Zephyr & Sandford news

PAT ASLING The Standard

So winter put in another appearance, just to let us know its hiding around the corners but here we are well past mid-February. The days are noticeably longer as I have noted before, being a gardener from a farming family, lack of snow is not always a good thing. Those 15 evenings could be disastrous for our fruit trees. Time will tell.

Last Monday was Family Day in Ontario and several others but in Manitoba it is Louis Riel Day, in Nova Scotia Heritage Day and in PEI simply Islander Day. I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.

Our community seems to have been hit with a number of illnesses lately with Dorothy Baker in Uxbridge Hospital recovering from a fall, Cathy Ellig finally at home after a week and a half at Butternut recovering from surgery, and Mike Risebrough taking it easy at home following surgery. Our love and best wishes go out to all these friends as they recover strength and good health.

There were a number of birthdays to celebrate this past week and we begin with Jackie Leppard. Jackie and John live on a farm north of here and are raising two sons, one who went off to college this past September, like three young people of my own family have done. Donna Shier is next. Donna was born and raised around the Sandford area with her Lapp sisters and brother. She could almost celebrate with her sister their birthdays are so close. The lovely and talents Kimberley Kelland also celebrated and I expect her three talented and successful children and husband Mike gave her a great party. Casey Spencer is a young lady we don’t see much of now as she lives in Oshawa but she was once our pianist at Sandford United Church and is the granddaughter of Carol Johnson. Casey is another of our up and coming young musicians.

Best wishes to Mary Anne Orav. Mary Anne is another gardener and she and husband Robert enjoy working on their small farm south of town. Another lady celebrating in Lois Ferguson Woody. The Woodys lived in Leaskdale for a number of years, neighbours of June and Ed Evans, and Lois was a sorority sister, still is from afar, but she and husband Jim have lived in USA for a number of years. They now have four children, seven grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Our sympathy to Lois on the death of her brother who lived in Lindsay.

The past weekend I traveled with my sister and brother-in law to Hanover to help our sister-in-law Joan Clarke Asling celebrate her 80th birthday Saturday afternoon, in which about 60 people sat down to a delicious supper. Weather and colds prevented several others from here attending but her sister Faye and Perry Wildfong and their son Brandon and new wife were there. And finally, the big one. Elwood Kirton’s mother Violet is 105! Her birthday was Feb.17. She knits, does word search, and recently! took up scrabble. All her family were present and she received over 300 cards. She never misses any activity or musical happening in her care home. Wow, isn’t that fantastic. Then Breakfast TV/City TV, came to interview her and she was shown on TV.

Birthdays this week include Karyn Tindall of Tindall Farm Market and a great baker, Eileen Wilson who has now retired and they live east of here now. Eileen was involved with the Genealogy Group for many years. Twins Luke and Teagan Smith, children of Andrea and Bryan, are 11 years old already. Birthday greetings also to Joan Sine of Zephyr. Hope everyone had a great birthday and a great year.

Deborah and Dwight Clements spent a week skiing in Quebec, beautiful weather and scenery and this week are entertaining their daughter and her little ones.

Eight of our Sorority sisters met for lunch on this past Monday, the rest being off in Florida.

On Tuesday about 20 people enjoyed our latest Community Care lunch at Douglas Crossing. Guest entertainer for the afternoon was Conrad Boyce. Now Conrad is a master of many things but many of us first heard him reciting Robert Service poems many years ago now and that’s what he does still. He chose several very dramatic poems for the afternoon. I had heard him do most of those same numbers six or seven years ago when I accompanied him and Lisa, the Hinzels and Mustards, to the Yukon, were I heard him on Robert Service’s front lawn!

The Genealogy meeting was changed to a zoom only presentation due to the possibility of a storm. The topic under discussion is one which stumps many genealogists, finding ancestors in Ireland. This is because many of the records have been lost or destroyed by fire over the years. It really is a search to know where to look and what you can actually find.

The North Durham Nature Group meeting is by zoom on February 27th. Please contact admin if you wish to listen in and are not a member. Speaker is Stuart Mackenzie expounding on the Migration of Winged Animals, Birds, Bats and Insects.

On Friday, March 1st Tom Baker’s “Jazz at Leaskdale” continues, at 7:30 p.m. with donations towards the payment for the Grand piano Tom plays so excellently. Don’t forget Yuk Yuks is coming to the Sandford Hall on Saturday, March 2nd. Contact Heather Moore for tickets. On Sunday, March 4th, Church will be back to Sandford with Rev. Bill Fritz leading, and we are heading quickly to Easter.

Last week we said good bye to three of our community exemplary men folk, Bill Lockie, whose Celebration of life was held at Zephyr Church on Thursday morning, 11 a.m. for visitation and 12 a.m. for service.

Our deepest condolences to his family, all of whom I knew from when they were young children. Bill just missed his 91st birthday by two days. Then on Friday, at Low’s, it was Ted Croxalls turn to have our remembrances and they are long for his 101 years. Both men were a deep credit to their families, their churches and their communities. Then we were hit by the news that Ross Risebrough had passed away early in the week. With funerals three days in a row, and each one different I will wait until next week to write about them as each was very important.