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i & oa | Perry's - MIKE 26 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. January 17, 1984 'l can't change what | was or what lam. That's the way | live.' by Cathy Robb Why, some people wonder, is one of Port most well- known-men-about-town called Roy Walker Smith, rather than just Roy Smith? He laughs a bit at this question, a hoarse throa- ty rumble, full of bron- chitis, and answers in a voice that's rougher than the red side on a sheet of sandpaper. 'You know, " there's a story to that . . ."" he begins, but that's not unusual. Roy Walker Smith has a story for everything. This particular story is a short one (perhaps he's just warming up) but it's interesting just the same. Throughout a life that's been chock full of twisted plots, this big bear of a man has been called various things, in- cluding Smitty, RW, and just plain Roy Smith. In fact, that's how he was known when he first moved to Port Perry two and a half years ago, un- til the police came knocking on his door with an arrest warrant for Roy Smith. "The police always had a warrant for a Roy Smith but it wasn't me," he says. 'But in my younger days when I us- ed to go out dancing -- we were drinking, one thing or another, I guess -- and we came to this place and I had a dark suit on and, you know, a white shirt and dark tie, so my friends dared me to take my suit and put it on backwards, like a minister. That's when my friends started call- ing me The Reverend RW" Reverend Is 69 The Reverend is now 69 years old, but looks ten years younger. He's known as a nice old guy who talks a lot, a mark who'll do anything for anybody if it's a good community cause, but there's a side to RW. "that not too many folks know about. Born in the east-end of Toronto in 1915, Roy learned early about mak- ing a buck. His mother, a cripple who suffered from curvature of the spine, died when he was eight and even though his father remarried, young Roy was pretty much forced to raise himself. BIRTHDAY Love Mommy, Daddy & Ricky He opened his first bank account when he was 11 and fattened it up with money he made working for the butcher, grocer or whoever would hire him. He cut grass, delivered papers and shovelled snow while other kids his age were goofing off and having fun. "Other than when I was in the army, I don't think there was a week that I didn't put a dollar in the bank. I've always been a saver,' he boasts. "I figured I should have retired by the time I was 39 if the army hadn't screwed me up." Roy signed up with the Canadian Armed Forces when he was 27, just in time for World War II. Three and a half years fighting took him to Belgium, Germany and Holland where he was sketched while sitting in a bar and traded 25 cigarettes so he could keep the drawing. Strong Man He still has the sketch, a small pencil drawing framed in glass reveal- ing a young man in a jaunty beret with strong handsome features. It was a face that aljiacied many women ough the years and R.W. mar- ried four times. His pre- sent lady, the incredibly talented Lillian Mary who crafts decorate the Smiths Alva St. home, has managed to hang on to Roy for 15 years of marriage. You can tell by the way he talks about her, that this time he's married for good, but she doesn't put up with any . talk of her husband's past loves. 'She'll stab me in my sleep if I tell you how many kids I have,' he groans, before flashing a boyish grin. Although he has lived in Toronto most of his life, Roy claims he'll never move back there. He was still a young man when he first set eyes on Port Perry, working for Christie's bread. He'd start delivering bread at six am. and work his way north through Clare- mont, Ashburn and Raglan, before making his last stop in Port. In 1965 he bought a farm between Saintfield TOWNSHIP OF SCUGOG PUBLIC NOTICE "BICENTENNIAL GRANT" Please note that the final date for appli- cations to the Council of the Township of Scugog for a share of the Bicentennial Grant will be January 31, 1984. Clerk-Administrator and Simcoe St. A friend who owned him $500 gave him five head of Hereford cattle instead and in 1967 he bought an old milk horse named ~ Doll for $35. Doll was the first of seven riding horses Roy bought for the farm and he has fond memories of hitching them up to a cutter or sleigh for the entire fami- ly to enjoy. Paper Chase "Oh there was tobag- ganing, skating, corn roasts, pig roasts, goat roasts, and one of the most exciting Saturdays I ever had was when we had a paper chase on horseback. All the neighbours got together and we had a great time,"' he recalls. "We always had a good time on the farm." It was on the farm that Roy got the phone call which would change everything for him. He was in the barn cleaning out stalls on a Saturday when Lillian came down and interrupted his chores. Iva Phoenix had called, she said, and ask- ed if Roy ¢ould help with the Santa Claus parade. They didn't have a San- ta Claus and things were getting desperate. At first he said no, but some gentle persuasion on Lillian's part soon chang- ed his mind. From that time on, Roy Walker Smith has been part and parcel of the Santa Claus parade. If he hasn't played San- ta Claus, he's been a clown -- but he's always involved. And it was this involvement which led him to join the Historical Society, the Scugog Shores Museum Board, the Canoe the Nonquon committee, to help out with Pioneer Days, to ap- pear in the Borelians play, and just recently, to join the Scugog Bicentennial Beautifica- tion Committee. Volunteering "I've always been a volunteer in things. The Cubs, Scouts, YMCA when I was a kid. Taking little old ladies across the street,"" he says, only half seriously. He's still helping little old ladies, though, occasionally driving senior citizens to Earl S. Cuddie, The other side of Rever medical appointments or whatever it is they want to do. Both he and Lillian are also volunteers at the Port Perry Community Hospital, helping in the program to rehabilitate Susan Durward, serious- ly injured in a car accident. | But Roy's most fondly remembered stint as a volunteer, and the one he'll talk your ear off about most often, is the time he spent as an Aux- iliary Policemen with the Metro Toronto Police. He was assigned to District No. 5, the busiest district in all of Toronto, he says, and he saw the seedy side: gambling, gay bars, prostitution. "I've seen the way the other half lives -- not that I've participated, but I've seen it, that's for sure," he'll tell you. "I worked hard there. When I finished, I was qualified as a First Class Con- stable, if a war broke out or something: He used to be a rougher character than he is now. : Stubborn He used to drink, until the Sunday morning when he had to soak himself in a cold tub to 'sober up before going to church. That was in 1958 and he hasn't touched a drop since. And he used to be a smoker too, until one day in 1956 when his neighbour announced that he had just quit. R.W. looked at him for a moment and without thinking twice, stubbec out the cigarette that was in his hand. Needless to say, he hasn't smoked since, just because he had to prove to his neighbour that R.W. could do anything he could do. "I AM stubborn, I'll tell you that." he says smugly. 'At one time I used to do a lot of gambl- ing, a lot of drinking and a lot of carousing." His first car was a souped-up affair with a sign in the window reading "Don't laugh, your daughter could be in the back seat." But times have chang- FREE FASHION & BEAUTY SEMINAR end R.W. Ever wondered why this man has three names? 'Roy Walker Smith tells all -- see story. ed since then. Roy Walker Smith at 69 {s the picture of respectability. And he loves children. On Christmas Eve, some friends of his came waltzing through the front door dressed up like Santa Claus and a band of clowns. The kids who were in the house were speechless with wonder, their eyes lit up with the magic of Christmas. "I said to Lillian at the time, that's what I'm do- ing every Christmas Eve." Santa Roy Ever since, Roy has been Santa Claus, donn- ing his red suit as many as 18 times in the three weeks before Christmas, but always, always Enjoy a "TEA ROOM" showing of Fashions by "STRAWBERRY THREADS" and a Beauty Make-Over by the talents of "KAREN TAYLOR" (Make-Up Artist) and "LARRY SCOTT" (Hair Stylist). "LORI MARTIN" will lecture on "Is Electrolysis For You 7" Reserve your place for You and A Friend for MON., JAN. 30th - 10 a.m. | | KAREN TAYLOR COSMETIC SALON 'REFRESHMENTS. SPECIAL NOTE: This 237 St. showing may also be prusented for organiza- Perry tions. Ask for information.) dressing up on Christmas Eve and tour- ing the houses in his neighbourhood, sometimes with homemade treats from Lillian's kitchen. "At the farm, some kids would go by and say that's where Santa Claus lives but they didn't know it was me. A lot of people don't know me un- til I open my mouth and they recognize Santa's voice," he says. It's an unusual voice, there's no doubt about it, and it matches an unusual man who has enough stories to fill three or four issues of the Port Perry Star. Still, even if we could devote the next three issues to the Reverend R.W., it wouldn't be the same as sitting down and listen- ing to him in person. He doesn't just tell a story, he re-lives the ex- periences, acting it out with expressive voices, hands and facial expres- sions. The more lively a story gets, the more animated Roy gets. When he's full-tilt into a rough-and-tumble police tale, it's hard to believe this man isn't still at the scene, breaking up a fist- fight with a drunk or directing traffic for the Santa Claus parade. "I can't change what I was or what I am," Roy Walker Smith says simp- ly. "That's the way I live." For 24 HOUR COMPLETE HEATING SERVICE IN PORT PERRY & AREA CALL: Tom Wilson (day or night) 986-4964 TOM WILSON PLUMBING, HEATING & ELECTRIC P.O. BOX 29 - BLACKSTOCK, ONT. -- AUTHORIZED ESSO SERVICE DEALER -- Furnaces - Air Conditioners - Boilers - Air Cleaners - Humidifiers -