HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-07-21, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016.
Reunion, anniversary make for busy Walton weekend
Quite the production
McGavin Farm Equipment in Walton celebrated 80 years in the business on Friday, thanking
customers, community members and employees for making their ongoing business venture a
success. The afternoon included awards, presentations, food and a midway that would put
many fall fairs to shame. (Denny Scott photo)
PEOPLE AROUND
WALTON
By Jo -Ann
McDonald
Call
887-6570
We are pleased to report that Jean
Bridge is home again. We hope she
is improving daily and will be able
to get out and about again.
Congratulations to Bruce
Armstrong on his retirement. He has
retired from teaching after 30 years
in the profession. He started his
career in Bracebridge but has been
teaching automotive at F.E. Madill
Secondary School for many years.
He was always a favourite teacher, I
am told, and will be missed by his
fellow teachers. Congrats to Bruce,
who will now have lots of time to
catch up with other projects.
Congratulations to Heather Bone
on being recognized as an
outstanding young person and a
remarkable representative of Huron
Bruce. She was recognized by MPP
Lisa Thompson at the annual general
meeting for the Conservative party
last week in Teeswater. Heather was
unable to attend, as she is working at
the Manning Centre in Calgary for
the summer. Her parents attended on
her behalf. She was nominated
because " as a co-op student, she
demonstrated a particular acumen
for economics and was able to
affectively apply it in a public policy
context to what matters in Huron
Bruce". Heather worked for MPP
Thompson in her office and did a
very good job. Congrats to Heather!
Returning from a wonderful
Alaskan cruise are two local
couples. Carman and Sandra
Machan and Murray and Gail
McArter. They flew to Vancouver
and boarded the cruise ship and
report having a wonderful trip. They
were away nine days and enjoyed
beautiful scenery, whale watching,
great weather and good food. A very
nice trip for the friends to enjoy
together.
Our get well wishes go to Marg
Bennett who is a patient in hospital
at this time. We hope she is soon able
to be home again after suffering a
fall.
The Walton Hall was the venue for
two Blyth Festival dinners last
weekend. They fed about 70 folks
over the two nights and thanks to
Judy Lee, Judy Emmrich, Jo -Ann
McDonald, Margaret Mclnroy and
Jane Zwep for their assistance.
The Edge of Walton had a special
group of people at their facility last
week. It was the week long Grand
Sparks program for grandparents
and a grandchild. The mornings
were filled with a variety of
activities that had the participants
working as a team. The grandparents
and children partnered to do the
challenge course, the rope climbing,
the nature trail, canoeing and other
activities that partnered the pairs to
make a connection. It is a very
motivating experience for both the
grandparent and child. Another
wonderful program at the Edge of
Walton.
The Glanville Family held its
annual reunion at the Winthrop Ball
Park and Pavilion on Sunday. It was
the 64th gathering. There was over
90 attending the fun -filled afternoon.
They had a bouncy castle for the
young at heart and of course food,
food and more food.
Congratulations to Jenna Fischer
and Andrew Baker on their wedding
last weekend. The wedding was held
at the farm of the bride's parents
Murray and Marlene Fischer and
was a beautiful outdoor affair. The
groom's parents are Dave and Liana
Baker. The newlyweds will reside in
Brussels. Congrats!
An adventurous group of motor
bikers from the Walton/Blyth area
travelled to Eastern Quebec for their
annual summer bike trip. This year
the group included Ray Rammeloo,
Henk Pardys, Harry Zwep, Jerry
Zwep, Cole Zwep (riding with dad
Jerry) and George Zwep. The six
enjoyed five days of travel that
covered approximately 3,000 kms.
The first day they travelled to
Berthierville, just over the Quebec
border. The next evening they
arrived in Baie-Comeau, where they
stayed for two nights. Wednesday
was spent travelling to and touring
the Manic 5 -Daniel Johnson Dam. It
is located on the Manicougan River
and is the largest dam of its type in
the world. Construction of this dam
started in 1959 and was finally
completed in 1968.
This group took a bus tour which
actually travelled over the dam and
allowed for some fantastic photo
opportunities. The dam is 702 feet
tall and 4,311 feet long. It is owned
and operated by Hydro -Quebec. The
return ride back to Ontario was a
little cool and wet but they had a
fantastic time. Welcome back!
The annual Elliott reunion was
held at Red Stone Lake and was
attended by Helen (Elliott) Craig and
Graeme. It was held at the cottage of
niece Chantal and Rod, daughter of
Emily (Elliott) and Scott LaRue. The
third sister, Mary Elliott is here from
Vancouver for her annual visit with
family. It is held over the entire
weekend, and family comes and
goes for the visiting. Upwards of 34
came and went enjoyed good food
and family visits. Red Stone Lake is
in the beautiful Haliburton area and
a great place for them to gather.
During the weekend they celebrated
a 25th, 20th and a 15th wedding
anniversary for members of the
family!
We send our get well wishes to
Mike and Christa Haggitt and family
as they were involved in a motor
vehicle accident. They were hit and
the family sustained various
injuries, but thankfully they were
non -life-threatening. Injuries include
a broken arm and collarbone for the
girls Aliya and Mya, and a hand and
knee for Christa and Mike. It will be
a summer of recuperating, but
thankfully, they will recover.
We hope Lloyd Glanville is feeling
better and is home from hospital .
Three sisters have returned from a
driving adventure to the west coast.
Fran Breckenridge, Marg Garniss
and Ruthann from Wiarton spent a
month on the road, covering 12,000
kms. They ended at Port Hardy, on
the northern tip of Vancouver Island,
before turning around for the trip
home. Fran was the driver and the
ladies stopped at many interesting
places along the way. Wherever and
whenever they would see something
of interest, they would just stop. No
timetable, just out for a drive! As is
the case of a small world, when they
were somewhere near Edmonton,
they ran into a lady that had a
Brussels connection. Because they
met so many and didn't keep a diary,
all they could remember was her last
name is Willis, but can't remember
her first name. An educated guess
would be they met the wife of
Wayne Willis! They had a great trip
and a lot of fun.
Walton was on the map this
weekend with the celebration of
McGavin Farm Equipment's 80th
anniversary party. There were well
over 1,000, maybe 2,000 people on
hand to enjoy the activities of the
day. The McGavin family welcomed
one and all and received multitudes
of congratulatory messages from
many. They had suppliers on hand,
great deals on equipment, food,
draws, games, petting zoo, ferris
wheel and CKNX to broadcast the
day's activities. It was a little cool
with a little rain to start the day, but
it improved and the crowds arrived;
an excellent crowd for the speeches
and for the entire day.
Congratulations to the McGavin
family for being an important part of
the village of Walton and strong
supporters of their community and
around the area!
The Walton Hall was the venue for
the gathering of the students of the
former S.S.#11 Morris School. It is
the located at McGavins and started
in the 1930s and closed in 1962. The
committee was very pleased to have
over 70 people attend the day with
two former teachers in attendance.
Janis Vodden and Marjorie
Humphries attended and Mrs.
Vodden spoke and told a story about
days gone by at the Walton School.
They had a great display of old
photos and memorabilia and many
toured the former school, thanks to
Neil McGavin. The committee had
registration for former students, so
everyone will be able to find old
school friends, very easily next
time. Former students came from
Vancouver, London, Kitchener and
Calgary. They enjoyed visiting, light
lunch and a lovely social time, just
like in the good old days! The
committee included about 10 ladies
and gentlemen and congrats on a job
well done!
The McDonald family had a very
busy weekend with activities, which
included attending the McGavin
celebration on Friday. Neil and Rick
both worked at McGavins as young
men and have good memories of
Gordon and Neil as their employers.
Next on Saturday, they attended the
S.S.#11 school reunion, as they both
attended the school. Rick attended
for only a few months before the
"new school" opened. Then Rick
and I and our family travelled to St.
Thomas to attend the wedding of my
FROM WALTON
nephew, Dennis and bride Carly. It
was a lovely setting at Pond Valley
for the intimate affair of 80 family
and friends. We had a late night, but
were up and at it for the fourth event
of the weekend on Sunday. The
Stevens family reunion was held at
the home of Neil McDonald in
Bayfield. There were 28 gathered for
a lovely afternoon of visiting and
potluck meal. Marg (Stevens)
Rogerson and Marg Stevens
(Robert) were both there for a great
visit with the many nieces and
nephews and their children. A lovely
afternoon for all.
Celebrating birthdays this past
week included Allan Carter, Emily
Mitchell, Sean Mitchell, Jasmin
Roth, Russell Pryce, Steve Fritz,
Mitchell Ryan, Devon McCutcheon,
Lorna Fraser, Neil Mitchell, Melanie
Kirkby, Emma Johnston, Brenda
Finlayson, Jackson Janmaat, Alicia
Dalton and Nicholas Shahshahani,
Doreen Hackwell, Ed McClure,
Monica Ryan, Tracey McKee,
Andrea Bremner, Gloria Love,
Jackie Glanville, Grace Robinson,
Caitlyn Regele, Steve Baan, Gary
Godkin, LeeAnn McDonald, Paul
Somerville, Lloyd Glanville, Kristen
Curreri, Dianne Flood, Sharon
Godkin, Sherry McCall, Kelly
Boven, Corrina Strong, Ken
Williamson, Sandra Josling,
Christopher Ritchie, Curtis Ryan,
Andrew van Vliet and Anne
Williamson. Happy birthday to
all!
Returning
On Saturday, former students and teachers from S.S. #11
Morris Township school were at the Walton Hall to
reminisce, including two of the school's teachers: Janis
(Moffitt) Vodden, left, and Marjorie Humphries. (Vicky Bremner
photo)