By Pat Asling
As I write this I am thinking about my flowers and the frost that is forecast to come. The ones on the deck are covered but if the wind blows off the covers’ who knows, although usually if there is a wind there is not a frost: here’s hoping! As for my flowers in the garden, my dahlias are still going strong and I cannot dig them up until they have been hit by a frost so in one way it would be a good thing to get it over with. I still have some potatoes buried under a few nasturtiums and marigolds too.
Small things to worry about when the world sits on the edge of disaster once more! I spent some time in Israel/Palestine with a group and saw some of the situations under which the Palestinians were forced to live for the last many years, each year, losing more territory and people. It’s not something any of us could imagine or ever want to live under.
There were quite a few celebrations this week as we passed the middle of October already. Stores are displaying Hallowe’en outfits and many also have their Christmas things out as well. It’s nice to be able to look ahead but this is a bit much!
Happy birthday to Cecil Blackburn! Cecil was born and raised on the family farm way up the 6th and still lives not too far away.
Happy birthday also went out to Monica Bowen, another area resident.
Greeting also go out to Rob Croxall! Rob has his pharmacy in Stouffville but has everything Uxbridge township at heart.
Birthday greetings also to Katie Bottomly! Katie is the daughter of Phil and Jen Wilson and lives with her husband and daughters in Uxbridge.
Happy birthday also to Gloria Rusnell another lifer in Uxbridge area!
Also celebrating was Augusta Winder with family. She and Vince celebrated a big anniversary not long ago after moving into a new home.
Neil Arnold also had a birthday. The Arnold family lived for many years in the Zephyr area. Now he enjoys flying around!
Special greetings to Megan and Hannah Risebrough who are 27 already! They are the older daughters of Mike and Susan Risebrough and live with their parents on the family farm on Davis Dr.
Greetings also to Lisha Van Nieuwenhove on her birthday and getting back on stage!
Anniversary greetings go out to Dan and Sarah Moore a couple who have really made a go in life despite the odds. Harry and Angie (Bailey) Paisley have been married for 33 years. Harry grew up on the 6th with his brothers.
Congratulations to Joel Hackner and April Simmons who were married on the 14th in a ceremony on the family farm on the 5th concession. Their reception was held at the Sandford Hall with a huge crowd. Many years of happiness are wished for them!
Sadly we have lost some people as well. Peter Doling had lived in Zephyr for most of his very long life and was an active member of the Zephyr congregation. He always had a story to tell and did write some of his stories down; I hope they are preserved. He had been living in Zephyr with his son and had been having difficulty getting around for quite some time. His funeral will be a Zephyr United Church On Sat. Nov. 4 at 1 PM.
I was saddened also to learn about the passing of Donna Barton (nee McTavish). I wrote about her last week while wishing the mayor happy birthday. She was small of stature but certainly had accomplished many great things in her life. Our condolences to the Barton and McTavish families!
I don’t often read the sports pages but a name caught my eye as I noticed that Owen Shier was playing hockey for the Uxbridge Bruins. Owen is the grandson and Ron and Jeanne Shier and great-grandson of Ray. The Shiers lived just down the road on the 7th. He is also a nephew of Linda Wagg and also a cousin of mine as his mother Lori (Ryall) is my cousin on my mother’s side.
Sunday was Zephyr United Church’s 138 anniversary. There was a good attendance and Rev. Diane Bennett-Jones was the minister. She had done a tremendous amount of research on the history of the church with slides. Of course she brought along a couple of her puppets, which were always big hits with adults as well as children. Next week we are again at Zephyr at the regular time of 10am.
On Thursday night the 3rd in a series of speakers presented by the Legion will be on at the Legion hall.
Unfortunately I have not been able to attend any with other events ongoing. Last Thursday evening was the Uxbridge Genealogy Group meeting with the speaker being Allan McGillivray. This was on Zoom and in person and apparently there were more people out to this meeting than any other since before COVID. Just shows that many are interested in the history of Uxbridge. Allan was his usual informative self with a few jokes thrown in.
This Saturday is the Lucy Maud Montgomery Day. There are a number of interesting speakers lined up, the usual delicious lunch and an afternoon tour. This is also the kick-off for a new fundraising event in aid of enlarging the parking lot, which presently is always too small for any large gathering and people need to park way down the side street.Please join in assisting this venture!