OPINION
February 2018 There are a lot of old sayings that have stood the test of time. One of them goes something like this: there is never a dull moment in politics. On January 24th, in what is often considered to be a quieter time (when the Legislature is not sitting), our party and caucus was faced with circumstances that I am sure no one ever wants to have to deal with. Allegations of sexual misconduct were levelled against our then-leader Patrick Brown. Within hours, he had resigned as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Subsequent to his resignation the Party Executive voted to have a leadership contest so that the membership across Ontario could choose who will lead us into the June 7th election. The timeline to do this will be a very tight one, with the winner being revealed on March 10th. The rules have been laid out, and at the time of the writing of this column, there are three contenders for the job. Christine Elliott, a former MPP who has challenged for the leadership on two previous occasions. Doug Ford, a former councillor and mayoral candidate in the City of Toronto (who up until January 29th was committed to once again running against John Tory for the job of mayor). The third candidate to declare is Caroline Mulroney; Ms. Mulroney was already part of our PC Team as the nominated candidate for York-Simcoe; she was chosen in September and has been out campaigning and meeting constituents ever since. I am supporting Ms. Mulroney’s bid to lead our party. I expect it to be a spirited contest—and whoever emerges as the victor—I believe they will be successful at ending the Liberal Government’s 15 year reign of waste, mismanagement, and scandal. Leaderships are never easy, but I am certain that we will remain united going forward into the June election. I would like to thank many from the riding, and those with connections to the riding, who encouraged me to take a shot at the leadership myself; I appreciate the confidence shown in me and pledge that I will continue to do my very best as your MPP. On a personal note, on January 22nd, after enduring a two week episode with bouts of acute pain, I underwent a procedure to have kidney stones removed. That’s another experience that if you’ve had it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, I am very happy for you. In talking to others, it is actually quite amazing how many people have dealt with the same ailment. My procedure was done at the Pembroke Regional Hospital, and I must point out that every aspect of my care was delivered in a way that can only be described as first class. It was done with a level of professionalism, and compassion, that I was most impressed with. I’ve dealt with kidney stones once before, when I was 30. Being 60, I dealt with them again. If there is a pattern developing here, it must mean I am good until 90—I think I’m okay with that. The recent snow has certainly been of great benefit to our businesses that depend on snowmobiling, skiing, and other winter activities in what otherwise would have to be described as a not very good year. We live in an area that has a four-season economy, and while we don’t like shovelling it nor driving in it, the only thing worse than having too much snow in the wintertime is having none at all. Be safe. 10 The Renfrew Mercury - Thursday, February 15, 2018
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Aprons played important roles for mother Even though I had long since changed out of my school clothes, and what I had on was called play clothes, mother noticed right away that I had forgotten to put on my pinny. It was always my job to set the supper table, and for the life of me I couldn’t imagine why I would have to wear a pinny when I was handling clean dishes. But that was the rule. Any house chores were done only when you had donned your pinny. All mother had to do was say “Mary” and point to the nail behind the kitchen door. We had aprons, or a pinny, for every occasion. Ones made out of flour bags were enormous. When I had to wear one of those when I was churning the cream to make butter, it came from my neck and draped around my feet on the floor. That was so that the splatters of cream didn’t land on whatever clothes I was wearing. These flour bag aprons
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were well used. mother wore them to do heavy house chores and when she baked, and they covered her from her neck to her knees. My sister Audrey wore one too when she was doing her Saturday house chores. And there was always a goodly supply hanging on the nail beside the back door. A full apron was what mother put on when it was time for all of us to sit down to a meal. Off came the big white pinny and on went the print apron. Often it was the same material that had been used for one of mother’s Dan River house dresses. They were bound all around the outside edges with colourful tape, and had a pocket for mother’s hanky. Always there was one hanging at the back door too. Washed and ironed and at the ready. This was so that if mother heard someone drive in the lane, and she was caught wearing the big white flour bag pinny, she would swiftly take it off and grab the clean one at the back door before welcoming anyone into the house. Heaven forbid that she would be caught wearing a pinny with a spot on it, especially if it was one of the big flour bag creations. My favourite apron was the little half apron; the one that just came from your waist to your knees and tied at the back. They almost always had a frill around them, and certainly there would be a little pocket. If mother had any rickrack braid left over from something she had made, it would be used to fancy up the little half apron. These came in two sizes … bigger ones for mother and my sister, and then smaller ones for me. This was the apron I had to use to set the supper table. Aprons were changed as soon as a spot appeared. They would be tossed in the hamper waiting for the Monday washing and of course, they would be ironed, and often the little half apron would be treated to a dab of starch so they were always crisp and never went limp over
Mary Cook’s Memories MARY COOK
whatever you were wearing. The print aprons were kept in a washstand that sat between the bake table and the back door. This washstand was bigger than the other ones in the house, and had a deep drawer, and once an apron was washed and ironed, it was laid out flat in the washstand. And there was no rooting around in the drawer either. Even though I might like one little half apron better than another, I had to take the one closest to the top. It seemed to me there was a lot of fuss made over something as simple as an apron. Why I had to wear one just to set the supper table, why mother only wore the flour bag aprons if no one was around, and why they couldn’t be worn until they were good and soiled, were all mysteries to me. It was my sister Audrey who taught me that there were other uses for aprons too. They were ideal to bunch up to carry eggs from the egg house, or vegetables from the cellar. And if I accidentally soiled the clothes I was wearing, the apron hid the spot until I could change before mother discovered it. Always homemade, they came from scraps of material or flour bags, and were a lot cheaper than the ones at Walker’s Store, which cost at least 19 cents. Imagine, a whole 19 cents … a waste of a hard earned dollar. Interested in an electronic version of Mary’s books? Go to https://www. smashwords.com and type MaryRCook for ebook purchase details, or if you would like a hard copy, please contact Mary at wick2@sympatico. ca. Mary Cook is a longtime writer with several books in print and in electronic copies. She appears as a regular columnist.
Prayer Day service in Renfrew on March 2 COMMERCE
On Friday, March 3, 1922, one of the greatest events in North American religious history took place. Millions of church women throughout Canada and the United States met as a great sisterhood for a day of prayer. Today, that day of prayer is observed by women and men around the world in 113 languages. The purpose of the World Day of Prayer is prayer with “immediate application.” In Canada, informed prayer and prayerful action has provided over half a million dollars in
grants to justice projects over the last five years alone. The World Day of Prayer was started by women on both sides of the border who had endured a war in which they had little agency. A local World Day of Prayer service will be held at: Renfrew Presbyterian Church, Friday, March 2 at 2 p.m. For more information on the World Day of Prayer services in Renfrew, please contact: Mary-Lynn McConnachie, 613-433-3300.