Times-Advocate, 1987-10-14, Page 31Page 12 Times -Advocate, October 14, 1987
b
HappyLaotian family reunon
makes Thanksgiving
Somsay Chansamone had special
reason to celebrate Thanksgiving this
year. For the first time in eight years,
all members of his family were under
one roof again. Somsay could look
around his Centralia home and see his
grandmother, his mother and father,
and seven brothers and sisters, two of
whom were born after he last said
goodbye. (One grandmother has since
gone on to Toronto to stay with Som -
say's brother.
Somsay joyfully greeted his tired
but very happy family two weeks ago
in Kitchener; the eleven had arrived
at Toronto's Pearson International
Airport after a 30 -hour flight from
Bankok. and been bussed on to Kit-
chener for the reunion.
Somsay and two of his brothers
escaped from Communist -controlled
Laos in 1979 for the relative safety of
a refugee camp in Thailand. The
three brothers came to Canada the
following year as church -sponsored
Southeast Asian refugees. Somsay,
his wife Buoavanh, his little son and
one brother were sponsored by the
congregation of the Exeter
Pentecostal Tabernacle.
Somsay had approached the church
a number of years ago to ask for help
in bringing the rest of his family to
Canada. A committee headed by
Morley Hall had sent a request to the
immigration ministry through World
Vision. Many trips by both Somsay
and committee members to the im-
migration department in Kitchener
had seemed to end in futility. The
committee then contacted MP Mur-
ray Cardiff.
Hall returned from a six-week trip
out west to find a letter from Cardiff
promising action soon. Half an hour
later Don Rogers, pastor of Exeter
Pentecostal Church, called around to
inform Hall that Somsay's family had
arrived the previous week.
The new immigrants had been stay-
ing in a squalid, crowded refugee
camp operated by the UN in Thailand
since escaping from Laos two -and -one
half years ago on the pretext of cross-
ing the border to obtain medical help
for the grandmothers. Somsay's
father Ngiem, 56, had been a lan-
downer before the Communist take-
over of Laos.
The newcomers are amazed at the
freedom, the equality, the amount of
living space, and the abundance of
everything in their new country.. Som -
say has taken his mother shopping in
Exeter grocery stores; she is over- .
Saintsbury
By MRS. HEBER DAVIS
Rev. Wheeler was in charge of Ho-
ly. Communion Service at St.
Patrick's, Sunday morning. Mrs.
Mary Kooy was pianist, Mrs-
Margaret Carroll read the lessons. In
talking to the children Rev. Wheeler
spoke to them on Thanksgiving - on
how much food and comfort we all
have and on the need to share, she
brought two cans of vegetables and
asked the chlidren to have a box in the
Sunday School and to bring some
from home and to get their parents to
help fill the box for the needy.
In her sermons she stressed the
need for -being thankful and of shar-
ing taking her text from the Gospel
for the day Matthew 22 1-14.
The ladies of the congregation are
asked to help clean the church and
hall on Friday October 16 in the mor-
ning prior to a social evening Monday
October 19 in the Parish hall when
Wendy Fletcher Burlington will show
slides of South America and speak to
the ladies.
Personals -
Mrs. Hugh Davis attended a Sun-
day School Teachers meetirtg in Mit-
chell recently.
Miss Marylou Tindall Mississauga
spent the holiday weekend with her
parents Mr. and Mrs. Bob Tindall and
Robt, I joined them for Saturday
dinner.
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Barker spent the
weekend at Manitoulin and visited
Mr. and Mrs. Don Abbott.
I was a dinner guest on Sunday with
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Young, Richard
and John and on Monday I had dinner
with Mr. and Mrs. Bob MacGillivray
Courtney and Katie Scarlet.
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Carroll and
children visited relatives in Sarnia on
the weekend.
Usborne &
Hibbert Mutual
Fire Insurance
Company
Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S0
(Established in 187b)
Provides Full
insurance Coverage
for Town Dwellings
as well as Farm
Properties
DIRECTORS 8 ADJUSTERS
Jack Harrigan RR 3 lucon 227.4305
Robert Gardner RR 2 Staff° 345.2739
Lloyd Morrison RR 1 St. Marys 229.8277
Lorne Feeney RR 2 Dublin 3152513
Jock Hodgert RR 1 Kirkton 2296152
Joseph Chofle RR 5 Mitchell 348.9705
AGENTS
Ross Hodgert Woodham 229-6613
John Moore Dublin 3152512
Joseph Uniac Mitchell 3189012
n
Head Office Exeter 235.0350
Fire extinguishers for sole of below
cost to our policyholders
whelmed by the amount and variety
of food available.
Somsay's only regret is the fact his
newly arrived family cannot per-
sonally yet express their gratitude for
the friendship and assistance they
have been given since coming to this
area. Learning English is a main
priority.
The family are getting their infor-
mal English lessons from watching
TV. The school-age children are
enrolled at J.A.D. McCurdy School,
and the older children and Somsay's
parents are taking English lessons
three mornings a week at SHDHS.
As Somsay helps his family to
adapt to Canadian culture, he recalls
ms own introduction to electric stoves
and refrigerators and flush toilets. He
special
smiles as he watches his wife show his
16 -year-old sister how to make a
cherry pie.
"The congregation of the
Pentecostal Church has been so
good", Somsay said.
The church, as sponsors, are ar-
ranging for rental accommodation for
the newcomers. They are also supply-
ing all other needs such as food, heat
and utilities. Donations of furniture
and clothing have Come in steadily.
"We are very happy with the situa-
tion," Hall said. "It is people like
these, with their eagerness and desire
to integrate into Canadian society
who have helped to make Canada the
nation it is today. I am firmly con-
vinced this family will be on their own
in less than a year."
c.i
SHE CAN MAKE A CHERRY PIE
— Sixteen -year-old Chanphong,
who has only been in Canada a
few weeks puts the filling in a
cherry pie in the kitchen of her
brother's home.
FAMILY REUNION — Somsay Chansamone (back right) smiles hap-
pily as he poses with his mother and father (back left) and seven
brothers and sisters who came recently from Thailand. His two grand-
mothers, who were among the 11 family members emigrating from
southeast Asia, were absent when this picture was taken.
The PERMA FOAM advantage:
every curve and contour of your body supported
on a luxurious cushion of air.
?ERnA
FOAM
The 1987 Trillium Award for
sleep products was won by
Perma Foam for its Vogue
foam mattress.
Wby rest on a conven-
tional mattress
when you could be
literally floating on air?
That's the unique sensation
of sleeping on a modem
Perma Foam mattress. In fact,
a Perrna Foam mattress is air
contained in tiny, intercon-
necting cells of high-density
urethane foam. Which means
the surface you float on...
firmly supports.
Vogue foarn-on-foam, the feeling in sleep,
features four comfort levels covered in quilted soft
cotton blend Dominion Textile fabrics.
A 1% T t% T
The perfect sleep.The
unique construction of
a Perma Foam mattress
is the key. No springs. No
gaps. No moving parts.
Instead, millions of foam cells
hug every inch of your body
...shaping themselves
to your shape.This
weight -equalizing effect
provides all the furriness
and support you need for a
healthy, comfortable sleep.
Quality tested and
guaranteed. Perrna
Foam mattresses
meet the highest standards
of quality and hygiene.
Made of modern
high-density urethane foam,'
they contain no metal parts,
no wiring, no cotton
padding. All Perrna Foam
The "Foam on Foam"
Experience. For the
ulhrrtate in comfort,
try "foam on foam"... a
Perma Ft,, ,art mattress
over a ...itching foam base.
This gives you an extra 5"
of deep urethane foam luxury
and support over a select
wood frame. Yet both are
lightweight for easy handling!
The Perfect Awakening.
You owe it to yourself
to compare the advan-
tages of Perma Foam
with any other mattress.
It's the modem way to a
healthy, totally relaxing
sleep. A sleep old-fashioned
spring mattresses can't give
you. Perma Foam is the only
'answer. Sleep on it. ,