Open letter to Morden Town Council

Perhaps at the next council meeting you should consider removing the yellow signs on Thornhill Ave. indicating Historic down town Morden, if it’s not to be? At the same time they may also consider changing the town slogan from See History Unfold to just See History Folding

Since previous councils seen fit to pack up the old Morden Museum and gradually disperse it about.

The most recent issue the Arlington Hotel is most tragic.

The two parties involved, yourselves and Rudy Enns seems to be at logger heads over it’s future or it’s demise.

Does the Town Council not have the wherewithal or mechanisms to deal with this issue in a appropriate and open fashion, it seems not.

Surely, in the heat of accusations, a competent unbiased mediator could be sought to not only diffuse the issues, but work towards implementing a feasible and acceptable plan for all concerned.

Just as the residential development at Lake Minnewasta was put under community scrutiny so can the Grand Old Arlington.

One can more easy accept whatever the out come of the Arlington, as long as that due process has occurred.

"The Arlington Hotel"

It’s been a busy week around Lake Minnewasta.

The most recent collapse of a wall on the vacant historic Arlington Hotel brought a morning flurry of activity to the downtown, which has been dying from a lack of business activity in the past few years. The collapse of the wall brought about eerie morning activity to the usual empty main street. Coffee sales were brisk

this morning, as the fire and rescue department attired in their bright orange colors, enhanced the circus atmosphere to the otherwise desolate main street landscape.

The Arlington has had it’s share of fights throughout the years.

Usually it started with the bar room brawl inside and then moving on to the streets. But this time it’s different. It’s a fight which the Arlington itself is a direct participant and not just a facilitator, and the final outcome will decide if the Arlington lives or dies on the streets of Morden. It’s a fight to the death and the Arlington if it loses, it will become it’s own Arlington cemetery,

burying with it all the memories good and bad, from the earliest beginnings of town itself. Anyone for playing the song streets of El Paso?

Taking a walk in historic downtown Morden, visiting the past or seeing history unfold, are slogans that will become obsolete overnight with the loss of the Arlington. And even if it fell down is there anyone that would hear it? Morden’s loss of downtown business activity is comparable to the old saying, “if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? If a building is demolished and there’s no one who remembers it’s history, does it really matter?

Of course the individuals eager to have it removed, always pull out the public safety defense, their morals and values

for the safety of the citizenry, because of the office they hold, are higher than those of the citizenry who value our past. What background of history with the town do they hold? Were their grandfathers and great grandfathers part of the history of Morden or are they just transplants to the area after the fact? Coming up with the generic argument of public safety, sounds very caring and concerning, but so too would the premise that the building is an unsavory incubator for disease and rodent infestation.. As well the shear height of this 3 story monolithic eyesore shaded and curtailed the full potential of the trees the Town planted to line main street. There are always arguments, but in this instance you get only one chance to do the right thing. The 72 hour demolition deadline being issued scared me. It spoke to the fact that the decision makers, those we elect to

give us sobering thoughts and well thought out judgments, would indeed hasten to order demolition in what appeared to be a predetermined resolution.

You cannot recreate history. When it’s gone it’s gone and you can’t rebuild it or wish it back after the fact.

byline - Terry Titchkosky

AS I SEE IT

I'm usually hesitant to express my thoughts, whether they be right or wrong.
Occasionally though I sometimes create a photo or cartoon that expresses my feelings at the time. Here are just a few of my creations that have been gathering dust in my computer, that I thought I would share.




Ah, I remember this lady! She was part of our Chautauqua celebrations. The banners were hung on the Highway with care, in hopes that our Town artists could celebrate the arts with some flare! Unfortunately I saw the banners in a somewhat different light. They appeared to me as the “pants” of a somewhat heavy woman, and thus the result was this attention grabbing welcoming pose. Perhaps they could have been used as an alternative advertisement for our “Farmers Market” produce after the Chautauqua celebrations ended! Fresh Veggie Eating Capital of Canada!

Then there those discussions regarding the viability for the construction of a museum to lodge the artifacts that are being discovered in our surrounding landscape. I wondered just how the two worlds that exist in our area would cope with the convergence of two beliefs.

As always, if you’re going to build something, just where is the best location?

Everyone seemed to have an opinion. The dig site location or the more visible corridor location. Ah, such a dilemma! Maybe it should be decided by the those who are directly involved. Maybe let the dinosaur decide by a “flip” of a coin.

Heads, Thornhill or Tails, the Corridor.

And then of course we’d require new signage on our highways, and the dilemma of where to put those Dinosaur Crossing signs.

I remember when I thought my internet service was extremely slow and wasn’t at all pleased when my internet service provider MTS did not respond quickly to my needs.In fact they refused to set an appointment time with me. They would only say they’d be out to my place sometime next week Friday.

As if I was to stay at home and wait for them to arrive at their leisure? That’s when I heard Telus, another supplier was competing for business and created this cartoon depicting the MTS buffalo being done in by the competition. I actually sent this to MTS

Then came our own Canadian Election which coincided with the Charlie Sheen antics. What was even more strange was that Charlie Sheen’s character on his show, had the name Charlie Harper……no I’m not kidding. Both he and Stephen Harper had one goal……WINNING and thus

But overall the best things in life tend to be free…like a coupon. I came across these being handed out by a friend of mine and I thought I would share one with all you who read the blog and might need a hug.

Images and comments by Terry Titchkosky

"Mennonite in a Little Black Dress"- A Review

This book review is the result of a young Mennonite waitress in a Black Outfit (black outfits are the unofficial color of the waitresses at this restaurant) scoffing at my reading of The Housecoat Diaries by John Scoles. After glancing at a few passages she determined it was unsuitable reading for an older person like myself, and she bluntly told me so. I completed reading the book at the restaurant - under the duress of her glances - over a period of several weeks.

I then suggested that she read it to stretch and broaden her scope of the humanities. She would do nothing of the kind. Perhaps she felt she would become tainted, who knows?

Now that she had skewered my psyche, I decided the next book I read would require her impartial consent. That book would be one suggested by my niece, who had yet to fail me literature-wise, with the exclamation “Uncle Harold you should read this book!”

After reading all the glowing accolades on the back cover of the book “Mennonite in a Little Black Dress” by Rhoda Janzen, it certainly made sense to me to get the stamp of approval from The Young Mennonite Waitress in the Black Outfit at the restaurant. Once again she glanced at the book, and approval was conferred quickly, but with a proviso, that she receive a review of same.

Here goes!

Dear Senior Intervener,

(or Young Female Mennonite in a Black Outfit)

I labored over reading this book. For me, it did not live up to the glowing praise it received from other reviewers.

It is a memoir that could be applied to a host of other ethnic and faith groups, with the Mennonite flavor only touched upon, in my opinion. Tragically, Rhoda Janzen’s tale, like those of many other bright young Mennonite girls who have left the traditional Mennonite lifestyle for the mainstream via marriage, have found their partner wanting. I can attest to these situations. Rhoda does find a process for her own reconciliation, which may be the best part of this memoir. Mennonite humor has always escaped me , except for mimicking platt deutsch (low German), which, as a friend told me, now would probably be considered racist. I found some amusing dialogue, but no laughter.

I would rate it an average read.

When I get older and much wiser, hopefully, I will be able to select my own books to read again, until then the Young Mennonite Waitress in a Black Outfit at the restaurant holds sway!

Deere World!

My Father was a dyed- in- the- wool "Deere" man - John Deere, that is! For those of you too young, and those of you who never left your urban dwellings, all this may be a little too deep to fathom. But come along for the ride anyway. It might just be fun for you!

You see, John Deere has been a farm implement manufacturer for many decades. You older people know that - their business was tractors, combines, balers, and other farm machinery. Actually, just into the turn of the 20^th century there were numerous tractor and implement manufacturers, but they are now down to about 3 major companies, one of which is Deere & Co.

Earlier in time, the local John Deere dealer was “A. Shareski & Son”. They were located on the south west corner of Stephen & 4^{th St.} right here in downtown Morden. The shop, about 80 X 30 ft., is now occupied by Boundary Plumbing & Heating. It was just a rectangular frame structure with a 1^st coat of grey based stucco for the front, and a metal John Deere sign. Nothing really elegant about it at all. It was here in 1959 that my dad bought his last J.D. tractor, the last of John Deere’s 2 cylinder tractor line. Sort of a fitting end to my father’s calling. John Deere tractors had a unique “put, put,” sound, while other companies' machines hummed along with their 4 and 6 cylinder engines. My dad's tractor was a new standard model 730 Diesel that could crank out 53 hp. Boy, this beast had power! You were just waiting for something to get in its way so it could demonstrate that power.

So what’s my point? Well I’m getting to it - hang on. It was really big potatoes back then, and was the centre of my dad’s and my universe at the time.

Now leap forward 50 years to 2010, to Hwy #3 east of Morden, and the GVE location. Green Valley Equipment, John Deere Dealers for Southern Manitoba

The Morden location has just completed building a two story 12,000 square foot showroom with an additional 8000 square feet of office space. When you enter at the east door you are overwhelmed by its spaciousness. You could put six “A. Shareski & Son” buildings in the show room alone. Along the south wall are the main and 2^nd floor offices, which are all glass and you can see the staff. It is impressive and its offices would be the envy of most Banks & Credit Unions in Southern Manitoba, I’m sure. It feels like a mini Wall St.!

There is an almost outdoor-like atmosphere In the southwest corner where there are tables and chairs surrounded by slush machines, drink machines, coffee pots, candy and chip vending machines, along with a Microwave oven. It's complete canteen style convenience! They even have a big wide screen LCD T.V., showing J.D. ads. You would think they could at least have old re-runs of the John Deere Day flicks.

At Shareski’s they had a Coke cooler; and a table made from an old disker blade welded to a 1" inch pipe with 30”x 30” plywood for the top, which was spray painted John Deere green. Here they played endless hours of checkers, mostly during the fall and winter.

Back to GVE ...... Just to the north of their canteen area, along the west wall, stand six individual reception counters for parts sales, with the latest software wizardry to find your particular part. They remind me of airline reception counters at an airport terminal, but hopefully, the service is much better. They even have a parts gal working there.

Shareski’s just had a big long battered wooden counter, with a heavy metal catalogue holder for their 16 or so parts books, with page corners worn from constant use. Then, heaven forbid, you might have to crank up the old magneto phone, get an operator, and ask for the Regina J.D. parts department, no less. (Much more civil than, push 1 for service, push 2 for sales, push 3 for a morgue, your call is very important to us, when what you really would like to do is push the whole organization you're calling off a steep cliff.)

But I digress, back at GVE, fronting the parts section, are J.D accessories such as tools, batteries, clamps, filters, lubricants, First Aid kits, pulleys, wheels, tillage shovels, battery chargers, and toolboxes for the back of your F-150 & 250 Fords. All the stuff you require to practice modern day farming.

In front of the glass offices is a huge green & yellow J.D. air seeder which has all kinds of air and hydraulic hoses going to the shanks of a huge J.D. cultivator. It looks like the life support system for a hospital patient. Only this patient would have to be dinosaur-like in size!

And now we get to the merchandizing factor, and this is the kicker.

Companies now want your heart, soul, body, and pin #, not for your personal survival, but theirs.

J.D. Financial Report

Top farm equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. finished out fiscal 2009 profitably, despite the economic slowdown, reporting full-year earnings of $873.5 million compared to $2.05 billion in 2008. The company’s agriculture and turf equipment sales saw a 14-percent decline for the year, but the division maintained an operating profit of $1.45 billion, decreasing from $2.46 billion in 2008.

Deere forecast that its worldwide sales of agriculture and turf products will decrease by about 4 percent in 2010. The company estimated that industry wide farm machinery sales in the U.S. and Canada will drop 10 percent in the coming year.

And that, folks, could be the reason Deere has entered the general merchandizing area - so they can prop up their sagging earnings.

Now wade into the remaining floor space, and in the games section you will find John Deere darts, playing cards, checker games, poker chips, horse shoes, and even a J.D. pool table. A far cry from the A. Shareski & Son” checker tournaments" of yesteryear.

For the children, there are model upon scaled model of past and present tractors, front end loaders, combines, balers - the entire J.D. green line of farm equipment. In my childhood I farmed the entire summer with my cast iron John Deere model “B” toy tractor, and a cast iron red Massey-Harris 44. That was before Ferguson came along. But I digress again.

Ok! Let’s start over with baby stuff and slowly graduate to monster combines.

What do babies like? Food - so you can get a J.D. baby dish & cup, or you can read or chew on the thick paged J.D. illustrated picture book. That’s fun! Or how about some J.D. string puzzles? Or if you can crawl around, how about a choice of complete model Farm Yard sets? If you can make tractor sounds, you can play with the long green line of Deere toys I mentioned earlier. If you are slightly older, you can get on the bigger plastic units that you can push with your legs. A little older yet, go for the battery powered units, and if you happen to have a breakdown, just fix it with J.D. plastic tools like drills and saws. Deere does yield to the feminine side with small pink colored bikes, wheelbarrows, and wagons

If your tots have been running around the farmyard “buck naked”, not a problem - clothing is abundantly available from tots to adult sizes. Little tots to children to adult guys and gals T-shirts, pullovers, coveralls, numerous caps and hats, all with J.D. logos. And there are also dozens and dozens of assorted work gloves.

There are household items such as flyswatters, dog leashes, picnic bags, fridge magnets, various J.D. wall plaques, place mats, J.D. brooms, dustpans, along with wall holders for them.

Not to mention an assortment of wall clocks.

Accessories such as wallets, watches, including pocket watches,are also available.

Don’t believe me? Check out this Web Site .....

http://www.greenvalley.mb.ca/

Being an adult, I was looking around for the back room tattoo parlor to get myself a John Deere – deer logo tattoo - in green & yellow on my butt…. for posterity, a chance my father never got.

Ok! So you settle for one of the many barbecues available. Or maybe one or two vaults in which to lock up your guns, rifles, and what money you have left after leaving the premises.

I’m getting a headache from all this. Where do they dispense the J.D. drugs?

So, get on down to GVE, and check the Deere prices at a location near you!

Now back to that romance letter I started ….

Dear John!

I am writing to tell you about the passionate and intimate moments we shared and enjoyed together, But I must tell you. I have been smitten by another’s love……………

All Is Not LOST!

Hitting the dining spots of Morden, I come in contact with a great many young ladies (teens) who serve and waitress in our local restaurants. Chit chatting with them over time, you can begin to build a tiny profile of their likes and dislikes, goals and ambitions. (Of course, they can do the same about me!) It is nothing but a delight to engage in this sort of 15 second banter with them. It reveals many fascinating facets of who they are, and in what they are involved with. But on ocasion, one is blown away by a comment or a reply they make,

Such was the case just the other day.

Driving around the streets of town on the Monday of the August long week-end, with little traffic around, I thought I saw one of these gals strolling on the street.

Upon seeing her the next day at her work, I questioned if it was she whom I saw walking north on 8th Street..

"Yes, it was", and she had gone to mail a letter.

"You were mailing a letter to me?" I asked spontaneously.

"No, I was sending a letter to my sponsor child."

"Your sponsor child?"

"Yes!"

"You sponsor a child?"

"Yes!"

And then she left, and I was in left in a mental haze!

This young, attractive, dynamatic, dramatic, goofy, joyful, fun loving,

and sweet, caring gal, just elevated her stature right before my very eyes.

There will be a new respect paid to her. Her obvious concern for the plight of others is heart warming.

She has a little brother, who admires her very much, and he comes in a large 2XL size, add me to that admiration list.

Who’s painting all young people with the same brush, saying that nothing will ever become of them down the road.

Great teens and kids are still around us folks! You just have to engage them and express an interest in their hopes and desires, and let the dialogue flow. As adults, we can sometimes be pretty intimidating.

I have no idea what formula applies to having great kids. It may be genes, it may be parenting, it may be schooling, it may be the physical and mental environment they live in, it may be unconditional love - who really knows?

All I can say is, when you come across it, savour it, while you can.