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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It Memories of greatness Did you see the Leafs game last Saturday night? In addition to our lads beating Edmonton 4- 3, although the last two minutes of the game were nail biting, the 67 Leafs were honoured with before game introductions. It was a special night. All the old names, so familiar from the past, were there. Cap- tain George Armstrong, Bobby Baun, The Big M, Ron Ellis and other favourites. The loud- est ovations were for Armstrong, Johnny Bower and, of course, Dave Keon. As an aside, I have met Johnny Bower on several occasions and one of my proud- est possessions is a vintage Leafs jersey I got one Christmas with Johnny Bowers autograph on it. I only wear it on high days and holidays. Of all the members of the 67 squad, I admired Davey Keon the most. I can still see him swinging around the opponents net and going like a bat out of hell down the ice. Those were the days when the goal nets were held by short pipes imbedded in the ice. That gave Keon his extra lever- age. For a smaller man, he would go into the corners with anyone. Red Kelly lived fairly close to us in Etobicoke. I remember him as a kind and generous man who always had time for kids he would meet on the street. He was hard to miss with that flaming red hair. Life wasnt all idyllic grow- ing up in Torontos west end. Harold Ballard lived around the corner from one of my high school sweethearts. Some day Ill tell you a few of the stories about the person neighbourhood kids referred to as that mean old man. Mrs. Ballard, on the other hand, was an angel if I ever met one. Johnny Bower was, as I re- member it, one of the last goalies to play without a mask. I would describe his face these days as rugged, there are no signs of the hundreds of stitches he must have had. And no, Im not suggesting todays players take to the ice with- out helmets and face masks. I make special mention of Bower because he lives in the area. He was 42 in 67 when the Leafs last drank from Lord Stanleys mug. When I last saw him at the Mayors Charity Golf Tournament he could still strike the ball smartly. You do the math. Those were in the days before million dollar contracts. Yet 40 years later, most people know so many of the players on the 67 team. One reason I think their legacy has survived is because they were playing a game they loved and had little or no pretensions. Shakespeare got it wrong. The good that men do does survive their fame. I noticed Prime Minister Harper at the game. No surprise there, hes a big hockey fan. But seeing him reminded me of a picture I noticed in a magazine I subscribe to. Regular readers will know that I am a charter member of St. Josephs Knights of Columbus, one of the largest fraternal organizations in North America. I note that the P.M. had a meet- ing with Supreme Knight Carl Anderosn, and his Deputy Dennis Savoie, in his office last Dec. 5. What shocked me was that this was the first time that K of C top of- ficials had met with any Canadian Prime Minister. I was amazed because Canada has had a number of previous Catholic Prime Ministers. Im thinking of Paul Martin, Jean Chretien, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark and possibly others. Why then would these past Prime Min- isters not have met with the top officials of a large charitable or- ganization? It baffles me. But boy oh boy they sure laid on the red carpet for Castro and countless other socialists and dictators. The trio discussed the Knights charitable activities in Canada which are considerable. They also discussed the Harper gov- ernments now failed attempt to reinstate the traditional definition of marriage. On second thought, perhaps I do have an inkling of why previous P.M.s hadnt met with top officials of the Knights of Columbus. They couldnt handle the tough questions. I suppose it had to happen to me sooner or later. Ive had sev- eral telephone banking schemes in the past trying to get my ac- count number or password. Last week I got my first internet mes- sage from someone claiming to be from R.B.C. securities. I didnt open the file and my advice to you is not to open or respond to these inquiries. To take it a step further, I suggest you dont supply any personal information, financial or oth- erwise, to anyone who calls or emails. If it was that important your local branch or agent would be in touch and you can visit their office. I confirmed with the towns manager of information services, also known as the goddess of cyberspace, and she confirmed this was another scam. So please be careful of the information you are prepared to release to strangers. There are many people out there who live by the rule that a fool and their money are soon parted. Dont be a victim. Bountiful blood There were a few first-tim- ers and lots of regulars at last Thursdays blood donor clinic at the Legion. All but six of the 78 people at the clinic were able to donate blood, resulting in 72 units of blood being collected by Canadian Blood Services staff and local volunteers. The next clinic is April 19. Call 1-888-2-DONATE to book an appointment. Tax help? Not all low-income Acton resi- dents can get free tax return help from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, but help is available out-of-town. The Chartered Accountants free service is only available to Halton Community Housing Corporation clients living in the Elizabeth Drive or Holmesway Place Corporation facilities ac- cording to Institute spokesman Perry Jensen. He said the free clinics for low- income people less than $22,500 with dependents and less than $15,000 without in Georgetown and Milton are also restricted to Housing Corpo- ration clients. He said free help is avail- able from Institute members in Brampton and Mississauga. Call 1-800-387-0735 ext.462 for more information. Low income seniors can get free help with their tax returns at two clinics scheduled for March 27 and April 17 at the Acton Seniors Centre. Call 519-853-0493 to book an appointment. Staff at Links2Care is also working on arranging free tax return help for its clients. Folk fundraiser A bag of non-perishable food, or $5, will get you through the door for an evening of contemporary folk music on Saturday, Febru- ary 24. The newly formed Crossings Community Church is staging a benefit concert to support Actons FoodShare foodbank. On the bill is Brad and Greg Woods of The Great Wooden Trio, and Food- Share board member Tim Alberts, Philip Cottrell, Marion Butler and special guest Samantha Harber. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., at the old fire hall on Willow Street. The new church is staging the event to get involved with the Acton community, and is working on plans for a community euchre tournament. Sea worthy Acton Navy League Cadets put a little extra spit and polish into their appearance last week when a special guest, a war veteran, carried out the inspection at the monthly Commanding Officers parade. Acton Legion member Dave Crook, a Korean War veteran, had the honour of inspecting the 20-plus cadets in the new Acton Navy League corps. Navy League Commanding Officer George De Rabbie also accepted a cheque for $500 from the Legion Branch 197 to help pay for the Navy League program. Quilt appraisals Quilt appraiser Rosalie Tenni- son is expected to urge members of the Halton Hills Quilters Guild to have their handiwork appraised when she appears at the groups next meeting on Monday. Guild president Ann Totten said quilt owners should have them ap- praised, because in case of fire or damage, without some documen- tation, a quilt is considered like a household blanket for insurance purposes. The Guild meeting is February 26 at 7:15 p.m., at the Halton Hills Cultural Centre. Hero search Earth Day Canada officials are looking for Hometown Heroes people who work at a grassroots level to benefit the environment through fundraising, education and awareness. Nominations for individuals, groups, schools municipalities and non-profit organization will be accepted until April 20, and the awards will be presented in Toronto on June 1. For details call 1-888-283-2784 or visit www.earthday.ca/home- town SUCCESSFUL CLINIC: Actons Bashia Jaques was one of 72 people who donated blood last Thurs- day at the Canadian Blood Services clinic at the Legion. Thanking Jaques for her repeated donations were, from left: phlebotomist Sandra Reid and clinic volunteers Alana McCoig, Julia Roehrig and Heather Morris-Stokes. Frances Niblock photo Whats Your Beef? Put it in a letter to the Editor! Deadline is Tuesday at noon.