Zephyr & Sandford news

by Pat Asling

This week's full moon is called the strawberry moon. A wild guess would be because some strawberries are ripe. I have certainly had some but I doubt they are from Ontario. However the wild strawberries are populating my yard but chipmunks and squirrels get first dibs on them.

What a busy week it has been! If only it had been sunny instead of cloudy, rainy and cool! Only a few days left in May, and gardeners itching to get going and nature running way ahead of us. My dahlias planted in pots are doing well, and since they will stay in their pots, it's just to get the soil worked up and cleaned up of dead growth and grass. Of course, the dandelions have all gone to seed, ready for a new crop, and probably in a couple of weeks, we will be crying for rain again. On Tuesday, the Seniors lunched again and learned from travel organizer and consultant Lynn Roach-Bernier where and how seniors can still travel safely. Tanis Smith, Al and Jean Sopel spent a few hours Wednesday cleaning and organizing the lunch room for the upcoming committal at the cemetery of Bob Meek on Saturday. Family and friends gathered later for conversation and lunch. About 50 people attended. On Sunday, we had a new worship leader, Ken McEvoy, from Toronto. Ken is an LLWL and has conducted many services over the years, long before obtaining that designation. He has many years of work in IT and research on extremely important medical items to his credit. Next week, Rev. Li will return, and we will be holding our Annual Meeting following the church service. Please attend and give your input!

Many people celebrated this week including Jenny VanMurik, to whom we sang in church today. Bruce and Tanis Smith also got sung to as they celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary! Chandler Ball is officially an adult now reaching the impossible age of 21, while Sylvie Clark, another of Marcie and Hugh's girls, is 14. Sylvia Risebrough Kokkinen also celebrated but without one of her girls, as Olivia has gone to work in Banff for the summer or maybe longer. Lynn Walker Tindall also enjoyed a birthday. Then there is Tony Peck, enjoying his retirement but going strong at age 80! Oh yes, and then there is Stan Smalley, celebrating his own birthday instead of one of his children! Lynn Gibson and family returned after enjoying a wonderful European tour - looking forward to lots of pictures about this adventure!

On Saturday, the Genealogy Group held an Open House at the library. This was to assist people wishing to learn how to search for a family using the various articles available in the Genealogy room. A number of persons availed themselves of this opportunity. Also, on Saturday, the Zephyr Scott Lions Club held a spring market with crafts, plants, and baked goods on sale from the Zephyr Hall. On Sunday, Kathy Wasylenky held a book Launch at the "9 by Tin" restaurant. The place was packed! Kathy showed slides and talked about the process she used to detail Lucy Maud Montgomery's life growing up and as a wife, mother, community worker and activist. The book is entitled "Mrs. Ewan MacDonald." Following this activity, I quickly drove to Pine Grove church, where the group "Reflections" was conducting the service. I love their music, and evidently, so do many others. Ron Evans gave the message, and he used the letters of his mother's name, "Grace," to illustrate. Both his father, Floyd Evans, and mother, Grace Simpson, recently passed away. The Simpson family lived down that way and went to Pine Grove church. It was amazing to see so many friends and family that I knew!

Congratulations to Scugog Island First Nation Chief Kelly LaRocca "who said she was very proud" to be honoured by York University with an honorary degree! "I was ecstatic to learn the news that I was chosen by York University to receive an honorary degree," LaRocca said. She is one of six people who will receive it. Kelly is already a lawyer! Coming events include the next concert at the Foster when Jethro Haynes and his guitar are the presenters. On Saturday, June 7th, at 7:30 p.m. and June 8th, at 3 p.m., Northern Trails is vocal Connection will air their spring concert. Tickets are on sale now. On June 12th at the Museum, Allan MacGillivray will be speaking about some specifics of Uxbridge. Allan's talks are always informative and humorous! On June 21st, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society will be hosting their "Gardens of Uxbridge" tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For tickets, contact info@gardensofuxbridge.org. The summer teas begin July 16th, 23rd, 30th, and August 6th, 13th, 20th. On August 21st, at 6 p.m., there will be a dinner at the theatre! The cost this year is $35.

On July 1st, at the Uxbridge Scott Museum there will be an old style picnic. Bring your own food, play old time games and enjoy the holiday.

This is a note from Bob Kirvan in regard to the horseshoe games; the cost to play is $30 for the season, May to October, every Tuesday at 6 p.m., behind the Red Brick Schoolhouse. This $30 gets you a $20 Membership in the Uxbridge Scott Historical Society and entitles you to attend all events like the Speaker series. The other $10 goes to UHC, and you can attend all free events at the Museum. There is no further charge to play Horseshoes. First Time Out is FREE to see if you would like to join. Come on out. Open to all Men and Women of all ages.