Inductees

On a very basic level, its obvious theatre is a ‘live performance.’  However, when that performance brings to life something precious to its audience, then, what is created is magic.  Ed Schroeter spent a sizable portion of his life and creative energies making magic come alive on stage.  An award-winning playwright and ‘live’ theatre producer, Ed took delight in creating dramas imparting a sense of reality and humanity to historical figures who’ve shaped our communities.

In cooperation with Centennial Museum & Archives, Ed served as a driving force behind the Heritage Pavilion Stage series, worked closely with 4th Line Theatre and a revitalized Arbor Theatre.  He conducted more than 50 play-writing workshops for elementary and secondary school students in the Peterborough area.  For his efforts, he earned four national playwriting awards, and shared in a City of Peterborough Civic Award for cultural achievement.

Thanks, in no small part to his creative commitment, Peterborough theatre and history are alive and well in young audiences and their families.  Ed Schroeter is dangerously close to making history fun.

Barbara Beck, octogenarian, was a well-respected leader in the community for over fifty years. She was a strong advocate of consumer and social justice causes, and contributed to the arts community in countless ways.

Mrs. Beck also sat on committees and councils at the local, provincial and national levels. She believed, “… what matters is what you do for your fellow man.”

She served with the Consumers Association of Canada as local president, provincial president and national vice-president. Barbara, together with her late husband Dick, were stalwarts of the Peterborough Theatre Guild, locally and provincially. She also served on several boards such as Peterborough’s Social Service Council; the Peterborough Memorial Centre; the Social Planning Council; Community Care Peterborough, and the Ontario Community Support Association.

She received many honours over her lifetime, including the City’s Community Betterment Award, and she was made a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club.

Barbara Beck was a tireless volunteer for the betterment of Peterborough, and its people.

Barbara Beck passed in March, 2018 in her 90th year.

For a great many musicians, a fond memory of youth is spending hours wandering through one of those wonderful, small music stores with guitars hanging everywhere, getting lost in dreams of a guitar you’ll own one day, if you work and practice hard enough.

For thousands of Peterborough musicians, that memory conjures up one name: Bud Monahan.

The Peterborough music scene and the name Bud Monahan have been synonymous for over 50 years. Few have exercised such an influence over musicians in the Kawartha region. For nearly all his life, music played an integral part.

In early days, Bud played with many legendary names in Peterborough music, such as Paul Konkle, Del Crary and Freddie Coupland. Teaching music at such memorable establishments as Rawson’s and Musicland led to opening Bud Monahan’s House of Guitars. For over 40 years, Bud supplied instruments and taught the rudiments to literally thousands of aspiring musicians. In many instances, Bud taught multiple members of the same family, employing many former students as teachers.

For Bud, music supplied an extended family and a generational rite of passage. Good musicians will tell you it’s in the sharing of same that music affords the greatest satisfaction – and it’s in playing, teaching and sharing by which Bud Monahan personified the greatest gift of music.

• photo courtesy Clifford Skarstedt, The Peterborough Examiner

George Novotny Sr’s short life is a prominent example that it is not how long you live, but what you accomplish while living it. Fleeing an oppressive regime in his native Czech Republic brought George Sr., his wife Sylvia and George Jr. to Peterborough in 1952. They brought with them nothing but the tremendous desire to succeed, and a tireless work ethic.

However, George Sr. did have some attributes that would help him, and his family to quickly settle in. He was fluent in seven languages, and was an accomplished pianist, accordionist, arranger and orchestrator. These abilities soon found favour with such area musical stalwarts as Bobby Kinsman, Del Crary, Buzz Buzzell, Paul “Streak” Konkle, Hugo Tapp and others.

George Novotny Sr. also had another ace up his sleeve. He had an innate ability to readily identify, and name any musical note immediately, which is commonly referred to as perfect pitch.

Bobby Kinsman was the first to utilize our inductee’s  wide-ranging musical talents. It was not long before George Sr. formed his own orchestra and began performing regularly at the Rock Haven Motor Hotel and, in the summer months at Viamede summer resort. CHEX Radio hosted his shows “Musician’s Corner” and “88 Keys,” and CHEX TV programmed a seasonal show “Music By George.”

The Novotny Orchestra played high school proms and he also presented music clinics on the history of music and piano stylings at Lakefield College School. He was also Church Organist, and Choir Director at St. John the Baptist Church.

Shock waves reverberated through the entire area when he passed at the age of 37 on November 3rd, 1961 after taking ill during a performance the night before at the Rock Haven. The relatively short period of time he contributed to the musical life of this area remains deeply imbedded in the hearts, and minds of all who were fortunate enough to have been entertained by him, or come in contact, in some way, with one of the greatest talents to ever grace this community.

“I have this idea…”

How often have we heard someone say this? Truth be known, ideas are a dime a dozen. A rare jewel is the individual with vision, fortitude and perhaps insanity to turn an idea into reality. Jack Blakely had a dream of starting a Country Music jamboree. He did such a good job of turning the idea into reality that, in the Country Music of today, the road to international stardom runs right through Havelock.

Jack had always been a respected businessman and energetic community supporter. His work with the Havelock Lions Club and numerous local fundraising projects always meant a great deal to the community. In the late ’1980’s, he began articulating the idea of a music jamboree, and proceeded to set the wheels in motion.

The early years were a learning experience – lots of trial-and-error and no small measure of risk-taking. But Jack closed his ears to naysayers and lukewarm supporters and held fast to his dream, and true enough Jack Blakely’s Havelock Jamboree became a monumental success.

It has since become one of the ‘go-to’ events in Country Music for both fans and performers around North America.

The spinoff is tremendous. With thousands of fans arriving each August, the Jamboree has become a major tourism event, providing a boon to Kawartha businesses and, in Jack’s insistence, benefiting many local service clubs and charities.

Making a dream into a reality is no easy task. There’s the big picture and, of course those nagging little things called ‘details.’ Jack Blakely has proven that concentrating on the positive and believing in the dream, is the road to achievement.

• Photo courtesy Havelock Lions Club

By looking back we can, most times, see the direction our future is taking. Such is a gift few can claim to share as has Jean Murray Cole with her enthralling compositions.

Our community is certainly richer for her penning nine books, including three Peterborough township histories, plus a host of papers that fill her dossier to date. Jean Murray Cole is an acknowledged expert on the Strickland family; Samuel Strickland, Catherine Parr Traill, Susanna Moodie, and their siblings who remained in England. The Stricklands mean much to the area because they wrote and recorded their experiences in its raw, evolving youthful years.

Jean Murray Cole holds an honours degree from Trent University, the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship, and the F.H. Dobbin award for her book, ‘Sir Sandford Fleming: His Early Diaries.’ Many of her manuscripts and research papers have been donated to Trent University Archives.

For 45 years the Peterborough Theatre Guild (PTG), and indeed the theatre community in general, were gifted with the countless volunteer hours bequeathed by Nancy Bethune. A good deal of them in partnership with her late husband and 2002 Honouree, Bud.

Throughout her volunteer career at PTG, Nancy built an amazing theatrical portfolio, together with procedural notes and makeup inventory which is now utilized by other volunteers when designing makeup for a production.

As well as managerially involved in early ambitious musical productions, she worked on costumes and props. Nancy served as President of the PTG Board from 1978 to 1980. She took over the role as Chair of the Makeup Department in 1990, where she really found her niche, serving in that position until 2013.

Although competent and immersed in all aspects of theatre, it is for her thorough understanding and application of makeup design for which Nancy Bethune is most respected, and revered.

Her complete dedication to the Peterborough Theatre Guild will be forever cherished and remembered.

Nancy Bethune passed away in February, 2015 at the age of 82.

Mr. Bierk was a noted artist, teacher and co-founder of ARTSPACE with poet Dennis Tourbin, serving as its Director from 1974 until at least 1981. At the time, ARTSPACE was hailed as one of Canada’s earliest artist-operated arts centers.

Mr. Bierk was involved in the community since 1970, taking a teaching position at Kenner Collegiate and Vocational Institute in 1972, and later taught at Fleming College.

Mr. Bierk passed away August 28th, 2002.

Dick Beck was well-known in Peterborough for his day job, as engineer at Canadian General Electric, and for his work with the Peterborough Utilities Commission. But if truth be known, his true passion, was connected to  theatre.

For over 30 years, Dick was an active member of PTG, serving in many capacities. He directed six full-length plays and one children’s play. He penned music and lyrics for about a dozen children’s plays which have been performed in many parts of Canada as well as here at home, at the Guild.

As well, Dick logged time undertaking set design, set construction, production and stage management. In an administrative capacity, he served on the Executive and Board of the Guild as President, Treasurer and Chairman.

You hear the expression: ‘You can dress him up but you can’t take him anywhere.’ Well, Howard Berry dressed others for decades, with skill and talent that took him everywhere.

With a knack for, and love of fashion from a young age – his father gifted him a manual sewing machine at age five – Howard could never remember a time when he wasn’t creating with fabric and experimenting with varied colour combinations.

Shortly after graduating in 1959 from a private design school in Toronto, Howard opened his own design shop in the big city. A number of different jobs in a variety of fields followed – but Howard’s love of fashion design never waned. Arriving in the Peterborough area in 1977, Howard landed a men’s wear retail job with Eaton’s, which took him back to Toronto. When he returned to Peterborough, he opened Howard Berry Designs in Charlotte Mews.

It was in 1980 that Howard’s long and fruitful association with the Peterborough Theatre Guild began with his design and creation of costumes for ‘A Doll’s House.’ Since that time, he was a constant fixture at the Rogers Street theatre. ‘The Mikado,’ ‘Le Cage Aux Follies’ and ‘Cats’ are just a few of the Peterborough Theatre Guild productions that soared thanks to his abundant talent for design.

However, Mr. Berry was no one-trick pony. In addition to costume design, he donated his time and abilities as a theatre set designer, director, production designer and painter for dozens of plays, musicals and special performances – greatly contributing to not only Peterborough Theatre Guild productions, but also to presentations at Showplace Peterborough.

Recognition has duly come Howard’s way. In 1990, the Eastern Ontario Drama League awarded him for set design followed, in 2008, with an award for Best Visual Presentation and, in 2009 an award for costume design. That same year, Theatre Ontario also recognized Howard’s work with an award for costume design. Finally, in 2015 and along with the cast and crew of ‘Twelfth Night,’ Howard accepted a Cultural Betterment Award from the City of Peterborough.

In 2017, at The Mount Community Centre, ‘Passion For Colour: A Design Retrospective’ saw Howard’s work put on public display – a show that featured many of his most spectacular theatre costumes, as well as his original paintings.

Mr. Berry passed away March 3rd, 2022 at the age of 84.

• Photo courtesy of Clifford Skarstedt, The Peterborough Examiner

For close to 30 years, Fred Anderson worked tirelessly to make Peterborough and the Kawarthas one of Canada’s most vibrant music and tourism centres.

In the early 1970’s, recognizing the immense drawing power of Little Lake, Fred was instrumental, along with Del Crary in establishing The Arts & Water Festival. By 1987, Fred began devoting time and energy to the creation of The Peterborough Summer Festival of Lights, which has since evolved into MusicFest. Under his guidance, The Festival of Lights became a unique event in Canada, featuring some of the top names in Canadian Music, and North America’s first synchronized illuminated boat show.

The Festival attracts over 100,000 visitors, from around the world to Del Crary Park, making the festival the number one tourist draw in the Kawarthas. For his efforts, Fred Anderson was previously honoured with awards such as Peterborough’s Citizen of the Year, and Tourism Ambassador of Ontario.

Fred Anderson died February 20th, 2006.

Connie Brummel Crook spent a great deal of her life proving, if you enjoy a good story, you needn’t go further than our own Canadian history.

For 30 years, Connie taught English in Peterborough and area schools. She launched one of Peterborough County’s first Reading Labs and tutoring program to assist younger students.

Upon retiring from teaching, she concentrated on a writing career; authoring a series of popular novels extolling Canadian history and heritage. Connie Brummel Crook is recognized by the International Reading Association for her creativity and faithfulness to historical accuracy.

Gordon Roper (d. 2012) was a Professor of English Literature at Trinity College, University of Toronto from 1944-1969, and then at Trent University from 1969-1977. His family was rooted in Peterborough, and he was a major scholar of local writers such as Robertson Davies, Susannah Moodie and others. His family came to Peterborough in 1915 when his father joined the staff of the local YMCA. He enjoyed lifetime friendships with F. M. de la Fosse, local naturalist William A. Breyfogle (1905-1958), Margaret Laurence and Mr. Davies.

He received the Peter Robinson medal in 2000 for his contributions to Peterborough and to its literary history. Streets in Peterborough – Roper, Hawthorne and Melville – were named for his heroes. His students have included professors now at Trent University, and the former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson.

Gordon Roper was a pioneer in bringing the writing of local authors, to life.

When big bands and their music ruled, none seemed bigger or more lasting than Hal MacFarlane’s Orchestra, usually boasting 14 musicians.

In Peterborough and surrounding area there was one band commanding large followings and enjoyed by hundreds of fox-trotting, ballroom dancing fans; the Hal MacFarlane Orchestra.

As a youngster, Hal aspired to be a theatre pianist. He added saxophone and developed a great reputation as a music teacher. Hal MacFarlane inspired more than a generation of musical aficionados. His Orchestra was one of the largest in the area in 1940’s through to the 1960’s.

The Hal MacFarlane Orchestra was, for years the resident band at the Brock Ballroom on Saturday nights, where they developed novel ways to protect their instruments from the hockey-rink ice. During war years, the band played for army recruitment shows, and at the Peterborough Exhibition. The band was in demand for proms and high school formals until the 1960’s, when many young dance bands emerged.

Hal MacFarlane, a two-time president of the local musicians’ union, was also organist for the Peterborough Petes hockey team. His music, and our memories will never end. Nor will we forget the good times.

Artist, activist and academic – when it comes to expressing his views, particularly leading the call for a change in attitudes around equity and inclusion for members of the 2SLGBTQ community, Spencer J. Harrison’s voice and influence has soundly resonated in a very big way.

Having attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Queen’s University (1987), a Master of Arts from Trent University (2003) and, most recently, his Doctor of Philosophy from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (2014), Harrison, in 2014, completed The Freak Show: A Painted Autoethnographic Exploration of Growing Up Gay in Rural Ontario in the 1960s – Canada’s first painted doctoral dissertation.

Positioning artists in the academic world as knowledge creators, Harrison’s art is exhibited and collected across Canada and beyond the country’s borders. His art has been referenced in the House of Commons as part of the effort to change more than 70 laws to provide more inclusion for the 2SLGBTQ community.

Harrison was the founding director of Camp fYrefly, a Trent University-based leadership retreat for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified, two-spirited, intersexed, queer, questioning and allied youth. Under his leadership, the camp combined arts-based and Indigenous knowledge and practices to help youth build strong positive identities, moving away from self-harm issues in the process.

Exhibitions of Harrison’s work date back several years, his thought-provoking work displayed at galleries in Toronto, Belleville, Milton and Ottawa. Confirmed for this winter at the Art Gallery of Peterborough, at which Spencer is the artist mentor for youths planning to pursue the medium at the post-secondary level, is his newest exhibition, Does It Give You The Gay.

For more than 12 years now, Harrison has taught at Toronto’s Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University, specializing in courses that explore subject matter and the value of the makers of their crafts. During his time at OCAD, he has been honoured with the Non-Tenured Teaching Award and the BLG Equity Teaching Award. Earlier, he served as artist-in-residence at Trent University in 1994-1995.

In a city where post-secondary education is an exemplary pillar of the community both past and present, David Sutherland stands out as a true architect of that legacy.

Arriving in Peterborough in 1967 to assume the founding president role of what was then known as Sir Sandford Fleming College, David ensured the community college was exactly that with its offering of daytime and evening courses, the establishment of campuses in Lindsay, Haliburton and Cobourg, and the fostering of relationships with local employers via college advisory committees.

More uniquely, David’s relationship with Trent University founding president Tom Symons laid the groundwork for what was a mutually beneficial education-based partnership that remains intact to this day in a number of ways, including the joint nursing program. To show their commitment to that relationship, both David and Tom served on each other’s board of governors.

Retirement in 1981 did little if anything to slow David down. With local lawyer and parole board member Alex Edmison, he helped establish Edmison House, a halfway house for parolees, many of whom were given work at the city’s recycling plant. It didn’t hurt matters that David’s wife Sylvia was mayor at the time and had some influence on that decision.

Other volunteer pursuits saw David serve on the boards of Junior Achievement, the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Council and Trent Valley Literacy. Also benefitting from David’s clear commitment to community, was Meals On Wheels.

David Sutherland passed in 1991, robbing Peterborough of what was sure to be years of more meaningful contributions. As Sylvia notes, David’s initial plan was to stay at Fleming five years. That became 10 years and then almost 15, leading to the relatively easy decision that Peterborough, thankfully, would remain their home after his retirement.

There are those who are too smart for their own good. Then there are those who selflessly put their abundant intelligence, skills and expertise to work to the benefit of their community and well beyond.

India born and educated, Dr. Ramesh Makhija most certainly belongs to the latter group, his extensive education as a chemist, and his associated research, anchoring a number of subsequent initiatives going back to 1966 when he arrived in Canada to pursue his research interests and teach at the university level.

Following a five-year period that saw him work as a chemist with two federal ministries, Dr. Makhija was named the chief chemist of Lakefield Research (now SGS Canada) in 1981. A year later, he co-founded Trent University-based R&R Laboratories where, until 2007, he specialized in the study of wastewater, air quality and other environment-related properties. Along with providing consulting and laboratory services, R&R trained more than 65 new graduates in analytical chemistry. R&R’s inventory of household waste led to the 1985 establishment of Peterborough’s blue box collection program.

Outside of the lab, however, is where Dr. Makhija has wholly earned the distinction being presented today. A 2012 recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal, a 2014 recipient of an Ontario Community Service Award, a two-time recipient of a Peterborough Civic Award, and a 2019 inductee into the Peterborough Lakefield Muskoka Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, Dr. Makhija’s wide-ranging volunteer work has seen him sit on the boards of a number of local organizations, Peterborough Green Up and the Council for People with Disabilities among them.

However, perhaps most telling of his abundant generosity was his investment of time and money into ensuring the walk-in clinic established by his late wife Dr. Swarn Makhija remained open for two years after her untimely death in 2003. When it did close, all of its furniture, equipment and supplies were donated to health units in Peterborough, Madoc and Marmora.

Sam Strickland was one of the earliest settlers in what is now Peterborough, arriving at the same time as the Peter Robinson settlers. He built the first house in the area on what is now Nicolls Oval, where visitors can read a plague bearing the following history…

“Sam Strickland was an immigrant to Canada in 1825 sponsored by a family friend, Colonel Black of Darlington, Ontario. He purchased this property, now Nichols Oval, in 1829 and built his first house here. He worked for John Galt and The Canada Company in the Huron Tract.

“In 1830, he sold this property and purchased farm land in North Douro. Sam Strickland became a land commissioner, Justice of the Peace, teacher, author and family man.

“Two sisters, Catharine Parr Trail and Susanna Moodie followed him to the Lakefield area. His 1853 book, Twenty-seven years in Canada West, was a helpful guide for immigrants, mostly young and working poor hoping to succeed in Canada.

“Within its pages he described the three great ‘wants’ in Canada. “We need pastors, teachers and population.”

“Sam Strickland emphasized the development of community and the education of the young. Col. Strickland was an early advocate of assisted child emigration to Canada; by 1935 more than 900,000 young people came to Canada as “Home Children.”

The plaque was erected by The City of Peterborough, in partnership with The Fenner Foundation.

Sam Strickland was a leading citizen of the area and is recognized as the founder of Lakefield. He supported the construction of Lakefield’s first mill, its first passable road, and its bridge over the Otonabee River. He was a member of Council for Douro Township and of Peterborough County.

Samuel Strickland was a true pioneer, and a giant among men in every sense of the word.

As a reporter for The Peterborough Examiner for more than 25 years, John is best known for his weekly ‘Labor Beat’ column and contribution to the Centennial Yearbook project, ‘Peterborough, Land of Shining Waters.’

His devotion to community ranges from volunteer work with area labour councils, to lecturing in area schools to foster a deeper appreciation of Aboriginal Peoples culture.

When most people walk by old Peterborough buildings, they simply see old brick, wood and shingles. When Martha Kidd passes an old Peterborough building, she sees life and history. She sees the men who built the structure, the individuals and families who inhabited the building over decades, who worked and played, laughed and cried, lived and died there to mold Peterborough into what it is today.

Active in many phases of local history, Martha served as president of Peterborough Historical Society and vice-chair and research director with Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee.

A book she co-authored with Louis Taylor, (Historical Sketches of Peterborough,) and a myriad of newspaper articles and columns are a continuing source of fascination, bringing to life so many aspects of Peterborough history. Her writing also enriches any city walking tour.

Few have contributed more to our appreciation of local history and architectural heritage than Martha Ann Kidd.

Martha Ann Kidd passed away in 2012. Image credit: MyKawartha.com

To whoever gifted a very young Melissa Payne with a fiddle all those years ago, all we can say is thank you.

Born and raised in Ennismore, Payne subsequently learned to play the instrument at the knee of Doug Leahy. She learned well, to the point where today she is a formidable force, not just on the local music landscape but also well beyond its borders. Better still, Payne’s star is still rising with no limit in sight.

Anchored by a lifelong love of old-time fiddle and traditional Celtic music, Payne has steadily fashioned a remarkable recording and performance career that, to date, includes three full length albums of original songs and never-ending stage invites. She followed up her 2012 self-titled debut album with 2014’s High and Dry and, in early 2020, Darker Than Your Dark.

If one can be judged by the company he or she keeps, rest assured Payne is in a very good place. With her live performances having consistently brought forth critical acclaim, Payne has collaborated with some of the biggest names in Canadian music. Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo), Natalie MacMaster, Matt Mays, James McKenty, Jimmy Bowskill (The Sheepdogs) and Nathaniel Smith share the common experience of having worked with Payne in the studio and on stage.

But Payne is no one-trick pony. Local theatre productions, such as 4th Line Theatre’s 2019 staging of Carmel and Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre tribute to Stompin’ Tom Connors, have drawn on her talent as well.

The thread running through Payne’s contributions to music and the arts is her wholly unselfish willingness to support up-and-coming performers. Her mentoring of those with a musical dream knows no bounds as she provides invaluable advice around booking gigs, publicity and other trappings of the business. If Payne is in your corner, chances are very good that success will follow.

Noted by many who know Payne well is her ability to mobilize others and rally support for important causes. Blessed with a boundless empathy, Payne consistently and easily connects with people from all walks of life.

McKenty, who has produced all three of Payne’s albums, writes his longtime friend “is genuine…people simply gravitate to her down-to-earth personality. I’ve long been in awe watching the way people are attracted not only to Melissa’s music but also to her character.” He clearly speaks for many.

For many artists, the creative process is a lifelong journey; you start early and finish late. With the body of work he’s produced so far, it’s the hope of many Donald Frost is only at the mere midway point in his journey.

His ability to impress did indeed, start early. While still a youngster, Donald created one of Peterborough’s most recognizable landmarks. Using his parents’ backyard as a first studio, he created the ‘Dancing Figures’ that are synonymous with Peterborough Square. Since their ‘arrival’ at the Square, the figures have frequently been used in marketing, and advertising projects. A credit to Donald’s artistic vision, the creation melds theme, idea and physical reality. The lines are simple, yet evoke energy and spirit. It’s a constant dream of an artist to accomplish this, but it so rarely happens.

The same can be said of his work for Quaker Oats and other creations lovingly brought to life in his Lakefield studio. Those creations have found homes in private, and public collections around North America. The artist’s propensity to share his dream and craft has led to an enthusiastic teaching career, particularly at Kenner Collegiate and Grove School, plus a series of lessons and workshops at his studio.

To instill with life an idea, a dream and a meaning is the essence of an artistic life. To communicate a sense of energy and human vitality through inanimate materials is the true mark of genius, and the hallmark of Donald Frost’s visual artistry.

For many, altruism is a luxury. To Louis and Gus Yeotes and family, it’s a way of life.

In 1903, Louis Yeotes opened his first business on George Street and, for the next 74 years, embraced this community as few others have done. He donated money to almost every sports league in the city and purchased equipment for teams struggling through the Depression when money was scarce. To all charities and civic endeavours, he was a generous donor and the first major contributor to the Memorial Centre building fund. To honour his generosity and kindness to Peterborough, especially to the sporting community, Louis was inducted into the Peterborough & District Sports Hall of Fame.

Louis’ son, Gus, has followed his father’s footsteps. For over 25 years, he’s freely made available Lakeview Bowl to support Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Gus and his family continued to make substantial donations to a multitude of local causes, including Sports Hall of Fame, Showplace, Save The Town Clock fund and Peterborough Regional Health Centre, until they ultimately retired from the business.

For a century, the Yeotes Family has been a vital part of the Peterborough community and, for a century, far too many individuals and organizations – to even begin to mention – have benefited from their heartwarming generosity and kindness.

In Canada, we’re undergoing a dramatic and revolutionary change in primary care delivery of medicine. Is it for the better? Many would argue it isn’t. Others argue it’s the way of the future based on the realities we face in today’s society. What’s certain, is that there are generations to come who’ll not know what it is to have a family doctor.

That’s why the people of Apsley treasure a friend named Wag Reyes.

Dr. W.E. Reyes has been the family doctor in Apsley area for many years; long enough to know thousands of patients and family members on a first-name basis. Dr. Reyes’ career stands as a symbol of a uniquely personal approach to primary care. His practice covers a large area of Central Ontario because he ignored quotas and ratios, and rarely turned down new patients. He’s been one of a rare breed who calls patients directly. and believes in follow up. Wag represents something we’re losing in today’s medicine – namely, a primary care provider who follows patients throughout their lives. One wonders too, about the continued existence of many small Ontario communities without a consistent primary care provider.

Wag Reyes is a committed family man and community member. His service combines science, technology, hands-on experience, a personal touch and an unflinching sense of personal morality. Our inductee remains the essence of what many believe medicine should still be.

Christine Nornabell’s service to her community aptly confirms that actions and words together, speak loudest. With an abiding commitment to conservation and waterfront preservation, Christine was instrumental in establishing many of Peterborough’s natural treasures we take for granted.

In 1953, she was a charter member of a group organized to preserve and beautify the banks of the Otonabee River and Jackson Creek. Her involvement led to the establishment of Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, and Foundation. Due to her tireless efforts and skilled diplomacy, more than 10,000 acres of environmentally-significant land and heritage landmarks are held in trust for our enjoyment, and that of future generations.

Christine is a charter member of the City Parks Board, spearheading the acquisition of 53 acres of park land in the heart of Peterborough.

In recognition of her efforts, she received the Peter Robinson Award, the City Award of Merit and is named to the Order of Canada. If one has any doubt that one individual can make a difference in his, or her community, spend some time at Roger’s Cove or Millenium Place, and thank Christine Nornabell.

As scientist, engineer and inventor, Peter Eastcott brought fulfillment to many of his dreams for making the world a better place.

After a distinguished military career, he joined General Electric Canada as an electrical engineer. Peter became the most prolific inventor in the history of Canadian General Electric, registering 54 patents in the areas of industrial handling and safety.

Peter Eastcott also applied his engineering and inventing genius to humanitarian causes. He made life-saving contributions to the treatment of pulmonary disease and the invention of the HELPME program which, via computer, provides emergency response teams with vital, pre-incident, medical information.

Some might question why a person would devote so much time and effort for others, even to the extent of spending money out of his own pocket. The answer to the question, was Al Beavis.

His, was a lifelong quest to assist people and organizations, giving him great pleasure knowing he made a difference; in fact, a big difference.

And, what a difference! In the area of personally attracting over $200,000 toward assisting various causes that he supported from Five Counties Children’s Centre to Art Space. Al even put his portly physic to work, investing in a red suit and appropriate white beard to raise funds for a number of charities.

Al Beavis epitomized a community fundraising Santa by combining his altruistic character and creativity, resulting in helping all those in need.

Mr. Beavis passed away on March 15th, 2009

Douglas Sadler was born in London, England in 1916. He served in the 7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats) during World War II and with the Queen’s Royal Regiment in Holland. He spent six months imprisoned in Oflag 79, Germany.

It was during the World War II that Sadler met his future wife, Joan, in England. They were married in 1942. After the War, he served as a Captain in the Army and one of his tours took him to Singapore in 1947. He came to Canada in 1950 to work on Governor-General Vincent Massey’s farm near Port Hope, Ontario and later worked for the Port Hope Evening Guide in advertising.

This was the beginning of his newspaper career which ultimately led him to the Peterborough Examiner and the City of Peterborough in 1953. Part of his work at the Examiner included writing his now famous outdoor column, “Come Quietly With Me,” which he has now written for more than 30 years. Douglas has written close to 1500 columns on every conceivable aspect of the environment.

Late in his life, Douglas decided to return to school. He attended the old Peterborough Teacher’s College, and upon graduation, began teaching with the Northumberland Board of Education. He later became the vice-principal of Warkworth School in 1969 and worked there for twelve years before taking a job as an outdoor education consultant.

He then moved to the Peterborough County Board of Education. When the outdoor education program was cancelled in 1975, Douglas continued teaching at the Bailieboro School. At about the same time, Douglas became a member of the Peterborough Field Naturalists. After two years, he joined the Ontario Federation of Field Naturalists were he was a member for sixteen years, two of which were spent as the Federation’s president. Douglas has won the Frank Kortright Award twice and is an honorary life member of the Peterborough Field Naturalists. He earned a degree in geography in 1978 from Trent University and, in 1988, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the same university.

In 1987 he authored the book “Reading Nature’s Clues.”

Mr. Sadler died in 2008.

Long before most of us were thinking ‘green’ and, in particular, about the importance of education as it pertains to environmental stewardship and sustainability, Jacob Rodenburg was a determined trailblazer on a mission.

A field teacher of outdoor education for more than 30 years as well as a longtime environmental education instructor at Trent University, Mr. Rodenburg is the current executive director of Camp Kawartha, an award-winning environmental education centre in Douro-Dummer Township.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Rodenburg has consistently found innovative ways to connect people to nature, as well as to empower youth as agents of change. For his continued efforts, Mr. Rodenburg has been recognized through awards from Otonabee Conservation, the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication, the Ontario Society of Environmental Educators, and Ontario Nature.

Jacob Rodenburg’s vision, leadership and fundraising efforts were key to the establishment of the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre, one of Canada’s most sustainable buildings that showcases ‘green’ building techniques, and has spawned several curriculum-linked environmental programs. Since opening in 2009, the centre has welcomed and educated more than 27,000 elementary, and high school students.

Working with more than 40 organizations, Mr. Rodenburg also conceived, and founded the Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship – an innovative stewardship-fostering approach that identifies key experiences, or landmarks the community at large can deliver to children from the moment they are born, to when they graduate from high school.

In partnership with Trent University, Mr. Rodenburg was integral in the development of an environmental education training program from which more than 350 students and teachers have graduated. More recently, he was also key in the establishment of a national online environmental education program made available to faculties of education across Canada.

Having taught more than 100,000 students to date, Jacob Rodenburg frequently speaks before parent, teacher and community groups, showcasing how they can use local green spaces to connect children to nature. In addition, Mr. Rodenburg has written more than 75 articles on nature and environmental education and, together with Drew Monkman, co-authored a best-selling book entitled The Big Book of Nature Activities. More recently, Jacob Rodenburg published The Book of Nature Education, featuring no fewer than 70 sensory activities that serve to deepen, and strengthen a readers’ connection to nature.

Confirmation of any kind is a less-than-desirable state, in which to exist.  Bea Quarrie remains an example of a life spent championing the transformative power of what arts can achieve.  Bea is involved in all aspects of the arts, experiencing everything the world of drama offers in its many facets.

Bea’s theatrical experience extends a resume of over 150 productions as actor, director and producer; an award -winning director whose productions represented Canada at international festivals in Japan, Germany, Ciruba, Venezuela, and in her homeland.  For years, her expert theatre reviews appeared in The Peterborough Examiner.

Bea Quarrie found time to teach dramatic and visual arts at Lakefield College School.  Her expertise is acknowledged far beyond Peterborough but, thankfully, this community is beneficiary of her unique artistic vision.

• photo courtesy of Lance Anderson, MyKawartha.com