Auld Acquaintances by Peggy Oldfield

I’d like to start off by thanking all of you for providing me with tidbits for this column throughout the year.  I couldn’t write it without you!  Now, to begin  this new issue, here’s an update on CBC 20 Year Association events.  On September 22nd, the annual Fall Luncheon took place for the second year in a row at Miller’s Pub in Nanaimo.  There was a good turnout from both the mainland and Vancouver Island which led to a lot of spontaneous handshakes and hugs and cries of, “Oh for heaven’s sake, how are you!”  Participants included Mel Bishop, Bob Ennis, Kathleen and Cliff Gilfillan, Dennis Grant, Joe Holman, Gerry Hudson, Brian Keating, Alan MacMillan, Carole McCrossen, Ken Mitchell, Michael and Vera Moss, Dan Noon, Peggy Oldfield, Don Waterston and Mike Weir.  Several people who intended to make the trip from the mainland were stymied by traffic accidents and bridge tie-ups all stemming from the heavy rains through the night and into the morning.  Fortunately for those who did get to the ferry terminal, the rain abated and the sun even made an appearance during the afternoon and for the return ferry trip.  A second pub lunch was organized for November 3rd, this time at the Marine Pub & Brewhouse in Burnaby which is co-owned by our former colleague Derek Chung.  Derek was on hand on a gorgeous Autumn day to welcome Tony Agostini, Judy Buckley, Serafine Crawley, Chris Cutress, Mel and Sheila Ebenstiner, Claire Firth, Pat Hartley, John Henderson, Joe Holman, John Kennedy, Bill Kyashko, Alan MacMillan, Ron Mahy, Rod Mundy, Dieter Nachtigall, Angela Nash, Jim Nelson, Mike and Peggy Oldfield, John Rogers, Karen Tankard and Don Waterston, among others.  Bowlers continue to enjoy getting together every other month – most recently in September and November – for three games of 5-pin bowling at Varsity Ridge Lanes in Vancouver.  Participants at these last two sessions were, respectively, Elizabeth and Mel Bishop, Miriam Brownlow, Serafine Crawley, Joe Holman, Anne Mathisen, Lori and Rod Mundy, Bill Murray, Angela and Peter Nash, Peggy Oldfield, Sheryl Smale and Ron Taylor on September 7th and  Serafine Crawley, Laurie Dickson and Paul Grant, Joe Holman, Diane and Ron Mahy, Lori and Rod Mundy, Peggy Oldfield, Michael Taylor-Noonan, Sheryl Smale and Ron Taylor on November 9th.  By the time you are reading this column, the annual Christmas Dinner Party at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club will have taken place and at this writing, planning for the big night is well underway. 

Happy 50th Ron & Diane!

In the “Congratulations!” department, tip your hat and raise a glass to Ron and Diane Mahy who celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on November 25th. Earl and Marjorie Barnholden share the happy news that they are now great grandparents of three – two boys and a girl.  The girl, Berkeley, was born just over two years ago to grandson Daniel Barnholden and partner Lori Hill who live in Toronto and are expecting another child in February, 2012.  Granddaughter Johanna (Greene) Hussain and husband Sajjad, in Markham, Ontario, are the proud parents of seven-month old Jordan who was born on April 30 this year and grandson Andrew Greene and wife Dara in Unionville, Ontario, presented the family with the newest addition, Jack, just two months ago.  Jack made his appearance a little early and weighed in at only 4 pounds 4 ounces but Early reports that he is healthy and packing on the weight.

Burns Grund, Value Wise Optical, Nanaimo

Congratulations and best wishes for success are extended to Burns Grund who recently became the proud owner of Value Wise Optical in Nanaimo.  Burns says the one-optician store is going to keep him very busy!  He'd like CBC'ers past and present on the Island or elsewhere to know that he is offering a 15% reduction on the already great values in the store.  Burns says he has customers from Victoria to Part Alberni and over to the Sunshine Coast whom he mails orders to.  Get well wishes go out to Doreen Moscrip and to Dieter Nachtigall’s wife Daniele, both of whom are recovering from recent surgery.  My thanks to Elizabeth Dichmont and to Derek Gardner for sending along a piece from the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper dedicated to our former colleague and Victoria resident Deirdre Roberts.  The article, by Richard Watts, appears under the banner headline “Newcomer put down ‘strong roots’ by helping others.  Winner of Generosity of Spirit award says volunteering was a great introduction to community of Victoria.” 

Deirdre Roberts. Photo by Handout, timescolonist.com

The article continues, “Deirdre Roberts insists she is neither sufficiently wealthy to be a significant philanthropist nor extraordinary enough to be worthy of an award.  So Roberts was surprised to hear she had won the Generosity of Spirit Award presented by the Victoria Foundation as part of National Philanthropy Day Monday night (November 7, 2011) at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.  ‘My main feeling is I would really like to dedicate this to all those people in Victoria who are so generous and don’t get the recognition,’ she said in an interview.  National Philanthropy Day was first celebrated in 1986 and is co-ordinated by the National Association of Fundraising Professionals.  Last year, it was marked by more than 100 fundraiser organizations across North America. The Generosity of Spirit Award is given to the candidate whose generosity and civic and charitable responsibility encourages others to take up philanthropic leadership within the community.  Roberts had a career in broadcasting with the BBC in London and later with the CBC in Vancouver.  Since moving to Victoria in 1996, she has volunteered and worked for a succession of agencies: Victoria Hospice Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation, Friends of UVic Libraries and the Victoria Foundation.  A painter who exhibits with Winchester Galleries in Victoria, Roberts spent the 2010 season with Pacific Opera Victoria as an artist in residence.  The result was 18 paintings that were exhibited and sold, raising $25,000 for the opera.  Roberts described that year with the opera as ‘magical’.  She was allowed almost unlimited access, watching sets being erected and painted, costumes stitched together and behind the scenes at rehearsals.  ‘They were so welcoming of me, there was a point when I suddenly felt these paintings belonged to them,’ said Roberts.  One other great love in her life is Victoria.  She loves the sense of community she has found.  ‘It’s a different kind of community,’ said Roberts.  ‘I really feel like I have put down strong roots here.’  And she credits the Victoria Foundation for providing her a fabulous introduction to the community at large.  ‘They fund everything from soup kitchens to operas, so you really see the whole swath of society,” said Roberts.  ‘My father used to say, a community is like a tapestry, she said.  When you look behind the tapestry you get to see where all the threads and knots join up and where it’s getting threadbare and needs help.” Congratulations on this wonderful recognition, Deirdre!  A round of applause, please, for Diana Filer who was invited by the Dean of Science at Simon Fraser University, Claire Cupples, to be part of the celebration at the Canadian Women in Science Awards Dinner on November 4th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver.  The honour was extended because of the CBC Radio series Quirks and Quarks which has been on the air for 36 years since Diana originated it in 1975. More congratulations are to be extended to Maurice Moses who, after 57 years of singing at services at his Synagogue, was honoured on December 1st  with a Volunteer Recognition Award  presented at the Annual General Meeting.  The honour is bestowed to “an individual who has dedicated their Volunteer services to the Beth Israel Choir and has proven to be of exceptional value to our Congregation”.  Despite Maurice’s recent battle with cancer which he has happily won, he insisted on attending Choir rehearsals all summer which were, he says, “therapy for me and a welcome distraction as long as I could still sing”.  Maurice’s wife Judy is currently in Scotland and had to miss the award presentation but their daughter  Melissa and Maurice’s sisters were there. Salty Sam the Sailor aka Tom Houston, relates that he is seriously thinking of hauling anchor and moving from his present mooring in Mazatlan to a new harbour further south along the Mexican coast.  Stay tuned.

Tony Wade and Peter McNelly in London

U.K. resident Tony Wade had a reunion over lunch in July of this year with Peter McNelly at The Silver Cross pub on Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, London. Peter was Executive Producer of Pacific Report until 1981 and Tony later followed in his shoes, holding the E.P. position from 1984 to 1990. Peter's now retired between Toronto and Florida.  Lori Konorti – a Vancouver Island resident these days – will be in Vancouver December 23 to 25 to spend Christmas with her daughter Jodi who is travelling up from her home in San Diego.  This will the first time in a few years that the holidays will be spent here as Lori has made the trip annually to San Diego.  Earl Barnholden has been busy researching family history and has so far traced ancestry to 1805 in Denmark with the birth of Hans Henrik Witt, his great great grandfather.  Earl’s father, John Carl Witt, ran away from home in 1900 – at the age of 11 – changing his name to his Mother’s maiden name of Von Barnholdt.  When he arrived in the United States, the Von was dropped from his name and when he arrived in Canada - Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan – in 1912, his name was changed to Barnholden.  Doesn’t that make you want to start delving into your own family background?  It does me! 

Burstin' with Broadway Choir

Jacquie Fitzgerald sings with the non-audition 120-member choir “Burstin’ with Broadway”, founded in 2005, which meets every Tuesday evening in North Vancouver between September and May where she says they have a really good time, under the baton and humour of their Musical Director, Dominique Hogan.  The choir’s focus is on songs from musical theatre productions, old and new.  The group performed at the Dundarave Festival of Lights under the tent at the foot of Dundarave Pier on Saturday, November 26th – rain and gale-force winds notwithstanding.  “We’re a pretty hale and hearty bunch!”, laughs Jacquie.  Next up for the choir will be two concerts – matinee and evening – on May 26, 2012 at the Kay Meek Centre on Mathers Avenue in West Vancouver.  For more information go to http://www.burstinwithbroadway.com.   

Peggy, Jacquie, Claire and Serafine

Jacquie joined with former CBC’ers Serafine Crawley, Claire Firth and Peggy Oldfield on November 10th for a visit to the annual Circle Craft Fair at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. Another talented singer in our midst, Kathleen Gilfillan, will be participating in the North Island Choral Society’s annual Christmas concert on December 2nd and 3rd at St. Georges United Church in Courtenay, Vancouver Island.  The show will be featuring Saint-Saens’ Oratorio de Noel and Vivaldi’s Gloria.  Kathleen reports that the Society has excellent soloists and a good range of musicians from the Valley.   Ron Devion reports he is nearing completion of his second book entitled, “from Stardust, Book II”.  He is aiming for a February 2012 release.  Ron says, “It will contain a much more fulsome account of my adventures stuck in the bosom of Mother Corpse.  Names will not be changed to protect the innocent or the guilty.”

Volkmar Richter and his wife Kim (many of you will remember Kim Richards from Pacific Report days)  travelled to Europe for almost three weeks, starting in mid-October. In Volkmar’s words, “We were in Berlin during the height of the Euro crisis but didn’t quite understand it because we don’t read German. I picked up that Angela Merkel got Nicolas Sarkozy on side but wasn’t exactly sure what side that was. Not, that is, till we got to England and stayed with friends who get The Guardian. They joined us in Berlin, and led by a friend of theirs who lives there, we got a pretty good tour: the Reichstag dome, Potsdam, Karl Marx Strasse, The Pergamon Museum’s mammoth gates transported from the Middle East, The Jewish Museum, a small jazz club, a chamber music concert in a still-not repaired building, etc. etc. I got to try a curry wurst, which is sold and eaten all over the city. I also got to the street, and address, where I lived during my first year or two. Kim and I then went on to Paris for a few days where we spent more time in interesting neighborhoods than the tourist attractions. The Promenade Plante is a former elevated railway turned into a very long park. (It’s often mentioned as a possible model if we ever shut down the Georgia viaduct. Up close, it looks far too different to be a model for us). The southern edge of Montmarte is a bustling Algerian and Turkish immigrant area with lots of dodgy-looking deals going on in the street. The area near the Folies Bergere over to the Place de Republic is very African, judging by the people in the streets. The best gallery we attended was not the Louvre but the Musee d’Orsay with room after room of famous impressionist paintings and, surprisingly, Whistler’s Mother. Napoleon’s tomb is interesting because of the pretentious grandeur of the place and further inside what is actually the French military museum there’s a terrific display of battlefield dioramas, scale models used to plan army assaults. From there we headed over to England and stayed a few days with the friends who did Berlin with us. They live in a village in the New Forest where you have to be careful when you’re driving, especially at night, because horses and animals are allowed to roam free. A trip to Salisbury, to a sea village called Buckler’s Hard (where some of Nelson’s ships were built and Sir Francis Chichester left on and arrived back from his round the world sail), to an arboretum where the collection of trees includes Douglas Firs and Western Red Cedars, and a small party at Halloween filled up what started out as days of rest. The visit ended with a wonderful meal in a first-class French restaurant, in a tiny village nearby. I wouldn’t have expected to find it there. Two other surprises. Just because fox hunting is banned, don’t imagine it doesn’t still go on. And the huge estates run by lords and worked by tenant farmers. Remnants of an old system I didn’t expect exists anymore.”   Serafine Crawley toured Eastern Europe  a couple of months ago and says it was a  fabulous and educational journey.  Following the tour, Serafine spent several weeks visiting family and friends in Austria before returning home. Susan Baxter returned to Paris - one of her favourite cities - in early November and reports having a fabulous time there. 

Jean (Rankin) & Ian Duthie shortly before leaving the West Coast

Jean (Rankin) Duthie and husband Ian uprooted themselves from Vancouver Island in October and are spending the winter months in the warmer climes of Malta.  It will be no surprise to anyone that they are enjoying themselves immensely and finding it very relaxing.    

32 members of the CBC Toronto 20 Year Association attended the monthly luncheon on November 7th and thoroughly enjoyed listening to guest speaker Paul Federico’s informative presentation on some of the not too well known aspects of the War of 1812 between Canada and the United States, “referred to by them as their 2nd war of Independence, by many Canadians at ‘whatever’ and by Great Britain, ‘there was a war over there too?’.”    On December 3rd, the CBC 20 Year Association and CBC Pensioner’s Regional Association will jointly celebrate Christmas at the Duke of Westminster Pub in Toronto and the new year will kick off with the CBC 20 Year Association Robbie Burns Luncheon at Blake House, Toronto which will include the Address to the Haggis and toast to the Bard – “An occasion for all Scots and those who wish they were”.  Wearing “a wee bit o’ the Tartan for the occasion is not only permissible, tis ruddy well encouraged!”.  If you’re going to be in Toronto, you can book for the event by e-mail to jtmccord@eol.cabefore noon on Monday, January 2nd (if you don’t receive an acknowledgement within 36 hours, please resend your request).  Cost is $25.00 per person.  From the CBC Pensioners’ Association November 2011 newsletter “The Transmitter” for Alberta, Saskatchewan and the NWT, comes the report that their members and retirees helped out at various October 1, 2011 Open Houses held at CBC locations.  “The Transmitter” says, “There was a great turnout in Iqaluit (despite it being a perfect day of the end of clam digging season).  About a hundred people paid a visit, to celebrate CBC’s 50th birthday in Iqaluit, and take a tour.  Pat Nagle wrote, ‘We had a good turnout for Saturday’s Open House in the station.  About 100 people dropped by to say hello, have some cake (and a good cake it was too), and have a look around the station.’  In Whitehorse, another hundred people of all ages came to CBC…very popular with families was the opportunity to do Northbeat greetings on camera. 

Jason Squires (CBC North Finance Mgr) and Bob Carr (CBC Pensioner)

In Yellowknife, as well as the Open House, staff was busy rehearsing for election night, so members of the public had the opportunity to see lots of drama.  CRTC Commissioner Peter Menzies dropped by and thoroughly enjoyed the action.  They had about 60 people.  Edmonton had more than 2,000 people come through the doors.  They learned about the history of CBC Radio-Canada in Edmonton and met on-air personalities and behind the scenes staff. 

L-R George White, Laurie Mills, Eleanor Suddaby, Ken McCreath,Russ Down, Audrey Lundy in Calgary

Calgary had about 1,200 people for the Open House (English and Radio-Canada); it was a very successful day despite the rain.  People lined up for hours to take a chance to learn more about how the public broadcaster puts its programming to air.  The Retirees manned an information booth which contains some old broadcast archival equipment. “

Wayne Bjorndahl and Mike Chipley, CBC Open House,Regina

  Other news from “The Transmitter”, with thanks to Jim MacVicar, advised that “Bob Carr and wife Mary also drove up the Dempster Highway in August.  He reports that it is breathtaking scenery and a must do trip for anyone who has not done it.  Bob stopped in Whitehorse for coffee at the downtown Tim Horton’s where several CBC and retired CBC employees have coffee at 10am.  About eight CBC people dropped by that day and it was great to see past acquaintances and catch up on some gossip.  Norbert Poitras left CBC Yellowknife October 28 after 20 years of service.  At age 50 he will be taking on a new line of work.  He will be joining Pido Production after some time off.  On July 4th, Friends and Family assembled at the Varscona Theatre in Edmonton to celebrate the life of Jennie Diment.  They came from across Canada and the U.S.  The ten member Cast, headed by Senator Tommy Banks, came to pay tribute through show tunes, Chopin and stories.  Guests soon realized they hadn’t really known about all aspects of Jennie’s life.  In addition to her heading up the make-up department for CBXT from 1961 – 1990, she worked with all the emerging theatre and opera companies in Edmonton.  As a teenager she hosted her own radio show in Vancouver, was a CBC Radio “weather girl”, an Ambassador and participant in the Canadian Transplant Games, a founding member of the Anne Burrows Music Foundation, supported many charities including the Save the Children Fund and the United Way.  She shared her knowledge with schools and community groups – even giving tips to the Police Department so they could work undercover.  After she retired, Jennie created the Jennie Diment Fund in support of diabetics and the Edmonton Theatre Community.  Garry and Jennie were foster parents for over 10 children worldwide.  They celebrated their 60^th anniversary in June 2010.  Jennie had wanted a “wrap party”.  She had wanted Friends and Family to be able to come together to share stories and laughter and to celebrate life.  It was a lovely way to spend an evening, surrounded by those who had meant so much to Jennie.  It was the time to remember her unfailing optimism, her joy in simple things, her courage, generosity and wicked sense of humour.  It was also the time for all of us to reflect on our loss.” (Artcle courtesy of Sharon Killey).

Once again, my thanks to everyone for making this column possible.  Please keep in touch so that I can keep it going.  Until next time, my warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours!  Peggy.