ZEPHYR & SANDFORD by Pat Asling

A decent rain, finally! It seems that most of the area got rain Sunday afternoon, but in varying amounts. Earlier in the week, some got rain, others nothing, a real hit and miss affair that didn’t amount to much anywhere. This one sank in immediately and the grass just drank it up! Hope it’s enough to save some of those very thirsty corn crops and other crops that looked pretty wilty! Although Durham Region is still in Stage 2, along with Toronto and the GTA, already the numbers are rising and on Sunday there were 166 new cases in Ontario, quite an increase from the preceding days. I am not sure what criteria they use to decide what should open, but it’s obvious that bars should not, since that seems to be the biggest contributor. Beaches are another thing that, although particularly enticing in this hot weather, seems to be a magnet for those who care less about others and the rules of separation. Do we want to go back into lockdown? The numbers now are more in the age group of 40 and lower, those more inclined to think they are invincible, but autopsies are showing that a lot of damage is done to the body which could very well cause significant health problems in later life. There were quite a few birthdays and anniversaries this past week. Doris Brandon Stewart and Ron celebrated their 57th anniversary early in the week. Seems only yesterday I attended their wedding! Doris worked in Dr. Carl Puterbough’s dental office when I did, and we spent a goodly number of hours together, working and lunchtimes at her mom’s. Wilma and Ted Smith celebrated their 41st anniversary. Beside running a large farm, Ted in into politics and Wilma, a fantastic quilter, has been very busy sewing masks the last few months. The Sandford connection is that Heather Moore (Mike) is Ted’s niece, daughter of Norma and Jim Ferguson, all of whom are well known in the Junior Farmers and 4H, etc. The oldest of our birthday people is Shirley McIntyre at 93! Shirley was a nurse at Uxbridge Cottage Hospital for many years while her husband (ex) John was the surgeon. They raise their four children in Uxbridge. They also bought a piece of property east of Epsom that belonged to my grandfather for many years and to where we had to drive our young cattle back and forth twice a year. It was also the venue for the many baseball games that were played in the area, all those years ago. Lynn Taylor turned 80, joining the many celebrating 1940! Lynn lives in Fernie B.C. now with wife Galye but was born and brought up in Uxbridge. He went to Michigan Tech to study geology. His mother Elva, who died in her 100th year, was one of three sisters in the large and extensive Noble family. Lynn has two children and five grandchildren. Congratulations also to Louise Lougheed, nee Weir. Louise was born and raise on Weir Road just north of the 7th, daughter of Lewis and Eldine, siblings Cathy and Bill.

She and her husband Steve live in Brampton with two sons. One of Uxbridge’s favourite teachers, Tish MacDonald, also celebrated her birthday, the first since her retirement from Uxbridge secondary. Of course, not much has been happening since March, but she can now relax a bit more. Marion Gibson of Uxbridge has also live a good 80 years and continues to work part time. A long-time Sandford son is Bill Barton at 81. Bill’s parents Wallace and Mary bought the farm across the road from me, from her parents many years ago, and raise their family two sons and two daughters there. Bill and his sisters all married local spouses. The farm is now owned by Gary and Debbie Smith, Twinkleberry Farm! This coming week is special to our family as my sister Faye Ashton has a birthday July 22nd and her husband Keith on the 24th. My own is the 26th. That same day Earle Lockerby celebrates as my twin. On the 27th Isabelle Smith will have her 90th birthday. Her son Merv and wife Barb are visiting from B.C. and her four children were able to get together to celebrate. Isabelle put up with me for 25 years as receptionist and dental assistant while we worked for the Ministry of Corrections, Social Services. One celebrity is Alex Trebek, a favourite with all Canadians. His 80th birthday is July 22nd, but he has said that if his latest pancreatic treatment does not work, he is not getting anymore. A very sad note to end on!