Village Squire, 1979-02, Page 21PEOPLE
Keep on building
London developer Glen Wood seems to
have fallen in love with Stratford. The
developer of the Festival Square project in
the heart of the downtown area is moving
on to a new project with the purchase of the
old Scotiabank property. Scotiabank will be
moving later this year to its new location as
largest tenant in the Festival Square
complex. Wood, who was born in nearby
Embro had earlier been critical of the trend
of other banks in the area to demolish old
buildings so they could start from scratch.'
Paul Henderson may have a lower profile
these days hut he still believes in saving
face. The Lucknow native, hero of the 1972
Canada-U.S.S.R. hockey showdown be-
came the first player in the N.H.L. or
W.H.A. to wear a protective face mask as
well as a helmet. Henderson, now playing
in the relative obscurity of the Birmingham
Bulls of the W.H.A. suffered seven broken
noses. a broken jaw, a dislocated jaw and
took a slap shot right on the mouth during
his 16 year career before making the switch
and thus becoming a good example for
minor hockey players across the country.
As for being so far out of the limelight after
being a national hero Henderson says "if I
was 22 or 23 I doubt if I'd have come here.
I've had my fling. I'm content and happy.
I've had my bag full of that. Fade me into
the sunset."
Who is the busiest playwright in
Canada? Well though he's actually only a
part-time playwright, James Reaney must
surely be a candidate for the title. Though
he holds a full-time job as a professor at
University of Western Ontario, the
Londoner still finds time to turn out an
astonishing amount of new dramatic work.
At present he has just drafted a script for
the mime troupe Theatre Beyond Words
from Niagara -on -the -Lake and he's at work
on a play for the centennial celelbrations of
Stratford Central Secondary School a
school he once attended. The play will be
performed by amateurs with professional
assistance and will involve 300-600
students from the school and a budget
projected at $38,000. It is hoped to
produce the play at the Avon theatre in
November.
The first phase of the project will involve
bringing Reaney, director Keith Turnbull
of the NDWT theatre in Toronto (which
produces most of Reaney's plays) and
actress Jan Nickerson to Stratford for a
workshop with the students. The play will
deal with the general strike of 1933 in
Stratford and will be researched by the
students. It is hoped to get a Young
Canada Works grant for 4 to 16 students
during the summer. The research will be
turned over to Reaney for the final draft.
History is a big item in Stratford this
year. First comes the Huron Tract history
recently published by Stratford Writer
Thelma Coleman, the Central play and also
the forthcoming history of Stratford by
Toronto freelance writer Adelaide Leitch.
The long awaited book is expected to be
ready late in the year. Ms. Leitch expects
to have the first manuscript to the city
council subcommittee in charge of the
project by July 1. The book will have
100,000 words and 60-70 pictures. The
book will be from 300 to 320 pages in
length and by the time all expenses are in
the initial run of 5000 copies is expected to
cost S90,000, including a $20,000 fee to
Ms. Leitch.
Gerrard's
SHOPPING CENTRES:
Goderich, Clinton, Mitchell
YOUR IN -TOWN
SHOPPING CENTRE:)
ANNUAL
WINTER SALE
CONTINUES
Lots of winter left, stock up on our
Clear -Out Values during our store -wide sale.
LADIES' & GIRLS' 20-50%
•Coats
•Car Coats
•Dresses
• Sweaters
•Slims
etc.
off
MEN'S & BOYS'
•Coats
•Suits
•Pants
• Sweaters
•Shirts
etc.
February 1979, Village Squire 19