ARMCHAIR ARCHIVES – Sunday shopping definitely a yes or no question

Sunday shopping hasn’t been an issue for a long time, but 40 years ago it was a hot topic. That, plus a bit about what we call our sports teams, and an anecdote about hopes for a new arena, were on tap for the following column, published May 14, 1985 in The Kamloops Daily News.

PEOPLE TAKE their Sunday shopping seriously.

I suspect the 70 people who responded to a Kamloops News coupon poll on the issue are representative of a wide sampling of local opinion.

The number of coupons returned is relatively small in comparison to other polls this newspaper has taken, but in order to guard against the possibility of the same people sending in more than one coupon I decided against published it more than once.

In fact, there were a couple of examples of photocopies being used, but they were certified as being the only submission for the individuals involved, so I let them stand.

Besides, for ever individual who goes to the trouble of tearing out a coupon and mailing it or even bringing it down here to the office, there are many more who feel the same way.

In case you missed it, the poll showed that 42.85 per cent of its participants favored unrestricted Sunday shopping, 25.72 per cent favored it under the existing restrictions, and 31.43 per cent didn’t want it no how, no way.

Not everybody answered the plebiscite question but, of those who did, almost three-quarters wanted a plebiscite to decide the issue in Kamloops.

Although, purposely, no room was left on the coupons for comments, that didn’t stop some people from commenting.

“Yes, yes, yes!” one reader added to his or her vote in favor of unrestricted Sunday shopping.

Another reader, opposing Sunday shopping, quoted Leviticus 23.2: “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein; it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your homes.”

However, another reader, favoring Sunday shopping, had this to say: “Sunday, the ‘Lord’s Day,’ only applies to the Christian faith. Not all people are Christians. If Christians want to keep their stores closed for the ‘Lord’s Day’ let them but I don’t think non-Christians should be forced to.”

I wouldn’t suggest the poll was the definitive study on what Kamloopsians think about Sunday shopping, but I do think it puts the lie to the claim that most either want things left the way they are, or don’t think we should bother with a vote.

There should be a vote. I hope city council gets that message before the next municipal election.

—

Media jocks, for some reason of which I’m not sure, don’t like to call teams by their real names. Maybe you’ve noticed.

The Montreal Canadians, for example, are “the Habs.” The Hamilton Tiger Cats are the “Tabbies.” The Quebec Nordics are “the Nords.” The Chicago Black Hawks are “the Chihawks.”

Prince Albert Raiders become “P.A.”

The St. Louis Cardinals are, naturally, “the Redbirds.”

It’s the same with players. A guy named Evtuchevski becomes “Chevy.” In various sports, players are called Catfish, The Great One, Hit Man, the Rocket, etc. etc.

Sporting nicknames are okay, but sometimes they stretch it. I mean, my God, “the Pale Hose”? Are we not going a little too far when we are so desperate to be new that a team named the White Sox becomes the Pale Hose?

How far will it go? Will the Washington Redskins become the “Crimson Outer Body Coverings”? Will the Montreal Expos become the “World Fairs”?

Lord save us from the Edmonton “Grease Monkeys” and the Calgary “Rodeo Riders.”

How about the Philadelphia “Pilots,” the Seattle “Ocean-goers” and the Miami “Marine Mammals”?

Why not, finally, the Kamloops “Sports Jackets”?

—

Ray Fuoco told this one at a DBA wine and cheese (a highly successful event, I might add) held at Bodyworks a couple of weeks ago.

The way Fuoco tells it, with all good humor, is that he was out on the sidewalk washing the windows of his Book 221 store one morning when Mayor Jim Walsh happened to drive by.

Walsh stops his car on the street, bringing up short a police cruiser behind him, and leans out the window.

“Hey, Fuoco,” yells the mayor. “Wanna know where we’re gonna put that new arena?”

Where, asks Fuoco.

“We’re gonna tear down that bank across the street and put it right there so you can look at it,” chortles the mayor, and drives off.

Fuoco, of course, is the man who has been identified most strongly with the proposal to upgrade Memorial Arena, while Walsh is at least partly responsible for shooting it down in favor of trying to get a brand new one.

They rarely fail to kid each other about it when cross paths.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He’s been writing about Kamloops since 1970 and can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.