Harry Nov 12, 2009
Harry Stemp was born in Uxbridge in 1934. He started his career with the Uxbridge Times-Journal as an apprentice typesetter at age 14. He soon began writing sports for the Times-Journal and eventually owned 10 community newspapers in central Ontario including the Times-Journal. He started writing his award-winning Stemp’s Stew in 1965. The column came to an end shortly after he sold his newspaper chain in 1989, but was rejuvenated in 2006 when Harry became a regular contributor to The Cosmos.
Credit where credit is due
?Remembrance Day - November 11 - will be over by the time you read this. Hopefully everyone will have paused and, in their own way, given thanks for the sacrifice made by our veterans; men and women who gave so much so we can live in freedom and enjoy all the benefits of being Canadian.
Always volunteer to sell poppies, and it is something that I enjoy immensely - that is if the weather is kind. Enjoy it because I meet great people, many of whom I have known for years, and new residents who stop and chat, mention my column or chide me about my 'cold ones'. Especially like to see the parents who send their kids over to get a poppy, hopefully a plan to make sure their kids grow up with an appreciation of what Remembrance Day is all about.
All funds raised from the sale of poppies go to offer help and support to veterans and their families, as well as to the widows of those who made the supreme sacrifice. In Uxbridge, we are still fortunate to have a large number of veterans. As the years pass their numbers decline and one would think that eventually this need would cease to exist.
Unfortunately, the important role Canadians are playing in Afghanistan as well as other areas around the world is creating more veterans. Sadly, it is also creating more widows and children who will not know their father.
The need is always there and it is heartwarming to see the strong support that the Poppy Drive receives from year to year.
Take a bow Uxbridge. You did yourself proud.
If there is one thing that irks me more than a little it is the school magazine sale project. You know what I mean. The kids come home armed with glossy books illustrating all the magazines you can't live without. In their hand is the order book and they greet you with “Grandpa, how many magazines will you buy from me? I can win all kinds of gifts if I can get a lot of orders.” How do you go about saying “no” and still be looked on as a supportive grandparent? The magazine people are smart marketers.
Now I don't have it too bad, as I only have two grandchildren, but I wonder about friends who go about bragging they have 16 grandchildren. This fund-raising scheme must surely dip big time into their retirement savings that have already been battered by the recession.
And to add to the pressure are the prizes for reaching a certain sales level. For that they get more pieces of plastic junk to be thrown on the pile along with the bits and pieces they have gathered by eating a Happy Meal, or whatever they call it.
But I guess all I can do is complain because I know when they give me that 'Grandpa never lets us down' look, out comes the pen and the wallet and I place my order. All the while cursing the project under my breath. That's life.
Give credit where credit is due.
We have a tonne of volunteers amongst us. Seeing a needy cause and working to alleviate that need is one of the reasons Uxbridge is a great place to live.
This week I would like to mention the continuing volunteer service that Brian Evans gives to his community.
I mentioned last winter that Brian could be seen on Elgin Pond in all kinds of weather with his snow blower clearing the ice so everyone could enjoy skating or a game of shinny.
But I didn't realize his volunteer commitment year-round until the Uxbridge Legion held several community events leading up to Remembrance Day on November 11th.
One was a special Remembrance Service before the opening of the Bruins hockey game on Friday night. Interesting to see Brian helping with organizing the colour party as well as the veterans. Later I learned he is also treasurer with the Bruins team.
Fast-forward to a service Legion members held at Reachview Village nursing home Sunday afternoon. Again, there was Brian, helping set up the room for the service and making sure many of the seniors got safely to their seats. Then he led the service with a couple of hymns and I bet he made sure everyone got back to their rooms safely when the service ended.
These are just a few of the things Brian does that I am aware of. I'm sure there are more. So a tip of the 'Stew' hat, Brian, for everything you do on behalf of your community. Please know your efforts are appreciated.
