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v v WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27,1993 MiffiffiKKll -:Ss6B iSEiBSl We Asked and You Said 2 Page from the Past 3 Around the Town 7 Bill Elliott shows the machine he put together for a friend suffer- Engineer Designs Custom Equipment to Make Life Easier- Friendship Club Offers Members Spiritual Encouragement "Jesus loves you" was the message the students and adults alike were given at the Thursday Thursday night, Oct. 21 meeting of The Friendship Club. These folks were delighted to be a part of whàt has become a night of friendship, sharing and spiritual uplifting. by Laura J. Richards Each Thursday night, the Mar- anatha Christian Reformed Church on Highway Two east of Bowmanville is filled with the wondrous sound of people singing. singing. While some people may not find anything different in that fact, most of the people who arc singing are different from you and me. The majority of the singers are mentally and physically handicapped handicapped teenagers and adults. But, that docs not mean their singing is any less beautiful. From "Kumbya" to "Yes, Jesus Jesus Loves Me," their voices entice entice you to join in for some spiritual spiritual nurturing. It is that element of spiritual nurturing 'that brings these folks together under the roof of this church. Margaret Pypkcr is one of 25 volunteers who go out each Thursday evening to spend almost almost two hours with the group. It's the kind of ministry that they sometimes do not get at regular church services. "We use a program that was developed in the United States in the early 1980s," Pypkcr explained. explained. The Friendship Club is the result result of that program and it now provides 2,500 people coast to coast in 200 clubs the hope that people would normally receive in church. It is a fairly structured program, program, which includes 20 to 30 minutes of singing. There is also an opportunity for participants to share how they feel about the people at the club. There is a short Bible story, prayer, and a lime to visit afterwards, said Pypkcr. Pypkcr. "The sharing time and prayer is vciy important to them," Pypkcr Pypkcr told The Statesman. "They want to make sure their concerns are known." And, indeed they do. During the meeting on Thursday Thursday night, Pypkcr wrote the concerns concerns of each individual on an overhead projector so everyone could see the items before their prayer session. Some of their comments ,re- 'garded parents who were sick and needed help, and concerns for their own health and happiness, In this setting, and with a ratio of 25 volunteers to 35 participants, participants, the individual care and concern is evident. "The students enjoy the program program we provide. Their parents tell us how much their children enjoy coming to the Friendship Club." Not only docs the club provide for some spiritual nurturing, but friendships also blossom between the volunteers and the students. This makes itself known during the part of the evening when the group members get a chance to let everyone know how they feel about the group. Some of the comments included: included: "I love everyone here who helps us out." "I like to sing." and "I like getting together for group and discussion about the stories. I like the snack and getting together together with.friends." The quality of one's spiritual life, which many people take for granted, is nurtured with care by the volunteers. So is the self- confidence which grows within the intimate setting, Pypkcr said. While about one-third of the people who attend the Friendship Club live at home with their parents, parents, others live in group homes or in their own apartments. No matter where the individuals individuals live, their coming together as a -chtirch bf'Gôd 'îs' : a T Bofid"thât' : "- binds them together in the Friendship Friendship Club. y, : i Group activities involve an annual annual picnic, a bus tour of Christmas Christmas lights in Bowmanville, attending attending regularly scheduled worship services in churches four times a year and entertaining the residents at Strathaven Life Care Centre. Another activity which happens happens tomorrow evening, Thursday, Thursday, Oct. 28, at Knox Christian School is a Song Festival with area Friendship Clubs. The fun' begins at 7:30 p.m. and will involve involve Friendship Clubs from Lindsay, Peterborough, Oshawa and Bowmanville. by Lorraine Manfredo j Tyrone resident, Bill Elliott, spent much of his childhood building building and tinkering with all kinds of technical equipment just for fun. Now a retired schoolteacher, Elliott Elliott keeps up his interest in things mechanical by customizing equipment equipment for the handicapped. He derives great satisfaction from helping his less able friends remain remain as independent as possible for as long as possible. He also enjoys the challenge of adapting inventions of his own and others to suit the changing needs of chronic care patients. patients. His contribution has been tremendous, tremendous, as Oshawa General nurses and other volunteers will testify. But Elliott insists that he is no hero. Anyone, he says, who has a caring heart, no matter what their special talents, can enhance the lives of the terminally ill or bedridden. "If you have an area of specialty, it's good to use it to help enhance the lives of the handicapped," he says. "But there arc many people needed who don't have an area ofi specialty." Sometimes a person is just needed needed because they can lend a helping hand. "Even the person who has to shuffle into the hospital with one good hand to offer can be a great asset asset to the paralyzed patient who hasn't the use of either of his own." One month ago, one of Elliott's former students hospitalized at Oshawa General Hospital died from complications arising from Multiple Sclerosis. MS affects a person's nervous nervous system resulting in complete paralysis and ultimately death. Jerry Pasiewicz was diagnosed with MS. in 1976 and was moved permanently to the Oshawa hospital ward in 1986. He originally used a "sip and puff' remote control unit mounted on his wheelchair to operate his tele- . phone, fan, radio, tape recorder, TV, ^and CD player. » r ': i"C'But as time Wore' on, Jerry lost muscle control in his mouth and checks which made even sipping and puffing an impossibility. Bill Elliott stepped. in to build what: he called the "Model T" breathing apparatus so Jerry could still master his equipment. - The unit's casing is made out of an old potato pot, iron bars, lengths of plastic tubes and appears to be a mass of hoses, clamps, computer cord, threaded rods and lire valves. But Elliott's Model T proved to be 15 times as sensitive as the most advanced sip and puff available on the market. The breathing switch could be activated with a gentle breath of air expressed from the lungs - much less even than a person might use when cleaning their glasses. With the new unit, Jerry continued to activate activate his electronic equipment. And it was built to last Jerry for as long as he lived. The local inventor tried to look out for his former-student in other ways too. When he heard that Jerry's CD player was stolen from the hospital he went to work immediately designing designing a burglar alarm for a newly donated CD player and all the other electrical equipment on the stand. And when Jerry's failing eyesight eyesight made a new computer monitor a necessity, Elliott re-constructed the swing arm on his shelving unit and rearranged all the equipment to fit with the new monitor. All his time and materials are volunteered but Elliott doesn't expect expect the government to hand out grant money for the work he does. He feels if dollars were readily available it would attract too many "vultures." "Government grants might mean .that more people would jump in for the sole purpose of getting money, rather than from a sincere interest in helping." Bill Elliott refuses to patent any of his inventions for the simple reason reason that, "no one would be able to copy them." And this electrical engineer, with his understanding of the inner workings workings of the most complex life- support equipment, never underestimates underestimates the value of low-tech innovations. innovations. In fact, sometimes the simplest simplest idea goes the longest way toward empowering „ the handicapped. handicapped. Ideas such as an extension string for a lamp, a carrying-bag for a water water .bottle, or using old bicycle tubing tubing as insulation for cold handlebars on a scooter, are so simple yet go a long way to making daily life easier. And for Bill Elliott, there's more reward in seeing an idea put to good use than there ever could be in all the money it might earn through a patent. If you feel you might be able to make a contribution in one way or another, Mr. Elliott welcomes your call. You can reach him at 263- 8095. He knows of many people who would be pleased for the help. tng from advanced Multiple Sclerosis. The device allowed his friend to control his computer and other equipment just by breathing^ The retired Tyrone resident is an electrical engineer who has devoted his talents to inventing ways to make life easier for the severely disabled. disabled. by Laura J. Richards "It just sort of happened." That's how Bowmanville Museum Museum Curator Charles Taws describes describes the birth of the doll collection collection at the museum. "Some of the Friends of the Museum donated some of their dolls to the museum and that started started the nucleus of the collection." , Currently, the museum's collection collection holds over 2,000 dolls. However, However, not all arc on display. There arc about 100 that can be seen in the display cabinets and in the little girl's room at the museum. Of the 2,000, some are of cloth, some are figurines and some arc more recent than others, Taws told The Statesman recently. About 500 of these are considered considered "significant." That means they arc "significant "significant by their condition or age or by what they depict," Taws explained. It was only in the mid-1970s when a previous curator, Marion Vcinot, and The Friends decided to buy only "Canadian Dolls" for the collection. "Those arc ones that are made here and those with Canadian personalities," personalities," Taws noted. Some of the most famous Canadian Canadian dolls are the Bobby Orr doll; the swimmer, Marilyn Bell; the figure skater, Barbara Ann Scott; and Wayne Gretzky. Taws says the Friends "showed i tremendous foresight" in building ' the collection. It has been raved about in numerous numerous doll collecting magazines and some of the dolls have been • photographed for use in magazines. magazines. In fact, Canada Post featured the Museum's aboriginal Owl Man doll on tlte cover of the agency's doll stamp booklet. • Photographers are not die only people interested in the collection. • "People come from all over to view the collection," lie said. While they don't specifically come to Canada to see the collection, visitors visitors will make side trips to the museum museum to view the dolls, he said. "It has been said that our doll collection is the best owned by a public institution," Taws stated. The collection not only includes the dolls themselves but also doll furniture, clothes, carriages and accessories. accessories. lie remembers one winter spent cataloguing a collection of dolls donated by Joan Roantrce of Kingston, Kingston, Ontario. But even that was the tip of the woman's collection. While Taws has his own theories theories about why people collect dolls, he knows that doll collecting is die second most popular collecting hobby in North America. Stamps come first and coins arc third. "The museum's collection holds over 2,000 dolls." There arc plenty of avid collectors collectors in the area, the curator said. Many of them probably went to The East Ontario Doll Show and Sale held in Cobourg two weekends weekends ago. The museum's collection covers covers a vast assortment of dolls ranging ranging from those made from cloth to those made from porcelain. Other materials that dolls have been made from in the past are wax, paper, papier macho, wood, china, rags, apples, vinyl or plastic, rublxir and celluloid, said Taws, "We have everything hut apple dolls in the collection, I'm not sure, hut I don't think you can save those," ho added. Along with the fairly extensive doll collection which is split up between between the museum display cases and storage units, the museum also boasts of good collection of material material on doll collecting. People looking looking to buy information on dolls and doll collecting arc sent to Toronto to the World's Biggest Bookstore. "It has a whole section on the topic," Taws noted. While it is mostly women who arc interested in the doll collection, Taws does receive compliments on the collection from children. However, the children have different different concerns, he said with a smile. "Children don't really appreciate appreciate the dolls until you tell them how much they arc worth," Taws noted. Adults want to know about die history of the dolls more than the children do, he pointed out. The most cominon questions about the dolls include: What arc they worth? Do they have human hair or not? Who did they belong to? and What are they made of?" The museum has one of the dolls that was owned by Mildred Jury, daughter of David Jury, who once lived in house that is now the Bowmanville Museum. "She is probably best known as Mrs. Chester New and lived in Hamilton. The doll was given to us by her daughter." That particular doll has been placed in one of the display cases on the second floor at the museum, It joins a multitude of dolls including including a Shirley Temple doll, a Campbell Soup Kid, a Buster Brown Bank, a Baby Bye-Low newborn, Mickey Mouse, pin cushion cushion dolls, an assortment of porcelain-headed porcelain-headed dolls, an original Kew- pie doll, and a golliwog, Some people may question the political correctness of having the golliwog at the museum, Taws stated: "Some people see it (the doll) as having made fun of black people. However, at the time it wasn't seen as being racist. It was just a cute doll." Another doll in the case is a Tête Jumeau B6b6 which is estimated estimated to be about 100 years old. It was made in France and given given to the museum by Betty Flax- man. The doll has real human hair, has jointed knees and elbows and her neck turns. She is dressed in a garment made from Flaxman's mother's wedding gown. The doll was manufactured between between 1879 to 1899 and is identified identified by a stamp on the back of its neck. While many of the dolls that are donated to the collection arc in fine shape when they arrive at the museum, museum, some need some tender loving loving care. Dolls that need a boot, foot, or hand replaced, their clothes washed or hair washed and combed out arc turned over to either either Gladys Ashton of Bowman- villc or Donna Switzer of Oshawa. They can even re-string the anus and legs of dolls, if needed. These women arc the museum's miracle-workers in the doll department. department. The Friends of the Museum also arc miracle workers with their constant efforts to improve the collection collection through additions and adding adding glass cases to display the dolls in the collection. The most recent additions to the collection were dolls that belonged to Ruby Elva Clatworthy (Mrs. Harland Trull), Frances Esther Clatworthy and Frances's daughter, daughter, Hazel W. Graham, and Hazel's sister, Grace Kean Cunningham. All of the dolls have their original original dresses and one oven squeaks, The Bowmanville Museum is located at the south-east corner of Silver and Wellington Streets and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Sunday Sunday afternoons, the museum is open from 1:30 until 4:30. If you arc an avid doll collector, the time spent gazing at the collection, collection, is time well spent. X \, V) Bowmanville Museum Curator Charles Taws is proud to say the museum's doll collection has been called "one of the best in North America owned by a public institution," Well over 2,000 dolls have found their way to the Bowmanville Museum and storage areas over the last 20 years. Taws said of the 2,000 dolls, about 500 are what could be labelled as "significant."