HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-11-08, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012.
Council debates ad
Veteran historybountiful inVodden repository
There are few days throughout the
year when people remember the past
as fervently as they do on
Remembrance Day.
The day, which is dedicated to
remembering all the men and
women who are fighting for or have
fought for Canada, is steeped with
memories of sacrifice, of brave acts,
of courage and of strife.
For those with a family history of
service to Canada, it can be a time of
difficulty or a time of pride, or it can
be frustrating if they don’t know as
much about their predecessors and
their role in the armed forces as they
would like.
For the latter, people looking for
information on Blyth or Huron
County servicemen and women can
head to the Repository of Blyth
History, maintained by Janis and
Brock Vodden in Blyth.
“We have all sorts of information,
like attestation papers for World War
I, pictures of soldiers, information
relating to soldiers,” Janis said.
“We’ve researched everything from
the Fenian Raids through the Boer
War to present day.”
The Voddens collect information
both through regular means like the
internet and local libraries, but
they’ve also found, since starting
their operation, that information
comes to them through other means.
“Anyone can access certain
information if they have the
internet,” Brock said. “But some
people aren’t comfortable with the
internet or are looking for
information they may not be able to
find.
“We have people come to us and
bring us family trees and newspaper
clippings and other things that just
don’t exist in other places,” he
said.
All the public information about
Blyth’s World War I participants, for
example, have been transcribed,
which is information that most
people could access, however the
couple have information going
beyond that including stories,
pictures and letters from specific
soldiers.
Included among the artifacts and
documents they have are letters to
and from friends and family during
the wars, form letters for soldiers to
let people at home know they were
alive and pictures of soldiers both
before, during and after their service
to the country.
Through collecting the artifacts,
Brock and Janis have been privy to
stories that run the emotional gamut
from the sad to the cute.“One cute story is the one of
David Oscar Coakley, who is
pictured in the Blyth Memorial
Hall,” Janis said.
While Coakley is listed as a
doctor, she found that he was never a
doctor and that he was simply called
“Doc” because of his initials:
D.O.C.
Information about all the men that
enlisted in Huron County can be
found including the number of men
in each contingent during the wards.
Maintaining the collection and
growing it isn’t an easy job,
according to the Voddens, but it’s
one that they enjoy doing because it
puts them in contact with dozens of
people across the country.
“We got in touch with families
after the fact and found out more
information about the men,” Janis
said. “We ask questions, and get to
know about them. We track people
across the country that were born
here or have a link to Blyth and
Huron County. We’re still
cataloguing information.”
Brock said that most of their new
information and history-seekers
come to them not through any
publicity but through basic
connections.
“Most of the people we meet with
learn about us through word of
mouth,” he said. “Some days the
doorbell rings and we talk to people
about their history and they help us
make other connections.
Everybody’s connected to someone
else.”
Janis said that, because of what
they learn and how much they end
up knowing about each other, guests
often leave and both they and the
Voddens consider each other family.
Often time repeat visits are made
just to catch up after people first
came seeking information about this
relative or this family of the area.
The collection that the Voddens
host isn’t limited to war-time
memorabilia. It features historical
documents about life in the area that
encompasses all aspects of life.
“We’ve got voters lists, school
pictures, local histories and over
5,000 pages of obituaries,” Janis
said. “That’s at least 10,000
obituaries.”
Brock said that they collect things
regardless of the immediate use
because they never know when
the information will come in
handing.
“We collect not knowing if anyone
will ever come by and ask about it,”
he said. “We collect pretty much
anything and everything to do with
the area.”
Councillors at North Huron
Township Council are concerned
that national advertising programs
could be costing them more than
necessary.
Brought on by a request to buy
advertising programming through a
reportedly nation-wide
Remembrance Day radio ad
campaign, several councillors
wondered if they couldn’t advertise
less expensively on their own.
“I don’t understand why we’re
paying some group in Toronto when
we can do it ourselves,” Councillor
Brock Vodden asked, a concern
echoed by Councillor Bernie Bailey.
The request came from Canadian
Network Broadcasting campaign co-
ordinator Faye Petherick who stated
that the message would be played
daily, Monday through Friday
with a mirroring appearance for 10
total messages prior to
Remembrance Day. The total cost
for the advertisements would be
$479.
Council moved that, if the pricing
was in line or similar to what they
would pay for doing the
advertisement themselves, the ad be
placed with the organization.
Otherwise, they would consider
other options.
Continued from page 14
them took several bullets.
The only other excitement George
experienced while in England were
frequent air raids while in London.
Following his honourable
discharge from the army, he served
for many years as member of the
Blyth Public Utilities Commission.
He was a member of the Blyth
Branch of the Canadian Legion
and took his turn as president
and past president of the Legion.
He was appointed to the position
of Commissioner of Ontario
Department of Agriculture – Loans
and Junior Farmer Loans from 1945
to 1960 in this area.
The McNall legacy includes the
fact that George’s younger brothers,
Jack and Wellington, also served in
World War II. Jack was killed in
action in France, leaving to mourn
his wife, Pearl, and five children,
including Bernice Pierce who still
resides in Blyth. Wellington, who
was seriously wounded, served
as Post Master for Blyth from
1950 to 1965.
Canadians are not known for loud
praise of our heroes, but they should
not be forgotten. On Nov. 11, let’s
take time to remember George
McNall and all the others who
risked their lives on behalf of those
back home.
Continued from page 11
Southwestern Ontario.”
Elliott went on to say it may be the
most visited in Ontario outside of
Toronto or Ottawa.
“This is an important matter for
the past, present and future of the
community,” he said. “People of
the community need to show our
respect and tell our stories and, if
students are celebrating in a
different area they may miss that
opportunity.
“From an educational standpoint,
the event has been observed by
Blyth and Hullett Public Schools
since their inception and the closing
of the schools should, in no way,
inhibit that,” Elliott said. “The
school board should act prudently
and continue the practice of sending
the community’s children to the
event. We shouldn’t have to request
this on an annual basis or at all
really.”
Graduation
Scott David Pletch graduated
from Fleming College in Lindsay
June 1st, receiving certificates in
Heavy Equipment Operations,
Heavy Equipment Techniques
and a diploma in Electrical Power
Generation. He was hired by
GENREP in Mississauga, ON.
Scott is the son of Melanie Pletch
of Belgrave and the late David
Pletch.
Congratulations Scott!
With love and pride
from all your family.
A return of sorts
Major Fletcher Ross Wade made a bit of a return of sorts to Blyth on Monday, as he is the
great-great-great-grandson of Kenneth McBain, one of the founders of the Village of Blyth.
Wade, a distant cousin of Janis Vodden, was in town to visit with the Voddens and trace some
of his roots in the area. Wade is also a great-great-greatgrandson of Neil Ross and John
McIntosh, early settlers in the Brucefield area. Wade is a retired Major from the Royal
Canadian Air Force. He currently lives in Comox, British Columbia. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Take time to remember: Vodden
Elliott hopes for
school board action
By Denny ScottThe Citizen