​(Note: Non-affiliated links)
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Saturday Jan. 24, 2026, was a busy time in Oxford County with book readings for Family Literacy Day to a grand re-opening of a beautiful facility and capping the evening off with a presentation on backyard birding. A very informative day. I always say that Oxford County is the center of the universe nestled between Highways 401 and 403, with a lot going on with numerous community events and social activities to attend that one can check out at the newly revised Tourism Oxford website under “Events.”

While driving in my vehicle during the week listening to 104.7 Heart FM radio station, radio announcer Carly Kincaid, reported that Woodstock Public Library would be hosting children’s author Sadé Smith on Saturday to Celebrate Family Literacy Day to learn about Jamaican cuisine and culture, and to make dairy-free mango smoothies. (As of Jan. 1, 2026, someone with an Oxford County Library card can now get a Woodstock Public Library card for free.)  That caught my attention and interest. I visited the radio station’s website for more information where I also found out about the grand re-opening of South Gate Centre would occur from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday.

I called my friend Nancy to see if she was interested in accompanying me as we took both yoga and tai chi classes at South Gate in the past. Meeting at the library that Saturday morning, I joined Nancy seated at the back of the program room where more chairs were added to accommodate families coming in.

​The audience consisted of mainly young children, rightly so,  who were engaged in the activity “Name the Kitchen Utensils” in which author Sadé Smith held up various utensils for the children to identify. She stated that kitchen utensils are used in both her books Granny’s Kitchen and in  Julie and the Mango Tree. 

In another activity, Sadé showed the Jamaican flag and asked the children what the colours represented. Eventually she received the correct answers of green for grass and yellow for the sun. Sadé explained that black stood for strength and creativity of Jamaican people. ​

​​In her book Granny’s Kitchen, Sadé explained that her young character, Shelly Anne lives with her granny who often repeats the phrase “Gyal, You Batta Can Cook” which Sadé wanted the audience to say whenever Granny said that to her granddaughter in the book. The audience did a great job responding each time. 

 The story was cute and the illustrations in the book were just lovely. Sadé had the pages on a screen for the audience to see, while reading her book. In Granny’s Kitchen, Shelly Anne kept asking her grandmother how to cook something or wanted something to eat, her grandmother would tell her she should learn how to cook and showed her how to prepare some common Jamaican cuisine like ackee, salt fish and green bananas, Jamaica's natural dish, how to cook dumplings, and plantain. Each dish she prepared, Shelly Anne got discouraged when the meals were burnt, mushy or overcooked.

However, her grandmother would always say next time she will do better. When her grandmother is too tired to make breakfast one morning, Shelly Anne decides to cook all the meals taught to her and presented the dishes to her grandmother. Although the meals were not perfect, Shelly Anne’s grandmother said it was made with love and that’s the  most important thing. Following her reading, Sadé asked the children what was the message of the story. One youngster said about not giving up. ​Sadé reviewed fun facts of Jamaica citing information found in her book. 

With time still available, Sadé read her other book, Julia and the Mango Tree. Another beautifully illustrated book with an engaging story. Young Julie is desperate to get a mango from the mango tree in her backyard and pleads with the tree to drop one. Despite her wishes and various attempts to reach a mango from the tree, nothing works. Then one morning after a storm, Julie finds a lot of mangoes on the ground and she gorges on them. After a stomach ache, Julie  comes to the realization that there are too many mangos and decides to give them away to her neighbours.

When asked, one youngster correctly identified learning patience was the theme of this book. Sadé ended her reading with the "Fruit Activity" where various Jamaican fruits like guava,  golden pear, star fruit, ackee, June plumes, plantain and guineps were shown. Sadé thanked the audience for coming and put up her contact information. ​

Then library staff made mango smoothies with frozen mangos and bananas. Never knew that frozen bananas existed. I felt sorry for the poor blender with five cups of frozen fruit being chopped up. Since plant based oak milk was used instead of milk, the smoothie was diary free in case of sensitivities. A nice ending to a lovely morning.
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Nancy and I then drive to South Gate Centre for the grand re-opening. With lots of vehicles parked all along Wellington St., we realized we would have to park at Southside Park. We eventually made our way to the main front entrance, now called the Reeves East Entrance and what sight. Compared to the previous entrance, this new entrance has wide open spaces with a large reception area and a huge conference room. A volunteer greeted everyone at the door and handed out flyers of the floor plan for the self-guided tours and a program listing all courses and programs offered by the facility. 

​We went into the Boughtflower Great Hall, a large multi-purpose space that can hold 400 people and can be divided into three smaller halls, in March, the future home for Learning Unlimited. Chairs with hand weights were set up. At first, I thought we could partake in an exercise class led by Sheila Picknell. However, volunteer Guy explained that a weight class was being demonstrated. After asking a few of our questions, Guy directed us to his wife Nancy LaPlante, Fitness Coordinator of South Gate Centre to get more information on programs. 

Nancy has been a volunteer for the Centre  for 12 years and has been in the coordinator role for six years. She explained that there are “76 fitness programs in a four-week period with never the same instructor. There are ten instructors who have completed CCAA Certification with the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging for 50 Plus at Western University and their certifications are  renewed every two years.”

Nancy explained that different levels of classes address the needs of different physical challenges. For example, in Feb. there will be a seated gentle stretch. Aside from her CCAA Certification, Instructor Shelia Picknell also has her Bone Fit certification from Osteoporosis Canada as well as her SMART (Seniors Maintaining Active Roles Together) Certification from VON, where she “provides high cardo, low impact exercises” for people with physical challenges. 

With $10 per class for non-members, buying the year membership for about $25 a month would be most favourable as the cost for members 50 years of age and over is $250 per year. 

Walking out from the hall into the atrium, we stopped at the coffee/wine/bar lounge were Sarah, Bartender from Upper Thames Brewing Company was set up providing free samples of their most popular IPA (Indian Pale Ale) beers like Lemon Raspberry Gobe, Backpaddle Blonde Ale and Take a Hike a Double Dry-Hopped Pale. I tried the Lemon Raspberry Gobe, a bit of a sour taste, while Nancy tried the Backpaddle Blonde Ale, a lighter taste. Upper Thames Brewing Co. is the first and only small batch, craft brewery in Oxford County.

​ Sarah explained that the Backpaddle Blonde Ale is in the pizza dough served at 225 Bysham Park Dr. in Woodstock, ON, where they also make and serve wraps and snacks like chicken wings, nacho chips, warm pretzels and soups. Their other location, Brickhouse Brewpub at 190 Fairway Rd, Woodstock, ON, offers on-site brewing and a full menu. Sarah explained that the last Tuesday every month is trivia night where donations are provided to a different charity each month. 

Walking down the hall from lounge, Nancy checked the Grab & Go vending machine offering various packed meals for members. Down the hall from there is the Woodshop Room where pottery and jewellery demos were held. 

Just outside Altadore Hall, cake and drinks were available.  Both Nancy and I ran into quite a few people we knew and talked to. We talked so much we missed the ballroom and Latin dance demonstrations. In speaking with dance instructor Gary, he mentioned that he teaches ballroom, Latin and ballroom line dancing, “no country music here.” I asked Gary what the difference between ballroom and Latin dancing is. He played ballroom tune and stated that a ballroom includes the Waltz, Quickstep, Tango, Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz while Latin dance consist of the Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive and Samba. Gary said everyone can attend every Tuesday night for a three-hour dance practice. Monday nights are classes $15 per couple. When I asked how long would it take before someone learns how to dance, Gary said that some members who attended the dance demonstration today started not long ago. “It’s a way to practice.”

​In speaking to Gary’s wife Janice, also a dance instructor, she said it is easier to attend dance classes as a couple but she can set up singles. She told me of a big event open to the public, a formal and semiformal Big Band event with a dress code of 1940s clothing is encouraged. Gary and Janice run and taught dance classes or 15 years. Janice said she had a dance team that visited nursing homes.

Stationed outside the Altadore Hall and in front of the Local Roots Kitchen was Roger, a volunteer for the Woodstock Lions Club who is one of three Callers for bingo that the Club runs at South Gate every Thursday evenings at 7 pm. Roger stated that money raised “are donated back to the community; we bought wheelchairs, 15,000 pounds of food to the food bank." The Club do quite a few events to raise money like running the Terry Fox Run.

From there we spoke to Board Member of South Gate, Audrey. After moving to Woodstock from Saskatoon in 2025, she became a volunteer at the Center. She explained how Local Roots Kitchen has three chefs. “Breakfast is provided every Wednesdays from 9 to 11 am, hot meals are provided to members once a month and there is always a pot of soup on. There is a Grab and Go canteen as well as take out meals” For years, South Gate Centre has hosted the Chilly Charlie Prognostication & Breakfast.

Although this is a free event happening on Monday Feb. 2nd from 7:30 to 9 am, breakfast is $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. Tickets can be purchased using this link: https://www.southgatectr.com/event-details/chilly-charlie-prognostication-breakfast
or purchased at the Centre the morning of the event.
​
Nancy and I were introduced to Bob the Chef.

​Beside the kitchen is the Kinsmen Games Room with billiard tables and dart boards where volunteer Lucy said it cost $5 to play billiards. She showed us the Weekly Schedule and mentioned the various activities she partakes in. 

​Returning to the hallway from the Games Room, Nancy and I walked down a long corridor towards the other end of the Boughtflower Great Hall near the west entrance, where volunteers Dave, Rick and Mauve sat at the Social Activities table.  With 23 years as a volunteer, Dave has organized a lot of activities for the Centre like the Streetfest Cruise for the last 15 years, happening on July 19, 2026. Both Dave and Mauve have volunteered for 12 years. 

​Back at the main entrance, I met with Paulette, a volunteer for 22 years, who mans the Drewlo Reception and assists people with purchasing memberships, bus trips and special events. I checked out the Toyota Lounge and the Bob McFarland Terrace where the Donor Recognition Wall is located, a tribute to donors.  

After a few hours checking out the beautiful expanded space at South Gate Centre, Nancy and I had a quick bite to eat at Pita Pit then proceeded to her house to plan for our future trip. Five o’clock soon rolled around and I had to leave to pick up another friend to attend a presentation that evening.

My friend Marie wanted me to accompany her to the Fellowship Baptist Church in Burford, ON to listen to her cousin, Barry Bartis talk on Backyard Birding. As the Program Coordinator for Woodstock Field Naturalists’ Club (WFN), I felt this  was a great opportunity to recruit a future speaker for our Club. I wasn’t disappointed. 

Barry stated that after arranging the photographs on his computer, the books were created online using Shutterfly. The books are not for sale just a venue for his collection of photographs on birds. 

During his presentation, Barry cited that "birdwatching can be causal watching out your window or travelling to see birds or going to school to study birds called ornithology." Birding has become popular in the UK and in North America among young people and beyond and has a lot to offer.

Barry informed the packed church that he was raised on a diary farm in Dereham which had a lot of animals.  An early picture of him is with a Rhode island red chicken. While his friends  collected hockey and baseball cards, Barry collected bird's nests.  

When Barry retired in 2015, one of his goals was to feed the birds so he put up bird feeders where he quickly learnt that other animals were attracted like chipmunks, squirrels, neighbourhood cats and even raptors. Barry stated "if you feed them they will come." He had about 34 species of birds in his backyard which he observed by "slow birding" a mindful and deliberate way to observe birds by focusing on their behaviour.

Barry informed the audience that "not everyone is in total agreement in feeding birds, but looking after the feeders and cleaning them out properly helps as well as purchasing good quality feeders." Feeders that deter squirrels is essential. Barry described the various types of bird feeders to attract different species of birds. 

He also explained the importance of creating a bird friendly environment by installing bird baths as water is essential for drinking and bathing in even during the winter months with a heated bird bath. Planting different and a variety of vegetation and native flowers are also important to provide protection and to attract birds that do not go to feeders like cedar waxwings. ​

"When you create a wonderful environment for the birds," Barry says "you will be able to watch birds in the comfort of your own home."

Later on in the spring, grape jelly and oranges left out will attract Baltimore Orioles. Named after a person and not after the American city as Barry answered a question from the audience. ​

Building bird houses will attract nuthatches, black-capped chickadees, and downy woodpeckers. Barry reported how he set up a bird house on March 16, 2025 and a month later two chickadees checked it out "but they weren't able to sign the lease." They later returned and realized eggs were laid. While "slow birding," Barry realized that the female does all the incubation of the eggs for two weeks while the male sat in a branch near protecting the nest. Once the eggs hatch, both parents spent all day long feeding the chicks with insects and grubs. ​

After the chicks grow up they are called fledglings, as Barry calls them "active teenagers."

At this stage, fledglings learn to leave the nest but their parents still continue to feed them.

Barry told the audience that many people do not like Brown-headed cowbirds as they lay their eggs in other birds nests. However, he relayed the reasoning behind that. The birds use to follow herds of  buffalo, eating the insects that the bison stirred up along with seeds. When the herd of buffalo moved on, the birds would lay their eggs in other birds nest and would follow the herd. 

​With his "slow birding," Barry has photographed a pair of Biltmore Oriel feeding a Brown headed cowbird. 

Barry concluded his amazing and interesting presentation by offering other birding resources like the birding app Merlin Bird ID.

Barry was thanked by Betty who presented him with a thank you card that a local artist made.
Afterwards, names were drawn for gifts that Barry supplied, a bag of bird seed, seven bird placards and a bird house. 

With some humour, his knowledge and wonderful photographs, Barry's presentation was very good. I was pleased that he would consider presenting at the WFN in our 2026/2027 season. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my full day attending these events; the book readings from children's author Sadé Smith, attending the grand re-opening of the spacious and beautiful South Gate Centre and listening to Barry's engaging presentation on backyard birding. There is always something to do in Oxford County. 

Gallery of pictures on Sadé Smith's Book Readings:

Playing two sets of folk and rock music to an enthralled crowd at Aeolian Hall, 795 Dundas St. E., in London, ON, East Coast songwriter Lennie Gallant brought down the house on Sunday Nov. 2, 2025. Aeolian’s Production Coordinator Darin Addison, informed the crowd that as a humanitarian and story-teller, Lennie Gallant has released 15 albums in English and French; has received numerous accolades; was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019 for his 1994 song “Peter’s Dream;” and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003.

​Addison also mentioned that the line up of the East Coast Invasion which includes artists from Eastern provinces like Lennie Gallant; Ian Sherwood – Nov. 9th; Quote the Raven – Nov. 12; and the Barra MacNells on Feb. 28, 2026.  He then introduced Lennie Gallant and his two-member band to the stage. Missing was a fabulous fiddler player who I saw when Gallant played in Brantford this past April; my first experience hearing this popular singer-songwriter. 

Gallant mentioned that the Blue Jays lost the World Series but “they have won all the hearts of Canada.” He dedicated one of his most Canadian songs, “Which Way Does the River Run?” to the Blue Jays. Following the song, which received a well-rounded applause from the audience, mostly his followers, Lennie introduced members of his band. Patricia Richard, his fiancé and partner for dozens of years is from Mont Carmel, Prince Edward Island. Patricia Richard and Lennie Gallant form the Francophone duo Sirène et Matelot, singing songs from their West Acadian roots in French. Gallant then introduced Julien Robichaud, Patricia’s son, a classical pianist. Gallant stated that “all those hours Julien spent practicing piano, he was getting ready to play with his mother and her boyfriend.”  The crowd laughed. 

​On their way driving to the Aeolian, Lennie said he was pleased to see a lawn covered in concrete lawn ornaments as P.E.I. is known for having concrete lawn ornaments as well. One such was a woman who lived just off the Confederation Bridge in Prince Edward Island, which inspired him to write the song “47 Angels On Her Front Lawn.”

​Having the venue at the Aeolian Hall, pictorial images that Patricia put together, accompanied the songs and the acoustic was marvellous. Over the last 2.5 weeks, Gallant stated that they did 15 performances. He was afraid due to the Blue Jays being in the World Series that there would be a lot of empty seats but was pleasantly surprised that a good crowd came out.

The next song, “Sequoia,” one of my favourite songs, was written in tribute of the oldest trees in the world and to the memory of the late David Attenborough. Gallant instructed the audience to check out the video on YouTube which Patricia made. 

Keeping to his humanitarian side, Gallant explained how Sable Island, off the cost of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is inhabitant with over 500 hundred wild horses who were abandoned in 1755, when the Acadians were removed by Great Britain. Gallant first wrote the song “Sable Island Horses” in French then wrote it in English. He and Patricia went to Sable Island to sing the song and horses came over to listen. Patricia said it seemed as if they knew they were mentioned  in the song.

​Gallant then informed the audience that a brand-new video will be coming out in about a week that Patricia did using images from Lennie’s sister Karen Gallant who is an artist. Lennie has some of his sister’s art pieces at his home which also graces one of his tee-shirts. He gave a plug to his sister by citing her website: Karen Gallant | Karen Gallant Artist StudioInk.

​Like in his April concert, Lennie told the story of Kirsten Neuschäfer, the first woman to win the Golden Globe Race in 2022, a solo 235 days at sea for a round-the-world sailboat race with no navigational devices not even a radio. Kirsten had travelled to P.E.I. from South Africa to purchase a sailboat but it was in bad shape and needed a lot of work. Then COVID hit and she was stranded there for a year not knowing a soul.

​However, many of the residents helped get her boat ready for the race. Both Lennie and Patricia got the opportunity to meet Kirsten. She sailed from P.E.I. to South Africa then went on to start the race. Despite saving a sailor whose boat sank, Kirsten still won the race; the only woman in the race. Kirsten’s boat was named Minnehaha, which means The Laughing Waters. Gallant wrote the song “The Laughing Waters” and to honour the residents who helped repair Kirsten’s boat, they sang and participated in the video. 

​Gallant then proceeded to provide the back ground story to his song inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in May 2019, on the collapse of the fishery industry in the Atlantic, “Peter’s Dream.” This is my friend Deb’s favourite Gallant song which makes her tear up every time she hears it for she and her husband visited P.E.I. during that time and saw the devastation that occurred and heard stories of people burning their boats. 

​Following the song, Production Coordinator Darin Addison, told the audience of a twenty-minute intermission where merchandise could be purchased in the lobby like copies of Gallant’s records, CDs and tee-shirts where he could sign after the concert. He also remined everyone to sign their ballots to win free passes to one of the shows at Aeolian Hall. Patricia also told the audience to be sure to get their kazoos which will be needed in one of the upcoming number.

​Following the intermission and the winner picked for passes to a show at the Aeolian, Lennie and his band came back out. Lennie told the group of his latest album Shelter from the Storms, in which “a collection of his reflections concerning the turbulent times we live in and how much we need connection, how much we need to care for the planet itself and just care for each other with love and laughter.”

​Another song on his new album delt with his friend and fellow musician Dave Gunn who works with Belgium horses on his farm. After one of his horses died, Dave informed Lennie how difficult it was to bury a horse and libation was needed. Lennie told Dave that that line was crying for a song and wrote “It Takes a lotta of Liquor to Bury a Horse.” The uplifting song included audience participation clapping and singing, a common component at Gallant’s concerts, to Julien playing ragtime on the keyboard. ​

​Showing his humours side, Gallant told the audience about his experience racing on a wooden schooner in the Bay, noted for heavy use of cruise ships and destroyers. Despite Gallant’s questioning the safety of the race, he was ensured that everyone is aware of the race and would get out of the way. However, Gallant informed the captain of the schooner when he noticed a destroyer in the distance heading for them but his concerns was dismissed not once but twice until the destroyer was almost upon them. Gallant stated they managed to turn the schooner on a dime. When he did not get a reaction from the audience, Gallant said they did not know about the dime. Getting back to his story, Gallant said the rest of the crew were mooning the crew on the destroyer, who, to Gallant’s dismay, was from Charlottetown. 

​Lennie Gallant told the story of reuniting with Jimmy Buffett who 20 years ago recorded one of his songs, “Mademoiselle” in 2001. Two years ago, Gallant received a telephone call from Jimmy Buffett who at first, he didn’t realize who it was as Gallant thought he heard the person say he was Jimmy Doucette and almost blew him off. The person kept saying he wanted to work together on a song about Portugal or P.E.I. Luckily for Gallant, Buffet called him back months later and the two collaborated and  wrote and recorded two songs together, one expected to be released in September. Gallant and his band performed the song “Portugal or P.E.I.” Sadly, Jimmy Buffett died on Sept. 1, 2023.

Getting in the spirit of Halloween past, Gallant told the story behind his haunting song “Tales of the Phantom Ship” about the mysterious ghost like appearance of a schooner with its’ three masts ablazed seen during stormy nights in the Northumberland Strait. The song appeared on his first album Breakwater in 1988. Gallant reported how Canada Post‘s rendition of the Phantom Ship did show three masts, “but they did a better job on the coin.” Gallant said he was hesitant in playing the song for it is known to have weird things happen and Joel, the soundperson told him that the hall is haunted. After playing the song Gallant said he “sang that song a million times and never forget the words, must be the ghost.”

​On a more serious note, Gallant’s next song was “dedicated in memory of a good friend Bill [Vigers] who accompanied Terry Fox and was his campaign manger, who write the book [Terry & Me: The Inside Story of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope] that I just read.” Gallant went on to report that Bill was quite pleased that in the 1983 movie, The Terry Fox Story, actor Robert Duvall played him. Bill had attended one of Gallant’s concerts on the 35th anniversary of Terry Fox’s death at the same place where Terry ended his race. Gallant sang the song “Pieces of Me” which had Bill in tears.

Last year Bill had health issues and Lennie sang two songs to Bill over the telephone. One song, “Pieces of Me” was Bill’s favourite, also one of mine. Later, Bill’s wife reported that Bill had passed on while Lennie was singing to him. Gallant reported that two of Bill’s relatives were present in the audience.

​Returning to the Halloween theme and playing a request for another ghost song; Lennie reported while growing up in the village of Rustico in Prince Edward Island, that there was a story-teller who was so good at telling ghost stories she sometimes scared herself. As a result, his mom made Lennie walk her home where he had to pass the cemetery. Audience participation was needed when playing “Tell Me A Ghost Story” after Patricia and Julien fell to the ground and the crowd had to make ghost noises to revive them. It was heartwarming when Patricia asked “Are you alright son? and Julien respond “Yes mother.”

The song “Happiness” had the audience showcase their skills playing the kazoos after Patricia gave a short lesson on how to use it. Not putting the thick end in your mouth and blowing but keeping it close to your mouth and humming into it. She had the crowd practice before playing the song. The enthusiastic crowd gave a thunderous applause and when Lennie, Patricia and Julien came together to bow, they left the stage to a standing ovation.  

​After a few minutes, Lennie and the band returned to the stage to end the set with an older song “Lifeline” from the 1997 album of the same name, which “talked about the craziness happening all over the world and falling apart. Like the late Martin Luther King Jr. quoted: 'Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.' "

Afterwards, the crowd went wild once again. You could feel the positive and charged energy in the hall; it was wonderful to experience. Lennie has a very loyal fanbase who seem that they cannot get enough of his music; like my two friends Linda and Deb who introduced me to his music.

Lennie Gallant is a multifaceted entertainer who is a talented singer-songwriter and an extraordinary story-teller who plays a multitude of instruments, his shows revels his humanitarian side, his comical side, his compassionate side, and his entertaining side, while keeping true to his Acadian roots; all with an artistic flair showcasing pictorial images which accompanies his songs. Gallant's concerts exuberant energy in his performances, craving audiences to want more. 

I am sure fans cannot wait until September when Lennie will release his latest song. I am sure too, that my friends will be looking to attend yet another Gallant concert, hopefully in P.E.I. 

All pictures taken by Heather A. Rennalls (expect for the last one)
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Quote: "All we have to do is breathe
And in this red wood believe
Another ring another year
We could save the world from here….Sequoia" ~ Lennie Gallant's 2018 song "Sequoia" ~

​(Note: Non-affiliated links)

Tuesday Sept. 30, 2025, marked the official unveiling of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School, located at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, ON. Upon arriving on the site, a sea of orange shirts seemed to be everywhere. It was great seeing such a large crowd to also honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The program was already underway by the time I made it to the front of the building. Apparently, someone performed a drum ceremony earlier. A greeting was presented to the large crowd. The MCs for the program were former Curator of the Woodland Cultural Centre, Jennifer and the current Curator and executive director Heather George. Jennifer stated that all levels of government were involved in funding including the Indian Tourism of Canada, the Arts Council. Heather George welcomed everyone for coming out including former residential Survivors, current and former staff and volunteers. She empathized how everyone needed to be patient with people in purple shirts who were volunteering. Heather than introduced residential Survivor Geronimo Henry from Six Nations of the Grand River and Cayuga Nation.

​Geronimo informed the crowd how his mother dropped him off at the residential school on Nov. 11, 1942, and he never saw her for 11 years when he retuned home. Geronimo recalled how he did a lot of crying missing his parents, until he “ran out of tears.” Then he turned to hating his mother and everyone else, the police and all the races for the treatment and abuse he endured all those years. He explained that the property was on a 300-to-400-acre farm.  Despite all the food growing on the property, children at the residential school, nicknamed it “the Mush Hole” due to the mushy porridge served them three times a day. When children turned seven years old, they had to work half a day in the fields before going to school for half the day feeding chickens, picking eggs, weeding the gardens and pulling out vegetables. “The girls had to wash all the dishes, sweep and mop the floors and make all the beds before going to school.” Most of the children endured all kinds of abuse, hard labour, physical, sexual abuse as well as psychological abuse. 

After leaving residential school, Geronimo’s life consisted of drinking, smoking and spending time in jail. Then once he quite drinking and smoking, he went on a quest to find other residential Survivors. Using his own funds, Geronimo “put up flyers having a Mush Hole reunion at Chiefswood Park in Brantford, ON, and rented Johnny On the Spots.” About 70 to 80 people came outened. Geronimo asked them how they were doing after leaving the Mush Hole. Like himself, the majority of the residential survivors ended up with the same fate as himself, were alcoholics, smokers and spent time in jail. Geronimo mentioned that one person he knew wanted to hear the stories of what happened and in 1995, a law suit with the Mush Hole group started up to sue the church and the government for the abuse that occurred.

​Geronimo further stated that only 16 of the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action to address the legacy of residential schools in Canada have been made. He asked if any government people were in the crowd and stated they needed to “pull their bootstraps up.” With the help of the MCs, Geronimo finished his speech by saying the school closed in 1969 and the community decided to keep the Residential School instead of destroying it. As part of the fundraising to restore the building into a museum, "Save the Evidence" raised more than $25 million. Jerome purchased 48 bricks, his number at the school, which replaced their names. Heather George thanked Geronimo and stated the he can be found on the grounds on Sunday, talking about his experiences. In one such visit years before; I had the pleasure of listening to Geronimo who showed us the brick on the back of the building where he scratched his name on one of the bricks. 

​The next residential Survivor to present was Roberta Hill, also from Six Nations of the Grand River, who spent four years at the school from 1957 to 1961, after her father died and was told her mother was too sick to care for her and her five siblings. After leaving the residential school, Roberta lived in foster care until she aged out at nineteen years. Roberta explained how it was really lonely, she was separated from her siblings and all she “wanted to do was to go home.” Roberta reported that her and the other children in the Residential School were forbidden to speak in their languages. She also stated soon after arriving, the Minister started sexually abusing her but stated she would not address that here. 

Roberta collaborated what Geronimo said about the physical labour she endured and how there was no one to provide guidance and how to negative in the world. It was a tough existence where children were taught to hate and encouraged to fight one another.  “You had to be tough,” said Roberta. Because of the experiences endured in residential school, when Roberta became a single mother, she always worried her children would be taken from her. She endured and became a nurse and feels she was the best mother she could have been to her children. The history of the Residential School is to ensure this never happens again.
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Chief of Six Nations of the Grand River Sherri-Lyn Hall stated that the Former Mohawk Institute Residential School “should serve as a place for all to learn of a dark history, our shared history" and how the trauma suffered by residential school Survivors continues to have "intergenerational impacts. Today the Former Residential School reopens as a historical site of resources, a safe place to tell the truth. A place of oppression to a place of needing. Let us continue to support and honour the Survivors of residential schools." ​

Heather George encouraged residential school Survivors to come forward to get their picture taken then informed the large crowd that tours would start at 10:45 am. Because of the high interest in wanting to see newly renovated museum, people were lined up since 7:30 am to ensure to receive a wrist band for a tour. ​

​Established and ran by the Anglian Church and the Federal Government, the Mohawk Institute Residential School was the first and longest-running residential school in Canada from 1828 until 1970. More than 150,000 children attended one of the eight residential schools located throughout Canada’s provinces and territories. To commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Canada Post along with Woodland Cultural Centre, held the Truth and Reconciliation Stamp Launch on Wednesday Sept. 27, 2023, (read my blog at: Blog Archives - Heather's Historicals) where a photograph of the Mohawk Institute Residential School is featured on the Official First Day Cover. ​All eight Residential Schools that existed throughout Canada are depicted  in the 2023 Truth and Reconciliation Stamps.

​Two years after the Mohawk Institute Residential School closed, the Woodland Cultural Centre was established as a First Nations educational and cultural centre to preserve and promote Indigenous languages, cultures, art, and history on the site of the former residential school. Since the Brantford community wanted to safe the building of the former school, the Mohawk Institute Residential School was closed to the public since 2019 for construction and the launch of the “Save the Evidence" fundraising. Now the former residential school has been transformed into a beautiful safe space as an Interpretive Historic Site and Educational Resource. The unveiling of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School on Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, marks “a significant step toward truth-telling, education, remembrance, and reconciliation.”

​This new resource centre will allow the public to know the harsh treatment Indigenous children had to endure in residential schools, by reading and listening to the stories of the Survivors speaking their truths, so this history will not repeat itself.

Gallery of images: 

​(Note: Non-affiliated links)

"Veganuary is an annual challenge that encourages people to follow a vegan diet for the month of January. It is run by a UK non-profit organization and provides resources, recipes, and expert tips to support participants." 

After posting this in the Newsworthy section of my website, I thought I would write this blog. I rarely get personal but felt this was a great opportunity to describe my venture into the whole-food, plant-based lifestyle.

Since 2023, I have followed a whole-food plant-based lifestyle, after finding out that I was borderline diabetic. There is a history of diabetes on my maternal side of my family and that scared me. I have lost both maternal aunts and uncles due to this disease over the years. My one aunt who recently died in May, had lost her leg years before and would have lost her other leg. Hence, my anxiety. In July 2023, I saw a Plant-Based doctor who suggested I watch the documentary Forks Over Knives on YouTube, which changed my life. Within a year, I dropped over thirty pounds and in a recent checkup, I am no longer borderline diabetic.

With both my parents succumbing to autoimmune diseases, my mother to ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in 2009, and my father to Parkinson's Plus in 2021, I loved Dr. Michael Greger's quote from his book How Not to Die: "Your family history does not have to become your personal history." I genuinely believe in the slogan by Hippocrates, "let food be thy medicine." According to the documentary, rates of obesity, cancers, diabetes and autoimmune diseases have significantly increased in North America. The answer to address these health concerns is not another pill but spinach. Adopting a whole-food, plant-based diet can reverse many of these conditions.

My nutritional convergence was not overnight but occurred over several years. While still working, I read information on how extensive land and water are used to support livestock and how eating crickets and grasshoppers could lower greenhouse emissions. My introduction to 
entomophagy, human consumption of insects. Don't get me me wrong, I didn’t start eating crickets or grasshoppers, but became aware on the negative effects livestock has on the environment. 

Just before retiring in March 2021, my arthritis in my fingers, hands and wrist kicked in. I had swelling, cramps and severe pain. I remembered a patron telling me how red meat causes inflammation, so I stopped eating red meat. I used to love eating hamburgers and thought nothing of having breakfast of eggs and a steak. In under six months my symptoms subsided. A few months later, I read an article on the violation of human rights within the seafood industry and stopped eating seafood. (Sea Slaves: The Violation Of Human Rights Within The Fishing Industry In Southeast Asia) Then in Feb. 2023, I saw the Netflix show "What The Health" and stopped eating all other animal products. You may think I am fickle. In July 2023, after being introduced to the whole-food, plant-based diet, I was converted.

To fully understand, the following chart clarifies some terminology with vegan, plant-based and whole-food, plant-based diets.

According to Forks Over Knives: “whole-food, plant-based nutrition is centered on whole, unrefined, or minimally refined plant foods and excludes or minimizes meat, dairy products, eggs, and highly refined foods such as bleached flour, refined sugar, and oil.” (Forks Over Knifes The Beginner’s Book to a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet, p 2) 

The biggest factor with a whole-food, plant-based diet, is not cooking with oils. Despite many people believing that virgin olive oil is good for you, it can not be further from the truth. I had to take the Forks Over Knives Ultimate Cooking course to fully understand and learn how in implement cooking without using oils. A beneficial course which gave me the confidence to respond to critics about not using oil.

According to the first lesson in the course, I learned that no oil is healthy, rather its coconut, flaxseed, or olive oil. “All oils are processed, which involves removing essential nutrients like protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. What remains is 100% fat. Oil is purely fat, devoid of the nutrition that whole plant foods provide.”
​
Part of the course showed how to cook without oils utilizing the following methods: ​sautéing and stir-frying, baking and roasting, as the following chart illustrates. 

The Ultimate Cooking Course is online consisting of 90 hours of expert instruction that you can do on your own pace and schedule. Once you successfully complete the course, after passing 75% within six months, you will have lifetime access to all learning instructions and over 100 recipes. I used my laptop to watch the training sessions, as my iPad was too old, and my cell phone to take pictures of the food I prepared to send in for grading. I started the course on Nov. 7, 2023, and completed it on Jan. 17, 2024, and received a grade of 96.34%. I received a poor grade in one of my assignments when I failed to describe how cauliflower tasted after blanching. You have an opportunity to dispute a grade, but since I failed to read all the instructions, I never proceeded.

I had the audacity after my first assignment to inform the instructor that a few weeks taking the course, I plugged in my oven. I had used it for storage all these years until then. The Ultimate Cooking Course certainly gave me confidence to pursue the whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle with gusto. 

A major reason dedicating my lifestyle to a whole-foods, plant-based one, was due to a medical condition. In May 2023, I was diagnosed with spinal cerebellar ataxia, after complaining to my family physician about imbalance issues, I was referred to a neurologist. (My neighbour commented if I drank much after noticing my clumsiness sweeping my driveway. While on a camping trip with a co-worker, my hiking boots were scuffed up due to constantly tripping over rocks.) I never heard of this condition and used Google to find out what it was. Because of my love for research, I learned of various organizations, information and plethora of resources. For me, anything to deal with medical, the Mayo Clinic is my go to resource on reliable information.  

According to the National Ataxia Foundation (NAF): “Ataxia is a degenerative disease of the nervous system. Many symptoms of Ataxia mimic those of being drunk, such as slurred speech, stumbling, falling, and incoordination. These symptoms are caused by damage to the cerebellum, the part of the brain that is responsible for coordinating movement.” (What is Ataxia?)

Symptoms for ataxia varies by person and type, there are over 80 types of Ataxia, the rate of progression varies as well. Symptoms may worsen slowly, over decades – or quickly, over mere months. Common symptoms of Ataxia are:

• Lack of coordination
• Slurred speech
• Trouble eating and swallowing
• Deterioration of fine motor skills
• Difficulty walking
• Gait abnormalities
• Eye movement abnormalities
• Tremors
• Heart problems

The neurologist informed me that my fingers had tremors, I had poor eye movement along with an imbalance with my legs. 

To say the least, I was flabbergasted for a about a week or two after my diagnoses. Then I threw myself into action, joining research programs both with NAF, an American organization then with Ataxia Canada. I was bound and determined to beat this diagnose however way I could. Knowing that both my parents lost their voices and had to use feeding tubes, this was not going to be my life. As a result, when the time came for me to have to resort to those procedures, I would initiate medical assistance in dying (MAID).

I reluctantly only informed a few friends of my situation, determined I was going to beat it. Also, there was no determining when or if deterioration would occur. Hence, why bother letting anyone know? Nevertheless, I wanted my affairs to be in order just in case I was forced to use MAID. I had renovations completed on my house, put all my finances in one place and even wanted to plan for my celebration of life. I wanted a disco party with me present to hear all the nice and terrible things people had to say about me and to dance. Why not eh? I never married nor spent a lot of money on birthday milestones. 

In pursing suggestions outlined with the ataxia organizations, I formed a health care team consisting of my family physician, my physiotherapist, and made referrals for a cardiologist, a heart specialist, and another neurologist since the one who diagnosed me was not interested. Which ended being a good thing.

I did exercises to improve my gait and eye movement and after numerous tests and examinations, there were no issues with my heart. I contacted Ataxia Canada to get a list of neurologists specializing in ataxia and sent it to my family physician to make the referral. Luckily the wait was not a year, and I had an appointment in July 2024, just a few months after a referral was made.

Dealing with my mother’s medial issues, I realized you must be vigilant. Six months after getting my x-rays, I contacted the neurologist after a friend stated I should follow up. I assumed no news was good news. Good thing I pursued it as the office forgot about me and the results were not good.

After only a few minutes testing me, the new neurologist reported that I did not have ataxia. I was not too surprised of my misdiagnoses, as my physiotherapist expressed his misgivings a few months earlier. Thank goodness. 

I was so relived; I no longer had to fret about deadlines getting renovations done and dished planning for my celebration of life party. I continue to stick with the whole food, plant-based diet, now it is a lifestyle and I truly belief it will reverse all diseases. Since I was misdiagnosed, I informed both ataxia organizations to let them know I no longer could participate in their research studies but asked if their research dealt with the correlation food has with ataxia. 
​

Over a month ago, the Woodstock Coin Club (WCC) held their 35th Annual Coin Show on Sunday Aug. 25, 2024, at the newly renovated Goff Hall inside Woodstock Community Center. Members and volunteers, Dave McKenzie (not our former Oxford MP Dave MacKenzie) and Paul Dervoo, staffed the admission table. President of the Club, Dave Smith stated the club was formed in 1957. Next year, he hopes the venue will be located at Oxford Auditorium as the show is getting too crowded. Last year they had a record attendance of 237 paid tickets. 

​Woodstock Coin Club is a not-for-profit club that produces commemorative coins and medals, the only coin club in Canada that makes the most medals. In 2023, the Club honoured Joseph Whiteside Boyle on a medal with the dates 1867-1923, and with the hockey team he formed, the Dawson City Nuggets, on the reserve side, with “STANLEY CUP CHALLENGE 1905” written underneath. The team played against the Ottawa Silver Seven (Ottawa Senators) in 1905, for the Stanley Cup. Dave stated that Dawson City in Yukon bought a medal to display in their museum.

Known for his heroism in Romania during WWI, the Woodstock native-raised, Lt. Col, Joe Boyle, became a successful entrepreneur in Dawson City, Yukon, mining gold during the gold rush. As a result, he was referred to as “Klondike” Joe Boyle. According to Agnus Sutherland, who designed the medal and wrote an article for the Jan.-Feb. 2024 issue of The Ontario Numismatist newsletter, he cited: “Pierre Berton said that if Joe Boyle had been American, there would be movies and books and all kinds of legends about him.” Sutherland further cited. “Because he was a Canadian, few knew of him outside of Woodstock, Ontario, and the Yukon.”1

​Dave methodically showed me all the coin and medal sets the Club has produced, which was quite impressive. Each coin set has four finishes: antique copper, antique silver, bright copper, and bright nickel. 

​WCC not only makes coins or medals of prominent individuals, but important inanimate objects have also been included. For instance, The Estelle was a famous streetcar that ran from Woodstock to Ingersoll for 25 years in 1900. The 11.5-mile line “ran on Dundas Street in Woodstock to Mill Street, turned left on Mill Street up to Park Row, then turned right and followed Park Row to the former Highway 2 (now Ingersoll Road). It followed the highway to Ingersoll, on the south side, then operated on Charles Street West and Oxford Street, and ended at the Ingersoll Inn.” 2

​The two set coins for 2024 consisted of a commemorative token of the 190th year of the Presbyterian Church in Woodstock who ordered 100 coins. The medal came in three colours with the following inscription on the front: "1834. 190 Years Presbyterian Presence in Woodstock. 2024," with the scripture “This Do in Remember of Me” from 1 Corinthians XI, 24, on the reverse side.

​
​Dave Smith also informed me that the late Fred Freeman created Coins for Kids Canada, who was the founder and president of the Club along with Jack Griffith. Fred was a very active and well-known person in Woodstock who was as a prolific writer; penning articles over the years for Southgate Centre and his column "Watts New" appeared every other Friday in the Sentinel-Review. Fred was President and Past President of WCC as well as with the Woodstock Heritage Society. Fred Freeman is the person behind Woodstock’s slogan "The Friendly City." For his love of Woodstock and to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Municipality, Fred petitioned Woodstock Council to change the slogan from “The Industrial City” which was granted. ​

Numerous items developed by Fred, were available at the Kids Table staffed by Lianne, Larry and Rick, Past Present of WCC. 

​Walking around the Woodstock Coin Show, I had the opportunity to talk to both visitors and venders alike. One such vender, Norman Lock, is a member of WCC who had a courtesy coin and notes optical viewing with a portable digital microscope available for visitors. The microscope comes with phone and TV integrated Bluetooth and adapter. It was amazing looking at tiny ridges around a nickel.

Robb McPherson was another vender who explained how WCC is part of the Ontario Numismatic Association that was formed in 1961 to support both individual coin collectors and clubs and host an annual convention in the spring. Robb also showed me and explained the Lancaster coin he had. The plane is located at the Hamilton Airport, built in Canada it is still functional. He had coins for the Royal Canadian Air Force convention in which a speaker at the convention, Rick Dupis, received a commemorative coin.

​Nineteen-year-old Eli started collected coins last year and attended the show with his dad Paul and cousin Johnny, to add more to his Toonie Canada Binder Coin set. All family members from Brantford enjoy collecting and showed me their purchases. 

Both young and old, novice and experts attended Woodstock's 35th Annual Coin Show, like Cassandra with her two young daughters, Felicity and Keriah, who just started collecting coins and found some pennis that are magnetic. I spoke with a man from Hamilton who advised that one needs to do their due diligence researching coins before selling them at coin shows. 

The most fascinating information I gleamed at the Woodstock Coin Show, was about a Canadian banknote. One vender had a book with the heading "The "Devil's Face' Notes" and he explained how in 1954 issue of Canadian bank notes, the image of the Devil's face appeared in Queen Elizabeth's hair just behind her ear. He explained that it was not spite nor was it a prank  but due to the engraver's interpretation of the original photograph of  the Queen.

Can you see the Devil's face highlighted in yellow? It looks quite ominous. I was not able to see it at first but the vender stated once you see it, you can defiantly notice it. Modifications to the plate was made by darkening the highlights in the hair to remove the shading that resulted in seeing the Devil.

Dan Hill, not the singer, was the last vender I spoke with at the Woodstock Coin Show. He had a large table displaying a wide assortment of coins, banknotes and knick knacks.  However, it was Dan's photographs that drew myself and another visitor to talk to him about them. 

While camping at the shoreline at Quetico Provincial Park in the west end of Lake Superior in 1991, Dan Hill took pictures of the Boreal. They were absolutely gorgeous! He reported that of 50,000 entries, in the Nikon International Photo contest, one of his pictures came in third place and is in the McLaughan Planetarium library. Another photography that Dan took of a tree, looked more like an etching rather than a photograph. 

After milling around the 35th Annual Woodstock Coin Show for over three hours, I finally left. However, there were still lots of other venders that I did not have the opportunity to stop by. Maybe next year. 

 
1 "Woodstock medal shines light on ‘Klondike Joe’ Boyle,” in The Canadian Coin News dated, January 25, 2024
Col. Boyle – 1918 Celebrating 150 years! https://archives.oxfordcounty.ca/exhibits/joe-boyle/
2 The Estelle was the streetcar that ran between Woodstock and Ingersoll. - Woodstock Newsgroup By Paul Roberts (weebly.com)

All pictures taken by Heather A. Rennalls

(Note: Non-affiliated links)

​Saturday Aug. 3, 2024, the Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) in Brantford, ON, held their 49th Indigenous Art Opening Reception that was well attended. “Established in 1975, this is one of the longest-running multimedia exhibitions in Canada that provides Indigenous artists an opportunity to exhibit and sell their work in a fine art gallery setting.” Aside from aspiring artists, the annual exhibition also features senior artists from all over turtle island (the continent of North America.)

Curator, Patricia Deadman, (former Directory and Curator at the Woodstock Art Gallery) opened the ceremony and welcomed George Doxtater, Language Assistant Manager who cited the fifteen-minute greeting.

Amos Key Jr., Board Director of WCC, brought welcoming remarks on behalf of the WCC’s Board of Directors and thanked both staff and volunteers at WCC. Patricia stated that without COVID 19, this year would have marked the 50th anniversary of the Art Exhibition. She explained how the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., in Winnipeg, Manitoba had the Indian Group of Seven who were denied access to art galleries in Canada.
​
Established in the early 1970s, “the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. (PNIAI) was one of the first independently organized, self-managed Indigenous artists’ collectives and cultural advocacy groups in Canada. The consisted of seven independent Indigenous painters: Jackson Beardy, Eddy Cobiness, Alex Janvier, Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Carl Ray and Joseph Sanchez.” Patricia cited how WCC was build upon those foundations. 

The judges this year consisted of Rachelle Dickenson, Senior Curator at Ottawa Art Gallery, whom Patricia met working there, David M. General, Six Nations artist, and Maxine Noel from Stratford, ON. According to Patricia, the judges had a daunting task choosing from the 133 entries from 64 artists to eventually select 39 artists. The theme this is year is the political and cultural issues Indigenous artists face within North America and within their work. Patricia then informed the audience they could check out the gallery where the various displays were exhibited along with the artists.

I took the opportunity to interview a few artists like Raechel Wastesicoot from Tyendinaga, Mohawk Territory near Bellville, ON who grew up in Oshawa, ON. She works with different art forms like beadwork and has been an artist her whole life since she was for four years old. This is Raechel’s first exhibition with WCC where she entered her Indigenous beadwork piece “Kenatanonwaks.” ​

This talented young woman held her debut exhibition entitled, “Kenatentas,” that displayed twelve beaded artworks along with her writings, at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) from Jan. 27th to June 9, 2024. ​Raechel works at The Nature Conservancy of Canada as the Indigenous Engagement and Conservation Manager.

Alex Jacobs-Blum is from the Cayuga Wolf Clan from Six Nations who was born and raised in Hamilton, ON, who, like Raechel, has been an artist her whole life. At 7 years old, Alex’s dad showed her first contemporary photography. At 15, she worked with clay, wood and natural materials. Alex summitted three photographic works in a series, all three in different forms, illustrating how as individuals our bodies are interconnected with the land in relation with own self. “Gestures Woven by Ancestors,” “Silent Echoes of Luner Birth,” and “Asterial Awakenings.”

This was Alex’s third or fourth time submitting to this exhibition, last time was in 2020. Bothe her mother Mary Jacobs and sister-in-law Samantha Jacobs, also had their beadworks exhibited. Alex had a sold-out exhibition at the Hamilton Art Gallery from Feb. 10 to May 19, 2024, and has another exhibition in Sept. as the artist in residence. 

Emma Anderson's (know as The Crafty Killjoy) passion is primarily working with beads which she took up in 2017. This was Emma’s first-time submitting art to this exhibition. Her beaded earrings were modelled after the Dish With One Spoon wampum belt. 

​A sculpture working with different modalities and known globally for his work, Eric G. Martin is a self-taught professional artist. Originally from Six Nations, Eric and his family moved to Kitchener, ON six years ago. He mainly works with Brazilian soapstone. He had two sculptures submitted to the exhibition this year: “Strawberry Moon” made from Chinese soapstone and “Raindance” made from Brazilian steatite (soapstone). 

Eric stated he likes to choose any kind of stone and has even worked with opal. Eric credits another artist, Ryan Sandy for inspiring him. Eric and Ryan knew each other at school and reconnected years later when Ryan gave Eric a push towards school. Now, Eric has more time to enjoy doing art pieces for exhibitions rather than having to sell them. Eric’s sculptures can be purchased from the Native Art Gallery in Oakville and from the gift store at Woodland Cultural Centre. His art can be found worldwide in both private and public collections including at the permanent viewing at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto, ON.
​
A Cayuga Master Artist, Ryan Sandy got involved in the arts at 7, a family affair. “My uncle was a premiere craver from Six Nations, so was my dad, uncles and cousins,” Ryan cited. “I grew up with my family singing songs and craving" which he developed a passion. Ryan took a long break when he had a family. Ryan also submitted two sculptures in this year’s exhibition: “The Elder Brothers” and “The Younger Brothers” both done in soapstone.

Ryan’s art work is displayed at Upper Canada Native Art Gallery located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON and in the permanent collection at the Royal Ontario Museum.
​
Both artists and the audience regrouped to listen to the closing ceremony by George Doxtater. Curator Patricia Deadman thanked the audience for coming and informed them of other events happening at Woodland Cultural Centre.

All pictures taken by Heather A. Rennalls.

(Note: Non-affiliated links)

​As part of Fanshawe Pioneer Village’s Stories and Song Series, singer Denise Pelley and pianist Steve Holowitz, performed on Sunday June 23, 2024, at the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, also known as the Fugitive Slave Chapel, located on the grounds of Fanshawe Pioneer Village. Originally built in 1848, the church was located at 275 Thames St. in London, ON. 

The church was first named The Fugitive Slave Chapel then renamed the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1856, the church was once again renamed to the British Methodist Episcopal Church to reinforce its commitment to the British Crown. After the congregation outgrew the little chapel, the Beth-Emmanuel British Methodist Episcopal Church was erected at 430 Grey Street in London to serve the growing Black congregation. 

​The AME church was sold by the church and became residential property. Over the years, the church became derelict and was saved twice from demolition. Once in 2013, by the efforts of The Fugitive Slave Chapel Preservation Project (FSCPP). The church was moved to its’ daughter church on Grey Street on Nov. 12, 2014.

The church was saved again in 2022. This time, local Black organizations, the London Black History Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Black Women London Chapter, and Black Lives Matter, banded together with FSCPP to help with the chapel’s continued survival.
 
On Nov. 22, 2022, the AME Church was moved for the third and finally resting place, to its forever home, on the grounds at Fanshawe Pioneer Village, where it was fully restored in the summer of 2023 to its splendor. 

​Although present for the Opening Ceremonies for the restored chapel on July 21, 2023, this was the first time Denise and Steve played inside the chapel. My friend Jim commentated that Denise would be the first singer in the chapel in over 150 years. History in the making. 

With Steve playing the piano, Denise sang the Jams Taylor song “Shower the People.”  Afterwards, Denise welcomed the packed chapel of 18 people, and introduced herself and Steve Holowitz. Denise explained that the stories and songs involves lectures on the history of two Black leaders in Canada, civil and women's rights activist Voila Desmond and poet George Elliott Clark. 

​Denise explained that Viola Desmond was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 6, 1914, and died in New York, NY on Feb. 7, 1965. She was one of 10 children born to a Black father and White mother which was not the norm back then.
 
The song following this introduction was the “River Is Waiting” by John Fogerty. Motivated by her parents’ hard work, Viola attended two schools to receive her beautician training, one in Montreal and the other in New York at Madam C. J. Walker's beauty school (because of her race, Viola could not train to become a beautician in Halifax.) After her training, Viola opened her own salon called Vi's Studio of Beauty Culture. To provide employment opportunities for Black women, she opened The Desmond School of Beauty Culture where 15 students graduated each year. She also had her own line of beauty products which Viola marketed and sold herself.

Denise sang the song “The Eagle and Me.” Afterwards, she went on to describe Viola Desmond’s history. On Nov. 8, 1948, Viola's car broke down. While waiting for it to be fixed at the garage, she went to Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia and purchased a ticket for the main floor to watch a film. When confronted that she had a ticket for the balcony, Viola returned to the ticket booth to upgrade her ticket but was told she could not purchase one for it was in the White-only section. Viola returned to her seat on the main floor and refused to leave. The police were called, and Viola was dragged out of the theatre hurting her knee and hip. She was arrested and spent the night in jail sitting bold upright all night long.

The song Densie sang was “Heaven Help Us All” by Stevie Wonder. Due to Viola’s sister Wanda Robinson, who enrolled in a race relations course and told of her sister’s story. Decades after her death, Viola Desmond was granted a free pardon on April 15, 2010, where Premier Darrell Dexter made a public declaration and apology recognizing that Desmond’s conviction had been a miscarriage of justice and that charges should never have occurred.

For her efforts challenging racial segregation, Canada Post issued a stamp in her honour in 2012. In 2017, Desmond was inducted to Canada’s Walk of Fame under the Philanthropy & Humanities category. She became the first Black woman to grace a Canadian $10 bill on Nov. 19, 2018, (She was also the first non-royal woman on a Canadian bank note.) In that same year, Viola Desmond was named a National Historic Person by the Canadian government.

​Denise sang Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” and “No Woman No Cry” the songs lyrics reminiscent of Viola’s life whose marriage to Jack Desmond fell apart and she eventually moved to Montreal then to New York where she died in 1965.

​The next lecture of a Black Canadian leader that Denise mentioned was George Elliott Clark. A Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia on Feb. 12, 1960. George grew up in Halifax, earned his degrees from the University of Waterloo (BA), Dalhousie University (MA), and Queen’s University (PhD) and now resides in Toronto where he is the inaugural E. J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. In 2008, George was appointed to the Order of Canada and appointed as Poet Laureate of the City of Toronto from 2012 to 2015. (He coined the term "Africadian" meaning African-Nova Scotian.)

​In July 1975, George decided to write four songs every day but wrote four poems instead, realizing the best songwriters are poets. Denise sang U2’s song, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” then read George’s poem “Everything is Free” accompanied by Steve on piano.

Denise continued with George Elliott Clark’s history. Working on improving as a poet, George took three university degrees in English. Poets that appealed to him the most were African American poets such as Jean Toomer, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden, Sonia Sanchez, and many others. He loved their earthy content and protest context, their giddy use of the slang and jive, their funky incorporation of musical motifs-especially jazz and blues.
 
As George matured as a poet, he thought he should blend blues singer Little Milton, Ezra Pound and John Coltrane, Margaret Atwood and Malcolm X… make William Butler Yeats holler like James Brown, and Gwendolyn MacEwen moan like Billie Holiday.
 
Denise sang Billy Holiday’s song, “God Bless the Child,” then concluded talking about George Elliott Clark. He is a cosmopolitan bard who values rhyme and rhythm. George's subject is often History of European imperialism and African enslavement. But he is interested in all peoples and all types of poetry, “free” and “not.” 

Denise concluded the concert by singing Bob Marley and the Wailer's song, “One Love / People Get Ready,”  in which she encouraged the audience to participate, singing the chorus "One love one heart let’s get together and feel alright." I always enjoy listening to Denise sing; her voice is so soothing and rhythmic. Looking around the chapel, people were popping their heads, tapping their feet and swagging to the music, some even had their eyes closed with smiles on their faces in total rapture. 

My friend Valda who accompanied me, was thoroughly enthralled. She stood up and thanked Denise and Steve and told them how she wanted to get up and dance listening to their music. Although 94, Valda could accomplish that. 

Public Programming Coordinator for Fanshawe Pioneer Village, Christina van Hardeveld, thanked Denise Pelley and Steve Holowitz with a round of applause from the audience. Christina informed the group that the Song and Stories is part of a series with the second happening on Sept. 29, 2024.  Afterwards, some people spoke to both Denise and Steve while others milled around reading the panels describing the chapel's restoration. 

If you go:
A visit to Fanshawe Pioneer Village is a must this summer, to check out the renovated Fugitive Slave Chapel as well as the other buildings located on the grounds. Be sure too to see The Freedom For All exhibit located at The Spriet Family Visitor Centre just outside the Heritage Village, describing Emancipation in London Ontario that runs until Sept. 27, 2024. 

​ The African Methodist Episcopal Church, aka the Fugitive Slave Chapel, is an essential part of London’s Black history which is not only integral to London but to Canada’s history as well. 

Quote: "Keep on being a star in your own right. Keep on defining yourself. Don't be defined by others." ~ George Elliott Clarke

​(Note: non-affiliated links)

For the month of March 2024, the Thistle Theatre in Embro, ON had the play Miss Supertest – The Bob Haywood Story written by William (Bill) Butt, directed by Adam Corrigan Holowitz, produced by  Dan Hilborn with Daniel Van Winden as musical director and keyboardist. It was an enjoyable and interactive production with the audience singing a few songs with the emphatic Miss Supertest Gas Service Attendant, played by Kathy Fraser. Individuals, from both behind the scenes and the characters, played numerous roles throughout the play like Bill Butt, who was also the projectionist. 

I knew about the boat Miss Supertest III after seeing it in the Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum, however, did not know too much about the driver, Bob Haywood, aside from being a chicken farmer from Embro, ON. Nevertheless, in 2011, after attending the Miss Supertest III Stamp Unveiling Ceremony, thanks to Peter Lockyer, former CBC Journalist, I not only became intrigued with the story, but fell in love with hydroplane boats, becoming a groupie. (Refer to an article on my website The Story Behind the Story.) 

I purposefully attended the last day of the play on March 24, 2024, with some friends, to see members of the Thompson and Haywood families and others who I and Marie Avey, who accompanied me, met back in August 2011. It was like a Miss Supertest reunion. 

Musicians, keyboardist Dan, and the saxophone player Michael Riehl, played music from the 1920’s and 30’s. Following the ten-to-fifteen-minute music ensemble, the play began. Pictures on a slide projector ran in the background for the entire production, depicting Bob Haywood’s life in pictures accompanied with music. Miss Supertest and Jim Thompson, played by Peter Johnson, informed the audience that Supertest Petroleum Company had 3000 service stations throughout the country that was a family-owned business. The first Supertest gas station opened on May 23, 1923, at 362 Dundas Street E. in London, ON. 

Miss Supertest encouraged audience participation to sing “The Ballade of Supertest” in which the first verse went as follows:
       It's plenty far to the nearest star,
       A billion miles perhaps.
       It's many a mile to a South Sea isle
       Or Earth's white polar caps.
       It's a whale of a way to Biscay Bay,
       And the dread Great Barrier Reef.
      But it's never far from where you are
      To the sign of the Maple Leaf.
      Yes the gas that's best is Supertest
      And the point of this in brief 
      Is it's never far from where you are
      To the sign of the Maple Leaf.

After singing all three verses of the ballade, the audience saw a young Bob Haywood, Desi vanBeek-Paterson, along with his friend, played by Paul Brekelmans, pretend to ride bicycles on stage. When his friend fell off his bicycle, Bob was able to fix it and the two resumed riding to the theatre.

I liked how the transition from seeing a young Bob Haywood passed his cap over to Alan Buchanan, who played the older version of Bob. As a teen, Bob and his brother Keith transformed a pickup truck into a racing machine, beating competitors racing on Embro Rd. He and his brother also built a boat named Poky II, that had a 22-horsepower engine. Bob knew a lot about boats and engines.

According to the play, as a young man, Bob Haywood purchased a saxophone from a wino and taught himself how to play and played at dances. His love for music led him to meet the legendary Guy Lombard, played by Grace Vincent, who told Bob of how he started in the music industry. During his first jazz concert, the string on his violin broke. He preserved and eventually had his own band, Guy Lombard and His Royal Canadians, playing in Chicago and New York and selling thousands of records. He also stated how he bought a boat that he used to race on the Thames River in London.

Unlike myself, prior to 2011, Bob Haywood knew that the famous Canadian musician and bandleader from London, ON was also a great hydroplane racer with his boats Tempo VI and Tempo VII. Guy Lombard is also indicted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. 

​Jim Thompson informed the audience that his father started Supertest 25 years ago, a friendly and enterprising business. He further explained that in 1950, “the father of Supertest is the father of the of the fastest speedboat.” Supertest was more than a family business, they wanted to race speedboats to become world champions to beat the Americans.
Miss Supertest had the audience sing the “Esso Happy Motoring Song:”

      When your tires are humming and your motor purrs
      And your car is eager then the thought occurs
      That it's good to be alive in this land of ours,
      Good to drive in this land of ours.
      What a great great feeling, what a wonderful sense
      Of pure enjoyment and of confidence.
      For there's something you're aware of:
      Your car's been taken care of
      At the Esso sign of confidence,
      At the Happy Motoring sign.

Bob and Keith transformed a Rocket 88 Oldsmobile, known as a muscle car in 1950’s, that could beat any car in a quarter mile on Embro Rd. Bob and a teen, played by Carla vanBeek-Paterson, who had four roles, pretended to race one another in their vehicles on stage. Every Sunday, Bob raced at the Cayuga International Dragway Park with his modified 1938 chevy coup with a 300-horsepower engine named Rickshaw, where he made a name for himself winning races. Spectators wondered who this chicken farmer from, pronounced either as “Embryo” or “Ember”.  Bob was interviewed by the local television station, CFPL-TV. Soon he became synonymous with winning Ontario stock car racing events. A comical jab throughout the play was Bob’s mother,   played by Barb Kirwin, correcting people’s pronunciation of Embro, even getting the audience involved. 

In 1950, Jim and his father Gord Thompson purchased Miss Canada IV hydroplane from Ingersoll resident Harold Wilson, who retired from racing. (He is inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.) After refurbishing the boat, the Thompsons renamed it Miss Supertest I and had competed in unlimited hydroplane racing. However, unlike its predecessor, Miss Supertest I not only never won a race, but the boat also never even finished a race from 1951 to 1954 when Miss Supertest II was build. At 31 feet long, 12 feet wide, she was equipped with a 2,000 horsepower Rolls-Royce Griffon motor.

Success finally arrived for the hydroplane, when the driver, Art Ashbury, briefly set a world Canadian and British Empire speed record of 184.494 miles per hour at Picton, ON, on Nov. 1, 1957, becoming the fastest propeller-driven motorboat in the world. A year later, Miss Supertest II was retired and Thompson set his sights on building yet another boat to win the British International Harmsworth Trophy to beat the Americans.  

In the play a friendly banter ensued between the Americans who taunted Thompson and the Canadian spectators by bragging that their hydroplanes could beat the Canadians and how Esso would eventually purchase Supertest Gas Stations. (In 1971, Supertest sold to British Petroleum Canada (B.P.).) The Americans sang a few verses of the “Esso Happy Motoring Song” while the Canadians sang a few verses of “The Ballade of Supertest” which went back and forth a few times.

After the singing duals ended, Thompson adamantly told Miss Supertest of his dream designing and building a new boat but wanted a driver who knew engines and wondered where such a driver could be found. Miss Supertest mentioned Bob Haywood who was a well-known and successful stock car racer who knew engines. Thompson wanted to meet Haywood.

Jim and Miss Supertest attended a dance in London where Bob played his saxophone. At first, Bob was reluctant, claiming he knew about chicken power more then hydroplane boats, but was intrigued with the challenge and eventually accepted being the mechanic for Miss Supertest II in 1957 and future driver for Miss Supertest III, once she was built in 1959. Bob told Thompson that it was not the money that interested him but engines, speed and the thrill of adventure.
At the dance, Bob once again met with Guy who encouraged him. Lombard told Haywood that “speedboat is kind of like music is like boats, you have to get into a tempo.” Hence, Lombard naming his hydroplanes Tempo VI and Tempo VII. Lombard also stated that “sometimes your dreams seek you out.”

​The play certainly illustrated what a multifaceted and talented individual Bob Haywood was. A chicken farmer with over 3000 chickens, he had an extraordinary ability and knowledge fixing anything with an engine, be it a vehicle, boat or motorcycle in which he raced them all.

Another theme throughout the play for Bob's mother, was her constant worry of her son’s safety. At one-point she warned Jim Thompson of exposing Bob to more dangers racing hydroplanes, that with all his racing he never got injured. Unfortunately, her fears would eventually come to fruition.

Haywood knew the potential dangers of racing hydroplanes, which Thompson asked if he was scared but that was a challenge for Bob. In 1961, Bob wrote the article “Two Thousand Horse Power Under Me at 160 Miles An Hour” in Maclean's Magazine.

​Christened in 1959, Miss Supertest III won the 1959 Detroit Memorial Regatta. In that same year, the fastest hydroplane in the world won the Harmsworth Cup three successive years in 1959, 1960, and 1961, ending 39 years of American supremacy. Like Miss Supertest II, Miss Supertest III also was equipped with a 2,000 horsepower Rolls-Royce Griffon motor, she was 31 feet long, 12 feet wide and weighed 7,000 pounds, sporting mahogany, orange, and white colors. Like myself, anyone seeing this beauty for the first-time would be awestruck of her grace, a memorable and lasting impression.

Bob Haywood achieved hero status after his first Harmsworth Cup win. In 1959, then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, along with Leslie Frost, the Premier of Ontario, attended the race near Long Reach near Picton, ON, which CBC aired throughout Canada. Haywood attended a parade like that of the American Thanksgiving Parade, which was indicative of Canadian sentiments.

​While pretend boat racing occurred in the play, the rest of the cast assembled on stage wearing dressy black clothing with numerous wreaths and flowers placed at the front of the stage. It presented a very somber and dreary feeling that seemed to emanate throughout the theater, with the anticipation of what would happen next, breaking the cheery feeling I had while watching the play. 

The announcer animatedly provided blow by blow commentary of the races to the audience. In the 1960 race, the announcer informed the audience how Miss Supertest III set a world lap speed record of 126.226 miles per hour in the first lap of the first heat. In the last race however, the announcer’s voice become very serious as he reported that Miss Supertest II flipped right over. He described how one of the racers immediately went to the boat that was not moving and questioned if Haywood was dead. It did not take long for the confirmation.

​The play Miss Supertest – The Bob Haywood Story ended with Bob Haywood’s funeral with many people on the second balcony where I sat, gave a standing ovation when the characters came out. I through enjoyed the play and felt that noteworthy events and details of not only Bob Haywood, but that of Miss Supertest boats and even the Thompsons, was beautifully captured.
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To honour Bob Haywood, the driver, Miss Supertest III, the hydroplane and Jim Thompson, designer, builder and owner, Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in 2011.

Other accolades include all three being inducted into the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1960 where Miss Supertest III, became the first non-human to be honoured; a cairn erected on the former Hayward farm, dedicating his international fame; renaming the Long Reach Bay near Picton, ON to Haywood Long Reach; the YMCA situated at 1050 Hamilton Rd. in London where Bob tried out his life jackets in their pool was renamed in his honour, sadly, after 60 years of service that location was closed in Nov. 2023; and in 2000, Hayward was posthumous inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.
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Following the play, President of Thistle Theatre, John Turvey, invited the audience to treats and refreshments and to meet the honoured guests. 

At the illustrious age of 94, Jim Thompson died on May 13, 2021. A trailblazer for Canada in hydroplane racing, his legacy, as that with Bob Haywood the Miss Supertest boats, will continue to live on and inspire further generations of Canadians. The person on the other side of me, informed me that in June 2024, The Canadian Race boat Hall of Fame and Event Centre will have a grand opening in Bracebridge. A tremendous event that I will look forward to attending, reminiscing of August 2011.

Related Links:
Miss Supertest stands the test of time | Belleville Intelligencer
Canadian History - Miss Supertest race boat | The #FastestRaceBoat In the World It was an August weekend in 1960 when Miss Supertest III with its driver #BobHayward won victory, setting a world... | By HistoryMomentsFacebook | Facebook
Miss Supertest Documentary by Peter Lockyer, History Lives Here Inc | History Lives Here Inc
Muskoka’s Unbeatable Miss Supertest III Back in Cottage Country (luxurymuskokas.com)
Miss Supertest at the Ontario Science Center - YouTube
Miss Supertest (youtube.com)
Miss Supertest III | Canada Post (canadapost-postescanada.ca)
Miss Supertest III - the Best Boat in the World - Canadian Boating
About Miss Supertest III - The Scuba News
Bob Hayward - 35 Years Ago . . . (hydroplanehistory.com)
Canada’s most famous racing boat set world speed record at PEC 60 years ago Nov. 1 : Prince Edward County News countylive.ca
Videos of Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
 
Books:
The Supertest Petroleum Company's Racing Boats
Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3: Miss Supertest III (1959-2021)
by John Joseph Kelly Blurb Books

Sources:
Supertest Chronology (tripod.com)
Supertest Petroleum | Detailed Pedia

Quote: “I’ve always thought of Miss Supertest III, Jim’s latest design, which has never been beaten in her three races, as ‘my’ boat.” ~ Bob Haywood 

For the first time, the Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum held a Cheese and Verse Poetry Night on Thursday March 14, 2024. Museum Manager, Stephanie Conron, was surprised but pleased with the turn out of over 50 people who attended.

The museum was transformed into an ambient subdued lighting, strung throughout the entranceway, all the way to the back of the museum with the soothing sounds from Brian singing and playing his acoustic guitar. An enticing table of various delectable cheeses, crackers and jams, provided by The Wine & Cellar Cheese shop, met visitors, where beverages, alcohol and a delicious raspberry drink was served.

A staff member read a poem Shelby wrote about her almost one year old son which was read during the open mic portion of the event.
​
Ingersoll Mayor, Brian Petrie, opened the evening with a brief welcome. Well known multitalented artist, Duane Kumal-Thomas, the highlight of the show, read his poem which accompanies his art insulation in town of train tracks coming out of the earth, located across from Dollarama. 

Duane read a second poem. His baritone voice and words captivated the audience, and he received a warm applause. Volunteer Don sang a few country tunes while playing his guitar. New Ingersoll residents, Barbara Blower and her husband, a professional photographer who took pictures throughout the evening, read her poem. Barbara later returned to read two more of her poems, one a tribute to her three daughters. 

Manager Stephanie threatened the audience she would continue to read poems by James McIntyre to encourage them to sign up to participate in the open mic. McIntyre was a Ingersoll resident who wrote hundreds of poems, all about cheese, was known as the "world's worst poet". After the reading, audience participated in the open mic. Cassandra read a poem, not her own but one she loves on trees and someone else read a poem about nature. 

Afterwards, Duane returned to the stage to read one of his works in progress, a poem about Christopher Columbus. Aside from volunteers, one on sound, staff members from the museum also participated in the open mic, like Collections Coordinator Dorothy and Museum Programmer Kealy.  Brain played a few selections of 90s music to an enthusiastic crowd. 

Stephanie read a poem not from James McIntyre but from his daughter Kate Macintyre, who unlike her father, wrote good poetry. Stephanie explained how Kate lived an unconventional life ​for a woman of her times, divorced three times, never had children, she wrote non-conformist topics. While the museum had Kate’s “Girls Don’t” poem on display, Stephanie read the poem “Boy’s Don’t”. 

Duane’s last poem for the evening consisted of one he read when he spoke at the launch of his art installation at the Ingersoll Library last year. A poem I thoroughly enjoyed which he remembered. Duane explained how his perception was changed a few years ago after reading Joyce Pettigrew’s book, A Safe Haven: The Story of the Black Settlers of Oxford County. He also mentioned his experience giving a presentation of his poems and Black History at Woodingford Lodge recently.
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An elderly woman accompanied him on the elector at the nursing home. After his presentation, Duane showed the video clip “The Last Stop - Ingersoll,” where Joyce is also featured. It was a surreal moment when Duan found out the woman in the elevator and present for his talk was no other than Joyce Pettigrew herself. 

Duane incorporated titles of several Negro Spirituals into his last poem like "Wade in the Water Children" and "Follow the Drinking Gourd". Duane received a round of applause after his reading.

​Since there was only one person signed up to participate in open mic, Stephanie read a poem McIntyre wrote for a friend that rhymed with Wiggles, his friend’s last name. According to Stephanie, McIntyre was famous for sitting at the back of the tavern writing on pieces of paper.

Volunteer Don returned to the stage to perform a few more songs. Stephanie followed by saying despite making fun of James McIntyre’s poor poems, if it was not for him tonight’s event would not occur. As a tribute, she read the poem “Ode to James McIntyre” by Shirley Lovell, the Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum’s first curator who was also a poet.

​Appropriately, the last song Brain performed for the evening was “Closing Time”. Stephanie mentioned it was a successful evening with Ingersoll residents and surrounding area, coming out to support. She also gave a heartfelt thanks to both the volunteers and her staff for their help.

A delightful evening was had by all. Brain stated he was having fun. Hopefully, the Cheese and Verse Poetry Night will become an annual event at the Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum.  I definitely will look forward in attending this event again; an opportunity to listen to talented local poets. 

Gallery of pictures taken at the the Cheese and Verse Poetry Night

​(Photos by Heather A. Rennalls)

Quote: "... Grant has here a famous work Devoted to the cure of pork, For dairymen find it doth pay To fatten pigs upon the whey, For there is money raising grease As well as in the making cheese." ~ James McIntyre's poem “Hints to Cheesemakers”


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Ryan ended his stunning presentation discussing light pollution. How 11 years ago one could see the Milky Way by naked eye but now must drive to Tobermory or Algonquin. Light pollution also interferes with migrating birds. He explained how the industrial section in London, ON is using more lights then residents after business hours. Ryan approached a car dealership and asked to turn some of their lights off. They compiled by changing their lighting system, aiming lights down rather than up and cutting the wattage. Daria thanked Ryan for his presentation to warm applause by the audience.
 
For rambles, Richard Skevington asked what people are seeing. Jeff Skevington saw butterflies in Long Point. Other sightings included bees going to skunk cabbage and pussy willows to turtles sunning themselves.
 
Berry Merkley read out the winning ticket for the 50/50 draw which Jerome Van Erve won $28, which he donated back to the club.
 
Roger concluded the evening by stating how explorer and author Adam Shoalts, will present “From Lake Erie to the Arctic, a 3,400 km Canoe Journey” at the next meeting on Monday, April 8,  2024.
 
After the meeting, I made sure to join up for the rest of the season. Aside from meetings and outings, the Woodstock Field Naturalist Club also has their annual Christmas Bird Count. Something that I continued to participate in. Check out my blog post “WFN 81st Annual Christmas as Bird Count” to learn more. Anyone interested in becoming a member can visit the Woodstock Field Naturalist Club website. An enlightened experience you will thoroughly enjoy.