Happy Valentine's Day: Colin's birthday brings million plus together on Facebook

Sitting alone in a school office at lunch time and not having any friends to invite to a birthday party, may not be the usual situation for a 10-year-old boy.

Quite possibly,  it may be more common than we think, but as Valentine's Day approached, and I was thinking about an appropriate column, likely about the usual "stuff" one writes for this occasion, an article in The Huffington Post caught my attention.

But before I tell you more about Colin, I was beyond shocked, and trust me, that takes some doing, when I read in Northern Life magazine online that in the United States, in 2014, total spending was expected to reach $17.3 billion -- yes, "billion" for Valentine's Day.

I double checked and that amount comes from a survey  conducted by the National Retail Federation in the United States,which claims that "the average person plans to spend $133.91 on candy, cards, gifts, dinner, and more, up slightly from $130.97 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $17.3 billion."

That's in the United States with a much larger population than Canada, but, to me at least, it's a staggering amount.

Back to Colin. The Huffington Post reported that Colin who lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan told his mother, Jennifer, that when she asked her son what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he didn't want a party. 

“Mom, who am I going to invite? I don’t have any friends,” he explained.

The Huffington Post article added that Colin was diagnosed with a disorder similar to autism about a year ago, and because of it, he has difficulty socializing.

His mother was devastated, but she took action and created a Facebook page which at the outset was set up for family and friends to send Colin birthday wishes so he could see how loved he is.

The Facebook page also demonstrates the best of the use of social media.

Here is the mother's story taken from the Facebook page:

"I am Colin's Mom, I created this page for my amazing, wonderful, challenging son... Because of Colin's disabilities, social skills are not easy for him, and he often acts out in school, and the other kids don't like him. So when I asked him if he wanted a party for his birthday, he said there wasn't a point because he has no friends. He eats lunch alone in the office everyday because no one will let him sit with them, and rather than force someone to be unhappy with his presence, he sits alone in the office. So I thought, if I could create a page where people could send him positive thoughts and encouraging words, that would be better than any birthday party. Please join me in making my very original son feel special on his day."

Colin was in for a surprise on his birthday. As I write this column, Colin's birthday Facebook page had received more than 1.8 million Likes, and growing. I spent some time going through the comments being made, and they reflect an outpouring of affection and understanding from people all over for Colin, along with suggestions like the Best Buddy Club to help him make friends.

It made my Valentine's Day. In a society which so often today seems divisive, sefish and uncaring, the support being shown to this one child because of an action taken by his mother, shows we still have the ability to focus on those things that bring us together rather than those that divide us. And without spending $17.3 billion to show our love.

Or perhaps, you may wish to undertake your own Act of Random Kindness, keeping in mind the the following quotation, attributed to Etienne de Grellet, (1773-1855), a Quaker missionary,  and others. "I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

Happy Valentine's Day. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Addenda... This is an update of a column I wrote in 2014 for the now defunct Cranbrook Guardian. His Facebook page is still going strong.

Ernie Gilbert 'hard act to follow' served on council honoured as King of 1979 Chapleau Winter Carnival

Ernie with faithful dog Rusty

Ernest Lucien "Ernie" Gilbert, after retiring as an engineer on the Canadian Pacific Railway, decided to enter municipal politics in Chapleau, was elected in the 1972 election, and served several two-year terms, as a councillor.

Ernie, as he was known also served as Deputy Reeve, and in 1979, was honoured by being selected to be King of the Chapleau Winter Carnival, a Taste of the North.

I first met Ernie at an all candidates meeting in the Legion Hall for the 1972 election, and happened to follow him in the speaking order. 

After listening to his speech, my first comment was "That's a hard act to follow."  And he was in so many ways as I was to learn over the next few years. We were both elected, and  became good friends. 

No matter the time of day, Ernie was on the job as a councillor. and chair of Public Works, and I recall several cold winter nights when he would get me up to attend at a water main break, bringing coffee for the Town Gang who were on the job repairing it.

Nick Card, T Way-White, Dr Young, MJ, Ernie

Recently I have been in touch with his grandson Brad who retired in 2013 after 30 years service with the Ontario Provincial Police, and asked if he would assist with a column about his grandfather.  Brad agreed.

Brad related that his grandfather was "the 7th son of a 7th son which in the early 1900’s was believed to bless you with the gift of healing. On Sunday afternoons, people would come to the Gilbert home to have my grandfather (then a young boy) rub their ailing parts, such as swollen feet and legs. As an adult, he became well known in the community for having the power to cure warts. Children would come to him with their hands covered in warts.

"He would rub a penny on each wart and bury it in a location only he would know and before long the warts would disappear and so goes the legend.

Ernie and Marcel Bougeault in 75th anniversary water parade with passenger MJM

"I grew up experiencing many of his home remedies, such as hot mustard plasters and a combination of sliced potatoes covered in black pepper, held in place over your forehead with a folded handkerchief to cure a fever. Many nights, I endured the pepper potatoes sliding down into my eyes and burning like fire. I’m not sure if it cured the fever or just made you stop complaining about it."

King Ernie, Bonhomme, MJM

His grandfather was a  French Roman Catholic and at the age of 23 married Alice the love of his life. "They raised four girls during the depression years. These were very challenging times and he learned many trades to support his family, such as lumberjack, fisherman, guide, miner, trapper and wood whittler.

"After the depression he became an engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was well known on the railway line as the engineer that played 'Shave and a Haircut' on the steam whistle no matter what time of day or night he was passing through town."

He  "loved and respected the bush and he loved to go brook trout fishing. He took great pride and enjoyment in sharing with his grandchildren the adventures of getting up at the crack of dawn and heading out to catch some speckled trout in little streams that you would never believe held such amazing trout. As kids and even later as adults we suffered the wrath of black fly and mosquito season when fishing with Grandpa. We spent more time swatting flies than we did fishing but Grandpa always seemed unaffected by them and always came home with the most fish."

"He was very active on his trap line. As a young boy growing up, I spent many weekends spent on the trap line with Grandpa. Many valuable life lessons were learned during those outings. Grandpa always had a pocket full of hard candies and offered them up often. I learned to pass on the generous offer as they were usually covered in pocket lint with a mixture of beaver hair and twigs. In the winter months, we would travel by snowmobile. Grandpa was usually driving and I was been pulled on a toboggan behind. I learned early on to hold on for dear life because to fall off always meant a long walk to catch up because grandpa seldom looked back as he was looking ahead for animal tracks. His memory lives on in the Chapleau Museum where a beautiful black wolf was donated by him and is on display."

On one occasion when Ernie was out on his trap line with his faithful dog Rusty, during his years on council, he fell and broke his leg. Rusty helped him back to his vehicle and Ernie managed to drive himself back into town to the Lady Minto Hospital. I asked Brad about it and he recalled that Rusty went right into the hospital with him and did not want to leave. Finally Stan Tokarchuk, who worked at the hospital and was their next door neighbour brought the dog home.

By the time Brad, who was attending school arrived at the hospital, obviously concerned about his grandfather, Ernie was telling stories to the nurses. 

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On the night of the next council meeting, we did not expect Ernie to attend, and no sooner had everyone commented, than Ernie arrived. He had managed to get up the stairs to the council chambers in the old Town Hall, and never missed a meeting even though one leg was in a cast.

He was a founding member of the Chapleau Senior Citizens Club in 1973 serving as a vice president, as well as on the board of Cedar Grove Lodge. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and Ontario Trappers Association.

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Back to Brad: "My grandfather had many skills and gifts but his legacy is the happy, loving memories that his family has of him. Only a few weeks ago, I was going through a photo album of my grandfather and reminiscing about our time together. I started to cry, not a trickling single tear but a full blown ugly cry. That’s who my grandfather was. A man who made such an impression on me that memories of him generated that response, 18 years after his death."

Thank you Brad. It was an honour and privilege for me to know your grandfather and have him has a friend. May he rest in peace,.

He passed away on January 27, 2000 in North Bay at the age of 93. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Names

Ernie protects Lt Gov Pauline McGibbon and her husband Donald during sudden shower at opening of civic centre 1978

Ground breaking ceremony for Cedar Grove Lodge 1976. From left are MJM, Dr G.E. Young, George Evans, Rene Brunelle, Walter Wilson, Ernie Gilbert, Lauretta Viet, G. Ste. Germaine, Nick Card, Louise Mione, Min Blackburn

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Herb Vezina shared 'short stories' about growing up and working in Chapleau area in its early years

When Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church was celebrating its centennial in the 1980s, Herb Vezina shared some anecdotes about his family and growing up and working  in Chapleau. 

In what he called "short stories, he relates that his mother was a waitress, adding more likely a maid at the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

Apparently one day the cook took sick and no one was available to cook fish that Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald was going to have for dinner. 

His mother said: "I'll cook it but some of the girls will have to give me a hand. Don't forget I'm only eleven years old."

The prime minister told her that it was the best fish he had ever eaten and gave her a dollar that she had until their house in Chapleau burned down in the 1920s.

After his parents settled in Chapleau in 1905, they had a teacher living with them who could not drink green tea so she ordered black tea from North Bay. Soon thereafter Chapleau stores started selling black tea, and green tea was no longer available in the community.

Mr. Vezina started working when he was very young and went to lumber camps in the area with his father Benjamin.

He was 12 years old and working at Devon in 1918 when Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church burned down at Christmas time.

They stood on the roof of the camp  where they had a view of the flames as the church burned.

"The flames were shooting out into the sky -- was the fire ever going"

After the fire destroyed the church, it was rebuilt under the direction of the parish priest Father Romeo Gascon and the first mass in it was celebrated on Christmas Eve 1919,

Mr. Vezina wrote that over 100 men were working in the camp at Devon. A.L. Morse was in charge.

They slept in bunk house that had three decks of bunks and the top one was just about one foot from the ceiling. Four stoves were going all day to heat the bunk house. 

Later he worked at Bolkow on the Canadian Pacific Railway line which was the "best place" . One year there were more than 560,000 logs in Bolkow Lake.

Working at Whalen, they would knock off work at four p.m. on a Saturday and he would walk along the track home to Chapleau, and walk back on Sunday, roughly a distance of 50 CPR miles return.

When I first read this in his article in the Chapleau Sentinel, I said "wow" to myself, then recalled that my grandfather Harry Morris would walk to our camp at Healy, a distance of 17 CPR miles from Chapleau with a full pack on his back -- and of course back to Chapleau.

In the same article, his sister Olive who married F.A. 'Nick' Card, a member of another pioneer Chapleau family, noted that their parents Ben and Bridget Vezina arrived in Chapleau in 1905. She added that he father worked for the CPR and for lumber companies. There were 13 children in the family.

The article provides just a glimpse into life in Chapleau and area over 100 years ago. Please feel free to share any pioneer life stories. My email is mj.morris@live.ca