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B6 OAKVILLE THE OAKVILLE BEAVER V lU l l U J i y CUpdate J jJ L U llL ' A 1M onthly About Your Chamber Wednesday, Novem ber 10, 1999 jQ ] commerce Bargain a t th e Chamber fvir Michigan I f you are already conducting business with customers in M ichigan, or you would like to try, you will most proba bly have to pay "m ega bucks" for the priv ilege of experiencing the learning curve. Depressed already? N ever despair! The International Trade Com m ittee o f The Oakville C ham ber o f C om m erce has come to the rescue. The largest indepen dent M ichigan accounting firm o f Plante Y M oran and Butzel Long, a leading Michigan law firm, are sending tax and legal specialists to the C ham ber's "Doing Business in the United States" seminar on Thursday, Novem ber 18th, 1999. This will be a sellout, so book now' by calling: 845-6613 and ask for Karen P om fret Both firms enjoy a long and venerable history assisting businesses to establish and expand operations in the U.S. A primer on trade financing and governm en tal trade programs, will be provided by the Royal Bank o f C anada and D etroit's C anadian C onsulate's representatives, based in Michigan. Apparently, our own representatives "south o f the border", along with the Americans are thrilled at the opportunity to support growing businesses in this region. Grant Buchan-Terrell, the Chair of the International Trade Committee, states that in order to access such valuable resources, members would be looking at a costly investment in multi-day programs, or the retaining of expensive international trade specialists. The day will be divided into six intense, consecutive modules, starting at 8:00 a.m. with Customs and finishing at 12:15 p.m. w ith a U.S. trade update from the Canadian Consulate in Detroit. We can only book 40 people at $40 for our Oakville or Burlington Chamber m em bers and $45 for non-members. If your business is in the boom ing Autom otive sector and/or associated industries, this is an absolute "must" for your newer staff members and refresh er course for top executive. Do it right the first time - call your Cham ber now. Bronte Legion nam ed after World War II hero half-won." It was advice he never forgot. In Kingston, Vokes learned to love track and football and began cultivating his national pride. `The meek are a hell of a long way from inher He sang O Canada in school long before it was the national anthem. He realized he belonged to some iting the earth." This hardy sentiment uttered by the late Major thing worthwhile. As he considered attending General Chris Vokes reveals a lot about the World Queen's University to play football, his father War II hero. It's bold, opinionated and realistic. The asked him one day if he wanted to be a jock or man for whom the Bronte Legion is named had all "make something of himself and go to RMC?" During a football game that ended in-a free-for-all of these qualities and more. Distinctive with his stylish, tailor-made between RMC cadets and Queen's, he made up his wardrobe and handlebar mustache he could be mind. In the spring of 1921, at age 17, he wrote the hardheaded, surly and brash as a commander. But RMC entrance exam, for the second time, and he was fair and had strong convictions on justice passed. and serving one's country. The strapping young cadet, a shade over 6-ft. A long time Oakville resident after the war, tall and 190 lbs, dubbed the regimen, primitive liv Vokes is remembered as an unforgettable character ing conditions and hazings "hell on earth." that led a life precious few can relate to today. To Exhausted, he thought he'd made a mistake but most, his military destiny played out like a feature later admitted the greatest thing he learned at RMC film replete with war-tom imagery, personal was to not be brutal, but always administer disci tragedies, resounding victories, and ear-splitting pline with humility and humanity. His second gunfire. But this was no Hollywood production - greatest lesson was self-discipline and that it's essential to everyone. the blood, sweat and tears were real. Vokes' military fame was sealed when he com In 1925, he graduated with `Distinguished' in manded the 1st Canadian Division, 15,000 men in drills and exercises, although he failed astronomy all, in Ortona, Italy, landing on Sept. 3, 1943, as did miserably. Stationed in Halifax, he cultivated a the British. Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dicta huge mess hall bill and discovered women. tor, had just surrendered and Adolph Hitler had It was here he learned a legendary parlour trick already taken over Rome and was headed for that earned him a tidy sum in bets - drinking an Ortona. Together, the Canadians and British cap entire glass of whiskey and soda while performing tured the mediaeval town that became known as a handstand against a wall. His proficiency at `Canada's Little Stalingrad,' smashing their way drinking upside down astounded many and he per through walls and buildings using a manoeuvre formed the odd little trick until 1957 when his neck known as "mouse holing." finally surrendered. In charge of what was called the `Spaghetti "One can get awfully drunk doing it," he con League' in Sicily and Italy, Vokes also drove out cluded. "It has to do with the blood rushing to one's the Germans from Leonforte - a key milestone of head." the Sicilian campaign and his military career. No He applied for and was accepted as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Engineers. In 1927, he grad troops under his command ever lost a battle. At the end of WWII, King George VI decorated uated as a civil engineer and was posted to The him with three awards: the Companion of Bath, School of Military Engineering in Chatham, Commander of the Order of the British Empire and England, for two years. Stationed in Winnipeg in 1929, he met Connie the Distinguished Service Order. He was bom April 13, 1904, in Armagh, just Waugh. They were married in January 1932. His north of the border between Northern Ireland and first son Fred was bom in December 1932. Eire to Major `Paddy' Frederick Vokes and wife Vokes was transferred from his "boring and Elizabeth. Shortly after his birth his father was sta unfulfilling" desk job to England as war broke out tioned in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), India (where his in 1939, but didn't see action for another three and only brother, Frederick was bom in 1906), and then half years. As fate would have it, he rose quickly through the ranks to Major General. Dublin, Ireland. Like his parlour trick, the man himself was leg In his autobiography, Vokes: My Story, co-written with author John Maclean shortly before his endary. An unflappable disciplinarian, he dealt with 1985 death at Oakville-Memorial Trafalgar absenteeism by establishing an unprecedented field Hospital, his recollections revealed a natural bom punishment camp that subjected the offending sol leader who knew his vocation early on. dier to a period of intensive military training, a At age five he watched a military funeral of a shaved head and no cigarettes. In his post-war days, Vokes settled his family in British soldier in Phoenix Park in Dublin with great pathos and curiosity. He decided, then and there, he Oakville. From 1946 to 1951 he was first comman would be a soldier. `These soldiers impressed me der of Ontario's central command for the Canadian not by their (scarlet) uniforms but by their attitude. Army at Ortona Barracks. I made my decision. I, too, would be a soldier," he Ortona Barracks, a former orphanage run by the said with determination. Independent Order of Foresters at Kerr and Bond In 1910, his father was commissioned to the Streets, is today Oaklands Regional Centre. It was Canadian Army to be an instructor in military engi one of five command stations established across neering at the Royal Military College (RMC) in Canada after the war. Kingston, Ont. He and his family then moved to Edmonton Growing up he and brother, Fred, dreaded the where Vokes was the west commander before sailor suits his mother insisted they wear "for an returning to Oakville in 1959 when he retired from eternity." Obvious targets in a rough neighborhood the army at age 55. They lived at four different addresses in they negotiated every week on the way to Sunday School, they'd return home with the suits in rags. Oakville between 1959 and 1969, the year Vokes' The torment he endured made the timid little boy wife of 37 years, died. He enjoyed 26 more years tough, and he learned to listen to his father's advice before dying peacefully at nearly 81, at Oakvilleelicited during their rough and tumble boxing Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, on March 28, 1985. matches: "Hit him first. 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