I was saddened to learn last week that Brenda Habib had died peacefully on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020 at the age of just 61. While I doubt few, if any, Dunveganites knew this talented lady personally, most are familiar with her work. For it was Brenda who designed the distinctive Dunvegan Recreation Association logo.
It was the early 80s, when one of my audio-visual producers brought Brenda in to work on a project. While young, it was quickly obvious she was very talented. She was also a pleasure to work with. And so she joined our team as a freelance graphic artist. It was during this period that I asked if she would be willing to do a pro bono logo design for Dunvegan’s recreation association. And what you see today is the product of her hand.
As those familiar with the ebb and flow of business know, contracts come and contracts go. As a result, freelancer teams shrink and grow. Ours was no exception and, over time, I lost track of Brenda. However, I recently learned that in the late 80s she took the spiritual seeker’s Magical Mystery Tour and joined an ashram in India. There she focused on meditation and yoga, even following her teacher back here to Canada. Luckily for those whose lives she later touched, Brenda hung up her yoga pants in the 90s and waded right back into the graphics field… moving to web design when the tsunami of Powerpoint amateurism sounded the death knell for professional audio-visualists.
As her obituary notice points out, Brenda “had an amazing ability to see life in a funny and positive way.” I will always remember her wry smile and think of her with fondness when I paste her logo into a poster or ad for a DRA event. Thank you, Brenda.
The News for from-aways
To strike a more positive note, I bring glad tidings for fans of our Glengarry County Archives. I’ve learned that the online Glengarry News database will soon be expanded. At present, the collection spans the newspaper’s history from February of 1892 to December of 1960. In the near future (or “going forwards” as those fluent in newspeak so annoyingly say) it will also include back issues up to and including 2006. This will afford more recent migrants to Glengarry county access to local news from their time here.
As an added bonus, archivist Allan MacDonald tells me he is having the missing December 25th issue of the 1903 Glengarry News digitized for inclusion on the web site. Entitled The News Christmas Number, the special edition was the newspaper’s gift to its readers. It was chock-a-block with historical information on the region’s key buildings, businesses, churches and citizens. However, like today’s News, it’s a wee bit Alexandria-centric. And one has to question the veracity of its historical accounts of the county’s hinterlands when it declares that Maxville is the capital of Kenyon. Greenfield was back then, and if Kenexit proponents were to have their way, it would be again.
For those who missed the original edition, the Glengarry Historical Society produced a reprint in 1995, which itself has become a bit of a collector’s item. I’ve examined both and the photo reproductions of the original are definitely better. So I look forward to being able to download it from the Archive’s web site.
Ben & Anita are back
This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Tuesday. Not a great night for boisterous abandon. So, if you’re not a purist and are open to celebrating St. Paddy’s on the closest weekend, the Dunvegan Recreation Association is hosting its third annual “Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald” concert on Friday, March 13th. Assuming one can overcome one’s paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th), the evening promises to be a Celtic delight. To quote from the DRA’s web site, the musical duo “ have become renowned across Canada and further afield, for their synergistic approach to traditional Scottish music. Blending Scottish Lowland pipes with Cape Breton fiddle, Gaelic song and step-dance, Ben and Anita join together the threads of Old and New World traditions, while constantly exploring new ways to bring their instruments closer together. Their music has been hailed as playful, poignant, and passionate all at once… fresh, yet totally traditional.” I can tell you from personal experience, that the couple’s two previous appearances in Dunvegan were superb. So if you’re looking for a good seat, you might want to get there a few minutes early. I’ll have more details as to timing, ticket cost and availability of event-appropriate libations in next week’s column.
Worshippers stay home
Well, not your home home… but your home church. Jim Ferrier asked me to remind members of the Kenyon Presbyterian Church in Dunvegan and the St. Columba Presbyterian Church in Kirk Hill that services in your respective churches will resume this Sunday, March 1st. Worship this Sunday will include the celebrating of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, as celebrants mark the beginning of the journey through the Lenten season. For St. Columba in Kirk Hill, worship services will be at 9:30 AM, and for Kenyon in Dunvegan, worship services will be at 11 AM. This schedule will be in effect for the months of March and April.
Face of farming few see
To judge from the parking lot the two times I was there, this year’s Art Show at Brent’s Place was a resounding success. There seemed to be fewer pieces on exhibit this time, but I’d hazard to say the overall quality had moved up a notch or two.
I especially liked two of the pieces by Dunvegan artists. The first was a haunting portrait of two women by Brenda Kennedy. I have no confirmation from Brenda at this point, but I believe her subjects were Joan Owen and one of her daughters. Joan’s last home before moving from the Dunvegan area was the quaint brick house on the south side of County Road 24 at the very east end of the hamlet, right across from the old log manse. A second piece that struck my eye was “Pause” by Sarah Jane Raymond. This monochromatic acrylic on canvas work was a bit of a departure for Sarah Jane and showed a maturing of her style.
A third piece that resonated with me was “Whatever” by Victoria Stevenson. Vickie has no direct connection with Dunvegan, but I know her parents well and was impressed at how insightful this introspective self-portrait was. Matted and framed, it would have been truly eye-popping.
However, my selection for Best in Show was #6 “Night Milker” by Erica Taylor. The subject of this striking portrait was her husband Jay, in which she depicts “the face of Canadian farming few see.” For 18 years, Jay has worked the solo night shift, milking anywhere from 200 to 500 cows per shift. As robotization increases its incursion into Glengarry’s dairy barns, scenes like this one will become more and more rare. Until then, the quiet competency of workers like Jay will allow milking parlours to continue to compete… at a price that Erica has caught so well. The impact on Jay’s physical stamina can be seen in the set of his body and the lines etched on his face. It called to mind Dorthea Lange’s 1936 “Migrant Mother” and W. Eugene Smith’s 1948 “Country Doctor” iconic photographs. Erica admits the couple has no direct ties to Dunvegan, but says that they both love the museum.
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