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"A Famlly Tradition for 128 Years" 8 PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 25, 1995 - 3 Cow MMU ORT PERRY STAR NITY Emotional reunion for sisters By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star N EMOTIONAL reunion with a long-lost sister has helped a Port Perry area woman in her continu- ing effort to put together the piec- es of her life. Sandra Rushton, 34, of Scugog Island, finally met her sister Lynn Rehberg, 26, last week. Lynn's visit to Sandra's home is the latest piece that has fallen into place in a puzzle that took shape in Nova Scotia in the 1960's. Sandra only recently learned about Lynn. She had established contact with her father, whose care she left almost 30 years ago as she and her siblings -- includ- ing three sisters and a brother -- entered the car of Childrens Aid workers and were then sent to foster homes. "I always said these prayers that my family would get together," Sandra said as she shared coffee with her sister one sunny morning last week. "All of a sudden, she's in the picture." 'THE SISTERS' story begins in Truro, Nova Scotia, nearly three decades ago. Sandra and Lynn were among five children born to their natural parents. When Sandra was five and Lynn was just an infant, they were taken from their par- ents' care, and became wards of the province. The four older children began living in a series of foster homes, encountering one another only occasionally and, eventually, losing touch. Lynn, who was born after Sandra had left. her parents' care, was the only one of the children to be adopted. She was brought home by her new parents, named Robarts, on a Friday the 13th in 1968. Sandra entered her youth as a foster child, and, in high school, re-established contact -- and friendship -- with her sister Joy. When she was 17, she and Joy decid- ed to leave Nova Scotia and strike out for Ontario, where their mother had moved to be with her eight brothers and sisters. All of them had settled in the Oshawa area. Lynn grew up in the Nova Scotia coun- tryside, content and happy in the bosom of her adopted family. Her folks never hid from her the fact she had been adopted, but the information led only to more ques- tions for which there didn't seem to be available answers. "Mom always told me I was adopted and I had brothers and sisters, but I didn't Yo i} > SE x 2.3. contact with her father and told him of the impending wedding. He wrote back with a bomb shell. "A couple of weeks later he wrote back and told me, 'I guess I should tell you: You Sandra Rushton (left) of Scugog Island A nq Ae a i ji A RY finally met up with her long-lost sister Lynn last week. The women were separated as youngsters in their native Nova Scotla, and have hopes of finding other siblings they haven's seen for years know how many," she said. She now has a family of her own, includ- ing two little boys aged four and five. They live in Avondale, outside Halifax. IN ONTARIO Sandra became acquainted with a host of long-lost rela- tives she knew of, but had never known; she and Joy both settled here and spent time with their mother before her death in 1989. Sandra worked at a number of jobs before entering Durham College, where she studied nursing; she has graduated and has a job in the field, and is to be married next month to fiancee Steve Barron, of Scugog Island. She has a two- year-old boy. It was as she made plans to marry she learned of Lynn. She had re-established have a sister'," she recalled. Mean- while, in Nova Scotia, Lynn was seeking out her roots, as well. At a loss, she chose the simplest method at her disposal to begin her research: She phoned the opera- tor in search of her birth father. "I called 411 and said, 'Do you you have any listings for Rushton?" she said . She was given several numbers, and hit paydirt on the first call, reaching a sister- in-law of her father's. And the first con- tact was made. That's when she learned about her rela- tives in this area. She decided to take action, and this past April phoned Sandra in Ontario. Their first telephone conversation was tentative, filled with nervous pauses. But they agreed to meet and this summer Lynn left Nova Scotia with her uncle to meet the family she had never known. EARLY LAST week ata predeter- mined time, Sandra walked into a bar and met her sister Lynn. "I snuck up behind her, put my arm around her, and said, 'Hello, Sis." "I kept looking at her out of the corner of my eye, saying, I can't believe this is my sister," Lynn recalled. It had been an overwhelming time for Lynn. In addition to her aunts and uncles, she also met Joy, the sister with whom Sandra came to Ontario 17 years ago. "I cried and bawled and hugged her and kissed her," she said. Although there were numerous emo- tions at the time of their meeting, there was a feeling of disbelief among the two women; but as they talked, and got acquainted, they found similarities. "The more we talk, the more we have in common," said Sandra. "I'm glad I came up," Lynn said of the visit. "It's a once in a lifetime thing." THE SISTERS had just a week to visit, as Lynn had to return home to her kids and family in Nova Scotia. But they've vowed to keep in touch, and hope to work to find the two remaining pieces of their family puzzle -- a brother, Jerry, and a sister, Eva. They believe both are still living in the Maritimes somewhere. But this summer's encounter has gone a long way toward filling the void Sandra says she has felt for a long time. "It's kind of complete now," she said. "I have the whole picture." Sandra has always missed the simple aspects of traditional family life, like get- ting together for holidays or just visiting on the phone. Her past of living with foster families and without her blood rela- tives left her, she said, with a feeling of rootlessness. "I've always wished I'd only had one family," she said. "that's the perfect situa- tion for everybody. "I've always worried about that whole thing," she continued. "It's like you don't belong anywhere. You're not solid anywhere." Festival Days nets Chamber $15,000 Despite a near tornado and torrential downpours, the Scugog Chamber of Commerce Festival Days wee- kend was a success. President Brenda Casteels announced last week, the Chamber will end-up with a profit of approximate- bills are finally paid. This was far better than anticipated, and now the local business group can earmark funds for a number of community projects they plan to support. "Some of this money will help pay for the shortfall for Canada Day celebrations, and some will be used for other community events, such as the Santa Claus ly $15,000 when all the Parade," Ms. Casteels said. Recognizing there was criticism over some of the changes made this year, she said they will work towards improving the event. "We'll find out what worked and what didn't work, and make the necessary changes for next year," the president said. A , - * « s x » 1 *® + Wl ns Nai J y r 3 4 ; § . < Wd % " 4 4 7s SS + pret Aw Oh i . yg Water and Queen Streets last Saturday to watch members of the Loyal Orange Lodge take part In ily ry I J pe HERITAGE PARADE - Crowds were lined along thelr annual Heritage Parade. Hundreds of marchers and a few floats were lead along the parade route by a number of bands.