The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-02-04, Page 17Les P ,hiado ._iretir es f o .credit co mm .
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BY JOANNE BUCHANAN
Les Pitblado, founder of the Goderich
Community Credit Union, has retired as a
member of the credit committee after
serving in that capacity for 21 years.
The credit committee, which consists of
three volunteers, meets once a week to
approve and disapprove loans. Mr. Pit-
blado said he retired partially due to
health reasons and partially because he
felt it was time the committee had 'some
new blood'.
St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, had
the first Credit Union in Goderich. Mr.
Pitblado was president and only St.
Peter's parishonners could become
members.
During Mr. Pitblado's term as
president, he received a lot of enquiries
from people who weren't members of St.
Peter's Church but who wanted to become
members of the Credit Union. So, with4he
help of Vic Roy, then president of the
Clinton Community Credit Union, he
founded the Goderich Community Credit
Union which amalgamated with St.
Peter's Credit. Union and received its
official charter on June 29, 1954. There
were 20 charter members and Mr, Pit-
blado served on thecredit committee right
from the beginning.
"I was only going to help out for a few
years until they got going," he says.
As it turned outhe was the only member
Goaeric}h
of the committee who remained constant
down through the years.
Today the Goderich Community Credit
Union boasts 2,600 members. Mr. Pitblado
explains that Credit Unions are a lot dif-
ferent from banks. The Credit Union is
-owned by-its,members and is there Whelp..
its members, he says. The first Credit
Union was founded in Germany on this
principle before World War II. There are
Credit Unions all over the world now.
There are a lot off advantages in
belonging to a Credit Union, Mr. Pitblado
explains. Each member owns ,shares.
Interest on these shares is calculated.
monthly. The first $2,000 worth of shares is
use ,4n^„vnei A.•a ci•hPn •. m�....1.n,•
,oic's_ his
•
or her debts at the Credit Union are wiped
out.
At a meeting on January 17, Mr. Pit-
blado was presented with an electric saw
and router as retirement gifts. He enjoys
woodworking, gardening, grafting fruit
trees, hunting, Snow -Mailing and bowling.
He is also active as the rural campaign
chairman for the Goderich Branch of the
Canadian Cancer Society.
With all of this, he manages to stay busy
despite ill health which keeps him off.
work. Ewen so, he says it will be quite
awhile before he' gets used to sitting at
home on Tuesday evenings instead of
attending Credit Union meetings. ,
SIGNAL
1133 YEAR -5 '
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4,1981
Quadraplegic Larry Parker demonstrated oil painting with his mouth during an Awareness
Day held at Suncoast Mall last Friday by the Ontario March of Dimes. ( Photo by Joanne
Buchanan)
Huron County Warden Fred Haberer checked out -the banking facilities at Suncoast Mall
from n wheelchair last Friday while participating in Awareeess Day. ( Photo by Joanne
Hisehmaati) ..
SECOND•SECTION
Les Pitblado recently retired as a member of the credit committee of the Goderich Com-
munity Credit Union after serving in that capacity for 27 years. Here he shows' off his -s etir en-ient .gifts -an electric saw and router -which will help him with his wood working
hobby. (Photo by JoanneBuchdlian►
heelchair tasks maks
Goderich folk more aware
.- BIS JOANNE BUCHANAN
•
•
Several Godench citizens had a chance
to manoeuvre a wheelchair through some
sample everyday tasks at the Suncoast
Mall last Friday when the Ontario March
of Uirnes held an Awareness Day there.
' The purpose •o•f the wheelchair
manoeuvres was to' make those people
involved more aware, of what it is like -to
live with •a physical disability. They
learned of the problems faced by people m
wheelchairs if counters and shelves are too
high. doorways too :narrow and :stores
unacc•essible. •
Mayor Harry. Worselt Police Chief Pat
King and Huron County ~Warden Fred
Haberer were'each invited to pick a sealed
envelop with ta.sk instructions inside.
Chief King's task was to go to the nearest
pay phone in theme ll and place a call to
hie office without lifting his body from the
wheelchair. Being tali'. the Chief had few
problems reaching the phone but he eaid
ht k-niew--a-shor-t-person-wnuld--face-greater_—
diffir•ulty.
.The mayor was instructed to go to the
nearest men's washroom in a wheelchair
to see if the doorways wereswide enough to
accommodate the chair. He discovered
that the doorways were wide enough -but
just barely. He really had to struggle to get
through them.
The warden's task was to go to the bank
in the mall to et change for a one dollar-
bill.
ollar•bill. The hank counte's are high but the
rq
Mayor Harry Worsell found the doorways leading to the men's washroom at Suncoast
to be r~+ tight squeeze in a wheelchair. i Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
Warden, as'a tall man, has a long` reach
and experienced few problems. A short
person in .a wheelchair would have
problems however.
Cath Wooden, Signal -Star reporter,
decided to get in on the action too. Her task
was to go to the nearest restaurant and buy
a hot drink and a snack and transport them
back to the Awareness Day booth inthe
wheelchair. Cath might have been burned
if she had •not had a lid on her 'coffee -to -
go'.
Awareness Day also featured Larry
Parker. a mouth painter. •
Parker was• born a quadraplegic 47.
years age.' At age 37. he begantraining as
a mouth painter under the late Breen
. Hogan, after meeting him at a club for the
disabled in Windsor. He h'ad always
wanted to be an artist but it had never
occurred to him to hold a paint• brush in his
mouth until after meeting Hogan.
As a result of his private training, he -was
• able to enter the University of Windsor
—where h.e graduated-w_ith_his general
Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in.
English literature and a Bachelor of Fine
Arts degree with a major in painting and a
minor in drawing. He received , both
degrees at the same time.
Parker. who now resides jn Waterloo, is'
a student member' of the World Wide
Association of :Mouth and Foot Painting
Artists. Besides selling his art, he works as
a community development officer with the
Ontario March of Dimes, travelling all
over the counties of Bruce, Grey, Perth,
Huron, Wellington and Waterloo.
At. Awareness•Day in Goderich, a TOSC
II .Unit was also displayed. This amazing
piece of equipment it designed to help
those people whd do not have the use of
their limbs:: It can be operated by use of
the mouth, tongue, shoulder, nose or
forehead,to Perform such tasks as locking
doors, answering the telephone, turning on
the radio and television and switching on
lights. It gives the disabled person a
greater degree of independence. • • -
The TOSC Unit is expensive but the
.'March of ,Dimes is there to help with
funding for those people .who might require
one.
The March of Dimes Ability Fund
campaign began last Friday in Goderich
and continues until this Friday. It is being
••conducted by the three- chapters of the
Beta Sigma Phi Sorority with Ellen
Connelly as campaign chairman. Can-
vassers will be calling door to,deor. If you
are missed; there will be coin collectors set
up at various businesses in town to which
you may contribute. All money will go
toward helping. the disabled.
Also a Wheelchair basketball game
between the Forest City Flyers of London
and the Twin City Spinners of Kitchener-
Waterloo is being held February 22 at 2
p.m. at the F.E. Madill Secondary School
. in Wingham. Tickets can be purchased at
the door or . from any member of Alpha
Huron. the group sponsoring the event. •
Police Chief Pat King discovered that being tall is quite an asset when it comes to reaching
for things (such as a pay phone) from a wheelchair. ( Photo by Joanne Buchanan