Page6B 6B The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, June 30, 1993 Ladies and gentlemen—a matter of respect “A lady is a woman who makes it possible for a man to be a gentlemen,” Many years ago, | was walking down the hallowed halls of Stan ley Humphries High School, when I heard sounds of horseplay emanating from the old scien room and a temale voice cryin out, “It’s not fair, Men are sup posed to protect women 1 opened the door to find grinning and- sturdy Fouth using his superior strength to push a not emtirely unwilling girl around ina typical juvenile courtship ritual I sent the maiden off, deliv ered a brief, stern lecture to her playmate suggesting that if he couldn't be a real gentlemen he had better fake it, at least in my I then set him to equipment presence work washing lab for the balance of the hour as a penance. This was forty ycars Ago, your must remember when we still linkéd crime ~ Complete Auto Body Repairs Auto Body & Hull Painting nd Paint Refinishing punishment and responsibility tor one’s actions | promptly forgot the incident but not the girl's anguished cry Men are supposed to. protect I haven't heard it for years amidst all the clamour for women quality and respect, However when | was in school, protection of women was an unquestioned part of conduct, and unwritten law, a part of our code of chival ry. Any boy who did the least hurt to a girl regardless of the provocation (and this letter hasn't changed) was instantly branded by both sexes as an unmitigated clod. The -eode wasn't always observed, of course, but it was-a far more ELECTROLUX FREE Pickup & Delivery Every Week Sales * Supplies * Repairs ffective deterrent than any written law The basic Costumes ofthe tribe ve infinitely more binding than the endless squirmings and com promise Of the courts, so that John Charters even today males of my genera- tion still regard any injury done to-a-woman to be unthinkable Trying to legislate respect for women, therefore, is like trying to press a.globule of quicksilver into a corner. It fragments for ever into nothing Once upon an Education Week, I interviewed the late Laura J. Morrish, principal of the Laura J. Morrish Elementary School in Trail. It was a memo- rable experience for she was a when women teachers were retired at 60, men at 65, She con. tinued to work however as a sub- stitute teacher, but left no one in doubt who was teacher and who was pupil She had come, as a little girl to Rossland with her parents, she told me, at the turn of the century when the mines and construction were booming and the city had a population of over five thousand hard-rock miners and construction men, (“the saws and hammers,” she said “never stopped day or night”) There were numerous bars, a number of -cat-houses~ and women of “light virtue”, but only a handful of ‘respectable women’ to be found. Her favourite childish occupa- tion at the time, was to watch the ‘ladies’ from the houses stroll up and down in the afternoon sun on Rossland’s boardwalk dressed in their beautiful gowns and “fine red shoes”. (Red shoes were the mark of the prostitute at the turn have such a pair of “Father almost had an apoplectic fit,” she laughed and his resounding ‘no’ echoed around the surrounding hills Only years later did she under stand the reason for his reaction There was no moral middte she migh red shoes ground in those days However, she continued, a child of a respectable woman, with a purseful of gold could go anywhere in Rossland, day or night, in complete safety. Those hard-rock miners were some of the toughest men anywhere but they had a rigid code of chival Ty, and “any man who gave-us more than a passing glance would have been instantly beat en half to death and thrown out of the camp by his fellows.” Not gentlemen in that sense but in their sense, gentlemen Funny thing about the terms ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ in this era of unequal equality the only place you find them used (with some notable exceptions) is Wednesday, June 30, 1993 The Castlegar Sun Page 7B Our Community Cares ab out Evil The Multicultural ‘ CANADA DAY JULY 1, 1992 Society and CDRD are hosting Cohoe Insurance Agency Ltd. WE MAKE BUYING INSURANCE EASY ~ Custom Painting q - Gel Coating Sandra ~ Factory Paint Matching Keel Capping the word lady in its true sense), 1364 Forest Road (Labatt's Bldg.) 355-2477 and imperious as Queen Victoria Hwy. to Grand Forks - turn in at 14th Ave. (Emcon) She was also retired in a day bright-eyed, feisty lady (and I use __of the century.) in the openings of formal She promptly fell in love with addresses (a courtesy) and on the those shoes and one day, quite —_ doors of public toilets (a necessi innocently, asked her father if ty). Significant, don't you think? July 1st at the Castlegar Recreation Complex. FREE for children 6 -12 years old. * 1:00 - 4:00 pm "Father's Day has come and gone so now what's the use of a Father?" Submitted Pastor Rankin McGougan of New Life Assembly ST. PETER LUTHERAN 3 Si stle r . . ‘ 713 - 4th St., Castlegar What's the use of Father's Day anyway!! Now Mother's day, that has a ring to tt. Mother's day Vacancy Pastor seems to carry all the justification for a full blown celebration. Roses and chocolates seem to fit * Rev. A. Lewis . the occasion quite nicely and are accepted as a wise investments But what about Father's Day? ‘ 368-9639 Well as we look back on it we're forced to conclude that it seemed to have difficulty. mustering At 4 pm all the community 1S invited on the ALL WELCOME! up any more pageantry than the proverbial ugly tie contest. So with Father’s Day fading into = deck for cake and juice. Join our Summer leaders for a "Wacky Olympics" from 1 - 3 pm 1127 - 4th Street Castlegar, B.C. ViN 2A8 Canadian Accredited Insurance Brokers ‘ba © Bn Fine Portraits & Cameras For All Your Photographic Needs Fine portraits ¢ Custom framing + Cameras * Accessories Our photgraphic processing is re <=. 2 == rem environmentally friendly, &we recycle. 1125 - 4th Street, Castlegar» 366-7515 | We are proud to be Canadian Kootenay Computers Inc. 2313 - 6 Avenue, Castlegar, B.C. Phone: 365-2323 pool Worship ¢ 9:00 the dim past what was the use of Father’s Day anyway? Wait a minute! Never mind Father's orsiiip am Day! What about Fathers? What's the use of a Dad? Well, according to some, not very much. One day when mother was driving junior to the store she became exasperated by his constant terrorizing of the back seat of the car. She found herself desperately trying to settle him down only hear this budding tycoon terrorist respond with “if you give me $5.00 I'll be good.” Before she realized what she had said she out of her mouth ira L. Johnson, 8.Th (Pastor | 2404 Colun 1 KINNAIRD CHURCH OF GOD Pastor 36: Dignitaries have been invited. SUNDAY. heard these we ‘| wish you would try to good for nothing like your Dad.” That's ir to poor old Dad, after all Dads do have some uses. For instance they'r 1 \ ry a carry when little Johnny's legs are just to tired. they're often Beginning Joly 4