For more years than I wish to remember, young families from near and far have gathered at the community hall in Dunvegan to celebrate Halloween in style. And this coming Saturday, October 31st will be no exception.
The Dunvegan Recreation Association’s annual Community Halloween Party will commence at 6:00 PM and wrap up around 8:00 PM or so. Last year, organizers added a number of new attractions, including: Catch the Ghost, Pumpkin Hop and Drenched Pumpkins. I’m told these newcomers will return as part of this year’s line-up, as will old-time favourites such as the Kreepy Kitchen, the Ghoul Pool, Pumpkin Bowling and Witch Hat Ring Toss. Some of these ghoulish games have been delighting Dunvegan youngsters for over 30 years.
There will also be a Halloween craft table, a cobweb-encrusted Halloween Tree (the focus of the annual Monster Mash dance), snacks and treats for young and old alike and a take-home loot bag for each and every child. As well, the Carved Pumpkin Contest is back. One of the event’s highlights in the early years, families are once again invited to enter a pre-carved or pre-decorated pumpkin and compete for prizes.
If you’ve never attended this event, you and your family have been missing out on a whole lot of fun. The DRA Hall is located at 19053 County Road 24 and they’d love it if you’d drop by. There’s no admission and everyone is welcome to attend.
PS… As in years past, the DRA is asking the community-minded for donations of candy that can be used as prizes and to make up bags of treats the children can take home with them. If you have candy you’d like to contribute, please drop it off at Kim Raymond’s house. Her civic number is 1701 County Road 30. If she’s not home, just leave your candy contribution on her porch. Or, if you prefer, you can leave it with Terry or me at 19314 County Road 24.
Feast a Hot Ticket
I guess I should of kept my trap closed last fall when I reported on the delightful Harvest Supper Terry and I enjoyed at the Mennonite Cedar Valley Church on Highway 43. Last year, we broke bread with about 60 guests. But this year that number had swollen to about 120. I’d hazard to say it’s now one of the hottest tickets of the season.
The church’s Mennonite Youth Fellowship puts on the annual fundraiser. And I can report that the food — from salad, crescent rolls, sweet potato pie and turkey with all the fixings to home-baked apple or pumpkin pie — was out-of-this-world delicious. And the dining experience was made all that more enjoyable by soft, warm lighting and creative decorations and table settings.
However, for me, the highlight of the evening was at the end of the meal when the youth group gathered at the front of the dining room to raise their voices in song. Their ‘a capella’ performance of devotional music was a testament to a community where children are taught to sing in harmony almost from the day they learn to talk.
Once again, I’d like to thank Cody and his family for extending an invitation to this memorable event.
As I mentioned last year, Cedar Valley Church is open to all… not just members of the Mennonite community. Their Sunday school runs from 10:00 to 10:45, followed by their regular service. You’re also invited to join them on the second and fourth Sunday of each month at 7:00 PM for an evening of choral music and fellowship.
An Old Wooden Peg
While we’re in an ecumenical headspace (and this is a slow news week), I’d like to devote a few column inches to the Roxborough Baptist Church in Tayside. As I mentioned a couple of months ago, this historic structure is in need of a good home… and I think the Glengarry Pioneer Museum would be ideal. Back in the day, churches were the focal point of pioneer communities and, as such, the Roxborough Baptist Church would be a perfect addition to the Museum’s collection.
While the church was officially designated “Baptist,” there was a time when it served the spiritual needs of a much wider community. Tammy MacGregor of Maxville brought this to my attention. Tammy’s family has had a long affiliation with the church. Tammy’s father, Roy, and his siblings Jean, Archie, Allan and Ken were raised in the log house immediately west of the church. “Aunt Jean still recalls the time when there were stalls for the horses and a woodshed on the left side of the lot,” says Tammy. And it was Tammy’s great-grandfather, Archibald MacGregor, who donated the land for the church in 1865.
But back to my multi-denominational story. I had asked Tammy to canvas her relatives and others for their recollections of the Tayside church. One of the people Tammy spoke with was Dona McIntyre. Mrs. McIntyre is 90 and resides in a retirement residence in Avonmore. Back in 2000, she wrote the “History of Roxborough Baptist Church” section of the church’s 135th anniversary booklet.
Mrs. McIntyre told Tammy that there was a time — in the days before good roads — when everybody in the area, regardless of their faith, attended this church. As better roads were built and the popularity of cars increased, folks were able to travel farther afield to attend the churches to which they were actually affiliated. Regular services at Tayside slowly ground to a halt as the congregation dwindled.
Nevertheless, the impact of these early Baptist services still resonates. Tammy’s dad still recalls that some of the ministers preached hellfire and brimstone. “The boys would say that they were sent to hell every Sunday,” recalls Roy MacGregor, “then had to live through the week only to be sent to hell again the following Sunday!” As Tammy observed, the message could be a tad dismal at times.
The little Tayside church still holds fond memories for Tammy. “When I would visit the family farm, we kids would walk down to the little church and let ourselves in to look at the Sunday School attendance records that were kept in the old tilt-top table. They contained lots of familiar names of family and neighbours. This was when the church doors were held shut with a little worn wooden peg in the latch. We’d stay awhile in the quiet and let ourselves out to continue our walk, always replacing that old wooden peg on the way out.”
Unfortunately, the days of the little wooden peg are long gone. In response to vandalism and theft, it had to be replaced with a padlock.
This story will continue…
Christmas. Time for something different
If Costco and Canadian Tire can start selling Christmas lights, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows in July, I figure that by the time we’re knocking on November’s door, I can put in quick plug for this year’s DRA “Food Bank” Christmas concert.
I am delighted to announce that we’re going down a whole different road this year… a music and variety extravaganza with the working title: Dunvegan Music & Madness.
The show is the brainchild of Rosemary Chatterson, who was in a similar troupe for 15 years before she and her husband Allan J. MacDonald moved back here. “We have 14 local people involved,” says Rosemary, “including singers, actors, accompanist, narrator and backstage crew.”
The group started rehearsing the songs in June and the skits in September. Now they are putting it all together, working on costumes and adding some choreography. “There will be lots of music and plenty of madness,” promises Rosemary. “The audience will see their friends and neighbours in a whole new light!”
Condolences to the Cadieux Family
I was sad to learn that Simone Cadieux of Dunvegan North passed away peacefully in the Maxville Manor on October 19th at the age of 85. She was the beloved wife of the late Dosithé Cadieux, dear mother of Rita, Claire, Jeannette and Agathe and adored grandmother of sixteen grandchildren and great-grandmother of fifteen great-grandchildren.
A service was held Friday, October 23rd at St. Victor Church in Alfred followed by interment in the parish cemetery. Daughter Claire of Dunvegan wanted to express a special thank you to Maxville Manor staff for their dedication and excellent care for her mother.
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