“Christmas in July” tambola raises $750 for mission

By Ron Giofu

The Christmas spirit was alive at the Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission Saturday night, the calendar notwithstanding.

School has since been constructed.

By Ron Giofu

The Marsh Historical Collection has started an oral history project and wants to hear from you!

The local community archive is looking for members of the community to share their stories, whether it be from people’s workplaces or other lived experiences in the town. The project is being overseen by summer staff member Darryn Walls.

Walls said they are also looking for multi-generational stories, so people of all ages are welcome to share their stories.

They hope to gain participants with a broad range of backgrounds and may narrow the focus at a later date.

“We’re looking for anyone who wants to share their stories,” said Walls. “We want a diverse group of people including different ages and different generations. We want to hear from everyone so we get an understanding of people who have lived and worked here.”

The Marsh Historical Collection announced the project last week and welcomes everyone to reach out via social media or contacting their office. Walls said there will be pre-interview questions to obtain background information on what the person will be talking about and then they will go into the actual interview itself.

“It’s up to the participant,” she said, of what they wish to discuss. “It’s usually geared to the participant and what they want to share.”

Future uses of the material will be to include it as part of the Marsh Historical Collection’s files so that it may be accessed by researchers down the road.

“Right now, we’re looking to capture it all,” said Walls. “If researchers need it, it will be available to them.”

Walls has a history background, as that has been one of her fields of study. She has worked on oral histories in the past and brings that experience to her current job, adding she looks forward to meeting more people in Amherstburg.

“We’ve had some good feedback of people who want to participate,” said Walls. “We’re looking to grow our numbers. I just want to invite everyone to come out. Everyone has a story to share.”

In addition to going to the Marsh Historical Collection, they are also able to visit people at their homes or accommodate virtual options so that people can share their stories if they have difficulty getting around.

The first round of interviews are taking place this summer.

For more information or to get involved with the oral history project, contact the Marsh Historical Collection at 519-736-9191 or e-mail them at research@marshcollection.org. People can also reach out through their Facebook and Instagram sites by searching @marshhistoricalcollection.

The Marsh Historical Collection is located at 80 Richmond St. in Amherstburg.

Over 200 items, many of them Christmas themed, were available to be won at the mission’s “Christmas in July” tambola Saturday evening. The tambola largely resembled a silent auction, where people could purchase envelopes of 50 tickets for $2 each. After one hour of putting tickets into cups that were alongside the prizes, mission volunteers Tammy Pasceri and Inez Fox started drawing the numbers and volunteers delivered the prizes to where the winners were sitting.

The tambola drew over 40 people to the mission with some carrying home boxes of prizes due to the luck of the draw. It raised $750, which will be used to help fund the operations of the mission.

“This is the first one after a long break,” said Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission president Tim McAllister. “The virus slowed us down for a few years.”

McAllister said there have been some changes since the last tambola was held, noting there is a change to where people can park. He noted people used to park across Victoria St. S. but North Star High

“We have to adapt,” said McAllister. The mission wanted to get back to its fundraising and wanted to bring back its tambola. The tambola is actually held at Christmas-time but they decided to try it in July this year. He added he was pleased with the crowd that showed up Saturday night.

“This will be a test to see how it turns out,” said McAllister.

McAllister said “we have a lot of prizes” and praised the work of the volunteers for helping to present the tambola.

“Everybody came and chipped in to make it happen,” said McAllister. “When everyone chips in, it makes the job easy. All these hands makes the job light.”

The next fundraiser for the mission will be the annual “People Helping People” golf tournament. That will be held Aug. 26 at Coachwood Golf & Country Club in McGregor. Registration is at 7:45 a.m. with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. The reception and awards are scheduled for approximately 2 p.m. The cost is $150 per golfer with a $65 option available for dinner only.

To register or to sponsor the tournament, call 519-816-6722, e-mail aburgmission@yahoo.com or visit www.aburgmission.ca.