The Acton Free December one of those days A mid white yonder outside the window snowing and as though we d never seen the stuff before and someone was trying to impress us And just two days after some rut of driver told me sagely Sure looks like we re Minna have a green Christmas We re redecorating the livingroom It W 18 ID Move all the Junk out of that crypt to paint and there no place in the house in which you can draw a deep breath without caving In some ribs against an upturned chair or a book with its feet sticking out gone fairly smoothly but my wife is slightly hysterical about one slip two years she been bellowing at the kids to keep their rotten bare feet off her new mahogany coffee table Nobody of course adults included is allowed to put a cup of coffee on the coffee table morning she found that the painters had put a about a foot long and a quarter inch deep in thnt virgin territory She suffering as much pain as though had taken a canopener and put a of similar dimensions in her own skin I offer all sorts of comfort like Well or notice tthat when It a covered with coffee cups but the result is more like throwing oil on fire than on troubled waters Hie phone t been working for two days For me this is unmitigated bliss But the old lady is utterly convinced that all sorts of people have been calling us about a death in the family Lord forbid or a birth in the family Lord doubly forbid s the I never call anybody But without the outcolls she feels as helpless as a female with both arms in a sling and a back zipper to be zipped 1 got a knee like an elephant One of old football war knees has decided to start me off on a merry winter and is swollen right down to an ankle like a piano leg It began with curling too vigorously But it help that I went to the local theyear on Friday night with a game leg and danced a lot gamier than I should have With an elastic bandage and pain pills I manage to get about just lame enough so that I cant possibly help with moving years ago Taken from the issue of the Free Press December per cent of Acton voters went to the polls on Monday to vote on three important matters The gave a four to one approval of the new additions to Acton Public elected the first woman to Acton council at the head of the polls and endorsed the present Utilities Commission by three to one first woman councillor is Esther Taylor a Bell Telephone operator photographer and newspaper correspondent Although she thought at first her nomination was a joke she headed the polls Other councillors elected are Charles Wood Kay Thompson L Weick J Greer Alt Frjer and Thomas Salmon Bob MacArthur was elected to the public utilities commission There were spoiled ballots Tyler is mayor by acclamation with J as reeve and J J Stewart as deputyreeve Mrs G Musselle was made a life member of the Alert Evening Auxiliary of Knox Bobby Kerr son of and Archie Kerr fell on the ice last Saturday and the cut required Utile Janet had her appendix out Monday On the new of the Teen Town and Twenty club are president Ted Tyler vice president Wilfred Duval secretary Helen treasurer council MebBlow Shirley Fryer Janet McCarvillc Wilms Thompson and Caroline They are holding a Sock Hop this 50 years ago Takes the of the Free Press el Thursday Decembers A pretty wedding was solemnized at the borne of Mr and Mrs John Stalker third line Esqueslng Dec when their daughter Jean Patterson and Mr Francis Graham were united In the bonds of holy wedlock Teh bride took her position under an arch of evergreens and chrysanthemums in the drawing room as her cousin Ross played the wedding march Teh bride was prettily gowned in ivory satin with pearl trimmings with a bouquet of pink roses Her travelling gown was navy serge with black hat with silver trimmings and wolf furs After the wedding dejuner the bridal motored to They are now comfortably settled on their farm on the fifth line Esqueslng One night last week Mrs James Marks Bower Ave and Mrs Wolverson and family who have rooms in the house narrowly escaped asphyxiation through coal gas the night one of the doors of the stove accidentally came open All the inmates of the home were affected several of them being quite ill for several days There was a sad tragedy at Glen Williams on Sunday night when Charles was found trampled to death under a horse feet another victim of whiskey The bank of Nova Scotia has added a set of safety deposit boxes to Its equipment for the use of the public A deputation attended a meeting of council requesting a war memorial be erected The matter will be referred to the next council The tender of Atkinson for carrying the mails to and from Acton Post Office and Station has been accepted by the department at Ottawa for another three years 75 years ago Taken from the issue of Free Press of Thanday November UK A week ago last Saturday Billy Thomas who bad been ailing for some tune took to his bed expecting a couple of days rest would fit him again for work on Monday morning Tbe physician called In to diagnose his case pronounced it a critical case of malarial fever and on Tuesday evening death claimed him He was an only acton FREE PRESS PHONE and Ed Off A I Ma Ml Dm i Cain Don UH A Copyright What ever happened Wc arc curious about what has happened to the family life discussions at the high school Wc understood the scries of meetings was to continue again this school term after the sue ccssful discussions which took place during the winter and spring Meetings covered a wide range of subjects both controversial and hum drum Wc think they helped to narrow the generation gap somewhat by the frank and open approach taken by those in charge rents and students both took part freely and we are sure those in attendance benefitted from the opportunity to discuss topics such as drugs marriage and behavior with another generation True there were instances where hackles were raised when strong feelings about particular subjects were wounded by opposing views but in the main discussions were amicable and free of the restraint that ordinarily marks the clash of different ages at the public level Now there is evidence to show Increased drug usage in town and district and Information pushers are working here as well as other problems that crop up periodically which can be examined under the microscope by combined forces of parents teachers and students it perhaps would be worthwhile to reestablish the link these family life meetings provided Associations between teens and adults are so few and fragile that any attempt to establish relations on a thinking level are to be commended Spend dollars with sense The Ontario Department of Financial and Commercial Affairs has issued some sage advice for Christmas shoppers which could really apply to any season of the year Prime piece of advice of course is to deal only with reliable reputable merchants The established retailer wants your continued business His public image is prized and he will still be around many months after the Christmas glitter is gone When the shimmering lights and tinselled trees are dimmed the fast talking salesman with the fantastic scheme will very likely not be around Don be fooled by worthless warranties and guarantees Some are just lures to induce you to buy and are worth nothing more than the piece of paper on which they are printed A guarantee or warranty is binding when written into a contract but is still only as reliable as the retailer who sold the goods to you or the manufacturer who produced them The Department warns against misuse of credit Handled properly credit can be a real asset but there is danger of it becoming an addiction On lay away plans the department comments that it is wise to check that what you lay away is what you pick up later Dealing with reputable merchants is one safeguard against this type of fraud Control your urge to splurge A sign in a store window points out the danger Keep Christmas with you all year Us our convenient credit plans Best way to keep the Christmas buying spirit all year is to budget all year for Christmas But probably the best piece of ad vice Is to Spend your dollars with sense Staff Photo furniture You should see that wife of mine manhandling a grand piano all by herself withme helping by grunting I doubt if she lost ten pounds in the last two days Just to make It a truly Joyous day I marking exam papers This is something like the Chinese water torture Drop by drop it pierces your skull that you never were are not and never will be able to teach anybody anything more than to tie his shoelaces All I have learned today is that prostitute is now spelled prosecute that savagery has become savagism and that a fellow who flies an aircraft is a However I am not complaining The painting is finished My knee feels much now that the furniture is all moved back It has stopped snowing as I ve written The phone company has been able to break through old girl has forgotten her despair over the gouge by spotting a bump in the plaster And I just marked an exam paper worth per cent Because of the dance I have a new suit in six years new shoes new gloves Quite smashing really I don have to go back to the dentist for two days The cat is spayed The snow tires ire on My wife who predicted her own death by noon is alive and well and snarling commands Not a bad old life really Better here than the graveyard though I could use some of that rest If only it weren t eternal son juststeppedfromthethresholdofyouth to early manhood During the recent special services in the Baptist church he had decided to live henceforth a Christian life which decision was conscientiously ob served For the past five years he was a faithful employee of Messrs W Storey Glove Works Very seldom does any travelling company give a more varied and generally enjoyable entertainment here that those presented by May s Sextette in the town hall on Monday and Tuesday evenings Their repertolrelncludedtnos duets solos comic songs character impersonations elocution and sleight of hand The merry sleigh bells were heard a couple of days this week A new laundry will be opened by Adam Cook next week on Church St He has secured the manager from Acton Laundry The Free Press heard of a good farm horse being sold at auction for last week Chirping dogs silent roosters Peace and quiet at any price This appears to be the battlecry of some elements of society who we conclude can scarcely wait to get to the cemetery Perhaps it is the influence of various commentators who sagely suggest that the problem of noise pollution is second only to that of water pollution listing voluminous statistics contending that wc shall all be stone deaf by the year Personally we like the reply of a chap who received a phone call Your You know the old bromide about the mail it must go through in spite of wind and hail Well for almost three months now two of us have snapped up the challenge thrown out by the book Aerobics and ran for 12 minutes every day through rain hail and every other sort of weather For those who read this column on a regular basis perhaps you will recall I promised to periodically report on the program progress Except for a seven day interval when the flu laid me so low I could hardly talk let alone walk or run I endeavored to faith fully fallow the advice between the paperback covers And the tantalizing promise that I feel a heck of a lot better than when I started could be achieving results Despite groaning muscles gasping breath and rivers of perspiration which have threatened to engulf eyes in salt I beginning to feel the results of conditioning program The trick of course is to supply more oxygen to the ticker which beats beneath this heaving chest to create broad super highways for the red stuff that flows in your veins instead of the cow paths that now beat a torturous trails to the mainspring Because there is no easy way to glimpse dog is barking His answer Whaddya expect him to do Chirp Recently we heard of a lad around town who fears he may of necessity be forced to take the axe to the neck of a couple of roosters because they disturb the neighbors What in the name of tarnation is wrong with a rooster crowing at day break It a good clean sound at a good clean hour of the morning For those who get up early it is a refreshing start for the day For those who dawdle in bed they should get a id Pepper hartley coles what Is going on underneath the skin I can only guess at what is taking place You 11 recall that the first 12 minutes of torture I attempted around the bounds of Fairy Lake wound up with the old legs covering 1 miles a figure which I thought entitled me to enter the next Olympics but which the book says puts me In the very poor category Well thanks to my family pushing me out the door every night before supper and an ironbound will I have now stretched that figure to between 1 and 5 miles In 12 minute span That has elevated me to the good level but still far short of excellent Some credit must go to Denis Gibbons our sports man He has been setting the pace while I run behind tongue hanging and feet pounding Denis decided he could use a little toning up since he suffers from the same desk fatique which crops up In the business and afflicts this fuzzy faced fellow However Im beginning to get a little sick of always seeing his back and before another two or three years have elapsed I like him to get a glimpse of mine There have been some embarrassing moments when In our zeal to really burn up the miles we pound the old road so hard the dogs In tbe neighborhood start to bowl In fact my distaff side says she can follow physical check up if they can sleep through the crowing of a dozen assorted roosters The point of the matter is that modern day citizens we contend are too overwrought about their socalled rights The only real right any person has is to have a little dirt thrown over him when he has passed on By the way things are going he may be lucky to get even this small right St Marys Journal Argus There have been instances where dogs So far we both have escaped serious injury by slowing right down to a walk and pretending we are merely passing Another evening just after dusk a police cruiser pulled alongside as we panted along Elizabeth Drive and one of the local gendarmes stuck his head out the window to ask what Institution I was escaping from at that hour of the night He caught me at a disadvantage because I was painfully short of breath or I might have had a smart answer such as the institution of marriage but I could only gasp something about policemen should be out hunting the FLQ or old Johnny reported lost again after the weekend This didn deter this minion of the law from cruising alongside for a spell to see whether I was going to collapse from lack of breath or just fold up from laughing at bis remarks When he saw my Iron bound will wouldn give in he pulled further ahead where my pacer was lengthening margin He told him I was catching up which resulted in a spurt that left me even further back Despite all these little intrusions we have persevered and except for a few nights when shin splints bone chips and a dozen minor complaints like sprained ankles and nearly broken legs have kept us from running It has now reached the point where a bookie might put a show ticket on us if we ran on a track because we are quite a show when we reach the finish line but all we are Interested In is doing two miles In minutes at the moment thank you and we 11 leave the real speed stuff to the amateurs Drug users note tells story of ruin yearold drug user in the United States recently released a suicide note their son wrote before he shot himself in a fit of depression The youth warning against drugs has been widely circulated and recently Free Press received a of the United Press International story through the mail with the plea that we print it to help other teens We do so hoping that If any drug users or those considering taking them benefit from the experience of one who has used drugs and bear to live The father of Percy Patrick Jr a good boy said releasing his sun a letter was a difficult decision but that he and his wife decided to make the letter public because today s kids need so much help The letter addressed to teenagers said I have used all types of drugs from hash pot and add to hard stuff It is aD a bad scene The people who push It dont use It because they know its bad stuff They can see what it does to you All you are doing is ruining your life and let people make money through you Where are you going to go from pot hash add and heroin Man If you are on to the stuff please for your sake get off If you cant fight It by yourself then get help from someone It may be rough trying to straighten yourself out but it Is never too late Han at least try you dont know me but I want to help because I needed help and someone helped Pat PUon recalled the words of a song So much of life ahead we have only Just begun to live If you can kick drugs then youwiD find out what the song Is really about give up to problems and escape by using drugs It only makes more he wrote Then be penned a warning for teenagers who are tempted to try stuff If someone of fers you drugs be more of a man than I was and say no Learn from my mistakes dont want anyone to go through the hell I went through and am still going through These friends of yours will offer stuff free then start making you pay for It The youth was expelled last month from Central Texas College for taking drugs His parents were trying to help htm get back Into college to realize his dream of becoming a commercial pilot In a separate letter to his mother and father Pat told them they are greatest parents ever I have lived a lot in 18 years more than some people all their lives be wrote Well my 18 years is over Drugs played a big part in ruining the last year of my life I years of flood times close to you I know I have changed and I realize drugs couht never undo what they did to me In one year clouded my and rolned my family which meant so much to me before they arrived Drugs have their small moments of happiness but for each moment Ilea a century of sadness never to be removed