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derich 2011 — a year divided neatly in two
Cathy) Cove
Cathy Cove
town of Goderich, 2011 can be
scribed in two parts. Part One
the period between January arid
st, with Party Two making up the
een August 21st to December
ns took a similar divide.
onths before August 21st, 1 cov-
ety of topics. I wrote community
two new town councilors, Patri-
on and Martin Quinn.
ilk on the results of the May fed -
)n, the most boring and uninspir-
ncial election ever, and issues
ck of. the .McGulnty government
ility and the neglect paid to the
andparents to have access to their
.ks before August 21st 1 did a col-
or community's emergency pre-
program.
k after the F3 Tornado ripped a
path through our community 1 wrote about
my first impressions as 1 walked thestreets,
saw the devastation and listened to people
who had amazing stories to tell. 11 was in that
column also. that I invited anyone interested
to tell their story to me so I could document
it,to do so.
Julie Babin called me first, followed shortly
after by Carole Ann Kinkead.
A week later 1 received an email from Eliz-
abeth Cooper saying that her brother Rob
Bundy had seen my column and knew that
Elizabeth was looking to collect stories too.
As we learned quickly that we both had the
same idea of compiling the stories, Elizabeth
and I became the co-editors of Not Like Any
Other Sunday.
My columns to the paper came to a full
stop as I dedicated my full attention to help -
people tell the stories of their personal
experiences to us. I was impressed by the
quality of the pre -written submissions that
we received. They required a bit of editing
but for the most part were very well done.
For those who either didn't feel comforta-
ble or who were unable to write their stories
down, we offered to sit with the storytellers
and they talked through their experiences. It
was this process that had the most 13rofound
effect on me, as a writer and indeed as a
human being.
All of the stories are meaningful to the
book, but the ones that stand out for me are
those from individuals whowe normally
look to for leadership or who we look to for a
much needed service. I could tell that the re-
telling experience was .a hard one as they
juggled their on-the-job duties with their
family responsibilities.
What also stood out for me were the so
many "close calls" people had because they
decided to deviate from their normal routine
that day.
The physical natural powers of the storm
amazed me too. Like Cathy Armour's experi-
ence at the Benmiller Inn, of watching the.
Maitland River running backwards, or how
the storm.lifted the home at 122 West Street
up, turned it slightly and then put it back
down again leaving the 2nd floor In ruins.
while the first floor, including crystal and
china in tact.
Not Any Other Sunday launched on
December 9th, with the 500 copies of the
first printing selling out in Just hours. Eliza-
beth and I knew that we had something very
special in Not Like Any Other Sunday. The
very positive and encouraging comments we
received at the launch told me that the
greater community thought that our co-
edited book was something special too.
We have Just ordered a second printing of
the book. which will continue to be available
at Fincher's, Something Irresistible, Carlow
Mercantile and the Goderich Chamber of
Commerce office.
If there was a clear lesson to be learned
from our community in what happened to
this place on August 21st, 2011, it is that, yes,
many individuals experienced it on a per-
sonal level, but what happened to us collec-
tively happened to ONE GODERICH, and
that Mother Nature did for us in twelve sec-
onds what few in position of decision-mak-
ing or administrative authority couldn't do
bring the whole town (not just selected
parts of it) together to help build our future.
In the weeks after the disasterour elected
representatives were quick to tout that it
would NOT be business as usual as we move
forward. .
2012 will be a test of our elected represent-
atives at all levels, but as they say, all politics
is local I do believe we can count on much
closer scrutiny of how politics is done in
Goderich, and how true to their word our
town council is prepared to demonstrate
,that it will Indeed not be business as usual.
It's been a tough year for our new council
but hope lies in what's new and what's
worked for us in the past. We deserve it as a
community but as individuals we should
expect nothing less.
Merry Christmas and thank-youto our
newly published storytellers and to those
whose stories we have yet to hear.