The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Sunday October 1,2000 Oakville Beaver Weekend 5 Oakville remembers Pierre Trudeau (Continued from page 1) sense of nationhood he instilled in Canadians. "I think he gave us a sense of being Canadian and that we had a role in the world," she said. "He gave us an empowerment that defined our own country and made it a role model for the world." Brown said it was Trudeau who made Canadians feel their strength and pushed them to be independent She said the repatriation of the Constitution and pursuing a dif ferent foreign policy from the U.S. showed Canadians that were an independent nation. Over the years Pierre Trudeau paid several visits to Oakville but for long-time Liberal organizer Jack Burkholder, one encounter stands out above the rest "It was at Blakelock (High School) and the place was packed with young people and I could see that politics was becoming more meaningful and that they were part of a great cause," said Burkholder. "1 also remember him appearing at the Oakville Centre and addressing the audience in his `gunslinger' pose," said Burkholder. When Frank Petrie worked with the foreign service in Ottawa as director general of the Pacific - Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, he traveled all over the world with Trudeau. The retired Oakville resident and author of `As Far As Ever the Puffin Flew' witnessed the signing of the Canada-China Trade Agreement with Trudeau and Premier Chou En-lai. Recalling a briefing with the former PM during their flight to Korea, Petrie said he had given Trudeau "a rash of detailed infor mation" on Korea's textile trade with Canada. "When he met the Korean prime minister later, it all came out just like a computer. He was really thorough and accurate. And he turned to me in a rather challenging way and said, `Have you anything to add Mr. Petrie?' And, of course, I didn't. He had said it all," said Petrie. "Like most people 1 had tremendous respect for his intellect" Petrie added that he was not shocked by death of the man he once described as "a brilliant man but a bit of a shy man in many ways - one-on-one, not in crowds." And it was that personal touch that Oakville Beaver Focus Editor Wilma Blokhuis will always remember. She was a fledgling reporter for another newspaper when she covered the prime minister's visit to Hopedale Mall. In the crush at the end of the visit, Blokhuis found herself beside Trudeau who then gave her his rose boutonniere and wished her well in her journalism career. "I will never forget that moment," said Blokhuis. Vintage Trudeau images in Oakville from making a point to his `gunslinger' pose and reaching out to young people. And when a bride and Trudeau crossed paths at a func tion...well...there was only one Pierre Elliott Trudeau Purchase ^Financing I up to 48 months ( on all | 2 0 0 0 D odge 1 /2 ton f 2 0 0 0 C irrus 2000 D o d g e Caravans R E B A lE 2 0 0 0 C h ry sler In trep id R E B A T E Purchase Financing up to 60 months > on all » I Neon's 1 7 5 W y e c r o ft R o a d , O a k v ille 2000 (b e tw e e n Kerr 8c D orval) w w w .lo c k w o o d c h ry s le r.c o m m u iS !