HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-05-21, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015. PAGE 7.
Freedom Syrup dedication brings out more than 100
The sun came out and it was a
lovely afternoon in the bush for the
Freedom Syrup dedication to the
troops. The gathering is the sixth
time it has been held at Jeff and
Shannon McGavin and family’s
sugar bush. Donations for syrup are
accepted and a dedication for the
fallen soldiers is a very special
ceremony presented by Colleen
Elliott and others.
Over 100 people attended the
afternoon’s activities to enjoy a tour
of the operation, the bush, the
dedication and to enjoy light lunch.
The afternoon began with a
welcome from Bob Rowe and a
short biography of the Freedom
Maple Syrup project. It may have
been started by a few, but countless
volunteers aid in the collection of
sap, boiling, bottling, washing and
any other jobs that need done. The
funds raised from the project are
donated to the Families of Fallen
Soldiers Fund and in 2014, over
$7,100 was given.
Colleen welcomed all and made
note of the wonderful sight of the sea
of red that most everyone was
wearing. All had the Canadian flags
to wave as well. The ballad of Auld
Lang Syne was played in memory of
all who had lost someone during the
past year. The flags represented the
50th anniversary, Feb. 15, 1965, of
the adoption of the new red maple
leaf flag as our national flag. The
group then sang our national
anthem. A special offer by Michael
McGavin, the grandson of John
McGavin (Neil’s brother) to play
Taps on the trumpet, was enjoyed by
all. He is just a young man and Taps
is a very hard song to play and he did
a very good job.
The special guest of the day was
Major Frank Golding of Seaforth.
Major Golding served 42 years in
the military service and has just been
a recipient of the Victory Pin,
presented by MP Ben Lobb in
Seaforth in April. Major Golding
was the Commander of the Clinton
Airbase in 1972, when it closed. The
92 year old complimented all those
involved with the wonderful project
of raising funds for the families of
fallen soldiers. He spoke about the
base and how it was built in 1941 as
a training school, then became a
station and finally, a base. Humorous
stories included why the silo was left
standing when the base was built. It
was always told to those who
asked – it was hush hush, but in
reality, it housed the sound system
for the parades.
He also clarified there were no
bunkers or tunnels on the camp.
Married quarters were built in 1957
and the servicemen did business
with locals from Clinton and
Hensall.
The call came in December of
1970 that the base would be closing
and Major Golding was given the
task of “closing the base in an
orderly fashion”. He recalls they had
a range of items to dispose of and in
his judgement, he wanted to benefit
the community and area and leave a
good feeling about the closing. He
arranged to have 12 washers and
dryers donated to the Scout and Girl
Guide Camp on Lake Huron. The
sports equipment went to the Clinton
Recreational Association and
Library books went to local libraries
and large print books to Huronview.
The proudest donation for Major
Golding was the donation of the
chapel furnishings to the Brucefield
United Church, as they rebuilt after a
disastrous fire. Major Golding
reports they were the good times and
military involvement was in
peacekeeping missions. He thanked
everyone for supporting the
Freedom Syrup cause, and to keep
faith and support our troops in time
of war and peace. A hearty round of
applause was given for Major
Golding’s incite into the base and his
life.
The tribute then continued with
Colleen reading a poem Why We
Fight. It was written by Corporal
Andrew Paul Grenon of Windsor,
between his tours of duty. He was
killed in Afghanistan during his
second tour of duty in 2008. The
song “Highway of Heroes” was
played and the poem “In Flanders
Field” by Dr. John MacCrae was
heard. Colleen then read the names
of the 159 soldiers who have lost
their lives in the Afghanistan
conflict – a truly sombering list.
“The Last Post” was played, the
traditional salute of the end of day,
symbolizing the fact that the duty of
the fallen soldier is over and they can
rest in peace. The final song of the
day was “Standing Strong and Free
for Tomorrow”. Congratulations to
the folks of Freedom Syrup and their
support of the families of the fallen
soldiers fund and for the amazing
dedication program they present.
A historic tale
Major Frank Golding, at the podium, was the guest speaker at the Freedom Syrup Dedication
held just outside of Walton over the weekend. Colleen Elliott, left of Golding, ran the event and
read the names of all the soldiers killed in Afghanistan, whom the syrup is crafted in memory
of. Golding told the story of the history of CFB Clinton from its opening to when it was closed
in 1971. (Denny Scott photo)
NEWS
FROM WALTON
Spring Cleaning
Blyth Laundromat
191 Westmoreland St., Blyth
519-523-9687
By Jo-Ann
McDonald
Call
887-6570
PEOPLE AROUND
WALTON
Warm weather allows
farmers to get planting
It was full steam ahead for the
farmers, going right from corn into
the soybeans with no stopping.
Speaking with people from around
the area, it seems many are all done
planting. Those with thousands of
acres are still working, but if the
good weather holds, it will not be
long and they will also be done.
There was frost last week, but
reports are that it did not hurt the
corn. A good steady rain is needed,
as it is quite dry – but as usual, you
can’t make everybody happy!
Our get well wishes go out to Don
Chesher as he deals with some
health issues. We hope he is coming
along well.
Our condolences to the Jutzi
family on the passing of George
Jutzi. He will be missed by his wife
Grace and children Jerry, Jamie and
Neil and their families. A well-
known businessman, he started the
Brussels Transport Company, which
his sons now manage. Our
sympathies to all.
Returning from a week away to
enjoy music, music and more music
by some of the world’s best Elvis
impersonators are four local ladies.
Travelling to Unicoi State Park and
Helen, Georgia, the four ladies
included Bonnie Pennington,
Pauline Gulutzen, Liz Moore and
Sharon Stephenson. The ladies saw
over a dozen shows featuring 17
artists from around the world,
performing the best of Elvis. The
Gospel Show was the very best
show. The ladies had a lovely cabin
to stay in and they could look out
over the beautiful Chattahoochee
River. The ladies had a good time.
Returning to Vancouver, B.C. is
Neil McDonald. He spent three
weeks here helping around the farm,
meeting his new grand-nephew,
spring cleanup around his place and
meeting with many old friends
around Walton, Seaforth and
Chatham.
Changes are happening around the
farm of John and Lisa Huether. The
foundation went in for their new
home. We will be watching the
progress over the summer.
Celebrating birthdays this past
week include Grace Linton, Joyce
Williamson, Ryan Butler, Jason
Pennington, Leanne Armstrong,
Luann Bennett, Phil Blake, Dwayne
Pryce, Ron Strome, Rachel Wilts,
Wendy Glauser, Gerry Ryan, Valerie
Shortreed, Hailey Bachert,
Alexandra Humphries, Abby
McGavin, Jessica Pennington and
Megan Bowles. Happy birthday to
all.
Congratulations to John and
Edith Pipe on celebrating their 50th
wedding anniversary. They enjoyed
a family dinner with sons Murray
and Gary and their families to
celebrate.
It has been quite a year for the
Shaw families to celebrate. Harvey
and Betty Shaw celebrated their 50th
anniversary, John and Edith (Shaw)
Pipe just celebrated theirs and Jim
and Fran Shaw celebrated their 51st
this week. They also have various
other celebrations to keep up with.
The group attended the buck and doe
for Ronna Shaw
Continued on page 14