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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-05-30, Page 13leisure, features and enter �ainment r OLYMPIC CONTENDER—Ron Elswyk will travel to England days a week on the block around his Elmira home. this summer to compete in the disabled olympics. He trains six Ron Elswyk-".towin a bronze" "Being involved in sports and meeting other disabled people has helped." Ron Elswyk would .like to win "at least a bronze" in the summer olympics and he is aiming for a time of 4:10 in the 1500 metre race. But 2:3 -year-old Elswyk won't be in Los Angeles for his games. He'll be racing in Stoke,. England, against the best disabled athletes in the world. The disabled olympics, held every four years since 1948, are not token games held for the amusement of the disabled. Rather, Elswyk, along with 59 other Canadians who will compete in England in July, have been seriously training for the opportunity to re- present their country at these games. "It's becoming a lot. more serious;" says Elswyk from his Elmira home. "Now you have to train if you want to compete. Train- ing techniques and coaches are part of it. People are now building roller tracks for a wheelchair. Competition is getting better all the time." Elswyk will be competing against people who have the money for and availability of professional coaches. On his own, Elswyk refers to a coach in Toronto, and concen- trates six days a week on increasing his stamina in the chair and building his upper body muscles by lifting weights. To qualify as a member of the Canadian team, Elswyk competed in the national games in Sudbury last year where he was chosen as part of -a shadow team to continue training. This team competed in Toronto in March and Elswyk was one of 60 considered to be olympic calibre. Elswyk will compete in the 200, 400, 1500 and 5000 metre races and he may also enter • swimming competition. Always interested in sports, Elswyk dis- covered after a car accident seven years ago that paralysis would not stop his in- volvement. He had played basketball in high school and it was basketball that he re- turned to after the accident. He is a member of the Kitchener -Waterloo Spinners, a wheelchair basketball team which plays locally and travels to other cities in Canada and into the United States. Elswyk is the regional representative of Central West Ontario for wheelchair sport. Two years ago he was involved in a recre- ational program for disabled children in which he helped introduce participants to different sports. He is also a member of the Young People's Committee at his church, Woodside Bible Chapel. Life in awheelchair has not stopped this shy blond from getting involved. "Very early, i accepted I was in a chair," he says. Strong family support and a determined streak of independence combined to keep him going despite the tragedy which oc- curred when he was so young.. He says public attitudes towards the dis- abled are improving although "some people back off and others dive in — ton much." There are still moments when he is faced, for instance, with stairs or some other ob- stacle he can't overcome. "I like doing things on my own. 1t doesn't happen much (that he needs help) but it's no more of a concern than the person who runs out of gas or needs a ride to work." "Being involved in sports and meeting other disabled people has helped," Elswyk explains. He learned, from other members of the basketball team, tips on getting around in his chair — how to manoeuver himself into a car for instance. He combines his active life and his train- ing with a part-time job at Sunbeam Horne in Kitchener where he repairs wheelchairs and other equipment and makes trays for chairs. He made the chair he will use in the olym- pics. it has an aluminum frame, it doesn't fold and features a lower, narrower seat and larger wheels. It cost 'about $1,000 and that's "cheap", according to Elswyk. Many ath- letes custom build their chairs for much more. Elswyk has done a lot of travelling be- cause of his activities in sports. On May 25, 26 and 27 he participated in regional games in Burlington and he will be in England from July 20 to August 4 for the olympics. He is hoping there will be a chance for touring while he is overseas. He just returned from Prince Edward Island in April and before going to Burlington, he travelled to Saskatchewan with a Hamilton wheelchair basketball team for national competition. "it's good exercise. if not for sports, I don't know what I would do. It's the only way td"let energy out." Of his racing, Elswyk reflects, "It feels really good to go as hard as you can. Some days you feel you can move like the wind. Knocking off a few seconds is exciting; I'm always trying for that. It's like a freedom." Serving over 24,000 homes in Listowel, Wingharn, Mount Forest, Milverton, Ariss, Arthur, Drayton, Harriston, Moorefield., Palmerston, Bloomingdale, Breslau, Con►estogo, Elmira, Heidelberg, Linwood, Maryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wallenstein, Wellesley and West Montrose. Wednesday, May 30, 1984 "When Clinton Town Council heard that the school on wheels was for sale, it realized its historic value and voted unanimously to purchase it for the town." Historic railway school car restored by Elizabeth A. Wilmot Celebrations galore are being planned this year for Clinton's historic railway school car which stands so proudly in Sloman Memorial Park. Not only is it the 70th birth- day of this particular railway car, built in 1914, but hopefully by late this summer the restoration committee for "The Original CNR School on Wheels No. 15089" will have reached the halfway point of its objective. To celebrate these events, a traditional "Gold Spike" ceremony is planned for Sept. 1 at the park. CN Rail, which so generously moved the old school on wheels to Clinton in October of 1982, and has continued its in- terest by supplying a collection of rare photographs and historic records, will be donating the gold spike for the ceremony. Also on this occasion CN Rail will be presenting a commemorative plaque 'acknowledging the remarkable work of the school in the far north. Residents of Clinton and indeed all of southwestern Ontario should be proud to have this historic railway school car brought hotrae where it can be preserved and - its story passed on to interested visitors. NO AVAILABLE SCHOOLS • Mr. and Mrs. Fred. Sloman and their baby „daughter Joan were on Ontario's first railway school car when it was taken from 'Toronto to Capreol in September of 1926. The old wooden coach was donated by Canadian National Railways and theteacher was chosen by the Ontario Department of Education under Premier Howard Ferguson and Dr. J. B. McDougall, chief inspector of the Deaprtment of Education for, traveling schools. At that . time there were hundreds of families living in tiny pockets along the 4,500 miles of railway lines built in northern Ontario. As the railway was their only ac- cess to the outside 'world, there were no available schools for their children to at- tend. In the early 1920s, Mr. Sloman had taught school in northern Ontario andhe was aware of the plight of the great numbers of children who might never have an opportunity to acquire schooling. He requested permission ' to pack school books on his back and hike along the rails to meet these children. Instead, however, a plan was created which for the first time put schools on wheels. Both the CNR and CPR donated cars in 1926 and, with some doubts, sent them out for a six-month trial. So successful was the trial that soon five more railway cars were put into service, traveling through remote areas of northern Ontario to the Manitoba border. The original railway coach used by the. Slomans soonproved to be too small. Half of it had been converted into a schoolroom and the other half was home for Mr. and Mrs. Sloman and their five children. In 1940, CN Rail replaced the ancient wooden coach with an 80 -foot converted dining car and this became the famous "Original CNR School on Wheels". LIGHT, LOVE & LAUGHTER Its unique history is presently being written for publication and will relate stories of the, families who regarded it not only as a very special school but as a community centre, a place to find comfort in time of trouble and a place where light, love and laughter were constant. Parents of .the pupils were mainly European immigrants employed by the railway. Many had never attended schools in their homeland and were unable •to converse in English. The school car became a refuge for these education -hungry people. They lived in tiny settlements made up of one or two shacks in locations unknown to most.of us: Raphoe ... Laforest ... Ruel ... Stackpool ... Kukatush. There were no street _lights, no pavement, no shops, no churches_ The arrival of the school car on rail sidings at those lonely settlements was a joyful interlude in their isolated, monotonous lives. More highways were built into the heart of northern 'Ontario following the Second World War, making it possible for buses to transport children to the town schools. After 39 years. of teaching in their 'school on wheels, the. Slomans retired in 1962 and returned to their old family home in Clinton They left in place all the .schoolroom, equipment and furnishings so the school car could be used as a permanent•display, as planned, Many conflicting stories are told regar- ding its whereabouts for the next 20 years, but when it was. discovered in the Mississauga yard of the Ontario Rail Association in July of 1982 it had fallen victim to vandals. Not even the windows remained and charred rubble covered the floors. It was a sad sight for Mrs. Sloman and Margaret when they recalled how it had been a model of perfection and efficiency. when they had last seen it. • PURCHASED BY CLINTON When Clinton Town Council heard that the school on wheels was for sale, it realized its historic value and voted unanimously to purchase it for the town. CN Rail checked it for safety, then released it for its dramatic move to Clinton in late October of 1982. The way -freight train from Stratford was appointed to be its escort, with instructions to travel with caution! This precious piece of rolling stock traveled with majestic dignity on its final trip over the rails that blustery autumn day. A large white banner fastened to the front of the locomotive announced, in bright red lettering: "CN takes school car home to Clinton — No. 15089". What a welcome it received! Public school children were brought down to the tracks and, at the first sound of the train whistle, their cheering began and continued until the historic old coach came to a stop on the rail siding. None of these children. had ever seen a school on wheels, and it is certain they will never forget that moment. Almost a . month later, settled weather made it possible for Fred Sole and his son to transport the 55 -ton school on wheels by float to its permanent residence, three blocks south of the CN tracks in Sloman Park. AUTHENTIC RESTORATION A board of directors was appointed, with Ron Young as its chairman. Plans for an were drawn up and authentic restoration. soon generous donations began arriving from former students, friends and many interested residents of Clinton. Material from a similar type of railway coach was made available to the restoration com- mittee, a stroke of good fortune which saved a great deal of expense. Most of the labor has beerrearried,out by Ron Young, Margaret Sloman and Stanley Bodaly, a retired .CN car man who had - worked on school ear restorations in the CN London yards. Their plans for the completed car are to make it a place where school children can spend a day of learning in a school on wheels. Italso will serve as a unique museum, a point of great interest for all tourists and residents. In 1985 the Ontario Heritage Foundation will show its recognition of the good work of the original CNR school on wheels among the people of northern Ontario by erecting a blue -and -gold plaque at Sloman Memorial Park during a special ceremony. To complete the r.•storation, the board of directors requires/ additional' funds. All purchases ,. ve b n paid through previous donations. ',1 ne d 4 nor who was physically e manual work went from unable to joi door to door in his neighborhood and collected a donation in dimes and dollars. Donations can be made by subscribing to an -annual membership in the "Original School on Wheels,No. 15089" for a $5.00 fee. Donations over $10 are tax deductible and receipts will be issued. Support for this project will help with the preservation of a part of our heritage for future generations. Donations and membership fees should be payable to "The Original CNR School on Wheels No. 15089" at Box 488, Clinton, Ontario NOM ILO. Handsome, newly - designed membership cards will be sent to all new members and all donations will be accepted with gratitude. A lifetime mem- bership will be presented.to donors of $100 or more. (Elizabeth A. Willmot lives in Clinton and is an author and railway historian.) ORIGINAL SCHOOL ON WHEELS --A celebration is- planned tater this summer to mark the restoration of an historic railway car which occupies the place of honor in Sloman Memorial Park, Clinton, the car for many years served as a school on wheels, in which the Fred Sloman family of Clinton brought "education and a touch of the outside world to railway workers living in tiny, isolated settlements in northern Ontario.