HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-03-21, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013.Armstrongs celebrate their 60th anniversary
New AD always
wanted the job
On March 18, Tom and JoanArmstrong celebrated their 60thwedding anniversary.On March 17 Tom and Joan wel-comed their family to GoderichPlace, where they have lived for twoyears. They celebrated by having aspecial Chinese dinner.It was on March 18, 1953 that JoanChristine Hiseler, daughter of Larry and Marion Hiseler of
Wingham, married William Thomas
(Tom) Armstrong, son of Mark
and Ellen Armstrong of RR2,
Lucknow.
The wedding was officiated by Dr.
Beecroft and took place at the home
of the bride’s family in Wingham.
The couple was attended by Marjorie
(Hobden) Hazelgrove and Stanley
Hiseler.
After the wedding the couple cele-
brated with a modest honeymoon in
Toronto, staying at one of the city’s
fine hotels.
Upon returning from their honey-
moon, Tom and Joan settled on the
Armstrong family farm with Tom’s
parents.
Tom began his life farming, but
then over the years went on to workfor Huron County, the Good RoadsAssociation, Stanley Door inWingham and Radford’sConstruction before buying a graveltruck and selling gravel.Joan began her work life at a lawoffice in Wingham before working asa secretary for both East Wawanoshand Brussels Public Schools. Shewas also the clerk for West
Wawanosh Township and was even-
tually promoted to clerk-treasurer.
Both Tom and Joan are now
retired, Joan in 1995 and Tom in
2007.
Tom and Joan have five children:
daughters Marion Taylor (who is
married to Roy), Marlene Baker
(who is married to Merv) and
Noreen Walker and sons Terry
Armstrong (who is married to
Sheila) and Jeff Armstrong (who is
engaged to Donna Boone).
They have 12 grandchildren and
21 great-grandchildren.
In retirement, Tom likes to play
cards and bingo, while Joan likes to
read and try her hand at many differ-
ent puzzles.
Continued from page 1
Festival.
“She has a real depth of experi-
ence,” Armstrong says.
And while her familiarity with the
Blyth Festival is one of her biggest
attributes, Armstrong says, de Vries’
ability to help turn a theatre around
attracted members of the committee
as well.
Armstrong says that de Vries,
while working with a theatre in
Prince Edward County, where she is
originally from, helped turn a theatre
in a deficit position back into the
black.
“We think the future is bright here,
but we have had a few years with a
small deficit,” Armstrong says. “I
think Marion can take us in a new
and exciting direction into the
black.”
The search for a new artistic direc-
tor began last fall when a call was
made nation-wide, Armstrong says,
and applications were received, liter-
ally, from coast to coast. He said
applications were received from
both British Columbia and Nova
Scotia, as well as many provinces in
between.
The process began with approxi-
mately 30 applications, Armstrong
said, and then the list was reduced
down to seven or eight applicants.
The list was made smaller once
again when five people were inter-
viewed over the phone and then a
final group of three people was
brought in for face-to-face inter-
views with the Festival’s board of
directors.
General Manager Deb Sholdice
says that the reason de Vries was
chosen as the successful candidate
transcends her work in the theatre,
saying that she is a great person who
understands what the Blyth Festival
is all about.
“Because she grew up in a rural
area, Marion has a wealth of experi-
ence outside of the theatre and I
think that helps her understand a
broad cross section of the Blyth
Festival’s audience,” Sholdice says.
Armstrong says the committee
was able to carry out the extensive
process that resulted in de Vries’ hir-
ing because of the excellent job cur-
rently being done by Interim Artistic
Director Peter Smith. If there was a
rush on finding a new artistic direc-
tor, Armstrong says, the committee
may have had to make a rash deci-
sion and not found the right candi-
date, which was not the case with de
Vries.
“Peter was the ideal person for this
job,” Armstrong said. “He had
already been here in the 1990s and
he has an intimate knowledge of the
Festival and a good relationship with
[former Artistic Director] Eric
[Coates]. Things were ideal through
the transition.”
While Smith has enjoyed his time
in Blyth, he says that de Vries is the
ideal person for the Festival job.
“I think she’s going to do a
remarkable job here,” Smith says.
“I’ve known her for over 25 years
and she’s just as good of a person as
she is in the theatre.”
Smith says that de Vries was in
Blyth when he returned to direct
Hometown in 2011 and she was very
helpful to him during the writing
process.
“She’s hard working, dedicated,
all the things you want in a person,”
Smith says.
In a 2011 interview with The
Citizen, de Vries said that returning
to Blyth year after year (she says she
has barely missed a play since she
began coming up over 20 years ago)
was like “coming home” every sum-
mer. In an interview with The Citizen
last week, she said that in some way
it had always been her goal to
become the artistic director of the
Blyth Festival, so she was still hav-
ing a hard time believing it was hap-
pening.
“I feel overwhelmed,” she said last
week. “I’m so full of joy and I’m
excited and overjoyed.”
She says she’s looking forward to
moving to Blyth in the summer and
becoming part of the community,
while she still plans on maintaining a
presence in Toronto at the same
time, which is important for her 16-
year-old son Luke.
Coming initially from a farming
community in Prince Edward
County, however, de Vries says that
she thoroughly identifies with the
ideals of the Blyth and Huron
60 years strong
Tom and Joan Armstrong celebrated 60 years of marriage on Sunday by spending time with
their family and friends at their new home, Goderich Place. The couple was wed on March 18,
1953 in Wingham. ( Submitted photo)
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Continued on page 19