake box was not positioned correctly as a result the milk snake squeezed out climbed the stone foundation slipped through a hole in the screen and dropped down on the cellar floor early the following afternoon the hydro man entered the basement to read the meter a rustling sound amongst some wood in a corner caused him to swing the beam of his flashlight in that direction he passed my wife on the landing taking three steps at a time actually all snakes are quite the escape artists once i was called to the general hospital to identify a fat crossbanded snake that two young boys had captured along the banks of the old welland canal unfortunately this disturbed reptile had nipped one of the youngsters and there was some distress that it was a poisonous species having satisfied all concerned it was a harmless water snake we prevailed on the staff to let us take it and release it in the country that evening a photographer friend of mine was picking me up so i could show him where to get some pictures of nesting bluebirds the photo trip was almost con- celled right then when i told him what was in the flat box i was carrying however after much persuasion he was finally convinced the box was escapeproof a short while later we were travelling down the winding road towards rockway in his small english car remarking on the different birds that crossed our route as we swept around one curve i glanced down at the wooden box held firmly on my lap through the screen i could see the container was empty the big banded snake was gone i tried to break the news gently to my friend by suggesting we pull over to the side of the road for a break but he sensed what had happened he immediately put the austin into a violent braking manoeuvre that reminded me of a crash landing i once ex perienced in england during the war after o the dust settled i called to my driver who was some distance down the road and informed him the snake was not hurt in fact it was resting quite comfortably under his front seat to further reassure him 1 picked up the three foot escapee and taking it into a nearby field released it beside a rushfringed pond needless to say we continued the trip in a somewhat more sombre mood but apart from such harmless hap- penings there are plenty of fabled tales pertaining to our native snakes many of these fictions were brought here by people of other countries whose warmer climates foster the development of many kinds of deadly snakes contrary to such belief however there are no water moccasins or copperheads in this land of the trillium and no snakes that hypnotize their prey or that can outrun a horse in fact our only adder or sand viper is in reality a harmless hognosed snake the fact that we do have one poisonous species the massasauga rattler casts a shadow on all the other harmless snakes we may encounter its too bad more people who cottage and camp doesnt take the time to read up on these beneficial and most in teresting members of their wildlife com munity it would at least spare some creatures in natures scheme and at best influence their own children with the true facts about snakes let them live