We are now looking forward to another new year. Most of us will look with anticipation for all good things to happen.

Unfortunately I'm afraid all will not bode well as we look at last year's unfinished business.

For instance: starting out the year is the gun registration issue when many protesters gathered in front of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

What of gun registration? I don't know how individual members of the Soo Line Historical Society feel about the registration; personally I have mixed feelings. I don't like too many guns in the hands of people, especially criminals, but on the other hand I vividly sense what could happen if we didn't have them to protect ourselves. But registration doesn't take away guns.

I remember that my father, T.H. Hilliar, a long-time Weyburn lawyer, always kept a revolver in a drawer in a stand beside his bed. I would sometimes open the drawer and look at it, but I wouldn't dare touch it or remove it.

As well, my father had a rifle. One it was said was used in the Boer War and also in the Regina Riot. I donated it to the Soo Line Historical Museum.

When the museum was still located on Government Road south, we had a burglary, and the rifle was one of the items stolen. Fortunately the police were able to catch the thieves.

There were two of them and when they were summoned to court, I was called as a witness because I could identify the rifle. The culprits were found guilty and all items were returned.

A few years later we were instructed not to display the rifle because of some government ruling. I have forgotten the details at the moment.

That was my first experience in court. I went on two other occasions: once on behalf of SL radio and the second when my little black poodle was accused of running at large.

I knew the police had the wrong dog, so on behalf of my poodle I went to court. I hired a lawyer and it cost me the small sum of $20 instead of $2 had I simply paid the fine for running at large. I didn't want my poodle to have a record. Silly me!