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»Tales of the Conestoga
BY: WAYNE MARTIN
At this time of year there is always a big concern about children and others going on to ponds and rivers before it is really safe to do so. I read with interest the article in the last issue (Dec 07) of the Reader’s Digest of Bobby Orr and his growing up in Parry Sound, ON. He was able to go on one of the bays of Georgian Bay.
I was wondering how they know when it was safe to go on the ice and would be safe as he headed out into the bay.
Growing up beside the Conestoga River near St. Jacobs it was some concern as to when it was safe to go on the ice. We developed our technique to test the thickness of the ice. First we threw a fairly big rock up in the air and have it land on the ice, if the rock just kind of bounced and then skidded down the ice we knew it was fairly solid but we still used an axe and chopped a rough hole to be sure are hard at least 3” of ice. If the rock just plunked and punched a hole and just sat there then we knew it was not safe.
One of the things that I can remember quite well as a young boy growing up on a farm near St. Jacobs in the 1930’s and into the 40’s/ We did not have any mattresses on our beds, I believe it was the same for the girls as well as the boys, we just had straw ticks. Every fall these ticks were emptied of the straw in them, (these ticks were quite flat after year’s use) and were filled with fresh straw. Wheat straw was the preferred straw to use for these ticks and it tended to stand up better than oat or barley straw.
What I remembered most was that after these ticks were filled with fresh straw they were very thick, and it was a bit of a challenge to get up on top of these freshly filled ticks for the first few times, another thing was that they were a bit prickly for the first little while.
»You can't take the Christ out of Christmas
BY: KATIE BARBER
You can’t take the Christ out of Christmas. Perhaps you personally are not partial to any such comments and happy holidays or seasons greeting will suffice, but for me it’s not enough.
Those who commonly criticize the name of this celebration, that comes back every year to make an appearance, have no attachment to the experience other than presents or a time to be with family. Although these are not bad traits, and indeed aspects of the season, the name for some is what makes the holiday itself.
Christmas, a tribute to the day that Christ, the savior of the world, was born. To you maybe that doesn’t mean much, or maybe in a way it does, but as a Christian and a believer in that Christ, this occasion has shaped my life profusely.
As a Christian living in today’s society I need a reminder from time to time what it is I’m living for. In a world where desperation and sadness come in great quantities and where quietness and patience are in short supply, Christmas reminds me of the God who made me and the reason it is that I live.
I’m not some religious radical who is about to hound you on the street and tell you the life you live is wrong. I’m not going to tell you how to change your life, or what you need to take out of it to make it better. I simply ask that you don’t do the same for me. Perhaps this request seems strange coming from someone you hardly know, but when you try to take the Christ out of my Christmas that’s exactly what it is you are doing.
Some people don’t appreciate the tile of Christmas and prefer to wish someone a happy holiday instead, or maybe even a seasonal greeting. But what truly sets that apart from any other occasion on which we get a day off? If it’s just another holiday then why do we get more than one day? A seasons greeting can be wished to anyone at anytime of the year because we have four different seasons in which to do so. But wishing someone a Merry Christmas can only happen in one season and for one individual holiday.
Each holiday is special and has a unique name given to it that represents the reason that we get to take time out of our hectic and busy lives to acknowledge a particular event. Thanksgiving is a day on which we take time to appreciate what we have and be thankful, Canada Day represents the birth of our country, and Christmas represents the remembrance of the birth of one special baby. Even if that baby doesn’t mean anything to some people, it’s the reason the holiday was created nonetheless.
If someone has a problem with the creation of this holiday or the name it was given, then why don’t they have a problem with the time off they are given, or the presents they receive? If someone is upset enough about the occasion then let them work on these days while other’s take time to remember. Even if they don’t wish to participate in this festive occasion the way it originally was intended for, they have no right to try to take that away from me.
Christmas is the name of this holiday and for some it doesn’t make sense, but that does not by any means make it alright to eliminate it. Eliminating things you don’t understand has long since been considered a horrible thing, so why should this be any different?
I ask you kindly and in the highest regards even if you don’t celebrate Christmas the way I do, or believe in the things that I hold dear, please don’t try to take Christ out of my Christmas.