by Pat Asling
June already. Here is a little poem to celebrate a year almost half done.
June
Birds just waking to sing as night slips away,
Dewdrops sparkling in the sun to greet a brand new day!
Fireflies lighting the dusky skies and strolls beneath the moon!
What could be more perfect than the lovely month of June!
The full moon this month falls on June 23rd, just when summer officially makes its debut. We have already had a taste of that. Hearing and reading about climate conditions around the world and prophecies for Canadian months ahead, it sounds like we will be in for perhaps more heat than we might wish for. And with that come thunderstorms, maybe hail, more fires, drought and heat exhaustion, all conditions other parts of the world are already enduring.
Quite a few birthdays this week, starting off with Joan Wideman, the former Joan Evans, one of Lawrence and Olive's very productive children. Joan has worked at Lyndbrook Industries for many years. Birthday wishes also to Grant Elford, one of the sons of Harry and Lois (Simpson). Although she has a number of children, grand and great-grand children, Lois never forgets one of them at birthday time. Big greetings also to Carolyn Hicken. Carolyn continues to be a mover and shaker in the community and spends a lot of time at the Seniors Centre helping with lunches, teaching drumming and other activities. She was able to spend her Birthday with her daughter. Bryan Smith stayed home long enough to celebrate his birthday with his family, wife and three growing kids. Bryan has done a lot of travelling in his job of selling farm machinery. Amanda van derGulik also enjoyed her birthday with family and friends. Amanda works as a digital creator. Happy birthday also to Ron Brown Junior, a good friend of my son who often helps me around the yard. Happy birthday also to Don Kennedy. Don is married to Kathleen and has been involved in firefighting in the Markham area for many years. Of interest, Don’s brother Rob, a minister, and his wife Jill have two sons. Both were married last year, and one, Caleb, graduated as a podiatrist and is now working at “26 Bones”, where his mother is a receptionist. A very special birthday wish goes out to a wonderful lady, Eileen Warren. A party will be held at Shobrook Gardens for her on Sunday, June 9th, from 1 to 4 p.m. Our very best wishes for many more great years and memories. Eileen and her husband Jim ran a hardware store in downtown Uxbridge for many years while their daughters and son were growing up. This was another place where my father did a lot of repainting and decorating apartments. I previously mentioned the 100th birthday party for Jean Harrison, a former Zephyr resident, which was held today (Sunday, June 2nd) in Newmarket, where she has lived for many years now.
Happy anniversary wishes go out to one of Eileen’s daughters, Judy, and her husband, David Risebrough, who are celebrating 47 years of married life. I find that hard to believe, just as I find it hard to believe Steve and Sandra Harwood have been married for 45 years. To me, they are all just kids. Until I stop and think back to how many years it has been since I first saw them as little kids.
Best wishes for a complete recovery go out to our dear friend Marilyn Dobie, who had the misfortune to fall on Victoria's Day and has spent time in hospital having some serious hardware added to her small body. It was hoped she would soon be home, but no word yet on that. Sadly, it seems May was a month when a number of friends left us. This week’s newspapers had three names and obituaries. Keith Davidson, we already knew about it, but it was still a bit of a shock. Then there was Marie Strong Geer, whose family lived in Epsom and Utica but had many relatives scattered around the Uxbridge area. Marie had several sisters who grew up in the beautiful old house on 7A, which is now owned by Century Gardens Nursery. Then there was Ron Monkman. Ron was well-known in the area, and I have talked about him before in regard to the Bradbury family, the bakery, etc. He married a daughter, Kathleen Bradbury, but my memory goes back well before that when there used to be several baseball teams in the area, and they played in a field on our ranch, east of Epsom. He was probably in hockey as well, but I don’t recall that, although my father coached several teams. It seems this year so far has been filled with deaths of friends, but this week was also the death of my cousin Dawn Marie Prentice Thomas Croxall. Those of you who went to Uxbridge Public School and High School in the 40s and 50s will remember her. Her grandfather was my great Uncle George Lambe, who sold coal and worked at the arena. Her father, Grant Prentice, was a builder and her mother, Lorna (Lambe), was a hairdresser. Dawn, early on, moved to Toronto, where she met and married Jocko Thomas. Then back to Port Perry where she married John Croxall, who I went to High School with, and then back to Toronto to be closer to daughter Leslie and son David. She also had a sister, Leslie (James), who passed away some years ago. Our sympathies to all the family members.
This was a busy weekend for the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society (LMMS), which had a number of events happening each night. Donnalee Thompson, a friend and former neighbour, was part of the festivities as she presented an old book given to her, one which Lucy Maud would have used and read. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet again. Many more events are planned for this 150 anniversary year. On Saturday, June 15th, there will be a community garage sale in Zephyr. Anyone can put items at the end of their drive that they wish to get rid of. This event has become an annual affair people look forward to. June is Seniors’ month, so lots of events are planned for that demographic. On Tuesday, June 4th, an event at the Senior’s Centre, 1 p.m., was held to present Sandra Will with the “Ontario Senior of the Year” award. I know Sandra has been involved in the Hospital Auxillary and has worked at “Chances Are” for many years. Congratulations on a job well done.
Church this week was in Zephyr and will be for the rest of the month. To clarify, Rev. Li will start her appointment on July 1st in Sandford for the month but will also be at Zephyr for September (no service in August).
The Ferrport Jazz Ensemble played to a very appreciative crowd at the Foster Friday night. This week, a new entertainer, Harpin Norm Lucien, an international performer, is playing harmonica and guitar and will entertain starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission is at the door. On June 22nd, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., a program arranged by Conrad Boyce, entitled “Opera on the Solstice,” features Christina Campsall, Leslie Higgins, Ben Don and Suzy Smith. Tickets are $30.