Long-time Dunvegan resident Thomas (“Thom”) Edward Pritchard died peacefully at the Ottawa Civic Hospital last Thursday with his wife Lisa Chapman at his side. Thom moved from Montreal to our hamlet 33 years ago and purchased the log home close to the late Sybil MacPhee’s place, at the crest of the hill west of the crossroads.
Thom grew up in Lachine, Quebec, home to the Lachine Canal, a game-changing 19thcentury waterway that allowed shipping to pass freely from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. I know little of Thom’s early life other than he must have shown exceptional artistic talent, as evidenced by the fact he landed position at a Montreal art studio with no formal graphic arts training. In the mid 1960s, Thom moved to England because, as his good friend Bonnie Laing told me, “Swinging London was the place to be.” Bonnie arrived in London in 1968, about the same time Thom was heading home to Montreal with his first wife Leslie, whom he met in England.
Montreal, right after Expo ’67, was a pretty dynamic place. It was even able to ink a deal in 1968 for the first ever Major League baseball franchise outside of the United States: the Montreal Expos. Three years later, my understanding is that Thom took over responsibility for the Expo’s official fan publication: Montreal Expo’s BASEBALL Magazine. It was published six times a year, from 1971 to 1986. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame database, BASEBALL Magazine replaced the Montreal Expo’s souvenir program. While I have yet to thumb through an actual copy of BASEBALL, I’ve studied a number of its covers (there are many examples on eBay) and they show Thom’s evolution as a graphic artist. One must remember this publication was done long before the desktop publishing revolution, at a time when type was largely set in molten lead. As I wrote in my column of February 3, 2013: “(Thom) knew typography like no one I have worked with before… or since. It’s an art form that has been lost forever in this MacAge when everyone is an artist or a writer, until you give them a blank piece of paper.” It was my privilege to work with Thom for many years on countless corporate communication and direct marketing projects for my clients across Canada.
However, it wasn’t all work and no play for Thom. He clearly had a handle on “life-work balance” long before it became a thing. For years, curling was his passion. Moreover, he honed his skills to the point where he curled third for the Bill Dickie rink in the 1995 CIBC Canadian Senior Curling Championships in Saint John, New Brunswick, and made a key shot in the championship final to win it for Ontario.
Thom also hosted a Dunvegan ‘Happy Hour’ at his place every Sunday — spring, summer, fall and winter — from 3:00 to 5:00. Anyone passing by was welcome. Some of the regulars included: Barb and Denis Ranger; Brian and Karen Campbell: Jay Wilkie and his kids: Ben Williams and his boys; and Greg Byers and Bonnie Laing. Bonnie reports that the conversation ranged all over the place and that there was “A lot of laughter and quite a lot of drink.”
When it comes to politics, I never did get a handle on Thom’s political leaning. Whether, deep down, he was a Liberal, a Conservative or an Old Democrat. My best guess is that he was a Contrarian… a person who, as Webster’s defines it, opposes or rejects popular opinion. His unwavering support of Israel (with which I wholeheartedly agree) and his dismissal of anything to do with computers (with which I take exception) are two excellent examples.
I’d like to extend my sincere condolences to Lisa and the rest of Thom’s family and close friends. Thom Pritchard was a real character… a rare commodity in this increasingly homogeneous, politically correct world. Thank you, Thom, for being you.
Local Hero report
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Terry and I were unable to attend Movie Night event in Dunvegan last Saturday. However, event co-organiser Laurie Maus kindly submitted the following report:
“It was wonderful to have a bit of normal in Dunvegan with the return of Saturday Night at the Movies at the DRA Hall. A small, but select, group of pre-Covid Movie Night regulars showed up to watch a charming movie centered around a small seaside village in Scotland that brought back memories of an earlier Movie Night showing of “The Grand Seduction.”… I heard audience laughs at the subtle Scottish humour. Post-movie discussion centered on fond memories of living in Scotland. Marlie and Jim Tilker lived in Scotland (in the early 2000s); I lived there 30 years earlier.
Bob is taking organizer privilege to choose Grumpy Old Men as our November selection. Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Burgess Meredith and Ann Margret prove there is life after 60. As long as people want to come, we will continue with Movie Night.”
Bean bug traps
As a bonus, Laurie sent along a hint on how to deal with this year’s crop of bean bugs. “With the soybean harvest comes the cloud of Asian Lady Beetles. Unlike our native ladybugs, these insects bite, smell terrible and taste worst (don’t ask). Our windowsills are covered with do-it-yourself ALB traps that combine water, a bit of sugar and a slug of dish soap. They’re not Home & Gardens chic, but they do work in keeping populations down and preventing accidental ingestion.” BTW, one way to make your bean bug traps a touch more elegant might be to add food colouring and tint the solution to match your room’s décor.
Beep… beep… beep…
These days, it appears that Australia is cleaning our clock. They just snagged some shiny atomic submarines from their new BFF Uncle Sam, while we’re still trying to get some antique British hand-me-downs to stay afloat. They’re in the process of bringing Google, Facebook and Twitter to heel, while they won’t even come when we call. The effectiveness of their healthcare system… especially in the area of mental health… puts ours to shame. And way back in 2009, the Australians studied the annoyance of backup ‘beeper’ alarms on communities abutting construction/industrial sites. What application does a 12 year-old backup alarm study have for Dunvegan? Plenty.
Last week’s push by Cornwall Gravel excavators to prepare the entrance and roadway to their Dunvegan property underscored an impact the ‘Quarries Are The Pits’ overlooked when contesting the licence application… backup alarms. Like the drip of a leaky faucet, the “beep… beep… beep” alerts of dump trucks, loaders and excavators going in reverse can drive one to distraction. Especially when they’re in your ear from sunup to sundown. To make matters worse, as the recent preview demonstrated, the cacophony of beeping alarms travels far beyond the danger zone to farms and residences kilometers away.
First introduced in the 1970s, reversing beeper alarms provided a vital step forward in safety, but there’s now a much better alternative: White Noise alarms. This newer type of alarm uses a “ssh-ssh” sound that is gentle on the ear and dissipates quickly. In other words, its range is confined to the danger zone. Furthermore, the multi-frequency alarm sound is easier for workers wearing hearing protection devices and people with hearing difficulties to hear.
It could well be that those of us from the old QATP gang (and any newcomers we can convince to join us) will have to saddle up and approach Council about the need to mandate the use of White Noise reversing alarms, if and when a quarry, asphalt and concrete plant starts production on the outskirts of Dunvegan.
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