Rotary Rays November 12, 2012
Rotary Meeting Monday November 12, 2012 From 12:00-1:30
This was our Remembrance Day Meeting
Grace was said by Ted Exley
Taps were played by Jim Gordon from the Salvation Army
Birthdays and Anniversaries: John Curries birthday was November 13th,Larry Lake is having an anniversary on
The winner of our 50/50 draw was Frances Stevens who picked the 5 of spades which was good for $5.00
Steven Gale was happy that he received his badge so he paid a Happy Buck
Aric Wilson detailed the new Toyota which nobody else can see and it was going to a car show.
Ron Fraser was happy that the weather was perfect for the Remembrance Day Service on November 11th at the Cenotaph.
John Currie made a mistake this morning and shaved off his beard.
Vanessa Page then decided to quiz the whole club taking the poem Flanders Fields and went to all the tables and all of them were able to recite the poem as desired. Well done team!
Fellowship: November 26th we will be at Crabby Joe’s a Fellowship evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Dave Harris unfortunately had to report a break in at the boathouse. The outboard motor was stolen valued at about $2,000.00. John Britton made the necessary repairs to the boathouse. There was considerable damage to the building. There was no damage to the boats. In order to make the outboard motor work there is going to have to be the acquisition of some small parts so Dave Harris will check with all the outboard motor dealers in the area and report the loss and see if anybody is asking for parts for that kind of motor.
The Youth Committee has selected an outgoing student from St. Mary’s School, Nathan Stepophalus.
DICTIONARIES -Dr. Reid reported that his dictionaries had all been given out and the other 2 men on the committee and Barbara Wright are in the process of delivering their dictionaries.
The Shoe Box Auction is coming up and Glen Murray will join us when that happens.
Don Fulkerson has left a message that we can store items for the auction at the Quality Inn.
Scottish curlers will be in Stratford on Saturday. Frances Stevens will be leading the team of curlers and the banquet is Saturday evening in Stratford.
Guest Speaker: Doug Symons
Our guest speaker of the day was: Doug Symons, he was introduced by David Harris. He was born in Woodstock in 1930 and moved to Regina for 2 months and then lived in Woodstock all his life. He was with the Bank of Montreal for 38 years. In 1983 he returned to Woodstock. When he retired he drove the Robert Q bus for about 3 years. He has a series of 4 books written about Woodstock, Woodstock Way Back When written in 1993, another one in 1997, Giants of Oxford in 2001 and the Roar of Lions in 2005. He and his wife have celebrated their 59th anniversary. He writes a column in the Sentinel Review called, Symon Says. He is a proud member of the Lions Club, the Probus Club and one of the United Churches. In 2005 he received the Ontario Heritage Certificate. He has 1 great grandchild.
Yesterday he was at the Cenotaph and he represented the Lions Club for 20 years. The only one who had been around Woodstock for the same generation was Jim Gordon who has been there since the 1940’s. Doug remembered that June 7, 1939 the visit of King George the VI and the Queen as they stopped for 30 minutes in Woodstock. The CNR train station was the spot for the greeting and the train was 2 hours late and there were 25,000 people at the CNR station. He was there as part of the Cub Scouts.
During the war there was something called the Canadian Driving and Maintenance School in Woodstock and James A. Vance was selected as the leader and there were about 1,000 staff and students. Stan Blair our previous Rotarian and ex-president was a teacher in that school they utilized the agricultural show grounds and the grandstand. There were huts made of every description. In the huts there were 8 people and they had sleeping accommodation, library, and kitchen and the last of the huts were torn down in 2010.
A.J. McKinney of McKinney Lumbar did the inspection on horseback. They noticed that the warning lanterns that were inspected were found to be made in Germany so they replaced them.
The students were trained in motorcycle driving, driving a tractor, driving a 4 wheel drive vehicle and a Bren gun carrier. The prize was the Universal Carrier as well as the gun tractor and when Rommel was in the desert the men saw the Universal Carriers put to the best test. The gun tractor would carry the 4 or 5 gun crew and pull the gun as well. In the area of Leinster and Durham Crescent the vehicles were tested and once the vehicles even got stuck and the troops had to pull them out. The camp at Nellis St had 2 entrances.
The Oxford Rifles were a reserve and they were sent to British Columbia.
Doug Symons himself delivered the Toronto Star to the officers’ quarters on West St. He was about 12 years old at the time. The commander ordered him a Coke on 2 occasions so he felt pretty important.
We note particularly that there was always a good relationship between the soldiers and the citizens of Woodstock. The Karn Organ Factory was converted into a dance hall. Shell casings were made at the Massey Harris Factory as well as Whitelaw Machine and Baird Machine. Doug said he delivered the Sentinel Review on a route about 1943. The churches and the service clubs ran a mobile canteen for the troops as well. People knitted sweaters and socks for the soldiers. An absolutely outstanding figure was raised in the amount of 41 million dollars in terms of War Bonds and Certificates to support the war effort in Woodstock.
At the end of 1945 the training ground returned to the Woodstock Fair grounds. The war ended when Doug was 15 years old.
He remembers particularly the Cenotaph service in 1998 when Tom Goodfellow from World War I aged 90 was held up by 2 Mounties and it was a stirring moment. There was a 12 year old boy; Peter Grogan who was encouraged to take the hand of a veteran, Ed Bennett. The 4 Harvard’s always go over the Cenotaph and when they come back there is 1 missing.
A thank you was given by David Harris.
Our exchange student said that he had dislocated his shoulder playing football and they lost. The good news is that he is doing well and having a good time.
Yours sincerely,
Robert L. Reid M.D. FRCS(C)