Chairperson: Susan Fisher likely said some pithy things whilst asking that Guests and Visiting Rotarians be introduced at the start of our meeting, but, well…I was late and didn’t get there in time to capture it …sorry Susan! .jpg)
Rather than provide comments from the Chair, Susan ceded the floor to Ainsley Cunningham our local Tantramar HS student who we selected to attend Adventures in Citizenship in Ottawa this year. A very poised Ainsley described how she grew so much through this experience from thinking that she was too shy and introverted to making strong friendships with students from across Canada and being selected to speak on behalf of the New Brunswick students on the closing day. Congratulations Ainsley, you made us proud.
Guests and Visiting Rotarians: Adding to our full house were Susan Amos and Ainsley Cunningham (our speakers); Chris Farella, Elaine Exley (Chad’s Mom visiting from BC); Hannah Euler (MTA Rotaract); Mariah Inglis; and Bill McLeash (RC Ottawa Metro)
President’s Time: David reminded us that August is Membership Month and that each and every one of us is part of the membership committee and that we should be thinking about potential members. Given that we continue to experiment with different meeting times
and venues members should refer to ClubRunner as all events, meetings, and speakers have been updated on the ClubRunner calendar: next week (Aug.14) = Joey’s at 07:00; Aug. 21 = Visitor Information Centre at the Waterfowl Park; Aug. 29 meeting is cancelled as the District Governor will be joining us at the MTA student Welcome corn husking and corn boil events. The District Conference is coming up September 27-28 in Fredericton and the Club lobster party will be held once again at Sue Purdy’s cottage on August 25. Finally, David was modelling a new t-shirt developed by a company in Orangeville run by 4 Rotarians; he has ordered some in blue for the men and purple for the women should anyone be interested in one.
Birthdays: the club joined in 2 rousing rounds of Happy Birthday, the first for Sue P. who turns one year younger on August 13th, and the second for Chad whose birthday is this Saturday, August 10th.
50-50 Draw: Susan Amos was asked to draw the winning ticket which provided Hannah Euler the opportunity to draw the 10 of Hearts for $112.00…alas Hannah drew the 6 of Diamonds. Turns out Diamonds are NOT always a girl’s best friend!
Happy Toonies:
- Wynne was happy 1) that he will be shopping more frequently at Sobeys following their announcement to eliminate plastic bags from the franchise; 2) that the Rotary golf event last Thursday was so much fun and enjoyed by all who participated that we will be organizing another similar event using a Mixed Pinehurst format (look that one up folks = we will all have the chance to be really good or really bad!); and 3) that we once again gathered for Rotary at 7am…his time of day (wish it were mine!)
- Bill M. was 1) still interested to find a renter for their Sackville home for this winter; and 2) happy that he visited the stellar Museum of Industry in Stellarton, NS (see what I did there?!)
- Shayne was 1) happy that he drew onto Wynne’s golf team last week as it helped him win his first golf tournament!; 2) that he has been able to spend so much time with his youngest daughter Hilary who is pursuing her MSc at Dalhousie University but conducting field work in the Sackville area this summer; and more emotionally, 3) that moving to Sackville is allowing him to live his life in a way that makes his daughters proud, in particular to honour the legacy of his eldest daughter Emily. Shayne, like his daughters is spending time outside, travelling, and giving back to his community. Dianne was happy that her golf game this past Tuesday evening was much improved from that during our Rotary outing last Thursday
- Louise was happy 1) to be back this week on a brief hiatus from her vacation tours and helping family move in and out of places; 2) that Mariah is excited to be heading to Diabetes Camp next week and that through her lemonade stands (Putting a Squeeze on Diabetes) has almost made profit enough to send another child to the Diabetes Camp as well.
- John was just happy to see Wynne happy
- Marita was happy to have taken her trip to NL where she saw icebergs, drank iceberg water, but didn’t sleep on one…over 3550 miles logged and 11 nights sleeping in the truck.
- Trish was happy that 1) she had such a good sleep but rather contrite that it made her late; and 2) that she and Bruce will be heading to Ontario for 3 weeks on Saturday for their annual Docks, Decks, n’ Drinks Tour.
Committee Reports:
Foundation: Pam revealed that clubs in the District have purchased over 10,000 Rotary tulips from Vessey’s. The Big Plant day will be October 24th. More information to follow. Remember to pay Marita for the tulips you have ordered.
Rotaract: Sue F. indicated that while Hannah is headed to Strausburg for a while she has been elected VP International and has tonnes of ideas after attending the World Rotary Youth Leadership (RYLA) event in Washington. Graeme the Rotaract President and the rest of the council has met with Sue and it looks like they will be a busy club once again this year.
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Speaker: Trish introduced Susan Amos our guest speaker who spoke to us about the Intercolonial Railway – The Ties that Bind.In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Railway coming to Sackville Susan has prepared a presentation for Heritage Day and pared it down for Rotary this morning. An avid member of the Performer’s Company Susan has also written a play that will dramatize the planning, building, and arrival of the railway to Sackville. This summary of Susan’s talk will be brief, to hear “the rest of the story” watch for posters for the play in November!
Interestingly, what stoked Susan’s interest in the story of the Intercolonial Railway is that both her grandfather and her husband’s grandfather worked on the railway in Moncton/Sackville and Truro respectively.
Construction of the Intercolonial Railway was written into the British North America Act (BNA) and the completion of the railway was actually a pre-condition for NB and NS to enter into confederation!
The Intercolonial Railway story is one of controversies (as most good stories are):.jpg)
- Border between New Brunswick and Maine – worry of bi-national conflict
- Sir Francis Flemming’s Routes – which route to take, Flemming recommended the Northern or Bay de Chaleur route which was eventually built
- Eastern Extension and the Dorchester Diversion – never underestimate the chutzpah of local politicians and businessmen!
Susan read a wonderful excerpt from the local paper of 1869 chronicling the anticipation and revelry that attended this announcement: “First train of passenger cars ever in Sackville arrived here Tuesday last.” (30 November 1869)
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Sue F. thanked Susan for a presentation that shed historical perspective on that familiar sound that daily signals its passage through Sackville.
With a witty quip from Josh about what to expect when folks from Dorchester join a party (1800’s or 2000’s both) we ended our meeting with laughter and headed out into the day.
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