ZEPHYR & SANDFORD by Pat Asling

Well, another week of clouds and above-normal temperatures, whatever that may be these days, with only those two beautiful days of sun in weeks of gloom, it seems. It reminded me of an old song, sung by Bing Crosby, and probably others:

Wait Til the Sun Shines Nellie

Wait 'till the sun shines, Nellie

Wait 'till the sun shines, Nellie, By and by

Wait 'till the sun shines, Nellie

And the clouds go a-drifting by

We will be happy, Nellie, Don't you cry!

Of course, we can only hope those days are not much longer coming.

A few birthdays this week. First, Melanie Whitfield. Melanie's family has lived in the Leaskdale area for many years, and Melanie has been involved in the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society for quite a few of her adult years and, for the last several, has been the president. This group is small but mighty, called the Maud Squad, and they manage to host a good many activities despite their small numbers.

Lois Elford had a birthday not long ago, but almost every week, she is saying Happy birthday to one or another of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I have asked her before, but not lately, how many of these she has, and she said 14 grands and 22 great-grands. That's quite a number for anyone to remember, and sadly, many don't live close by.

Gordon Shreeve is a very busy man these days. Besides being the Pastor for the Zephyr Missionary Church, and all that entails, he drives people to appointments and now, of course, is the Councillor for Ward 2. Which is enough to keep anybody active and busy. Happy birthday Gord. Fortunately for him, his wife Karen is a super cook, so she undoubtedly has a fantastic meal ready to celebrate.

A big birthday congratulations to one of our few, and getting fewer, WW2 veterans, Norm Goodspeed. Norm was 96. It was back in the 1960s, I think, when Norm first came to Uxbridge. I believe he worked for the hydro in some capacity. Since then, he has been an active participant in town activities and has been honoured by the Legion many times for his service in the war.

As has been the norm, Norm was honoured on his birthday by Tish and Mike MacDonald. Tish, of course, has been a leading light in making sure our veterans are well looked after with her program, "Honour Them Well." Once more this year, she, along with Ted Barris, will be leading a tour to France, the 79th anniversary of the landing in Normandy on June 6th. The tour will run from May 31st to June 12th. Those who have been there, perhaps when students were involved, highly recommend this tour.

Last Tuesday, the Senor's group once again enjoyed a very tasty lunch made by Mary Evans and her assistants, mostly her sister and brother-in-law. Following the lunch, Mayor Barton outlined what is happening in the township and what is hoped to happen. Following his talk, there were many questions asked by the audience, the answers of which may have cleared up some murky subjects for all of us. Councilor Zed Pickering was also in attendance.

This past weekend it was very nice to see my brother Jerry and his wife Joan (Clarke) visiting with us. As it has been several months more than usual since we have been together previously, as we were unable to hold a larger Christmas party. This included Faye and Keith Ashton, of course.

Best wishes for better health to all those who are ill or have been in accidents lately. There seem to be more people with COVID now than there were earlier, even though so many have been vaccinated. Many also have whatever is going on that is also a virus but more like a very bad cold which hangs on for weeks in some cases. And then a few people are also recovering from falls and car accidents. Get well soon.

Church service was in Zephyr on Sunday, with Laura Kay leading in her dynamic fashion. Ruth Baker provided her usual lovely accompaniment. Next Sunday, we are again at Zephyr United Church at 10 a.m., with Rick McKinley leading.

In February, services will be back in Sandford. Carol O'Neil, LLWL, will be back with us on February 5th and 19th. Rev. Dr. William Fritz will be with us on February 12th and 26th. On the 26th, we expect to have a Communion Service. Everyone is invited to all of these services with us.