SCOOP The
December 2018 / January 2019
thescoop.ca
Home for Christmas
Bring The SCOOP Home for Christmas
The
SCOOP T Founded in 2005 by Richard Saxe
PUBLISHER & AD SALES Karen Nordrum
stonemills.scoop@gmail.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Katherine Burrows, Eric DePoe, Jeff Dies, Dianne Dowling, Anthony Gifford, Glen R. Goodhand, Alyce Gorter, Lisa Lawlis, Marcella Neely, Mark Oliver, Susan Rehner, Terry
here is probably no other time of the year when the yearning for home is greater than that which is almost upon us: Christmas and the number of other celebrations and festivities that overlap or follow this holiday. Many of the spiritual values that are the essence of the Christian origin of Christmas are synonymous with home: birth, family, giving, simplicity, sharing. These are of course universal values, that all of us share, regardless of faith, origin, creed, or wealth. The quest for the perfect, newest cell phone to offer as a gift is not among those values, but the experience does seem to have become an unfortunate part of the human condition! Thankfully not on the same
level as going home, or hoping to do so, or, in too many cases, just hoping to have a home. It’s probably fitting, at a time when sharing should be the main waypoint of our moral compass, to think about that hope: to have a home. Homelessness seems to be strictly an urban problem, and most of us, readers and contributors to this paper, live at several removes from the city. We don’t walk or drive past beggars or street kids on a regular basis. We rarely meet people who are so far from home, they can only rarely, if ever, go back. Yet many of us are struggling to find or keep a decent home, as one of this issue’s main articles
reminds us. As we get older, and all too often lonelier, sharing the place we call home is often the best solution, as another of our writers points out. And of course, home is often more an experience than a place, shared with the people and animals we love, and with those we’ve loved and lost, as Terry Sprague tells us, in the beautiful, powerful prose we’ve grown accustomed to. As Christmas approaches, we think Edith Sitwell had it right when she asserted that “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
Sprague, Jerry Weller, Tom Wheatley, Denice Wilkins
NEW YEAR’S EVE 2018
All photos contributed, unless
Celebrate the New Year with a scrumptious
Season’s Greetings
otherwise noted.
Wishing all readers a joyous holiday season, a new year of happiness, and hope for a world at peace. The SCOOP
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THE BOOK SHOP
COVER
The ol’ farm building in the
Bridge St. E. at the foot of Peel
Verona area sports a fresh
TAMWORTH
snow coat. Photo taken this
613-379-2108
November by Bill Kendall. For more of Bill’s local nature
Brian Crough
613.388.2403
photos, visit @lakelifenaturals on Facebook. 2
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
www.tamworthbookshop.com info@tamworthbookshop.com
December hours by chance or appointment Calls are welcome: 613-379-2108 Regular hours resume Easter weekend 2019
Speeding: A Victimless Crime? Eric DePoe
D
uring the recent municipal election campaign, the most common problem that residents raised was speeding. Speeding is a problem throughout Stone Mills. In every village, and on most rural roads, people complained that traffic was moving too fast. But surely this is a victimless crime. Yes, people go too fast and endanger themselves. The effects of car crashes on drivers and pedestrians are well known. We also know that the greater the speed, the greater the stopping distance. But surely this is a problem for the drivers and their passengers, not something that the public needs to be concerned about. Most people now realize that speeding is a social problem. Among the most vocal critics of speeders are parents of small children. They are naturally worried about the safety of their kids. Speeding increases the danger for animals as well as small children because speeding vehicles take longer to stop. Parents aren’t the only ones who dislike speeding. Many others are also concerned, like people who walk their dogs along rural roads or walk to the store in villages where there are few sidewalks. Less well known are the social problems that speeding creates. Parents are more likely to have their children play in backyards, rather than let them venture out into the speeders’ domain. This stifles social play and turns family life inward rather than towards the community. It divides neighbourhoods by discouraging people from socializing with their neighbours across high-speed streets. This fractures our communities.
Season’s Greetings
a joke or part of a funny story about how I got home after that wild party. We have to develop the same attitude towards speeding. What can we do as individuals? The first, best thing we can all do is slow down. This takes us from being part of the problem and makes us part of the solution. It also forces the cars behind us to slow down, and sets a good example. Obey posted limits. Remember that when you pass a “speed limit begins” sign outside a village that means you are ALREADY supposed to be travelling that speed, not just starting to slow down. What could council do? Traffic calming measures should be put in place in villages and on long straight stretches of road where speeding is a problem. Road narrowing, signs, pinch points, one-way streets, and speed bumps should all be considered. Enforcement of speed limits should be more evident and more frequent. Speeding tickets are effective! Steps have already been made to increase enforcement by councillors, but more needs to be done. Let’s call our councillors to make sure they stay with this issue until it is solved. For too long we have put up with this troublesome problem. Speeding is dangerous, socially divisive, and just plain inconsiderate. Let’s stop this bad behaviour, starting with ourselves and our neighbours.
A special thank you for your support in 2018
from Dr. Calvin Lane DVM and Staff Serving Pets & Farm Animals Since 1983
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From our family to yours May you all enjoy your Christmas Season
and all of the best for 2019!
Speeding is difficult to talk about, and difficult to control because it is socially acceptable. Drunk driving used to be acceptable, but attitudes have changed, and now most people realize the dangers of drinking and driving. It’s no longer
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December 2018 / January 2019 • The SCOOP
3
Co-Housing: An Option for Retirement Living Anthony Gifford
T
he current “successful” scenario for seniors is something like this: you live in your paid-off home until you find it too much work, at which time you move into a facility where you will be care-free and healthy. This system is “sold” to us by the providers of these “homes” as the only choice for modern and smart people. It’s working great for the financial backers. It’s a growth industry like few others. The problems of the above model are many. An increasing number of seniors don’t have homes to sell, nor do they have large (or any) pensions. (For each passing year, about one percent fewer Canadians have pensions. It is estimated that in ten years, the average senior will have a monthly income of only twelve hundred dollars.) The cost of retirement centres can run from just under $2,000 to well over $6,000 per month. This is simply not a system that most can afford, and the provinces cannot support. Retirement centres can be deadly. People need to feel needed. We need to feel worthwhile, and to contribute something to the whole. Vacations are fine, for a while. But they aren’t real living. To be put into a facility where you have no purpose for being is completely unnatural and deadly to the spirit and body. Statistically, there is no benefit what-soever in living in these facilities. While
they are touted as “independent living,” they demand complete dependency, and seldom reward the very things that came to be valued over a lifetime. There is a growing alternative movement, called Co-Housing, or “Shared Housing.” These terms cover any scenario in which people pool their resources and choose to live together in ways that meet their needs. These people recognize that they can live just fine with a limited but well-defined personal space where they have complete control, but that they can share most other spaces, if there are agreed upon rules. Meals are more interesting and fun if shared. Health costs, security, looking after pets, freedom to go on holidays, housing costs, all these things and more are more manageable and fun if shared. There are many co-housing examples where the individual monthly costs for housing and food are well below $1,000. It can be a fun and adventurous way of living. And you are in control. People must get along and safeguards must be put in place. But it is easily done.
LAKEVIEW TAVERN THANK YOU TO OUR 2018 BIG BUCK DERBY SPONSORS! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
A1 Corner Store A&D Snacks Awesome & Beyond Shop Canadian Tire Napanee Chips Custom Machining Concrete Plus Country Belle Bullet Jewelry Custom Tree Service Davis & Davis Devon Cafe & Five Corner Craft Don Fenwick Explorers Eco-Emporium 41 Frontenac-Addington Trappers Council Giant Tiger Napanee Great Canadian Oil Changers Greater Napanee Gunworks Hart n Hart Heather Wood Holmes Store & Lock John’s Taxidermy Ken’s Gun Shop Labatts Limestone Communications Louise Ouellet (Carlson Wagonlit Travel) • Matthews Studio • Metro Napanee
Mortgage Alliance - Pilbrow Group Napanee & District Rod & Gun Club No Frills Napanee Paul Langevin Pete Locke (Sysco Foods) Peterson Hunt Camp Ralph Vankoughnet River Bakery Cafe & Regal Beagle Russell Wood Sam’s L’il Variety Shelin Pools Ltd Shepherd Family Sleemans Brewery Steamwhistle Stone Mills Family Market Stone Spindle Farm Storring Septic Service Sutcliffe Septic Service T&E Small Engines Tamworth Pro Hardware Tamworth Variety & Gas Bar TCO Agromart Ten Point Taxidermy Todd Steele (L&A Mutual Insurance) Tuepah Excavating Vanness Automotive
Congratulations to this year’s winners! Bob Thompson Chad Peterson Jacob Detlor Aaron Sheil Tracy Pilbrow Ludgenes Vanderway Ryder Thompson Zachary Baker Darla Shepherd Emily Francis Ken Cronin Dan Hinchey
What is needed? Five or six interested people (or couples) are plenty. Money is seldom a problem for a facility can be rented. Does anybody want to join the conversation and dream of possibilities between Tamworth and Gananoque? Anthony is the author of “Dare to Share.” You can reach him at 613-305-2701, by email at anthonygifford42@gmail.com, and you can visit his website at sharetolive.com.
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THANK YOU TO ALL THE HUNTERS AND THE LAKEVIEW STAFF
A Deer Christmas Marcella Neely
D
uring the 1940s, the Sawyer Stoll Lumber Company set up a logging business just a little North of Cloyne well in on Machesney Lake Road. The camp (known as Massanoga) consisted of a mill, office, bunkhouse, cookhouse/dining hall, store, and six small houses. There were over 300 employees working at Massanoga at times. The men ate and slept at the camp all week and went home Saturday afternoon for the weekend. Sanford and Lily Thompson of Northbrook cooked and lived at the camp with their two young daughters, Etta and Frances. During a recent visit with Etta (Mrs. Tom Perry) at the Pine Meadow Nursing Home in Northbrook, she shared this memory of one Christmas at the camp: On a snow-covered Christmas Day, the mill is quiet, the chainsaws have been put away, and miles of logs are stacked neatly on the frozen river in the distance. These logs will be added to all winter. During the spring thaw, the logs will start their journey down the river to the jack ladder that will take them to the mill site. Only sounds of nature can be heard as all the workers have gone home for Christmas, except for the cooks. There are no decorations or parcels or holiday tree at the camp.
entertained by a herd of beautiful deer enjoying the peace and quiet. Some frolicked, while others just relaxed. They had taken back the forest for a day. The excitement etched deep into their
Kerr Camp at Sawyer-Stoll. It consisted of an Office, Men’s bunkhouse and the Cook Camp. Photo courtesy Cloyne & District Historical Society.
On Christmas morning, mother and two little girls watch as father puts on his heavy winter coat, toque, scarf, boots, and heavy mitts and heads outside walking toward the woods. He returns much later and urges them to bundle up and go with him. Tired legs followed quite a distance before coming to a clearing. Watching silently, they were
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memories as the only Logging Camp Christmas and was remembered well into old age.
The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
WELL DRILLING 613-374-2176
Sawyer-Stoll Lumber Mill, Massanoga, Ontario. Courtesy Cloyne & District Historical Society.
Needing a Place to Call Home Katherine Burrows
T
he need for home is a human need and is one that applies to us all. Having a home is something many of us take for granted because we’ve always had one. A home keeps us warm and provides shelter from the elements. But a home is so much more. Home is a place of comfort, providing both immediate safety and longer-term security. It’s a place of relationship, where we cultivate relationships with those closest to us – the people who live with us, our pets, and those who visit us. Home is a place of creativity, whether working on the home (building or decorating) or using the home as your maker-space to create (art, painting, carving, knitting, sewing, writing, and journaling). It’s a place of history, to keep photos and other objects that remind us of treasured memories (family heirlooms, travel souvenirs, letters and other memorabilia). Home is a place of identity, a place to discover and define who you are, and a space to display your personality and identity. It’s also a place of community, as part of a neighbourhood, we automatically become part of the community, receive invitations to community events, and become part of the communal identity. Having a home is a big step toward battling poverty, addiction, and mental health challenges. It affects every aspect of our health and well-being. In the 2018 Prince Edward – Lennox & Addington Social Services Report on Homelessness, 94 respondents were homeless. At the time of the survey, 64 people were couch-surfing, 11 people were living in a shelter or motel, seven people were living in tents or public
spaces, four people were living in vehicles, and three people did not know where they would sleep. To ensure safe, affordable housing for all residents of our community, we must first understand the challenges faced by people who are homeless. The Report on Homelessness found that the top four reasons for homelessness were abuse/conflict with spouse/partner, abuse/conflict with parent/guardian, addiction or substance use, and incarceration/treatment/hospital. In addition, among the respondents, 70% of people declared mental health issues, 49% of people declared addiction or substance use, 35% of people declared chronic/acute illness, and 27% of people declared a physical disability. In the past year, among the respondents, 57% of people had interacted with police, 51% of people had used the emergency room, 33% of people had used a shelter, and 27% of people had been incarcerated. Income source among the respondents is as follows: 42 people receive income from Ontario Works; 35 receive income from Ontario Disability Support Program; nine people receive income from employment; and nine receive income from informal employment. 51% of the people who responded had been homeless for more than six months. These situations may seem stereotypical, but each person dealing with these situations has a face, a name, and their own unique story. One local woman (I’ll call her Jane) kindly shared her story on the condition of anonymity.
The circumstances leading up to Jane’s current situation may sound familiar. She has spent much of her adult life working full time and is self-employed. After a failed marriage, she moved closer to her parents, who were aging, and began to rebuild her life. She is currently on a fixed income, which puts her well below the poverty line. She has had a few different accommodations with friends over the last several months and has finally found a situation which has the potential (between Jane and her landlord) to be a more permanent solution to her need for housing. Unfortunately, as we’ve heard with the situation in Napanee, trailers are not permitted as living accommodations. All it takes is one complaint and a by-law officer is soon knocking at the door. Although Jane has friends in the area and finds most people nice and helpful, she has also experienced an unfortunate lack of manners from certain individuals, who treat her as less deserving of respect. Despite her circumstances, Jane displays a very resilient personality. What frustrates her most are the zoning laws that seem to remove all of her options. Jane wants people to know “how ridiculous, how unjust the laws are. It’s easy to say they’re so concerned, but then they don’t let private people help.” She has been told that municipal laws in other jurisdictions are more forgiving but leaving the area would take Jane away from her support network. Asked what she misses most about not having a place to call home, Jane responds, “Nothing really. I’m not a material person.” After a moment, she adds, “But it would be nice to have heat.”
This is not just the story of one person. It is the journey of our entire community toward affordable housing for all community members. Our communities are only as strong as our residents. The stronger, and more equipped our members are, the stronger our communities will be. Many of us are currently blessed with a place to call home. But circumstances can change quickly with job loss, relationship breakdown, and illness or injury. Even caring for a family member can put us in a position where the rent or mortgage payment is suddenly out of reach. “Almost half of Canadian employees are living paycheck to paycheck,” notes CBC News, citing a Canadian Payroll Association survey. “The poll found 47 per cent of respondents said it would be difficult to meet their financial obligations if their paycheque were delayed by even one week.” Global News reveals, “More than half of Canadians are living within $200 per month of not being able to pay all their bills or meet their debt obligations, according to a recent Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of accounting firm MNP.” “At least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year,” CBC reported in 2013. And, “at least 30,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night.” These situations affect us all. What would you do if your circumstances were to change unexpectedly? If you could no longer live in your current home, where would you go?
Tamworth Bank Closing Mark Oliver
T
he Tamworth/Erinsville Community Development Committee (TECDC), like others in Stone Mills, was caught off guard by CIBC’s recent announcement that they were transferring local banking activities to their Napanee Branch effective next July. The TECDC has worked closely with the CIBC in the past, as exemplified through our involvement in the process to maintain the Township banking activity at the Tamworth branch as well as being evidenced in the community garden located on what was formerly CIBC property which through negotiations involving the TECDC and the Township of Stone Mills, was acquired for this purpose at a token cost. We will do what we can to assist with the resolution of this issue as well. Banks are anchor institutions for communities; always have been. It is disappointing that they have been unable or unwilling to develop an operational model that works in non-urban settings given that rural Canada generates about 30 percent of the national GDP and holds around 22 percent of Canada’s workforce according to some Statistics Canada data. It is troubling that the corporate mindset does not consider the magnitude and potential of the missed opportunity generated by not creating a business model with a smaller footprint and lower operating cost for use in markets such as ours.
Stone Mills, like our entire landscape, consists of many individual settlements, each of which has its roots dating back to the early history of the area. Economic theory identifies this distribution as the Central Place Theory which in most of the world has small hamlets established at distances varying from 8 to 12 kilometres from one another. These small places historically provided the fundamental services required for life in a rural setting. Also embedded in the fabric of the community were cultural icons including churches, schools, cemeteries, etc. Further apart, perhaps 25 to 40 kilometres and larger in size are towns providing services that required access to a greater population. These can be exemplified by banks, arenas, medical services, specialty outlets, etc. The pattern continues with larger centres and even greater distances of separation with even more specialized functions such as courthouses, theatres or at higher levels, professional sports teams. Tamworth is a central place in that pattern and the CIBC is an example of a higher order service historically made available through the additional support of the surrounding population base. Perhaps, with changes in banking practices by this population as suggested by CIBC officials, the level of bank use has changed distorting the central place theory pattern. Time will tell. If we can entice another financial institution to set up in the community, then we will know it was CIBC’s expectations that evolved and not just the banking activity of the community at large.
If, as the CIBC notice claims, the decision is final, the bank will close and customers will need to find an alternative solution. This will be inconvenient but not the end of the world. People here are resilient and resourceful. There might be a period of time where the current bank building will be empty. We have a few other empty storefronts already. But places go through cycles; decline followed by reinvestment, reinvention and redevelopment and there are some strategies already under discussion to bolster redevelopment. A rural community is not a static entity and should not ever be evaluated by the level of retail activity on its main street but rather by the spirit and commitment of the residents. That being said, members of the community are already taking action to try and persuade the CIBC to reconsider their decision to transfer our banking operations to Napanee. It is our hope that individuals and organizations will contact the bank officials involved and make a case for altering the decision even though it has been pronounced as “final.” The CIBC is inviting interested parties to attend an information meeting in Centreville on January 31 from 7 to 9 p.m.
On another front, there is some interest and very initial work underway to develop a relationship with another financial institution with the hope of that organization filling the void. While it is too soon to predict an outcome, members of the community are being proactive. We expect that the Township of Stone Mills as well as all the key groups and businesses within the community will be aggressively involved and that in the very near future the effort emerges as a cohesive, organized, and effective initiative. There are still many questions and unknowns about how this will play out; who the players are, who will be the players, what to do about real estate, how to obtain local buy-in for a new service provider and oh so many others. In the interim, this concern will be at the forefront of many people’s thoughts.
December 2018 / January 2019 • The SCOOP
5
L&A History in Photos Lisa Lawlis
F
red Brown (1877-1968) was an amateur photographer who lived on the 7th concession of Ernestown, not far from Wilton. As a young man, he took up photography and rode his bicycle around the back roads of Ernestown, to Yarker, Odessa, Millhaven, and other villages. On many of his travels, he carried a large, bulky glass plate camera and took pictures of the villages, schools, churches, people and landscape. Some of his images were made into postcards for sale, and many were later used in “The Smiling Wilderness” published by the County of Lennox and Addington to celebrate Ontario’s Bicentennial in 1984. Over 600 of his plates are held by the Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives in Napanee. Brown’s carefully preserved glass plates, which have now been scanned by the Archives, provide a unique insight into rural life in the early decades of the 20th century. Lisa is the Lennox & Addington County Archivist.
Inside a snow fort. Fred Brown fonds. Lennox & Addington County Museum and Archives.
Horse and cutter in front of the Finkle House, Newburgh. Fred Brown fonds. Lennox & Addington County Museum and Archives.
Falls at Thompson Mills near Newburgh. Fred Brown Fonds. Lennox & Addington County Museum and Archives. Horse and cutter on winter roads. Fred Brown fonds. Lennox & Addington County Museum and Archives.
Original photo used to make the cover of this issue of The SCOOP. The ol’ farm building in the Verona area sports a fresh snow coat. Photo taken this November by Bill Kendall. For more of Bill’s local nature photos, visit @ lakelifenaturals on Facebook.
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The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
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Garden Plans and Strategies for a New Year Susan Rehner
I
n October the GrassRoots Growers hosted a gardening roundtable in which local experts Karen ten Cate, Susie Meisner, Dorothy Wagar Oogarah, and John Wise answered questions from the audience on a variety of topics. Questions included best techniques for growing garlic, onions, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts; and useful and not so useful methods of irrigation in drought seasons (drip irrigation, sprinklers attached to aluminum piping, hoses, and watering cans). Of course, the question of weed control came up. Knowledge of the weed’s life cycle (annual, biennial, perennial) is helpful in managing it. Suggested strategies for defeating weeds included early spring hoeing, mulching, applying horticultural vinegar to the tops of weeds, and sowing cover crops. Because garlic doesn’t grow well with competition, Dorothy Wagar Oogarah has purchased rolls of garden mats to lay between the rows of garlic. She is hoping this technique will minimize the need for weeding. Coexisting with weeds for the sake of pollinators is another possibility. (Have you ever noticed that those first dreaded dandelion flowers in early spring are magnets for bumblebees searching for food?) Panel and audience members were asked what successes and/or failures they had experienced during the 2018 growing season. Apparently, melons enjoyed the summer heat and grew well as long as water was provided. Garlic heads and potatoes were smaller than usual mostly due to the weather, and several people reported that the growth of many plants (carrots, tomatoes, annuals and herbs) picked up in the fall when cooler, moister weather prevailed. Weeds, of course, did well and earned new respect from some gardeners and farmers. In the heat of July, with nothing else flowering at Karen ten Cate’s farm, the thistles and viper’s bugloss were covered with bees and butterflies. John Wise had a similar experience when he went out to plough a one-acre area of weeds to keep them from going to seed. The weeds were covered with swallowtail and monarch butterflies and John (Wisely) left the area undisturbed. With her customary wit, moderator and panellist Susie Meisner frequently had the audience laughing. The lively evening concluded with a seed exchange, refreshments, and more discussion. In
addition, a number of gardening books were offered by David Field in return for a donation to a Syrian refugee children’s education fund. In December, with Christmas almost upon us, the garden doesn’t figure often in our thoughts. Today though, I’m admiring my garden, transformed by a thick covering of fresh snow. Since I don’t cut down or remove plants in the fall – so winter birds can glean seeds from them – other gardeners would probably think my garden looks messy, with stems of different lengths poking up through the snow. I rather like the effect though, and besides, the plants hold snow to help insulate the soil beneath from frost/melt swings. In January, gardeners do tend to begin thinking about their gardens – after all, some relief is needed from the cold, the ice, and the snow, if only in the imagination. Happily, it’s at this time that the seed catalogues with their colourful photographs of flowers arrive. Who can resist pouring through them, imagining a garden radiant with flowers? When planning our 2019 gardens and ordering seeds or buying plants, environmental groups and many gardening experts ask that we consider the needs of pollinators by growing plants that they can utilize. We’re all familiar with the honeybee (an introduction from Europe) and the bumblebee. But there are around 400 species of native bees in Ontario that are also important pollinators. Since they are mainly solitary bees, they go mostly unnoticed by gardeners. Other pollinators include butterflies, moths, small fly species, wasps, and beetles. Pollinators are responsible for an estimated one in every three bites of food we eat; however, they are in serious decline throughout the world due mainly to habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. One thing we can do, no matter the scale of our gardening, is to address habitat loss by providing pollinatorfriendly gardens that include plants or areas for foraging, nesting, sheltering, and overwintering (as eggs, larvae, pupae, or adults, depending on the species).
Canada (www.pollinatorpartnership. ca). There you will find lists of plants for our Ecoregion (Manitoulin–Lake Simcoe) and the requirements or preferences of various groups of pollinators for flower colour, shape, height, and blooming season. Other good sources of information on supporting pollinators in your garden and farm are found on the Pollination Canada website (www. seeds.ca/pollination) and Farms at Work website (www.farmsatwork. ca/pollinators/resources). “A Landowner’s Guide to Conserving Native Pollinators in Ontario” is available as a PDF file at feedthebees.org. It’s a very helpful resource for understanding the needs of native bees. Are you a seed saver? A caution based on hard experience: if you collected seeds this fall, make sure they are safely stored in mouseproof containers – glass or metal – or in a cabinet that closes securely. My seeds, the ones I could rescue, are now in paper envelopes and stored in tin boxes, the kind you get with assortments of Christmas cookies. GrassRoots Growers is now planning a spring speaker event; visit our website in 2019 for details. And, of course, our annual plant sale will take place at the end of May. Check it out for pollinator-friendly plants.
Monarch on butterfly milkweed. Photo by Lois Smith.
Tamworth/Erinsville GrassRoots Growers is a community-based group. Our mission is to encourage interest in local and organic gardening for both the home garden and the market garden; to raise
awareness of issues surrounding food production; to improve our practical knowledge of all aspects of plant life; and to provide networking opportunities for gardeners. We welcome new members. Visit our website at te-grassrootsgrowers. weebly.com
Bring Home the Feeling of Christmas
There is a wealth of information available on pollinator-friendly gardening and farming. One source of information that I find very useful is Pollinator Partnership
May the Christmas Season fill your home with joy, your heart with love and your life with laughter!
Merry Christmas!
All clients & customers, your business through the year has been sincerely appreciated.
LANTHORN Panellists Susie Meisner, John Wise, Karen ten Cate, and Dorothy Wagar Oogarah at the “Plant Matters: Fall Gardening Roundtable” held on Tuesday, October 16 at St. Patrick School in Erinsville. Photo by Michelle Mather.
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December 2018 / January 2019 • The SCOOP
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These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking Alyce Gorter
W
ith the strap of his sleeveless shirt sliding down over his bony shoulder, his mismatched clothes, his tousled mop of blond hair and his impish grin, he could have been the poster child for a charity drive. Only the skinny bare legs disappearing into a pair of well-worn cowboy boots belied this possibility. What money-seeking organization would expect to garner sympathy for any kid who could afford to wear that symbol of privilege? And another question — how did this scrawny, backwoods youngster obtain such boots in the first place? They were not something you would expect to see, especially on one so young when there was no evidence of any pony, no equine of any size for that matter, anywhere in the area. And why was he wearing them at all? They certainly didn’t look like normal, everyday summer play shoes. Those red and black leather boots had been passed down to my sister, brothers, and I when we were kids, by the older child of some wealthy acquaintance who had long since outgrown them. To us, they represented a world — not of wealth and style — but of cowboys and horses, of cattle drives and sagebrush, and by merely sliding our feet into those heeled beauties we could be transported into an exciting world of make-believe. We battled over whose turn it was to wear them and were only knocked out of the fray when our feet became too large to be squeezed into their depths. Like Dorothy’s ruby-red slippers from the Wizard of Oz, they held their magic for subsequent generations. Now, here was my little son confidently booted up to face the world.
No other footwear holds the same appeal or offers its wearer as much bang for the buck as a good pair of boots. Watch a bow-legged, scrawny, little man pull on a pair of leather cowboy boots and he becomes John Wayne — 6’4” of swagger and a “bring it on” attitude. And boots have the same effect on both men and women. Take any 100-pound selfeffacing female, add a pair of knee-high boots — she will square her shoulders, and voila! You have a champion of the cause. And the reverse is true. For example, take an RCMP officer, exchange the boots for a pair of flip-flops and the whole picture becomes ludicrous. Most people have a strong desire to be able to maintain some level of physical activity right up until their last breath — “to die with their boots on.” Even if the speaker has never worn boots, we understand the wish behind the words and it leaves the hearer thinking of that fading soul as a rugged, hard-working, and determined individual. I have yet to hear anyone state a wish to die while wearing their sandals, stilettos, bedroom slippers or sling-back pumps. See? It just doesn’t conjure up the same image, does it? Fashion gurus have long recognized the magnetism of boots and have cashed in on that in a myriad of ways. Take the lowly “farm rubbers” for example — those red-toed, red-soled, black barn boots worn by every member of the farming community and sold at the local feed store for fairly little money. They seem to have all but disappeared. Instead, though, you can now obtain what amounts to the same thing in every conceivable colour and pattern but sold as “Hunter” boots. They are worn by all the fashion plates and cost more than most farmers can afford to pay. And as an added downside, they don’t have the same toughness the original farm rubbers had. A pitchfork goes right through them.
Alyce’s four-year-old son Brandon, ”confidently booted up to face the world.” Photo courtesy Alyce Gorter. 8
The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
Although I am no fashionista or clothes diva, I have nearly always had more than one pair of boots as part of my wardrobe — from the short white “go-go” boots of my early teen years; to fringed, doeskin calf-length boots; to knee-high riding boots; sturdy, thick motorcycle boots; as well as, yes, many pairs of cowboy
boots; and others too many to remember or recount. There are some notable ones though that will probably always be among the first to come to mind when (or if) the topic of boots arises. My brother Eldon and I were usually seconded from school during deer hunting season to assist my Dad’s “gang” of four or five elderly and/or health-hampered men in their daily hunts. Our job usually consisted of walking through The “little hand-me-down cowboy boots with their stiff, the woods on a upturned toes now too hardened to allow any feet to slide specific route in an down into them and feel their power again, sit atop the attempt to push piano.” Photo courtesy Alyce Gorter. any local deer toward the hunters who would be were options, though. If you didn’t want posted around on various “watches.” We to wear them fully extended, they could were more than happy to help. Venison be folded down. This probably gave the back then was a staple in our house and wearer a “Puss in Boots” look which may was counted on to help get our large not have appeared quite as debonair on family through the winter. Plus, both of the human figure as it did on that us much more enjoyed the great much-loved cat. Unless, of course, you outdoors than the confines of the were Zorro. But it is only in hindsight classroom. that I’m thinking that. When I owned them, I thought they looked just fine. On this particular day, we were expected Emphasizing once again that nothing to encounter a lot of water on our “run.” puts pride in your stride like a pair of No problem. We would wear boots. Not boots. just any boots but long chest waders that belonged to the hunters and were much One of the lessons I learned from boot too large for our childish feet, even with ownership is that wearing the right pair thick socks. However, there was no other at the right time (or possibly the wrong option. To help keep them on us, they pair at the wrong time, or the right pair at knotted the elastic suspenders as tightly the wrong time, or … well, you get the as they could up over our shoulders. This picture) can help the wearer accomplish effected a certain snap to our steps. the impossible. For example, it takes world-class gymnasts years of gruelling Now back then, using children as hunting training to be able to perform dogs was not acceptable to the Ministry breathtaking somersaults and aerial that governed such things, even if the displays. I, with no training at all and just kids were willing. Especially hunting a pair of smooth-soled boots and a dogs with guns whose training at some frost-slicked chrome running board, was point in their lives had consisted more or able to accomplish the same thing in less of “That there’s the trigger.” So, the seconds. As I crawled back into the house threat of meeting the Game Warden was to die, I remember thinking how much I a real concern. On this particular day, the wished that someone had been there to gang had had a successful hunt. As Eldon record my final act. and I exited the swamp intending to join the group around the fallen deer, a So, the little hand-me-down cowboy couple of the hunt members shouted a boots with their stiff, upturned toes now warning that our nemesis was on his too hardened to allow any feet to slide way. We needed to hide. In a heightened down into them and feel their power state of fear and alarm, we tossed our again, sit atop the piano. They are a guns into the shrubbery and raced across reminder of how many kids through the the field for cover, wading boots slopping past three generations have worn them; on our feet, threatening to trip us, and of how quickly time passes; of past taut suspenders, stretched to their limits, dreams — some lost, some achieved; and smartly pulling our legs back up at each of the enduring nature of a good pair of stride. We must have looked like a couple boots. of show ponies out to impress the judges as we pranced back to the shelter of the Alyce would love to hear from SCOOP woods. Much to the delight of the readers. Please contact her by email at hunters who had merely been joking. alyce@gorter.ca. In later years, when I wore fashionable thigh-high boots to work, my much shorter female supervisor quietly appraised my new footwear. With a shy smile, she looked up at me and said, “I’d love to have a pair of those but I’m afraid they would chafe my armpits.” There
A Natural View: Dogs That Have Taken Me for Walks Terry Sprague
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his year, Christie and I will have walked to Windsor, and back again. Well, not really. But the cumulative distance we have walked since January 1 will be equal to roughly that once 2019 rolls around. About 3 or 4 kilometres every day in a local provincial park or conservation area, or some other natural area. Christie is my Shih Tzu and she turns 10 next May. We have seldom missed a day, even one morning last January when our thermometer read 28 degrees below zero when we left, and 30 degrees below when we returned. I am fully convinced that before we obtained our Shih Tzu, she must have spent the first few months of her life sleeping outside in Resolute Bay in the dead of winter. With her tail curled tightly over her back and head held high, she bounces along with boundless energy and returns some 50 minutes later with her entire head covered in icy frost. In fact, her tail is a pretty good indicator of the temperature. Anything above minus 10 and her tail is coiled tightly like a spring over her back; at minus 20 it is still curled but bobbing along like an inexperienced cowhand on horseback. At minus 25, the tail is trailing along behind her at half-mast with only the tip showing some semblance of a weak curl. The position of her tail seems to have no effect though on her enthusiasm. Ten years ago, I lost my beloved Sheltie/ Terrier at the age of 15 who had become an icon on my guided hikes. After a
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suitable period of grieving, it wasn’t too long before I was back in the routine again with my new dog, Christie, and these walks once again took on their former significance. As I begin writing another book this winter, these walks have a cleansing effect, and I return refreshed – a bit cold sometimes, but with a soul that’s on fire. The winter walks we used to take along our county road in the past were always special to me, especially before it was fully light. It was a chance to concentrate on sounds – the creaking of trees stressed by cold temperatures, a distant Great Horned Owl calling, and the sounds of ice fishermen testing the ice on the Bay of Quinte before we even reached the shoreline. I’d pass by our old farm buildings, all but abandoned now and enveloped in tall grass and weeds. The barn my parents built in 1951 and still clad in its original metal, is in remarkably good shape, as is the 15-metre-high silo I used to clamber up to make an adjustment at the top. I think of the graves of past dogs I owned scattered around the backyard of our old homestead, now unmarked, but their locations firmly imprinted in my mind, and I would always say a few words to them telepathically as we passed by. Sometimes I would pause and think of those days when my parents and I farmed together as a family. We’d pass the pond I used to skate on, and the long since fallen elm under which the cows took their noon siesta. I would fondly recall my searches for Baltimore Oriole nests in its branches every summer when I was a small boy. Of days on the tractor seat, watching Vesper Sparrows running in furrows ahead of the tractor wheel, and in winter, flocks of Snow Buntings cartwheeling along over the meadows. It seems so long ago now.
My Shih Tzu and I no longer walk these roads as often as we used to because the traffic is heavier now and far more aggressive, even for an island county road. It has become too dangerous even when we are dressed in reflective clothing. Instead, we pick a different conservation area or provincial park every day and Nipper was a Sheltie/Terrier who lived for hiking. explore their Photo by Terry Sprague. trails when walking conditions preserves for wildlife. In fact, we are permit. Sometimes we will walk along a working together cooperatively to beach or a deserted campground road in protect some 40 acres of Brome Grass the park. But, walk we will, wherever it hay as nesting habitat for two species at is. We must walk for needed exercise and risk – the Eastern Meadowlark and to provide that necessary time to Bobolink. Dozens of both species nest recharge our batteries. I lost my wife to here every summer in five fields that are cancer this past summer, and these walks not harvested for hay until the birds are are important to me as a time to reflect through nesting, in mid-July. and to make sense of a world that can sometimes be hostile.
If rushed for time, often a good walk is no farther away than across the fence where I have a 4-kilometre trail that I keep mowed and groomed throughout the summer. The trail is on property owned by renowned artist Kent Monkman who purchased the property a few years ago which he uses as a rural retreat. He owns about 400 acres that he Christie has evolved from a house dog into one who likes winter
Winter hiking along our trail presents a few problems but Christie has adapted well by following me as I snowshoe along, careful not to step off the trail into deep snow. As we shuffle along, we watch the Blue Jays gathering in the roadside elms preparatory to roaring into the feeders as they do every morning upon our return. Winter reveals tracks, such as those from Cottontails or our resident Fisher. The Coyote that used to cross the trail in front of me last winter has disappeared. I miss him as he was almost a fixture most mornings. Winter will merge into spring and doubtless I will be there every morning to note everything as it first arrives. I am depending on my dog to take me for a walk every morning. “If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.” — Raymond Inmon Terry Sprague lives in Prince Edward County and is a retired interpretive naturalist and hike leader. See his website at www.naturestuff.net. He can be reached at tsprague@xplornet.com.
and long walks. Photo by Terry Sprague.
Mon-Tue 10am-6pm • Wed-Fri 9am-6pm • Sat 9am-noon
December 2018 / January 2019 • The SCOOP
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Supporting Local Is Easier Than You Think Jeff Dies
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eaving Centreville on a recent Sunday, I was driving south on County Road 4 in Camden East and planning to refill my mug at a wellknown coffee shop on the 401. But that day turned out differently. When I arrived at the familiar stop sign at County Road 4 and County Road 1, with McCormick’s Country Store to my left, and across from the Library, I looked to my right at The Old Bookstore Cafe. I’d always wanted to stop there to grab a coffee, perhaps some food, and to Support Local. So that Sunday while at the stop sign leaving Stone Mills Township like so many of us do for work or for shopping at big box stores, I decided it was time for me to finally check out The Old Bookstore Café. I quickly turned right, and, not knowing exactly where to park, pulled in behind the building. Grabbing my refillable travel mug that I drink all my coffee from, I approached the door, excited to finally support this local business and to check out this place that I’d heard so much about. As I walked in the door, I felt like I had just walked into someone’s home. It was so charming and warm, with a young woman writing on a whiteboard hung by the doors, and tables set up for people to enjoy coffee, conversation, food, or maybe just a good book.
My eyes didn’t know where to land, there was so much for me to explore. I spotted the coffee, as that’s what I had come in for, but I didn’t stop there. I continued to walk in, awed at all this local shop had to offer me, as it did for many others who walked through those doors before me. I was promptly greeted with a friendly “Hello” from a woman living her dream, owning her little piece of our great community. Her name is Bonnie. Bonnie came out from behind the counter and showed me around the cafe, describing all the local artisans and vendors that she supports by having their products for sale on the shelves. There was honey, pickled eggs and beans, cards, books by local authors, and SO MUCH MORE. While chatting with Bonnie she explained to me that she would love nothing more than to be open every day of the week and to have longer hours, but she just can’t afford it. She needs to work another job to afford the rent for the cafe. Bonnie shared with me that she hosts a “Hangover Breakfast” on January 1, with all the greasy food you need the day after! She’s also very proud of the Appreciation Breakfast that she hosts for the Township EMTs, which is supported by generous donations by other local businesses in the Township including Abrams Bakery, Quinn’s Meats, and others. The event is further supported by
The Old Bookstore Café in Camden East. Township firefighters who cook and serve the meals. Unfortunately, The Old Bookstore Cafe struggles to get locals through its doors. Like so many business owners, Bonnie is thankful for local events that bring people to the Township and customers to her Cafe. Bonnie recalled a weekend this past May where, if it hadn’t been for a local event, she would have had zero customers. She was thankful that visitors stopped by on their way to the event and later returned on their way home a couple days later, buying coffee, food, and gifts.
Bonnie gained a new regular customer in me that Sunday and she also inspired me to encourage others to shop and support local. Visit the Stone Mills Marketplace business directory at www. stonemillsmarketplace.ca/directory then GET OUT, challenge yourself, change your routine, support local, and support small businesses in your community. Jeff Dies is a resident of Centreville in Stone Mills Township.
Coco Love Alcorn’s “Soul Revolution” Concerts Jerry Weller
C
oco Love Alcorn has always followed her spirit, but never so literally as with her latest music.
After 20 years of concert touring, albums, TV, and film composing, the Canadian singer-songwriter took a break to raise her daughter Ellie and begin working on a new album. She wanted to explore song writing from a new perspective and was curious to see what would happen if she put down her guitar and wrote with just her voice. So she began a journey of layering vocals and rhythms on a five-track looper. In the fall of 2014, she released a video of herself performing one of these first looper layered songs, “The River.”
across Canada, these new songs became infused with the spirit of connection. Without choirs grabbing hold of her new songs, and fans already connecting so deeply with her new material, her album music would have been completely different. Her songs spring from her personal journey, but true to her nature, Coco offers a universal interpretation that invites all listeners to jump in and sing along. Just like her career - which has spanned over 20 years, 10 albums, cross-Canada tours, collaborations, festival appearances, award nominations, and notable success in TV and film licensing - creating each live concert is a journey. Each show is unique.
Unexpectedly, the video started to spread across the internet and into the world of community choirs. These choirs started to learn Coco’s looper arrangement and perform “The River” in their own concerts. She had always loved group singing and had encouraged anyone who wanted to sing to do so, but the grassroots spread of her song was a complete surprise. Soon, there were 20 choirs singing “The River” across the UK, Canada, and the United States. “It wasn’t ‘til I took a step back ... that a new idea came,” she confides. “After all those years of thinking I was chasing down a sound it turns out I was searching for the right feeling. That feeling is connection; connection with the listener, the moment, the music and the spirit.” Filled with uplifting and passionate music in the traditions of folk, gospel, soul, and jazz, her newer music was beginning to inspire whole choirs and their audiences, who in turn inspired her to reshape her music in performance. During live shows with Canadian choirs, she began inviting the listeners to help her create, in real time, what the songs could become. And as Coco performed
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Backed up by 100 musicians onstage, including the Open Voices Community Choir, this Canadian singer-songwriter comes by her jazz chops honestly: East Coast and West Coast Music Award nominee, Coco will sing “Revolution,” “The River,” and many other of her pop-blues-jazz songs with the audience. Coco Love Alcorn appears Saturday, February 2, 2019, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. at Cooke’s-Portsmouth United Church, 200 Norman Rogers Drive, Kingston. Tickets are $15 ($5 for those who are underemployed or under 18) at Tara Foods, Novel Idea, Long & McQuade, Brian’s Record Option, www.openvoices.ca/ tickets, choir members, and at the door.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Hilltop Variety and Gas Bar 2068 County Rd 1 E, Box 89 Newburgh, ON K0K 2S0 Phone: 613-378-0185
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The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
Store Hours: Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
NEWBURGH PHARMACY County Rd 1 E, Box 89 Newburgh, ON K0K 2S0 Phone: 613-378-2220 Fax: 613-378-2221
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Store Hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
A Colourful Finch Winter Tom Wheatley
feeders like bees on a hive.
ith the cold weather now upon the land, many of us are settling into our homes for the long winter months. A glance outside the window reminds us that we have long since said our summer goodbyes to the colourful songbirds that nested and sang in our woodlots and hay fields. We’ve traded in our swim shorts, sandals and lemonade stands for warm fireplaces, steaming mugs of cocoa and reruns of “Murder, She Wrote.” Spoiler alert! She solves the mystery.
Bird monitoring stations across southern Ontario reported a large influx of chickadees moving south in October, often seen zipping by in groups of up to several hundred. Both Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches were also moving south in search of food.
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The vibrant autumn leaves have fallen from their summer perches and now lay strewn across the ground like forgotten summer memories. The cold winds from the north have brought snow to cover the leaves and the land, marooning us in a landscape cloaked with an infinite number of shades of whites and greys. But this winter brings the promise of a colourful influx of feathery flyers from the northern forests. It is going to be a colourful finch winter. The tree seed crops in the northern boreal forests are poor this year, and so an assortment of northern finches is coming south in search of food. They will be searching out coniferous cones and birch seeds in our forests and brightening up our yards as they linger at our feeders. Pine siskins, Purple Finches and goldfinches started visiting backyard feeders in October and November. Pine siskins are notorious for travelling in gregarious flocks, often invading Nyger
By early November, small groups of Common Redpolls began to arrive at a few bird feeders in our region. This hyperactive little bird, whose lightly streaked white plumage sports a small patch of red on its forehead, resembles a scoop of chocolate infused vanilla ice cream with a cherry on top. On chilly winter nights, some Redpolls have been observed burrowing into the snow to settle in overnight to protect themselves from the elements. Although I have not seen Redpolls exhibiting this peculiar habit, I have seen a similar behaviour once with another small bird species. Years ago, while hiking in the Himalayas on a particularly cold and snowy morning, I observed a group of birds begin popping up from under the snow like nervous Prairie dogs emerging from their burrows. Quite humorous to watch. One of the most outstanding of the North American finches – the Evening Grosbeak – began moving south in November as well. The males of this large finch are truly striking, wearing a flashy suit of gold and black plumage with a distinctive white wing patch, and with large bills which are perfect for cracking large seed husks.
Evening Grosbeak (a chunky, big-billed finch) in Algonquin Provincial Park. Photo by Kyle Blaney. Not to be outdone, the equally large Pine Grosbeaks can appear as bright and colourful as autumn leaves, showing either red and orange plumages in the males, or yellow in the females. Pine Grosbeaks may sometimes be seen perched atop neighbourhood trees, replacing the colourful autumn leaves which vacated the perches of the now barren tree limbs. Both White-winged and Red Crossbills may occur in small numbers this winter in the Stone Mills area. Their bills are unique among other bird species, in that their upper and lower mandibles are crossed. These specially designed bills are perfect for prying open the tough outer shell of pine cones to access the pine seeds inside. Varied sizes and forms of Red Crossbills occur across North America, and they roam widely in search of the conifer cones that are perfect for their bill design. Not typically seen at backyard feeders, crossbills are more likely to be encountered along our back roads in the early morning hours, picking up grit and road salt along the roadsides. Most finches visiting our feeders this winter prefer Nyger seeds but will just as happily eat black oil sunflower seeds. A few other options for backyard feeders are suet and peanuts, which the Nuthatches, Blue Jays and woodpeckers seem to enjoy.
Pine Grosbeak (a big boreal finch) in Algonquin Provincial Park. Photo by Kyle Blaney.
For those who enjoy walking in the crisp winter air, a hike through your neighbourhood park or local conservation area can be rewarding. It
takes an extra bit of effort to make your way through the snow-covered trails, and the sound of frozen snow crunching beneath footsteps breaks the silence of the woods. If we stop in our tracks and listen for a moment, we may hear a group of Ravens mobbing a Red-tailed Hawk, or the distant drumming of a woodpecker pummelling its bill against a dead tree. By late February and into March, the woodpeckers will be drumming more often to find a mate and to establish their nesting territories for the coming spring breeding season. When the blackbirds and grackles start arriving at our feeders at the end of March, it’s a signal that the coming northward return journey of these colourful finches and their relatives has begun. It is not every year we see a colourful finch winter, so stock up those feeders and enjoy. Tom is into all things birds. He enjoys birding in the local Conservation Areas, leading bird hikes in the Bay of Quinte region, and volunteering at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory during the spring and autumn migrations. If you’re interested in joining a bird hike with Tom, his contact email is goldenwingbirding@ outlook.com. Kyle Blaney travels throughout Canada as an Outreach Lead for the SHAD Enrichment Program (www.shad.ca). In his spare time, he is an avid birdwatcher and nature photographer. His website is www.kyleblaney.com and he can be followed on Instagram at @kblaney.
Dear Friends of Nature: We agreed to chair the Land Conservancy’s $250,000 fundraising campaign because we share your worries about pressures on wild lands and the number of species that are in decline. As people who love to walk in the woods, it is sad when we no longer see familiar birds or insects. We know it is important to save habitats cri�cal to the survival and recovery of these threatened species. The success of the Land Conservancy for KFLA relies upon the persistence of passionate, commi�ed volunteers. Now, they need extra money for their work. Together, we can establish a new nature reserve which is near other protected lands, crea�ng connec�ons for natural processes to occur freely. A place for bear and moose, birds and bu�erflies to thrive. Please join us in dona�ng to this fundraising appeal to conserve valuable habitat in this region. Your contribu�on will make a difference. LandConservancyKFLA. org
Rod and Judith Fraser Campaign Guardians of Nature December 2018 / January 2019 • The SCOOP
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Network and Internet Security Specialists Wired, Wireless, Network Design and Implementation Computer repairs and sales New or reconditioned
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Christmas Blessings to all... Writers wanted...
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Home-cooked food • Lottery machine Silk flower arrangements • Newspapers Headstone flowers • And much more!
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GIFT SUGGESTIONS • Massanoga: DVD history of local lumber operations • The Oxen & the Axe: Book by original Pioneer Club members about early hardships • 2019 Heritage Calendar: Photos and stories of old area buildings For a full list of available items visit www.cloynepioneermuseum.ca.
You can order online or phone Carolyn at 613-336-6858. Solution to the word game on page 13:
December 21, 6 p.m. Carolling through the village Come out and join us December 23, 6:30 p.m. Candlelight Service Congregational singing and participation 12
The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
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December 2018 / January 2019 • The SCOOP
13
Do You Remember: Transistor Radios? Glen R. Goodhand
I
recall watching a segment of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” some years ago. The theme was “reactions to different Christmas presents.” The three – or four-minute clip revealed the usual—tears of joy, Cheshire cat smiles, total surprise, and even indifference (to finding clothing in one of the packages). But the highlight was the performance of a little boy who was about five years old. He snatched up the nicely-wrapped box, shouting “Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!” He continued with his repetitious notes of glee as he wildly tore the paper off and into shreds. The lid came off next, and as he anxiously peered into the open box, his spiel came to a sudden stop. “What is it?” he sobbed. Over the years, children have normally dreamed of that one special gift as anticipation of December 25 grew. The number one items on those wish lists
changed with their ages, as well as with the popularity of the items as years passed. “Daisy Red Ryder” air rifles were big for guys for more than one generation. Dolls of all kinds, from “Wetums” to “Chatty Cathy” to Barbies, have held a special place for girls. “Hot Wheels” loop tracks gained the attention of boys in the 1960s and 1970s. “Slinky” caught the imagination of both sexes, and my elder daughter, who is now in her 50s, recalls something called “Clackers” when she was in her early teens. There was never a “what is it?” mystery connected with these toys. One of the most fancied items ever, when it comes to “big deal” gifts, was the transistor radio. When that prize was pulled out of a stocking or fished out of wrapping paper, the expression, “just what I always wanted” was no worn-out cliché. This was more than a toy—it was a fully functional source of personal entertainment! It has been said that it was “the most popular electronic communication device in history.” The transistor had its beginning in 1947. By 1952 the first promotion of the miniature radio receivers appeared in advertising. Two years later they went on sale to the general public as a common item. The initial price was $49.95 (according to the Bank of Canada’s Inflation Calculator, this would be equivalent to about
Happy Holidays and warm wishes for 2019!
$425 today). By the 1970s, the cost had dropped to $14.95. Its popularity with young people is no surprise. Portability, combined with the privacy it afforded, was the coup de grace. Its introduction coincided with rock and roll music bursting on 1961 SONY Christmas advertisement. “Santa is solving all your the scene—a gift problems with world famous SONY all-transistorized radios musical and television ... the perfect gift for everyone on your list.” Santa alteration is holding a “SONY TRW 621 Pocketable Automatic Watch Radio. generally 7 jewel precision watch awakens you to music ... turns on and off despised by automatically! Complete with battery, earphone, and carrying adults. But, case. $49.95.” In 2018 dollars, this radio would cost over $425! with this plastic receiver, that I have ever seen!” Of course, he was youth had complete personal freedom set straight. “That was no growth, that from parental scrutiny! One quip which was one of them new-fangled transistor made the rounds was: “Remember the radios!” good old days – when the still small voice within us used to be called conscience? Instead of a transistor radio?”
As with anything new in the public domain, a few jibes were directed its way. One cartoon involved some supposedly naive senior citizens. One said to the other: “I saw a kid walk by yesterday holding his ear. And no wonder, he had the largest growth there
Colleen’s Cleaning 613 379 5959 Reliable, Thorough, Caring Using Eco-Friendly Products www.ColleensCleaning.ca cmfclean@gmail.com
Wednesday 11-4 Thursday 11-4 Friday 11-4 Saturday 9-4 Sunday 10-4 Holidays hours will be posted in the shop, phone and on our Facebook page Last day to order baked goods for Christmas is DECEMBER 19
We wish to thank our customers for all their support MERRY CHRISTMAS AND SAFE HOLIDAYS TO ALL! 14
The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
In the same vein, there was this zany definition: “A transistor radio is a small noisy plastic case with a teenager attached.” The early ones measured about 4 ½ inches (64 cm) by 3 inches (42 cm), but they varied in size from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some were larger, and, in time, there were models which resembled the old conventional portables, complete with carrying handle. They varied in colour, from pale grey to bright red. Some novelty versions were even modeled after Coca-Cola cans, Kraft Dinner boxes, or Cadillac cars. They sounded rather tinny, but with the inclusion of larger speakers that distraction disappeared. Those once-cherished mechanisms are now mere collector’s items. But as one historian observed, we can thank transistor radios for paving the way for Walkmans, Blackberries, iPhones, and more.
“Building long long--term, sustainable rural communities is at the heart of all my work as your Member of Parliament.”
MIKE BOSSIO M.P. Hastings—Lennox and Addington 20-B Richmond Blvd, Napanee Email: mike.bossio@parl.gc.ca Call Toll Free: 1-866-471-3800 www.mikebossiomp.ca
NFU in Canada: 50 Years Old in 2019 Dianne Dowling
T
he National Farmers Union (NFU) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, and NFU Local 316 (Kingston, Frontenac, LennoxAddington) is in on the party. At its annual general meeting on January 10, Local 316 will be saluting past accomplishments, present activities, and future plans for the organization. All are welcome to attend the event to be held at the Inverary United Church hall. We will begin with a supper, followed by the program and a short annual meeting agenda. For more information, contact me at dowling@kos.net or 613-546-0869. The National Farmers Union operates at the local, provincial, national, and international levels, advocating for policies that support small and mediumsized family farms. Several of our Kingston area members have been involved in important national NFU campaigns — banning bovine growth hormone in Canada, fighting the introduction of genetically modified alfalfa and terminator seed, raising awareness about seed regulations, preserving orderly marketing boards, and advocating for agroecology, food sovereignty, and social justice. Members will speak briefly about these national and international issues at the AGM. As well, we will be celebrating Local 316 activities that helped build the regional farm and food economy, through projects
such as the NFU Feast of Fields, Food Down the Road, and the NFU New Farm Project. In 2016, Local 316 held its first Fall Feast, organized to raise money to support young and new farmers in attending farming conferences, workshops, and other educational experiences. For three years, the feast has sold out ahead of time, and because of the outstanding community support for the cause, we have raised several thousand dollars for the young and new farmers fund. The Local has helped sponsor leadership gatherings, including the Youth Convergence planned by NFU Ontario for March 2019. As well, in keeping with support for young and new farmers, this fall the Local initiated a 4-H scholarship of $400, to be awarded each year to a 4-H member attending a college or university; the scholarship will go to a member who has demonstrated leadership and has exemplified the 4-H motto, “Learn to do by doing.” For more information about the 4-H scholarship and the bursaries for young and new farmers, contact Local 316 president Ian Stutt at ianstutt@gmail. com or 613-483-0005. Dianne is an organic dairy and beef farmer on Howe Island, and is active in local food and farm organizations, including Local 316 of the National Farmers Union, the Food Policy Council for KFL&A, and the Kingston Area Seed System Initiative.
Go Carbon Neutral Denice Wilkins
H
eat, lights, power, action! It takes energy to hold events like weddings, concerts, AGMs, and club meetings and this results in carbon emissions that cause climate change. Quinte Field Naturalists (QFN), a local environmental group, wanted to take responsibility for the amount of carbon their monthly meetings were spewing into the atmosphere. They found two companies, Bullfrog Power (bullfrogpower.com) and Less Emissions Inc (less.ca), that could help them do just that. “Bullfrogpowering” an event is a proactive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this way, green energy from clean, renewable sources – such as low-impact hydro and wind – is put into the grid equivalent to the amount of energy the event will use. The small premium it costs also supports community-based renewable power projects across Canada. To Bullfrogpower your event, visit their website and check out “Events” under “Products & Solutions.” Less Emissions is a reactive way to reduce your carbon footprint. Using this approach, the amount of carbon dioxide that has been released into the atmosphere as a result of your event is “offset” by supporting a project that reduces carbon dioxide emissions elsewhere in the world. One of these “gold-standard certified” projects is a chlorine dispenser program that provides safe drinking water to people in rural Uganda. Using chlorine tablets to purify their water instead of boiling it
over a wood fire reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps prevent deforestation. Projects like this are not highly profitable businesses, so without this kind of alternative funding, they would not exist. The David Suzuki Foundation has ranked Less Emissions the highest quality offset provider in Canada and it is also endorsed by leading environmental groups like World Wildlife Fund. By offsetting the carbon emissions generated by an event, you join the ranks of the Juno Awards in making this responsible green decision! The cost of offsetting the carbon emissions from QFN meetings came to a whopping $8.48 annually. To offset your event, determine the time frame and the square footage of the space beginning used, and give Sandra Piroteala at Bullfrog a call (416-360-3464 x221) and she will calculate the tons of carbon emissions produced and the cost of offsets. Flying to warmer climes this winter? You can personally reduce your carbon footprint through Less Emissions by choosing to offset your air travel. It’s not expensive. Offsetting a round-trip flight from Toronto to Orlando would only cost about $16 to $21 per person. Using Bullfrog Power or Less Emission offsets are small expenses that make a big difference in combating climate change! Denice is a Quinte Field Naturalists board member.
Thank You I would like to thank the
WISHING YOU A
constituents of Stone Mills for their renewed vote of confidence. Special thanks to my team: Tammy, Jackie, Sheila, Betty-Anne, Grant, Kathleen, Rosemary, Yvonne, Deb, Jan, George, and my family for their energy and support. Sincerely, Wenda Lalande
STONE MILLS FAMILY MARKET Your Independent Food Town We wish to extend our thanks to all our wonderful customers and staff
HAVE A HAPPY & SAFE HOLIDAY! Holiday Hours: MONDAY DEC. 24
8 AM - 4 PM
TUESDAY DEC. 25
CLOSED
WEDNESDAY DEC. 26 CLOSED MONDAY DEC. 31
8 AM - 4 PM
TUESDAY JAN. 1
CLOSED
Taking Fresh Grade A TURKEY ORDERS for Christmas
672 Addington Street, Tamworth 613-379-2440
Warm & Safe
HOLIDAY SEASON
Jonathan Mc Donald MORTGAGE BROKER
Jonathan.McDonald@migroup.ca
613·354·2224 Call me today for your FREE consultation!
BROKERAGE #10428
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*OAC E&OE
December 2018 / January 2019 • The SCOOP
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178 Main Street Odessa, Ontario K0H 2H0 613-386-7373 www.paynefuneralhome.com “The Smith family, here for your family.”
Along with our sons Hudson and Harvey, we truly wish everyone a most joyous and safe holiday season. We appreciate the confidence that families continue to place in us. May the true meaning of the holiday season fill your heart and home with many blessings. Sincerely, Jason & Collette Smith
Do You Love to Cook and Promote Healthy Eating? KFL&A Public Health is recruiting volunteers to become Food Skills Ambassadors. Volunteers will be trained in food safety, basic cooking, and healthy eating to provide displays, food demonstrations, cooking classes, and other activities. Training will begin in January 2019. If interested, please call KFL&A Public Health at 613-549-1232 or 1-800-267-7875, ext. 1159 or e-mail volunteer@kflaph.ca kflaph.ca
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The SCOOP • December 2018 / January 2019
