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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 10, 2008 - 39 Treat yourself to a New Kitchen for the New Year FILE PHOTO SAVING OUR PAST: Oakville bookstore owner Robert Whiteley is working to help save the home of Canadian poet, Al Purdy. Artists Rendering* Saving a piece of our literary history By Bob McNamee SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Special Purchase Designer Kitchen Packages Starting at $7,450 Installed (Plus G.S.T.) Choice of 2 Door Styles, 12 Finishes and 3 Counter Top Options PARENTING PROGRAMS Infant Massage (newborn to 9 months) 4 weeks Join a certified IAIM instructor to learn the art of infant massage and to study techniques to help foster close bonds, improve baby's sleep and relieve gas and other symptoms of infant stress. Location: 481 North Service Road Starts: January 9th Time: Fridays, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Cost: $60 Saturday Parenting Workshop Series (newborn to 5 years) Choose from Emotional Intelligence, Toilet Learning, Discipline, or Virtues/Building Character. Register for just one class or for all four of them! Location: 461 North Service Road Starts: January 10th Time: Saturdays, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Cost: $20 each week with childcare, $10 without Kids Have Stress Too (3 to 5 years) Even young children can learn physical and mental strategies to relive stress and find ways to respond to stressful situations. This 3 week program is designed to help parents and caregivers better understand stress and help teach their children ways to manage it. Location: 461 North Service Road Starts: January 13th Time: Tuesdays, 9:15-11:15 a.m. Cost: $40 with childcare, $25 without Get Lost! Family Safety Plans (newborn to 5 years) Join us for this workshop on keeping children safe and streetproofing. Location: 461 North Service Road Date: Tuesday, January 27th Time: 1:15-3:15 p.m. Cost: $20 with childcare, $10 without Discipline Dilemma (2½ to 5 years) At your wit's end wondering what to do next? Join us for this six-week discipline series as we explore reasons children behave the way they do. We will also discuss ways to respond to your child's behaviour in a positive, nurturing and constructive way. Location: 461 North Service Road Starts: January 28th Time: Wednesdays, 1:15-3:15 p.m. Cost: $80 with childcare, $50 without Oakville bookstore owner, Robert Whiteley, has recently started a drive to save the home of iconic Canadian poet Al Purdy located in Ameliasburgh, Ontario, and preserve it as a writer's retreat. Whiteley, who owns The Poet's Pulpit Bookstore, located at 2411 Marine Dr. in Bronte, hopes to raise one million dollars to save the house built by Purdy and fellow poet Milton Acorn in the late 1950s on Roblin Lake, south of Belleville. The house is owned by Purdy's widow, 84-year-old Eurithe Purdy, who divides her time between it and her home in Sidney, B.C. Mrs. Purdy recently had the Aframe wooden house appraised for $275,000. Whiteley said the additional money would be used for lawyer's fees, creating a trust and restoration of the structure. "The fear is that if she sells it privately someone will buy it without regard for its literary heritage and then demolish it," Whiteley said. "It would be a shame if they tore it down. If any place deserves to be preserved it should be this. The widow already has four or five offers on the house but she doesn't want to sell because she doesn't want it torn down." Whiteley started the drive a few months ago on Facebook but since then has had to hand over the reins of the project to Jean Baird, the wife of poet George Bowering, who lives in British Columbia, because of his wife's health concerns. Bowering was the first Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada and is a past winner of the Governor General's Award for Poetry. "We want to turn it into a writer's retreat like they did with the Pierre Berton house in Dawson City, Yukon," Whiteley said. "I'd like it to be a Canadian writer's museum as well, but I don't think the structure would be cost effective for that. We'd like to have it as a writer's retreat and down the road have a museum nearby." Whiteley said the house has an outstanding Canadian literary pedigree. "That house is the epitome of Canadian poetry," he said. "If you were a major Canadian writer or a struggling writer in the past 50 years you probably stayed there or visited it." Purdy, who won the Governor General's Award for Poetry in 1965 for his book The Caribou Horses, was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1982. He wrote almost 50 books. Famous literary figures who lived and wrote there include Margaret Atwood, Dennis Lee and Michael Ondaatje. Purdy lived there part of the year and part in Sidney, B.C. until his death in 2000. He's buried in Ameliasburgh. Whiteley said support for the project so far has been positive, but the cost is considerable. "However, I don't think anyone wants to see it torn down," he said. He's appealing for donation from individuals, businesses and the government and has contacted the federal Heritage Ministry but received no response to date. "The current federal government isn't arts friendly. They have no regard for culture," Whiteley said. "People wait too long before anything is preserved. I've always been passionate about preserving Canadian heritage. I think it's important." To make a donation, send your cheque to Al Purdy A-Frame Trust, 4403 West 11th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V6R 2M2. Up-grade to Granite for only $1,449 Standard Packages Include: 2 Glass Doors with Lead Mullions Light Valance 3 Drawers 2 Pull-Out Trays Matching Toe-Kick Choice of Designer Handles & Knobs Etched "Granite Look" Laminate Counter Top Free Installation, No P.S.T. 5 Year Cabinet Warranty * Illustration is representative of kitchen package components and artist's impression of door styles. Crown molding shown is an optional extra (Packages are based on conventional 10' x 10' "L" shaped kitchen design. Pricing does not include backsplash, plumbing, appliance hook-up, cabinet modifications or removal & disposal of an existing kitchen. Counter Top options include High Definition Laminate ($149 extra) and Level 1 Granite ($1449 extra.) Special Pricing is not available to Builders or Trades. Some conditions apply) Free Consultation and Estimate 905.637.3331 Showroom 3480 Fairview St., Burlington (Hours: 10-6 pm M-F, Saturday 11-3) REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED! For more information on any of these programs, please visit our website or give us a call. The Centre is a registered charitable organization, that has provided programs and services for families since 1980. Our services are designed to support all families in their parenting role. We also offer early learning opportunities for children 0-6 years. kitchentuneup.com Kitchen Tune-Up, a division of KTU Worldwide, Inc. is a system of more than 300 independently owned and operated franchises Reduce Reuse Recycle For more information on programs, parenting and services offered by the Centre please contact us at 905-849-6366 www.op-cc.ca