Last week, on Monday, December 28th to be precise, René and Sherrill Trottier of Dunvegan East celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. I have no details of how the couple marked this milestone occasion. However, given that the Trottier family has always been such a powerhouse of musical talent, chances are excellent that a whole lot of fiddling and step dancing was involved. On behalf of all your Dunvegan friends and neighbours, congratulations René and Sherrill!
Hey there, Mr. Suzy
During a recent pre-Yuletide dinner party at a friend’s home, I was delighted to discover just how far the ripples from this year’s “Music & Mayhem” concert had travelled. All of the guests at the soirée had participated in one way or another to the success of the DRA Christmas fundraiser. And part of the evening was spent recalling personal highlights of the experience.
All accounts were entertaining. However, one diner’s story topped the rest. James Winchester, Challenger jet pilot by day and volunteer thespian by night, told us a charming encounter he had with a very young fan, days after the spotlights had cooled. Her adulation stemmed from one number in particular: “Suzy Snowflake.”
Written over 60 years ago by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, “Suzy Snowflake” was made famous by Rosemary Clooney in 1951. While considered a Christmas song, it actually makes no mention of the holiday. Instead, the child-friendly lyrics celebrate the fun of winter, by anthropomorphizing a snowstorm as a playful girl named Suzy Snowflake.
For those of you who were unable to attend, the musical skit started off with Barb Newman and Audrey Nixon (sporting Santa hats, scarves and mitts) singing the Tepper/Bennett lyrics. Then, at the top of the second verse, Allan MacDonald and James Winchester bravely danced on stage… dressed as giant snowflakes. While this is probably not what the song-writing duo had in mind when they crafted the ditty, the audience howled with laughter.
But I digress. It turns out that several days after the performance Jim Winchester was shopping in an Alexandria supermarket when he noticed that one very young girl seemed to be fixated on him. The youngster would whisper in her mother’s ear and then continue to stare at Jim. Knowing full well that even a simple smile these days can be interpreted as micro-aggression and trigger a life-destroying lawsuit, Jim chose to ignore his “fan” and carry on shopping. However, a few minutes later, he felt an insistent tug on his sleeve… followed by a timid young voice asking, “Hey mister, aren’t you Suzy Snowflake?” Jim had no choice but to admit that he was, secretly hoping all the while she’d ask for his autograph. She didn’t.
Merry Christmas, Museum
I’m happy to report that the Glengarry Pioneer Museum awoke to find a couple of unexpected presents in its Christmas stocking this year. The first gift was a $1,000 pledge from Export Development Canada (EDC). As I outlined in a column nearly a year ago, EDC is one of those rare organizations that reward employees who’ve caught the ‘volunteer’ bug.
Through the EDC’s ‘Dollars for Doers’ program, eligible employees may request a financial donation to their favourite charity. The only requirements are that the organization must be a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency and the employee must show that they have contributed at least 35 volunteer hours in the previous twelve months.
About 12 months ago, James Prevost, a Dunvegan resident and EDC employee, earned his first ‘Dollars for Doers’ donation to the Glengarry Pioneer Museum… a feat he was able to repeat again this year. Well done, James!
Museum co-chair, Marlie Tilker, tells me that the funds have been earmarked for an MTO sign on the westbound 417 alerting tourists travelling to Ottawa of this unique little museum. While this project will chew up most of the EDC donation dollars, there will be a few bucks left over. “We’ll use any remaining funds to open our Rescue the Roxborough Baptist Church fund,” Marlie told me.
Synchronicity under the tree
The second prezzie with the museum’s name on the tag was a $150 Individual Lifetime Membership purchased by Paul Stummerskill. It’s unlikely that Mr. Stummerskill will get to take advantage of the benefits his membership affords him, as he lives in St. Catherines, Ontario. So why did he decide to buy one?
Because, when he called the museum back in November, he was extremely impressed by the courteous assistance he received. Paul Stummerskill went to high school in Cornwall and was trying to track down information on the late Stuart McCormick, a renowned Glengarry artist.
Apparently, when he was a young man, Paul took weekly art lessons from Stuart McCormick. While he was still in high school, Paul would take the train from Cornwall to Alexandria and then walk to Stuart McCormick’s house (outside of Alexandria) for lessons in landscape painting.
After chatting on the phone with Paul for a while, Jennifer e-mailed him some information about Stuart McCormick. And, since he had lost most ties with the area many years ago, he was very appreciative. As evidenced by the fact that, a few weeks later, Jennifer received a nice letter from Paul Stummerskill recounting his story, along with a $150 cheque for a lifetime membership to the museum. As Jennifer points out, a little bit of listening and assisting someone — even if it’s something simple — can have a big impact. “I was happy that I could help,” says Jennifer. “Now we have a new museum supporter.”
Where does the synchronicity come in? Well, just before Christmas, I stopped by Kent MacSweyn’s home and have him sign some Pioneer Museum cheques for Terry. While Kent was adding his John Henry, I poked my nose around the corner to the living room where I spotted an incredible oil painting above of the fireplace.
A present from his wife Marilyn, the large canvas depicted a winter scene with two horse-drawn sleighs hauling hay from a stack in the back fields in order to replenish the mow in the barn. Gobsmacked by the painting, I searched for the name of the artist and — you guessed it — Stuart McCormick had painted the piece.
While Stuart McCormick was born east of Alexandria on McCormick Road on the 2nd of December 1905, he does have a Dunvegan connection. Stuart McCormick is related to Andrew McCormick who lives with Miranda Burgess at the north end of Dunvegan’s Church Street. Stuart was Andrew’s granduncle… the brother of Andrew’s grandfather, Francis (Frank) McCormick, the master stonemason. I’m running out of time (and room) today, but I’ll have more to say about Stuart McCormick, and his brother Frank, in future columns.
Oops… almost forgot
A couple of weeks ago, I spotlighted the kind people from across the region who had volunteered their time on the Mayhem & Mayhem project. However, as a kind reader from Alexandria pointed out, I overlooked someone: Sandra Daigle from Hillcrest Farms east of MacCrimmon’s Corners.
For many years, Sandra has provided the trays of sweets for the ‘meet & greet’ following the DRA Christmas concert. In addition to providing the superb baked goodies at cost, she also sticks around each year to help me serve to treats to the hungry hordes. My apologies to Sandra for the oversight.
DRA Potluck & AGM
I just received an e-mail from Ben Williams saying that the Dunvegan Recreation Association’s Potluck Supper and Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday, January 16th. As always, the evening will start with a stroll down the Tables of Plenty piled high with delicious mains, sides and desserts. Then, around 7:00 PM, the business part of the meeting will begin with a brief Treasurers report, followed by the President’s report for 2015.
As this is an election year, Bob Garner has agreed to act as returning officer for the election of the executive. But don’t worry; there’s virtually no chance of you being pressed into volunteering against your will. I believe there’s already a full slate of candidates willing to join the DRA’s strong and very active Executive. That said I know they can always use a few more hands to help with some of their bigger events. So, if you’re interested in donating a few hours of your time, attend the AGM or give Ben a call at 613-527-4006.
Regardless of whether you live in or around Dunvegan or not, if you and/or your family have benefited from a DRA programs like soccer, euchre, concerts and lectures, please come and show your support for the volunteers who make these events like these possible. Admission is free. All they ask is that you contribute a main dish, salad or dessert. Hot coffee, water, soft drinks and juice will be provided free of charge.
New occasional feature…
To add a dash of spice to my column throughout the coming year, I will, from time to time, close with a limerick from the pen of Robin Flockton. Traditionally, a limerick is a humorous and bawdy verse with three long and two short lines that have an aabba rhyming pattern. However, rather than being risqué, Robin’s limericks will be topical and thought provoking. Here’s number one:
As winter returns with a roar
Hydro bills once again soar
Green Energy’s allure
Has proven unsure
But Kathleen keeps building yet more.
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