ZEPHYR & SANDFORD by Pat Asling

A beautiful Sunday! I hope all mothers and all motherers had a wonderful day of appreciation and pleasure on the special Sunday to honour them. The weather during the preceding week was gorgeous, giving us a bit of the heat dome causing such destruction in BC and Alberta, then a bit of cooling on but winds that could have fanned the flames, and then a typical May day with sun, clear blue and more wind. The combination of heat and wind has brought out the spring blooms, whether flowers or trees, but also hurried them along to their end. Sad, since they are really exceptionally beautiful this year, in my opinion!

A number of people got to celebrate a birthday this past week. One really belated one was that of Rev. Carol Baggett. Carol has been a full-time minister but has been worshiping with us a couple of times and her husband, Rick McKinley, many times. At the same time, she announced that she would be retiring from the ministry, so perhaps we will see more of her in the future. Another birthday of note was that of Bruce Smith. Bruce not only works full time at Green Tractors, and has for well over 50 years, but also farms his land bringing in and selling his hay crop each year. Another young man celebrating is Trevor Cox, who has reached the sage age of 40! Trevor farms but also has his own radio programme, something not often done.

Happy birthday to our own Bill Richardson! Bill can turn his hand to just about anything, whether it is fixing machinery, carving musical instruments or playing them as he does with the bagpipes and the accordion. Bill is an engineer but took to farming and added all these other accomplishments. Happy birthday also to Ellen Ballinger. Ellen grew up around Sandford, and her family were great supporters of the church. She now lives in town with her husband, Jack.

The other day I met Helen Herrema and her sister in a store. I was happy to see them as it had been some time since we had chatted. Later I found out that it was either her birthday or the next day was. Helen is 85 and still looking and acting sharp, getting ready for another wedding in the family! Carol Johnson is celebrating her birthday on Tuesday, about the same vintage. Unfortunately, she has had some medical problems but is feeling better than she was. Carol works very hard for our church in a variety of ways! Happy birthday also to Christine Acton. Chris is a retired dental hygienist and enjoying herself, especially with her grandchildren.

Shirley Hewlett reported that the hardware from her broken collarbone, an accident at Christmas, has been removed, and now she can start to move more normally.

I had neglected to mention the passing of Bob Pollard, a man very well known and honoured in the community, in sports in general and hockey in particular. The man lived and breathed sports and was helped along by his wife, Dorothy. They were forever involved. I didn’t know Bob all that well, but I did know Dorothy and the family life revolved around community and sports. Hard to find these days, it seems!

About 30—35 people attended the Foster on Friday night to hear Garth Dynes perform his medley of blues, some of which he had written. Next week, May 19th, Justin Dillon on the Hand Pan, a type of drum, will be the headliner, creating melodic and syncopated patterns, according to the adverts. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show, and admission is at the door! Our thanks to Brian O’Sullivan for organizing the May programme.

Don’t forget the church service at the heritage Pine Grove Church on May 21st, 3 p.m. The locally acclaimed group Reflections will be leading the service and singing several of their great vocalizations.

Thursday evening at the Seniors Centre, the hall was filled with a crowd of people who turned out to talk and listen to others speak about their reactions and consequences during and after the tornado of May 21st, 2022. This was organized by a number of people and MCed by Ted Barris. On the panel were key people who were either heavily involved in loss to their property or those whose job it was to come to the rescue of people and property and clean up afterward. As well, a number of people from the audience shared their experiences, and for some, sadly, it is still ongoing as they have not been able to get back into their homes, insurance has not yet arrived, or they have suffered mentally. All in all, it was a very therapeutic time, I think, for a number of people, thanks to the organizers.

On Sunday, I had planned on treating myself to listening to Claidhmore and Men of Note in concert at St. Paul’s Anglican. On reaching the door, it was to find a note saying all concerts, including the two scheduled for Port Perry, had been cancelled due to COVID. Very disappointing, but they will be rescheduled. Several cases of COVID are popping up again, it seems!

It was interesting to learn from a poster on Facebook that the Zephyr Library is celebrating its 125th anniversary! It was first housed in the Mechanic Institute in the upper story of the township hall. This is where the present building, which was built in 1966 and renamed Zephyr Library in 1972. Who knew?

Congratulations. There will be a cake cutting on May 25th, 5:30 p.m., at the Library.

Our church service was led by our own Adele Boy LLWL, who spoke about mothers and mothering and how the concepts have changed, as well as what Christ and the scriptures mentioned about this concept of mothering. Linda Wagg handed out flowers to all the ladies present. Next week Pastor Laura Kay will be with us once more.

Bob Kirvan wanted to mention that the Uxbridge Club will be hosting the Durham Region 55 Plus group on June 8th at 10 a.m. Registration is $15 and you can register at: Games.ca or call Bob at 905-862-9176.