The Citizen, 2008-10-02, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008. PAGE 23. In 1918 the InternationalAssociation of Fire Fighters, aunion, was organized to improveworking conditions. Some 60 yearslater members of Local 5 ofColorado Springs visualized apermanent memorial to those who
fall in the line of duty. In 1984 the
council of Colorado Springs granted
a lease on a space in their town park
for that memorial.
Renowned sculptor Gary Coulter
sculpted a bronze memorial titled
Somewhere, Everyday. The
sculpture is 20 feet tall and depicts a
firefighter descending a ladder
cradling an infant. It symbolizes the
courage and bravery displayed daily
in the line of duty by firefighters
everywhere.
In the years since this site, with its
atmosphere of dignity and
reverence, has become a hallowed
place for firefighters and their
families.This year marked the 22ndmemorial service to bear witness tothe courage, dedication, duty andsacrifice of the union’s fallenmembers; to memorialize theirnames for future generations and to
celebrate what they gave so others
may live.
Names have been engraved on
memorial walls since 1989.
Firefighters who fell in the line of
duty since 1976 have been
recognized. Not only those men and
women who fall in the performance
of their duty are memorialized but
those whose deaths have been
caused by the conditions present as
they worked, i.e. hazardous
materials. Doug Hillis of Local 499
of Cambridge was one of those men.
On Sept. 20, Bob Hillis, his
mother, Joyce, and another of
Doug’s children attended this year’s
service in Colorado Springs, a five-day event to witness Doug’sdedication on the wall as a fallenfirefighter. Two other firefightersfrom Local 499 had their namesinscribed on the memorial wall aswell. Of the 157 names added to the
wall this year, 52 were Canadian
firefighters.
Bob wondered why there is not a
permanent memorial in Canada. He
also questioned why volunteer
members are not recognized as all
face the same dangers. He was told
that this change may be
forthcoming. The trio was awed to
find the section of black marble
where the names of approximately
300 firefighters who died as a result
of 9/11 are engraved.
Bob reports: “It was a memorable
week. We met many new friends
from all over Canada and the United
States. All the pipe bands from
locals across the continent joined asone band for the service. When thatband started up the drums and pipesit caught your attention! There were235 members playing in the band.The service was about 11/2 hourslong. The colour parties from all
over North America were a
spectacular sight against the
backdrop of the Rocky Mountains
and Pike’s Peak.
It was a proud moment for the
Hillis family when Dad’s name was
called and a memorial flag and
plaque were presented to Mom. The
fire bell rang out for the last time for
each of the memorialized fire
fighters. The Canadian flag flew
proudly alongside the American flag
and the firefighter flags as members
of the U.S. Air Force did a
flyby.”
Bob plans to return to the
memorial in a couple of years.
Happy Gang Seniors learn about Blyth’s rich history
Memorial Service in its 22nd year
NEWS
FROM LONDESBORO
Very little research and compiling
of information had been done over
the years for the village of Blyth. It
turns out that many folks were in
possession of an odd picture or two
or newspaper article or two, but
there was no inclusive repository or
information about Blyth.
Then along came Brock and Janis
Vodden. As school teachers in
various parts of Ontario, they had an
interest in, and an understanding for,
the need for genealogy. Brock spent
many years in Blyth as a child. His
father had owned a bakery which
operated from the former Blyth
Apothecary building and the family
had lived upstairs. That experience
sparked an interest in researching
the buildings of the village when
he returned to live there 12 years
ago.
That original plan blossomed and
the couple now have more than 100
binders and 9,000 file cards of
pictures, articles and information.
They enjoy sharing their information
with others and on Wednesday, Sept.
24, Brock attended the Happy Gang
Seniors meeting at the
Londesborough Community Hall.
His informative and interesting
presentation included a power point
show of pictures.
He remarked that the buildings of
a period have great historical
importance to the community
beyond their original purpose.
Although his pictures were of Blyth,
the historical features seen in them
were significant of any small
community of the period between
the late 1800s and the mid-1900s.
He related a number of
facts/stories about the buildings and
their former owners. Many of the
names mentioned were familiar to
those present at the hall. Pictures of
horse racing, fairs, churches,
railways, parades and other
celebrations brought back long
forgotten memories.
The Voddens’ collection is
accessible to everyone. To date more
than 200 persons from around the
world have contacted them for or
with information.
The seniors’group of Blyth invites
members of the Londesborough
community to hear a presentation by
John Hardy on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
John is currently working on Tales
of a Concession Road, a book about
Huron County farm life. His 40-
minute presentation that day will be
a narrated slide show on the railways
of central Huron County, 1961-
1996.
Seniors of the region are reminded
of their fall rally taking place at
Zurich on October 9th. Registration
is at 10 a.m.
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United Church learns to make decisions
Making Choices was the message
brought to the congregation at
Londesborough United Church on
Sunday, Sept. 28. The responsive
psalm that morning was Psalm
78.
During the children’s time with
Rev. Pat Cook, she told the story of
a young boy named Jacob. His
Sunday school class had decided to
have a party for Jacob at his home.
When Jacob’s mother called him
indoors for the party, he didn’t
answer or come home. So the
children had their games and cake
without him.
It seems Jacob thought his mother
was calling him to do some task and
he chose not to respond. He was
disappointed to have missed the
party; his mother was disappointed
that he didn’t come when she called
and the others were disappointed
that he hadn’t been part of the
fun.
Another young boy, named
Samuel, was called by God to be a
leader of the Israelites. When he
heard the voice in the night, he
chose to answer right away. As a
result the people of Israel learned
much from this strong leader.
The gospel, read by Ben Driscoll,
was Matthew 21: 23-32. It was the
parable of the two sons who were
asked by their father to help him in
the vineyard. Both answered
differently. One said he would not
go and eventually chose to. The
other son said he would go and
never showed up.
These two sons are typical of
people in the world. There are those
persons who make promises, say
yes, and then can’t/don’t complete
the task. Others reply to requests in
the negative then later through a
kind heart, do get involved.
Everyone makes a variety of choices
every day.
However God needs Christians to
respond positively to the needs of
His world and to follow through
with the promise. He wants
everyone to affirm the faith
exhibited on Sunday morning
through their actions outside of
church and in every day living.
Performance, not promises make
great followers. Rev. Cook directed
everyone to fulfill the work God
gives them with grace and courtesy.
Flowers on the memorial stand
had been placed in memory of
Darlene (Bromley) Vincent by her
family.
The board of stewards of
Londesborough United Church
offered appreciation for the support
shown for their pork roast supper on
Sept. 27.
The Sunday school is participating
in a fall food drive in support of
local food banks. They have
containers in the narthex and would
welcome donations of non-
perishable items from the
congregation at large until Oct.
12.
The junior youth group, Grades 6-
8 will meet at Hullett Central on
Friday, Oct. 3 for dodgeball and
devotions.
Oct. 5 is World Wide Communion
Sunday. The senior choir will gather
for practice that morning at 10
a.m.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24
Londesborough United hosted the
workshop Alive and Kicking.
Twenty-five persons from churches
across Huron-Perth Presbytery came
to listen to Eric Skillings and Dr.
Marvin Anderson and to discuss the
importance of rural churches in
today’s society.
Through a series of discussions
using Dr. Anderson’s seven lenses,
participants discussed what they, as
individuals, can do to revitalize and
promote enthusiasm in rural church
congregations. Five such seminars
are being sponsored by London
Conference.
Sweet treats
Saturday night was the Londesborough United Church’s
pork roast supper. And when it comes to dessert one is not
often enough, as Damon Allen seems to be eyeing up Faith
Allen’s cupcake. (Vicky Bremner photo)