Letters to the Editor

LINDSAY

ADVOCAT E

Sixty year anniversary

My wife, Mary, and I will celebrate our sixtieth wedding anniversary on May 6. I would like to express my joy of having such an angel beside me for that length of time.

We are so blessed

In our little love nest

Of, can you believe, sixty years?

We’ve had our “ups”

And we’ve had our “downs”

But love has conquered our fears

We are a team

It sees like a dream

The answer is, love smooths out the years. Jim Baldwin, Lindsay

People are nothing but economic units now

Thanks for your article — a scholarly article — on “A Poverty of Time.” (Benns’ Belief, March edition) I am tempted to quote Welsh poet W. H. Davies.: “What is this life if, full of care/We have no time to stand and stare.”

You are, to my mind, correct to identify globalization, the obsessive pursuit of money, as being the enemy of leisure. Globalization has always been about the traders making more money, never about improving the lives of workers. That is true going back to the Phoenicians, or even earlier to the trade in flint arrowheads.

Your final sentence is so true. By a strange coincidence I had a conversation recently with a staff member at Canadian Tire. He had lived much of his early life in Bobcaygeon. He painted an image of life at that time which was so rich. The clubs that formed, the activities that occurred, the showing of films in the arena, the theatre in Fenelon Falls, and the marvellous winter fair. The strong bonds of community were evident in everything from the daily work to the arts, and to recreational and leisure pursuits.

As you note, the people have become nothing more than economic units for the wealthy. Alas, I see no way that we will ever shake off our chains. Peter Weygang, Bobcaygeon

I enjoyed reading Roderick Benns’ “Political Confessions,” (Benns’ Belief, April edition.) I have always been curious about how people arrive at their views in life, and in particular, their political views.

Like Roderick, my parents influenced my earliest voting choices. Dad was a Second World War veteran who suffered from postwar complications that made employment a challenge. On more occasions than I like to admit, we depended upon church charity for money to buy food. The Liberal party offered the best support services, which my parents both appreciated. My first vote was for Pierre Trudeau in 1972.

After graduating university in 1975, I worked in sales on salary plus commissions. My parents had taught me to work hard and to live within my means. As I watched Liberal government budget deficits add steadily to public debt, I rejected politicians who spent tax dollars irresponsibly, especially after studying economics as part of an MBA program.

From 1981 to 2006, I voted for Conservatives and hoped that they would help us all to “live within our means,” but public spending and debt levels kept rising. In 2007, I learned by happenstance that I was a Libertarian in my personal principles and values. I sought out the provincial party and began to read more books in economics and political theory. My LibertarianConservative convictions have deepened over the past 14 years.

Like Roderick, I share an interest in people, their prosperity and the health of our planet. What I find particularly interesting is that our approaches to these matters are so very different. Gene Balfour, Fenelon Falls

Has city missed the mark on cultural sustainability?

Referring to Kirk Winter’s article (Advocate online) about the city’s approval to hire a “museum curator/ manager” in response to the Olde Gaol Museum’s request for municipal funding, the article missed the point entirely. This undefined staff person has not been hired. The city doesn’t even know what to call the position yet, nor what they will be doing exactly. What is clear is that the city needs assistance themselves in helping to roll out their cultural master plan and this new city staffer may be a great resource for the city in that regard. This may be a positive aspect of this decision.

However, it doesn’t address the needs of the Olde Gaol Museum. Splitting a staffer between 12 different organizations does not mean that the person will be in the buildings doing actual hands-on work. The city can talk about supporting all museums “equally” but the reality is that they don’t all have the same needs. The Olde Gaol’s collection dwarfs Maryboro, Boyd and Kirkfield museums combined and continues to grow monthly. The Olde Gaol Museum’s needs have progressed beyond what can be reasonably expected of volunteers and requires professional skills to complete the work. It’s not that the volunteers don’t know what they are doing; it’s that they do, and they are doing it really well. The museum is growing. It needs municipal funding for core operations just the same as many other museums in adjoining municipalities get. If the other cultural organizations in Kawartha Lakes have needs, why aren’t they also doing deputations to council?

Zac Miller, Pontypool

Being Black in Kawartha Lakes issue appreciated

Thank you so much for doing this story that highlights the true voices of the Black community in Lindsay. I’m glad you kept it honest and real. It was very eye-opening. And thanks to the contributors for being so brave and honest about your lived experience.

Juliet Young

Show us the GO bus, Laurie Scott

Laurie Scott, MPP, I received your newsletter. On your list you say you want to support health and long-term care, local businesses and local infrastructure.

I would like to know what you mean by infrastructure. For more than 10 years many people in our city have been looking for a GO bus connection. Not everybody in this city owns a half-ton truck or SUV to drive to Peterborough or Toronto for a medical appointment. Our town of more than 21,000 people is growing. We need transportation! Beaverton, Cannington and Sunderland are connected to a GO bus; why not Lindsay? Gunter Schubert, Lindsay

Love those recipes

So grateful to Diane Reesor for sharing her carrot soup recipe (April edition of the Advocate) which I have enjoyed many times at Sweet Bottoms Café in Fenelon Falls. The Local Kitchen is the first page I like to read in your magazine. Keep the good recipes coming.

Gerarda Schouten, Coboconk

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