Batiks
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September 1, 2005. | Navigate | .
ArchiveImage GalleryAlgonquin Land Claims
Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Batiks from around the world:Inroads Studio Tour this weekend
by Jeff Green
Some
elements of the Batik display at Arden Batik that will be a feature of
the Inroads Studio Tour (click image for larger view)
Sarah
Hale has been working as a Batik artist for over 25 years at her
studio-gallery in Arden, and this past spring she went to a conference
in Boston that she describes as a life-altering event.
The first ever World Batik Conference to be held in North America was a 10-day event that included exhibitions from around the world at galleries throughout Boston, and intensive workshops on numerous different approaches to Batik.
“It was gratifying for me to see that many of the practices I’ve been developing over the years are also being used elsewhere,” Sarah Hale said from Arden Batik last week.
The experience at the world conference has had an impact on Sarah’s work this summer. She had employed some Japanese indigo technique in some of her works, and has been putting together an artist’s book about batik as well.
As a founding member of the Inroads Studio Tour, Sarah has always demonstrated Batik practice during the annual tour. This year, she will be putting together a World Batik display in the studio that adjoins her showroom. Along with a small selection of Batik pieces from Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, which she purchased at the World Conference, several of the pages from her artist’s book on Batik will be on display, as will some of her new pieces and exhibition catalogues from some of the exhibits at the World Conference.
What comes clear from looking at the variety of items Sarah Hale has collected, is that Batik straddles the world of fine art, commercial art, and fashion, and the national character of Batik artists comes out clearly in the pieces they produce. Japanese Batik looks a lot like Japanese art, and Indonesian Batik could only come from Indonesia.
The Inroads Studio Tour runs throughout Labour Day weekend from 10 am to 5 pm each day. Tour maps are available throughout the area. For further information, call 335-2073 or check www.inroadstour.ca.
Festival_of_the_trees
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ChristmasEdition
December 15, 2005. | Navigate | .
ArchiveImage GalleryAlgonquin Land Claims
Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
2005 Festival of the Treesby Dale Ham
The 2005 Festival of Trees has once again closed its doors on a very successful Christmas community event. This festival raises money for the ongoing work of Villages Beautiful and for the local Food Bank. There is no charge for admittance, but individuals are asked for a contribution of canned goods or cash to support the local Food Bank. The elves were kept busy running with the many gifts of food that festival visitors donated.
Under the leadership of Rosemarie Bowick (whose best elf is hubby Bill), the festival is engineered by the Villages Beautiful committee whose members come from all areas of Central Frontenac. They work tirelessly to pull together some 90 individuals who also contribute to the festival's success. The committee members should be mentioned for their efforts, both at festival time and for doing what they do best: making our villages beautiful! They are, along with Rosemarie: Elinore Bailey, Mardi Brown, Chris Campsall, Doris Campsall, Mary Chiarot, Barb England, Janet Gutowski, Annette Jackson, Anita Landry, Pearl Robinson, Marion Ratzinger, and Joan Wyatt.
The major contribution to the success of the festival is the 60 some businesses in the area, large and small, who donate entries, either through purchasing a tree and decorating it, contributing some other entry, or donating money.
Further, entertainment throughout the three days of the festival sets a festive atmosphere. Participating individuals were: Bill Miles, Shari Tallon, Melissa Tallon, Surah Field-Green, Lindsay Fox, Amelia Redmond, Jos Tanner, Barb Agnew, Dwain Scudder, and Jim Duthie. Groups were the Maberly Connection, Young Choristers, Country Church, Blue Skies Fiddle Orchestra, the Arden Glee Club and the Ardenaires.
Students from elementary schools--Clarendon, Sharbot Lake Public, and St. James Major--participated by entering various types of artwork. Parents and grandparents were seen admiring these pieces that decorated the walls 'round the stage.
And finally, the public makes it all happen through their attendance. People from all walks of life, and all areas of the township, were seen chatting together, enjoying the festive atmosphere, and perhaps secretly hoping to gain a favourite item in the draws that toll the end of the festival on Saturday afternoon. The following are the festival winners:
7.5' Trees: First prize tree donated by Harvey's ValuMart "Ho! Ho! Ho!" went home to the family of Hayden McVeigh. The second prize entry of LDR - WA Robinson & Associates "Sugar & Spice" went home with Karen Campbell.
6' Trees: First prize Land o' Lakes Communication Network's "One World" went home with Jan MacPherson; second prize entry Sharbot Lake Seniors Home "Christmas at the Zoo" was won by Ilona Cox and third, decorated by Northern Frontenac Community Services, "A Family Christmas" went home with Danny Warren; this entry also won the "Peoples' Choice Award", a division determined by the number of tickets accumulated. The fourth entry decorated in this category, by North Frontenac Little Theatre, "A Dickens Christmas", went home with George Campsall, and the Royal Bank of Canada entry "Angel Lights" went to Morelle.
4' Trees: First prize tree, decorated by School on the Hill - Trillium Hill Centre's "Blossoms of Snow" was won by Anita Landry; second prize by Sunsets at the Beach "Culinary Christmas" went to Chris Henderson and third prize tree, Tip Top Dollar Shop's "Tweet Christmas" to Heather Fox. The Red Hat Ladies' "Christmas in Red & Purple" - Reta Bush; Parham Happy Travellers' "Silver Threads Among the Gold"- D. Campbell; Treasure Trunk's "Tiny Treasures" - Helen Hawley; Fall River Pub & Grill's "Seeing is Believing"- Jordan Thompson; Arden Seniors' "Silver Bells"- Evelyn Izzard; Ivy Leaf Rebekah Lodge #335 tree, "The Dove of Peace Tree"- Kate Brown; The Rising Bun & Tea Room's "A Christmas Tea"- Joanne McGurn; the Royal Canadian Legion #425 tree "Silver Boughs"- Donna Fox; and Cottage Country Landscape & Design's "Cottage Country Christmas"- Artie Cota.
Gingerbread Houses: First prize entered by Amelia Redmond, "Snoopy's Christmas", was taken home by Martina Field; 2nd by Wanda Putnam, "Thinking of our Vets at Christmas" went to Brenda Garrett; and 3rd by Northern Connections & Adult Learning Centre, "Christmas on the Farm, went to T. Ferguson. Ilona Cox's "Room with a View" went to Rebecca Sproule, and Rockhill B&B's "An English Christmas" went to G. Bailey.
Wreaths and Wall Hangings: Heading this category with first prize was Ann Howitt's "We're Home", which was won by Gerry Watkins; 2nd place by Christine Campsall, "Songs of Christmas" went to Lauretta Barker; and 3rd, Shades of Delight entry "Visons of Sugarplums" to Gail Lewis. Gray's Groceries "Snowman Wreath"- Wanda Benn; Rachel St. Denis' "Christmas Trinkle"- Nina Jenkins; Sharbot Lake Post Office's "Letters to Santa"- Audrey Cook; Sharbot Lake Country Inn's "Sleigh Bells Ring"- Sharon MacDonald;
Arden TOPS' "Frosty"- Janet Meldrum; Community Living North Frontenac's "Run, Run, Rudolph"- Morelle;
Lorraine Pickett's "Celtic Christmas Tree"- T. Christenson; Cameron Chiarot's "Antlers"- Dawn Gillam; Arden Batik's "Christmas Batik"- Candice Bedard; and Loretta Barker's "Four Seasons"- Dora Scott.
Anything goes (Wooden Crafts): First prize entry by Roger McMunn & Sons, "Willkommen Sankt Nikelas" went home with Debbie Deline; 2nd by the Wood Entry Workshop, "Cardinals in the Holly"- N. Burke; and 3rd, Northern Connections & Adult Learning Centre's "Frosty & Friends"- Marie Vinkle. Jeff Whan's "Yule Dog"- Sofoa Ratzinger.
Anything Goes - Really Anything! First prize Clip It Hair Salon's "Circle of Serenity" to Debbie Deline; 2nd prize entry by Sharbot Lake TOPS "The Littlest Tree"- Evelyn Izzard; and 3rd prize entry, Weekender's "Pampering Mrs. Claus"- Snady Hallam. Gloria McKinstry's "Three Wisemen"- Martin Walsh; Sharbot Lake High School's "Treasure of Toys"- Sherry Wylie; Interior Zone's "For Santa's Guest"- D. MacDonald; Lakeside B&B's "Village Snowman"- Sharon Meeks; Wine Plus's "Rosemary Charmer"- Cindy Hannah; Christmas Steel's "Fruits of Christmas"- Tom Hopkins; North Frontenac Telephone's "Chocolate Lover's Christmas"- Lil St. Amour; Village Pallettes' "Waiting for Christmas"- Martin Walsh; Knowler Plumbing's "Hockey Night in Kingston"- Collin Hamilton; and Sharbot Lake Pharmacy's "Clock Symphony"- Mary Lu Slavin.
The complete Christmas dinner was won by Earl Agnew. These hampers, overflowing with tasty goodies, is put in by Villages Beautiful and is always very popular.
Arden_neighbourhood_watch
Home | Local Weather | Editorial Policy
Feature Article
December 1, 2005. | Navigate | .
ArchiveImage GalleryAlgonquin Land Claims
Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Arden starts a Neighbourhood Watch
On Monday night, OPP Constable Paige Whiting attended a meeting in Arden to help residents start a Neighbourhood Watch program. Constable Whiting told residents that the program is “not rocket science; basically it’s neighbours watching out for neighbours.” She urged people to call police about any suspicious activity, and gave examples to illustrate the point. In one story, a man watched a thief carry goods out of his brother’s house but did not call police because he thought he recognised the man. In another incident more than 50 mailboxes were damaged in one night, but although over 60% of the people heard or saw something, police received only two calls. Thanks to those calls they were able to catch the perpetrators, but Constable Whiting thinks police could have prevented some of the damage if they had been called earlier.The meeting was called partly in response to community concerns about a dangerous sexual offender who has moved into the Arden area, and Constable Whiting compared Ontario’s policy on releasing the names of sexual offenders to the public with Texas’ policy. She said that in Texas the name of a sexual offender is released every single time they move, but the result has been to drive sexual offenders underground. In Texas, there is 90% non-compliance. Whiting said she could not imagine what police there go through to cope with the situation.By contrast, in Ontario where only the names of dangerous sexual offenders are made public, there is 90% compliance.
Constable Whiting’s presentation also dealt with securing property and Operation Identification. She said that 90% of break-ins occur during the daytime, and strongly recommended that people engrave their property with their drivers’ licence numbers and also keep an inventory of items.
Construction_course
Feature Article
January 19, 2006
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Construction course leads to jobs in Arden
Mark Bedard, Jeff Connor, and Gordon Cota
Mark Bedard, who lives and works in the cottage country around Arden, loves what he does. A recent graduate of Sharbot Lake High School and an eight-week construction craft course, Mark helps build, winterize, renovate, enlarge, deck you name it cottages. Since landing a job with J & J Construction and Design of Arden, he has also enrolled in the Ontario Apprenticeship Program and is now working towards his certification as a General Carpenter.
His career path is set, he says. “I hadn’t planned to be a carpenter, but I always liked working with my hands. I just love everything to do with carpentry and all the tools. It’s very interesting. I think I’ve found my life’s work.”
The construction course was offered free to residents of the County of Frontenac willing to work hard for eight weeks, six hours a day. The goal of the course was to provide participants with skills that would enable them to find employment in areas where jobs are few for unskilled people but the demand is great for people with skills or a trade.
The course was funded by the Eastern Ontario Development Fund through the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation in partnership with St. Lawrence College. Other community partners included the Northern Connections Adult Learning Centre, the North Frontenac Telephone Company, which provided classroom space, and Sharbot Lake High School, which provided shop facilities. Of the 15 people who started the course, 11 finished and at least three-quarters are employed, including Mark.
J & J Construction hired two of the course’s graduates. “We really needed the help,” says Julie Connor, one of the firm’s partners. “We are at the point in the business that we’ve expanded where we need people we can trust to leave on site and work and maintain our level of what’s expected.” The boys are young, she says, but they’re very keen and willing to learn and work, which is very good.
Bob MacCallum, who was in charge of St. Lawrence’s corporate training, is very satisfied with how it has turned out. “It was a good use of funds with an excellent return. We are pleased with the number of students who completed the program. Now it’s exciting to see those who completed the program get jobs and start apprenticeships in North Frontenac while giving the community the skilled workers that it needs.”
Meanwhile, Frontenac CFDC continues to provide bursaries to graduating high school students enrolling in apprenticeship programs from Limestone and Algonquin school boards. More information about the nomination process is available on the Frontenac CFDCwebsite.
Photo Mark Bedard (left), Jeff Connor and Gordon Cota
Softball
Feature Article
March 2, 2006
NorthFrontenac MinorSoftball Association
Ball season is upon us again. Come out and join the fun. Everyone is welcome. Last year was a fairly successful year.
NF1 Grasshoppers won the A division under coach Marcie Webster. NF2 Grasshoppers won the B division under coach Tina Howes. NF Mites coached by Brett and Jen Harvey brought home the “B” trophy from Perth Road tournament. This was the first year they traveled away, and they had a great time. NF Peewees coached by John Morrow and Don Smith took 1st in the “B” division in Amherstview. NF Bantams coached by Willie St. Pierre and Mike Price took the A championship in Harrowsmith. NF Juniors coached by Paul Warren and Walter Barker placed 5th in Lansdowne.
Thank you to all the coaches for their time and effort in helping our children become the great ball players we have in our community. Thanks to all our volunteers for making NFMSA a success.
It is with deep regret that Lisa Ferguson has resigned from NFMSA after being a coach, director, and serving as an executive on the committee. Thanks to her for all of her dedication and time spent as a volunteer.
We hope that all our ball players and new players will be out again this year to play. This year a senior team has been introduced, age 24 and over.
We are looking for area directors in Sharbot Lake , Parham, Arden , and Mountain Grove. Anyone interested should contact Willie St. Pierre at 335-4280 or Paul Warren at 279-2836.
Our registration dates are: March 25, 10am 2 pm: Sharbot Lake Fire Hall (Paul Warren 279-2836); Mountain Grove Fire Hall (Willie St. Pierre 335-4280); Parham Fire Hall (Stirling & Lisa Lowery 375-6151); Arden Legion (Kelly McDonald 335-3848)
- April 5, 6-9pm, Mountain Grove Fire Hall only.
- Or register online: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you are interested in playing, please do so before April 8, as teams will be made up at this time, excluding Grasshoppers. Start up date this year is May 15. Anyone interested in becoming an umpire, contact one of the NFMSA members.
Our general meeting will be held at Willie St. Pierre’s, 1072 Brock Rd , Mountain Grove, on March 6 at 7 pm
Atvs
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Feature Article - September 28, 2006ATVs to be legal on CentralFrontenac roads
by Jeff Green
After a short debate, Central Frontenac Council passed a motion this week asking staff to prepare a bylaw that will make All Terrain Vehicle use on township roads legal.
Two weeks ago the township held a public meeting on the issue, with the vast majority of those in attendance appearing to support the idea of ATVs using township roadways.
Some of the people who attended the public meeting are members of the Frontenac ATV club, which is the group that had petitioned Central Frontenac Council to consider allowing the four wheelers to ride the roads legally.
Neighbouring townships, such as South and North Frontenac and Addington Highlands all have passed their so-called ATV bylaws in the last couple of years.
Councilors Logan Murray and Jack Nicolson both spoke against the motion, with Murray saying “I wouldn’t take the public meeting as an indication about how the public feels about this. The proper thing to do is to put it as a question on the ballot [in the upcoming municipal election]. In the States they are banning ATVs on what they call Public lands and we call Crown Land , because of environmental concerns.”
Other councilors argued that it is the job of council to make decisions.
“I think we should go ahead with it. I don’t think it’s fair to defer this to a new council,” said Deputy Mayor Frances Smith.
“I believe it was Logan who requested a Public meeting and we held one,” said Mayor Bill MacDonald. “As far as putting this on the ballot, I think it’s our duty to make decisions and take the consequences”.
Staff will prepare a bylaw for passage at a future meeting.
Bender Road Glenys Wright and Philip Bender attended the previous council meeting to present a petition regarding four dangerous curves on the Tryon Road . Public Works Manager Bill Nicol prepared a report for council which estimated the cost of remediation at $112,500, because it would require blasting to improve sight lines around the curves in question.
Before council voted to defer the matter to budget deliberations next year, Deputy Mayor Frances Smith asked if at that time, Nicol could “break down the costs so we could consider doing one or two of the curves one year, and the others the next year, or over several years.” Nicol nodded.
“They are also asking for some additional signage,” added Councilor Janet Gutowski.
“Signage would not be a problem,” Nicol replied.
Recycle bins Secure bins for placement at up to 14 public locations within the township, including halls and beaches, have been priced at $1,200 per bin, with an additional $300 cost to anchor the units to concrete slabs. The total cost to place bins at all of the locations would be $21,000. The matter was deferred until next year’s budget, with councilors mentioning that it might be possible to do some locations in the first year and others in subsequent years.
Arden Hall kitchen renovations Council accepted a tender of $7,600 from the Interior Zone for new cabinets for the Arden Hall, including installation and necessary plumbing. Councillor Murray voted against the motion, arguing that the cabinets will be made of melamine and will not be hefty enough for use in a public kitchen.
Economic Development Committee Jane Drew, Brent Tullis, Gary Smith, Rosemarie Bowick, Doug Steele, and Roy Cornohouse were appointed to the Economic Development Committee for a two-year term.
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Ardenites
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Feature Article - September 7, 2006Ardenites do Ontarioproud
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba , was the site last week of the 2006 Canada Senior Games. These games happen every two years in a different Canadian town or city and the number of competitors gets larger every time, as does the number of events.
The participants must be 55 or older, and have gone through a process of qualification at the district level ( Ontario is divided into approximately 40 districts) or have won gold in his/her chosen discipline at the provincial games. Arden seniors have been participating with Perth as part of Area D and of District 9 for over six years.
Carol Husband, provincial coordinator for the Canada Games, and her husband John, both of Perth , have been very supportive. We thank them for their enthusiastic encouragement.
This year was not a first appearance at the Canada Games for Arden seniors. In 2002 Diane Nicolson and Marg Smith won gold in their particular disciplines at Actifest (the provincial competition) which was in Kingston that year. Diane repeated that victory in swimming, and Marg won silver in walking, later that same year at the national games in Summerside, P.E.I. The die was cast! You may remember that in Whitehorse , Yukon , in 2004, there were nine competitors from Arden , including Diane and Marg. The group came home delighted with a total of ten medals and many happy memories.
Last Saturday evening, just after the games in Portage La Prairie finished, I received news of the final results. Unbelievable! Twelve Ardenites participated; 17 medals were won. What an accomplishment for a small group of retirees, most of whom live on lakes near the village of Arden, where there are no gyms, walking or running tracks, pools or golf courses. Bravo!
The medalists were Peter Smiley with a bronze in golf, and in horseshoes, Bill Pringle with gold and Barbara Kirkland with a silver medal. In swimming Dianne Nicolson won silver and Tom Christianson two bronze medals. Marg Smith won three gold and a silver in track events (I really missed seeing her run this time). Pat Tucker won a bronze in javelin and a silver and bronze in walking. Pat’s husband, Silas, came home with gold medals in javelin and discus as well as a silver and bronze in walking Sincere congratulations to all.
If you are over 55 and enjoy friendly competition, meeting new people and travel, it is not necessary to join a seniors club unless you wish. Call Evelyn at 613-267-4836, or Carol at 613-267-6872 for more information.
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Feature Article - October 12, 2006Piano recital puts Arden on the musical map
by Jeff Green
Ever since the Arden Glee Club was established, the village has been known as a haven for musical people with community spirit. Last Saturday night, thanks to the efforts of Larry Lightstone and a steering committee of volunteers,
Arden
became a venue for fine piano music.
The first annual Arden piano recital played to a sellout audience, and featured Ardoch-based Shari Tallon playing contemporary classical music of her own composition; McDonalds Corners’ Les Russet, who performed his own ragtime-influenced jazz; and two young piano phenoms from Eganville, Lucas and Keegan Lazarus, performing a classical repertoire.
Thirteen-year-old Lucas Lazarus started off the evening with Chopin’s Nocturne, and immediately the pleasures of a piano recital were apparent. Lucas Lazarus played with a soft touch, effortlessly working through Bach and Chopin works. His second piece, the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in G major, was perhaps his best, and it was one of the highlights of the evening.
Lucas will not be attending high school for another two years, and has only been playing piano for three years, so he would have to be considered something of a prodigy.
Les Russet was up next. Les studied jazz in Vancouver , and has been instrumental in establishing the ongoing CafMerea events in McDonalds Corners in the past couple of years. He was accompanied by bass player Ed Ashton, playing mostly recent tunes with titles like Jump Jive, Elphin Sunrise, and Coffeehouse Rag. Les’ sprightly jazz playing came as an effective counterpoint to Lucas Lazarus’ performance.
Because of the careful layout of the seating in Kennebec Hall, everyone in the audience could see the hammers of the upright piano hit the strings, providing a visual demonstration of the players’ abilities. In the Les Russet performance, it also created the atmosphere of a honky tonk, which fit in particularly well with the flavour of his music.
After the first two performances there was an intermission, and the audience was buzzing about the quality of what they had just seen.
The second half of the concert was equally entertaining.
Shari Tallon is a recording artist and educator who is well known regionally for her children’s shows, and this evening provided an opportunity for her to showcase not only her abilities as a pianist, but her skill as a composer as well. In pieces such as Rain Dance, Autumn, and Morning Mist, the notes coming from the piano evoked vivid images of the times and places she was portraying.
She was accompanied by her husband Jerry Tallon on a number of instruments, including flute, drums, cymbals, and guitar. For the most part, Jerry Tallon’s additions provided an added richness to the sound, particularly some subtle harmonica playing on one song. There were a couple of occasions however, when I personally would have preferred to hear the piano on its own.
Overall, it was great to hear Shari Tallon in this new way.
Keegan Lazarus was the final performer. A 17-year-old pianist who attends high school in Pembroke, Keegan’s hands flew over the keys as he played works by Bach, Chopin, Debussy, and others. His playing was very dynamic and more flamboyant than his brother’s, but he was still able to capture the subtlety in the music.
Keegan’s second, and lengthiest piece was the first movement of the Haydn Sonata in D major piece and even though this was almost two hours into the concert, there was not a sound coming from the audience, so completely had Keegan Lazarus, and the other performers, enchanted the audience. It was a great night in Arden .
Larry Lightstone is hoping to put on a weekend of performances in Arden next summer, and perhaps in other locations as well.
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Feature Article - February 15, 2007Arden Happy Gang Seniors
The Arden Happy Gang Seniors started the year off by electing as new vice president Rick Brown, since Lynn Smith's term had come to an end.
Then in February they held a St. Valentine's dance, which was a Senior's Games Fundraiser and may I add that a nice bit of money was raised for that purpose--proof of how popular the Seniors' sponsored dances are.
When plans were made to revamp the kitchen, the Seniors were there to help out financially and some came in to help paint the walls a beautiful sunshine yellow shade. The whole project was led by Dianne Nicolson who is always ready to roll up her sleeves to tackle the next project.
The Arden Seniors are well named as "The Happy Gang” as most of their meetings are full of hilarity, not least of all due to the recording secretary Audr Tompkins and her cohort Betty Garnett, who among other things is the treasurer; not to mention President Jack Patterson, who always has a joke to tell.
However, in spite of, or maybe because of that, a lot gets done. Trips are arranged, theater tickets are booked and charitable donations are made.
One of last year's trips was to Fort Henry's Tattoo, where Ron Henry found out how honest people still are.
He was one of our members who attended the event, and after getting home he realized that he had lost his wallet somewhere. After getting back to Kingston the following day and checking at several places where he had been, he finally made his way to Fort Henry where he was greeted by the ticket vendor with the words “Hallo, Ron Henry”. Someone had found his wallet and turned it in with nothing missing. What a lucky break that was.
In the spring the Seniors went right through the town and picked up as much of the litter as they could. It was a one-day cleanup, but some of our members continue with this job on a semi-regular basis.
I would be remiss if I did not tell you that the bazaars, dances and other fundraisers all are done to aid some charity or other.
Last year’s donations included the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Cancer Society, Northern Frontenac Centre, the Snowsuit Fund, the Festival of Trees and the M.S. Foundation; also financial aid to some of the seniors who needed it to help defray expenses connected with the Seniors Games, which were held in Portage la Prairie in the summer of 2006.
And they did us proud, bringing back 17 medals.
The winners were Norma and Bill Pringle, Jim and Barbara Kirkland, Diane and Jack Nicolson, Doug Smith, Peter Smiley, Tom Christinsen, Marg Smith and Si and Pat Tucker.
We had a piano concert which was very well received and was the brainchild of Larry Lightstone.
The Oktober Fest dance was a great success with an "Old Geezers Idol Search" to the great amusement of all. There was a barbecue and at the end of the year a Christmas dinner, which had to be rescheduled because after all the preparations were made, the power went off, never to return again until the following day. But in spite of this misfortune the Seniors rose to the occasion and the dinner on its new date was a great success.
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Feature Article - February 8, 2007Arden Happy Gang Seniors
The Arden Happy Gang Seniors started the year off by electing as new vice president Rick Brown, since Lynn Smith's term had come to an end.
Then in February they held a St. Valentine's dance, which was a Senior's Games Fundraiser and may I add that a nice bit of money was raised for that purpose--proof of how popular the Seniors' sponsored dances are.
When plans were made to revamp the kitchen, the Seniors were there to help out financially and some came in to help paint the walls a beautiful sunshine yellow shade. The whole project was led by Dianne Nicolson who is always ready to roll up her sleeves to tackle the next project.
The Arden Seniors are well named as "The Happy Gang” as most of their meetings are full of hilarity, not least of all due to the recording secretary Audr Tompkins and her cohort Betty Garnett, who among other things is the treasurer; not to mention President Jack Patterson, who always has a joke to tell.
However, in spite of, or maybe because of that, a lot gets done. Trips are arranged, theater tickets are booked and charitable donations are made.
One of last year's trips was to Fort Henry's Tattoo, where Ron Henry found out how honest people still are.
He was one of our members who attended the event, and after getting home he realized that he had lost his wallet somewhere. After getting back to Kingston the following day and checking at several places where he had been, he finally made his way to Fort Henry where he was greeted by the ticket vendor with the words “Hallo, Ron Henry”. Someone had found his wallet and turned it in with nothing missing. What a lucky break that was.
In the spring the Seniors went right through the town and picked up as much of the litter as they could. It was a one-day cleanup, but some of our members continue with this job on a semi-regular basis.
I would be remiss if I did not tell you that the bazaars, dances and other fundraisers all are done to aid some charity or other.
Last year’s donations included the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Cancer Society, Northern Frontenac Centre, the Snowsuit Fund, the Festival of Trees and the M.S. Foundation; also financial aid to some of the seniors who needed it to help defray expenses connected with the Seniors Games, which were held in Portage la Prairie in the summer of 2006.
And they did us proud, bringing back 17 medals.
The winners were Norma and Bill Pringle, Jim and Barbara Kirkland, Diane and Jack Nicolson, Doug Smith, Peter Smiley, Tom Christinsen, Marg Smith and Si and Pat Tucker.
We had a piano concert which was very well received and was the brainchild of Larry Lightstone.
The Oktober Fest dance was a great success with an "Old Geezers Idol Search" to the great amusement of all. There was a barbecue and at the end of the year a Christmas dinner, which had to be rescheduled because after all the preparations were made, the power went off, never to return again until the following day. But in spite of this misfortune the Seniors rose to the occasion and the dinner on its new date was a great success.
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