Norfolk Hub Magazine, October 2015

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October 2015 Volume 3 Issue 10

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NorfolkKalCommodore.com Hub September 2015

Ike Hewitt 1916 ~ 2015

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Ike Hewitt, 2009. Inset April 1941. met Ike Hewitt September 2009 and my life changed.

Ike passed away recently; he was in his 100th year! He was without a doubt the most amazing man I have ever met. A friendship started when we sat down in 2009 for his interview, one that I have cherished from that day on. His survival during World War II was incredible and with his passing I wanted to dedicate this month’s magazine to him and share his story with you.

In addition to the previous articles, there was an act of kindness on Ike’s part that was yet to be printed and I wanted to share it with you. At the time, Ike requested that it stay just between the two of us.

Well Ike, after discussing it with your daughter, I think it is time to let folks know a little more about one event that helped shape your life.

Let’s step back in time once again… it was late in the war and…

The German Army was ordered to shoot all the airmen.

Ike explained that two German officers approached him in the prisoner of war camp he was in. They informed Ike and his buddy about the order and made it clear that they were not killers. The officers told them to line up in front of them and they would shoot above their heads. Ike and his comrade were to fall down as if they were shot.

The order was rescinded before Ike had to go through with the plan, as the German Army refused to carry out the command.

A few weeks later, one of the German soldiers returned and told Ike that he, the German soldier, was being sent to the front. He asked if Ike would write him a letter stating that he had spared Ike’s life. The German soldier would use this letter should he be caught on the frontline. Ike wrote the note and sure enough not September long after, 2015 the German Norfolkofficer Hub was captured and handed in

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Ike’s letter. The German officer, who could speak a number of different languages, then helped the allies in the war effort.

But the story does not end there. In the back of Ike’s journal there was a letter in which someone thanked Ike for helping his family. I asked who the Canadian soldier was that he helped.

He stood quiet for a moment and said, “Remember the German officer I told you about?” Ike had helped him out.

The German soldier had nothing after the war; his family had no home or food. Ike didn’t want the story printed because he didn’t want folks to think he was sympathising with the enemy. I looked at him and said, “Ike, that is called compassion for a fellow human being.”

Ike always told me that he was just doing his job. The enemy was just doing theirs. He never considered himself a hero. He just did what he needed to survive, to stay alive one more day…

When our conversation finished that day in 2009, Ike revealed that he had never told anyone the whole story before me. I asked why he chose me? He looked at me and said, “I trust you.” Our friendship was born!

Since 2009 I continued to pop in for tea with Ike. His door was always open and our conservations were always interesting.

Not many of us make new friends with folks who are in their 90’s, but you know we are missing out. We all need to sit and listen, to learn, to appreciate and understand a different era, to honour our history. Ike was a humble man who stuck to his beliefs. He was compassionate and kept an open mind, something we could all learn about today!

Please read on for Ike’s story taken from the Norfolk Hub, November 2009.

Dave Scott KalCommodore.com

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Norfolk Hub, The Magazine

23 Market Street, Unit #9, Box 1501 Port Dover ON N3Y 4K2 Phone: (519) 428-1777 Publishers: Dave & Monica Scott editor@norfolkhub.ca www.norfolkhub.ca Any reproduction of this publication without permission is prohibited.

Opinions and comments within this publication are those of the writers and not necessarily that of Sports Norfolk or the Norfolk Hub.

WWII veteran, Ike Hewitt, with his daughter on Remembrance Day 2014.

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September 2015 Norfolk Hub

This is Ike’s Story I ~ By Dave Scott

t all started back in 1940. Ike was 22, working at the

Woolen Mill in Simcoe and living on the Cockshutt outside of Port Dover. The war came along and Ike joined the Air Force. He felt it was his duty. He was shipped out to Calgary for training. Conditions were tough and the men had small quarters to rest in, but the airmen made the best of it. Before long, Ike was shipped back to Ontario to finish his training at a facility just south of St. Thomas. After the training was completed, the call came and they were shipped out on (of all things) two ocean liners. The battleship HMS Rodney escorted them. It was the job of HMS Rodney to protect the liners from German U-boats that would quietly slide along below, through the waters of the Atlantic.

The Atlantic proved to be a formidable foe and the crossing took seven days. The troops arrived on the shores of Scotland and quickly boarded a train to begin the journey to London.

The men arrived to the constant sounds of the night bombings, which were taking its toll on the once beautiful city.

Ike and the boys grew accustomed to the nightly bombing.

The Air Force men continued with their operational training.

The crews were picked to fly the mighty, seven man, Manchester Bomber. Ike was appointed to be a wireless operator. The team set about to practice squadron flying over the North Sea. Everyday the men would sit and eat their breakfast, which was served, Ike said, by some very beautiful women. He tells me that as much as the men asked the ladies out, none of the girls would ever take them up on the offer. It was well known that only one in seven of the men would survive so there was no sense starting a relationship.

The morning of December 18, 1941, Ike went to grab his parachute as he prepared for the day’s mission. He looked in his locker and his harness was missing from his parachute. He scrambled to get another, asking for the smallest one they had.

He was successful, even if it was big on him. Little did he know at the time, just how important that harness would be later that day. The men were sent out to do a daylight harbour bombing, because the German battleships were in the French Port of Brest.

Forty-six aircraft (three squadrons) were sent to support the British Navy against the German battleships.

The flak that day was very heavy. Ike’s Bomber was the last to go in and drop its load. The Germans were ready for them.

An explosion occurred above the Manchester, destroying the hatch at the top of the aircraft. Ike wondered what the hell was going on. The Manchester dropped its bombs, hitting one of the German battleships. The aircraft was under heavy fire.

Being hit three times, the plane was unable to turn and head for home. The pilots had no control of the plane and were headed into the eye of the enemy. Two German planes appeared from behind and opened fire on the helpless Manchester. The pilot, mid-upper gunner, and a crew member were killed and the tail gunner fatally wounded. With the plane on fire, the order came to abandon the aircraft. Ike was up in the front turret and turned to the escape hatch, which was on the floor of the plane just a little behind him. The co-pilot and engineer had already jumped and their parachutes were open as they floated down.

Ike tried to get to the 19-year-old tail gunner who was a good

friend from London. He wanted to comfort and stay with him as he was dying, but the fire was so bad, he could not reach him.

Ike opened the escape hatch and sat on the edge. His socks and shoes were blown off as he struggled to tighten the large harness. Then he jumped with the big harness and parachute on and hurled towards the sea. His chute opened and his body jolted. He watched as the fiery plane continued on, smoke billowing. As Ike continued his descent towards the sea, a German plane spotted him. The aircraft was bearing down on him. Ike thought he was done, closed his eyes and prepared for what he thought would be his last few seconds on this earth. All at once a “heck of a draft” hit his chute, blowing him sideways and the plane missed. With the water fast approaching, Ike turned the button on the harness, released the chute and dropped quickly to the sea. Feet first plummeting deep into the water, Ike reached across his chest and inflated his life jacket.

He slowly reached the surface of the water. For six hours, six long hours in the sea, Ike fought large waves as he tried to stay awake with a small wound to his ankle from shrapnel. It was cold and night was setting in. Near exhaustion… Ike simply blacked out, not awakening until the next day.

Ike was told that he was picked up after 6 p.m. that evening by a French fishing boat being run by Germans. The next day when Ike awoke, he found himself laid out on a bench with a blanket on him and surrounded by heated rocks. The French engineers on the vessel heated the rocks (used on the boat for ballast) by the diesel engines and placed them around Ike to give his cold, sopping wet body a little heat.

The boat docked in the Bay of Biscay on the West Coast of France. With nothing on his feet, in an inch of snow, Ike was taken to the German base where he met one of the men who had shot his plane down just the day before. He was put into a room, where he slept and was given a bowl of soup. The next day Ike and some other prisoners were handed over to the Gestapo and were placed on a train for Frankfurt, Germany. Once there, they were questioned by the Gestapo for three days. Facing question after question, the airmen all lied to keep their captors from knowing any of the truths regarding the allied forces. The Gestapo tried tactics of making the room extremely hot and then extremely cold. The prisoners did not buckle and finally, they were placed on a train with no heat. The train headed north and the prisoners drifted off to sleep. In the morning when they awoke, the train was stopped. It was freezing. Slowly, they scratched away the frost on the window and were able to make out that they were on a hill overlooking a valley. They peered out through the glass. Ike believed he could see people crawling on the ground in the snow. A German soldier on the train appeared and ordered the men to back away from the window. What our men were seeing was the concentration camp, Dachau. They saw people of Jewish descent crawling on the ground… and well, much worse. It was a memory that remained etched in Ike’s mind forever.

The train continued on to Moosburg where close to 10,000 men were interned. Ike said it was horrible; no heat in the barracks, but a lot of fleas. This was where Ike would spend the next year of his life. It has been said that this camp had men from over twenty-seven different countries in it. “Hell of a place!” Bunks were old bags with wood shavings in them. They had only cabbage soup with no meat, three or four potatoes, a mint tea and a 1/5 of a loaf of black bread, which contained “tree flour” (wood sawdust) as one of the ingredients. That was it, all they had to eat. This was the Norfolk beginning of three and half years Hub September 2015

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of Ike’s life he could never get back.

That summer, typhus ran rampant and Ike remembered the Red Cross coming and inoculating the British soldiers in their upper bellies. One man refused on religious grounds and a few weeks later he passed away.

As quick as they had arrived a year earlier, all the air force men at the camp were moved. Ike figured about one hundred of them marched down where they were loaded into boxcars on a train. The boxcar itself was as barren as the land that had been ravaged by war, with not even so much as a bucket to relieve oneself. There were fifty men in each, and the doors were locked. There was just a ray of light trickling in from a small hole covered by wire in the top corner of the car. The airmen knew not where they were going.

The trip ended and the men found out they were in Bavaria.

They were ordered from the train and marched to a camp where they were told to strip and tie their clothes in a bundle. It was late October and cold. Ike recalled that the men were placed in a room, which appeared to be a shower. The group slowly looked up at the ceiling, eyeing the tiny holes… no one said a word, but everyone knew what the other was thinking. Was this it? Was this the way his life would end? Would a lethal gas slip from the tiny holes? Ike said a huge sigh went up when water poured down upon the men. Again Ike had escaped with his life.

At the camp, the men stayed in huts, twelve in each and life went on. They all got along pretty well, and for the next few years, this was where Ike stayed. At that time he received a book, it was a diary and Ike started to record his days at the camp. Ike passed the days by swapping his smokes with men so they would contribute to his diary. Some were artists who drew pictures, others perhaps wrote about the day’s events, a few fellows painted pictures, and there were even some camera photos that were placed in there as well. The log became his salvation. Ike even had a fellow prisoner forge a stamp and place it on one of the first pages to protect it from being taken by the Germans. The stamp itself was carved from a rubber sole of a shoe, by a fellow prisoner and it looked remarkably professional - enough to fool any German solider who spotted it. The stamp in German, simply said that the book was okay.

The log would continue with Ike wherever he went for the rest of the war; tucked under his shirt and only taken out when he was sure he was in safe company.

Mail from home was few and far between. Ike found it hard to receive mail. It made him think about home and well, he just didn’t want to think about what he couldn’t have.

The men looked forward to the Red Cross packages and the little food that came in them. Without it, they felt they would have starved. They basically were fed watered down cabbage soup as their main meal.

The troops had to keep their minds busy. Some of the boys from London had been actors before entering the service and put together the occasional play. There was also a band that had been captured in Dunkirk and the Germans had allowed them to keep their instruments. A New Zealand professor took to teaching math to the men. With what little equipment they had, they would attempt to indulge in any sports activity they could, but that was never easy with a camp of 7,500 men. On one occasion some of the men stole an empty wooden beer barrel from the Germans. They proceeded to make their own distillery using the raisins and prunes from their Red Cross packages to make their own form of alcohol. “The only problem was during

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September 2015 Norfolk Hub

the warm weather when the flies were crazy,” Ike said with a laugh and then he talked about the time they got caught by a German guard. So they offered him a drink and, “It damn near floored him…”

Things were very tough and nothing was wasted. The guys would make their own cups and plates out of tin cans that were sent in the Red Cross packages.

Things took another turn in July 1944. The top officer of the prisoners of war (POW) asked Ike to round up the Canadian soldiers, telling Ike the commandant wanted to see them. Ike gathered the other six guys and off they went. The commandant told Ike and the men that because of how humane the Canadians were treating the German prisoners of war back in Canada, Berlin was offering the Canadian soldiers a chance to stay on German farms for the rest of the war. They would reside there and they didn’t have to work, just stay there.

The commandant left it up to the men to decide and said he would return in fifteen minutes and wanted their answer.

Ike knew something wasn’t right… word around camp a few days earlier had been that Hitler wanted to shoot all the air force men because of the heavy bombing that was going on. Ike knew if they went to a farm, there was a good chance they would be killed. He told the commandant, no thank you. The commandant was not happy with this answer and two days later all of the air force men were put into a boxcar and moved again.

It was hot being locked in a boxcar in the middle of summer. The temperature was crazy and there was no food for three days. Finally they stopped to feed them… soup, of course! The men lined up to receive their soup and thanked the ladies serving it. As they returned to the train another train pulled in across from Ike’s.

It was there that Ike spotted a young wounded German soldier.

The German soldier asked if they were POWs. When the boys said they were, the German soldier said, “Don’t worry you will be going home soon.”

The POWs wandered carefully over and started to talk to him. He told them the war was just about over and he felt they would be returning to their families soon. As the conversation wound down, the doors of the boxcar started to close. Before getting on, one of the POWs lit a cigarette and gave it to the young German soldier. The soldier thanked them.

Ike stopped his story and turned to me, “You hate, like hell, war… He was just doing his job. Like we were doing ours.”

The doors closed and the train chugged on towards Poland.

Finally reaching their destination, the train stopped and the men were forced to march an additional five miles to another camp.

This one was just being built. Ike remembered seeing soldiers who were recently captured. Their uniforms were decently clean and the men looked fit. One of the newly captured soldiers told Ike that when they saw him and the men coming, they wondered if they were leftover soldiers from the First World War… Ike laughed and said, “Same clothes on from when we were shot down. The ass of my pants was so thin you could read the paper through them!”

A painting in Ike Hewitt’s diary painted by a fellow This camp was another hellhole. The huts were less than six feet, just a hole for an entrance, no door, no windows, wood floor and seven men crowded in them to sleep. The group took turns sleeping with their feet sticking outside; it was that small. There was no place for them to go. The barracks were finally built in late October. By December the Red Cross packages had stopped coming, and the men were surviving on next to no food. The calendar turned to a new year and on January 15, 1945, it was as cold as hell. It was snowing with a fairly strong northeast wind when the German soldiers gathered the men and informed them they were marching them out. Just then the sky began to roar and two Russian fighter planes buzzed the camp. They were so close you could see the faces of the pilots. The POWs scattered, not knowing what was happening. The Russian planes bombed the German headquarters just down the road from the camp.

A bomb exploded less then three hundred yards from their barracks, blowing out the windows. Ike and his mates jumped for cover under the bunks as the rain of bombs continued.

The next morning the Germans started the POWs on a threeweek forced march with no food in the middle of January and with nothing more then the clothes on their backs. They walked at night to avoid Russian aircraft; 1,500 men with no water, afraid to drink from the local wells in fear they had been poisoned by the Russians. These brave men, reduced to literally, licking the dew off the morning ground in order to get some form, any form, of water into their system. They grabbed and ate a plant known as sugar beets as they continued the march that was slowly sucking the life from their bodies. Sleeping on the ground and hoping to God they awoke.

With so little food and basically eating anything they could find, about 800 of the men came down with dysentery. Ike remembered walking for days in his own faeces. The guards would not let them stop. The smell was overwhelming but giving up was not an option, death was not an option.

They pushed on.

Finally they arrived at a train station where they spent a few days in a boxcar, no food, no water. Sixty men in each car, not even enough room to sit.

Everyone was ill. Their shoes and socks were filled with their own waste. At long last they were taken off the train.

These brave men staggered another mile to the next camp, located roughly forty miles outside of Berlin. Tired and barely alive, they were first turned away. Many might have perished right there, if not for a British doctor who convinced the commanding German officer to take the men in. Finally the frail men were let in and provided with a cold shower. Their clothes somewhat cleaned, the men were told to lie on a cold floor and that is where they stayed.

The camp ran out of food. The situation was worsening daily, until one night the German soldiers deserted the camp.

POW. The date was April 23, 1945.

Shortly after, an American appeared in an armoured vehicle and told the men that trucks would be arriving soon to take them away. Unfortunately the next day, in came the Russians.

The POWs were put back into prisoner mode and made to stay at the camp. Well, Ike had had enough. After three and a half years of captivity he decided to plot his escape. A young Nova Scotia fellow named Mac asked if he could go along and Ike agreed.

That night, the two crawled out on their backs through a hole in the fence and headed into a field where only a few days earlier the Gestapo had roamed. The two knew they were about forty miles from safety. They set out travelling at night to avoid any soldiers. Finally on the third day they heard something coming.

They jumped and hid in the bushes. It was a jeep. Slowly it drew closer. Ike could finally make out the marking. It was, YES! an American jeep with the star proudly on the hood.

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men scurried from the bushes to stop the jeep. They started to yell to get the jeep to stop. The driver stopped and pulled out his machine gun asking who they were. Ike and Mac replied that they were Canadian POWs. The American asked Mac, “Where you from?”

Mac responded, “Nova Scotia,” “I don’t know where that is,” replied the American. He asked the same question to Ike. Ike proudly stated, “From Simcoe, Ontario.”

The solider half smiled at Ike and asked what highway went through Simcoe.

Ike looked back and said, “There’s only one, Highway 3.”

The American started to laugh and said that he was from Buffalo and he had been through SIMCOE many times on his way to his uncle’s in Detroit.

Ike and Mac hopped in the jeep and were taken to an American outpost where Ike eyed up a fellow enjoying the biggest, juiciest, roast beef sandwich he had ever seen. It had been three and a half years since Ike had meat. He could not take his eyes off of the sandwich.

The solider asked Ike, “Would you like one?”

Ike took a bite and immediately got sick. His body rejected the meat and white bread instantly.

The new American friend then took our two men to a local bridge. He pointed out that they could catch a ride with one of the trucks and get a lift to the base. Just as this was happening, Mac spotted a couple of his buddies who were coming down the road. Mac said his goodbye and headed out with the men

in the opposite direction of Ike. For the first time in three and a half years, there stood Ike alone… all at once it hit him… he had survived. Over the years as a prisoner, he simply lived one day at a time choosing not to think about home, living on next to no food, sleeping on floors, no washroom facilities ever, watching men die, living with disease and illness, wondering if today would be his last.

He was alive. His strength drained from this body. He simple sat down. It was over and he began to cry… he was FREE! In our lives we have a lot to be thankful for… our freedom to make choices, to speak our mind, to vote. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to live in a country that values democracy. So the next time you have an opportunity, remember to thank our veterans for all they have given up, so that we can live in peace. Lest we forget.

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Yard & Gardens

By Dave Zeldon

GETTING YOUR YARD & GARDENS READY FOR WINTER

N

ow is the time to prep our outdoor landscapes for coming cold weather. The following are some tips

to get your yard winter-ready so your spring will be a little more pleasant for you.

Up to half of the annual fertilizer requirement may be applied to landscape plants, after top growth ceases.

Autumn is a major root growth period for woody and herbaceous perennials. Roots will grow and absorb nutrients whenever soil temperatures remain above 5 째C. Rodent bait stations should be placed out by now in grassy fence rows, near weedy patches and along walkways between buildings. With all the seeds and fruit available this time of year, rodents are breeding heavily and building up their numbers.

With autumn mowing practices you have the opportunity for the addition of much needed organic matter for your lawn which is also an excellent source of slow release nutrients. Keep mower blades sharp since leaves can be tougher than grass. Raise the mower height up and mow leaves when they are lightly wet (e.g. morning dew). This will keep the leaves from blowing all over and will prevent the mower from getting bogged down in wet leaves.

Mulching is one of the simplest and most beneficial practices you can do for your garden. Just by simply placing a protective layer of material over the bare soil will benefit the soil as it decomposes providing the much needed organic matter which improves root growth, the infiltration of water and the nutrient-holding capacity of the soil while reducing soil erosion.

Also a good layer of mulch allows the soil to warm more slowly in the spring, so perennials aren't fooled into breaking dormancy too early, as you want the ground to stay cold until it really is spring!

To reduce winter injury in evergreens, a couple of things could be done: 1. Try constructing a barrier of burlap or similar material on the south, southwest, and windward sides of evergreens.

2. Keeping evergreens properly watered throughout the growing season and into the fall is another way to reduce winter injury. Decrease watering slightly in September to encourage hardening off, then water thoroughly in October until freeze814 Cockshutt Road, Simcoe, up. Also, an anti-desiccant or anti-transpirant spray may be 1 km south of Renton recommended to prevent winter burn.

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IN THE

LONG RUN

A Winner Runs Through It “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”

Haruki Murakami

~ By Charlie Upshall

T

he quote is from, “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running,” an enjoyable little book that was lent to me a few years ago by a friend when I was in England.

Why do we put our bodies and minds through so much on a regular basis? I think we do it because, in the end, we decide that it is worth it, that we will become better people in some way. We eventually look at life differently than we did before.

I believe that to develop success in running one has to learn to embrace some pain, to expect it and almost enjoy it as a sign of honest effort, and to miss it when a hard day’s running does not contain a certain amount of discomfort. Over the years, I have been so used to being in some kind of pain that, in a way, I relish it. It is a sign that I am alive and eager to push myself to be as good as possible. I am comfortable living in the thrall of gentle masochism. Of course there is always the hope (and delusion) of imagining that I will get past the pain by getting fitter, inventing a new training pattern, or coming up with better exercises. Nothing transformative has happened yet and likely never will. I am okay with that because I am willing to accept some pain as just part of the whole package.

Learning to push through the pain can be a bit complicated and not what you would normally call fun. The sensation of pain isn’t directly related to physical changes in the body; it’s a

reaction to a signal sent to the brain. Basically, the pain is in our heads. Also, we all have different pain thresholds. As well, for example, I tend to notice pain more when I am running alone, when there are fewer distractions. Thus, it would seem that, depending on the situation, we can process the information differently. Another example of processing the same information differently in different scenarios would be the phenomenon of tickling. Many of us are ticklish when tickled by someone else, but if you tickle yourself there is no reaction.

How can we learn to embrace the inevitable pain of hard or long running?

One way is by having information. For our North Shore Runners workouts, Scot Brockbank is good about letting us know in advance the purpose of the workout, the perceived level of exertion and specific difficult sections. Thus we know what we’ll be going through, and why. Having an idea of what the training session is meant to accomplish is important. We can anticipate and expect the painful moments so we will not be surprised or automatically try to avoid them.

The second way comes with experience. The more workouts we complete, the more times we encounter pain and fatigue, the more we know that effort won’t kill us, and that, in fact, we will feel really good about it when it’s over. We learn not to worry about a little imminent pain and that we don’t have to be afraid

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or back away. The more you are exposed to pain, the less you respond emotionally to it. When you realize it isn’t harmful and that you are actually making progress, you can accept and even look forward to it.

There are, of course, two kinds of physical pain that must be dealt with. The first, just discussed, is what comes from the running effort and fatigue. The second is the pain that comes from physical weakness or injury, which we can’t always run through.

I can certainly attest to the fact that it is often not wise to run with an injury. If you receive a traumatic injury or have a new pain that lasts more than a few days, you need to seek a professional opinion. Some minor injuries can be run through, but many cannot. It is often better to take time off so that healing can occur effectively.

However, it is amazing how some people have managed to deal with pain and have kept at it when most would have despaired and given up. Ann Trason is, arguably, the greatest female ultrarunner in history. During her career she broke 20 world records at distances from 40 to 100 miles and won the Western States 100 miler an astounding 14 times. She was a fierce and focussed competitor. Yet pain from a bad knee kept her from competing in college: back pain often brought her to tears: she had a chronic stiff ankle: she tore her ACL twice, and at the height of her career, she tore a hamstring muscle so badly that it almost entirely detached from her fibula. The will to compete endured.

AllCompany BC_Business Card 2015-05-28 I tell myself, if others can accept and tolerate pain, then so can I. I confess to whining about wonky, arthritic knees, but I get up every morning wanting to run again. Remember, if it were easy, Great Lakes maybe everybody would be doing it.

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Norfolk Hub September 2015

17

Big SplaSh

of th e 29 Talbot St. North, Simcoe, ON N3Y 3W5

519.426.0208

Week!

SENIOR SENSE Seniors, Let’s Prevent Our Falls

Y

Here is a list of suggestions for all of us to consider.

S - solid footwear when walking, bare feet in the shower E - exercise to keep our muscle tone and balance N - no chances taken, wait for help I - if in doubt about moving -don’t!!

O - others will help you R - regular exercise of mind and body S - stretching and flexing ankles and feet F - flexing helps muscle tone, feels good too!

A - ask for help, people offer it, take it !

L - learn to accept our limitations!!!

L - learn to wait and take our time S - smile, slow and steady is true prevention!!

es seniors are the only ones who can prevent falls and these falls top the list of all our accidents.

More prevention is needed to lower these numbers and also prevent the conditions that can result because of them. Many of these conditions cause permanent disabilities and some are fatal. We must really try more prevention!!!

~ By Pat Grant

And now for a quiz of words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings, ie: hear-here:

For; Bare; Wait; To; In; Some; Our; Feet; You; Their; Real

T THTHO SOO N I RR O TPTI CR OOM MMPP N HC RH OPP RAC AC I CA H PSSO N C CH IIR O IR AC IC TT HH OO MM PP SS OO NNCC HH IR OO PP RR AC TT IC

WATERFORDLOCATION: LOCATION: WATERFORD WATERFORD LOCATI Waterford Medical Centre Waterford Medical Centre WATERFORD LOCATION: WATERFORD LOCATION: 28Sovereign Sovereign St., E, Waterford 28 St., E,Medical Waterford Waterford Medical Cen Waterford Centre Waterford Medical Centre 519-443-6663 519-443-6663

OCT 21, 2015

28 Sovereign St., E, Waterford 28 Sovereign E, Waterford 28St., Sovereign St., E, Wate 519-443-6663 519-443-6663 SIMCOE SIMCOELOCATION: LOCATION:519-443-6663 West Health Centre WestStreet Street Health Centre SIMCOE LOCATION: SIMCOE LOCATION: 216 West St., # 301, Simcoe 216 WestWest St.,Suite Suite # 301, Simcoe Street Health Centre New Phone 519-426-0773 WestNumber Street Health Centre SIMCOE LOCATION New Phone Number 519-426-0773 West Suite # 301, Simcoe 216216 West St., St., Suite # 301, Simcoe West Street Health Cen Phone Number519-426-7663 519-426-0773 NewNew Phone Number Visit our website for more information about the216 services we provide West St., Suite Visit our website for more information about the services we provide # 301, S New Phone Number www.drthompsonchiropractic.ca website more information about services provide 519-4 VisitVisit our our website for for more information about the the services we we provide

Tune in & pledge... from the heart!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 NGH LOBBY - 7AM - 5PM CALL: 519-429-6977 OR ONLINE AT NGH.ON.CA PROCEEDS TO PURCHASE NEW CARDIAC TESTING EQUIPMENT Dr. David Kennedy Internist Norfolk General Hospital

18 September 2015 Norfolk Hub

www.drthompsonchiropractic.ca

We treat a number of conditions with our Multi-radiance Medical Laser: www.drthompsonchiropractic.ca www.drthompsonchiropractic.ca pain of conditions WetreatBack a number our Multi-radiance Medical Laser: Visit our website forwith more information about the services  Arthritis  Back pain treat a number of conditions with Multi-radiance Medical Laser: We We treat a number of conditions with our our Multi-radiance Medical Laser: Tennis Elbow  Arthritis Back pain Syndrome    Back pain Carpel Tunnel  Tennis Elbow Arthritis Soft Tissue injuries    Arthritis

we p

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Carpel Tunnel Syndrome Tennis Elbow Tennis Elbow  And Soft Tissue injuriesSyndrome Radial Shockwave Therapy for Chronic conditions:  Carpel Carpel Tunnel  Tunnel Syndrome We treat aSoft number of conditions with our Multi-radiance Medical  Shoulder pain Tissue injuries Soft Tissue injuries Radial Shockwave Therapy for Chronic conditions: Hip pain pain  AndBack   Shoulder pain Shin splints And Radial Shockwave Therapy Chronic conditions: And Radial Shockwave Therapy for for Chronic conditions:   Arthritis pain pain HipFoot pain  Shoulder Shoulder  pain  Shin splints  Tennis  HipHip pain  painElbow  FootShin pain splints  Shin   Carpel Tunnel Syndrome splints  Foot Foot painpain injuries   Soft Tissue Give our receptionist Barb a call at either location to schedule your appointment today.

And Radial Therapy for Chronic Give Shockwave our receptionist Barb a callconditions: at either New patients always welcome. location to schedule your appointment  Shoulder pain Give our receptionist Barb a call ateither either Give our receptionist Barb a call at 

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Angela Hardy ~ In this moment... solo exhibition at gallery23 23 Market Street West, Port Dover N0A 1N0 • Show runs until October 23

Norfolk Hub September 2015

19

SENIOR HEALTH I

Brought to you by Dover Apothecary, A Family Health Care Pharmacy (FHCP)

t’s been said that age is just a number. Today’s seniors

are dispelling old stereotypes of what that number looks like, proving that your birth date has little to do with your zest for life. Making the most of your senior years means taking good care of your body and mind. Read on to learn more!

Aging Well

What does aging well mean to you? Keeping up with your grandchildren? Being trim enough to fit into your old jeans from college? Pursuing a hobby you were always passionate about?

Preventing the diseases that shortened your parents’ lives and living your life to the fullest? The good news is that today’s seniors are living in an era of medical breakthroughs. But aging well still depends on some simple old fashioned principles maintaining healthy habits and avoiding the bad ones.

The Important Tests of Time

Eating well, keeping a healthy weight and exercising regularly top the list of healthy habits. But no matter how fit you are, you can’t be cavalier about getting the proper medical screening tests relevant for your age and family history. Screenings are tests that look for diseases before you have symptoms. You don’t want to find you have something serious when it’s difficult - or maybe even too late - to fix.

Along with traditional tests for blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol, everyone over 50 should get screened for colorectal cancer at least every two years. This test - most commonly known as the Fecal Occult Blood Test or FOBT - looks for the presence of microscopic blood in your stool. This can be an early sign of cancer in the colon or rectum. This test requires the collection of three stool samples, which are then sent to the lab for analysis. Because colon cancer tumours don’t always

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20 September 2015 Norfolk Hub

bleed continually, stool samples should be taken Michael Marini, B.Sc. Phm. one day apart. Although Pharmacist you can collect your stool samples in the privacy of your own home, some people are shy or embarrassed about doing it. Don’t be.

Colorectal cancer is often found in people aged 50 and older, and is the second leading cancer killer for older Canadians.

Taking the time to do these tests can help save your life.

Also, don’t ignore your emotional health. Seniors can be prone to depression, which can affect the way you eat, sleep and socialize with others. If you’ve been feeling down or sad longer than two weeks, consider talking to your doctor.

Finally, taking care of your body and mind means making sure you are taking all your medications correctly. Many seniors have a medicine chest which contains a variety of medications, including prescription, over-the-counter, herbal aids and supplements. Your FHCP pharmacist can help, explaining things like dosage, timing, and interactions (when a drug interacts or interferes with another drug). Also keep in mind that older people may not be able to metabolize medications or supplements as well as they once did. So be sure to report any unexpected side effects to your doctor.

A Healthy Position

Keep a healthy weight. Carrying too many pounds— especially around your belly—can put you at risk for diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer. Eating lean meats, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and walking for 30 minutes 3 times a week can help keep the weight off. ►

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Kaley’s Restaurant

Kaley’s Kakes & Katering!

Check out our Exciting Menu! Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner

33 Robinson Street, Simcoe • 226.440.3444 • khorton@amtelecom.net

SUPER ENERGY KALE SOUP Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 5 cups chicken or bone broth 1 medium carrot, diced into ¼-inch cubes (about 1 cup) 1 cup diced celery 2 red potatoes, diced into ½-inch cubes 3 cups kale, rinsed, stems removed and chopped very fine 2 tsp dried thyme 2 tsp dried sage Salt and pepper to taste ►

Directions 1. Chop garlic and onions and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health benefits.

2. Heat 1 tbs broth in a medium soup pot.

3. Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently.

4. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.

5. Add broth, carrots, and celery and bring to a boil on high heat.

6. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 more minutes.

7. Add kale and rest of ingredients and cook another 5 minutes.

If you want to simmer for a longer time for extra flavour and richness, you may need to add a little more broth.

Protect yourself from falls. Falls are a leading cause of disability and death in seniors. Since most falls happen at home—especially in tubs and showers—make sure you install grab bars in the bathroom and use non-slip bath mats.

Stay connected. Maintaining strong social relationships, through marriage, close friendships or children, can help keep you healthy into old age, experts say. One reason is that having people in your life that make you feel loved and cared for can actually boost your immune system! That said, no matter how great you feel emotionally, remember to get your proper screenings to make sure nothing is amiss physically.

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Norfolk Hub September 2015

21

THE REEL DEAL ~ With Becky Knifton and Larry Mellors

serving Lake erie Boaters for over 60 years

519-426-0653

487 Q ueensway st w. s imcoe

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So You Want to Fly Fish?

T

here are so many people we talk to that want to take up the art of fly casting and fly fishing but are intimidated. You shouldn’t be. If you have the motor

skills to drink your favourite beverage without spilling it down the front of your body, then you possess the motor skills to fly cast.

In reality, we feel that fly casting is easier to do then spin fishing. If you think about it, to properly use a spinning rod and reel requires some time in order to make that cast - you have to reel the lure or bait to just off the end of your rod tip, put your trigger finger on the line to hold it securely to the rod handle, open the bail on the reel, draw the rod behind you, make a forward motion, and then at the proper time release the line.

Then repeat this time after time. That is a lot of steps to making each cast.

In fly casting, you strip line from the reel and make the cast.

Subsequent casts do not involve reeling in the line and making the cast through a series of steps. But rather, pick up the line with the rod and cast it back onto the water. This means the fly is on the water quickly. All clients are amazed at how quickly the fly is being repeatedly presented to the fish.

All of the beautiful casting of the fly in the air is done for television and movies. We have not seen a fish yet that is able to take a fly in the air. They live in the water.

So how do you learn and get started? The easiest way to learn properly and quickly is to book a Learn-to Hands-On Guide with a fly fishing business such as ours. We own and operate Friends on the Fly. Please visit our website at www.friendsonthefly.com.

We suggest you do not purchase a fly rod and reel outfit until you have taken this course. One of the processes we take you through is determining what you wish to angle for and then we can offer advice as to whether you should buy a 3-weight outfit or a 12-weight outfit. Don’t understand – that is another part of the puzzle we teach you in the course.

The course is meant to educate you in all aspects of fly fishing. We discuss flies –dry flies to streamer flies; rod and

22 September 2015 Norfolk Hub

Becky and Larry can be reached at info@friendsonthefly.com

reel selection; fly lines; leaders; tippets; knots; different casts for different situations; hooksets; fighting a fish and finally landing the fish.

When you are finished taking our course you will leave with the knowledge that you can fly fish adequately on your own.

Would we like the opportunity to actually do a full-fledged guide with you? Absolutely. But we understand if you don’t.

Maybe we teach our clients too much?

Once we discuss rods, reels and flies, we then do dry-land casting of many casts that you will need. We also then teach the hooking/fighting/landing of fish. All of this usually takes 90 minutes to 2 hours. After that we take you on the water to fish for the species you wish if in season. This is a critical step in our lessons.

We will teach you how to use nymphs – long-line and indicator methods; streamers; dry flies and wet flies. The most important portion of this on-the-water section is how to make a proper presentation to the fish. It is not always about matching the hatch but rather the proper presentation. You can successfully hook a fish without using the proper fly by making a great presentation. ►

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OUT & ABOUT T

~ With Emily Mellors

It’s Fair Time

he kids are back to school and hard at work doing homework and whatever else it may be, but there's still room to add a little fun to their lives. As a kid, the fall season used to be my

favourite time of year. This was largely due to going to the fair. Thanksgiving weekend is coming up and there are many fairs taking place this weekend. For example, the Norfolk County Fair, the Rockton Fair and the Burford Fair all take place between October 9 and 12.

The Norfolk Country Fair, the fourth largest fair in Canada, is held at the Norfolk County Fairgrounds in Simcoe. The fair is set up from October 6 to 12 and has a variety of events each day. The Norfolk Fair offers entertainment each night for free with paid admission to the fair. But during the day is when all the fun is. Between agricultural displays, rides, horse shows, food vendors, tractor pulls, Norfolk Has Talent, demolition derbies and much, much more! As well, this year at the fair they have two concerts with pop band, Marianas Trench on the Friday and country singer, Brett Kissel on the Saturday.

The second fair happening that weekend is the Burford Fair from October 9 to 12. At this fair there are dog shows, a petting zoo, rides, chainsaw contest, talents shows and my personal favourite, the demolition derby.

Although it is one of the smaller fairs it is still a great time!

Then last, but definitely not least, the Rockton World's Fair. This fair has many attractions and contests including pie eating contests, cake decorating classes, livestock, rides, pet shows, karaoke contests, talent shows and lots more.

With all of these activities, there is a whole day of fun!

And of course there is the food that you cannot possibly resist. My favourite fair food is candyfloss. How can you pass on all of that sugar packed in a bag? No way!

So grab the family and go out to the fair for the weekend and have some good wholesome family fun!

►

We will also discuss safe wading practices in flowing water.

Another critical aspect of fly fishing we will thoroughly cover is reading the water. This entails discussing the proper habitat of a particular fish species as well as to how to break the river into smaller sections and how to approach each one of those sections.

If you do not have waders and the other equipment necessary we supply it in the cost of the course.

If you take our course we do not believe you will be disappointed. We have yet to have a disappointed client yet.

Rather they leave us with a new respect and understanding of fly casting and fly fishing.

Please contact us at info@friendsonthefly.com or visit our website at www.friendsonthefly.com to either book your lesson or to learn more about our services.

Thanks for Zipping through the Hub!

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23

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September 2015toNorfolk Hours: Mon WedHub 8am-6pm • Thurs & Fri 8am-8pm • Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 9am-5pm 24