Inductees

“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

For many, music is a pleasant form of entertainment – a way of sharing with others and, for those of a creative bent, the means to express ideas and emotions in a clever, compelling manner. For Carol Wakeford, music is all of that, but also a way to touch people and be in tune with the rhythms and melodies of life itself.

For Carol Wakeford music, like breathing, is essential to human life.

Carol plays guitar and sings and – like breathing – writing songs and poems comes naturally to her. Over the years, she’s created thousands of compositions. More than six hundred of them have been registered with SOCAN, the international song publishing organization. More than 20 have been recorded by various artists in both Canada and Nashville.

However, it’s in sharing music that Carol truly shines. She’s a driving force behind ‘Kawartha Friends,’ a group of amateurs in the best sense of the word, and musicians who gather weekly in the Norwood area to share music, stretch writing talents and convey musical thought and emotion.

For Carol Wakeford, music could never be considered a one-dimensional experience. It’s a means of expression, entertainment, craftsmanship and, most importantly a way of reaching out and connecting with others.

And, connecting with one’s inner self.

Few can claim to equal Stephen Kylie for his dedication and service to his community. He devotes so many volunteer hours to all his various pursuits that it gives one pause to wonder when he has time to pursue his law practice.

Stephen Kylie is one of those people who finds a great deal of satisfaction knowing he is contributing to the well-being, and strength of his community.

Stephen’s vision of a better, caring place in which to live is reflected by the committees in which he is involved. His focus is always on those who require a better standard of housing and care.

At present, Stephen is Chair of the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network, as well as Chair of the Mount Community Centre. Both are challenging, and demanding responsibilities that Kylie handles with ease, together with an insight possessed by a select few.

Stephen Kylie proves, at every turn, that he is the man of the moment.

It is an impossibility to list Stephen’s volunteer pursuits, as space does not allow.

However we dare mention a few: Co-Chair of the Rotary Club Victoria Day Fireworks and Family Night (Peterborough); President of the Peterborough Diocese Good Shepard Foundation, and Vice-Chair of the Trent University Board of Governors – chairing the Executive and Property and Finance Committees.
He is widely respected among his peers as a pillar of the community and one who can be trusted to offer up thoughtful, caring advice on any problem presented and requested of him. As busy as he is, he always has time to help assist projects other than those which may be commanding his attention at any given moment.

Stephen Kylie’s greatest attribute is the complete devotion he freely offers to any, and all community or church project requesting his expertise.

It is because of people like Stephen Kylie, that our City and surrounding areas remain the jewels they are – and all, for his willingness to give of himself so unselfishly, in order to make it a better place in which to live, for all.

• photo courtesy Clifford Skarstedt, The Peterborough Examiner

Raymond Murray Schafer, born 1933, is one of Canada’s best known living composers. Perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World (1977).

His passion for the environment was captured in Patria, “a monumental operatic salute to nature.” His work, “Patria 3:The Greatest Show,” was performed in Peterborough’s Del Crary Park in 1987 and again, the following year. He was for many years the artistic director of the Peterborough Festival of the Arts. His writing includes his memoirs, ‘My Life on Earth and Elsewhere.’ His studies of musical theory since the 1960s have included the concepts of soundscape of schizophonia. To that end he coined the term ‘schizophonia’ in 1969; the splitting of a sound from its source, or the condition caused by this split: “We have split the sound from the maker of the sound.”

Among his many honours, Schafer was the first recipient of the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music in 1978 for String Quartet No. 2 ‘Waves.’ He was conferred with the Governor General Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2009, and was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2013.

As a healer, advocate and visionary, Peggy Shaughnessy has transformed the lives of thousands, her work buoyed by a fearless dedication to community care and wellness.

Those who know fully acknowledge that the world, and in particular our world here in Peterborough, is a better, safer and more soulful place because of Shaughnessy’s service, innovation and unwavering belief that every person, no matter their station life, has the right to heal.

“Peggy exemplifies the good neighbour,” assesses Cheryl Lyon.

“That member of the local community who looks around with compassion and a sense of justice, sees a need and steps up.”

In 2002, after her firsthand experience with the justice system, and while completing her Master’s thesis titled Friction Within The Machine: Aboriginal Prisoners Behind The Wall, Shaughnessy founded Whitepath Consulting.

Created to serve the 90 percent of people who never access help, its centrepiece was her RedPath Model, an emotional and social competency-based approach to healing that offers an alternative to traditional cognitive-behavioural therapies. Her mission was simple: connect the disconnected.

Five years later, Shaughnessy opened the Whistle Stop Café in downtown Peterborough. For 15 years thereafter, it was a warm and welcoming space that provided a sense of home, connection and dignity to people from all walks of life.

In the meantime, driven by the urgency of Peterborough’s opioid crisis, Shaughnessy co-founded Right to Heal, a grassroots initiative that brought her RedPath addictions treatment program to her hometown. Right to Heal offers free holistic out-patient care rooted in connection, community and cultural safety, all with a no-judgment approach. For more than two years now, the space has seen no overdoses and no calls for police. What it has seen is countless stories of transformation and hope.

Now working toward her Ph.D, Shaughnessy is a grandmother, a potter, a truth teller and a warrior for change. Whether quietly advocating on clients’ behalf, support Indigenous people before the courts, or working with women or men at risk, she is creating healing ripples that extend well beyond Peterborough to across Canada.

As her daughter Liz offers, Shaughnessy is “a seed planter,” laying the groundwork for others to carry forward her vision of wellness and dignity for all.

Her life is marked by tireless commitment to community service.

Elva Chamberlain’s philosophy seemed to be that making a difference didn’t have to involve ingenious or revolutionary ideas, but it did have to involve a steady, and cherished desire to make a difference in people’s lives.

The connection between music and community service seems a recurring theme in Peterborough. Elva began playing music by ear at an early age. Over the years, she volunteered her musical talents to entertain at long-term care facilities and retirement residences throughout the area, as well as church functions and other gatherings. Her schedule often included at least four performances per week.

What’s more, Elva’s love of sports and her accounting background made her a natural executive for such groups as bowling leagues, the Peterborough Curling Club and the Lawn Bowling Club. She also found time to work with the Royal Canadian Legion and the Air Force Association – also volunteering for Meals On Wheels. As more and more became aware of her special dedication to community, recognition began to come. Elva was awarded a Canada 125th Anniversary Confederation Commemorative Medal, the Gordon Holnbeck Award For Volunteer Service, a Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellowship, and the County of Peterborough Award for Volunteerism.

If you believe, as Robert Louis Stevenson once said, that a busy person never has time to be unhappy, then the seemingly permanent smile on Lois Tuffin’s face makes perfect sense.

Since relocating to the Peterborough region from Almonte in the late 1990’s to assume a newsroom position with Peterborough This Week, Lois Tuffin has rarely, if ever, remained idle.  Over the past 25 years, our inductee has put her exceptional and effective communication skills to work on behalf of several events, and organizations.

Presently a board member with the Council for Persons with Disabilities and a volunteer with Peterborough Food Share, Ms. Tuffin previously oversaw communications for the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network, Youth Emergency Shelter, the YMCA, and the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s Breaking Ground fundraising campaign. Starting in 2004, she was marketing co-chair for the Be A Goddess event for five years. In 2007, and again in 2019 the World Women’s Under-19 Field Lacrosse Championships benefitted greatly from Lois Tuffin’s skills as she attracted to the event unprecedented media attention while producing a daily newsletter for teams, and fans.

Long-term involvement with various initiatives has also been part, and parcel of Ms. Tuffin’s commitment to the betterment of people’s lives.

In 2009, via the pages of Peterborough This Week, she organized the Great Turkey Exchange that saw readers donate food for distribution to those who otherwise might go without a traditional Christmas meal. Now overseen by the East Peterborough Lions Club, more than 17,000 people have been helped to date. As a member of the board for The Mount Community Centre, Ms. Tuffin served in a variety of board positions for seven years, helping raise close to $3 million for the construction of much-needed affordable apartments.

And as a board member with Homegrown Homes from 2004 to 2010, Ms. Tuffin helped foster an important rebranding, and worked to restore the organization’s financial health.

Her volunteer involvement as a team player is noteworthy – but so too, are Lois Tuffin’s individual contributions that fall below the radar. Quickly closing in on 100 blood donations, Ms. Tuffin has worked one-on-one with newcomers from South America, helping them with their language skills and employment acquisition through her quiet involvement with the New Canadians’ Centre.

Unsurprisingly, Lois Tuffin has been duly recognized for her community service. In 2008, she was the recipient of a Peterborough Civic Award in the Sport Betterment category. The year prior, The Ontario Community Newspaper Association honoured our inductee with its Mary Knowles Community Leadership Award.

In the eyes of many, a writer’s life is a solitary one, locked away in a small room, alone with one’s thoughts and the creative process. However, when you add a dimension of reaching out and a willingness to touch others on a number of levels, then the life of a writer takes on a fresh and meaningful vitality. Gail Corbett is a writer who has reached out, as well as taken in.

As historical writer, Gail’s books, such as ‘Barnardo Children in Canada,’ ‘Portraits,’ ‘Country Churches,’ and ‘Katherine Wallis’ add much to our appreciation of local and national history. Her life is also one of passing-on and sharing the craft of writing. For over 20 years, she’s taught creative writing at Fleming College and conducted numerous lectures and workshops. Gail is also a compelling force, especially locally, with the Canadian Authors Association.

For those of us living in the Kawarthas, Gail has given two precious gifts; a sense of community for aspiring writers and a sense of our own history. It’s often said of history and tradition that what is not written down will be forgotten.

Gail Corbett has written it down, so we shall not forget.

Farmer, politician, visionary, and conservation advocate.  David Nelson McIntyre, of Otonabee Township, possesses all these vocations and attributes and because he does we’re the beneficiaries of his endeavours.  He’s actively involved in the establishment of Serpent Mounds Provincial Park, and very much the force behind Century Village (now known as Lang Century Village).  For his determination to preserve the past for the education and delight of future generations, we are very much in his debt.

Judy Lynn Heffernan served, for over sixteen years as the general manager of the Peterborough Community Futures Development Corporation. Community Futures provided access to capital, business consulting services and community economic development. Working with federal funding, Judy and others helped many organizations develop ideas and build upon initiatives. She helped small businesses and social enterprises maintain or create jobs and promote local prosperity. She gave solid advice to entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations and women seeking funding. She was active with the Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Canoe Museum, The Women’s Business Network, and other organizations. She was married to Roy Heffernan, and they had two daughters and four grandchildren.

• Photo by Christina Roberts Photography www.christinarobertsphotography.com

Robert John Ainsworth, real estate agent, chiefly based in Peterborough, Ontario, has been a successful playwright and member of the Playwright Guild of Canada. Since emigrating from Birmingham, England in 1980, he has collaborated in producing musicals and children’s plays, and has written plays such as Dirty Little Secrets, Autumn Leaves and The Mouse House. As well as being a director and actor with the Peterborough Theatre Guild, he has directed musicals for the St. James Players, for Trinity United Church. He has twice taken productions to the Eastern Ontario Drama League festivals, both times winning awards as best director. The Mouse House won as well for best Canadian play and best production. He has also won Awards of Merit from the Peterborough Real Estate Board and from the City of Peterborough for his contributions. His play The Mouse House won the award for best production in the Theatre Ontario all ontario festival in Sault Ste Marie. The play won 7 awards including best director for Robert.

Barry Haggarty, a singer and an acclaimed guitar player, has played with Ronnie Hawkins, Bentwood Rocker and the Family Brown as well as with his own group. He has been a guest with Shania Twain, k.d. lang, and Ian Tyson.

Since 1991, he has operated his superb recording studio, Haggarty Sound Studio, in Peterborough, and recorded an incredible range of talented artists. A highlight for him was recording in the Abbey Road Studios, of Beatles fame, where he recorded some of his own songs, such as ‘Hockey Town,’ ‘If These Walls Could Talk,’ and an instrumental guitar pick. The sound in his own studio is equally good, and he has recorded over 100 CDs and albums for countless projects, and given opportunities for great talent to record in superior facilities.

His outstanding album ‘Old Days’ was performed with notable backup, and besides the title track included ‘Give Me a Break’ and ‘Doesn’t Mean a Thing.’

Debi Fitzgerald was a rarity among us. She was fortunate to have the capacity to combine her artistic passion, love of nature and commitment to others, into her career.

She began her career at age 12, drawing animal portraits and was, at the time of her induction in 2003, a professional artist for more than 25 years. Her appreciation for detail and intuitive kinship with the fluidity of living things, gained her the title ‘Rose Lady’ during the ‘70’s and ‘Wolf Lady’ during the ‘80’s. In the 1990’s, she was twice named National Artist of the Year by Ducks Unlimited.

Her creations can be found in collections at Buckingham Palace, as well as major corporations and galleries around the world. She shared her works to raise funds for numerous charities and conservation groups.

It’s often said that art reflects life. With Debi Fitzgerald, it can also be said, art reflects the artist.

Debi Fitzgerald passed away following a battle with cancer June 13th 2016 in her 63rd year.

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.

As a retired Peterborough County OPP officer, David McNab is well acquainted with all things required to serve and protect. Beyond that, however, our Inductee committed himself to, and has acted upon in multiple ways, an obligation to help in any way possible.

McNab may have retired from policing in 2017 – but he hasn’t retired from a lifelong commitment to roll up his sleeves and get busy on behalf of someone else’s wellbeing. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the wheels turning in McNab’s head as he answers the self-directed question of “What I can do?” with a knowing smile as the answer comes to him.

If anyone has earned the moniker of global citizen, it’s David McNab. As an example, his commitment to the Peterborough settlement and integration of Syrian refugees is deep, and life-changing.

When Syrian children new to Canada – sponsored by McNab and his wife Kristy Hiltz – tried tobogganing for the first time, McNab rolled in the snow alongside them.

When teen Syrian refugee Rashid Sheikh Hassan pleaded to come to Canada to escape the civil war ravishing his country, David and Kristy navigated the red tape to make that happen, bringing him to Peterborough where a small network of like-minded people, McNab among them, made his successful integration their mission.

When a Kenyan woman couldn’t come up with the money to send her young son to school, McNab monetized videos depicting their life and Kenyan wildlife, sharing them on YouTube and raising the money needed for not only her son’s school supplies, but also the medicine she needed.

Closer to home, McNab’s kindness has made life better for many, going back to his tenured involvement with Cops For Cancer. McNab’s zest for life and desire to have fun doing whatever he tackles, remains as infectious as it is uplifting. In 2021, McNab issued a Ghost Pepper Eating Challenge, tears welling in his eyes as he and his challenger raised money for One City Peterborough. The next year saw McNab knit toques that he donated to the same organization and also sold to help those seeking shelter from the cold.

Unsurprisingly, McNab’s compassion for others, and his related actions, have brought him significant recognition. In 2021, he was awarded the YMCA Peace Medal, and this past March, Rotary named McNab a Paul Harris Fellow – the highest honour awarded by the international service club. Rashid spoke during that presentation, capturing perfectly, in near perfect English, the essence of his benefactor.

“This is a man who saved my life. I have never met someone like him. He’s kind. He helps people and he respects people. The world needs people like Mr. David.”

There have been many words used to describe Washboard Hank Fisher’s performing talents. Words such as “unique,” “different,” “silly,” and “funny” come to mind. However, one word that’s never been used to describe Hank’s performance is “boring!”

With stylish blends of vintage Country Music, hillbilly, undeniably original songs, and heaping helpings of energy and humour, Hank Fisher charms and delights audiences across North America. His numerous appearances on radio, television, in clubs and at festivals prove his music and showmanship know no boundaries of age or social status. With his trusty Strad o’Various, he raised the lowly washboard to lofty heights of art form. With abiding reverence for the best tradition of music and humour, he’s truly become an original.

A wise individual once defined life as what happens to you while you’re making other plans. Rarely has that observation hit home with more devastating clarity than in the lives of Syd, and Pamela Birrell.

A life in music and raising a family seemed to have been the original plan. Pamela found acclaim as a gifted coloratura soprano and shared her love for music through teaching. Syd became well-known as organist at Lakefield College, and Murray Street Baptist Church. He’s also a founder of the nationally-renowned Peterborough Singers.

Then life changed the plan.

In 1996, Pamela was diagnosed with breast cancer and, while recovering from chemotherapy, their son James was diagnosed with neuroblastoma.

Syd and Pamela’s lives changed forever. They became unceasing advocates on behalf of neuroblastoma research and how a family can retain a sense of humanity while going through the struggle of terminal cancer.

James, sadly, died in 2001. However, thanks to the Birrell family, his story spread around the world, inspiring thousands. James’ short life shines like a bright star in the often dark sky of cancer. Today the James Birrell Neuroblastoma Research Fund is a world leader in cancer research.

Perhaps when the final plan is written, the greatest accomplishment will be how Syd and Pamela, Ben and Rebecca can go through hell, and emerge with their humanity intact.

A few are fortunate in life, in that what is done for a vocation by its very nature can expand into hobbies and interests that can be shared with others.

Such is the case of public school teacher, Drew Monkman. He shares nature’s changing seasons with those he teaches by having his students become more conscious of the environment, and how each has a part to play in preserving it. He preserves his passion for nature, as well, on film as he is an expert photographer capable of capturing new beginnings in flowers, birds or trees.

Drew Monkman is familiar to many readers of The Peterborough Examiner as he writes of his birding tours, or to seek signs of early spring among the wild flowers found growing in Peterborough County. He writes of these experiences so well that many readers are compelled to take up his wonderment with the inspiring world around us, and begin their own treks to expand their personal knowledge of nature.

• photo courtesy The Peterborough Examiner

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

For a true actor, performance isn’t simply something you do at an appointed time, at an appointed place. For a free spirit performance, like a stage of life, knows no boundaries. It’s in the air, like breath itself. When boundlessness of performance comes to mind, so too does the memory of Alan Nunn.

Alan began his life pursuit, on stage, by attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London following World War II. An acting life took him all over Britain and North America. He trod the boards for such illustrious companies as The Old Vic, Birmingham Repertory Company and both Stratford and Shaw Festivals, to name a few. He served as house manager at O’Keefe Centre, and taught theatre at Seneca College. Settling in Peterborough, he utilized performance as a means of engaging community members. Alan founded the Lakefield Readers Theatre, taught Shakespeare, read to seniors, wrote the historical mystery ‘M’Kenzie’s Cloak’ for young people, and recorded books for the CNIB.

Alan Nunn’s love of theatre and performance is an inherent part of his spirit and life force. For Alan, the stage wasn’t a division that divided performer from audience. Rather, it was a river that joined all of us in the flow of life.

Randy Read’s involvement in theatre began in 1975, while a student at Trent University.  He worked with Peterborough Theatre Guild, Kawartha Summer Theatre, Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, and the Canadian Stage Company.

While continuing his work in Toronto, Mr. Read has maintained his to the Peterborough area.  With a world of experience, in 1997 and assisted by backers and new developments such as Showplace, Randy Read founded Peterborough’s New Stages Theatre Company, a local professional company “bringing compelling stories to life on stage.”  New Stages presented works and readings at Showplace and Market Hall Theatre.  In 2010, he played the role of Champlain for Little Lake Cemetery Pageant.

As Artistic Director of New Stages he works to give area residents a rare opportunity to see many of Canada’s top actors and singers perform on stage at Showplace and Market Hall.  Whenever possible, Mr. Read mixes local actors in productions with seasoned professionals.  He’s been a director with the Theatre Guild, and has served as a judge for several events.

Randy Read continues to contribute time and energy to help amateur groups and young thespians.  Peterborough is lucky to have a theatre professional promoting the arts in our city.

Harry Pott is a much admired volunteer who brings enthusiasm and skill to every activity. Except for a stint in the army, until 1958 Harry’s life revolved around farming in Manitoba. After a visit to Peterborough, he decided to stay to be a carpenter until retiring in 1981.

He has been teaching line dancing, taught fitness and swimming to mentally handicapped children, and has been an organizer for major seniors events, such as the Happy Gang seniors and carpet bowling.

Mr. Pott has served on the St. Giles Church Board of Managers since 1968.

If you look at Pathway of Fame nomination form, the criterion for Community Samaritan category reads, “one who is ready and generous in helping others.” Una and Alan Golding were a pair who readily and generously helped others. As a couple, as well as individually, they were also proof that what is important isn’t the magnitude of the act, it’s the magnitude of the heart behind them.

Una, and her late husband Alan were both veterans of World War II and, for years, were involved, energetic members of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 52: Una as Branch secretary and Alan as youth education representative. Alan was also active with Smith Township Historical Society and Una, the chief organizer of the immensely popular Seniors Picnic every June at Del Crary Park.

Both were involved in organizing numerous seniors’ luncheons and events. For nearly two decades, they volunteered with Meals On Wheels and gave generously of their time and energy with Peterborough Community Care.

In their unselfish and caring way, Una and Alan Golding have made Peterborough area a better place in which to live. Now a widow, Una continues that proud tradition.

Alan Golding passed in 2019.

For over 30 years Bill Downer performed before Peterborough and area audiences; few entertainers enjoyed the respect and admiration Bill did. His love of music and the audience, before which he performed, always shone through.

‘Bill Downer and the Country Playboys’ charmed audiences of all ages for over 50 years with their unique style of country swing. Always willing to lend a helping hand, Bill and The Country Playboys were generous with their time to assist local causes and entertain seniors and hospital patients.

To be a popular influential figure in Canadian Country Music doesn’t necessarily mean you have to play and sing. To that end, Jim Higgins made remarkable contributions to local Country Music without ever picking up a guitar.

As broadcaster, promoter and executive, he introduced local and international performers to the area and broadened the appreciation of the music form among fans and followers.

Over the years, Jim became a familiar figure through his cable TV show, The World of Country Music, and his Classic Country radio show. He’s also influential in establishing the Victoria County Music Association and organizing The Grand Ole Night of Country Music at Academy Theatre. As well, he’s been a driving force behind many charity benefit shows in aid of worthy causes. Outside of music and broadcasting,

Jim is a also busy executive with the Peterborough Lakers, promoting lacrosse throughout the Kawartha region.

Jim Higgins is living proof that word of mouth, from the right mouth, can get the message across in music and community service.

Usually, when a caring citizen does volunteer work, it’s for one or two causes and for a reasonable period of time.

Joe Whetung never put much stock in that approach.

For nearly 60 years, Joe volunteered his time, talent and energy to more than 30 causes and organizations. For Joe Whetung, volunteering is a lifelong commitment.

Joe was born with cerebral palsy. However, rather than allow it to become a deterrent, Mr. Whetung used it as a basis for observation. He couldn’t play sports, but he watched the coaches – and learned to be an exceptional coach himself. He also became a student of organizational structure and procedure. Along with his day jobs working with numbers, Joe became an invaluable addition to many organizations.

It’s an abiding truth that the success of any group lay in its structure, and management – ensuring that ‘the numbers’ are right. The organizations and projects that have benefited from Joe’s talents and dedication are many, and varied. Benefactors of Joe’s expertise were the Fair Boards of Peterborough and Lakefield, parks and recreation committees, Scouts Canada, O.R.C.A., men’s softball and the Salvation Army Christmas Hamper Program, among many others.

An enthusiastic student of First Nations’ history, Joe’s ability to trace the Whetung family back several centuries, is stuff of legend.

“Use what you have, to do what you can” serves as a sum of Joe Whetung’s volunteer philosophy. For Joe, volunteering is a way to do good, improve lives and make friends.

Not a bad life philosophy, is it?

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.

It never ceases to amaze how great accomplishments arise from small beginnings.

Many years ago, when Belmont Townships single-room school experienced difficulty keeping a teacher for an entire school year, Don Clark decided to get involved. That led to almost 40 years of public service to the Peterborough area. Don’s first love has always been the betterment of educational opportunities for young people. For close to four decades, he served on various school boards, including two terms as Chair of Peterborough County Board of Education.

Not confining his volunteering solely to education, he’s been Gideon Bible Society member, board of governors member of Civic Hospital, Citizens’ Advisory Committee at Warkworth Institution, Crowe Valley Conservation Authority, Peterborough Housing Authority and Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Police Services Board. He served municipally as councilor, and reeve for Belmont-Methuen. Don has also been a volunteer driver for Canadian Cancer Society and Havelock Community Care.

In recognition of his incredible community involvement, Don was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for public service. For 40 years, if Don Clark had any spare time, you can be assured we were the beneficiaries of it.

From the outside looking in, it would seem the Guild Hall on Rogers Street in East City is the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s most valuable asset.

While its longtime ownership of the live theatre space has reaped a huge benefit for the guild, there’s something else equally vital at play within its historic walls – the combined theatrical experience of those who have unselfishly led by example, all while mentoring those who will brandish the torch for many years to come.

Countless directors, actors and behind-the-scenes production volunteers have greatly benefitted from the fact that Jerry Allen didn’t exit stage left long ago and, in fact, has remained very passionate about his craft.

A lifetime member of the guild, Allen, as both an actor and director, has habitually, and happily, guided and mentored countless people over the past 40 years-plus. As a past chair of both the guild board and the play selection committee, his leadership, and passion for all things theatre, has ensured the guild’s vitality as the hub of community theatre activity in Peterborough.

Actress Kate Suhr, who was cast by Allen for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Sound of Music, still marvels over “the passion Jerry pours into everything he does,” adding “His belief in me meant more than I can express.”

“Jerry was generous with his time, was endlessly patient, and was not just a director but a true mentor – supportive, encouraging and always ready to help me grow.”

Allen’s directorial debut came in 1983 when he brought Our Town to the stage; his most recent turn as director was for Outside Mullingar in February 2025. In between, Allen directed 13 guild productions, with The Beauty Queen of Leenane earning Best Play honors from the Eastern Ontario Drama League.

To each of these productions, Allen brought his vision for the set, all technical aspects and each character portrayal. As for his commitment, that has been fully evident in countless hours spent at The Guild Hall over the course of months prior to opening night.

And Jerry’s gift and passion has extended beyond the Peterborough Theatre Guild stage. In an effort to see more young people interested in live theatre, Jerry began the extra-curricular challenge of mounting a bi-annual Broadway musical at St. Peter’s Secondary School. That was in 1991, with the production moving to the Showplace stage 7 years later. The bi-annual tradition continues, to this day.

“It’s always a joy and a privilege to work with Jerry,” offers actor Luke Foster, adding “He knows how to create a show into an experience for everyone involved, so the audience can escape for a couple of hours and go where Jerry wants to take them.”

Need proof of that? Take in the Allen-directed Guild production of Where You Are this coming January. Yes, Allen is still at, and Peterborough’s community theatre footprint remains all the better for it.

Upon reviewing the long list of John and Stephanie MacDonald’s numerous community affiliations and contributions to Peterborough life as we know it, one question comes to mind before all others…

Just where did they find the time?

Between raising a family, serving Westdale United Church in a variety of capacities and serving as school principals respectively as lifelong educators – Stephanie still teaches with Trent University’s School of Education – our inductees made the time as opposed to finding it, solidifying their stellar reputations as respected leaders in the community. Their involvement alone, ensured projects and initiatives had the best chance of success.

A lifelong member of the local YMCA, John MacDonald chaired its Capital Campaign, and brought the same leadership qualities to his chairmanship of boards for both Fleming College and the former Peterborough Civic Hospital. John was also a founding director of what is now the Peterborough Innovation Cluster, a member of the YMCA Canada national board of directors, and served at Five Counties Children’s Centre for close to 10 years, including time as its finance chair.

As one would expect, John’s contributions didn’t go unrewarded. Honours bestowed upon him include the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the local Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award, and Canada’s 125th Anniversary Commemorative Medal for Community Services. For his 34 years as a volunteer trainer for Telecare Canada, John was also duly recognized.

Stephanie MacDonald, meanwhile, left her own mark on the many organizations and causes she selflessly stepped up to support. The founding chair of Peterborough’s Block Parent Program, she also served on boards for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough, the local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, and Peterborough Community Care. Also ensured success through her involvement were Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival, Fairhaven Home and, in tandem with her husband John, the YMCA Capital Campaign.

As noted by their nominator, John and Stephanie respectively, and selflessly gave of their time and talents “with a smile on their faces, open hearts and hands dedicated to helping others,” bringing to bear, in the words of another supporter three foundational factors which lead to “successful and resilient community building – participation, relationships and empathy.”

John MacDonald passed away on New Years’ Eve, 2022 in his 83^rd year.