When Kerri Pringle’s mother, Sharon Horgan, died of Sarcoma 9 years ago, she was understandably devastated. Among the ways that she dealt with her grief was to stasrt up a fund raising event to donate money to the University Hospital Foundation for research into Sarcoma, which is a rare form of cancer.
Kerri is a Pampered Chef Consultant based in Sydenham and at first she set up an annual fundraising sale for her customers in her own home.

Over the years the event has grown and moved to different locations. This year the evening is set for the Community Room at the Sydenham branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library, and in addition to the Pampered Chef, five other businesses are participating.

They include: Hayley Hudson - Independent Consultant with Steeped Tea, Leann Benoit - The Crafty Gardener / Mrs. Bee, Amber Gustavel - Independent Consultant with Thirty-One Gifts, Amanda Kaiser - Independent Wellness Advocate with doTerra, and Jenn Kent - Independent Consultant with Arbonne.
“We are all friends and we thought by having us all there it will make for an enjoyable evening for all of our customers and the whole community,” said Kerri, “I’m looking forward to it.”

In addition to raising money for research, there will be material available about Sarcoma in order to raise awareness about patient care and research.

The vendors will be offering samples as well, and there will be raffles as well at the two house event, which runs from 6:30pm – 8:30pm on Thursday, November 9th.

This Sunday morning, St Paul’s Anglican Church in Sydenham will celebrate its 180th anniversary.

This stone church has an intriguing history. (much of the following is drawn from an account written by the late Gladys Lewis, in 1962) The church was originally built in 1837 in Loughborough on a 1.5 acre parcel of land at the junction of Church, Portland and Walker streets, on property provided by Sarah Switzer, wife of Robert Osborne. Money from the Clergy Reserves paid for the construction, but the property itself was not owned by the church until 14 years later, when it was “conveyed to the Bishop of Toronto and his successors forever..” Sarah Switzer Osborne was given 15 shillings in recognition of the property exchange.
By 1848 the brick rectory had been constructed, and a Rev T W Allen was the first full-time clergyman to live there. Finally, “having been fitted up and furnished with all things needful and necessary for the performance of Divine Service,” the church was consecrated, dedicated and named as the Church of St Paul on August 7, 1852. The congregation raised 40 pounds sterling to buy the bell.

In 1893 the first railway to Sydenham, an extension of the Napanee, Tamworth and Quebec railway was built, its tracks passing into the village below the church on the hill. In 1904 the congregation requested a rector from England. When the Rev John Astlay, his wife, son and two daughters arrived they came by train, accompanied by ‘a Scotsman’ who served as a butler and tutor for the children. The town band and most of the village residents were at the station to greet them.

In 1910, what became the CN rail company bought the tracks, extended the rail line to Smiths Falls and later Ottawa, and relocated the tracks a few metres north in order to build a longer, better grade up the small escarpment to Harrowsmith. That year, the rail company bought the church property. The graves were relocated to the current graveyard, and the church was taken down stone by stone. Only the rectory still stands, on Hobbs Lane. Without more research there is no record of the congregation’s reaction to the railway’s demands that the church be removed to accommodate the new rail line.
The current church property on Mill Street was purchased from Charles Ruttan, the cornerstone was laid Sept 12, 1912, and a year later the new St Paul’s was officially opened by the Bishop of Ontario. Photos show that the second church building was reconstructed differently from the first: the windows are shorter and wider, and the tower and entrance was moved from the centre to the side.

The church’s 180th anniversary will be celebrated at a special service at 10 am Sunday the 22nd, presided over by the Bishop, who will use a version of the 1837 Anglican service. The choir has prepared both old and contemporary music, and congregants are encouraged to wear period costume if they wish to. Coffee and 1837-style treats will be shared after the service. Everyone welcome.

When Carol Little of Sydenham learned of a trip for Canadian Grandmothers to visit Zambia and South Africa, she knew at once that she had to go, to personally meet some of the women she has been connected with over the past several years, through pictures and letters and stories. Her own children and husband were unquestioning in their support, with the result that a year ago this summer Carol headed off alone to Britain, where she met three more women, identified by the matching scarves they wore. Many hours later, these four landed in Zambia and joined six others for some sleep and cultural orientation before embarking with driver and interpreter over some of the roughest roads she’d ever travelled.

“It was an intense, life-changing experience,” Carol says, “the awful living conditions, the optimism, laughter and strong determination, the dancing. They dance to express joy, sorrow, happiness and grief. I learned and saw so much.”

Ten years ago, a group of women in Sharbot Lake began a group they called “Grandmothers by the Lake” to support the Stephan Lewis Foundation in Africa. It has grown to include women from throughout South, Central and North Frontenac. Many, if not most of these women are grandmothers themselves, and they wanted to reach out to some of the many grandmothers in Africa who are struggling to raise their orphaned grandchildren.

African grandmothers are central to the life of their communities. With almost no support, they have stepped forward to care for millions of children orphaned by AIDS, sometimes as many as ten to fifteen in one household.

Resources from the Canadian Grandmothers Campaign are invested directly at community level, with grassroots organizations that provide grandmothers and the children in their care with supports that include food, educational supplies, uniforms and school fees, medical care, HIV counselling and testing, adequate housing and bedding, counselling and support groups, home visits, and much more.

Carol will be presenting a slide show and talk about her trip and experiences on Thursday, October 26, at 7:00 pm in the Community Room of Sydenham Library. Everyone is welcome.

The Sydenham Food Bank shelves are getting bare, so it’s time for their fall food drive, to help those in need. On Saturday, October 21, from 9:00am to 3:00pm, volunteers from Southern Frontenac Community Services, which operates the Food Bank, will be encouraging grocery shoppers at both the Verona and Sydenham Foodland stores to consider making a donation of food or cash. “The Foodland stores are always willing to partner with our food drives,” says Amanda Pantrey, who is coordinating the fall food drive, “they prepare $10 and $20 bags of non-perishable food that is high on our list of needs that customers can purchase and donate on site.” Customers can donate other items as well, and the Food Bank welcomes gifts of cash.

“The Food Bank relies heavily on volunteers and donated food, but we still need to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs and milk,” says Food Bank Coordinator Vicki England. As a member of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, there are often deals with suppliers that can result in huge buying power. “Donations of cash can really be stretched far.” Online donations can also be made through the organization’s website at: www.sfcsc.ca So this Saturday, keep an eye out for the volunteers at the Foodland stores in Verona and Sydenham from 9am to 3pm, and consider making a donation

After a two-year absence to to field repairs and improvements, the 10th annual Bubba Bowl returned to the field at Point Park in Sydenham last Friday. The Junior Sydenham High School Golden Eagles won 30-7 while a very young senior side fell 28-7.
The Bubba Bowl is held annually to honour Alex (Bubba) Turcotte, a former player who died of heart disease before he got to play his final season at SHS.
The opponents this year were the LaSalle Secondary School Black Knights.

The senior Knights were a force to be reckoned with, featuring several very large human beings and plenty of experience.
However, despite being over matched size- and experience-wise, the Golden Eagles made a game of it when they came out in the second half.
Down 14-0, running back Simon Cook went on a tear, including one 72-yard run and after a couple of LaSalle fumbles, quarterback Ray Whitehead completed a scoring pass to wideout Nick Vankoughnett.
However, both Whitehead and Vankoughnett went down to injuries and it was pretty much all LaSalle after that. The Knights scored a pair of touchdowns in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

“You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of,” head coach Jim Latimer told his team after the game. “There was elevated intensity on every play.
“But come playoff time, we have to be even better. Nobody’s going to want to see us in the playoffs.”
Latimer himself even admitted to feeling hopeful as the second half began.
“But then we had three major injuries and our guys are so young.”

Still, most of those young guys made it to the finals in junior last year and they’re getting the hang of the senior game.
On the junior side, it was pretty much all Sydenham as Dain Bailey led the way with three touchdowns, two of which came in the opening frame. Chad Branscombe also scored a major and Owen O’Mera added a field goal and three converts.
Coach Karl Hammer said quarterback Jack Richards is “really establishing himself — he’s a great thinker in panic situations. He seems to see things happening.”
Hammer said on defence, middle linebacker Vince Pople is “certainly coming into his own.”

The fact that Hammer’s opposing head coach on this night was his dad (also Karl) was secondary to him as his team performed on both sides of the ball.
“It was a great team effort,” he said. “We didn’t have to leave our starters in and our backups got in some great reps.
“They’re starting to understand this game.”

A football tradition returns to Sydenham High School Friday night when the La Salle Knights come to town to take on the Golden Hawks in the 10th annual Bubba Bowl. The game(s) mark the return of the event, named for former player Alex (Bubba) Turcotte who sadly died of heart failure in May of 2001 after three years on the Sydenham junior team. The game was not played in 2015 or 2016 because the field needed work. In one way this year’s tilt could also be dubbed the Hammer Bowl, as Sydenham High junior coach Karl Hammer will be taking on his dad, also named Karl, who is the coach of the La Salle juniors. “Yeah, it’s the 3rd taking on the 4th,” Hammer said, laughing. “But really, this is for the kids. “I’ve been around since the first one but many of these kids may never again experience having 1,000 people watch them play. “This will be something they can look back on.”

The juniors may be looking for a bit of payback. In the last Bubba Bowl, these same La Salle Knights won 14-12. But going into this game, the Golden Hawks are 1-1 while the Knights are 2-0. “We should be competitive,” Hammer said. But if nothing else, look for either III or IV to hold the hammer, as both are frequent opponents in Bavarian Curling (aka Eisstock) as well. On the senior side, coach Jim Latimer is cautiously optimistic. Sydenham won the previous Bubba Bowl 28-21 but things are a little different this year. The Golden Eagles are 1-1 while the Knights are 2-0. “La Salle is probably the No. 1 seed this year,” Latimer said. “And we’re a very young team. “But a lot of our Grade 11s played in the final last year so we’ll see if we can hang with them.”

On offence, Latimer said to look for “stellar running back” Simon Cook and receiver Nick Vankoughnett. On D, he said Jordon Leslie and Brady McEwen are “outstanding young linebackers. “And we look to Colin Bowman for overall team leadership.” And while there’s very little Bubba Bowl experience on the Golden Hawks side, “they know what it’s all about,” Latimer said. “They watched it and it’s a big deal for them.” Oh, and one other thing. This will be the first Bubba Bowl under the new permanent lights that athletes, students, coaches and teachers worked so hard to raise funding for.

“This will be a little bit different,” Latimer said. “Remember those noisy generators we used to have?” Yes, we do Jim.

Anyone who’s played high school football knows the challenge of that first day of practice where you try to find equipment that fits. And usually, the seniors get first crack at what’s available so the by the time the lowly Grade 9s get their chance, they’re lucky to find a pair of practice pants that don’t need a major tailoring job.

After taking over the junior team last year, coach Karl Hammer decided to do something about it.
“The equipment gets passed on year after year and if you get a 10-year life span out of it, that’s about it,” he said. “This year, we had 60+ students trying out for junior and 40+ for senior and that’s a lot of gear.
“And each year, we lose one or two players in the equipment process alone.”
Add to that all the technological changes in the football world, he said.
“With all the concern about concussion, new helmets cost around $200,” he said. “And now pants have an integrated pad system.
“It gets expensive.”

Luckily, Hammer said, he had somewhere to turn to.

“Sydenham is a traditional football school,” he said. “We have many good teams (basketball and volleyball come to mind) but football is probably the number 1 source of school pride.
“And we have a lot of alumni who played and now I’m coaching their kids.”
So, they decided on a fundraiser dance/silent auction at the Legion and guess what . . . it sold out quickly.
“Sydenham is unique,” he said. “This is the first time for this event and it shows how much people care about our sports programs.”
Hammer said coaches have held things like bingos and such before but this fundraiser is “a single good infusion of cash” that they can put to good use.
He said everybody wanted to help. The bands Still Standing and Little Betty (both bands feature alumni) were quick to sign on and when Little Betty had to pull out because of an illness to a key member, the Dunn Brothers stepped up.
“And the secretaries only made two phone calls to get stuff for the silent auction,” Hammer said. “Once word got out, we got plenty of offers.”
Hammer said the success of this initial event (even the Mayor bought a ticket) probably points to it becoming and annual fundraiser.

In the meantime, if you couldn’t make the dance and would still like to contribute, you can do so at the high school.
“Just tell the secretaries it’s for the football equipment program and they’ll get it where it needs to go,” Hammer said.

Four members of the Sydenham Veterinary Services staff (Leslie Reade, Kim Doucet, Dawna Revell and Kate Earle) will be taking their bicycles to Milton, ON Sept. 23 as part of the Ride For Farley.
Farley was the beloved family pet in Lynn Johnston’s For Better or For Worse comic strip who died heroically saving family member April Patterson after she fell into a ravine.

In 2002, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association created the Farley Foundation as a way to help pets and pet owners who otherwise may have difficulty paying for veterinary services.
“We’ve used the Farley Foundation in the past and this is our way of giving back, said technician Kim Doucet. “This is my third ride and Leslie’s second (first for the other two).

“There are three distances (50k, 100k and 160k) and we did 100k last year but the course is very hilly and so this year we’ll be scaling back (to the 50k).” They also held a bake sale and raffled off a cake.

Doucet said the Foundation provides financial assistance for veterinary services (when recommended by the vet) to Ontario Works recipients, disabled individuals, seniors and seniors care facilities that own a pet who provides companionship to residents.
Doucet et al will be taking sponsorships and donations at their Sydenham location until Sept. 20 but after that, anyone who would still like to donate can do so at www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/sydenham-veterinary-services-ride-for-farley/. The link is on the Sydenham Veterinary Services website.

The Sydenham Lake Canoe Club is hosting the Ontario Under 15 Canoe and Kayaking championships this weekend, the first major regatta to be held at the renovated Point Park facility.
There is a permanent course set up in the lake off the point. Hundreds of young paddlers and their families are expected in Sydenham for the event, which is also popular with local spectators. This weekend’s championships are the fourth and final event in Eastern Ontario this summer following regattas in Carleton Place, Gananoque and North Bay. A number of young Sydenham paddlers will be ending their season on Saturday, while eight of the older athletes will be going on to Nationals in Welland.

“It takes dozens of volunteers, locals as well as others from the visiting clubs, and help from the township, to put on an event of this size, with races in so many categories,” said Helen Parfitt of the Sydenham Lake Canoe Club, “and it is a fitting end to a very good season for our club and our paddlers.”

The regatta runs all day (8am – 6pm) with the popular war canoe races taking place later in the afternoon.
“We are hoping to see locals come along to cheer our Sydenham paddlers as well as paddlers from across the province at any time during the day. It should be an exciting event,” said Parfitt.
There may also be a future star in one of the boats.

The regatta takes place just after the end of the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg. Sydenham’s Stephanie L’Abbe, who now races for the Ottawa River Canoe Club, won gold in the K2 1000 with partner Lexy Vincent and was part of the gold-medal winning team in the K4 500 and the silver-medal team in the K4 1000.
Will the next Stephanie L’Abbe be in one of those 12 and under races at the Point on Saturday?
Show up and find out.

The mighty roar of our local Lion’s Club was heard during the rain at their Volunteer Road Toll in the village last Saturday.  Mother Nature felt they needed to not only be showered with generous donations but some rain as well, thanks to all the Volunteers for taking their time out of the long weekend to help in our community. They are always full of energy and laughter.  If anyone wants to learn more about the Lions Club, or join please send email to:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. OR send a message via Facebook page: Lions Club Sydenham & District, Or by mail: Sydenham & District Lions Club box 199 Sydenham Ontario K0H 2T0.  The community greatly appreciates all this club does for us.