The Maple Leaf

Lanark District 29 Spring, 2016 Website: http://district29.rto-ero.org Email: lanarkrto@gmail.com

Shelley, Gail M., Bert, Leo, Anne G.

President’s Message by Gail McAdam

Greetings everyone!

It is with much anticipation that I look forward to our second annual Wellness Day! It will be held on April 28, at Beckwith Hall, near Carleton Place. Our guest speaker is Craig Halpenny, a lawyer from Barker Willson Law Office in Perth. He will address the Ontario Estate Tax Act. Please see our winter newsletter or call one of our executive for further information. If you have not yet signed up for this event and are interested, please contact Mary Jane Willson at 613 - 267 - 1584. Special thanks to the Wellness Day Committee of Anne Graham, Shelley Lynch, Shirley Kelford, Ann McGahey and myself.

Our Board is a busy group this spring. Anne Graham and I will attend the Presidents’ Workshop in Toronto on April 17th and 18th. We will also attend the Spring Senate on May 17th and 18th. Lanark District 29 will be hosting our Pre-Senate meeting. It will be held at the Waterside in Carleton Place. Rich Prophet, our Provincial liaison will be leading the meeting. Shelley Lynch will attend the Health Services and Insurance Concerns workshop in Toronto on May 29th and 30th. I will attend the Goodwill workshop in Toronto on June 12th and 13th.

We will be hosting a Retirement Planning workshop in Beckwith Hall on April 14th, for all interested educators and staff who plan to retire in the next few years. I thank Harry Baker, Joyce Fulton and Shirley Kelford for organizing this event.

Don Boudreau is looking after our Annual Golf Tournament again this spring. It always promises to be a lot of fun for everyone who attends. There will be a change of venue to the Timber Run Golf Club in Lanark, on May 25th.

Our annual general meeting (AGM) will be held in the Legion Hall in Almonte, on Tuesday, June 21. This is an opportunity for you to hear a report from the Board chairs on the work they have accomplished throughout the year. We will also be electing our executive for the following year. If you are interested in joining the executive or committees, please let us know. We welcome new members. Our annual In Memoriam service will remember those members who have passed away since our last AGM. We are very pleased that Jim Grieve, our new executive director, has accepted our invitation to join us. Among his many roles, Jim served as the Director of Education in Ottawa-Carleton for four years, so some of you may know him. Lunch and time to socialize will follow the meeting.

“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.” ~ Unknown

Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.”

Benefits of Volunteering• You can learn or develop a new skill. • You can contribute to your community. • You can become motivated. • You can enjoy new experiences. • You can meet a diverse range of people. • You can have a sense of achievement. • You can develop new interests and hobbies. • You can have FUN!

Editor’s note: I have volunteered in a hospital, in a nursing home, in a church, in a thrift shop, in a bridge club, and within various charities, plus Scouts Canada, teachers’ federations, retired teachers’ organizations, as well as within schools and community events such as plays, musicals, public speaking, Heritage Fairs, and Science fairs. All have been rewarding, fun, learning experiences. Have I reminded you of some of your volunteering experiences or anecdotes to share in “The Maple Leaf”? Please send them to gail030@sympatico.ca

Health News - Spring 2016 by Joyce Fulton

While flipping through the copy of Renaissance, Fall 2015, an article entitled “Government Funding for Physiotherapy” (section HealthWise, page 3) piqued my interest enough to go to the Ministry’s website (health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/physio/pub_clinics.aspx), to learn more about it. Hopefully, what I have discovered may be of some help to you.

First, to be eligible for these physio treatments you must meet certain criteria: (a) have a valid OHIP card; (b) be 19 years or younger OR 65 years or older; (c) have a REFERRAL for injury or pain in ONE body part from a doctor or nurse practitioner. Please note that this service can NOT be used for maintenance of a chronic condition nor can it be used following total hip/knee replacement surgery.

The physio treatments must take place at a Government funded treatment clinic. Once you open the Ministry website, you will be asked which LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) you live in. For most of us, we are in either the Champlain LHIN or the SouthEast LHIN. What will pop up is a fairly extensive list of clinics that you may choose from; perhaps - depending upon where you live - your regular one! Once the clinic has decided to accept you as a Ministry of Health client, you will be required to fill in some forms for them. Since the clinics are allocated a specific number of patients each year, you may find that you will be placed on a waiting list. If you must have treatment right away, use your benefit plan monies first, knowing that you will be switched to FREE, MOH funding when your name comes up on the waiting list. This year, the RTO/ERO Health Services and Insurance Committee workshop will be held on May 29 - 30 in Toronto. Unfortunately I will be out of the country on those dates; however, Shelley Lynch has agreed to attend in my place. If you have any questions or concerns related to your Health plans, please let me know as soon as possible so they can be forwarded to Toronto in order to receive answers in May.

Welcome to New MembersHelen Bergsma, Carleton PlaceMargaret Fritz, KanataWendy Kennedy Sobol, LanarkJudy I. King, PerthDeborah Lockhart, PerthAnne Muldoon, Smiths FallsPatricia Patterson, PerthJudith Poulin, Smiths Falls

Thank YouThe Grow With Books program, launched in 1994 by present RTO members, Hilda Pretty and Christine Paul, has been successful in raising the literacy rate of children in the Lanark area served by Maple Grove and Sacred Heart schools. Throughout the years, many RTO members have met monthly to pack the book bags with select books, activity sheets, seasonal treats, and a newsletter. Many thanks to all our supporters, especially the Board of RTO Lanark District 29 which has provided annual funding donations. However, since our corporate sponsor, Scholastic Canada has withdrawn support, the program will end this summer. Good job well done!

Thank you to Shirley Kelford, who has served on the District executive and board for 14 years, fulfilling the positions of 3rd, 2nd and 1st Vice-President, as well as President for 3 years and Past President for one. She also acted as a member of the Goodwill Committee for a year, the Recruitment Committee for 6 or 8 years, as our Historian, as a fill-in Secretary, and our Chair of Policies and Procedures. She re-wrote and submitted our Constitution in 2014, and served on the Wellness Day Committee. We will miss your expertise.

In Memoriam

We respectfully remember and honour the service and friendship of the following member:

George SlingerHe was a retired Principal, Superintendent of

Schools, and Director of Education for the Lanark County Board of Education.

Our sincere condolences are extended to his family, former colleagues, and friends, and to the following

members who have recently lost loved ones:

Paul and Terri Brady... his brother

Margaret Fritz... her father

Mary Kilgour... her aunt

Audrey Lackey... her son-in-law

Judy McShane... her uncle

Gail Thomas and Jack McParland... his aunt

Marguerite Milne... her brother

Sherle Perkins... her sister-in-law

Flora Slinger... her husband

Mary Jane Willson... her mother

“It’s not what you gather but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.” ~ Helen Walton

April 12, 2010 Volume VII

Spotlight on a Member: Valerie Deakin by Marsha Banting

Valerie Deakin was born in Shropshire, a county in the West Midlands of England. While in England she met her husband, Bill, whom she married in 1952. The company for which Bill worked made steel office furniture and bought a factory in Smiths Falls. Bill was transferred to Smiths Falls to work at Falls Manufacturing, which was on Church Street. On March 8, 1953 Bill and Valerie moved to Canada on a three-year contract. Over the course of the next thirty-seven years this company changed ownership seven different times and had several names. Finally, in 1990, Croyden Furniture closed all three Canadian plants. Falls Manufacturing closed and Bill retired as Plant Manager of the Smiths Falls factory.

While in England, Valerie had started nurse’s training but because of the move to Canada this training could not continue. Valerie was very homesick and wanted to fill herdays with something useful. Since Valerie had started nurse’s training she thought that there might be some kindof position at one of the two hospitals in Smiths Falls. Bill and Valerie lived in an apartment on Church Street and the closest hospital to this was St. Francis Hospital. Valerie had an interview with Sister Mary Patrice and she was hired to work in the Medical Records Department. In this hospital Valerie worked for four years at a salary of $25 a week. During that time she made many friends who helped her adjust to living in Smiths Falls and Canada. In 1955, Dr. Derbyshire, a dentist in Smiths Falls, was lookingfor an assistant and asked Valerie to work for him. She worked in his office until she was seven months pregnant with her first child, Janice, who was born in 1957, followed Valerie, Bill and their grandchildren Ellie, Alanna and Jakeby a son, Ian in 1959.

In 1961, Valerie’s mother died and she went to England for the funeral. When she returned to Canada Valerie’s father came back with her. He lived his remaining 15 years in Smiths Falls with Bill and Valerie. By January 3, 1965, Valerie decided to volunteer at a nursery school for so-called “retarded children” in the basement of the United Church in Smiths Falls. The parents of the children had banded together to form The Perth and District School for Retarded Children. This authority raised funds to run the school and pay teachers.

In January of 1967, the classes for these children moved to Farrell Hall in Perth. Here there were enough students for three classes. The first Principal was Mrs. Mathilda Swift, who was a teacher from Guelph and who had experience with special needs students. Students to be enrolled were required to be toilet trained, be ambulatory and have an IQ of between 30 and 50. Dr. Frank, who was the Director of Rideau Regional Centre did the testing. Valerie was asked to work in Perth until June when they could hire a teacher with “Normal School” qualifications. Her salary was $2500 a year. Valerie was the primary class teacher, while Marjorie Leslie taught intermediate and Mrs. Swift taught the senior class.

Valerie liked teaching so much that she decided to become qualified. She spent three summers at Beverly Street School in Toronto taking the courses necessary to become a teacher of the Trainable Retarded and to become qualified to teach handicapped children. Later, she took courses at Algonquin College to obtain extra qualifications to teach exceptional students. In September 1967, Valerie was hired to teach the same class full-time. She was later asked to be the Principal of the school when Mrs. Swift retired in 1969, and was paid a salary of $3000 a year.

Valerie knew that she would need further qualifications so she went to Carleton University two nights a week to get her degree. This was achieved in 1981. Then she went to MacArthur College at Queen’s University at night, followed by additional courses in exceptional children at Guelph and York Universities where she obtained an intermediate teaching certificate.

At the school house

Pension and Retirement Concerns Report by Shelley Lynch

OTPP has got a new look and an updated brand, but their commitment to you remains.

Their mission is still to deliver outstanding service and retirement security to you – today and tomorrow.

Their decision to reinvigorate their logo was driven by many factors – the most compelling was the need to stand out in an increasingly crowded and competitive global marketplace. They pioneered an investment model, and as a result they've inspired imitators.

Their investment strategy is crucial to keeping their pension promise. Since 1990, investment returns represent nearly 80% of their pension funding sources.

The new logo is a modern, progressive approach to a trusted symbol. It connects us to our history, while presenting Ontario Teachers' in a way that is fresh and distinctive. It conveys energy and innovation.

3 fun facts about OTPPs new brand:

* The red reflects our Canadian identity, a positive attribute in the global markets in which we invest* 18 months of intense research went into its development* The golden apple worked for 31 years, about the length

of a typical teaching career OTPP Member Hotline: Phone: (416) 226-2700 Toll Free: 1 (800) 668-0105 Email: Inquiry@otpp.com

In 1970, the school joined the Upper Canada District School Board (then the Lanark County Board of Education) and opened the first school for exceptional children in Aberdeen School, which later became Jean Vanier School. She helped the builder plan the addition which was built onto the school so that it conformed to the needs of these children. This was a specially designed addition with no steps to allow for wheelchairs and a big gym with a stage attached for performances, and a kitchen for cooking lessons. Students from Algonquin College and St. Lawrence College would come to train for the DSW or ECE diplomas and became a wonderful resource for the school and students. Valerie worked the remainder of her career as the Principal of Jean Vanier School until she retired in 1989. During her time as Principal, the school developed a provincial reputation as a Lighthouse School.

Following retirement, Valerie worked part time for a few years at the Board Office in the Special Education Department and as a Consultant for the other boards. She was also a volunteer with the Ontario Trillium Foundation for six years. She and her husband have travelled extensively to Asia, China, Korea, South Africa, Panama, Venezuela and numerous other places. She and Bill spend three months in the winters in the sunny climate of Vero Beach, Florida. Their children and three grandchildren visit in the summers at their cottage on the Rideau. Janice, their oldest child, spent 24 years on the Faculty at Queen’s University and is now the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) at Western University in London, Ontario. Ian, the second child, is the Chief Executive Officer and Head Principal of a school in Abu Dhabi. Next year, he will have completed 18 years in teaching and administration in a variety of international schools.

Your Pension Plan in Review, 2015

Strong investment performance, combined with adjustments to conditional inflation protection, produced the plan’s third consecutive preliminary funding surplus at Jan. 1, 2016. We continue to look ahead and abroad – helping members make informed decisions about their future while spanning the globe to find the best investment opportunities to pay pensions. At Ontario Teachers’, pensions mean the world to us.

We’re pleased to report:

* A $13.2 billion preliminary funding surplus, based on current benefit and contribution levels * A member service satisfaction rating of 9.1 out of 10 * A 13.0% return on investments, boosting net assets to $171.4 billion

To view more of the report, visit:

https://www.otpp.com/otppstatic/rtm-rap/

“Retirement means no pressure, no stress, no heartache... unless you play golf.” ~ Gene Perret

“Retirement: It's nice to get out of the rat race, but you have to learn to get along with less cheese.” ~ Gene Perret

“Retirement can be a great joy if you can figure out how to spend time without spending money.” ~ Author Unknown

10th Annual RTO Fun Golf DayWednesday, May 25, 2016

Timber Run Golf Club, Lanark

Hello all,

Time to put a little Spring in your golf game!!

NOTE THE CHANGE IN VENUE!!!!! It will be at the same location where our local RTO holds its annual “To Hell with the Bell” brunch. Maybe we should call this event “To Hell with the Winter!” Then again, it lacks a good rhyming scheme.

The cost of $55.00 includes 18 holes of golf with a motorized golf cart as well as a BBQ lunch.

We will tee off at 10:00 a.m. so please plan to arrive at least an hour before this so you will have time to register, organize your clubs, get your cart and practice putting if you wish. (Never seems to help me!!)

Let us hope for a beautiful day as there will be no rain dates unless the skies open up for the entire day.

If you have been with us before I am certain that you will be back and if you have not… come on out and enjoy!Please contact me with your name and hopefully your entire team of 4 as soon as possible so that I can arrange tee off times with the pro shop. It would be best to contact me with this info via email or if you so choose, call and leave a message on our voice mail because I am hard to track down this time of year by phone.

Cheers, Don Boudreau, RTO Golf Coordinator Email: cap-n-don@hotmail.com (preferred) Phone: 613 464 3080 (please leave a message)

Some of our lovely senior seniors.

Thank you to Elizabeth McDiarmid for these cheerful photos.

Some of the new executive:Back row: Sherry, Harry, Anne H., Ann McG., Shirley, JuneFront: Jeanne, Gail T., Gail McA., Mary Jane, Anne G., Joyce, Marsha.

Generations Inn, Carleton Place

Chuckles Jack, Smiths Falls

RTO Lanark District 29 Annual General Meeting

When: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 Where: Royal Canadian Legion, 100 Bridge Street, Almonte

Meet and Greet: 9:30 a.m. Business Meeting, Elections, and In Memoriam Service: 10:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon Menu: Chicken dish, salads, dessert, coffee and tea

Cost: $20.00 per person Guest: Jim Grieve, RTO Provincial Executive Director

Entertainment: Lauren Hall, soloist

Complete the following form and return with your cheque payable to RTO Lanark District 29 no later than June 14, 2016. Send to : Mary Jane Willson, Box 121, Station Main, Perth, ON K7H 3E3

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

RTO Lanark District 29 Annual General Meeting , June 21, 2016, at the Almonte Legion

Member(s) ________________________________________________________

Guest(s) __________________________________________________________

Amount enclosed at $20 (includes tax and gratuity) per person ____________

Please indicate on this form if you have dietary restrictions. ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Election of Lanark District 29 Board for 2016 - 2017

The work of representing the retired teachers of RTO-ERO District 29 Lanark is carried out by interested volunteers. The Executive is asking every member to consider taking an active role in your organization. New ideas and perspectives are always needed. Membership on the Board is open to all members, regular or associate. Please consider putting your name forward to serve on the Executive or on a Committee.

Elections will be conducted for the 5 ELECTED Executive positions of the District Board, to be chosen by majority vote of members present at the Tuesday, June 21, 2016 Annual General Meeting. If you are interested in one of the following positions, please reply by Tuesday, June 7 to Ann McGahey, Nominations Chair, at mamc3@sympatico.ca or 613 - 283 - 2147 or 613 - 284 - 6414.

Elected positions are for President, 1st Vice-President, 2nd Vice-President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer.

Members who serve on a COMMITTEE must be appointed by the Board. Please let Ann know on which committee you are interested in serving, and whether it is as the Chair or as a member of the Committee.

Available positions are on the following committees:

Member Services (Goodwill) Political Advocacy Membership Secretary Social/Travel Pension and Retirement Concerns Recruitment Health Services and Insurance Historian Communications: Newsletter Service to Others (Chair is the 1st Vice-President) Webmaster

All positions are in effect from July 1st 2016 until June 30th 2017. Interested members can be nominated at the meeting with prior approval of the nominated member.

A Taste of St. Paul’s History by Jean Carson

A surprise find in a Perth antique shop - a well-worn cookbook produced by the Women's Association of St. Paul's United Church, Perth, Ontario, and printed by the Perth Expositor - is entitled: TESTED RECIPES, 1932-1933.

As was the custom of the times, the names of the recipe contributors rarely included their given names, with most women being identified through their husbands. Some examples of this practice were: Mrs. Ross K. Brown, Mrs. Fred Hanna, and Mrs. Harold Poole, while the minister's wife was listed as Rev. Mrs. D.D. Elliott. Many recipes are still produced in today's kitchens. Rolls, scones, cupcakes, muffins and fruit breads remain popular. Most cakes sound familiar as well, with chocolate, orange, banana, date, fruit, cherry, and raisin being among the choices.

Changes in cooking and baking procedures over the years are evident to the reader. This book points out how capable and comfortable St. Paul's cooks and bakers were with less than specific instructions. Measurements occasionally seemed to depend on the baker's perception of size or time. Butter might be required to be equal to the size of an egg or the size of a walnut, while a "little" vanilla or water, or a "pinch" of salt or spice might be called for.

There is no doubt that the products of wood-fuelled cook stoves would have been delicious. Today's cooks, using electric, gas, propane or microwave ovens, might be confused with directions to bake an item in a rather hot, hot, slow, quick or moderate oven. Some of the recipes gave no baking directions of any kind, leaving the cooks and bakers to use their own judgements as to temperature and timing, omitting baking or cooking times altogether, or suggesting to "bake slowly".

TESTED RECIPES was produced before the metric system was in use, therefore measurement of ingredients is given in pounds, ounces, pints, quarts, and gallons.

The recipes show that a wide variety of ingredients was available and in use in Perth, with many items being similar to those used in baking today. Lightest yellow sugar, pastry spice, citron, and sweet milk were some requirements which may be less familiar to today's cook or baker.

The world-wide events of the early 1930s were reflected in such titles as Economy Bread, and War Cake. Other interestingly named recipes which leave something to the imagination were: Dream Cake, Pepper Cake, Emergency Cake, Overnight Cookies, Sausage Wiggles, Glorified Meat Loaf, Pumpkin Marmalade, Pepper Hash, Spiced Gooseberries, and Pepper Haste.

Just in case anyone is planning to serve 100 people, you will need one and a quarter pounds of olives, fifty cantaloupes, one hundred ribs of beef (raw), fifty pounds of bass (½ a fish to each person), one hundred ears of corn on the cob, fifty spring chickens, four gallons of oysters and much, much more, according to our predecessors' calculations!

One of the most interesting aspects of the St. Paul's Women's Association's TESTED RECIPES booklet is the historic advertising of goods and services by the merchants, manufacturers and businessmen of Perth. It provides insight into the lifestyle, needs, locations and people of Perth in the early 1930s. The names of the recipe contributors and of the local business sponsors bring back memories to those who might have known these hard-working church and community members or remember hearing their names spoken.

RTO Lanark District 29 Policy re: Submissions for the Newsletter and Website

Submissions to be printed in the newsletter or posted on the website must be: - submitted by District 29 Lanark members, and/or from other related sources with copyright permission (e.g. reprints from other District newsletters, or from the provincial website and publications) - of educational or recreational interest to the general membership - approved by the Editor/Webmaster and/or executive members

Examples of acceptable submissions include: - descriptions of events (e.g. dances, trips, sports, games) of interest to the members - social events (e.g. dances, luncheons, book club, bridge club) for members and friends - stories, anecdotes or interviews about teaching, travel or volunteering experiences

- book reviews which may be of particular interest to members

Further, the sole purpose of the submissions must be for RTO members' interest and not be to solicit customers for personal businesses or products for financial gain.

RTO-ERO Lanark District 29 Executive and Committee Members, 2015 - 2016

President: Gail McAdam Political Advocacy Committee Chair: Cathy Empey613-267-1670, gmcadam3@cogeco.ca 613-258-4364, empeycathy@gmail.com

Past President: Ann McGahey Communications Committee: 613-283-2147, mamc3@sympatico.ca Newsletter: Gail Thomas, 613-267-7846, gail030@sympatico.ca Webmaster: Kerry Lamming, 613-702-2121, kerrylamming@hotmail.com1st Vice-President: Anne Graham 613-259-2207, grahamanne56@bell.net Health Services: Joyce Fulton 613- 624-5458, joycefulton1@gmail.com2nd Vice-President: Social Committee Chair: Mary Jane WillsonConstitution/Resolutions Committee Chair: 613-267-1584, willsonmj@gmail.com Treasurer: Doreen Wilson Pension and Retirement Concerns: Shelley Lynch613-256-2866, doreenwilson@live.ca 613-831-1104, shelley_lynch@hotmail.com

Recording Secretary: Bev Lee Service to Others Chair: Anne Graham613-283-6716, basenjibev@netscape.net 613-259-2207, grahamanne56@bell.net Membership Secretary: David Guertin Historian: Marsha Banting: 613-283-9940, 613-445-3023, davidguertine@gmail.com banting_48@yahoo.com Constitution/Resolutions Committee Chair: Recruitment Committee Chair: Harry Baker 613-257-5806, hlabak@xplornet.com Member Services Committee: Chair: Gail McAdam, 613-267-1670, gmcadam3@cogeco.ca Committee: Carleton Place: Anne Hamor, 613-257-7885, anne.hamor@gmail.com Elizabeth McDiarmid, 613-257-1160, emcdiar@gmail.com Lanark: Anne Graham, 613-259-2207, grahamanne56@bell.net Wendy Parker, 613-267-4305, wendyparker119@g.mail.com

Mississippi Mills: Nancy Giardino, 613-461-0448 Doreen Wilson, 613-256-2866, doreenwilson@live.ca

Perth: Gail Thomas; 613-267-7846, gail030@sympatico.ca Gerda Van Wingerden, 613-267-6211, iandgvanwingerden@cogeco.ca

Smiths Falls: Linda Mackie, 613-283-3308, blmackie71@hotmail.com Mary Dexter-Kayser, 613-283- 0630, mdexterkayser@cogeco.ca Kathy Porter, 613-283-7605, nkporter@xplornet.com Eleanor Glenn, 613-285-6123, glenn07s@hotmail.com

Christmas Gathering at Fiddleheads, Perth Have You Moved?

Don’t miss your copy of The Maple Leaf newsletter, or the provincial Renaissance magazine!

To update your Canada Post mail and email addresses, your phone number, or a change in your name with the RTO provincial membership department, email membership@rto-ero.org, or phone 1-800-361-9888. Only the member or his/her Power of Attorney may do this.

“To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner. I am not a teacher, only a fellow student.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard

“Housework is a breeze. Cooking a pleasant diversion. Putting up a retaining wall is a lark. But teaching is like climbing a mountain.” ~ Fawn M. Brodie