Belleville History Alive!

Remember When: Follwell's life dedicated to making society better, page 2

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Frank S. Foliwell in a campaign photograph of 1972. dren's Campaign. "He was very much a con- stituency MP," says Mayer. Al- though he never held a cabinet post he served on the House of Commons banking committee and on the advisory board to the minister of finance. Mayer says her father liked Prime Minister Pearson, whose government passed much of the legislation dealing with universal social pro- grams. "He seemed to have a personal fondness for Lester Pearson, who he really respect- ed. I think they were alike in that they were a gentle sort of people." Cabinet minister Paul Hellier was one of his closer colleagues in Ottawa. Mayer knows of one incident when her father telephoned his wife in Sidney Township from Ottawa and said he was bring- ing Pearson home for a visit. Mayer's mother was caught off guard. What do you serve the prime minister? She prepared a strawberry shortcake and was later told Pearson loved it. Foliwell married relatively late in life -- taking the vows with Jean Bateman in his mid-40s -- and so Mayer's rec- ollections of his political career are vague. But she recalls him following the civil rights move- ment in the 1960s and telling she and her brother, Jim, they must respect other people. "He was very vocal about the equality of man and was a keen observer of the civil ( rights movement in the United States." Foliwell was also a strong believer in multi-culturalism and felt immigration could strengthen the country. In his albeit-short leisure time he enjoyed reading and kept abreast of social and polit- ical issues. But his interest in business and politics consumed most of his energies and Mayer says he had few other hobbies. Travel was the exception. He thoroughly enjoyed it and in the 1970s he and former Liberal MPP Robert Temple took a trip around the world that included the former Soviet Union and Australia. After his defeat in the 1957 election, Foliwell left the politi- cal scene and became a realtor. But he returned to the fray on two more occasions. In 1963 he joined provincial politics and ran unsuccessfully as the Lib- eral candidate for West Hast- ings, being defeated by Pro- gressive Conservative Party candidate Elmer Sandercock. He ran again in 1972 but suf- fered a similar fate when Pierre Trudeau squeaked in with a minority government. But such defeats couldn't tarnish the career of one of Belleville's most tenacious and popular politicians. Foliwell died Dec. 3,1992. Throughout his life he be- lieved in bettering society and some people would say that un- like many politicians today, his words were far from empty. Mayor Foliwell on the far right at the sod turning ceremony for Norther

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