The Citizen, 2008-04-17, Page 23If everything works as hoped there
could be some restoration coming to
Blyth Brook.
At the April 7 meeting of North
Huron council, administrator/CAO
Kriss Snell said the project began
with a phone call last fall regarding
the Whitfield municipal drain.
Maitland Valley Conservation
Authority (MVCA) and Source
Water Protection became involved
and a proposal has been put forward.
Snell explained that 10-15 years
ago considerable rehabilitation was
done to Blyth Brook, a natural cold
water stream, to improve fish
habitat.
The centre portion of Blyth Creek
is maintained as a municipal drain
and flows directly past the village
wells into Blyth Brook. “This is
where it gets into source water
protection issues,” said Snell.
Though a berm has been
constructed runoff still impacts
water quality he said.
MVCA has been the lead agency
on this, Snell said, adding that they
would like to “renaturalize” the area
by the creek off Thuell Street. “They
are still working with landowners on
an issue there.”
The project will include some
implementation of some drop
structure and a naturalization of the
pond and a natural channel design.
They will plant 1,000 native trees
and shrub species along the berm
and channel and establish larger
plants on the east side of the creek.
The Whitfield drain will not be
touched, said Snell.
The project, still in its planning
stages, may never happen, but
hopefully does, said Snell.
The estimated cost is $110,000
with 50 per cent from the
sourcewater protection program.
Snell said that MVCA is also
working with other agencies to try
and obtain additional funding. “I
think it is Maitland Valley’s hope
that they will find funding for the
entire project.”
Snell said that if the project is to
go ahead the desired timeline would
be for this summer.
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008. PAGE 23. Some people dream of playinggolf, some people dream of exoticvacations. George Adams ofBrussels couldn’t wait to get wood-
working when he retired, with a little
bit of fishing thrown in.
At the ripe old age of 80, Adams
puts most people half his age to
shame when looking at his typical
day.
Adams typically wakes up
between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. every
morning, despite not having a clock
to punch, and heads to his basement
for some strength training and
between three and four miles on a
stationary bike before heading out to
his shop.
Adams was involved in a car
accident in the late 1950s, when his
hip was damaged. He spent months
on his back, healing, but by the time
he was ready to retire from farming,
he was walking with two canes.
After working up his strength and
flexibility, Adams moves around
better than most 80-year-olds can
hope for.
He bounces around his shop with
the energy of someone half his age,
and his enthusiasm when explaining
pieces he has created, or wood that
he has used, parallels a young child,
excited about a new toy.
While Adams will buy wood from
time to time, he largely harvests his
wood wherever he can find it. Where
some people see waste, Adams sees
potential, rarely dismissing any
piece of wood as useless.
While some might view this as
producing products with an inferior
material, Adams sees this wood as
adding character and personality to
his creations. So while each piece is
beautiful, and often very practical,
each comes with its own story, like a
historical certificate of authenticity
from the mouth of Adams.
Adams flips through wood-
working magazines, explaining how
to create pieces he has done or
pieces he plans on attempting,
always looking for a challenge,
though he insists, it really isn’t that
difficult.
Starting with some of his earliest
items, there are large wooden spoons
for the kitchen, two-piece
nutcrackers and canes for his wife,
Maxine.
Adams pulls one down from hook
hanging above his desk in the shop
and explains the practicality of the
circular handle of the cane.
He says, that while the handle is
sturdy enough to be used as a cane,
the circle can be slid onto a wrist
easily and without much weight
strain when Maxine needs her hands
at the supermarket or around the
house.
Simple items like this lead to
larger items with complicated
moving parts. Recently he has been
making benches, tables and folding
lawn chairs, all out of wood that he
has found around Huron County.
A quick tour of the Adams house
showcases many of his creations.
Adams can count on one hand how
many pieces he has sold. He makes
things for his enjoyment, out of
material he has found, and doesn’t
feel it’s right to charge. He will
make pieces for his own home, or for
family and friends, but never for
personal gain.
Besides his occasional fishingtrips (he is heading out west thissummer once again to do somefishing) what Adams does in hisshop is what he has been waiting hiswhole life for.“I always wanted to be wood-
working, but when I was on the
farm, I never had time for it,” he
says. “There was always other work
to be done.”
Adams says he was as tall as his
knee is now when he started work on
a farm. He did his part on his
parents’farm, milking cows, picking
vegetables, whatever needed to be
done in the early morning before he
went to school.
“I’d get up at about 6 a.m. back
then too. I’d run out to the barn and
do the chores, milk the cows or
whatever needed doing before the
milkman would come at 7:30 a.m.”
he says. “The milkman would come
around and I’d follow him up to the
creek and do an hour’s fishing before
school started.”
Adams did his part on his family’s
farm until 1952, when he branched
out and purchased his own farm. He
and Maxine began the farm and a
family.
Over the years, Adams learned
tricks of the trade, fixing cars and
tractors when they needed fixing,
keeping up with markets, somethingwhich he still does today. He carriesa report in the front pocket of hiscoveralls outlining recent beef saletrends. When he’s done with that report,and another one has rolled off the
fax machine and taken its place in
Adams’ front pocket, he hangs the
former report on a nail above his
desk that holds dozens of past
reports. The reports hang above a
work station that houses an
extensive library of books and
magazines on farming, fishing and
wood-working.
While Adams is out of farming
now, he likes to keep his eye on
where things are heading. Similar to
his retirement that falls into a
slightly more active category than
many retirements, he can’t seem to
completely pry himself away from
the work he has done for so long.
He can still do whatever he wants.
He has no boss looking over his
shoulder, although he jokes that
Maxine fills that role on occasion;
whatever he wants just happens to be
a little more demanding than the
average retirement.
Buck & Doe
for
Kim Jamieson
& Greg Blok
Saturday, April 19
Seaforth & District
Community Centre
9 pm to 1 am
Lunch provided
Age of majority
Tickets $5.00 — for tickets
call Erin 519-527-2899 or
Sparky 519-522-0545
Buck & Doe“M o o s e ”
for
Jason Kellington
& Amy Siemon
Saturday, April 26th
Brussels Arena
8 pm - 1 am
• Age of majority
• DJ
• Lunch provided
Tickets $6.00
Call 519-887-9535
For tickets call
Richelle 519-335-6836
or Greg 519-523-9835
April 19, 2008
9:00 pm - 1:00 am
Blyth Community Centre
Age of Majority
$5 advance - $7 at door
Music by DJ
and Lunch Provided
TANYA GOOD
& BRYCE TOLL
Buck & Doe
Congratulations and
Birthday Wishes to these girls
Welcome
to
the
'40'
Club
Happy 1st
Birthday
KAEDEN MACDONALD
April 16
Love Mom, Dad,
Aleisha, Kayla,
Hunter & Braeden
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Sat., April 26
at 8 pm
Tickets $12
(12 & under - $6)
Outlet
Tasty Treats To Go - Blyth
Featuring
Watchmen
& Don Vair
as Country Clem
Sponsored by ~ ABC Women’s Ministry
Blyth Memorial Hall
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
Working away
George Adams of Brussels isn’t about to slow down now.
He has been working since he was a young child and
retirement is no different. Adams gets up bright and early
every morning to work in his woodshop. He sees no profits,
besides his own enjoyment, often giving his creations away
to friends or family. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Fishing, woodworking fill retiree’s days
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
Blyth Brook to see restoration