Trillium Trails
Editor: Bev Dudley The Official Publication of the Ontario Trillium Travellers
A Chapter of Winnebago/Itasca Travelers
(WIT)
|
|
Leaves are falling, the temperature is
dropping, and anti-freeze has started to flow for all those staying in the
North. It's been a good season, and we hope everyone has enjoyed themselves.
Marlene
and I will miss the brunch due to commitments out West, but being as
non-politically correct as I am, let us wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year.
See you in the spring!
Bill
&
Marlene
Sunday Brunch
November 18, 2007 - 11:00 an to 1:00 pm
Tucker’s Market Place
3110 South Service Road
Burlington, Ontario
Exit Q.E.W. at Guelph Line
Price: $12.99 per person plus
Taxes and gratuity
Separate Billing – Spirits available
Contact Nick Toldi if you plan to attend
905-627-9925
What a grand finale to our season! We had gorgeous fall colours, above average temperatures (forget the rain), a great campground and 24 coaches to celebrate Halloween and Christmas. Thursday was a wee bit quiet but I think some wiring was done by the guys and for sure some knitting and chatting was done by the ladies. By Friday - the move was on. Breakfast was a table full of baked goodies. Later, there were many quick visits by some of us to the Watkin’s coach where Dave had costumes in every nook and cranny so you could find that perfect costume if you forgot to bring one. (Many, many thanks Dave and Barb for helping us out.) Friday morning the ladies sewed yo-yos in preparation for completing the table centres for Saturday night’s dinner. We had time to get those box lunches ready for the auction too and to put on those super costumes before strolling over to enter the costume contest. Best male costume went to Nick Toldi dressed as a derelict with a drinking problem and best female costume went to Lois Parish for a slightly pregnant widow. Most Original went to Stan Parish for his Jolly Green Giant There were many great costumes, including ghosts, witches, hobos, royalty, and even Popeye to mention a few – tough decision for the judges.
The auction for the boxed lunches followed a wee bit of a delay for those who wanted to shed those costumes before partaking in our dinner plans. The auction limit was set at $20 and I think most went for that. Our total was $420 collected for the Parkinson Foundation and then at the last minute someone donated their weekend refund of $16 to make the final total $436 and that’s truly the OTT giving spirit. Lots of tempting food in those boxed lunches/dinners and it sure was a lot of fun.
Later, following a fun wagon ride through the campground, we all grabbed our pens and played “How well do you know your spouse?” The men and the ladies were all asked 6 questions each, about their partner, and the results were hilarious. Most everyone participated and I think the highlights included the question about the ‘most romantic moment’ - after 54 years of marriage Jean Muirhead said “we didn’t have one” and Dorothy Hill’s most romantic moment is ‘still to come’ - if that isn’t the sweetest comment. Many stayed after the game to play Chase the Ace and Sequence.
Saturday started out with breakfast done by the KOA folks and we had bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs and pancakes – yum! It was another busy day with some of the ladies going off with Marilyn Wicks to find out what to do with quilt panels. Most of the ladies also finished their yo-yo tree in preparation for the dinner table that night. There were some scheduling problems with the yo-yo tree supplies – but we worked it out and all ended well. After a scrumptious turkey dinner almost everyone, 39 of us, stayed around to either play in the Euchre tournament that Stan arranged or to play more rousing games of Sequence and Chase the Ace. Chase the Ace was won by Mary Jane Pickersgill – who has never played before but had a lot of nickels to rattle around by the end of the night. For the Euchre tournament, High Lady was Barb Watkins; High Man was Gerald Robitaille; Low Lady went to Fran Keating; Low Man went to Maurice Wicks; and Travelling Lone Hand went to Stan Parish.
Sunday morning was a bright and sunny morning with all of us gathering to share in the food leftover from the Friday morning breakfast and the turkey dinner too. So on the sunniest day of the weekend we shared a bit more camaraderie before heading home.
Many thanks to the hardworking members of Group 2!
Wit Members Ron Robitaille and Irma Vaughn of Whitby in their 2007 Adventurer were our guests for the weekend.
as reported by Sandy Rung
17 Gerald Robitaille
20 Marg Ellis
25 Bernice Gale
25 Bernie Bessette
28 Bev Dudley
December02 Debbie Robitaille
06 Jim Keating
10 Mary Jane Pickersgill
15 Doreen Spadfore
17 Brynley Boulter
18 John Anger
20 Kel Fraser
31 David Rung
01 Nick Wouters
02 June Kaethler
02 Carl Cudmore
02 Edith Naderer
15 Ed Ellis
22 Irene Toldi
28 Bev Bessette
04 Keith Gee
05 Gordon Quinton
07 Norm Gale
08 Bev Cudmore
25 Eileen Binks
25 Cathy Massey
26 Laura Mills
Stop dragging your tail….it’s
only your Birthday! Hope you have a
great day wherever you may be.
Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They’re going to see you naked anyway!
Webmaster Report:A special thank you to the folks who shared their pictures with me. The pictures from the last outing are posted on the website, just follow the links.
Last year Sandy started a spot on the website listing the whereabouts of folks who traveled south for the winter. Most of us found it very useful so I will do my very best to keep it updated. In order to do that, you must drop me an email and let me know where you will be for a week, a month or the winter. In order to access ‘where is everybody’ you have to enter the members only section. You know the drill;
your last name with a capital for the first letter then your WIT # with a capital W.
Last year we had 22 people at a B-B-Q in Zephyrhills, Florida no reason why the folks who go to Texas and Arizona couldn’t do the same.
Safe travels to all who venture south this winter, enjoy the weather and don’t forget to keep in touch and send your pictures. mrd91@mnsi.net
Secretary – Bob and Bev Dudley
21 Wayne & Anne Sallows 43 yrs
23 George & Carole Catherwood 44 yrs
02 Paul & Corienne Bart 47 yrs
07 Jim & Mary Jane Pickersgill 22 yrs
13 Bruce & Eileen Binks 55 yrs
15 Ed & Marjorie Holborn 46 yrs
15 Kel & Ingrid Fraser 40 yrs
09 Nick & Irene Toldi 51 yrs
25 Maurice & Marilyn Wicks 40 yrs
May you always have something to dream of…and always a dream
coming true.
May 20 – 23, 2008 It will be held in Ottawa. In
order to accommodate the tours to parliament and of the tulip gardens, etc it
will have to be through the week. The
park is outside Ottawa and we may have to take cars into Ottawa to get the bus
for the tours. More on this as plans
progress. Watch the April Newsletter and
the Website.
Stan & Lois Parish
Graham Smith advises us that The Great Canadian RV now have an indoor service bay that will accommodate
the largest units including slides at their new location on Yonge
St. in New Market. Check it out.
Wishing you a Christmas filled with all the things that make this season special and health and happiness in the New Year.
Bob and Bev
A Remembrance Day
Story
If you have a Canadian $10 bill, look at the back right side of the bill. You will see an old veteran standing at attention near the Ottawa war memorial. His name is Robert Metcalfe and he died last month at the age of 90.
That he managed to live to that age is rather remarkable, given what happened in the Second World War. Born in England, he was one of the 400,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force sent to the mainland where they found themselves facing the new German warfare technique - the Blitzkrieg.
He was treating a wounded comrade when he was hit in the legs by shrapnel.
En route to hospital, his ambulance came under fire from a German tank, which then miraculously ceased fire. Evacuated from Dunkirk on HMS Grenade, two of the sister ships with them were sunk.
Recovered, he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa and Italy. En route his ship was chased by the German battleship Bismarck.
In North Africa he served under General Montgomery against the Desert Fox, Rommel
Sent into the Italian campaign, he met his future wife, a lieutenant and physiotherapist in a Canadian hospital. They were married in the morning by the mayor of the Italian town, and again in the afternoon by a British padre.
After
the war they settled in Chatham where he went into politics and became the warden
(chairman) of the county. At the age of 80 he wrote a book about his
experiences and on his retirement he and his wife moved to Ottawa.
One day out of the blue he received a call from a government official asking
him to go downtown for a photo op. He wasn't told what the photo was for or why
they chose him. 'He had no idea he would be on the bill,' his daughter said.
And now you know the story of the old veteran on the $10 bill.
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old;
age shall not weary them nor the years condemn,
at the going down of the sun and in the morning ,
we will remember them.