Photographer: Pam Harrison
“Gayle” told us all about herself, her husband, her family and her house (but she did look surprisingly like Susan F). Come to think of it, “Edna” looked a lot like Gayle.
50-50 Draw: Pam’s number was drawn, but she failed to pick the 8 of Hearts. So the pot of $169 carries forward to next week.
Visiting Rotarians: Nicole (Amherst), and Pat (in transit).
Gold Mine Presentation: On behalf of Tantramar Regional High School, John Fougere accepted from Dianne a Gold Mine cheque for $614.
Happy Dollars: Ove was happy to have had the assistance of two Rotarians in getting back to Edmundston to retrieve his car which had broken down. Dianne was impressed with the Remembrance service she attended at the High School – and with the lunch that followed. Josh is happy that there is ongoing research into Alzheimer’s. Susan P showed a scarf bought in Bruges, and noted how the war is still close to the people there.
Susan F was at the Drew on Monday for the official presentation of the wheelchair bike. Residents who tried it out were all smiles. Come the spring Rotaract members will provide pedal power.
She also reported that the Dorchester School after school program has started, and the kids are having a blast.
And she also reported that the Rotaract group are cooking up something for Moonlight Madness on 17 November; they might be looking for some assistance.
Pam presented to Josh the District 7810 Public Relations Program Award from the District Conference. It reads” “Presented to the Rotary Club of Sackville the club judged to have the Best Public Relations 2016-2017. Ginny Joles, District Governor.”
David announced that last week’s Foundation Fun auction brought in $1,629. Charlie won the guess the amount contest, but confessed that he had looked up last year’s amount, and so offered the bottle of wine for auction. It went to Josh for $25 which will be added to the amount raised.
Next Week: 16 November 2017. Chair: George; Greeter: Darrell; Introducer: Louise; Thanker: Susan F; Speaker: Alexa MacLeod, Autumn House.
President’s Time: Josh on behalf of John drew attention to the official opening of the new Waterfowl Park Observation Tower on Wednesday 15 November at 12 noon. We contributed to the cost of the tower and Rotarians will be especially welcome at the ceremony.
Speaker: Bill introduced guest speaker John Fougere, History and English teacher at TRHS, and one of our most regular and popular speakers, who gave an overview of the three battles of Ypres, known today as Ieper, but called by allied troops in World War I “Wipers.”
The second battle saw the first use of chlorine gas by the Germans, with devastating results. A famous photo entitled “The Blind Leading the Blind” shows a line of blinded troops being led out of the battlefield. It was found that placing handkerchiefs soaked in urine over one’s face neutralized the worst effects of the gas.
It was the terrible death of Alexis Helmer that led John McRae to write “In Flanders Fields.” McRae’s dressing station can still be seen. The famous poem was submitted to the British magazine “Punch,” which changed one word in the first line (“grow” changed to “blow”).
The third Battle of Ypres was Passchendaele. The entire battlefield turned into a sea of mud as the area was hit by the heaviest rain in 40 years. Horses and guns simply sank into the mud. Soldiers on both sides had to cope with unbelievable conditions. Some previous burial sites of allied troops were completely destroyed. In Ypres the Menin Gate was erected in 1927; it is inscribed with the names of all Commonwealth soldiers lost in the war. Since 1928 a nightly service of remembrance has been held (except in World War II when it was banned by Hitler).
Susan P expressed the club’s thanks for an outstanding talk.
The meeting closed with the Four-Way Test.
Notice passed on by Pam :
