Harvest
Written by Ken Cameron
Directed by Robert More
Performed by Robin Craig and Patric Masurkevitch
Victoria Playhouse Petrolia
July 21 to August 8, 2009

Live! On Stage!
Review By Mary Alderson

The concept of retirement does not come easy to most farmers. They’ve said, “Farming is a way of life” so often that to cease farming might mean the end of life. Harvest, a warm comedy now playing at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia, explores one farming couple’s shift to retirement and what it means to their relationship.
Charlotte and Allan have finally decided to sell the farm and move into a condo in the city. A neighbour offers to buy the farm, but doesn’t want the house. The family home is severed from the farm, and Charlotte and Allan put it up for rent. They are thrilled when a nice young pilot is interested in it. They don’t want to be nosy landlords, but they drop by frequently to pick raspberries or check on the koi in the fishpond.
Without giving away the plot – it turns out the nice young pilot isn’t who he seems to be. Charlotte and Allan learn the hard way about a lifestyle very different from theirs, and fortunately, their marriage is strengthened.
Robin Craig as Charlotte and Patric Masurkevitch as Alan are excellent. I must confess that I sometimes cringe when I pick up the playbill and see only two names in the cast – especially since my preference is always the big cast musical. I worry that two people can’t keep up the required energy for an entire show, or that the writing won’t be adequate to support one person playing several roles. My fears have been unfounded twice in the past week: 2 pianos, 4 hands in Grand Bend and this production are both excellent examples of two people playing many parts and keeping the audience well-entertained.
Both Craig and Masurkevitch bring impressive experience to Petrolia’s stage. You may recognize Craig and her distinctive voice from playing Toppy Bailey on CBC’s Wind at my Back, or Spinner’s mother on DeGrassi – The New Generation. Masurkevitch has 28 years experience in theatre, and his bio states that he is still with this “original wife” which may account for his ability to portray the evolution of marriage so well.
Craig and Masurkevitch are excellent at playing many characters: they easily handle the East-European neighbour, the sketchy tenant in sunglasses, the police officer, and the local insurance agent. Comedy is provided when Masurkevitch plays a myriad of church ladies, all wearing different hats. As quickly as Craig could slap a different hat on his head, Masurkevitch changed accents or lisps to suit the hat. On opening night, the audience erupted in spontaneous applause for this hilarious scene.
Canadian playwright Ken Cameron has created a funny and heart-warming story. It’s completely believable – in fact, it is based on his parents’ real-life experience. Cameron grew up on a south-western Ontario farm, and wrote the play so that it can be adapted to any community. In the Petrolia version, we hear about friends down the road in Wyoming and other local place names. Credit goes to Director Robert More for making this a Lambton County story, and finding just the right mix of fun and poignancy.
The delight in Harvest is that it isn’t just meant for farmers. Anyone moving through the various stages of life can easily relate to Charlotte and Allan. It’s a wonderful way for a couple to spend an evening together.
Harvest continues with eight shows a week at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia until August 8. Call the box office at 1-800-717-7694 or (519) 882-1221 for tickets.
Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

Hard worker makes cozy nest for himself and cat by restoring century home across the street from his parents

Now 23 years old, Tom Love got the idea three years ago to buy the home and acreage across from his parents after it came up for sale. After a year of hard work, with help from his parents and grandparents, he’s living a comfortable life with his cat Tye in the century home at the intersection of Highway 81 and Crediton Line.
“There’s no house around here like this one,” says Tom’s dad John Love. “We knew Ila, who lived here before, and she had Alzheimer’s, so her son was taking care of the place,” Tom’s dad John Love says. “We said to him that if he ever wanted to sell it, we’d be interested. In 2006, he came along and said he was ready to sell.
“It was a lot of work,” John adds. “We pretty much ripped it down to the 2×4 studs and started over. We put spray-foam insulation in the outside walls and went from there.”
The restoration took a year and a lot of savings. “I’ve been pretty good with my money,” notes Tom, who has been working since he was six. “I was nine years old when I bought my first lawnmower. I sold pumpkins, cut grass, washed windows at the drive-in, worked at POG, Sobey’s and Best’s. Now, my dad and I do grass-cutting, leaf cleanup, painting. If I saved up enough, I could buy good things to make more money.”
With a little bit of help from mom and dad, and a mortgage, the result is a spectacularly restored turn-of-the-century beauty.

As told to Casey Lessard
Photos by Casey Lessard

This was once a village named Harpley. There used to be a post office on the northeast corner that was owned by my great-great-grandpa. There was a hotel across from the post office, and a shingle mill on this farm originally. David Hollenback started building the house in 1877, and when the supply of cedar shakes ran out, that’s when he decided to move. James B. Hodgins bought it in 1877, and it was in his family (Hodgins had three granddaughters, Nola, Beulah and the youngest Ila, who last owned the house) until I bought it.
The house came up for sale in April 2006. It was a pretty good deal because we didn’t have to go through the real estate broker. It’s a good place to live and it’s right across from my parents’. I wanted it to be a nice place, a place that was good to live in.
The house needed a lot of work. It needed all new electrical and insulation, and we had to put a new furnace in. The whole house had electric baseboard heating, so we tore that all out and have a gas furnace outside that also has air conditioning in it.
We finished the floors and put new drywall in and painted it. We tore out the laundry room beside the kitchen. It was rough; the floor had tile on it and we needed an electric cleaner to get the glue off.
We had to refinish the staircase spindles in place because if we took them apart, we figured we might not be able to get them back together again. My mom did it. There was a lot of wax on them and it was difficult for her to get it off. They are a mix of walnut and pine. I think the pine spindles were put in because the people who lived here wanted to stop the kids from getting stuck between them.

I figured since it was an old house, we should go with the antique theme. The trim we got made in Exeter to make it look like antique trim. We got an antique stained-glass window from an old hotel in St. Joseph, and made a matching one at Sunrise Windows in London.
I have one grandfather clock in the living room that my grandpa made when I first moved in, and I have a wall clock for my bedroom that he made 10 years ago.
The Hodgins family came to my open house last year, and they were very interested to see the place. We planted three trees to remember the girls who lived here: Ila, Nola, and Beulah.

It’s nice, and it’s convenient because my mother can do my laundry.
John: Notice he doesn’t have a laundry room?
It’s nice and relaxing. No one bugs me when I’m trying to watch TV. Eventually I hope to get a plasma TV to put on the wall, and I hope to build a new deck. The current one’s in rough shape.
In my spare time, I enjoy cutting the grass, and going outside at night in the summer time. But I don’t have a lot of spare time.
Nobody else has anything like it. Everything’s new these days. Figured I’d have something different.

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

Master boat-builder Skip Izon has been working on a non-aquatic project for the last little while: restoring what’s believed to be the oldest horse-drawn ambulance in Canada. The ambulance, built in Petrolia in 1908, spent the last 25 years at the Lambton Heritage Museum after it spent ten years at a private museum.
“It was originally built by JR Fennell of Petrolia Wagon Works, who signed the work February 4, 1908,” says Tom Moore, a Lambton County paramedic raising funds to restore the wooden vehicle. “It was kept in Petrolia and used at the town hall, which was also the fire hall. It was used up to about 1919. What’s special about this one is it’s the last horse-drawn ambulance in Ontario, and probably the oldest in Canada.”
While it is relatively well preserved, the two side-boards and some other parts were damaged because the vehicle was kept outside under a lean-to for the 10 years before LHM curator Bob Tremain acquired it.
“It was exposed to the elements so the original basswood was cupped and split on the back and one side worse than the other,” Moore says. “We went and got the exact kind of wood and Skip milled it all down to the 3/8” that it was. He’s put it on in the exact way it was, using the same screw pattern and techniques with a few more modern materials.”
For Izon, it’s a relatively simple, yet delicate, operation.
“Compared to what I do on the boats, this is pretty straight ahead. For me the challenge is to do it exactly the same as they did it.
“There’s a connection (to the original builder),” Izon adds. “I’m using most of the same tools they use. Hand tools, chisels and hammers. They used metal screws with wooden plugs, and mine are the same.”
Not much has changed
Both men, Moore a paramedic and Izon a firefighter, see similarities between how emergency vehicles were used then and now.
“I’ve been a firefighter for 18 years,” Izon says “and Tom’s been a paramedic for 25 years. I will often go in the back of the ambulance to perform CPR, so this looks very familiar to both of us.”
“It’s kind of the same configuration as we have today,” Moore notes. “We have room for the bed, a medicine cabinet, a seat for the attendant, who likely would have been the doctor in 1908 in Petrolia.”
When it comes to history, the ambulance has a great deal of significance for paramedics and firefighters across Canada.
“It’s an important part of our heritage. A lot of firefighting apparatuses have survived, but not a lot of ambulances. There’s not a lot of heritage pieces for paramedics across Canada, so I think once word gets out that this has been restored, there will be quite a bit of interest.
“For the public, we can say there’s been an ambulance service here in Lambton County for over 100 years.”
And for Moore, it’s a special piece because unlike other ambulances, this one served only in its designed role.
“This ambulance was built and only used ever as an ambulance,” Moore says. “A lot of ambulances were also used as hearses and some for delivering milk on the weekends. This was only ever used as an ambulance. The oil and petroleum industry around Petrolia was very dangerous at the time, so a lot of people were getting hurt, and badly. I believe the town of Petrolia commissioned this to get the people from the oil fields who were hurt and bring them back to town.
“We actually know the last patient” who rode in the ambulance, Moore notes. “The guy who restored the bell told us it was his mother’s first husband, who was transported to Petrolia hospital in 1919 after being electrocuted. He died at quite a young age and his name was Howlett.”
Once Izon’s work restoring the siding is done, the foot-operated bell will be returned to its place, as will the lettering and logo on the side.
“I’ll paint it black again,” Izon says, “and we’ll find an artist to paint the red and gold cross like it was. It’s going to be quite striking.”
Moore has raised $10,000 through corporate sponsorship, personal donations, and the Association of Municipal Emergency Medical Services of Ontario. A memorial fund for Paul Patterson, a Kerwood-born paramedic who died in the line of duty two years ago, also contributed $2,100 to the project; Moore says the restoration will be dedicated in Patterson’s memory in September.
Moore would like to see the project finished by early that month so the ambulance can take part in the Petrolia Fair parade. There’s one catch. “We’ve yet to find a skilled horseman to pull it,” he says, noting Izon hasn’t volunteered.
“It’s almost a kind of time machine,” Izon says. “It goes from this time back to 1908. It’s a common bond between those two times. We haven’t changed much in what we’re doing or who we are.”
For more information, or to donate, visit http://www.horsedrawnambulance.com

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

When Deb and Jim McCann bought a lakefront cottage last year, it came complete with a dead tree. Of course, they thought what anyone would: make a pirate.
“It’s an elm tree that was hit by lightning about four years ago,” Deb says. “The bark flew off it one winter and we got it cut down last fall. We left the stump, and Jim thought a pirate would look good looking out to sea.”
They asked around if anyone knew a carver, and the Wilhelms of Exeter suggested Paul Frenette, who had carved one of their trees. Frenette, of Kitchener, has been carving for five years.
“I carve all kinds of stuff, but my favourite to do is stump carving,” Frenette says. “Bring a tree back to life and give it a second life. I’ll do pretty much anything they ask, but if it’s up to me I do something mythical, like spirit faces, dragons, or gargoyles.”
For this project, he took his inspiration from the Wexford shipwreck off the Lake Huron coast, and from popular culture.
“I like pirates, so the Pirates of the Caribbean movie was the ultimate resource. I did a clay model of what I wanted to do, and I do that for complex jobs. Otherwise I carve what feels good.”
Neighbour Daphne Johnston is impressed.
“It’s terrific. I think it’s a very creative way to use a dead tree stump rather than cutting it up. It’s neat to have pirates guarding our little section of Elmwood.”
The pirate took several visits to complete, and is all freehand carving using a variety of tools.
“It’s about 99 per cent chainsaw, so I have five chainsaws of different sizes, and when I get to the details, I use chisels for eye balls and fine details I can’t get into with the chainsaw.”
With proper care, the carving can last a long time.
“I’ll use a wood hardener because it’s already been dead for four years. I’ll treat it and finish it. This should last 15 to 20 years if they take care of it. Ideally you would cut it off at the bottom, seal it and reattach it. Then it would last forever because water’s not getting into from the bottom.”
Frenette’s clients include homeowners like the McCanns and several Kitchener area golf courses. For more information, visit http://www.rantandrave.ca or call 519-744-9544.

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

I am delighted to see that – so soon after the beach enhancement project – Lambton Shores has received $2.6 million in economic stimulus funding to rework Grand Bend’s Main Street. The work will involve burying above ground hydro wires, and replacing curbs. Work begins in September and ends next May.
As you may be able to guess, most interesting to me was the note that the sidewalks will be replaced to improve access to stores for people using wheelchairs. Lambton Shores has been actively pursuing this for a long time, but – as reported in this paper last summer – the main street has a long way to go before it is wheelchair accessible. There are large steps into entryways, bumps in the sidewalk, and the curbs are often impossible to navigate.
This project is a long time coming, and hopefully it will be done right the first time. I expect some stores will remain inaccessible, but hopefully they are the minority. The next step is to fix the insides of the stores, where access is limited by inside steps, and by clothing racks and other impediments to access. The municipality can’t do much about those; hopefully the storeowners read our survey last year to see where they need to help.
By the way, to be reminded of the results, see our 2008 Wheelchair Report.

Alternative View
By Lance Crossley

(Part three of a four-part series examining the monetary system.)

Another danger of having a money system controlled by private banking interests is something relatively new in our history: the financialization of the economy.
Before the 1970s, capital was mostly used for economically fruitful purposes, such as production. Banks still had undue influence on society because of their license to create money and charge you interest for that right, but at least the money was loaned for more or less productive purposes.
Since then, things have reversed. Most money today is directed to what economists call the “derivatives market”. Whereas traditional investing has revolved around advancing money for economically productive endeavours, the derivatives market is about betting on whether an economic endeavour will go up or down. Speculators can bet on anything from stocks, bonds, even currencies. Derivatives can also be bought and sold as a form of insurance to “hedge” one’s risky bets.
In other words, most money is flowing toward a global casino that doesn’t care if the economy succeeds or fails. In fact, a privileged few can profit greatly when it fails.
Whereas finance used to support industry and the real economy; it is now there to cannibalize it. As Ellen Brown, author of Web of Debt, explains: “Derivatives are basically just bets, which vacuum up value without producing anything.”
According to Sprott Asset Management, a respected Toronto-based brokerage firm, the total nominal value of the global derivatives market is a mind-boggling $743 trillion. As Eric Sprott, the company’s CEO points out, that is equivalent “to more than 11 years of everything the world produces. It is far and away the largest asset market the world has ever known.”
To make matters worse, the derivatives market places bets with a high proportion of borrowed money from banks (i.e. bank created money).
Borrowing money for derivatives can be hugely profitable when riding a market bubble, but devastating when the legalized pyramid scheme comes tumbling down. It is worth noting that the massive Wall Street bailouts were largely devised to cover irresponsible bets made in the derivatives market.
Noam Chomsky, the great American intellectual, recently said to me in an email: “The financializaton of the economy in the 1970s was a major event, in my judgment…more important in world affairs than the collapse of the USSR.”
If this is true, then we are truly in the midst of historic times. As of now, the Obama administration has gone to great lengths to preserve the financial economy. His economic “reforms” announced in June were basically written by the banking industry and only served to illustrate that big banks have no interest in changing their financial games. Why would they? As it stands now, they profit greatly in “good times” and have the taxpayer to cover their losses in bad times.
There is zero risk if you are a big bank these days. The same is unfortunately not true for the majority of people who reside in the real economy.

Advice from Mom
By Rita Lessard

Congratulations to my young friend Tanya, who has accepted a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Rubin. The happy couple will soon be out searching for the right engagement ring. I hope Rubin is prepared to spend a bit of cash. When Tom purchased my ring, it cost him $200, but that was 47 years ago and I imagine the prices have gone up since. And this is just the start of the money spending thing.

Made of money? Yeah, right!
Did your mother ever say to you, “Do you think I’m made of money?” or “Do you think money grows on trees?” Well, I always knew the answer to both of those expressions was no because there was no way I was getting money out of my mother. First of all, we lived in a poor neighbourhood with very few trees, and if you looked at my wise mother, you knew she wasn’t made of money. Not that she was cheap; she just didn’t have any. They say a fool and his money are soon parted, but my mother was no fool and therefore, there was no parting with her money.

Criminal activity
I’ve often heard the term drug money. They must be talking about the health care system, because if you don’t have a good drug plan, you’ll certainly be out of luck and money very quickly when you have a problem. Drug money must be pretty lucrative for doctors, now that they’ve become the best providers of drugs. I think it’s fair to say that unless you’re blessed with good health, you’ll need lots of drug money.
I’ve always been a big fan of money laundering schemes. I recall doing my son Bill’s laundry one day when I came across a $20 bill. Eureka! However, my happiness was short-lived after Bill realized he’d left the money in his pocket, shouting down the stairs, “Ma, did you find the $20 I left in my pocket?” What else could I do but reply emphatically, “Yes, Bill.”
Bill has always kept a good eye on his money. He’s very generous, be he ponders every purchase he’s going to make and seems to enjoy dickering to get the best deal. No fool, that boy!
Most people trust their money to the banks, and that’s a good thing for my son Glenn, who is a banker. I always knew that would be the business for Glenn. I recall a time when he was three years old and he had a dime in his hand. I said, “Glenn, give mommy that money.” He stubbornly replied, “No.” As I approached to retrieve the darn coin, he shoved it in his mouth and swallowed it. His first deposit! Who knew? He could have gone into the sanitation business, considering he was a devil to potty train, but I guess banking won out in the end.

You don’t know your math
Bill and Glenn seem to have a pretty good handle on the money situation; perhaps they take after me, because I can spend and save as good as the best of them. I remember when I was young, I was asked a math question: “Rita, if you have $2, and you asked your mother for $4, how much would you have?” “Oh,” I replied, “that’s easy. Two dollars.”
“Huh,” was the reply, “that’s wrong. You certainly don’t know your math.”
“Oh yeah?” I said. “Well, you certainly don’t know my mother.”

Advice for the week:
Having trouble sleeping? Try eating pitted fruit like cherries, plums, peaches, etc.

Keeping the Peace
By Tom Lessard, C.D.

I think it was 1969 that word came down from the top that the battalion was going to fly to Jamaica for a month of jungle training. This was during the month of March, as I recall.
After all the paperwork was done, we held QM parades to issue jungle gear, suntan lotion, and anything else the army felt we would require.
You won’t believe the job that was set aside for me! Bobby Somerville and I were to run the wet canteen under the supervision of Sgt. Joe Crosky. No climbing mountains or sweltering in the jungle for us.
Anyway, we trucked to the London airport and were loaded onto Hercules aircraft. Man, Oh Man! They are a beautiful piece of military equipment. We were seated in bucket seats along the walls, as in the centre were vehicles and other gear. We had a super flight with good weather. Over Florida, the pilot took the plane down so that we could see the coastline and all the sandy beaches.
Arriving in Jamaica, we were greeted at the Kingston airport. Because of an upcoming election, no one was allowed to go into the city (too much trouble brewing).
We were marched to awaiting Buffalo aircraft, which are a smaller version of the Herc, and transported over the mountains to a banana plantation in the northeast sector of the island. The Buffalo can land on a very short runway, which it had to do.
The plantation, we were told, belonged to a Canadian who allowed the government to use it. Our tent was situated under palm trees right at the edge of a beach. What a great spot. I had only seen places like this in the movies.
If we wanted to go to town, we had to get a pass and hop a truck to Port Antonio, which was only about a half hour drive. Bobby and I had to go there a few times to pick up supplies of ice or dry-cleaning. There was generally a cruise ship in the harbour. Some of the guys had a field day as shopkeepers took Canadian Tire money at par.
That month was probably the easiest and most relaxing during my career. We were not very happy about leaving, but could not complain too much since we had missed a month of Canadian weather. Most of the guys had acquired a pretty good tan and looked relaxed.
The army in those days was a pretty good experience. Next up: getting ready for a second tour of Cyprus.

Great news for Crediton, where federal and provincial funds will be matched by South Huron for a total of $900,000 to make a sports complex and community centre. The money will join Ontario Trillium Foundation funding and community fundraising to build the project. The project should be done within the next two years.

Molson Canadian Rocks gave $1,000 to the project. McCann expects the event will raise the last $10,000 needed from the community portion of the funds.

Recipes by James Eddington
Eddington’s of Exeter
527 Main Street, Exeter
519-235-3030 – www.eddingtons.ca

Photos by Casey Lessard

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First off, I must thank my Dad for any barbecue skills I have acquired! Put him in the kitchen and it’s a disaster, but throw him outside to the Q and it’s perfection. This is an inherited process that can take up a good chunk of an afternoon, accompanied with cold beers and a Cuban cigar. But only after the lawn has been cut!
Choose the right cut of ONTARIO beef! Rib and loin are best for the barbecue; the meat is tender. My personal favorite is the rib eye steak.
Cheers, James Eddington

Picking the best cut
Make sure the meat is a medium red color, not too pale or too bright of a red. Make sure the meat is marbled with some fat. You should have streaks of fat running through the meat.

Marinate your steak
Rub steak with olive oil, sprinkle with granulated garlic and steak spice. Don’t be scared of the garlic. Rub mixture into steak. The longer the rub has been applied the more flavors the meat will take on.

Make sure steak is at room temperature before it hits the grill (an oiled grill will produce better grill marks).

Grilling
Make sure barbecue is pre-heated; 500F is good. Don’t over-flip or prod your steak. Two turns is enough! Turn steak at 45º angles to achieve diamond markings. Depending on doneness, 2-5 minutes between turns.
Feel free to lather your steak with barbecue sauce or your desired condiments. If marinated properly, this won’t be necessary!
Final stage: let your meat rest. Take off barbecue or turn off and move to cooler spot. This allows juices to flow out from centre and continue cooking.

How do you like it done?
Very rare: Hot on the outside, raw on the inside and the meat will be sort of wobbly. Final temperature reading should be 100°F.
Rare: Red, cool to warm center and the meat will be soft and spongy. Final temperature reading should be 120°F.
Medium rare: Red, warm center and the meat will have a springy firmness. Final temperature reading should be 126°F.
Medium: Hot, pink center and the meat will have a less springy firmness than medium rare. Final temperature reading should be 135°F.
Medium well: Slight color, cooked throughout and the meat will feel firm. Final temperature reading should be 145°F.
Well done: The meat is gray-brown throughout and very firm and unyielding. Final temperature reading should be 160°F.

How do you know it’s done?
Using your hand, touch your thumb to the finger required as follows. With the other index finger, press on the palm below the thumb (see photo):
Rare: Whole hand stays loose
Medium rare: Thumb to tip of index finger
Medium: Thumb to tip of middle finger
Medium well: Thumb to tip of ring finger
Well done: Thumb to tip of pinkie finger

Always cook your meat one stage below your desired result. For example, if you want a medium rare steak, cook it closer to rare. Why? Because the final process is to let your meat rest for ~3-5 minutes. It will continue to cook at this stage.

Enjoy!