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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-12-03, Page 22Community •Entertainment • Features •Religion •Family •More GO'DERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1986—PAGE lA SECTION CWL rnarks 65th anniversary The Catholic Women's League (CWL) of St. Joseph's Church, Kingsbridge celebrated 65 years of service to the com- munity parish last Monday with a special anniversary mass and dinner. Formed in July of 1921, the Kingsbridge CWL has been an active council, one that boasts of a rich legacy of service and dedication to the rural community. One of the highlights of the celebration was a special presentation by Teresa Courtney to Mary Hogan, the only surviv- ing member of the first council. Hogan, along with Maryetta Martin, Bernadine Kinney, Irene Dalton and Vivian Hogan, were presented with 50 year pins by Joanne Doherty and Pauline Nicholson. Mary Frayne, also a 50 -year member, was absent. The 50 -year members also took part in a cake -cutting ceremony honoring the CWL's 65th anniversary. Greetings were offered by Father Ed and Frank Dentinger and the evening's guest speaker was Father W.P. McKenna. Representatives of area councils; Lor- raine Brophy, St. Marys, Nancy Stapleton, St. Augustine and Jane Kerr, St. Peter's, offered congratulatory messages. In presenting a history of St. Joseph's Council, Teresa Courtney said the CWL had its beginning in Edmonton in 1912. It grew to national organization status eight years later, adopting the motto: For God and Canada. The league. seal, a cross surmounted by ten Maple Leaves representing the coun- try's provinces, is enclosed in an unbroken circle. In 1921, Bishop M.F. Fallon asked Bar- nie McCann of London to assume respon- sibility of organizing the CWL in the Lon- don Diocese. She spoke to the first meeting of the Kingsbridge CWL in July 1921 when 26 interested Iadies turned out to the meeting in the yellow school house. Out of that inaugural meeting, the Kingsbridge Council was formed and the exehutive included Mrs. William Long, president, Pauline Frayne, secretary and director, Father William Dean. Since its inception, the Kingsbridge council has been active catering to garden parties, fowl suppers, card parties, dances, garage and bake sales, sewing quilts, knitting socks and sweaters, clean- ing, entertaining at nursing homes, visiting the sick, poor, shut-ins and distressed, and assisting with Bible classes, First Communicants, graduates, confirmation groups, Guides, Brownies, Beavers and Scouts. The council has also been involved in missions abroad, especially in Haiti and India. "Giving generously of themselves, their time, their prayers, their talent, their ability and blessings because of their love for God and his people everywhere," Courtney said. "We owe a great debt of 'gratitude to those women who so faithfully established and pioneered this league, paving the way for all of us." The league is, today, the most important lay organization in th church, whose ef- forts are needed to meet the problems of the parish. The group is also willing to voice its Christian views on topics such as abortion. "Now we're 65 and we're not looking for Old Age Security nor Canada Pension," she said. "Sixty-five long and devoted years of prayer and service but it's only. the beginning. We will not be content to glory in past achievements. Our aim today is the same as it was in years gone by. We will continue to flourish by performing The Catholic Women's League (CWL) of St. Joseph's Church, Kingsbridge celebrated its 65th anniversary recently and members were honored at a special mass and dinner. The cake - cutting ceremony was handled by 50 year members Bernadine Kinney and Maryetta Martin, Mary Hogan, the only 65 -year Member of the CWL and Irene Dalton and Vivian Hogan, also 50 -year members. The Kingsbridge Council was formed in July of 1921. (photo by Dave Sykes) acts of love and kindness towards the lone- ly, the sick, the aged, the undernourished and those with physical and emotional problems." Following the recognition of , past presidents of the league by Denise Dalton, the Maple Leaf Service Pin was presented to Rita Howard., KINGSBRIDGE CATHOLIC WOMEN'S LEAGUE PRESIDENTS 1921 -- 1986 1921-1922 - Mrs. William Long 1922-1923 - Mrs. William Long 1923-1924 - Ila Garvey 1924-1925 - Ila Garvey 1925-1926 - Laura Lannan 1926-1927 - Mrs. Tim Griffin 1927-1928 - Mrs. Tim Griffin 1928-1929 - Mrs. Michael O'Connor 1929-1930 - Mrs. William W. Hogan 1930-1931 - Mrs. Jim Foley 1931-1932 _ Mrs. Joe Dalton 1932-1933 - Mrs. Joe Dalton 1933-1934 - Ila Garvey 1934-1935 - Ila Garvey 1935-1936.- Martha O'Neill 1936-1937 - Martha O'Neill 1937-1938 1938-1939 1939-1940 - Pat Dalton 1940-1941 - Pat Dalton 1941-1950 - inactive because no reports were filled out. - Gertrude Drennan. - Mary O'Keefe - Our league was reorganized - Thresa Courtney Turn to page 2 • Mrs. William Long First President 1921 Rev. Father William Dean ' July 1921. 11 1950-1951 1951-1952 1952-1953 1952-1953 The Falcons Nest is ready to soar What ostarted as a hobby is now an interesting business BY ANDY BADER What started out as a hobby for Bruce and Gail Falconer of RR 5 Goderich has turned into a new business in the area–and an in- teresting one at that. The Falconer's opened 'The Falcons Nest' 'on November 21 at their home just one-half mile west of Highway 21 on County Rd. 25. The business involves the stripping and con- struction of canoes as well as wood crafts, novelties and gifts. "The idea has always been in our minds," Gail Falconer said. "We've talked about it over the years. Really, though, just the last four months we've been serious about it." The business is basically an offshoot Of Bruce Falconer's job. He's worked in the building construction field in the Blyth area, whereas Mrs. Falconer has been employed with the Imperial Bank of Commerce in Auburn and then in Goderich for 12 years until she quit this past February. 'It started out as a hobby," Mr. Falconer said, "and from now on it's part of my living." "We've always wanted to get into it, so it sort of evolved into the idea of having the store," Mrs. Falconer said. "We were going to supply other bigger people (stores) with the crafts but we thought, why not have a store ourselves?," she said. "Plus, in the summer it'll be an outlet for our garden produce as well." "I've worked with wood for the past 20 years," Bruce continued, "and I've built canoes for 10. I've also canoed close to 20 years. "I'd sooner paddle them than make them, but if there's no time to paddle, making them is the next best thing," he said. Mr. Falconer explained that he builds and strips canoes (cedar strip) and refinishes the wood and canvas types. "Restore is a Turn topage 2• BY WILLIAM THOMAS Gail and Bruce Falconer of RR 5 Goderich opened their new family-owned bfusiness on November 21 called 'The Falcons Nest', an operation which specializes in canoe making and restoration.' Mrs. Falconer, though, also helps in the business by creating various wood crafts whicb can be purchased at the display office in front of the couple's workshop. Most of the'crafts created are ideal Christmas gifts For those on your list you just don't know what to get. (photo by Andy Bader) Fast horses faster women William Thomas is a freelance writer and editor living and occasionally work- ing along the gentle, laping shores of Lake Erie, near Port Colborne, Ontario with an unobstructed view of the vacated steel mills in Lakawana, New York. For the past four years, William Thomas has been the Editor and Creator of WHAT'S UP NIAGARA Magazine. Prior to that he was the creator and editor off Skiers' Holiday Travel Magazine in the United States, a freelance feature writer for The Wine Press Magazine of Toronto and Wine Tiding Magazine of Montreal. He has written features for the Globe & Mail, personal columns for the Toronto Star and travel articles as well. At present he is working on contract with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation writing a two- hour movie based on a magazine cover feature he wrote chronicling the creation of Trivial Pursuit. Out here in Wainfleet they don't cotton to horses running around racing with each other unless they're harnessed up to plows and it's nigh near quittin' time. Yet over in Campbellville, alongside Highway No. 401 there's an oval known as Mohawk Raceway where they race horses for pleasure, profit and pursuit of life's lessons learned. I know a bit about betting on horses. I lost a year's university tuition on them one summer. I was living in Welland at the time, working at Atlas Steels and 'rooming with one Rick Sernasie. I say "one" Rick Sernasie because with the advances of modern genetics and an ad- dendum to the law of probability, there could never be two Rick Sernasies. Rick worked for Canada Customs at the Peace Bridge clearing paperwork for owners and trainers bringing their horses up from the States to race at Fort Erie. Rick gave them prompt service; they gave Rick tips on upcoming races. Sernasie was incredible. He could take that day's Racing Form at Fort Ernie and with no more than a few inside tips, his own unique system of handicapping and a lead pencil, he could eliminate every winner on an eight -race card. The others we bet on, As a statement to our deep and lasting • friendship he let me share his losses 50/50. We never bet favorites, they almost always won and anybody could do that. We bet on horses whose odds were so long they had to handwrite the third digit to the tote board as in 135-1. We bet horses like Annabelle and Bob's Your Uncle, horses that could only win if the rest of the field got locked in the starting gate and even then it would be close. .So we lost. But we lost at such dizzying odds and in such novel ways that it kept us going back day after day for one whole summer. Essentially I worked a hard, eight-hour shift on the Atlas Steels' swing grinders and donated the money to Fort Erie Race Track. It was like a self- administered government program. • I went to the Peace Bridge to pick up Rick one day and they had replaced him „ with one of ,those little, orange traffic cones. Today he's the editor of Racing Forum Publications on the West Coast. If you go to Exhibition Park in Vancouver, buy a form and wager on the "Best Bet Of The Day" as touted by an anonymous handicapper nicknamed Rail Bird or Post Pal.and you lose by a lot - that's my buddy Rick Sernasie. Even today, after 23 years of hanging around racetracks Rick is known as a "maiden" - he's still looking for his first win. It just goes to show you that if you do something bad 'enough and long enough somebody somewhere will pay you to do it professionally. It's the first law of politics. Remember that name, Rick Sernasie - someday he'll be in the federal cabinet. So there I was last Monday night sit- ting in the bright and beautiful dining room having dinner and drinks employ- ing my own personal system of beating the horses, figure out what Rick would do and bet the opposite. It was working pret- ty well until the third race. That's when I discovered the difference between men and women. You see I was with a woman, a woman from Port Colborne actually. Out here in Wainfleet we look upon women from Port Colborne as "city slickers." On the other hand women from Port Colborne regard men from Wainfleet as a reluctant alter- native to' staying home alone. The only way a woman from Port Colborne will agree to date a man from Wainfleet is if she can arrange to have a friend tape "Knot's•Landing" for her while she's out. So there we were having a high of time at Iv awk - the horses racing around the track, me dashing to the betting window with two minutes to post and her wearing thin the carpet between table No. 38 and the women's washroom - when she says to me "Esto's Buzz!" "Esto's Buzz?" I thought it was Spanish for "Would you like to share a thin, lightly wrapped cigarette?" "Esto's Buzz, that's what I want" ch' said confidently and handed me two dollars. I fumbled for the program and sure enough there it was, boxed in between Killer Lobo and S.S. Stormy: Esto's Buzz. Turn to page 4 • 4