Got a call from a reader the other day about my annual word-purging column.

She had her own beef with an overused phrase.

Doesn’t like it when people say “no problem” after she says “thank you.”

“If I thought it was going to be a problem, I wouldn’t have asked the person to do something for me in the first place,” she said.

I didn’t want to break the news to her that I use that expression all the time.  It seems less formal than “you’re welcome” and quicker than “don’t mention it.”

Still, I get her point.

Indeed, the vacuous nature of the phrase reminds me of a similar meaningless, reflexive expression that made Lake Superior State University’s banned word list several years ago.

The offensive phrase is: “Have a good one,” which is the abbreviated version of “have a good day.”

This expression is often used by a store clerk after a customer has made a purchase.

The person who nominated it for banishment that year was a woman who shared her experience of going into a store to buy some feminine hygiene products.

“As I paid,” the woman wrote, “the young clerk bid me farewell by saying, ‘Have a good one!’ … Have a good what?”

It still cracks me up.

Got a column running Friday on the groundbreaking for the new puck palace. Can’t run everything in print, though. So here are a couple of extra tidbits.

Usually, Jim Bradley’s speeches are snorefests. When the St. Catharines MPP gets up to the podium, it’s a good time to put away the pens. And when he says he’ll try to keep his remarks short, run for the hills.

Anyway, this time he gave a nod to the role Garden City Arena has played in the city over the past 74 years. The main rink at Garden City was renamed Jack Gatecliff Arena a number of years ago in tribute to The Standard’s longtime legendary sports editor.

Bradley made note of that at Thursday’s event, and added that Jack always supported improvements to the city’s recreational infrastructure, including the building of a larger, more modern hockey arena.

“If he were here today,” said Bradley of Jack, “he would be absolutely delighted to see this project come to fruition.”
Nice touch on Bradley’s part.

The other part of Friday’s column makes note of a downtown residential condo project. The developer John Kingston of Penn Terra said the decision to build reflects his company’s confidence in the city’s investments downtown.

Kingston also has plans for two other condo developments in the downtown, and promised they’ll proceed.

“We’re going to live by those words,” he told the gathering at Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the four-storey, 28-unit housing project on Wellington St.

Consider those words published.  And here’s hoping they’re lived up to.

Got a couple of tidbits that I could never fit into columns.

Last week, I was talking to City of St. Cathariens CAO Colin Briggs about one thing or another, and as is my wont I also asked about the state of demolition permits for the Son of Port Tower gang.

Briggs said the application is in for the old Lakeside Hotel, and city staff was vetting it.

As for the moving of the old jailhouse off site, Briggs said the city was waiting to hear from the DFO.

Huh?

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Double huh??

To make way for construction, the plan is for the jailhouse to be moved a few metres away to a corner of the Lakeside Park parking lot. The city doesn’t own the park or the parking lot. It leases those lands from the federal government. So, permission is needed from the appropriate federal department — in this case DOF — for the jailhouse to be placed on the parking lot.

This is just part of the normal bureaucratic process, I guess.

But it sounds ridiculous.

*******

I was chatting with Tom Rankin recently about the puck palace. As you know, Rankin is teaming with Ball Construction to build the joint.

First up, though, is an inspection of St. Paul St. buildings that back onto the canal valley. This is standard procedure for construction projects that have the  potential to cause cracks in nearby buildings. Photographic evidence of the structures’ state prior to construction could help settle later disputes about alleged damage caused by vibrations.

To illustrate this, Rankin told the following story:

An article appeared in the newspaper noting Rankin had been awarded a contract to do some repair work in the Welland Canal that involved blasting.

A short time later Rankin said he received a call from someone complaining that the blasting was doing damage to his house.

“I said, ‘well, we don’t start until next week.’ And he says, ‘sorry, I’ll call you then.’”

We both laughed heartily.

My Friday column talked about the federal Opportunities for Youth summer employment program from the early 1970s. Actually, I called it a hippie dippy program from the early Trudeau years.

Never had a job through OFY myself, but a friend did. I seem to recall him saying the supervision of and accountability for his project was, um, loose.

But don’t my take word for it. In the fall of 1972, the president of Jaycees Canada said his organization would press the feds to end the program because it was a waste of money.

Contrary to what the government believes, The Standard reported Walt Lastewka as saying, youth is not looking for handouts.

Lastewka, of course, went on to become a Liberal MPP for St. Catharines.

I was a youth back then. And let me say on  behalf of the youth I was privileged to know during this period, we did not mind handouts. Indeed, we kind of liked them.

******

The reason  I was writing about the OFY program is that one of the local projects involved holding summer concerts at the low level parking lot in downtown St. Catharines. I found a photo of the Canada Day concert, but struck out trying to find other pictures or stories.

However, much to my surprise ( I didn’t grow up here, so anything before 1979 can be surprising), I discovered through a microfilm search that a multi-day carnival was held in the low level parking that July. Lots of rides and stuff. For all I know, it happened in other years.

The carnival was sponsored by the local Jaycees.

No wonder Lastewka didn’t like OFY.  Its programs were potential competition for the hearts and minds of low-level lot lovers.

*****

I love the opportunity to scroll through The Standard’s microfilm. The early 1970s is a particularly fun era.

I’m fascinated, in a journalistic sense, by the number of bikini shots The Standard photographers took in those days and the prominent play given them by the copy desk. Different times, man.

But the real joy is reading headlines from the day.

Here are few gems from Page 9 that July:

It’s Not Women’s Lib But Her Sailing Blood Behind Career Choice.

They’re Turning Boys Into Men; No Longhairs In Lincs’ Summer Militia Course.

Heatwave And Humidity Get To Visiting Newfies.

You discover the darndest things when pawing through old newspaper clippings.

Consider these two nuggets:

In researching the beginnings of the low-level parking lot, I stumbled upon this story detailing the St. Catharines planning board’s views of the canal valley in the early 1950s.

Long story short, it saw value in replacing the old Glenridge bridge with a berm. This would create some additional usable room in the valley, which the board believed should accommodate some much needed downtown parking.

A new two-way road, paralleling St. Paul St., should also be built in the lower level to provide access to the parking area.

The planning board foresaw economic development possibilities with these initiatives.

“It is the board’s contention that if access and parking facilities were provided in this area, aggressive and far-sighted commercial interests could seize the opportunity of two-front establishments and would soon compete for the privilege of providing easy movement by ramp, escalator and elevator between St. Paul Street and the parking area.”

I love this stuff!

The second nugget was discovered while perusing newspaper microfilm from September 1960. I was trying to nail down when a new covered culvert was installed in the canal valley. In doing so, I came across this story about the Burgoyne Bridge that was headlined, “Time has taken its toll in bridge’s 45 years.”

The lead asked whether the bridge was still safe. A cutline under a photo of the bridge read: “At 45, the old lady is stiff in the joints and has bridgework trouble.”

It’s an old lady at 45?!?!

Sheesh, that’s a spring chicken compared to its current 97-year-old state.

Bunch of 1960 wimps.

As noted in my Wednesday column about the puck palace, St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan drew on the 1938 city council for inspiration Monday night.

It’s the group that approved the construction of Garden City Arena.

On the occasion of the 2012 council doing the same for a new spectator facility, McMullan saw fit to praise the men and women of  the 1938 council for their “courage and leadership.”

“And I will mention women,” said McMullan, going off-script, “because, back to St. Catharines always being a leader — and we are a leader — there was a woman on that council in 1938.”

That’s true. Her name was Estelle Cuffe. She served five years. It wasn’t until 1956 that another woman, Jean King, got on council.

And it wasn’t until 1979 that two women, Denise Taylor and Jean Johnston, served on council at the same time.

A woman has never been elected mayor of St. Catharines.

So, if St. Catharines was, indeed, showing leadership on that front in 1938, I think it’s safe to say citizens weren’t really paying attention.

The moment I knew baby boomers no longer held complete sway in newsrooms actually came about 12 years ago. That’s when a 20something reporter declared she couldn’t name all four of the Beatles.

How could that be! (Naturally, George was the unknown one.)

Alas, I still am occasionally stunned when younger folks don’t get what I assume to be universally understood references.

Take, for instance, Thursday’s column on a beauty salon that is applying for a liquor licence.

At one point during our conversation, Renaissance Salon manager Jason Dileo said he might consider having a “beer and a haircut” special for men.

Later, I told a couple of newsroom types that I had a great marketing slogan for this special.

The salon, I chortled, could use the jingle: “Beer and-a hair cut … two bits.”

I was greeted with blank stares.

Say what? You don’t know the old “shave and-a hair cut, two bits” routine?

Nope. Never heard of it. And what’s a bit?

Don’t worry, dear readers. I will continue to soldier on.

******

Wrote a column earlier this week about owner Charlie Bufalino turning a section of the old Lincoln Theatre into a man cave. Six of the theatre’s old seats are positioned in front of a projection screen that was once part of the Lincoln’s old silver screen.

Thing is, the Lincoln had about 500 seats. What happened to the others?

Bufalino said he gave them away in the late 1980s.

At first, he tried to sell them. In the end, for as low as a dollar. No takers.

“As soon as I said they were free, they were gone,” he said.

Surprise!

******

Attention all coloured-leaf lovers: I have good news, at least for those heading north this weekend.

Last weekend, I went on my annual fall golf outing to the Parry Sound area where I proceeded to hit numerous golf balls into various forests.

We had been disappointed the last several years during our Northern Tour in the rather muted colours of autumn leaves.

Not this time.

I can’t remember the last time the reds and oranges looked so vivid.

You’re welcome for the heads-up.

******

Surely, all of you follow me on Twitter (@herod_standard). But for the half-dozen or so who don’t, I should provide a somewhat complete report on The Standard team’s performance in last week’s United Way croquet tournament. City hall reporter Marlene Bergsma and I crushed St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan and CAO Colin Briggs in the opening exhibition game Monday. Really, it’s the only game that matters.

Later, I teamed up with ex-Standard staffer Peter Downs. We inexplicably lost the first game, relegating us to the consolation bracket, or, as Downs described it, the A (alternate) round.

We then went on a real roll, as it were, and won the championship. OK, it was the consolation championship.

Thank you, thank you very much.

One of the more frightening suggestions made during Monday night’s goose poop debate was that, surely, St. Catharines city council had more important things to do.
Yikes!
That usually means spending money. And I think we’ve had enough of that for awhile.
At least the goose population control thing was cheap. Just post a few signs warning of a fine for feeding geese.
Please, we should encourage this sort of minor activity. It’s the major stuff that’s scary.
***
So, is the mere threat of a fine a deterrent for goose-feeding miscreants?
I harken back to a story from my youth.
A couple of cousins and I were up at the cottage in the hinterlands surrounding Parry Sound, wandering around in some nearby forest. Ahh, yes. Those crazy days when eight-year-olds could drift off into the woods for hours with no supervision and no worries.
Anyway, I spotted a white flower and picked it.
A cousin recoiled in horror.
“It’s against the law to pick a trillium!” she yelled, later explaining it was Ontario’s official flower.
Now, for all I knew, this was an urban legend. And even if it was true, the likelihood existed that my cousin wouldn’t know a trillium from a petunia. Besides, there wasn’t a provincial enforcement officer within 50 miles of the cottage.
Didn’t matter, though. The thought of a fine, reform school or a tongue-lashing from my parents was sufficient to make me a law-abiding citizen for years to come. When it came to trilliums, anyway.
I’m confident a goose-feeding law, however unenforceable, would be similarly respected by the St. Catharines youth of today.
The city’s adults? Uh, maybe not.

It appears some St. Catharines residents are getting a bit anxious for the new hospital to open.

Recently, they’ve popped in believing it was open.

The pop-ins prompted the Niagara Health System to erect a new sign near the main entrance on First St., which essentially says: Hey, we’re still building this thing, come back in March.

Liisa Morley, spokeswoman for the new complex, said people were driving in “frequently.”

Part of the mix-up is due to the old signage (photos of past patients) at the corner of Fourth Ave. and First St. being taken down. The signage conveyed the message that the development was proceeding.

Combine that with the fact the building “looks so complete from the exterior,” said Morley, the NHS felt compelled “to remind the public that we are still under construction.”

I was getting a bit excited here. You mean people were showing up with cuts and bruises, and looking for treatment? What a story!!!!

Alas, no. They were just curious to have a look at the new digs. Some, though, were wanting to drop off information. Travelling salespeople, I guess.

Anyway, here’s the new sign that went up.

Get the message?

By the way, there are some people who have already set up shop in the building.

About 14 members of the hospital’s project management team re-located there in June. Plus, contractors PCL now has its office there.

In Thursday’s column, I noted how then-St. Catharines Mayor Roy Adams risked incurring the wrath of thousands of local GM workers by suggesting they not vote in favour of a strike and, instead, accept whatever the auto industry was offering a contract.

This seemed a particularly rash act by the mayor because he would be seeking re-election as mayor a few months later.

Turned out, though, infuriating the labour movement in St. Catharines had no real impact on that fall’s election. Only a last-minute decision by a political unknown to enter the race prevented Adams from winning by acclamation. He won the election in a romp.

That no serious candidate, union-friendly or otherwise,  arose to siphon votes from a seemingly vulnerable Adams was in keeping with the general lack of influence the city’s labour movement had on local politics.

St. Catharines may have been home to General Motors and a number of other unionized manufacturers, but its citizens were, in the main, a pretty conservative bunch when it came to political representation.

The other argument at the time was that no single issue, particularly one unrelated to the running of a municipality, could be expected to seriously harm the election chances of a veteran incumbent mayor.

That view would be tested three years later when Adams sought a fifth straight election victory.

He was upset by challenger Joe McCaffery.

Now, there may be a number of factors for Adams’ loss, not the least of which is he had been around for eight years. Residents may have been tired of him and were looking for a change.

Certainly, the colourful McCaffery was a stark contrast to the staid, button-downed Adams. But while the St. Andrew’s Ward alderman was active in minor sports and a prominent foot soldier in the local Conservative party, he had not been a major player on city council.

However, fortune smiled on McCaffery and deserted Adams a few weeks prior to the election when it was revealed the city had lost its shirt, as it were, when two Alberta banks it had deposited $25 million in collapsed.

The federal government covered the loss and it wasn’t Adams’ decision to invest the money in the banks, but if residents were searching for a way to register their disapproval over the city’s short-term investment practices, one was provided on the mayoral ballot.

A  single issue, it seems, can have a major impact in a St. Catharines mayor’s race.

It just has to be the right one.