November 2014 – Page 4 – Morrisburg Leader

Upper Canada Playhouse Launches New Theatre Season

November 12, 2014 Editor

“It’s exciting and crazy and very hectic at the Playhouse when we officially announce the new season,” said Upper Canada Playhouse artistic director, Donnie Bowes. “People were in the parking lot by 7 a.m., and we didn’t even open until 9 a.m. The front office staff was swamped. The phone lines were frozen with individuals and companies calling in. The web site was swarmed.”

“I actually go into my office, hide under the desk, and close the blinds,” Bowes laughed, “leaving everything in the capable hands of Roseann Kelly, and the rest of the great front of house staff. Bill Halman of the Corus Entertainment radio station out of Cornwall did a live remote from the Playhouse office November 3.”

The moment the new season is announced and seat sales and flex pass sales are available, patrons are ready. Drawing over 40,000 visitors to the area makes the Playhouse one of the biggest tourist attractions in South Dundas. The response to this year’s announcement of eight new shows starting in April 2015, is already overwhelming. “Generally, we have 50 per cent of our seats pre-sold by Christmas time,” Bowes said.

Tickets to the 2015 season will provide patrons with passports to hilarious comedies, uplifting concerts, fascinating characters and unforgettable stories.

April will see Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee! a blockbuster live concert of the smash hits of Canada’s legendary artists from Gordon Lightfoot and Michael Bublé to the Barenaked Ladies, Shania Twain and the Guess Who. Leisa Way and her sensational band will headline in this showcase.

The summer will bring four stellar comedies to the theatre, leading off with Stag and Doe by Mark Crawford, a hot new show taking Canada by storm. A hilarious look at a small town where both a stag and doe and a wedding reception are scheduled for the same hall on the same night, it promises to leave audiences roaring with laughter.

Hilda’s Yard, written by Norm Foster, and featuring the great playwright/actor himself, is set in the back yard of a 1950s home where Sam and Hilda Fluck are happily settling in to be “empty-nesters” until their grown children both land back home to stay!

Touch and Go by Derek Benfield arrives in August with the wit, the insanity and the huge laughs of the British sitcom tradition. When a man’s wife is away, he lends his flat to an old friend who plots to have a liaison with a lady friend. Colourful characters, clever lines and outrageous antics will leave audiences laughing.

Rounding out the summer comedies will be Norm Foster’s The Gentleman Clothier, a magical tale where a Halifax tailor makes a wish that transforms his life in wonderful ways he definitely did not expect. This is a comedy filled with lots of laughs, and plenty of heart.

In the fall, the irascible, opinionated and hilarious Lucien, AKA Marshall Button, is coming to town for a brief run. But this time, Lucien is bringing along his old pal, Jimmy the Janitor (popular comedian, Sandy Gillis) and the two are off to find work at the Alberta Oil Sands. Can Canada’s petroleum industry survive this Fort Mac Attack of comic chaos?

Next up will be the live musical revue, Memories of Rhythm & Blues, brought to the Playhouse by Chris McHarge and Colin Stewart, the same team whose sensational Memories of Rock & Roll was sold out in hours at the Playhouse this fall.

Usher in Christmas 2015 with the world premiere of Have Yourself a Swinging Little Country Christmas, with the wonderful Leisa Way and her Wayward Wind Band. This show features music and dances that will delight the hearts of the very youngest to the very oldest. It’s a Christmas show for the whole family.

Contact Upper Canada Playhouse to pick up your tickets for the wonderful 2015 theatre season.

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For God, For King, For Country

November 12, 2014 Editor

There is a plaque from old St. John the Baptist Anglican Church fastened to the wall of the modern St. John’s in Iroquois. It is carved in heavy marble, with the phrase, Pro Deo, Pro Rege, Pro Patria, 1914-1918, carefully inscribed at the top. After nearly 100 years, most people rarely take note of the six names and dates that are etched below.

Brock Wells was barely 21. His mother, Clara, had a small farm outside Iroquois. When the call came, Brock signed up to fight on May 7, 1915. Frank Wert was also 21. He’d worked as assistant veterinarian in Iroquois: he’d also had a little military training helping on transports with the horses and mules. His sister, Mrs. Alfred Keeler, was listed as his next of kin. He signed up September 10, 1915. Allen Fisher, the name everyone in the village knew this young man by, although his real name was Charles Allen Fisher, was a 21 year old telephone operator. He’d actually received a little military training, having served for 10 months on local Canal Patrol. He enlisted January 4, 1916, naming his parents on his attestation papers.

The oldest of the six, Frank Osborne, in his mid twenties, worked as a cheese maker in Iroquois. His dad, Albert Osborne, was listed on his enlistment papers, when Frank signed up to fight in the Great War, January 5, 1915. David Allan Robertson, known as Allan to his friends, was 22 years old, and a clerk in an Iroquois store. He came to the recruiters February 5, 1917. William E. Thwaite was 22, not a local boy exactly. He was actually from Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and just happened to be working in the local dry goods store in the village when the War began. He’d enlisted with the 59th Militia Regiment in Iroquois after he came to town, because he’d had militia training in the old country. When he signed up on March 7, 1916, authorities made him an officer. At various times, all six boys were members of Iroquois Platoon.

The Platoon often used to drill at the fair grounds in South Mountain: people recalled watching them training in a few open areas around Iroquois. As raw recruits, the six from St. John’s parish learned about the Ross Rifle, even heard a little bit about the great trenches – and not enough about mustard gas, barbed wire, flame throwers, hand grenades, land mines, tanks and sky bombers.

With their buddies, the six St. John’s boys probably sang the popular songs of the day: Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Pack up Your Troubles, Tipperary. They went to farewell dances. They took last walks by the river. They dreamed of the years “after the war.”

If Hell does exist, it must look a lot like the bloody, reeking, soul destroying trenches of World War One.

Private William Brock Wells died of terrible wounds January 11, 1916, at Ypres Salient. That was on a day that Major General Currie praised his brigade, but wrote in the War Diary, “While I deeply regret their casualties, I do not think they were excessive.” Brock lies in plot 1A7 in the Dranoutre Military Cemetery.

Private William Franklyn Wert was grievously wounded at the battle of Thiepval. He lived long enough to be delivered to the General Hospital at Wimereux, near the coast of France, but it was far too late. He was laid to rest, September 27, 1916, at Wimereux Communal Cemetery. He lies at stone marker IQ 22A.

Lance Corporal Franklin George Osborne died November 18, 1916, at the horrific Battle of the Somme, where 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed. On that plain of death, his body was never recovered. Instead, his name is inscribed on the Menin Gate at the Vimy Memorial.

Sergeant Charles Allen Fisher was killed by a sniper’s bullet on May 3, 1917, somewhere near Vimy Ridge. Patrols couldn’t recover his body in subsequent shelling. There is a single photo of him, in uniform, on a wall at the Iroquois Legion. His name is also carved on the Menin Gate on the Memorial.

Captain William E. Thwaite was killed at the battle of Amiens on August 10, 1918, while leading his men through the gunfire and bombs. He is buried in the Fouquescourt British Cemetery. A small rose bush blooms every year over his resting place, plot 111E.I.

Private David Allan Robertson was killed on October 12, 1918, at Valenciennes. Possibly he got to see his 23rd birthday. His body was never found. His name appears at Vimy, carved into the Tyne Cot Cemetery. Less than four weeks after Allan Robertson died, on November 11, 1918, the German forces surrendered unconditionally. The Great War was over.

But Brock Wells, Frank Wert, Allan Robertson, Will Thwaite, Frank Osborne and Allen Fisher, of St. John’s Anglican parish, Iroquois, didn’t come home: For God, for King, for Country.

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Adrian Legg in Concert at St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage

November 12, 2014 W. Gibb – Leader staff

All a person has to do is just mention the name of guitarist Adrian Legg.

Immediately music lovers explode into rapturous descriptions of his multi genre style, his extraordinary and original compositions, his legendary showmanship, his infectious joie de vivre. In short, they love this transplanted Englishman and artist, who will be lighting up the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage in concert on Saturday, November 15, at 7 p.m.

“I have been fortunate enough to have seen Adrian Legg in concert twice – and would gladly see him nightly…” said Eric Thom (a former Morrisburg resident who writes music reviews for Maverick, Sing Out, Roots Music Canada among others). “(Legg’s) standalone style combines with elements of classical, jazz, folk, rock and even country, to create something altogether other-worldly and completely captivating.”

Adrian Legg has built an international reputation based on his completely unique finger style approach to the guitar. Recipient of numerous musical awards, and consistently on top of musical polls, Legg performs on a custom guitar that is a hybrid of electronic and acoustic. I asked him about “inventing” his instrument.

“The guitar wouldn’t do what I wanted,” he said, “so I changed it. For me, the American guitar goes from Elizabeth Cotten to Lonnie Mack, taking in banjo and steel guitar. While others devotedly tend individual trees, I just love the whole wood. I need an instrument that can come close to reflecting that.”

A teacher and mentor to other artists, Legg has just released his 12th album, Dead Bankers, to great acclaim. I asked him where the inspirational ideas for his music come from. “Tunes have a technical vehicle and an emotional idea. Sometimes they meet and work, sometimes they don’t…sometimes the music just arrives. I don’t really see music as a business. I keep learning. I have to, I keep writing things I can’t play,” he laughed. “We have to learn new words sometimes to say more clearly what we want to communicate, and so it is with music.”

His on stage versatility is the stuff of legend. “(My heart) lies in the moment…Sometimes music is very simple. A good piece of pop can tell a human story very quickly and simply. Sometimes the story is more complex and there are more layers to discover and understand. How can anyone lose a passion for music? That must be a kind of death.”

Live performance is Legg’s forte. He loves an audience. As he once wrote, “Playing live is the whole point. Everyone makes a journey:..we all come together to share this wonderful, universal, human emotional interaction. This is where music lives.”

And, as Eric Thom puts it, Adrian Legg’s sense of humour is as infectious as his music. “This warm, completely affable Brit…generously provides hilarious banter along the way. (Concert-goers) are in for one unforgettable experience.”

Opening for Adrian Legg on Saturday evening will be a young guitarist who is just beginning to make his mark on the Canadian music scene. Chris Thompson first appeared on the Stage in an Intimate Acoustics show case in 2011. A finger style guitarist himself, Thompson said that he is “excited and honoured to be sharing a stage with a musician as talented and decorated as Adrian. He’s a true genius and a guitar master.”

Thompson has two albums to his name now, and is a composer who “tries to write songs that meet a balance between catchy and melodic, while still being musically and visually exciting.” About two years ago, he went back to basics, focusing more on “building a strong melody and recognizable cohesiveness to my music.” He’s been working on improvisation, blues and jazz. Like Adrian Legg, Chris Thompson loves live performance.

“I really feel strongly that music should always be genuine and from the heart. Part of what makes music performance so powerful is its power to connect you with people. When you’re singing or playing a song that really hits home to an audience member, that’s when the magic happens. The fact that you can tell a story, evoke emotion, and share a connection with someone over some sounds on a guitar is beautifully fascinating to me.”

Tickets for Adrian Legg in concert at the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage on Saturday, November 15 at 7 p.m. are $18 in advance or $20 at the door. Contact the Stage website at www.st-lawrencestage.com/shows.

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Seaway’s Grant Wells ends big at cross-coutnry OFSAA final

November 11, 2014 Editor

Running on a cold, wet rainy day, on a slippery, wet, hilly course with a separated shoulder maybe isn’t the way Seaway High cross country runner Grant Wells planned to finish the 2014 season, but those were the condition and finish he did.

Wells ran in the OFSAA Cross Country championship in Waterloo, Ontario on November 1st, where he placed 42nd in a race that included 251 runners from across Ontario. It was a huge accomplishment to end a hugely successful cross country season.

A grade nine student at Seaway District High School, Wells began cross country running last year when he was a grade 8 intermediate student at Seaway.

“Mr. [Robin] Gibbs needed someone for Seaway’s Grade 8 Intermediate boys team [last year], and he asked me. I never thought I would run cross-country, but I did and in my first meet in Brockville I got a seventh.”

Wells’ current high school midget coach, Lilace McIntyre explains that the Seaway’s Intermediate School team had only three boys for his age group last year. “So Mr. Gibbs dragged Grant out, and he finished better than the others who had been training.”

This past summer, Grant trained with Bob Tucker and the Brockville Legion Track and Field Club in Brockville. “They train half the season for track and half for cross-country. I went two days per week, and they really make you work. It gives you lots of exercise.”

McIntyre, who co-coaches Seaway’s X-Country team with Tracy Henderson and Sharon Last, says Grant by far led this year’s team. “We have about a dozen really committed runners, and we have some good talent. Grant was our most successful runner.”

The Seaway team did one meet per week during the Cross Country season, with Grant putting up some big finishes.

They included a win in midget boys at the St. Michael High School’s Turkey Trot in Kemptville on Thursday, October 9 and a win at the SD&G meet hosted by Holy Trinity in Cornwall on Wednesday, October 15th.

He ran to a second place finish in the Kingston Invitational, and placed sixth at EOSSAA (October 23) to qualify for the All-Ontario, 5 km OFSAA event in Waterloo, Ontario, last Saturday, November 1.

Just prior to heading to OFSAA, Wells separated his shoulder playing hockey. Despite the painful injury, he ran OFSAA and all was going really well until he slipped in some mud and fell on the injury.

“I finished it though. I figured it was better to finish than not to come in at all.”

Wells ran the difficult OFSAA course in Waterloo for a 42nd place finish with a time of 19:00.4. The course was very hilly and wet; the day was very wet and windy and it started with snow flurries in the morning.

Wells says he really enjoyed the cross country season. “It was really nice. I met runners from all areas in Eastern Ontario, and after awhile you get to know the competitors. OFSAA was a really good experience, and I hope to go there again.”

Grant runs daily and expects to continue training throughout the winter to prepare for the 2015 track and field season.

“If he continues to train, even just running on his own, we should be looking for a good track season and good results,” says MacIntyre.

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Perspectives by Rev. Geoff Howard

November 5, 2014 Editor

Going forward, we remember

Over the last couple of weeks we as a nation have been angered and outraged. We have been saddened and disheartened. We have been astounded and dumfounded. We have been proud and patriotic. We have been reminded what is really important, and we have been encouraged to hug our spouse and children and grandchildren.

Some have spoken about a corporate Canadian loss of innocence. We have heard about home grown terrorists. We have seen divisions over the effectiveness of our political, social, and religious institutions. It seems in some ways our very way of life has been attacked and compromised.

We mourn the loss of Nathan Cirillo and Patrice Vincent. We uphold in our thoughts and prayers their families and those whose lives have been drastically and forever changed.

And yet for most of us as these headlines faded into yesterday’s news we got back to life as normal. From the distance most of us have to these events, once the initial shock and horror subsides it is business as usual. So we go back to doing what we do. Maybe changed in some ways but resigned to the realization that these are the facts of life in the world in which we live.

As Remembrance Day rolls around once again maybe this year’s remembering will be a little bit different. Take the opportunity to remember for it is a bit more real this year.

Maybe we will have a slightly deeper sense of how this all does touch our lives and the lives of our families and friends and communities.

What we have has been attacked and threatened and compromised. And the sacrifice of those who gave of themselves in the past, in the long ago, in recent events of our world, in days just gone by, and those who will continue to serve and give of themselves into the future may give us something more to remember and to live for and commit ourselves to.

We cannot go on as though these things never happened. We have all been changed by these events. We can ponder and lament and mourn, or we can remember and keep remembering and can go forward and make a difference. Living in ways that declare that the sacrifices have been recognized and have become a part of who and what we are here and now and a part of what we carry into tomorrow.

Long ago, Paul writing to a community in some chaos and confusion in Rome put it this way: Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-20

May this be our act of remembering.

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Novice C Lions suffer loss, earn one point

November 5, 2014 Editor

The score was the least of the concern for the Novice C Lions on Saturday, as they watched promising defenceman, Aeden Norris, be carried off the ice with a possible season-ending lower body injury.

In what looked to be a routine play at centre ice, the gritty Norris, fell awkwardly, bringing a hush to the crowd in Kemptville.

The game would play out after the injury with a Lions loss to the hosting Kemptville 2s.

The loss of the young defenceman was still felt the following day as the Lions’ dressing room was solemn prior to face-off. Friend and teammate, Jordan Lowe, confirmed with coaching staff that he had spoke to Norris, and that he was told to score a goal for him.

The feisty Kemptville 1 team came out hard as the Lions seemed to be still reeling from the loss 24 hours earlier.

Stand-out goalie, Brogan Kyle, fresh off a conditioning stint turned the opposition aside time and again as his team looked to find some motivation in a game that would end, tied 2-2.

That motivation came from Lowe. During the first intermission he approached the coaches to move back to defence to honour and fill the void left by his friend’s injury.

That was just the spark the Lions needed.

With Lowe anchoring the defensive quadrant, Callum Deavey broke free of a checker in his own end, only to skate the length of the ice and bury the shot behind the Panthers netminder for a 1-0 Lions lead.

The action was intense from this point on as the home squad applied the pressure.

Unfortunately the Lions faltered for a few shifts in the third, allowing the Panthers to notch a pair and go up 2-1.

It was in the dying seconds of the final frame, down by one, that young Jordan Lowe, went to work. Showing a combination of grittiness and desperation he fought off numerous Panthers as he drove to the net, sliding the puck between the goalie’s pads bringing the crowd to its feet and fulfilling his teammate’s request. Lowe was the unanimous winner of the Lion of the Game.

“He showed great leadership for us tonight,” Coach Dickson praised.

The Lions head out on the road next Saturday to face a tough squad from Westport.

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Bonspiel Season is Here

November 5, 2014 Editor

The bonspiel season is upon us again, and the best one we’ve had so far is the Lions’ bonspiel in aid of the Dundas County Hospice, held last Saturday. It was well-organized and a great success, thanks to Lion Keith Robinson, and his Morrisburg Lions’ committee. The Morrisburg Lions entered a team, as did the Iroquois club. Many local businesses donated items for a silent auction and bidding for those was intense. In deference to some infrequent curlers’ muscles, both games were six-end affairs, with a delicious luncheon prepared and served by the Lion ladies between games, to build up the curlers’ strength for the afternoon finale. Both local groups do a great deal for their communities, and we are lucky to have these small groups of individuals among us. They contribute financially and in other ways out of all proportion to their numbers. Thousands of dollars last Saturday and on other occasions were passed on to the Hospice by the Morrisburg Lions.

Reporting on the curling results, the first draw was won by the Oddfellows foursome, skipped by John Toonders, and featuring Dave McIntosh, and Don and Laurie Lazenby. They pulled out a victory in the championship game, defeating the Iroquois Lions team of Betty Locke, Rick McKenzie, Jim Locke and Les Craig. In the second draw, Anjo Norg skipped his team to the title, with help from his wife Kathy, and Sam and Claire Locke. Anjo excelled under pressure, making several key shots to win the match, defeating Greta McGann, Penny Davidson, Mick Mabo and Linda Murphy in the championship match.

On Wednesday, two of our ladies’ teams were at the R.A. Centre in Ottawa for their bonspiel. Alice Thompson, Betty Locke, Sharon Van Allen and Sandra Beckstead won their morning game against Granite, enjoyed an exceptional lunch, and had a good match against a Navy foursome, although they went down to defeat. Our ladies did finish fifth of twelve teams, however. Our other ladies, Susan McIntosh, Kathy Norg, Joanne Baker and Claire Locke won their morning match against City View but dropped their afternoon battle against a strong Russell team.

On Friday Greta took a team to the Kemptville arena ice site for their one-game bonspiel. She and Penny Davidson, Yvonne Mabo and Linda Murphy won their contest against Perth, finishing third on the day.

In other news, Susan McIntosh is holding the first of her two-person bonspiels on Sunday, November 16. Early sign-ups are recommended. Also, there will be a stick bonspiel here on November 19, with Glenn Cougler the contact. There will be entries from other clubs, so register early.

On Saturday, November 5, the Gamble, (two men and two women) is being played in Winchester this year. Russell and Metcalfe will join us there, and we will have two teams entered. Sign up at the club lounge if interested.

Finally, the Thursday morning mixed curlers are hosting Russell here on November 26, and we will be allowed three teams for the match. Details are available at the club.

That’s it for now. Good curling to all!

[…]

Novice B House Lions defeat Rangers

November 5, 2014 Editor

The South Dundas Lions held on to their share of first place in the Upper Canada Minor Hockey League’s Novice B House division here Saturday, with a 5-2 victory over the South Grenville Ranger 2s.

Five games into the season, the Lions are tied with North Dundas 1s for the East Division’s top spot with six points.

The two have identical three win-two loss records as they head into this week’s action.

This week the two North Dundas teams will square off, and the Lions are on the road this Saturday, November 8 to play the west division Athens Aeros.

Saturday in Cardinal, the Lions went up 2-0 in the first period, and increased it to 3-0 in the second.

The Rangers regrouped and came out strong for a pair of early third period counters, but it wasn’t enough to catch up. The Lions collected another two for the 5-2 win.

Nick Connors started off a three-goal performance (and five-point game) with an unassisted counter early in the first period.

Less than a minute later Ben Radley made it 2-0, with help from Connors.

Connors scored goal number two, unassisted, at the midway mark of the third period to give the Lions a 3-0 advantage.

Connor Poulin and Daniel Murphy made the Lions sit up and take notice early in the third period when they closed the gap to 3-2.

But that was it for the Rangers, and the Lions answered back with goals from Caleb Machan (from Connors) and Connors, assisted by Mason Hummel.

Aiden Hutt was in goal for the Lions win.

[…]

Jr. B Lions still roaring, down Hawks

November 5, 2014 Editor

The Morrisburg Lions continued to roar through their Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey action this past weekend, this time with a 5-2 win over the Winchester Hawks, right in Hawk town on Saturday night.

The Lions were first on the scoreboard at 10:25 of the first period with a Justin Lefevbre goal assisted by Zack Renfrew and Cole Fowler.

Their advantage held until 17:31, when Steve Ray Adams put one past Lions goaltender Keiran Weir to even it at a goal apiece.

The Hawks got their second (and final) goal on their power play from Mason Durant at 2:40 of the second period to take a 2-1 edge.

But then it was the Lions taking charge with two goals, both on their power play.

Cole Fowler tied the game 2-2 at 9:21 with help from Landon Veenstra and Michael Paquette, and Brodie Barkley made it 3-2, Lions at 10:01 with Michael Paquette and Fowler providing the assists.

The Lions held on to their one goal edge until 4:08 into the third period when Jacob Kendrick counted unassisted to stretch it to a more comfortable two-goal advantage.

Justin Rutley polished it off, with help from Eric Evans and Paquette at 17:24, and the Lions tightened it up to claim their first victory over the Hawks this season, 5-2.

The Hawks out shot the Lions 38-31. Brandon Lowry was in net for the Hawks loss and Weir collected the win for the Lions.

The Lions sat out 14 minutes on seven penalties, and the Hawks drew 22 minutes on seven infraction (one game misconduct).

Coming up, the Lions will take on the Casselman Vikings in a home and home series.

Thursday night, November 6 they are in Casselman to take on the Vikings and Saturday night, November 8, play resumes in Morrisburg. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

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Vic Admiral Tim Laurence special guest at Crysler Farm Memorial

November 5, 2014 Editor

The Friend’s of Crysler’s Farm Battlefieild, this week announced the time for a special event taking place November 11 at the Battle of Crysler’s Farm Memorial at Upper Canada Village.

As always, at the memorial, the day will start with the traditional, time of remembrance for the brave men who fought and fell in the Victory of Crysler’s Farm at 9 a.m. Later in the day, at 2:40 p.m. another observance ceremony will take place with a special guest – Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

A couple of weeks ago it was announced that Sir Tim Laurence, would be visiting the Crysler’s Farm Battlefield Memorial, but the details of the visit had not been released.

The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence are in the National Capital November 10 and 11, 2014 and will participate in the National Remembrance Day Ceremony activities at the National War Memorial. The memorial, originally built as a tribute to those Canadians who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War, was unveiled 75 years ago by Her Royal Highness’s grandparents, Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother).

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