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COMMUNITY CALENDAR • LIFESTYLES • SPORTS • COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENCE • TV LISTINGS Wednesday, July 22, 1998 r. FINDING WATER -- Dairy farmer Gordon Barrie is a believer in the art of water- witching despite the lack of any scientific explanation which would account for its success. success. The well on his farm north of Bowmanville was located many years back by a driller using a shovel as a divining rod. It has never run dry. Barrie himself used the copper rods he holds here to find a well on his son's property. The Lowdown on Divining □ The practice seems to have originated in Europe during the . Middle Ages. □ Diviners have claimed success locating everything from water and precious minerals to lost objects and buried bodies. □ Divining tools include metal rods, clothes hangers, plumb-bobs suspended by silk string, y-shape cuttings from branches, and other home-made detectors. by Lorraine Manfredo Staff Writer Gordon Barrie can't explain how water-witching works, but he'll tell you without a doubt in his mind that it does. The well that supplies - his farmhouse north of Bowmanville was dug only after a driller found it with a shovel. "He carried a flat shovel and all of a sudden the blade tipped down," he recalls. That well has never run dry, and that fact made a believer out of Barrie. Eleven years ago, Barrie adopted a similar method to locate his son's well at a neighboring neighboring farm. In this case, he used a pair of stiff copper rods made of heavy hydro wire. Asked to demonstrate, he fetches the rods from his work- shed where they've sat all but forgotten for years. Each one is about two feet long, and bent at one end to form a handle. Walking out in the field among his curious cattle, he raises the divining rods to his chest until they are parallel with the earth. Gripped loosely, they begin to move, apparently of their own volition, as- lie nears the underground underground water line, then suddenly flop inward toward each other in the same second he passes over the pipe that-carries fresh water to his house. There are no mirrors, magic, or sleight of hand involved, he swears. But there might be magnetism magnetism and maybe electrical currents currents at work. He can't say. Barrie says the rods can also come in handy to detect the exact place to dig up frost-damaged frost-damaged tile beds where the land is wet. Not everyone is a believer, however. One reason water-witching or divining is not considered a concrete concrete science is because not everyone can do it. Possibly it's an inherited gift, Barrie speculates. But, then again, not every one of his five sons has the knack. Kim Yee, a senior water well inspector and co-ordinator with the Ministry of Environment, has heard the testimonials of many believers but still says water-witching is folklore more than anything else. "Whether it's a coathanger, copper rods or pieces of twig, there is no scientific basis to support the theory that it works." One reason wafer-witching or divining is not considered a concrete science is because not ever/one can do it Drillers today can tap into the vast, registry of existing wells to guide them in finding a new water supply. In Ontario alone ■ there are half a million, records accumulated accumulated in the last 50 years. With all these reference points, there seems little need to rely on the pioneer art of water- witching. Any property owner is guaranteed a pretty good guess about where to dig, based solely on information about existing wells in the area. And all the Ministry's records include information about how deep each well is, and what type of material or rock was encountered. encountered. This is a boon to drillers who can be forewarned about what type of digging equipment will be needed on site. Despite all these detailed records, watcr-witchcrs arc still in demand. A property owner can't just dig anywhere and expect to hit a constantly flowing source of pure filtered water. Trial and error is still part of the well searching process. Many rural residents find it hard to dismiss evidence they've witnessed and heard about. Walter Loveridge, a friend of Barrie's who lives in the Hampton area, tells of a man from Haydon many years back who enjoyed a reputation for finding water. His method was to hold a copper rod out from his stomach and put his gold watch on the end. The rod would dip down a couple of inches to indicate water. According to the stories, this diviner was even able to tell how deep to dig. On one particular dig, he estimated the likely depth to hit water as 70 feet down. The driller actually hit water at 72 feet, so the story goes. A water-witcher who can point to a source closer to the- surface can save the property . owner a bundle because the price tag goes up as the drill goes deeper. Mr. Loveridge has even heard of folks with the ability to locate remains of long buried ancestors using the same water-witching techniques and tools. They could go to an old cemetery ground or village church and find unmarked graves. It didn't matter if they bodies were buried yesterday or 50 years ago, he says. J by Lorraine Manfredo Staff Writer The Champions of Change Youth Leadership Camp and the Clarington Project have joined forces this summer to build a winning team. For the past month, young people from both groups have hit it off during during activities at the Clarington Community Resource Centre in Bowmanville where the Clarington Project meets regularly. "We decided to join the two groups together so they can interact and gain the benefits," says Carrie Cameron, Champions of Change camp director. Provides Opportunity Affiliated with the Big Brothers in Clarington for the past two years, Champions of Change provides provides an opportunity for girls and boys aged 12 to 16 to develop leadership skills through involvement with the community. The Clarington Project helps special needs residents learn life skills and independence. independence. One highlight of the new partnership will be a barbecue at Soper Creek Park on July 30lh where there will be bingo, water games, and a baseball game, It's a revised version of baseball, Cameron explains, Each of the 25 Clarington Project players will be paired one-on-one with an assistant from the Champions of Change program. program. Ryan Hoy, age 13, is looking forward to the game. He's already sold on the Champions of Change program. "We learn a lot about co-operation. It's really a fun program." Fun Camp staff agree that a fundamental part of the camp's purpose is fun. But it also promotes leadership, leadership, life skills and community community service. "We plant the seeds about places to volunteer," says Cameron. And visiting visiting professionals talk to them about career opportunities. opportunities. Champions of Change has space for 25 in each of its four two-week camp sessions. Cost for a single session is $50 Remaining sessions run July 20-31, August 4-14, and August 17-28. This last session is specifically geared towards participants participants aged 15 and 16. Leadership training skills will be developed through job search, career planning, planning, voluntccrism and inter-generational programs. programs. For further information on the Champions of Change Youth Leadership Camp, contact Carrie Carnet on at 623-0750, HAPPY CAMPERS -- Ryan Hoy and Mary Cody re face off over a Project every week for the past month. The two groups arc gearing up friendly game of table top soccer at the Clarington Resource Centre for a big barbecue and baseball game at Soper Creek at the end of the recently. Members of the Big Brother's Champions of Change summer month for family and friends, camp have been getting together with the folks from the Clarington