Month: October 2013

The Iroquois Matilda Lions Club is hosting Iroquois' 1812 Commemoration event to be held on the 9th of November 2013. 

Four historic plaques will be located on the Point overlooking the Iroquois Lock. 

A dedication ceremony and memorial service will be conducted in the morning. 

The SD&G Highlanders will be represented and participate in the ceremonies as well as re-enactors from New York State, Ontario and Quebec. 

In the afternoon a re-enactment of the 7th of November 1813 skirmish will take place in the same park. 

Displays from various organizations and individuals can be viewed that day in the Iroquois Civic Centre. 

One of the organizers of the event, Howard Kirkby, provided a brief history of the of the armed conflicts that took place 1812-1814.

“Following the US declaration of war against Great Britain on the 18th of June 1812, a number of military engagements were pursued,” said Kirby in a media release. “What is not so widely known is that on two occasions, Point Iroquois and environs witnessed notable armed conflict.”

September 16, 1812 an Ogdensburg force was assembled and captured all but one of the families living on Tousaint Island, in an effort to ambush a British convoy. 

A Mohawk, who was not captured, under fire, canoed to the Canadian riverbank to warn the convoy of the pending ambush, which the Canadian/British force attached to the convoy was able to thwart. 

In this skirmish, one American was killed and six were wounded, while the British/Canadian force had one killed and several wounded.

November 7, 1813, a force of 10,000 Americans received orders to  proceed down the St. Lawrence River, effecting the destruction of all enemy fortifications, and to link up with forces at Lac St. Louis before proceeding to attack an capture Montreal.

While feigning an attack on Kingston, the American commander continued with a flotilla to Ogdensburg. From there, an advance scouting party was engaged in a skirmish by the Dundas Militia that forced the Americans to set up camp at Iroquois Point until November 9. 

The skirmish at Point Iroquois resulted in the death of one American soldier and, perhaps significantly, delayed the enemy’s advance long enough for the Canadian militias to assemble near Captain Crysler’s farm and join Morrison’s forces in effecting a victorious battle plan on the 11th of November. 

[…]

“Four years ago, we all walked through the doors of Seaway District High School, not knowing which way to go, or where we would fit in,” said the 2013 SDHS valedictorian, Vicki VanHoof. 

She was addressing 63 fellow graduates in the beautifully decorated school gymnasium, before a packed audience. VanHoof recalled teachers, classrooms, assignments, assemblies, sports and  special extra curricular events (like Hay Day), describing how they brought everyone together.

“Regardless of where we came from, we were all willing to make new friends, and to become a new Spartan family.” Four years later, “I am standing here before you looking into our futures, seeing that we have many obstacles to overcome, many dreams yet to fulfill…but being a Spartan has taught us never to give up…”

For the grads and the community, this was a joyous and slightly nostalgic commencement. This is the final one which Seaway will hold in the fall. 

Beginning in 2014, in order to “facilitate student attendance at graduation exercises and to align our practice with other schools in the Upper Canada District School Board” Seaway will be holding the ceremony in June SDHS principal, Terry Gardiner, informed the community in July, 2013.

The South Dundas community, as always, was extremely generous to its 2013 graduates. 

Emcees for the graduation ceremony, teachers Sharon Last and Jeff Crooke, estimate that awards, bursaries and scholarships totalling more than $40,000 were presented to the graduating class. 

Vicki VanHoof brought laughter to the last fall graduation ceremony at Seaway, when she ended her valedictory address with the words of Dr. Seuss:

“You have brains in your head

You have feet in your shoes,

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You are on your own, 

And you know what you know,

And you are the one who will decide where to go…”

[…]

 It has been a long journey for the Reverend Feras Shammas from his original home in Syria to his new home in Morrisburg, Canada. 

While he has only been the spiritual leader of Knox Presbyterian Church in Morrisburg for a little over two months, Reverend Shammas has already begun to feel at ease in his new parish. “Everybody has been very good to me. They have made me feel like family, at home. I am very grateful to the church and to this community for taking in a newcomer and making him feel welcome.”

Reverend Shammas was born in the ancient city of Damascus, now the capital of modern Syria. However, he was brought up in the equally historic city of Aleppo, the largest city in Syria, in the northern part of the nation.

“Aleppo is a very old city,” Rev. Shammas explained, “a place where many different ethnic groups live. There is a very large Christian community there.” He attended high school in Aleppo, until he made the personal decision to move to Beirut, Lebanon, in 1993-4, to attend the Near East School of Theology, where he earned his B.A. in theology, with a major in New Testament studies.

Rev. Shammas feels that he received the call to the ministry at a very early age.

“In Aleppo I attended a school which had been founded by American Protestant missionaries. My mom actually taught at the school, and my dad was on the school board. Both of my brothers (one older, one younger) and I went there. Every day began with morning chapel, and I experienced the preaching of a wonderful chaplain. I was still in elementary school when I felt that I wanted to work in the Church. Over time, the call just grew within me.”

When he announced his desire, as a child, to enter the Presbyterian ministry, his family “thought the desire might fade with time. But by high school, they understood that I was really committed and were very supportive. There is a very strong Presbyterian tradition in my family. My father is an elder, my brother a church musician. However,” he added with a laugh, “I am not sure they were quite expecting to produce a full minister.” 

Shammas began his ministry in 1999, in both Syria and Lebanon, serving and working in a number of churches. His last church in the Middle East was in Syria, by the coast, in Lattakia City. “We had a congregation made up of over 600 families. I was chair of the church board, and the senior pastor. I also had youth and choir pastors.” 

The nature of life in the Middle East meant that Feras’ family was often separated, far away from each other. For more than 15 years, his brothers and parents and he were in various parts of Europe and the Gulf. 

“We made a decision as a family that we were going to be together again. We decided that we would all go to North America.” 

By this time, Rev. Shammas was married, and had two daughters. 

“I met my wife, Reine, at college, where she was also studying theology. But in the Middle East it is still not possible for a woman to be ordained, despite her degree. We wanted to come to a nation where we could be equals, and she could also be ordained. We wanted a place of equality, a place where she could serve the church.”

The couple decided that in North America that would be possible. With emigration in mind, they actually chose the names Cynthia and Amy (ages 10 and eight) for their daughters.

“I had a college friend, a minister in Kemptville. We talked about my coming here. So I applied to the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and well, here I am,” Shammas laughed.

However, the young minister did have to cope with a difficult situation. He had gone ahead to Canada, preparing for his family to join him. However, just as his wife and daughters were to be issued their visas, there was a massive Civil Service strike. 

The great news is that Reine and the girls have now safely made it to Canada. With the arrival of Feras’ wife and children, the entire Shammas family can finally realize their dream of being together in North America.

The Reverend Shammas is very happy, and settling well into his new church family. “Presbyterian traditions are very alike, no matter where in the world the church is,” he explained. “These traditions and ways of doing things, even the similar hymns, meant that I could feel at home in this church and with these people almost immediately. 

Knox has been looking for a new spirit, with a goal of bringing families and young people back to the church. I’m going to be deeply involved in this. Knox Presbyterian Church is part of a beautiful family, and it deserves my hard work.”

[…]

Last year’s best new event in Ontario, is even bigger and better this year.

October 10 area media and dignitaries  were led through the 2013 Pumpkinferno display at Upper Canada Village, to see the bigger and better display.

In its sophomore year, even before the display welcomed its first visitors for the 2013 season, officials already knew that what they had to offer was an improvement  over their first year event, which was hugely successful, attracting over 35,000 visitors.

“The display is 25 to 30 per cent bigger,” said St. Lawrence Parks Commission CEO Darren Dalgleish. He explained that not only are there more carvings on display, the display is spread out over a larger area of the village.

The layout of the display had been changed, alleviating many of the congestion issues seen last year.

“This is a unique one of a kind event in Canada. And, the success of last year’s event suggests that this is something that people haven’t seen before,” said Dalgleish.

He is exceptionally proud of Pumpkinferno, which has won many awards, and broken all St. Lawrence Parks Commission attendance records. He takes a great deal of pride in the estimated $4 million economic impact this event has had on the area.

“Re-establishing Eastern Ontario as a tourist destination involves more than just the St. Lawrence Parks,” said Dalgleish. “Being connected to our community is an important priority for us.”

Geoff Waycik, Upper Canada Village General Manager, after just the opening weekend was pleased with attendance, saying that this year’s opening weekend was already larger than last year’s opening weekend.

Waycik spoke about the impact of Pumpkinferno locally last year, with Tim Hortons running out of coffee cups and the local McDonalds this year getting special permission for additional staffing. 

“Pumpkinferno’s impact has definitely been felt locally, and we’re very proud of that fact,” said Waycik.

The walking paths are wider to allow people to take more time to enjoy the 7,000 carvings. 

They have worked to improve the entry process, but with the event’s growing popularity they are strongly recommending that visitors purchase their tickets online to speed the process. 

The House of Horoscopes display (pictured right) is a great unique addition to the display that provides a unique star-gazing opportunity.

The young artist’s pumpkin patch features carvings by area school children. This year 800 young artist participated, which doubles the number involved in the program last year. 

Pumpkinferno runs select nights October 4 to November 2. 

[…]