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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-9-14, Page 19COMMII - Local couple driving school buses for a second generation Donna and Harvey Smith remember driving the bus for the parents of some present riders MOUNT CARMEL - When the school year started up again last Tuesday, it marked more than 29 years that Donna and Harvey Smith have been making their way to Our Lady of Mount Carmel School. As school bus drivers, the couple are a regular sight for many par- ents. In fact, they have been work- ing the same routes for so long that they are now picking up children from parents they once bused to school. "It's gotten to a point where we will soon be taking a third genera- tion of children to school," Harvey said. And while many children might not have enjoyed the thought of starting back to school, the Smiths say they always look forward to this time of year. "It's always nice to see the little ones going off to school for the first time," Donna said. It's also nice to find out what ,the kids did during their summer vacation," she said. For the Mount Carmel couple, the start of the school year means getting up by 6:30 a.m., and pre- paring their buses for the morning run. "We do a routine check of the buses every school day," Donna said. Sy about 7:40 a.m., they're on the road picking up their first passengers before returning home by 9 a.m. "That's when we get ready for our mail route," Donna said. Delivering the mail takes them until about 2 p.m., and then they re- turn to the school just after 3 p.m., for the final run of the day. White this has been their regular waiting routitfe for almost 30 years, it has been just the last 12 years or so that they have worked with Charterways, based out of Ex- eter. The Smiths said they started driv- ing as a favour to a friend. They never expected to be working as bus drivers for this long. "We knew the owner of the first company I worked for," Donna said. "He needed drivers and I agreed to do it until the winter. At tha(point Harvey"Was going to take over my route," she said. Donna said she enjoyed the time with the .children so much that she continued driving through the win- ter. So her husband decided to get his own route. Over the years they have also seen many changes. One pleasant change, Donna says, has been the milder . winter weather. "We haven't had the terrible snow storms like we did in the '70s," she said. But one thing that hasn't changed. Harvey says, is the children. "A lot of people talk about kids today being bad. I don't find that at all. They act the same as kids did 20 years ago. If anything kids to- day are nicer to one another," he said. As for the future, both expect to he driving buses until they have to retire. "Working with children has got to be the most rewarding work there is," Donna said. "This is something I really enjoy doing," she said. Times -Advocate, September 14, 1994 Page 19 Donna and Harvey Smith have been driving the same basic bus route for nearly 30 years. They say they enjoy doing it because it gives them a chance to be around children. Grand Bend Legion to hold drumhead service The special service is part of Legion Week from Sept. 18 to 24 By Fred Groves T -A staff GRAND BEND - Beginning Sunday, one of the oldest and most generous organizations in Canada will be holding a tribute to itself. From September 18 to 24, the Royal Canadian Le- gion will.be holding Legion Week. The week is being celebrated across Canada and this year is called, ti'The Legion in the Comunity." Military is the background of the Legion and for Branch 498 in Grand Bend it will be part of a very special ceremony. Beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Main Street near the old police station, a drum head pa- rade and service will be held to kick off Legion Week. "We're going to form up and march down the Main Street. They'll have a saluting base for the zone commander," said Joe McNeil, Sergeant -At - Arms for Branch 498. While the commander will give a brief address to the 12 branches from zone A-4, it's the actual ser- vice which will be the day's highlight. "It's like a church service with the drums being used as the alter," explained McNeil. "They used'to stack the drums up and put the regimental colours over top, it's a traditional thing." In older times, when the armies went into the bat- tlefield prior to the actual battle, they would have the clergy conduct a service. There was no alter so they had to improvise and use the drums. While Exeter's R.E. Pooley, Branch 167 will not be holding anything as elaborate as what will be ,.done in Grand Bend, Exeter Public Relations Of- ficer Dave Frayne said the legion will be open to the community September 18-23. "We have something going on every day of the week," said Frayne. For example, Wednesday there is cards and shuffleboard and Thursday is the gener- al meeting for the nearly 460.members. Exeter will have community euchere on Monday. 7:30 p.m.; Church meeting on Tuesday at 8 p.m.; Shuffleboard on Wednesday and Thursday after- noon and bingo at night; mixed darts on Friday night and a community sports night on Saturday. There are still many war veterans who belong to the Exeter branch but since Canada has not been in- volved in a major military conflict since World War II, there are not as many veterans as there once was. "The average veteran now is between 70 and 75. It's up to the sons and daughters to keep it (the Le- gion branches) going," said Frayne. Legion branches, which arc considered private clubs have several different kind of members in- cluding, life, honorary and associate. R.E. Poolcy branch opened in 1950 and the mem- bership has been quite active as far as making fi- nancial contributions to the community. Frayne said the Exeter branch has donated over S29,000 in the last six months. Hensall's branch 468 hasn't got anything special planned for Legion Week but have a vcry big an- nual function on October 16. "We're really not big enough to do a lot," said sec- retary -treasurer Beatrice Uyl of the branch which has 122 members of which 22 arc veterans. "In October we're sponsoring a World War I and 11 seniors banquet," she said. Lucan's branch 540 will be a bee -hive of activity during Legion Week beginning with a church pa- rade on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Monday, the branch members will take on thc firemen in a baseball game at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday is a,seniors barbecue beginning at 5 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday and Fri- day arc open house days with a horseshoe tourna- ment being planned for Thursday. There are 439 Royal Canadian Legion branches in Ontario along and aLcording to the Ontario Pro- vincial Command in Toronto, the Legion, which was established in 1925, has 575,000 members across Canada. Queensway residents have barbecue HENSALL - Residents of Queensway Nursing Home gath- ered last weekend to enjoy thc mo- vie `Homeward Bound'. 4-H battery blitz successful CLINTON - The Huron County 4-H Leaders Association is calling the "Mttery blitz" of lune and July a success in the county. Sdme 1,500 lead acid batteries w Collected during those months atbecker's Farm Equipment in Ex- eter, the Lucknow Co -Op, Town- send `fire, McGavin's, and Vincent Farm Equipment. They say the col- lection proved successful in clear- ing out the environmentally hazard- ous geed batteries from barns and work sheds all over the county. Plans are under way for a similar p next year. 4-H Leaders president C3erda VanclenHoven credited the success of tf program to the cooperation of the dealers and the residents who participated. After the busy holiday weekend the Volunteer Auxiliary held their monthly meeting. Plans are well underway for the annual craft and hake sale to be held Wednesday, October 19 from 2-4 p.m. Dona- tions of crafts and baking would be greatly appreciated for the sale. The money will be used by the Resident council. Residents were able to have a barbecue outside last Thursday. They enjoyed barbecued hambur- gers, hot dogs, with ice cream and peaches for dessert as they watched dark cloud roll in. Fortunately they finished their picnic before the rain began. Friday afternoon the baking club met. One group of residents worked on chocolate chip cookies while the others made peanut butter cookies. Upcoming events September 15 at 2 p.m. Jack and Irene Vincent will be entertaining; September 20, 4 p.m., Supper Club; September 21, 7 p.m., Outing to Grand Cove Show; September 27, 7 p.m., Mennonite Singers; Sep- tember 29, 7 p.m., Birthday Party with Marie Flynn. 9 NOTICE TO PUBLIC TAKE NOTICE that Exeter Council and the Police Services l3oard will meet with the Ontario Provincial Police Contract Policing Section for its formal contract visitation on Monday, September 19, 1994 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 406 Main Street South. Public welcome Itc Bruce Shaw, Mayo, 4-H display wins first prize Display will be shown at Ilderton Fair By Muriel Lewis - GRANTON - Court Carlton Fo- rester's Lodge entertained former Court Valentine memberseat a pork chop barbecue held at the Granton Park Pavilion Saturday night. Granton 4H club members Lee - Anne Kelly and Jean and Susan Bryan entered a 4H display from their club project 'Batter Up' (us- ing cake making and decorating as the theme) at the Western Fair and carne up with first prize. The, dis- play will also be shown at Ilderton Fair. At St. Thomas' Anglican Church on Sunday, the Rev. Stephen Em - cry's message was about 'knowing that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of all who believe.' The board of management met at the church on Tuesday September 6. A.C.W. The St. Thomas' A.C.W. met at the home of Olive (Percy) Hodgin sin St. Marys on Thursday Septem- ber 8. Cathie Westman chaired the meeting and opened with a medita- tion 'Autumn -the Crown of the Year'. Marlene French gave a read- ing 'They came in all sizes' based on 1st Corinthians 13:1 and 4 and Mark 10, which was read by Irene Roloson. Business discussion included plans for the Fall Deanery meeting which will be held on October 19 at the church. At Granton United Church Sun- day, Pastor Normalie Voakes led the service of Covenant Renewal and the theme of the participatory sermon was 'Building Christian Community' and 'Responding to God's Word'. Pastor Voakes spoke on the dif- ferent building blocks of Christian Community as parcels wrapped as blocks were brought to the front and placed in a circle. The eight blocks represented Openness placed by Andrew Bryan, Scripture by Martin Riddell, Sense of Awe by George Hales, Love by Courtney Benner, Cou- rage by Emilee McRobert, Strug- gles and Prayer by Leanne Hart - wick and Delight by Matthew McRobert. Others taking part were in the procession of the Bible and Candle - Andrew Bryan and Matthew McRobert; Questers' Dralogue - Marilyn Humphrey and Betty Dann; Gosepl reading - Alice Hales; Epistle reading - April Bryans; Dedication of Teachers and Leaders - April Bryan, Jane Fi- nan and Julie McRobert. A breakfast preceded the service from 8:30 to 10:30 in the lower church hall. UCW Unit 3 met at Marion Thomson's home on Tuesday, September 6. President April Bryan opened with an article from the 'Bridge' entitled 'Church on a Sunday morning' and Joan Hayden read 'Just because someone else's name is on the la- bel' and about wearing a label as a Christian. 'As summer yields to sweaters' was read by Elizabeth Garrett after which she introduced the guest speaker Debbie Thompson, who is employed by Weekenders Cloth- ing. April, Joan and Elizabeth helped Debbie model the clothes and later everyone was invited to try them on. During the business, projects for the bazaar were discussed and some upcoming events were an- nounced. ' ' Unit 5 met at Eileen Crawford's home in St. Marys on Thursday, September 8. President Margaret Spence opened with a poem 'Sep- tember', followed by the scripture lesson from Luke 42:43. The hymn 'This is My Father's World' was read and the devotional theme was 'Too much, too soon', closing with the 23rd Psalm in unison. Business discussion included the bazaar in October and the General UCW meeting. Eileen Crawford continued with the program by reading 'Paths to Forgiveness' and 'Good Old School Days'. A poem about 'Housecleaning' and prayer by Margaret Spence brought the meeting to a close. • r ► ► ► 11, r 1 Power Smart (';) LightingDays YOU'VE GOT ThE POWER 10 SAVE! It's POWER SMART LIGHTING DAYS! Hurry to your retailer this month and discover the brilliant ways you can save energy (and money!) with energy-efficient lighting alternatives. You'll find them feature priced through September. Don't miss out! Start saving today! Make the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs: One compact fluorescent lasts up to 10 times k1nger than a standard' bulb — while using up to 70% less e� cost more at first, but compact fluorescents mean real savings in the long run. And they're feature priced throughout September. There's more feature priced products in the spotlight throughout POWER SMART LIGHTING DAYS. Check them out at your neighbourhood outlet today! While you're there, pick up your copy of YOU'VE OOT T1 POW! TO SAVE It's an information -packed flyer filled with facts on energy-saving products like halogen bulbs and lower wattage incandescents — products that can really help lighten your energy use. Each time you change a light bulb, you have an oppoltunity to make a difference. Don't let this chance to save pass you by"Fduring POWER SMART LIGHTING DAYS. YOU'VE GOT THE POWER TO SAVE! �1a POWIR 10 SAW YOU SIM �� Exeter Public Utilities Commission 379 Main St. South Exeter Ontario NOM 116 2351360 M.A. Greene, Chairman D.R. Triebner, Commissioner H. L. Davis, Manager B.F. Maw, Commissioner ------ . IP 40 • • -- i i i 4 4