Providence Bay
Alexia Hannigan
Alexia here with your yule fly! I was browsing online as I usually do to keep all of you informed about what is happening in our community when I came across the Community Living Facebook page that mentioned that today (December 3), as I am typing this, is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. A day where the world celebrates strength, resilience and contributions of persons with disabilities in our communities. When I think of all of the people I have met and know from our community I think of amazing people like Tyler at Foodland who won gold in curling at the Canada Winter Games in Calgary with his Special Olympics team; Matt of Matt’s pizza stand who won triple bronze at the Canada Winter Games for snowshoeing; Jamie who cares for his community with his landscaping business during the busy season and still has time to make amazing calendars before Christmas, I think of Wendy F. who has overcome incredible obstacles and healing only to help others overcome and heal; I think of Dayne Tipper who also won gold at the 2024 Calgary Winter games, who keeps pushing through the trauma and pain of his recent bike accident and still showed up to light the Christmas tree in Mindemoya. I think of all the community members who rally and support around independent and fulfilled living. I think about how everyone in our amazing communities always come together, not only during times of joy and celebration but we come together when things are difficult, when things are challenging, when people need genuine help and guidance. These are the pillars and pioneers. The titan champions. The fearless ones, who in one way or the other have the superpower of knowing that they are limitless because every single day they give everything they’ve got, no boundaries, no borders, no obstacles, they make up their mind and mantra to acknowledge, overcome, adapt and achieve greatness. And they do! I reflect on a time when we were all given a glimpse into the impossible. It wasn’t so long ago we we’re told to shelter in place and await an uncertain future and fate, remember what happened? Like flowers that pushed through concrete, we overcame, we overachieved, we refused to sit quietly or go quietly. We got loud, we learned more, created more, baked more, reached out to each other more, we became the best, bolder version of ourselves when all the odds were against you, we evolved. That is how we should ebb into all of life’s seasons, reasons and journeys. We don’t always know what’s around the corner or what’s next but do know how to connect, create and continue. That is the greatest testament to our future and selves, our resilience. Remember what you’re made of. You made it kid. Remember every diamond started out as a lump of coal. Take the heat, embrace the pressure, evolve, adapt and shine big! Confucious said “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
Providence Bay Community of Christ Church:
Joys and community updates Sundays at 10:30 am; service Sundays is at 11 am. Check the Providence Bay Community of Christ Facebook page for announcements and updates!
On Sunday, December 14 at 10:30 am is the kids Christmas service join in on the songs, stories, crafts and snacks!
On Monday, December 22, join us for some Christmas carols, a warm fire and bring a do-it-yourself decoration to put on the Christmas tree!
Providence Bay Curling club:
Everyone is welcome at the Providence Bay Curling Club. Junior Curling is back Saturdays until the end of March. Ages SK to Grade 8, equipment provided, $25 per curler. For more info visit, provcurling.ca/junior
Providence Bay Curling Club is selling $10 tickets for the Providence Bay Curling Club Youth Program for the win booze/beer for a year draw in March. These make great stocking stuffers. For more information on upcoming bonspiels, tickets and events contact David at providencebaycurling@gmail.com or 705-377-4668 to register your team!
The Lions Club: The Lions bottle drive continues next to the arena; this program is open to the public and we encourage everyone to drop off their used bottles and cans. Your empties help fund great local initiatives. The Providence Bay and Spring Bay Lions progressive “Catch the Ace” lottery continues to benefit the Mindemoya Hospital Auxiliary Inc. Thanks to everyone for all their hard work in making this fundraiser happen and for all the Community support!
The Heavens:
Manitoulin Island is a dark sky reserve so find a dark sky spot, bring your telescope and enjoy the wonders of the cosmos. Whether you’re a seasoned skywatcher or just love watching shooting stars and auroras.
December 13 to 14 Geminid Meteor Shower Peak
December 21 to Winter Solstice
December 22 to 23 Ursid Meteor Shower
The Friends:
Happy Birthday to all of you early December babies! Happy Birthday Hunter!
Go easy out there on the roads. The cold is here and that means more animals are on the move and more hazards and unpredictable conditions on the roadways so plan ahead of any weather and go easy. If you are visiting Manitoulin Island-welcome!
Countdown to Christmas:
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” Athletes Oath Special Olympics Ontario
Be brave everyone-stay gold!
Kagawong
Team Fergmeijer
Team Fergmeijer went through several post-secondary programs before settling on being the hard-hitting journalists we are today. We started in the humanities studying Sighchology (Dad Jokes 101 was our favourite!). Then we went to med school, but it didn’t work out too well. Our anatomy class was supposed to reassemble a human skeleton, but we hid an arm bone as a joke. No one found that humerus and we were asked to leave. What very few people know is that our nicknames in university were exactly the same: “the Love Machine.” We were just that bad at tennis.
‘Tis the season! For anyone wanting to stay on top of school snow days, you can visit businfo.ca/delays to see school transportation delays and cancellations. They update the status by 7 am each morning and it is the best way to find out if your bus is running or not.
With the winter weather showing all the signs that it is here to stay, don’t forget that Billings council meetings are all available by remote Zoom link if you are not able to attend in person. You can find more information on their Facebook page (www.fb.com/billingstownshipkagawong) or contact the town office directly.
Happy birthday to Katherine T and Peter G who hit the big 29 recently. Hailey F will be celebrating very soon, but she has a way to go before hitting that major milestone. You may not be able to fold a fitted sheet, but otherwise we think you are all pretty cool!
The Seniors Active Living Program will be taking a break over the winter holidays, but there’s still time to get out, join in the fun, and be social! Stop by the Park Centre Thursdays, December 11 and 18 at 9 am for Fitness Class, Monday, December 15 at 9 am for Yoga, and the Chatter Matters Café both Monday, December 15 and Tuesday, December 18 at 10:30 am. Stay tuned for new activities starting up in January!
Catch up on old times with the complete archive of Team Fergmeijer columns, all the way back to 2015! Check out http://teamfergmeijer.blogspot.com to get your fill of puns and haiku. Did we mention the puns?
During the holiday season, take some extra care and make sure you are not saying hurtful words to one another (things like ‘let’s go for a run’ or ‘you should try kale’ for example). Have a great week!
Meldrum Bay
Elaine Bradley
On Friday, November 28 was cards at Meldrum Bay. We had 16 people. High lady was Tammy Gagne with 71 points; high man was Karen Noble with 64 points ladies’ lone hands went to Brenda with four; men’s lone hands went to Anne with three; most euchres went to Lois with eight; Natasha McVey brought home the juice; and Elaine Bradley won the door prize.
The hunt is over, but it was a great family time as friends and family gathered in their respective hunt camps. Several got one or two bucks some of which were quite substantial. Linette Burton was thrilled with their group’s success. The Triple B Club got two bucks and two does during their week. They processed 160 lbs. of burger and 80 lbs. of steaks and roasts.
Everything has settled down and tonight on our way home from cards in Silver Water we passed a fairly large doe on the side of the road.
This afternoon, Thursday, December 4 in Silver Water the UCW held their annual Christmas party. It was well attended. There were games, prizes, a penny table, carol singing and a really nice lunch. I wasn’t going to go due to the snow packed roads, I was worried about ice, but Diane Jones filled up her car with ladies and off we went. We had a great time.
The Christmas decorations are starting to go up and they look so pretty and cheerful. Merry Christmas everyone. Have a great week.
Barrie Island
Enid Runnalis
It is a crisp snowy day here on Barrie Island and the thermometer registered it to be -13°C this morning. It’s a good time to be in a cab tractor for those who are ploughing out snow in the barnyards or feeding cattle.
There were three (not seven) swans ‘a-swimming’ at the Barrie Island causeway this past week. One of them may have been a cygnet as it was still grey. They have been identified as ‘Trumpeter Swans’ which have black beaks and are the largest swan’s native to North America.
Many festive dinners and markets have already taken place this season! Last weekend there was a Christmas party for the Town of Gore Bay and the firefighters of Gore Bay and Gordon/Barrie Island Municipalities were invited to join in. Next year it will be Gordon/Barrie Island’s turn to have them for supper.
The local artists, artisans and crafters are preparing for Saturday’s Gordon/Barrie Island Christmas Market at the moment. Santa Claus should be in town that night to parade down Meredith Street in Gore Bay!
Scott and Enid were just out to visit with Johnny and Sylvia Fletcher at their home on Poplar Road. Johnny had just made a giant batch of Sylvia’s delicious Peanut Brittle, and they wanted a bit of help with packaging it up for the Gordon Christmas Market. If you’re lucky enough to get some it’s $5 a bag and Isobel and Mina will be selling them at the door. All proceeds will be going to a local charity.
Mark Robbins was here this week to visit with his mother Edna Wright at St. Joseph’s Lodge. She’s feeling a bit better especially after that visit.
Please read here next week to learn about the Christmas parade and other exciting news tidbits!
Silver Water
Karen Noble
Last week, I had a telephone call from Gertrude Nicks. She is still a busy lady.
On Friday, November 28 we went to euchre in Meldrum Bay. There was a little snow falling each way.
On Saturday, Natasha McVey travelled to Espanola to have her family’s Christmas party.
On Sunday there was a potluck lunch at the Burpee and Mills complex followed by a euchre tournament in the afternoon. Eight tables of players enjoyed the day. Thanks to Nikki Middleton and Natasha McVey for organizing the day.
On Monday morning, I went to work in Gore Bay for the day.
On Monday, I took Myra and Ken Duncanson as well as Heather Wilson to euchre at the Burpee and Mills Complex. One of us had less fun than the rest of us, but we all take a turn having an off night.
On Tuesday, Shawn Noble and his daughter Tamara went to Sudbury for the day.
Tuesday evening was fire practice at the fire hall.
Wednesday afternoon the yoga class was held at the hall.
Wednesday evening there was the Local Services Board budget meeting in the basement of the Community Hall. We got through the agenda quickly and the result was the tax levy fee staying at the same rate as the past year.
Thursday at 12 noon about 30 ladies gathered at the hall for a potluck lunch to begin the UCW Christmas party. Thank you to the volunteers who set up the hall and donated items, who organized the loonie table to raise funds, everyone who brought wonderful dishes for the potluck, and to all the ladies who sang, read poems and participated in the entertainment. We appreciate all the ladies from Mindemoya, Kagawong, Gore Bay, Meldrum Bay and the locals who came out to help celebrate the Christmas season.
Thursday evening there was euchre at the Silver Water Hall.
Happy 93rd birthday to my Aunt Audrey McCulloch.
Condolences to the family of Adeline Sampson.
