Columnist celebrates 10 wonderful years of Gravenhurst activities

Congratulations to Bill Flavell, who recently celebrated 35 years in lay ministry. Bill served as a lay minister in churches in Malton and Brampton before coming to live in Gravenhurst. He has been lay minister at St. James Anglican Church for the past 14 years.

Bill was the rector’s warden at St. Hugh’s Anglican Church in Malton when the minister developed laryngitis and requested that Bill take the service. There was no turning back and Bill was presented with his licence as a lay reader in January 1973.

Both Bill and his wife Helen have been extremely active in churches and the community wherever they have lived and have brought that energy and dedication to Gravenhurst. Congratulations Bill on 35 years of service.

The monthly Men’s Christian Fellowship Breakfast will be held on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 8 a.m. at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church Hall. The guest speaker will be Rob Knighton, pastor from Bracebridge.

The Annual Ryde Heart and Stroke Auction will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. sharp in the Fellowship Hall at the Ryde Free Methodist Church. Tea, coffee and lunch will be served by the Housey’s Rapids ladies. Come early to preview the items and bring an item to be donated to the auction.

The Valentine’s Day Luncheon hosted by the Ladies Auxiliary, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 302 will be held on Thursday, Feb. 14 from noon to 2 p.m. Advance tickets are available for $6 at the branch or through Linda Courtney at 687-7882. The lunch will consist of soup, sandwiches and dessert.

Along with a large number of Gravenhurst residents, I will miss the friendly wave and smile of Cliff Rupert, who passed away on Jan. 25. I first met Cliff many years ago when I talked to him about one of his bicycles that was adorned with lights, horns, antennas, bells and every accessory possible to fit on a bike.

He had a great passion for hockey, especially the Toronto Maple Leafs and proudly wore his Leafs jacket covered with pins. When he received a new pin, he’d always let you know and pointed it out. We’ll always remember Cliff with the friendly wave and smile whenever you met him!

The Gravenhurst Horticultural Society will be holding its next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Gravenhurst Seniors Centre.

This month’s guest speaker will be Jim Lynch for Communities in Bloom. Jim is the chairperson of the CIB Provincial Conference to be held in Gravenhurst Sept. 12 through 14.

Ten years ago this week, I wrote my first column “In The Spotlight” in the Gravenhurst Banner that appeared on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 1998. That’s 520 columns ago!

I’ve visited with many interesting people over the past 10 years, covered a variety of events and special occasions, some happy and some sad ones. I have thoroughly enjoyed covering the many events that make Gravenhurst a special place to live.

Until next week, remember: The only reason that people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.