Over 50 members gathered Tuesday night, February 27 for the Avon Trail Show & Tell held in a room at the Army, Navy & Veterans Club in Stratford.
Bruce Graham acted as the night’s master of ceremonies.
Over the course of the evening, Bruce invited 11 members in turn to the podium to present their stories.
Alcoholic drinks were available for purchase from the club’s bar. Tracy, Clive and Stella provided coffee and tea.
Baked treats prepared by contributing members along with cheeses and fruits displayed by the coffee and tea tamed everyone’s taste buds .
Meg Westley talked about a hiking adventure she had in France. She titled her presentation, “Getting Lost in Europe”. Meg described a series of “lost and then found” events, starting with a fellow hiker’s treasured watch and then with her own rented car. Both were lost during the adventure. The story’s humor lay in how the lost watch was found under her friend’s hat (on his head) and how Meg lost the direction back to the car but persevered and found the car in the end.
She found the car where she had parked by a church in a rural village.
Joan Daynard spoke of a 1997 hiking adventure she and her husband undertook on the Chilkoot Trail. Over 53 km long, this was a trail followed by ‘stampeders’, the men, and women who set their sights on finding gold during the gold rush of 1897-98. The Chilkoot Trail is a rugged route over the Chilkoot mountain pass through the Coast Mountains which leads from Dyea, Alaska to Lake Bennett, at the border of British Columbia and Yukon. At one times Dyea boomed as a gold town. Joan called it an Alaskan ghost town.
She described the artifacts from the gold rush days still seen along the trail –old tin cans, broken glass, copper wire and wooden structures. The hike was strenuous. Three “false summits” were encountered before reaching the final end on their journey at Lake Bennett. She and her husband managed to complete the trail in time to catch the last train of the season running back to Skagway.
Joan’s photo album of the Chilkoot Trail was on display on the front table to be viewed, along with books on the Klondike gold rush by Pierre Burton.
Jane Foster who leads the Tuesday Rambles told us about Wilbur the pig, aka Billy, discovered lost in a cornfield on a Tuesday morning rambles adventure. A very wild and funny story, Jane promised to send me the full tale for inclusion into a future Avon Trails News.
Bruce Graham spoke on the Ancient Trees – oaks, beeches and yews – that he encountered on his Shropshire Way hike in England. The oak trees live to be 900 plus years-old. “A tree’s life occurs in three phases”, said Bruce. “The first 300 years, the tree is growing. For the next 300 years, the tree is living, followed by 300 years in slow decline”.
Christine Lee is without a doubt a wonderful photographer. Showing photos from her many trips to Newfoundland and throughout Perth counties, she amazed us with their simplicity and beauty.
Having traveled to New Zealand a few years ago, Linda Weitzel culled a series of photos from the hundreds taken on the trip. The photos that made the cut focused on humorous and unique “signs” in New Zealand, from roadway signs, trail closure signs and the unique restroom signs one encounters on the north and south island.
Terry Aitken and Ken Nicholson collaborated on a visual presentation recounting the 7,700 kilometers traveled on their road trip from Stratford north to Cochrane, Ontario and east through Quebec, Labrador, Newfoundland and coastal provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
The one thing Ken regrets is that he was “out fished” by Terry. From what I understand, Terry landed one small fish.
Another member described two novels she has written. Renee Lehnen, a hike leader, and registered nurse by profession, enjoys the pleasure of writing fiction. Elmington, her 2nd novel, has won the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence. It deals with Gordon, a retired librarian and Martha, his adult daughter. Martha helps her father deal with the challenges he brings on himself as his health declines. The book is publish by a Storeyline Press, an independent publishing business in Stratford.
I also presented three hike adventures that I and my wife, Cindy, enjoyed in the British Columbia Tri-Cities of water and trails: Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam.
One lucky member left the gathering with the door prize–a signed copy of Renee’s novel, Elmington. The winner was – Cindy!
Click Here to view photos of the event.
Many thanks to Tracy for the hours spent organizing this event. Bruce, thanks for being a masterful MC. Finally, many thanks to the members who baked the wonderful treats we enjoyed.
Tom Kimber – News