THEPROBUSCLUBOFOAKVILLE Establishedin1988,TheFifthProbusClubinCanada OurPresident smessage Last month we emailed members to see if there was any desire to form new interest groups. The initial response was tepid to our suggestions for Arts, Dining Out and Wine Beer and Whisky but new ideas came forth and there was enough interest to warrant the formation of two groups : Bridge,withTedGorskitakingthe lead initially, and a surprise to me Geneology with Ken Lewis. If you would like to participate in eithergetintouchwiththemover coffeeatthemeetingsorbyemail. Our 25th anniversary celebration will be a luncheon meeting at the Glen Abbey Golf Club on Tuesday June25th.Markitinyourcalendar. Wehadanenthusiasticturnoutfor thevalentine sdaylunchand almostasmanyparticipatedinthe tourofwalker schocolatefactory inburlingtononmarch12th,where April2013 in Burlington on March 12th, where we were treated to a chocolate truffle apiece. This was followed by lunch at the Mandarin. We ignored thecaloriecount. The Activities Committee under Robin Davison has programmed something of interest for every monththisyear.hewouldliketoadd another member to his committee. As Galen Driver said at the January meeting, there is no better way to meetmembersofprobus. Sadly I have to report that John Bartrem, who had a serious operationbeforechristmas,hasbeen hospitalised with another problem and cannot continue to publish the Newsletter. His wife Bernice and daughter Jo Ann had worked together to produce the January February issue but of course they cannot be expected to continue doing that. Fortunately, Helmut Erxlebenhasjumpedintothebreach for the rest of the year and has produced this issue in continuation of the excellent format John had developed. Our thanks to John and hisfamily,whoihopeweshallseein thespring,andtohelmut. Gerry Sutton
Page2of7THEPROBUSCLUBOFOAKVILLE UpcomingSpeakers April18 TerryReardon ChurchillandMacKenzieKing May16 IanLondon RareEarths June20 AcclaimHealth HomeHealthSupports July18 EarlGodfrey FraudinOntario August15 CanadaDogGuides September19 JohnRomanatti BirnieElectric ElectricalSafetyintheHome October17 MayorRobBurtonofOakville November21 JohnTabet IndustrialAllianceSecurities RetiringInvestmentsAccounts PastProfilers On January 17 Mike Pallant spoke. He talked about his experience as a lead chorister in the choir of St Peters in York, England. He informed us that St Peters is the oldest school in England and was founded by St Polinus in the 7 th century. It is connected to the world famous York Minster (cathedral). During his career he became the leading Cantorus and from time to time was asked to augment the Minster choir. He recalled fondly how this experience at St Peters fostered a lifelong love of music. On Feb.21 Manfred Reich-Rohrwig spoke. He gave a lively talk about Swiss Banking Secrecy based on his 30+ years experience at UBS. He explained that the notion of secret numbered accounts came into being in 1934 in Switzerland to prevent the Nazis tracking down the assets of German citizens. He explained that as tax fraud is illegal in Switzerland but tax evasion is not, Switzerland became an attractive place to park assets. This fact coupled with the absolute requirement under law for bank authorities to maintain confidentiality or face jail led to many citizens of other countries including the US to open secret accounts. He explained that although the banks had done nothing illegal under Swiss law, they were forced eventually to reveal the identity of the account holders under threat of asset seizure in the US by government authorities.
Page3of7TheProbusClubofOakville UpcomingEvents TuesdayApril16 Merrily We Roll Along. Galen has reserved 30 tickets all of which have been sold, for this Cabaret at Sheridan Collage on Trafalgar Rd. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim at the Macdonald-Heaslip Hall at a cost of $20.00 per person. Take the north entrance from Trafalgar Rd. and use the staff parking lot, a $3.00 parking fee applies. A standby list will be generated at the March meeting and a check made to determine if further tickets are available. Galen is coordinating. Gunther will have the tickets available for pick up at the March meeting. WednesdayMay8 Shaw at the Festival Theater is Guys and Dolls. Gerry was able to obtain 20 advance top seat tickets for this show for $63.00 p.p. However, these are non-refundable so any unsold tickets would result in cost to the Club. This is a car pooling event with a meeting at 12.30 PM for a picnic at Queenston Heights by the Brock monument. There is a shop there were you can buy food and ice cream. There are sheltered picnic tables. The tickets include free refreshment in the Governors Room at the interval. Also included with each ticket is a voucher for complimentary Tasting Flight for two at Trius or Peller Estates Niagara on the Lake for use at any time. At this time all of the tickets have been sold. Galen is coordinating, Gunther will have the tickets available for pick up at the March meeting. TuesdayJune25 Probus Club of Oakville 25 year Anniversary Luncheon. We have booked the CANADIAN OPEN ROOM at the prestigious GLEN ABBEY GOLF COURSE to honour a quarter century of our club. Please mark this special event in your calendar. Dress is Smart Casual. Details to follow. TuesdayJuly25 Halton Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Activities Committee is investigating a tour of this recently refurbished plant for later this year. The plant is located on Lakeshore Road almost opposite Coronation Park. Our new addition to the activities Committee Frank Fisher is investigating and coordinating. August?? Woodbine Horse Races. popular event. We are waiting for the racing schedule to be finalized for this always ThursdaySeptember26 President s Dinner. Once again to be held at the Harbour Banquet and Conference Centre. ThursdayOctober10 Credit Valley Explorer. Gerry is investigating this train trip to view the fall colours. We have booked 30 tickets (which include lunch) for the Grand Valley Express. ThursdayDecember5 Christmas Luncheon. To be held once again at the Atrium.
Page4of7TheProbusClubofOakville OurMainSpeaker Our guest speaker on Thursday March 21 was Sandra Joyce telling us the gripping story of the British Home Children who were sent to Canada between the years of 1869 and 1938. Sandra who is a graduate of Ryerson University and presently an English teacher, is also the author of The Street Arab, The Story of a British Home Child. Drawing on personal events that led her to Pier 21 in Halifax she discovered that her father had been a British Home Child who was brought over from the Orphan Homes of Scotland at the age of 15 with his 12 year old brother. With the help of her sister, an immigration officer in Toronto, Sandra discovered documents and details of immigrating some 120,000 unwanted children from Britain to Canada where they would basically live the life of an indentured servant. Many lived and worked as unpaid and often abused farm laborers in rural Canada. The girls worked mainly as domestic servants.. A Home Child is not the same as a War Child, who is essentially an evacuee during WW2. The geography and climate of Canada made any meaningful supervision of the program almost impossible. Prevalent attitudes during those times implied that these children were mentally and morally inferior and in some way a threat to Canadian society. However there was a need for farm labour, the English speaking component of Canadian society needed to be bolstered, and empty cargo ships returning from England had to be filled. It is estimated that 10% of Canadians can trace their genealogy to a home child. Ironically the impetus to come to terms with this sad chapter of Canadian history came from Australia whose number of 17,000 Home Children was much less than Canada's. Sandra was introduced by Mike Kaloutsky and thanked by our president Gerry Sutton.
Page5of7TheProbusClubofOakville ReviewsandItemsofInterest IfatriptoPeruisstillonyourbucketlist,youmaydowellto firstreadturnrightatmachupicchubymarkadams,a NewYorktravelwriter.Adamsisdriventosettherecord straightonhirambingham's"discovery"ofthelostcityofthe Incasin1911.WiththehelpofJohnLeivers,anAustralian adventurer,hedecidestofollowinbingham'sfootstepstosee what'strueandwhatisfictioninoneofthemostexciting adventurestoriesofthe20thcentury.thedescriptionsofhis travelsareenhancedbyseveralmaps,beautifulblackandwhite photographyandhisabilitytolookatthefunnysideofthings, whichalwayshelpswhenyoutravelinsouthamerica. ReviewedbyHelmutErxleben ZERODARKTHIRTY.Foradecadeaneliteteamofintelligenceoperatives hadonlyonemission:tofindandkillosamabinladen.thisisatenseand grippingfilmbuttroubling.itshowsvictimsshotdownincoldbloodand gruesometorture.theteamfinallythinkstheyhavefoundhislocationin Pakistanbuttheyarenotpositive.Theyconsideredeverypossiblewayto confirmthatosamaisactuallythereevenwentasfarasconsideringan analysisofthesewagefromthecompoundforproof.buteventhoughthey werenotcompletelycertain,itwasdecidedtogoaheadwiththeoperation. Osamawasfoundinthecompoundandwaskilled.Thebodywastaken backtotheirbaseforconfirmationbeforebeingdumpedinthesea.one agentconfirmedthatitwasosama,burnodnasamplewastakenasfinal proof.thishasledtomanyconspiracytheories.themoviegotofftoaslow startandwasfartoolong.(158min.)itisnotforthefaintofheart.reviewed byharolderlendson. THEIMPOSSIBLE.OnBoxingDay2003almost230,000peoplelost theirliveswhenatsunamistruckthecoastofthailand.thisisa reallifestoryofonefamily'sexperience.mariaandhenrywith theirthreesonswereonawintervacationataposhseasideresort. Asthefamilywasrelaxingbythepool,withnowarning,agigantic wavesweptovertheresort.everythingandeveryonewasswept away.thefamilywasseparated.mariaandhereldestsonlucas managedtostaytogether.mariawasseverelyinjuredandwas takentoasmallhospitalthatwasoverwhelmedandchaotic.henry andthetwoyoungerboysweretogether,desperatelytryingto unitewithmariaandlucas.theactingwasexcellent.somescenes werehardtowatchbutthebraveryanddeterminationofthe humanspiritseeninthisdramamakeitworthwhile.reviewedby HaroldErlendson.
Page6of7TheProbusClubofOakville Chaseawayjointandheadachepainwithcherries: Lateststudiesshowthatatleastoneinfourpeopleisstrugglingwitharthritis, goutorchronicheadaches.ifyou'reoneofthem,adailybowlofcherriescould easeyourache,withoutthestomachupsetsooftentriggeredbytoday's painkillers,sayresearchersateastlansing'smichiganstateuniversity.their researchrevealsthatanthocyanins,thecompoundsthatgivecherriestheir brilliantredcolor,areanti inflammatories10timesstrongerthanibuprofen andaspirin."anthocyaninshelpshutdownthepowerfulenzymesthatkickstarttissueinflammation,sotheycanprevent,aswellastreat,manydifferent kindsofpain,"explainsmuraleedharannair,ph.d.,professoroffoodscienceat MichiganStateUniversity.Hisadvice:Enjoy20cherries(fresh,frozenor dried)daily,thencontinueuntilyourpaindisappears. AttentionSnowbirds: IfanyofyouspendthewintersintheUSpleasebewarethatstayingmore than183daysinoneyearisnottheonlycriteriaforbeingadeemed residentofusfortaxpurposes.asanexampleifyouspend120daystwo yearsrunningand124daysinthenextyearyouwillbedeemedaresident ofusandunlessyoucangetoutofitbyinvokingthetiebreakerrulesin thetreatyyoumaybesubjecttotaxonyourworldwideincomeand estatetaxonyourworldwideestate.iamnotaustaxexpertbutcheck thiswebsiteandthemostrecentblog(http://blog.tavana.ca/)on snowbirds,thereisalinktotheirssite. VolunteerTechnologyAssistanceProgram: Afreepersonaltechnologyassistanceprogramdesignedtoeducateolder adultsonthebasicsoftechnologyuse. Adults55+areconnectedwithvolunteertutorstolearnhowtouse technologiesincluding:computers*internet*digitalcameras*tablets* e readers*mp3players TheprogramisofferedatTheCentreforEducationandTraininglocation in:oakvillemonday9am 2:30pm,Wednesday&Friday9am 12noon, 171SpeersRd,Suite20 Technically, The Glass is Completely Full
PROBUS Management Committee THE PROBUS CLUB OF OAKVILLE THE PROBUS CLUB OF OAKVILLE About Our Organization Probus Club Of Oakville Mailing Address: P.O. Box 52127 Oakville ON L6J 7N5 Meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month at l0 A.M. at Maplegrove United Church. We're on the Web! www.oakvilleprobus.com President: Gerry Sutton 844-3516 Past President: Dave Patterson 844-5894 Vice President: John Beales 844-4654 Sec'try & Archivist: Alex Murphy 337-2924 Treasurer: Bryan Noble 469-0862 Speakers: Brian Taylor 337-3032 Activities: Robin Davison 339-1702 Newsletter: Helmut Erxleben 901-9268 Club Liaison: Mike Purcell 845-4097 Membership: Trevor Dandy 337-9481 Communications: Roy McEwen 844-8648 Equipment: Mike Kaloutsky 842-0343 Other Positions Hospital Visitation: Bill Tyre 845-1788 Doug Walmsley 827-1548 Leon Prasow 337-2492 Auditor: Harold Erlendson 845-3139 Photographer: Ron Miller 827-8424 50/50 Draw: Dick Goulding 827-5968 Refreshments Peter Pretty 338-5583 Dave Johnson 338-6076