March
2010 Vol. 19 Issue 7
P.O. Box 195,
Brookfield N.S. BON 1CO
As
the Bard once said "Beware the Ides of March" – however there is no
need for the men of Brookfield and surrounding area to take Will’s
warning seriously. On March 15 the Brookfield Men’s Club will have
their monthly meeting at the Brookfield Fire Station and all are
welcomed; the program will consist of a demonstration by the Tai Chi
Society. Stop by the Firehall at 7:30 on the 15th and we can assure you
there will be no need to say "Et tu Brute." In February the BMC
celebrated their anniversary meeting – special guest Scarth MacDonell,
the newly minted Manager of the Lafarge plant, gave an interesting talk
on his travels with that company. The men enjoyed a wonderful meal
prepared by the staff of Hurricane Heidi’s, and the crowd was bolstered
as several sons of the BMCers were in attendance. The one wish the BMC
would have is that their membership would increase significantly to
help them carry on the good work they do in the community. These are
certainly not limited to, but include sponsorship for over 55 years of
the 569 Colonel Ned Henderson Air Cadet Squadron, the development and
maintenance of Ed Creelman Park, helping feed the masses on Dominion
Day and at Home Coming, and the ongoing production and circulation of
BMC Eagle. Our community would be much diminished without these, or
many other BMC activities; we seriously urge you to consider attending
meetings – there are only 9 a year!!
It was wonderful to see
Wayne
Woolfitt’s daughter Catherine home from England spending time with
Wayne and her brother Jonathan and sister -in -law Jodie. Catherine
broke a few local hearts by bringing home her partner Duncan Cramner,
and his sons Eddie and Conrad. Nice to see Sandra Nielsen’s daughter,
Lindsay Wood back in the Shortt’s Lake area. Lindsay’s daughter
Brooklyn had the misfortune of breaking her leg tobogganing, and spent
a week at the IWK hospital. Dolly (Tanner) Cornelius has moved back to
Truro from Ontario.
The BMC is requesting
nominations
for the BMC Eagle award – pass these to any Men’s Club member (some of
the more visible around town include; the Matheson brothers, Terry or
Mike Henderson, Larry Harrison, Garth Densmore, Bob Lawrence and the
Locke brothers, etc.) No special leg work is required, though if the
nominator wants to list some of the traits that show their candidate
worthiness of this prestigious award, that is certainly welcomed. The
Eagle Award is presented annually at the BMC Ladies Night (April 19) to
a citizen that has demonstrated long term service to the community and
/ or its’ institutions. Some of the past winners have said it has been
the most meaningful award they have ever received.. Congratulations
goes to Victor Penney and Linda Smith who exchanged vows of marriage,
as did Matt Rushton and Sheila Wallace. Don and Shirley Maynard
celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary; "Ducky" was a smooth
fielding shortstop for some Elks teams in the past. Baby boys were the
order of the day and if Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection holds
true, it shouldn’t be too long before a couple of strong Elk players
are making names for themselves. Brookfield Junior Elks hockey coach
Josh Boulton and his wife Denise have an active baby boy, as do
stand-out golfer Alex and Angela Jewers.
Many in our area were
transfixed by
the Winter Olympics Games in Vancouver which introduced a variety of
new, anything- but- mainstream sports. To prove the point, the freshly
scrubbed faces we saw on our television screens are impacting
locals, one need only look to the slopes of Wentworth. South Colchester
Academy had standout performances by Kristina MacKenzie and Alicia
Stewart, who finished 1-2 in the District Snowboarding competition –
they have since advanced to Regionals and hopefully to Provincial
competitions. Hilden natives, SCA students and siblings Charles and
Emma Stevens were both winners at the Junior Nationals in the Moguls
competition at Wentworth. This dynamic pair appear to have the inside
track to represent the province at the 2011 Canada Games. The wife of
former Elks shortstop Doug Holland, Jill Alcoe-Holland was part of the
team that won the Nova Scotia Senior Ladies Championship recently. Jill
is no stranger to success on the curling ice; the only surprise here
was that she qualified for the 50 year old age limit to become a
senior! Canada and British Columbia did a fantastic job of hosting the
Olympics, showcasing this great nation as a beacon of tolerance and
humility, despite some misguided types interests in using it as a chest
thumping exercise. The beauty of the Olympics is not in the medal
tally, but in the challenges that so many athletes with many different
backgrounds have to over come, many times in virtual anonynimity, to
get their very fleeting moment on the world’s stage. The satisfaction
and joy they derive competing at the highest levels, cannot be
diminished by their final standing. The television rating numbers were
through the roof – incredibly one of every two Canadians was tuned in
to the Men’s Hockey final! Remember this takes into fact the parts of
the population that for various reasons don’t watch (the very young,
the infirm, a significant percentage of "new Canadians" to whom hockey
is a whirling mystery, etc.).
Locals at the Olympics
included some
workers (Karen DeGroot, Mike Cameron, and Kyle Wright), and spectators
Sheila and Anthony Sears, Joanna Canning, Josh McCallum and Jessi
Taggart, and the Read family (Keiver, Bev, Coady, Allison and Megan).
Jim Dickie and Marilyn (Cheek) Totten had a wonderful holiday, jetting
to Barcelona and from that Catalonian city embarking on an ocean cruise
through the Mediterranean, with ports of call including Rome, Malta,
Greece and Cairo. Tracy Fisher and Jeanette Decker travelled south to
visit Yan Storr. Beth Maguire went to Toronto and Broadway on behalf
of
Stanfield’s. The Dominican Republic was the lure for Bailey Campbell,
Wilfred Toole and Doreen Wilson, while Mexico beckoned to Greg, Alton
and Lorna Sutherland. Holly Dean accompanied her friend, former SCHS
grad, John Russell to Hollywood – a trip he had won by claiming top
prize with his independently made Short film. While in LA, they were
invited guests at the premiere of the latest Steven Spielberg – Tom
Hanks movie. Troy Sutherland, Jack Roop, and Ryan Ellis went to
Atlanta
for a weekend full of NASCAR, golf and NHL game. On a less happy note
some travelled on a more permanent basis – we will definitely miss the
Gamble family – Bruce, Susan, Connor, Morgan and Tyler have relocated
for employment reasons to Moncton. They very much enjoyed their time in
Brookfield, as we did having them as our neighbours; the comforting
factor is we expect to see a fair bit of them at Shortt’s Lake in the
summer! Gil and Doris Betts will be moving into the Gamble house later
this month, realizing their long held dream to become Brookfielders!
Congratulations to Graham Pearson, retiring April 1 after 37 years with
Canada Post; drop in to offer best wishes after 12:00 on Wednesday,
March 24.
We’re sorry to report
the passing of
Lila (Ross) MacPhee’s sister Marion "Rossy" Wilson in Truro – she and
her late husband were well known to earlier generation Brookfielders.
Audrey Carter’s sister Hazel Olauson passed away in Alberta; and Zelda
Harvey went to her reward after a difficult ordeal with Alzheimers
disease. We also mourn the passing of Marion Woodworth – she always
had
a smile and friendly word, and was willing to lend a helping hand in
her understated way for Church or community organizations requiring her
help. Bryan Roberts, well known to many as a longtime softball,
basketball, and volleyball official passed away – he was the husband of
highly-esteemed SCA English teacher Dale Roberts. We extend
condolences
to those who have lost loved ones.
The Truro Sports
Heritage Society
annual awards dinner was held recently and several locals made their
presence felt. Zach Sill was a finalist in the Male Athlete category,
and the late Art Sears was recognized posthumously with a lifetime
Merit award, reflecting his passion as a hockey goalkeeper, and for the
vital role he played as the original Treasurer of the Sportsplex. Caila
Henderson was a finalist for Female Athlete of the Year – this came on
the heels of her becoming named to the ACAA first all star volleyball
team at Mount Allison University. Caitlyn Stewart’s team, the
Colchester Midget Girls Hockey Cyclones, was also a finalist in the
Team of the Year category. It was nice to see two local products
starring in AUS volleyball play. Tyler Veenhuis of South Branch was a
AUS all-star for his fine all round play for UNB, and Mark Dean
seamlessly made the transfer from the ACAA to the AUS this year moving
up river to Fredericton to play with the Varsity Reds. This area
continues to churn out standout volleybal players, and much of the
credit must go to grass roots organizers like Roger Cox and those who
volunteer their time to coach school or Club teams. Some of the young
people donating their time and effort this season are Corinna Phillips,
Laura Cox, Marlee Geddes, Tammy Stewart, Jen Kennedy, Josie Geddes, and
Amelia Cox. They are providing instruction and teams for youth from
grade 4’s to 12’s. One need only look at the swollen university ranks
of
players from this area, and to see what they have accomplished is
astounding!
It has been a very
successful season
on this ice for the South Colchester Minor Hockey Association. The
Brookfield AA Atom Elks will host the provincial championships at the
Sportsplex from March 26-28. Coaches Ken Dyas, Doug MacDonald, Craig
Dale, and Jacob Curry along with Manager John Kamphuis will trot out a
roster including Keegan Crowell, Cameron DeGroot, Trent Dyas, Robert
Kamphuis, Carson Lanceleve, Logan MacDonald, Luke MacMillian, Austin
McBurnie, Noah McCallum, Sidney Miller, Rowan Sears, Blake Arseneau,
Callum Bouma, Drake Bruce, Connor Burris, and goal tenders Brent
Walters and Tyler Howe. Lend your voices of support to the Elks the
last weekend of March at the Sportsplex. Meanwhile the Peewee AA Elks
came back from a game down to defeat the Truro Bearcats in the best of
the three (1-0 in the final game!) to advance in the provincial
champions the last weekend of March in Cumberland County. Coaches Lou
Lanceleve, Charles Bowers, Terry Crowell and Manager Terry Bouma are
encouraged about the Elks chances in that event. Players on that team
include Jacob Bowers, Cameron Brown, Kyle Bouma, Chad Bruce, Koby
Crowell, Liam Giffin, Joel Hines, Patrick Jackson, Blayze Julien, Reid
Lanceleve, Trent Lynds, Brody MacPhee, Dylan McCoul, Jacob McNutt,
Logan Miller and Alex Rhoddy. To round out the "Lanceleve hat trick"
that sees all three brothers in provincial action, oldest brother Colby
plays for the Pictou Weeks Major Midgets, they have defeated Cape
Breton and Halifax in the first two rounds, and have advanced to the
finals of that league against Cole Harbour – parents Lou and Marie will
be burning the rubber over the next few weeks. The star-crossed AAA
Midget Hockey Elks won the Bronze Medal at the provincial championship;
despite significant personnel losses detailed earlier. The Elks Ryan
Blaaunderwraat was named a league All-Star, and Drew McNutt won the
Sportsmanship award. At this writing the Jr. Elks Hockey team is locked
in a tense 1/4 final battle with Sackville in the N.S. Junior league.
The Elks lead 3 games to 2; 3 of the 5 games have gone to overtime! If
the series goes to Game 7, we expect a massive crowd at the Sportsplex
on Thursday, March 11.
Mary Crossman spent some
time in
hospital but is now back home. A couple of active young men sustained
injuries – Brent Harrison tried to bite the puck in a Cruise Missiles
game but instead lost four "chiclets," giving him an absolutely
ghoulish grin – teammate Dr. Ray Cruz performed some emergency dental
work to minimize the damages. Former Missiles star Danny Stewart
suffered a nasty blow when the wood splitter he was operating kicked
back a large junk of hardwood into his face – fortunately Dan escaped
major injury.
Spring fast approaches
and the
upcoming events calendar fills very quickly. All curlers are notified
that on March 26-28 the Spectacular Spring Spiel
(nee the Great
Community Classic) will be held at the Brookfield Curing Club featuring
32 teams in 4 divisions with ample prize opportunities for all. Call
Joel at the Sportsplex (673-2063) to register as an individual or as a
team – spots are filling quickly. The BCA will sponsor the
community
Cleanup Day on Saturday May 1 – again watch for more info, but any that
can give 3 hours Saturday morning, the community will be grateful to
help clean up the major bi-ways. The All Around the Circle
Seniors
group will have their 12:00 meal in the Senior Room on March 16.
The
Coming Home to Brookfield celebrations will be held July
17-25. Anyone
interested in genealogy that would care to assist in a
presentation for
Homecoming are welcomed to call 673-2427 for more
information. Any
ideas for homecoming events are encouraged; to call the
aforementioned
number as numerous activities are being developed for the 15th
edition
of CHB. The Whing Ding dates are July 23-24. Jocelyn
Parker at Elk
Court would like to thank all the wonderful volunteers who donate
their
time to bring smiles to the faces of the clients of this facility
either as entertainers or visitors. Several members of UCW Unit 7 took
part in a beautiful Valentine’s tea and Unit 1 donated much appreciated
Valentine’s "goodie bags". The Churches provided a weekly service
for
residents on a rotation basis Volunteers are always needed – for more
information on how to become a volunteer at Elk Court, please call
Jocelyn Parker at 650-3303. April
is National Volunteer Recognition Month, and the BCA is
planning a
special Volunteer Recognition reception for Brookfield’s valued
volunteers. This will be held on Monday,
April 26 at 7 p.m. – location
to be announced. There will be refreshments, and special guests;
people
attending are also invited to stay for the Annual General Meeting
of
the BCA. We appeal to community groups of all types to submit the
name
of a special volunteer they feel should be particularly honoured for
their contributions, and recognized by the community. We want to
include all groups: sports, cultural, social, and those with other
purposes are welcome, and they can be formally incorporated or casual
assemblages – all are welcome. The Volunteer Recognition committee
will
be contacting all agencies it is aware of; however, if we miss you,
please come forward with the name of your
honoured volunteer by Friday,
April 12 to be included in the reception. Brookfield is
powered by
volunteers – they deserve our thanks and support!
We
encourage you to check out the
BCA’s website at www.brookfieldnovascotia.ca. This
should be of
particular interest to businesses and organizations as the website
could be a wonderful opportunity to promote your enterprise –
information can be passed on to Web Master Susan Stevenson at
bmceagle@eastlink.ca or bmceagle@live.ca. All organizations are
encouraged to provide news of upcoming activities, that will be
posted
on the website’s "Calendar of Events" section – the ideal place to see
what’s ahead in our village! Let’s try to get all organizations
posting
here! The BCA welcomes suggestions to further improve and
enhance the
website.
The university ranks are
swollen
with volleyball players from this area – if one looks back three years
ago to the provincial champion Central Nova Juvenile girls (made up of
players from Hants East, SCA and CEC) To see what they have
accomplished since then is astounding. The below mentioned girls are
all from that team. Allison Settle joined Caila this year at Mount
Allison and was Rookie of the Year in the ACAA and a second team
all-star. Courtney MacPherson was a player of the match in the ACAA
championship game, leading Mount Saint Vincent to the title. Hillary
Sears made the AUS all rookie team while playing for Dalhousie, while
her sister Lauren is a former member of the All Canadian University
rookie team while playing with the University of Winnipeg. Becky
MacDonald (NSAC) was a second team all-star in the ACAA and former
Brookfielder Anastasia Callaghan, won consecutive Nova Scotia High
School Championships. Kerry Smit is a member of Canada’s National team
and was recently named MVP of the finals in the AUS tournament, and her
SMU teammate Ali Beaver was also an all-AUS selection, while Sarah
Naugler plays for Acadia, who made it to the AUS semifinals this year.
It’s not hard to understand why that Central Nova team won championship
after championship. Thanks to organizers such as Roger Cox and
volunteer coaches such as Teri Kennedy, Tammy Stewart, Corrina
Phillips, Josie Geddes, Laura Cox, Marley Geddes, Ameila Cox and other
for a vibrant youth volleyball program has developed in our area. This
reaches down as far as grade 4 and 5’s and a tournament was recently
held at SCA. Several locals (Carley O’Neill, Samantha Barr, Marley
Geddes, Caitlyn Stewart, Stephanie Prest, Katelyn Cox, Caitland Reid,
Emelye Porter, Dezaray Hart are enrolled in this program, and you can
be sure you’ll be seeing them in either college Junior or Senior High
lineups in the near future as they sharpen their skills in this the
club season.
The South Colchester
Academy was
saddened to receive the resignation of Principle Alfred Bond – his wife
has had very serious health problems over the past two years, and
Alfred felt he should step down to allow others to devote full time
energies to this position. He was well liked during his tenure at SCA,
and many regret it was cut short for such unfortunate reasons.
BMCEagle Space 