April 1968: Centralia’s bar scene

Keeping the Peace
By Tom Lessard

In April of 1968, Rita and I moved our family from London to Huron Park. There were five of us from 1 RCR who moved at the same time, and we were told that we could choose any house that we wanted. A one-and-a-half storey house rented for $58 per month at a time when oil was 17¢ per gallon. We moved in, and we lived there for 35 years.
In Centralia, there was a hotel owned and operated by Jim and Marg Cook. It was a going concern. There was only a “Ladies & Escorts” room, which meant that if a man was by himself, he would either have to get someone from the L&E room to sponsor him, or he could sit in the small lunch room on the north side. If he chose the latter, he had to buy something to eat. I had a small plate of cheese and crackers and dill pickle for which I paid 50¢; I never ate it. The cook wrapped it in Saran wrap, put my name on it and kept it in the walk-in. Whenever I came in for a beer, I paid the 50¢ and they put my plate in front of me.
In October of ’68, I was hired to work part-time as a waiter in the Ladies & Escorts lounge. Having no experience at waiting tables, the boss assigned me to one group of 15 people who came in every Saturday night. In those days, you were not allowed to serve any more than one glass of beer per person at a time. When the glass was empty – and not before - you would serve another. The matron of this group looked after the money and did the ordering for everyone. I didn’t make any tips but I learned fast.
As Huron Park quickly filled with mostly army families (80 in all) and industries opened, liquor rules relaxed and the bar picked up a lot of business.
The boss asked me if I wanted to learn how to pour draft beer. I said I would love to. There were two taps: one ale and one lager. Ale was the largest seller in those days so we’d load 15 ale and five lager per tray unless otherwise asked. Jim put a tray on the counter and showed me how to hold a glass in each hand and open the tap. I filled one and stood there mesmerized unable to figure out what to do next. The draft kept pouring and Jim just told me to put the glass upon the tray. I did so and then with my free hand I shut off the tap. He showed me again and the next time I caught on and soon had 20 on the tray.
From then on, it was a piece of cake. Next came the training on how to carry a tray with 20 draft on it. The manager Scott showed me how to spread my hand so that there was some flexibility and spring in it. I always had good balance so it wasn’t long before I could make my way up and down the rows of tables, dropping off drinks and collecting empties and making change.
In the following years, bottled beer and liquor came into the area and the Central Hotel and the Shillelagh bar in Lucan, the Dufferin in Centralia, Les Pines in Exeter, and the Dashwood Hotel all worked together, and were all busy watering holes. If we ran out of liquor or beer, all we had to do was phone around to see who had extra and send someone around to collect it. They’d do the same if they were short. The only one remaining today is Les Pines, now called Gar’s in Exeter. Before liquor became popular in bars, we were selling between 20 and 25 kegs of beer per week, and at one point had 23 people working at the Dufferin.

Babysitter position wanted

Mexican woman looking for a baby-sitting job in Grand Bend.

Please contact Grand Bend Strip at 519-614-3614 for contact information.

How will you be remembered?

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

It’s easy to take life for granted as we rush through our daily routine. My week includes driving back and forth to Humber College in Toronto, and often to London to spend the day at school with Anjhela. I’ve done a lot of traveling over the years and often had some very close calls.
The thing I fear most is the reality for the family of Mary Walker-Thiel, who was killed last month on her way home from Toronto. Her husband Hub survived, and he says that’s the way God wanted it. I don’t envy what he’s going through right now, but I do envy his strength in being able to trust that Mary is in a better place.
Someone I’ve known for many years died mysteriously last week after travelling to the Caribbean. Don Fahner is a good friend of my brother’s, and so far there’s been no explanation about why he died; he was sick since returning from his vacation, and died at work. Our thoughts are with his family.
We all take big chances when we travel, whether it be around the corner or around the world. We can’t predict what will happen along the way, good or bad.
The good does happen, and it has happened to Anabel Salas and Carmen Rivera, two young Mexican women who discovered they are both living in Grand Bend. Now they’re roommates and having an adventure together. That’s the way it should be.
We need to take advantage of the life we have and enjoy every minute. Spend time with the people you love and make sure they know you care. That’s how Mary Thiel will be remembered, and not just by her husband. It’s going to take many people a long time to forget the impact she has had on her community. How will you be remembered?

If someone says “I love you,” what do you say back?

To the Editor:

We thoroughly enjoyed the article of Lloyd and Leona (Steinberg, January 23). Sending our congrats and God’s blessings on their 60 years together!
We wish to know: after Lloyd shares his “I love you” for nearly 40 times a day, how does Leona reply?
Signed, Michigan readers married 6 years!

Janet and John Ovcjak
Michigan

P.S. we truly look forward to reading your paper when we visit GB!!!
Ed.: The Strip wanted to know, too, so the call went out to Leona. Her response?
“I love you, too, Dad. That’s how I do it.”

Ontario’s budget woes won’t be helped by McGuinty budgeting

To the Editor:
Readers would not normally sift through the details of the provincial government budget. That’s a shame, because if they did, they’d discover why our province remains headed down a path of financial imprudence: our taxes are too high. They discourage investment at a time when we need all the investment we can get. Sadly this tax-and-spend habit was never debated much in the 2007 election, and the media gave it little attention.
During his first four-year term in office, Premier Dalton McGuinty had a couple of finance ministers, but the thrust was the same. Use tax dollars for all sorts of programmes, be they genuine needs or goofy whims. The sum total is that he ran a deficit budget in each of his first three years, and - what a surprise - a balanced budget with a good surplus for election year (2007).
The government’s recent economic statement for Ontario shows that the government’s budget is now set to have the smallest of surpluses (just barely in the black ink), despite healthy projected increases for its own revenues. And on top of that sad state of affairs, the provincial debt is projected to increase each year by $2-billion, even though 10 cents of every Ontario revenue dollar already goes towards paying the interest on that debt. The debt now stands at $142 billion, and by the time of the next election in 2011, will be about $150-billion, by Liberal projections. Imagine if those $9-billion could be pumped into health care and education each year.
Our debt could be retired in a disciplined way for the benefit of all Ontarians and all future governments. But that is not something that wins votes. So instead, McGuinty has committed $94.25 billion in new spending for the 2007/08 budget year, a substantial jump over the $88.12 billion of the year before (when he ran a $2.1 billion surplus). This seven per cent spending jump is not financially healthy.
The following year, Queen’s Park expects an economic slowdown, and the year after that, even more spending as things improve. Already, Ontario’s manufacturers are hurting, with 100,000 job losses over the past 12 months alone.
Government can’t afford to do everything for everyone. They must get used to doing things in a regular fashion (barring catastrophes, of course). Regular annual budget increases should be kept to the rate of inflation. Ministries will always be able to spend every penny they are given. Government must constrain spending to what is essential, plus a few promising initiatives which might improve and economize the way services are delivered. Only in this fashion can we reform our tax environment to generate jobs for Ontarians.
Reform’s draft budget for 2007/08 called for increases in line with inflation. Our 2.5 per cent increase is not only more reasonable, it is sustainable in the long-term, and allows ministries to plan for the future. We call for the bulk of the surplus (about $4 billion) to start paying off the province’s net debt. This two-pronged approach to budgeting will allow us to continue to deliver services without cutting out essential programmes. And it will allow us to grab the debt-tiger by the tail and wrestle it to the ground, lopping off $4 billion or so annually and then redirecting each year’s interest payment savings directly into health care, our biggest financial challenge.

Brad Harness
Leader, Reform Party of Ontario

You think this winter’s bad! Remember 1971?

Keeping the Peace
By Tom Lessard

For some reason, I had driven myself to work at Wolseley Barracks in London instead of travelling with my normal carpool (five of us from Huron Park usually rode together).
It started to snow in the morning and by noon, reports coming from the radio indicated the weather was going to get worse. I told my boss I was going home early, and Highway 4 at #22 was still open, so I headed out.
The wind and snow were getting worse as I passed Arva and reached open country, but I persevered. By the time I reached Ilderton Road, the drifting and blowing were causing whiteouts and building up so much that I had to plow through some of them.
By the time I got to the north end of Birr I could go no further. The road was blocked such that I couldn’t go back or forward and had to abandon my car. In those days, we carried our winter gear with us so I put mine on and left the car in the middle of the road and headed back into Birr.
I didn’t have far to go before I noticed – through the blinding snow – the Birr meat shop. Reaching the shop I found that there were already a number of people stranded. The shop was warm and had plenty of coffee brewing. There was also a radio on with the weather report repeating regularly. It was then I discovered that the OPP had closed Highway 4 about 10 minutes after I left London.
The meat shop was not very big. To try to make ourselves comfortable, we used what furniture was there and emptied some of the shelving to enable ourselves to lie down; we figured we would be stranded there for quite some time.
The next morning word got through that the army was sending armoured personnel carriers loaded with blankets and bedding for all the people stranded at St. Patrick’s school between Elginfield and Lucan. I dressed as warmly as I could in my winter gear and went out to the road to await them; I waved them down and climbed aboard. After unloading at the school, I was informed that they were not allowed to go any further north, so I asked them to drop me off at the restaurant in Elginfield.
The place was packed.
There were a couple of other soldiers in the crowd. We were told that the water pipe was frozen, so we volunteered to melt snow and make soup. Supplies were running out and a call for help went out to the Shillelagh bar and restaurant; they sent skidoos with milk and bread.
Later that day, a tracked 16-passenger military vehicle – on loan to the OPP – arrived heading north, and took a few of us to the Legion in Lucan. The fellow operating the hall and bar wanted to go home but couldn’t without someone taking his place. I was working part-time at the Dufferin Hotel in Centralia at the time, so I contacted my boss Scott McNair, and asked him to track down Carl Stuckless, who managed the Lucan Legion. Soon after, Carl called to say I could take charge and keep the hall and bar open. I ran tabs for all the stranded – most of whom were from Centralia and Huron Park – and Scott promised to guarantee the tabs, saying he would collect the money we owed.
It was several days before the weather cleared, and we were all transported home. It was quite the adventure, but I arrived to find I wasn’t the only one who had a story to tell. Our oldest boys, Tom and Glen, had spent five days with Marlene Jeromkin because they couldn’t get home from Mount Carmel school. It was quite a storm!
Do you have a tale to tell? There are plenty of stories out there. Don’t be shy!

Watch what comes out of (and goes into) your mouth

Advice from Mom
By Rita Lessard

Brr! It’s been a long time since we’ve had a winter this cold. Perhaps that accounts for the bad mood many people have been in. It seems people have more to complain about when the weather is so nasty.
My mother never appreciated our foul moods or our whining and complaining. I can still hear her saying, “Quit your crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” Then came the Whack! I was smart; I learned to be the most cheerful of my mother’s children.
My sister’s mother in-law didn’t like people complaining, either. Her son – my brother-in-law – was a hard man to please, so he always had something to whine about. While he was still living at home and working, his mother would pack him a lunch every day. He especially liked bologna, but sometimes his mother had to give him something different when she ran out of that staple. Of course, whenever she put something different in his sandwich, she knew she was in for a hard time and a scream-fest.
One day, without bologna for his sandwich, she decided enough was enough; she would put his whining to an end. Blessed with a fine sense of humour, she grabbed a powder puff (those beige, rubbery makeup sponges) and put it between two slices of bread with all the dressings, and packed it with the rest of his lunch. I can only imagine his surprise and aggravation when he tried to sink his teeth into that lunch. That’s a good time to start making your own lunch!
While I’m on the subject, my sister had a co-worker who was a bit of a lunch thief, especially when it came to sweets. Whenever one of the girls brought sweets into work, the goodies would disappear. They couldn’t prove who was taking them, so they set a trap for the culprit.
The night before, one of the girls baked a bunch of brownies and used chocolate Ex-Lax for the icing sugar on the ones they were setting as a trap. The next day, sure enough, the fellow took the bait and grabbed all the goodies. After the Ex-Lax kicked in, he was mysteriously absent from work for a day or two. The “treat” either cleaned up him or cleaned his behaviour of stealing other people’s goodies.
Soon Easter will be here and I will have completed my Lenten fast of refraining from sweets. Yes! (Ed.: now I have an idea for a sweet “treat”)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Happy Easter to all.

Time to get serious

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

The Grand Bend winter carnival was a great success; I haven’t seen so many different people involved in local activities since the summer. Congratulations to the organizers for great work.
Congratulations also to my parents for sticking it out for 45 years. They’ve been able to make love work through the good and bad times, and they deserve a lot of credit. Joanne (Morgan) Smith has similar sentiments for her parents in a touching letter inspired by Valentine’s Day.
Now I’d like to get serious for a moment, and hopefully more. You expect a certain standard of journalism from this newspaper, even if we’re reporting on the fun things that happen around here. I would like to feel that the hours that go into this paper are making a difference, and as a result plan to tackle more serious issues in the future. We’ve touched on some in the past, but there are many concerns you have about what affects your daily life in this community. I’m not only talking about beach enhancement and town revitalization, although those are major concerns, for sure.
I don’t want to give away too many of my ideas, but you can expect to see more stories that will be the result of investigative research this year. Our goal will be to bring to light issues you may be aware of, but which you may not understand or appreciate. There will be articles you won’t want to read because they take you out of your comfort zone, but I challenge you to read them anyway so at least you can verify your opinion about them. Not happy I ran the story? Tell me. Letters are always welcome here.
I have my ideas about what should be discussed in the Strip, but I want to hear from you, too. What are the issues that are ignored but which affect you and your neighbours? Send me a letter by post or email, or call me directly (see bottom of page). Your ideas are safe with me, and if they belong in the public spotlight, I’ll do my best to tell the story.
For those of you who just like a fun newspaper, we’re not abandoning that aspect. You’ll still get the information you need to have a good time in Grand Bend and area, and we’ll keep covering the great events you attend. The only change will be stories about more of the challenges your neighbours face daily.
For now, here’s hoping you enjoy sharing the good times featured in this edition of the Grand Bend Strip, and hope you have a great Valentine’s Day and Family Day.
See you in March!

Lessons in Love: A tribute at Valentine’s

With Valentine’s Day this week, there is a lot of emphasis on being in love; I would like to share what true love means to me.
I was an observer, an outsider, to the secrets of love. I watched as daily kisses and hugs were exchanged and tender embraces were given. I watched as coffee was poured and icy car windows were scraped off to make someone else’s morning run smoothly. I heard the laughter over a new experience enhanced by the past they shared together.  I watched as baths were run and phone calls were answered just to say hello.
It was not only the happy times that taught me about romance; it was also the arguments, which left someone sitting coolly quiet, and the stares that meant someone had done something unacceptable to the other. There were the irritations of nights of listening to snoring or extended time playing Scrabble on the computer.
These were as much in abundance as the kind words of encouragement to find a new job, to overcome illness, and to make it through another difficult day of winter driving. I watched as obstacles were tackled and resolutions found.
I did not learn about love watching romantic movies where passion leads the path to happiness; I watched real life from the comfort of my own home. I watched the mutual respect that my parents had for one another. Love did not mean that feelings were never hurt and anger never arose. It was simple: there were two people who had learned to put someone ahead of him- or herself. That meant that someone was always looking out for them and their best interests. 
I was fortunate enough to find a man who shares similar love lessons. We have molded our marriage around what we have been taught and a shared sense of camaraderie.
Love is perfect! People are not. Every day we need to make a decision to create love, to live putting someone ahead of ourselves with the knowledge that someone has put us ahead of them. Happiness will always follow love.
Thank you to my teachers of love, Mom and Dad, and to my amazing husband Jamie, who continues to make me want to strive to make him as happy as he makes me.
Joanne (Morgan) Smith
Kincardine

Elevator first sign of things to come

February at last in Grand Bend! and I am reminded of the big heart and grand spirit of this village.
Although great controversy and vast fundraising has been undertaken, the new public elevator at the beach house at the foot of Main Street is near completion. In this formidable season, it’s a powerful testament to the local economy, and to the service groups that raised the approximate $80,000 to get this first fresh aspect of the beach enhancement underway. Surely it will be completed by the hot summer season that awaits our summer village and the impending onslaught of cottagers and tourists we so love and anticipate. The aged and disabled will soon be equally enabled to view the beach and lake from the upper deck. We all can agree that this will be the first jewel of many planned to enhance and embellish the waterfront experiences we all love to see and be a part of, especially in the dog days of summer.
As I type this letter to the editor, snow is causing tremendous problems around the province, but that signals FUN weather for the winter carnival, celebrating the off season fun and friendship throughout N0M 1T0. Grand Bend will be alive and prospering in opposing weather conditions, but in a very similar spirit as that which the warm summer brings to Main Street Grand Bend.
Rob Webb
Grand Bend

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