6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 11, 2006 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Guest Columnist Fairies taking care of Bronte's old oak Louella Brace, Woodlands Oak Tree Preservation Committee "It must be a fairy tree. Do you not know about fairy trees?" he asked in his lilting Irish. Louella Brace The question was posed by a man painting our guest room to whom I had been telling the story of the 250 year old white oak tree that stands near Halton Regional Centre, and which might be cut down to make way for a wider Bronte Road. "No, I've never heard of them," I replied. So began my learning about fairy trees, first from Gerry, the painter, and later from the Internet. "Have you ever noticed when driving in the country a tree standing all by itself? That's a fairy tree," he said. "It's where little spirits, the fairies, dance in the moonlight. You must never cut down a fairy tree." "We can avoid it if we raise $343,000 before Dec. 15," I told him. "That will pay to bend the road around the tree." "Good," he said. "That will be a deal compared to the cost of the consequences of cutting it down." He stopped painting and took a sip of the tea I'd brought him. His brogue intensified as he told of a town in Ireland that wanted to widen a road, but no one would cut down the fairy tree that stood in the way of "progress." The next town in the county widened a road, cutting down a fairy tree and there have been more accidents at that site than in all the county combined. I inquired where in Ireland this had occurred and he replied that he thought it was County Clare. Interestingly, Clare people still speak of the spate of accidents suffered by the builders of Shannon Airport who planned to cut down a fairy tree. Locals refused to harm it. So workers were brought in from afar. As one of them approached the tree, weapon in hand, he was seized by a powerful force that threw him to the ground, breaking his arm. The roadway was redesigned at a considerable increase in cost. Fairy trees always stand alone, though once they were surrounded by other trees, and often have gnarling or a mysterious bump on their trunk. They were born of a mixture of mythology and mystical spiritualism. When John MacDermott sings The Fairy Tree Song there's hardly a dry eye in the audience. No one seems to know why the majestic oak on Bronte Road escaped the destruction of the once proud forest that carpeted southern Ontario two and three centuries ago. Large numbers of Irish came to Ontario in the 1800s. It seems conceivable that a few settled here. They would have recognized the magical and mystical powers of the tree and protected it. We know it has stood on guard for almost three centuries, with a potential lifespan of three more; and, at eight storeys tall, it is a towering symbol of strength and endurance in a very tenuous future to be decided Dec. 15. We also know that in times of imminent danger, a saviour has always appeared -- Dr. George Atkins, who protected it from sewer pipes and power lines; Joyce Savoline, who protected it from over-zealous landscaping; and now Joyce Burnell, who is co-chairing the committee to raise funds to save this historic tree from being felled. Does it not seem more than a coincidence that this current crusader is a woman of Irish origin who has penned two books on Oakville spirits? RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION See Small page 7 A whole lotta lute and assorted soulful stocking stuffers Stranger things have happened, my friend said. I agreed. And then silence descended on our conversation as we both tried to think of a single stranger occurrence. The silence continued. We were drawing blanks. Then it dawned on me: the only thing possibly stranger than Paul Westerberg (former front-man for the rabble-rousing rebel-rockers The Replacements) being touted for an Academy Award nomination, is Paul Westerberg (once crowned by Spin magazine as "the last bastard of rock") scoring an animated children's movie. But truth is stranger than fiction. Westerberg did indeed score Open Season, the just-released cartoon yarn of a domesticated grizzly bear. For those who know Westerberg only from his work with the seminal alt-rock Replacements, this is, a stretch. It's a stretch that has his old fans gasping and wondering what has happened to the purveyor of garage-punk who penned such booze-fueled anthems as Bastards of Young and Never Mind (a title later borrowed for an album by Nirvana)? It's less of a stretch for those who have followed Westerberg's quirky post-Mats solo career and have witnessed the artist expanding his reach to become one of his generation's best songwriters -- a guy with a knack for clever lyrics, irreverence, infectious rocking melodies, and the occasional heart-busting ballad. While many wanted Westerberg to remain entrenched (or mired) in the muck of his own past, more progressive sorts think it's fitting for a 47-year-old father to grow up and move on. CDs like Open Season give him a chance to reach a whole new audience. Imagine the possibilities if, as is being predicted, the soundtrack's single (This Is Where I Belong) gets the old eccentric as their previous CD, Picaresque, this is an ambitious and literary record that will, at times, knock your socks off. Oh No! Oh My! (self-titled), and I'm From Barcelona, Let Me Introduce My Friends. I lump these together because they have considerable in common: both are incredibly quirky and catchy. Play either within earshot of your kids and they'll be singing the songs all day long. I'm From Barcelona also has a wry sense of humor. Case in point: the band is from Sweden! Rhett Miller, The Believer. The second solo album from the former leader of The Old 97s who is, among other things, an underrated songwriter and an undeniable charmer. Also in heavy rotation in '06: Paul Simon's Surprise (Simon's still incredible after all these years); The Shout Out Louds' Howl, Howl, Gaff, Gaff (the so-called Swedish Strokes); and The National's Alligator (one-word review: wow). Finally, for the open-minded, there's Sting's classical Songs From The Labyrinth, a collection of lute tunes (Whole Lotta Lute!) that is either a daring musical experiment, or a pileup on the pretentiousness turnpike! Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com. Andy Juniper Oscar nod! Speaking of Open Season, with six weeks until Christmas, it's open season on shopping. For the audiophile on your list, her are some suggestions for some soulful stocking stuffers. The Mountain Goats, Get Lonely. Quiet, somber, eccentric, minimalist music that sneaks into your head, and won't leave. Yo La Tengo, I'm Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. This veteran indie-rock trio won't win any awards for album titles, but their latest effort is, according to Rolling Stone, "a guitar-crazed masterpiece." The Decemberists, The Crane Wife. While not as engagingly