Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star, 16 Oct 1991, p. 7

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

NTR og Yew hs oa ad. J RE hago ad dtd bid é& ER IT "A Family Tradition for 125 Years" ra gd _ -_ PRESSING MATTERS "BREAKING UP THE TEAM" Back in our early Echo years, one of our saddest "Ed- itor's Notebook" items began with: "We'd give anything in the world not to be writing these words....." It con- cerned the untimely death of a middle-aged Amherst- burg family man. Ronnie Meloche was his name. Over the years, roughly 10,000 "Notebook" items were written; with enough tragic events witnessed by those words to sour many a mind. However, to the best of our knowledge, that phrase was never employed again...until this week. Aside from wildest hopes and aspirations, what we brought to Amherstburg in August of '81 consisted of; one wife (Linda), three kids (Sussy, Tom & Martin), a raggedy old family pet (Champ the wonderdog), and one Mother-in-Law. Everybody called her "Nana Rene". As "teams go", our little band presented no earth- shattering spectacle; certainly nothing to strike fear into ~ the hearts of those who dared block the path of Truth, Justice, and the Great Canadian Dream. Nevertheless (with tons of help from our terrific Echo crew) the job got done. Surprise, surprise. When all was said and done, we made a pretty effective team. Last year, economic reality confronted us with a tough choice. Reluctantly, we let the Echo go. An enor- mous void surfaced. One week before Christmas, poor old Champ died. The team was breaking up. Then came Yesterday..., Once again, we'd give anything in the world not to be writing these words: "Yesterday..., we lost Nana Rene". Life goes on. It's been some time since our column appeared in The Echo. These days it goes out to a bunch of small towns across Ontario, new folks now sharing our thoughts each week. Turns out most of 'em are just as concerned - and just as opinionated - as some of our old pals in the Amherstburg area. Life goes on... Months after Champ died, we swore no replacement would ever join The Team. Now we have "Doc", as much a part of the Family as Old Original, plus a timely home security side benefit. Nobody messes with something that looks half Shepherd, half Wolf. Life goes on, but... There's no replacing Nana Rene. Eldest of four sisters and one brother; a kid selling corsets for peanuts during the Depression. Married later in life, when The War brought a charm- ing Irishman to Canada to train bomber pilots. Abandoned with little daughter, thanks to a "Dear Irene" letter when the conflict came to an end. Striken with cancer of the colon shortly thereafter, as Bad News snowballed in unfair fashion. Forty years of daily ordeal thanks to a colostomy operation. Harsh realities for the single, working parent; in an age where you solved your own problems, not expecting - or receiving - help from outside sources. Breast cancer came next. Then Crone's Disease. Two or three days after the latter operation, a bad fire in the hospital. Recovery in a spare bedroom at daugh- ter's home, with three young kids running rampant. Then the idiot who married her daughter cavalierly threw away a secure living, packed everybody up and moved to Amherstburg chasing dreams. Instantly, no questions asked, she bid goodbye to age-old friends, community, and family home. Leave daughter and grandkids? Not on your life! ("You'll need a bookkeeper. Won't you? "Yes we will.") Now over 70, and the clock ticking faster. Barely miss- ing a day's work in nine years -- from the terrifying reces- sion that began six weeks after we arrived, to the week the Echo was sold. Somewhere along this torturous path, Mother and Daughter became Best Friends. After the business was sold, they had six good months together. Precious little time to enjoy each other's company. By dreary February, Time caught up to them. Em- physema came too. The past six months have been Hell on both of them. Mother and Daughter fought back with all they had; side by side through every agonizing day. These last sixty days were beyond any semblance of fairness. Too much pain to lie in bed; fragments of sleep in a living room chair. As if fate wasn't cruel enough al- ready; two fractured discs were discovered. But not in time to ease the suffering, It was enough to question the faith of any Believer, BUT not enough to change the most wonderful person- ality in the world. Oh sure, the odd murmur of complaint escaped as vicious spasms relentlessly attacked. Con- cern about "being a burden" would quickly follow. Irene Elizabeth Roberts: we all called her Nana Rene. Yesterday she quietly slipped away. Dignity to the end. No more miracle comebacks. No more lucky breaks. No more Time. Helplessly, we listened as her Daughter - and Best Friend - said: "You're the most wonderful Mom in the World. There'll never be another like you". Not so... Daughter Linda is exactly the same. Lucky us. Naturally, we have Nana Rene to thank for that too. Letters to the editor Left me wondering To the Editor: On returning from holidays I came across the Sept. 24 arti- cle of the Star entitled "Resi- dents Pack Council Chambers to Oppose High Density Hous- ing." The article left me won- dering. Over twenty years ago our children attended Port Perry High School. As a parent I sometimes read over our chil- dren's textbooks. I remember a chapter in one book describing how we would have to reduce the size of our houses and what we would have to do without -- plumbing, electricity, floor cov- erings, etc. -- to make them even remotely comparable to the houses, or rather huts, most people in third world countries live in. One or two years later the school valedictorian had an ex- cellent speech dealing with the same issues of hunger and pov- erty and his hopes of doing something about it. It raised my hopes that future genera- tions would do more to allevi- ate at least some of the gross injustices and inequalities in the world. As a Christian I feel strongly that, in obedience to the com- mand to love our neighbor as ourselves, we ought to be con- cerned about the less fortunate people abroad, in our own country and even in our own town. According to the report in the Star, the needs of people with lower incomes who need smaller, affordable houses, or Turn to Page 8 Enjoyed historic issue To the Editor: I quickly scan the Oct. 8/91 is- sue of the Port Perry Star. I'm looking for kudos, for let- ters of praise for 'Exploring Our History.' ' I guess I missed them so I read through again, more slow- ly. Y can't find any dealing with this commemorative issue. Is it possible that this fine piece of historic journalism was missed by the Star's inveterate following? Perhaps everyone thought there would be no room for their letter of praise. I, too, am guilty. Although impressed in the extreme, I didn't give voice to my praise. The 126th Anniversary Com- memorative Edition of the Tuesday, Oct. 1/91 Star is histo- ry in a most agreeable form. It is as fine a piece of journa- listic history as has been seen in a long time. Fascinating pic- tures from as early as 1854. History knowledgeably written by our local experts. A format that makes this a true collec- tor'sitem. Don't recycle this gem. Save it! In fact get it photostated soit doesn't yellow with the years. I apologize for my sloth in not writing last week. No excuses. Thank you for an invaluable document. Is there any chance for a re- print in booklet form? Yours truly, Dr. Ralph M. Price Remember KN O Ae R, Mrs. Jean Martin, teacher at S. S. #9 Reach, looks very impressed with the fine crop of students In her class. Pictured are (first row, from left) Andy Van Ham, Paul Hughes, Heather HIN, (second row) Frank Cervanka, Bob Richards, Helen Lucas, Ron Shunk, (third row) Andrew VanKessel, Jim Nightingale, Shirley Richards, Bill Ross, Allan (Hank) Bertrand, Barry Salisbury, Cathy Hill, (back row) Paul Cusino, Marion Martyn, Marion Shunk, Joan Ross, Chuck Willes, Ada Cervanka. The photo was taken on May 28, 1956. Photo courtesy of Allan Bertrand. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 13, 1966 Mr. J. G. Porter, manager of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is retiring after serving the company for 41 years. The new manager of the Port Perry branch is Mr. Donald A. McRitchie of Port Perry. Firemen were kept busy over the Thanksgiving holiday. A fire broke out at the Charles Ingwer farm on Highway 12 and Concession 6 but the flames were extinguished quickly and little damage was done to the Ingwer home. The firemen received two other calls: One for a chimney fire and the other was a grass fire at the farm of W. H. Graham. The South Ontario Plowing Match was held at the farm of Mr. Stewart Diceman and Sons, Greenbank, with 46 lands being plowed. Mr. Jack Claughton, formerly of Epsom, and daughter Pamela visited with Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Christie. Jack is now retired after 40 years employment with Ontario Hydro in Ottawa. e Bertrand family of Seagrave have sold their chicken farm and bought a brand new home in Port Perry. Roy and Mildred Hope of Prince Albert celebrated their 26th Wedding Anniversary with many guests being present for an afternoon Social Tea and an evening card party. . Mrs. Marjorie Aldred, R. R. 3, Port Perry, was installed as Noble Grand of Maybelle Rebekah PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 10

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