Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-12-07, Page 9MEM lyt'-'estival gets new general BY SHELLEY MCPIiHEE Brenda Doner is no newcomer to Blyth. She's very familiar with the workings of the Blyth Festival and feels comfortable with her new position as general manager of the theatre. For four seasons Brenda has worked a publicist for the summer theatre and last month she joined the nationally acclaimed theatre fulltime. She has replaced Keith Roulston as general manager and ad- ministrator of the Blyth Festival. For Brenda, the transition has been an easy one. As she explained, "Knowing people and having them know you is the difference." Brenda discovered Blyth over five years ago, At that time she was studying theatre at York University in Toronto and spotted and advertisment for summer work at the Blyth theatre. Raised in a small northern Ontario town, Brenda jokes that her rural background helped her secure her first job in theatre. "I say I got the job because I knew what a party line was," she laughed. Brenda quickly learned that the Blyth theatre is an unique, top quality operation. She noted, t'I love Blyth dearly. It's all thJ a theatre can be. I came mostly for CM - audience and to wqrk with the board of directors. There's also a loyalty to Blyth. People keep coming back each season to. work." This past season alone over 30,000 people came to see theatre performances at Blyth. The theatre has been praised by other professionals, by the CBC and McLean's magazine. For the Blyth Festival this is a major accomplishment and as Brenda explained, "It's no longer a fight to get the Toronto papers here (to review the plays. )" Brenda's theatre career has taken her across Canada. Before accepting the Brenda Doner has replaced Keith Roulston as general manager fulltime position at Blyth she worked as general manager for a theatre in Edmonton. In her travels and her work Brenda has found that all over the country, people have heard of the Blyth Festival. With this m mind, Brenda has already set one major goal. She enthused, "They don't know where Blyth is, so now we're going to tell them." "I want people to know about us and our impact will be wider," she added. Brenda dreams of taking Blyth to stages across Canada on a national tour. For the present time economics prevent this from becoming a reality, but the future may be different. Blyth plays already enjoy successful tours throughout southwestern Ontario each fall. Tours help Blyth reach out to greater audiences and in Waterloo a special Blyth Festival Week has been set aside for the plays. This year The Tomorrow Box went on tour after a successful summer run in Blyth. Next year the 1982 hit, Country Hearts will take to the road. The Blyth Festival aims to develop new plays and offer new performances with that special rural, homespun touch that has led to the present success of the theatre. Brenda calls it the root of the Blyth theatre. Right now artistic director Janet Amos is studying scripts for next season. This fall when Janet appeared on the CBC -Radio talk Large crowd attends Co -Op Night A large crowd attended the annual Co -Op Patronage Night held last Thursday evening at the Auburn store. The manager of the Auburn store is John Bannister and he plan- ned the night to help his customers become better acquainted with the produce offered for sale. There were many good value specials and approximately 150 persons at- tended from 6 p.m. to 10 p.rn. Mr. Bannister appreciated the assistance given by council member, Leonard Archam- bault. his wife Betty and Mrs. Lynda Sher- wood for serving sausage and sauerkraut on a bun to all who attended. Door prize winners were Mrs. Ralph Caldwell of Blyth - a short: Nancy Siertsema of Auburn - Rodeo Barley, two bags; and Donald Treble of R.R. 4 Goderich - dog food. Mr. Bannister reports that sales were up considerably from last year and gives a special thank -you to all customers for their support of the local Co -Op. Walkerburn Club Mrs. Jerry Huizinga was hostess to the Walkerburn Club on November 29 at 2 p.m. Mrs. Lloyd Penfound read the poem - "Christmas Day", followed by the singing of the National Anthem, prayer and the Lord's Prayer. The minutes were approved as read by the secretary, Mrs. Elliott Lapp. Mrs. Garth McClinchey, the treasurer, gave the finan- cial statement. It was reported that birth- day and Christmas gifts had been sent for the foster child, leaving a balance of $29.74 on hand. The roll call was answered by each member telling what they wanted for Christmas. Thankyou letters were read from Mrs. Roy Daer and Mrs. James Jackson. The draw prize was won by Mrs. Terry Rutledge. It had been donated by Mrs. Elliott Lapp. Mrs. Lloyd Penfound invited the club to meet at her home for the next meeting. Lunch committee will be Mrs. Rick Ar- chambault and Mrs. Ted Hunking and the program will be in the charge of Mrs. Stanley Ball and Mrs. Elliott Lapp. A discussion took place on the rules of the club and it was decided to bring them up to date. These rules are to be made and kept in AUBURN Eleanor Bradnock, 526-7595 the secretary's book and in each succeeding book. Mrs. Keith Lapp petchased the material for the quilt. It was decided to have 16 names per block and to start working on the quilt as soon as possible. Mrs. Lloyd Pen - found will make the tickets for the draw, 50 cents each or three for $1. The draw will be made in the summer of 1984. it was decided to continue the hobo teas for the month of December and to have a miscellaneous sale in January. The January roll call will be, 'An idea for a bazaar table.' The lovely Walkerburn signs which Stewart Ball had made were displayed and admired by all. Mrs. Terry Rutledge demonstrated the correct way to tie bows. After her demonstration, she was an excellent auc- tioneer for the miscellaneous sale. Lunch was served by Mrs. Stanley Ball, Mrs. Elliott Lapp and the hostess, Mrs. Jerry Huizinga. A social time enjoyed. Social News Winner of the Auburn and District Lions Club draw last week was Mrs. Marybelle Cranston. Winners at the weekly euchre party held in the Community Memorial Hall last week were: novelty - Murray Rollinson; high lady - Mrs. Tom Haggitt; low lady - Mrs. Ken Glousher; high man - Orval McPhee and low rnan - Donald Haines. The community is pleased to know that Mrs. Ethel I,efebre was able to come home after being a patient in St. Joseph's Hospital, London. Mrs. Gordon Chamney and daughter, Mr:;. Lorraine Chamney of Goderich visited last weekend with their son and brother, Larry Charnley and Mrs. Chamney at Ot- tawa. Mrs. Norman McDowell is a patient in Wingham Hospital. She is wished a speedy recovery. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Ted Lutz on the birth of their daughter, Arnber Elizabeth in St. Joseph's Hospital, London. Mrs. Lutz and baby daughter arrived home last Saturday. The annual Christmas meeting of the Auburn Women's Institute will be held on December 13 with Mrs. Gordon Chamney and Mrs. Donald Haines in charge of the program. There will be an exchange of $2 gifts. Everyone is welcome. Auburn and District Lions Club will hold their Christmas bingo on Friday, December 9 with turkey s and cash prizes. WMS Banquet The Huron Chapel Missionary Church W.M.S. group, under the direction of Mrs. Heather McCowan, held their annual. Christmas banquet in Auburn Hall last Fri- day evening, December 2 at 7 p.m. Turkey, a variety of salads and pies highlighted the dinner. Special guests for the evening included the Young People and their parents associated with the Huron Chapel Youth programs as well as the Cadet Club members and their parents. A special slide presentation was presented by the Reverend Arthur and Evelyn Kruger of Grand Bend who had made a visit to the Church of God Mission work in Tanzania and Kenya this past sum- mer. This was a very enjoyable evening. Church News Flowers were placed in Auburn Knox United Church last Sunday in memory of a former member, the late Robert B. Turner. The Advent Candle -Lighting ceremony was continued with Mrs. Donald Haines assisting. Gary Shuttleworth chose for his Advent message, "The Saviour," and stated that He came, is here today and will come again. Mrs. Greg Park was the organist and led the choir in two Christmas anthems. The Junior congregation was led by Mrs. Gordon Gross and Mrs. Ken Ramsay. The ushers were Bob Worsell and Greg Park. It was announced that there will be a com- munity Christmas carol service at Londesboro United Church on Sunday, December 11 at 8 p.m. This is being planned by the Blyth Area Ministerial Association and all are invited. Only one-third of town's voters turn out 75 YEARS AGO Mr. Peter Lamont, who has been reeve of the township of Hay for several years, will likely be a candidate for the wardenship of the county of Huron for 1909. The prompt action of the town council to prepare satisfactory facilities for all the big grain boats which might desire to winter here, was very proper and commendable. The present tie posts were not considered sufficiently strong and chains were put down in the timbers of the dock crib work which provide safe and strong achorage. The new "Star" sporting goods and high- class rapair and electrical shop which is open today at the corner of The Square and Montreal Street in the McLean block, is quite an acquisition for Goderich. Ranked among the best commercial schools of the province, is ,the Goderich Business College. The success of its graduates has not been excelled. 50 YEARS AGO Allan Schram won the silver medal in the second annual fiddlers' contest sponsored by Court Goderich No. 32, the Canadian Order of Foresters on the weekend. Other contestants were John Parrish, Harry Schram, .lames Lindsay, James Denomme (Zurich), Alex McDonald (Kintail), William Hyde (Hensall) and James Black. Huron County Council has appointed A.H. Erskine county treasurer and J.M. Roberts county clerk.. They were chosen from a field of 110 applicants. William Sturdy has joined the office staff of Western Canada Flour Mills. He replaces Mike Sanderson who has been transferred to LOOKING RACK the company's head office. At the annual meeting of Alexandra Marine and General Hospital Association this week, President G.L. Parsons reported the average day's cost per patient had been cut from $2.22 to $2.03 during the past year. D.E. Campbell, formerly of the London Advertiser, has been appointed editor of the Goderich Star. 25 YEARS AGO Monday's election in Goderich saw only 1,0.21 voters turn out to the polls—the smallest number in many years. Various reasons are given for the fact that only one- third or less of the voters turned out, among them being that the Jaycees did not have their usual "Get Out To Vote" campaign and also there was not the usual choice of candidates to elect. Results of Monday's election were as follows: by a vote of more than two to one, Councillor Frank Walkom went in as deputy -reeve over William Tipple. Leading the poll for town councillors was James Bisset with Mrs. May Mooney in second. A former mayor, John Huckins, ran third while Harold Montgomery ran fourth. In fifth spot was William J. Taylor and in sixth was John Graham. Left out was "Jock" Pirie. The ratepayers have decided against the band by-law whereby a half mill on all rateable property has been going to the board of directors of the Blue Water Band for the support and maintenance of civilian bands under their control. The vote was 539 to 233. This vote is regarded by some as a protest vote against the amount which has been passed on to the Girls' Trumpet Band. Federal Works Minister Howard Green has approved the construction of 14 semi- detached rental housing units for Goderich. 5 YEARS AGO The town's annual Santa Claus parade has come and gone once again. This year's parade featured 13 floats all displaying world peace. Former Goderich mayor Deb Shewfelt wants town council to take•a hard look at the PUC to.investlgate what he terms "serious" breaching of the Public Utilities Act. In a letter to council, Shewfelt said the com- mission failed to notify him, as an ex officio member of the commission, of a special meeting November 30 the commission called to discuss employee wages. The inaugural meeting of the 1979-80 Goderich town council took place Monday evening in town hall with the Reverend Ralph King admonishing council to do its very best. Catch up wage increases given Huron County supervisory staff at Thursday's council session resulted in pay increases for the ten county department heads ranging from 1.5 per cent to 15.2 per cent. show Morningside, she sent out an appeal for scripta and received over 100 plays. By the end of February she will have chosen the scripts that will come to life on the stage of the old Memorial Hall in 1984. By April of next year the actual staging work will begin. "Come March," Bren+ :, explained, "if everything's not together, it's downhill from there." The winter months may not appear like busy ones at the Blyth Festival box office, but for the general manager it is a time for planning, preparation and paperwork. Brenda is concentrating on finances right now, trying to find money for next season, as well as selling Christmas vouchers. Theatre funds come from a variety of sources, from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, the box office profits, Country Supper and Food Spot earnings, cushion rentals and T-shirt sales, to name several. The Blyth Festival also invites the general public to become a member for a minimum donation of $10 and next season members will be receiving a new added bonus, seat preference. While summer hours at the Blyth Festival may be long and hectic, Brenda has no objection to the peace and quiet of the box office at this time of year. "I have the luxury of having the winter months to get things in order," she noted. Still the former Blyth Summer Festival public relations worker is very comfortable in her new surroundings and confident in her new job. As she simply said, "I walked into a lovely situation here." •Soft suede uppers •brown. burgundy $1298 PR. 2 Pr. '20.1 SIZES 31 to 10 FOR LIFE AUTO HOME COMMERCIAL FARM INSURANCE SERVICES ASK FOR JIM .BELL FACTORY SECONDS GODERICH SIGNAL STAR, WEDNiESDAY, DEAR 7,1963 --PAGE 9 Fourth Go erikh Boy Scouts IST TREE SALE You always get the right size and shape... SCOTCH PINE, BALSAM, SPRUCE Sizes 4 foot to 9 foot PRICES FROM SMITHS FARM & GARDEN CENTRE 82 South St. Goderich AND ED VAN DEN BROECK Saltford .4 Weekdays 6 pm to 9 pm Saturdays 9 am to 6 pm Sundays 12 noon to 6 pmi' 31 WEST ST.. GODERICH BUS: 524-2138 RES: 524-8521 Season sCreeti s J 12 the INSURANCE SERVICES OPEN HOUSE IT CANTEL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS 764 HAVELOCK STREET N. LUCKNOW THURSDAY - FRIDAY - SATURDAY DECEMBER 8TH - 9TH - 10TH 9:OOa.m-7:OOp.m. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12TH 12:00-6:OOp.m. Come In And See The Exciting Satellite T. V. System IN OPERATION CANTEL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS IS NOW A DEALER FOR: Timberland-Arunta Receivers AND Timberland -Wood Stoves SPECIAL PRICES ON DEMO -SYSTEMS Satellite T. V., an Excellent Christmas Gift for the Whole Family JA E^� SPECIAL... THIS WEEK ONLY! oh OFF ALL NIGHTIES & ROBES IN STOCK aaaaa • :t •k