Clinton News Record, 2013-11-13, Page 3Wednesday, November 13, 2013 • News Record 3
Great Storm sailor's grave finally marked after 100 years
Gerard Creces
Clinton News -Record
The cold November wind and snow
provided a fitting backdrop for a small
but meaningful service for Huron
County's first identified casualty of
the Great Storm of 1913.
On Thursday, November 7, repre-
sentatives from the Great Storm Com-
mittee gathered at the Clinton Ceme-
tery outside town to unveil a plaque
for James Glenn, the first identified
sailor to wash up on the shore of Lake
Huron following the Great Storm of
1913. Glenn washed ashore near St.
Joseph, and was buried in Clinton
Cemetery November 15, 1913.
Prior to his identification, he was
simply known as Body #1.
The News -Record at the time stated
it was a singularly sad and oppressive
service for Glenn, though the Great
War would soon overshadow the
terrible loss of life on the lakes that
November.
"Clinton gave this stranger the best
send off they could," said David Yates,
who led the small unveiling service.
Glenn was aboard the Wexford when
it went down, on his way to see his
wife and home. Sadly, he never made
the trip alive.
There are graves for the unknown
bodies that washed ashore in
Goderich and Kintail, however, Glenn
has the unfortunate distinction of his
very own permanent and personal
marker. He was within whistle call of
shore when the vessel went down.
This past weekend was the culmi-
nation of a year of events all centred
around the commemoration of the
Great Storm and its many victims, and
the small but meaningful marker in
the Clinton Cemetery serves as a
reminder of the town's role in a storm
that was felt on both sides of the lake.
Food for fines stocking
shelves in library, food banks
Gerard Creces
Clinton News -Record
Got an overdue book that you've
been meaning to return but just haven't
had the time? The Huron County
Library is collecting for local food banks
from November 18-24, as part of its
Food for Fines program.
All library branches, including Clin-
ton, will be accepting donations to the
food bank in lieu of library fines on a
basis of one donation per overdue
book.
Branch Services Librarian Jennifer
Zoethout noted that all donations stay
within the community they are col-
lected in.
"It's all staying within your commu-
nity," she said. "Now's the time to take
an overdue fine and turn it into a good
thing"
Anyone with excessive fines should
take the opportunity to clear them up,
she said.
The annual drive nets several boxes
of food for the food bank, and even
those people who return their books on
time are welcome to donate.
Meanwhile, Canadian Library Week
(October 17-24) ushered in a new pro-
gram for the Huron County Library -
Adopt a Computer.
As libraries take on a greater role in
the community as a technological hub,
the need for new and replacement
equipment becomes more pronounced.
The Adopt a Computer program wel-
comes donations toward new machines,
which have about a three-year life
cycle.
In 2012, Huron's library computers
were accessed more than 34,000 times
for everything from facebook to bank-
ing to filling out government forms. As
more and more government forms and
■ It's all staying
within your community.
Now's the time to take
an overdue fine and turn
it into a good thing."
— Jennifer Zoethout
job applications are becoming available
online, the demand for computer time
is also increasing.
"We want to make sure the technol-
ogy is up to date and that we have the
best available for the public," Zoethout
said.
With 12 branches in the Huron
County library system and about five
computers per branch, the program
also seeks to provide new service in
addition to replacing the old. Replace-
ments are done in cycles, taking a few
at each branch at a time.
Some libraries in the county also
have lending laptops, which are availa-
ble for users who may want some pri-
vate computer use at the library,
whether filling out tax forms or skyping
with family and friends. The adoption
program will also provide for more lap-
tops as well.
The program asks for a dollar a day
for three years, or $1,095 in total.
Donors can name the computer in
memory or honour of someone special,
or after a favourite author. However, all
donations are always welcome at the
library, and can be put toward specific
initiatives, such as technology or chil-
dren's programming. Donations can be
made at any Huron County Library
branch.
David Yates delivers a speech
about the life and burial of James
Glenn, one of hundreds lost to the
Great Storm of 1913.
Patricia Hamilton, Huron County
Museum coordinator; Central
Huron Councilor Alison Lobb,
Great Storm committee chair Dave
MacAdam and Kathy Pletsch, of
the descendants program, unveil
the marker for James Glenn, who
was aboard the Wexford when the
storm hit.
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