Zephyr & Sandford news

by Pat Asling

The previous weekend was Art in the Park time, and although there were apparently more vendors than usual, fewer people turned out as a result of the torrential rains. For the first time, I didn't go, sadly.

That was not the case this weekend when the giant car show was at Elgin Park. Lots of beautiful cars, but the video I saw didn't show huge numbers of people, which might have been just the time of day, etc. They certainly had great weather!

Last weekend was the time of the Super Blue Moon, which a few people saw but was mostly shrouded in rain clouds. It will not be returning until 2037, I think, so I probably won't see it then, either.

Birthday greetings last week went out to Mary Anne Herrema, wife of Ron, a grandmother and employee, who keeps very busy. Faye Clarke Wildfong also had a birthday. Faye was born right around here but has lived in Pickering for many years. Now that hubby Perry has retired they are free to do some postponed travelling! Vanessa Rose, daughter of Janet Cox and Jamie Rose, also celebrated. Janet lives on the farm, which has been a family farm now for several generations, with partner Hatt Mealy (Matt Healy?) and baby daughter Isla, who is growing very fast! Congratulations to Ryan and Karyn Tindall, who celebrated 22 years plus anniversary. Their business is thriving, and their girls are stepping up to help in all kinds of ways.

Last week I was pleased to have a short visit from Fred Wilson. For many years, Fred and Helen ran a farm just down the road. Eventually, son Don and wife Heather took over the farm, and Fred and Helen built a house closer to the road, where son Murray and wife also lived. When Helen took sick, they moved to West Shore in Port Perry, and after Helen's passing, Fred moved to be with Don and Heather. Who by then had sold the farm and moved to their cottage. Things change.

Last week, the Probus Club met in the Sandford Hall. I suspect this was the first time many of the group had been there, and with the detours, etc, some managed to get a bit lost. The speaker was Randy Wilson of Uxbridge, on whom I did an article a few months ago for this paper. On August 16th the Shimoda Family were the entertainers at the Friday night concert at the Foster. They have been entertaining there for a long time now and always gather a crowd, as they did this time in spite of the road and detours. This was also the case this week when Chris Saunders and his crew were on hand playing a variety of music and instruments. There was a standing ovation! On the 30th Jethro Haynes will be the entertainer, with his guitar and rhythmic blues and soulful attention. Doors open at 7 p.m., the concert at 7:30 p.m., and admission at the door by donation. Sadly, this is the last time we will have Nic with us, and we wish her well in her job search and career.

Best wishes to Evan Paisley and their wife Emma, who were married last Saturday. Evan is the son of Harry and Angie Paisley, and the Paisleys lived and the 6th for many years.

Another wedding also took place the weekend before last under the rain. Trevor Cox and Jamie Elizabeth were married by Elgin Whitfield in a tent, which proved not to be completely waterproof, resulting in some of the wedding party getting wet. They looked none the worse for water in their lovely green dresses. The guys all wore jeans with shirts to match the green of the dresses, and the reception was in a beautifully decorated barn. Quite the event.

Big congratulations also to Trevor, who has been made General Manager of the Uxbridge Bruins Provincial Junior Hockey League.

At the last Uxbridge Horticultural meeting Dr. Michael MacTavish spoke about the inroads of the jumping worms, on which he has been doing a lot of research. These creatures are gradually working their way into our part of Ontario, so everyone must keep watch. These actually do jump if you hold them in your hand! Next month, the speaker is Bryan Mailey of Udora, who will be speaking about growing and keeping garlic.

There was a members' garden tour of three gardens last week. On Wednesday 21st, I attended the tea at the Lucy Maud Historical Church. It was the first time I had been able to go this year. Tea was good as usual, and the speaker, Sheron Albert, talked about the many crafts she had tried over the years and showed an amazing number of various handiworks. Also on display were some of LMMs own handicrafts. There is only one tea left for this season, on the 28th, dubbed a birthday celebration in honour of LMM's 150 anniversary. Besides the tea, there will be a book reading for both children and adults. The Durham Region ploughing match took place this past Friday and the former farm of Bruce Harwood. It was a beautiful day and I expect there was a large crowd in attendance.

On Saturday, there was a lovely party at the Blue Heron in honour of the 60th anniversary of Heidi and Earle Lockerby, principally organized by daughter Lisa. Her sons were doing the serving, nice to meet them finally. There was a nice crowd, mostly church families and those who also work with the Lucy Maud Society. Heidi and Earle have moved around considerably due to his work but finally settled on Sandford a number of years ago now. Earle has authored or co-authored a number of books, some on the history of the Maritimes and has been extremely active in Sandford Church and the LMMS. It has been great to have them as part of our community.

It was good to hear Ryan Fawns is out of hospital and in rehab. In September, many donated items will be auctioned to help pay for the cost of his extensive treatment. There is a GoFundMe petition to sign on Facebook as well as the auction. Church begins in Zephyr again on September 8th, with Rev. Li leading. October is a busy month with Thanksgiving, Sandford Anniversary 173/126 on October 20th and Zephyr 140th anniversary on October 27th. No date has yet been set for the decommissioning of Zephyr church. A very sad time for many.