HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-08-18, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 1999.
Belgrave woman wins Seniors Award
Filling the need
Whether there is a need for a play time for children, a break
for mom or a drive to a doctor’s appointment for a senior,
Belgrave’s Mabel Wheeler can be counted on.
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
She is a very busy woman, often
surrounded by children, tending the
needs of the eiderly or shut-in or just
socializing wich friends and she is
Morris Twp.’s Senior Citizen of the
Year.
Mabel Wheeler, well-known to
residents of Belgrave and the sur
rounding area, has been involved
with children all her life, spending
many years as a teacher and in her
retirement began Mabel's Moms to
bring young families into her home.
Mabel’s Moms began in the fall of
1993 when she saw a need for a
young mother in the community to
meet others in similar situations.
Having met the newcomer on
Halloween, the woman told Mabel
her husband worked away all day.
So now every Wednesday morn
ing, stay-at-home mothers and their
pre-school-age children gather at
Mabel’s for a time of play and crafts.
The youngsters are kept busy by
Aunt Mabel while the weary Moms
get a break from constant demands
as they sip on coffee.
When asked why she chooses to
surround herself with children, she
simply says, “Children are my life.”
“I am asked why bother with kids
as they wear the house out,” she
says. “But, I am not afraid of kids
spilling things in my house and I
always have room for more.”
“I am just a people person. Friends
and children keep you young.”
Mabel has kept busy with many
other activities as well. Before a
change in regulations, she volun
teered for 13 years at the emergency
desk at Wingham and District
Hospital.
She has also been a member of the
Women’s Institute and continues to
support them.
Mabel was involved in the forma
tion of the Over-80 Club when she
arranged a birthday party for her
mother-in-law. “The afternoon unit
of the WI would get together and
make lunch,” she said. It eventually
evolved into the club and is now
sponsored by the evening unit.
Aside from volunteering to drive
the elderly when they need to get out
and visiting the sick, Mabel stays
busy with church, bridge and lawn
bowling. She belongs to the
Belgrave Community Club and co
ordinates the nursery schedule for
Knox United Church.
And if those activities don’t wear
one out, Mabel is up every morning
at 7 a.m. to go for a walk.
“I don’t stay in even if the weath
er is bad.”
Her interests extend to the cultural
arena as well, as she supports the
Young Company of the Blyth
Festival.
A frequent visitor to the shows,
Mabel says many young actors got
their start there, some are even ones
she once taught.
Asked why she gives so much
time to others, she says it is the joy
in doing something for someone
else.
Mabel, the daughter of C.R.
Coultes and Mary McGowan of
Morris Twp, began teaching in a
one-room school house in Grey in
1942.
She met her husband Ken when he
was on an embarkation leave from
the airforce. They wed in 1945.
She stopped teaching the follow
ing year and the couple moved to a
farm in East Wawanosh Two.
They retired in 1977 from the
farm and moved to Belgrave.
However, Mabel had returned to
teaching in 1961 at Whitechurch and
continued to do so until 1985. She
also taught at Holyrood and
Lucknow Public School.
She still recalls the type of teacher
she was considered - fair, firm and
friendly.
Throughout her life, Mabel has
had to deal with many tragedies. Her
daughter, Mary Anne, was killed in a
car crash late in. 1976 and just six
months later her son, Ivan, was fatal
ly wounded while he sat in his
WINGHAM & AREA
PALLIATIVE CARE SERVICES INC
Wingham, Ontario NOG 2W0
P.O. Box 1266 PHONE 1-519-357-2720
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE CRITICALLY/TERMINALLY ILL AND FAMILY MEMBERS.
VOLUNTEERS, CARE WORKERS...
anyone wishing to enhance their understanding
in grief and bereavement issues
PALLIATIVE CARE TRAINING - LEVEL 1
DATE: Thursday evenings, Sept. 9 • Nov. 11/99
TIME: 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
PLACE: Wingham & Area Day Centre, 350 Josephine Street
REGISTRATION FEE $25.00
For more information call:
Wingham & Area Palliative Care Services, Inc.
(519) 357-2720
Palliative Care Services is a volunteer-based program which seeks to enhance the quality of
life of clients who are facing life-threatening illnesses. Volunteers offer a caring presence
and support to these clients and their families.
parked cab in London.
In 1978, Ken was diagnosed with
cancer. He succumbed in 1986.
Mabel thanks the nursing service
which helped them through this
period.
She says her faith also helped deal
with the losses. “As you get one
knock, it makes you stronger for the
next. Friends also sustain you.”
Mabel Wheeler, chosen as a
Seniors Award recipient by the
Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and
Recreation, will receive her award at
a ceremony held at Belgrave
Community Centre, Sept. 3, during
the seniors’ meeting. The dinner
begins at 12:15 p.m.
Grey names Armstrong top senior
On Monday night. Grey Twp.
council presented its former reeve.
as reeve, continues to be a tireless
volunteer for community better-
ment.
Armstrong is active with the
Melville Presbyterian Church as a
member of its Guild, choir and
Leona Armstrong with an award as
the township’s Senior of the Year.
Armstrong, who for 23 years
served as a member of council, 16
recognition
Grey Twp. Reeve Robin Dunbar presents Leona Armstrong
with a Senior of the Year Award.
Missionary Society. She is a mem
ber of the Majestic WI, donating
time and materials for the quilt
made as a library fundraiser. She is
also a member of the Brussels
Agricultural and Horticultural
Societies.
For the 1997 village
Homecoming, Armstrong was
actively involved, as chair of the
school reunion committee.
Armstrong was instrumental in
forming the Auxiliary at Huronlea
and on her time delivers flowers to
the main area and dining room of
the home.
With the 1999 International
Plowing Match coming to Huron,
she is veryjnvolved in the planning
and promotion of the event as vice
chairperson of the committee.
Armstrong was recently appoint
ed to the Huron County Children’s
Aid Society.
We Deliver Your Freedom
MED-E-OX
282 Suncoast Drive, Goderich
(519) 524-2020 1-800-265-5500
with:
■ Home Oxygen
■ Wheelchairs
■ Electric Scooters
■ Hospital Beds
■ Bathroom Equipment
■ Electric Reclining
Lift Chairs