THE
SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 49 Issue 25
Drayton, Ontario
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Friday, June 24, 2016
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Jean Campbell played key role in local history - recorded it as well
Sheep show - Over 100 people from across the province attended the first Sheep Expo at the Drayton agricultural building on June 18. Organized by local sheep farmer Romy Schill, the event focused on sheep farming equipment. Demonstrations were held throughout the day. Andrew Roosendaal from Zuidervaart Agri-Import Ltd. in Mitchell, left, demonstrates a sheep handling system with assistance from Schill. The Waterloo 4-H Sheep Club served lunch. Schill said the expo will be an annual event with the addition of other exhibitors. photo by Caroine Sealey
Council appoints Driscoll and Craven to Alma hall management committee by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Council has appointed two representatives and is working toward re-establishing a management committee for the Alma Optimist Hall. At the June 7 meeting, CAO Brad McRoberts explained in a report that the committee has not met for several years and representatives of the Alma Optimist Club have requested it be re-established. McRoberts explained the township entered into a 20-year agreement with the Alma Optimist Club in 2008, two years before the facility was actually built, to establish a management committee to oversee operations of the Alma
Community Hall. The committee was to include three township representatives, including the public works director (non-voting) and at least one elected official, plus two representatives of the Alma community and four Optimists. The staff report requested council identify the township’s voting representatives on the management committee for this council term. Councillor Michael Martin asked why “the management committee dissolved, or weren’t meeting� and who the previous township representatives were. Mayor Neil Driscoll explained he and councillor
Dennis Craven were the previous appointees to the committee. “I don’t think we need to change that. I just think the group really wants to get his going,� said Driscoll. “As to why it kind of fell apart, there were just some issues that couldn’t be resolved and the committee felt there wasn’t any purpose in having further meetings.� In response to another inquiry from Martin, Driscoll said the unresolved issues arose during the term of the previous Mapleton council. Council passed a resolution appointing Driscoll and Craven to the hall management committee.
Norwell, Alma PS among local EcoSchools GUELPH - Alma Public School and Norwell District Secondary School are among 53 Upper Grand schools certified as EcoSchools for 2016. This is a record number of winning schools for the board and includes 18 schools that participated for the first time. In addition, there was 100% participation by high schools this year. “We are excited by the high level of success demonstrated by our schools this year,� said
Karen Acton, environmental sustainability lead for the Upper Grand District School Board. “EcoSchool certification requires a whole-school effort by staff, students and the community in order to actively promote environmental sustainability and stewardship.� Ecological literacy Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education and certification program that helps school communities develop
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by Patrick Raftis DRAYTON - The Mapleton community lost a special citizen and a key figure in local history with the passing of Jean Campbell on June 14. Campbell, who died at her home at the age of 80, was a longtime Drayton village clerk, ardent local historian and active community volunteer. A native of what is now Mapleton Township, Campbell was raised in former Peel Township, where her parents, Wilson and Hulda Cunningham, ran a mixed farming operation. After attending the Drayton Continuation School she married Lloyd Campbell, who passed away in 1992, and the couple lived in Kitchener for 17 years. They had five children, two girls and three boys. Their eldest daughter Bonnie, died in 2009. Their other daughter Mary, married Terry Downey and they live in Drayton. Their eldest son, Earl is married to Theresa Downey and resides at Rothsay. Sam married Bonnie McRae and they live in Kitchener. Jim and his wife Melinda live in Cambridge. Amongst them there are 11 grandchildren. In 1971, Jean and Lloyd returned to live in the area and she ran a general store in Alma until 1974, when the couple sold the business and Jean returned briefly to high school in Fergus. Shortly after, she spotted an advertisement for a clerk for the Village of Drayton and on Feb. 1, 1975, she embarked on a 17-year career in municipal administration. Among the major municipal projects Campbell was involved in as clerk were the collaboration between Peel, Maryborough and Drayton to build the PMD arena and the installation of water and sewer systems in Drayton. The latter Campbell considered an expensive undertaking requiring creativity on the part of the local council. “We convinced quite a few people in the village to pre-pay and the village paid the same interest as Canada Savings Bonds and that’s how we convinced the provincial government that we could afford to do it,� she explained in a 2013 interview with the Wellington Advertiser. Although she did take a municipal clerk-treasurer course by correspondence after landing the job, Campbell maintained there was much more to be learned through on-
Weekly Wag
life ve a positive a h t o n n a c u Yo ve mind. and a negati r- Joyce Meye
Passion for history - Jean Campbell, who passed away on June 14, was a longtime Drayton village clerk, ardent local historian and active community volunteer. Since 2006, she wrote most of the Mapleton Musings history columns that appear weekly in the Community News. submitted photo the-job experiences. Campbell’s impact on local government in Mapleton continued to the present day. Mayor Neil Driscoll said he often consulted with Campbell to get a past perspective on current issues. “Ever since I’ve been on council she was the type of person that I could go to for any sort of history,� said Driscoll. “Her and I both believed that council needs to know what went on in the past in our community.� He also noted Campbell had a knack for providing advice diplomatically. “She was just great with that way of opening up your eyes to another solution,� said Driscoll. Former Drayton and Mapleton mayor John Green had a similar comment about Campbell’s impact on those she worked with. “She was very diligent in what she did. She was very sincere and she was very soft spoken and kind, but she had a unique way of talking you into things and getting her way if she thought it was the right thing to do,� Green recalled. Like Green, Drayton resident Ron Ellis was a young councillor during Campbell’s tenure as clerk. “She was extremely patient and understanding,� said Ellis. “She was always there for you.� In 2006, Campbell joined
the Mapleton Historical Society. Among her first duties with the group was a quarterly newsletter, which she typed and mailed out. She spent a term as president of the society and was involved in establishing a space for the group at the local library. Historical society president Floyd Schieck said Campbell was heavily involved in all aspects of the organization and will be sorely missed. “She did just about everything. She was the greatest one for history, local history,� said Schieck. He noted the society was recently put in a tough spot when one of its speakers didn’t show up for the group’s April meeting. “[Jean] was able to put together a presentation (on the CBC’s Farm Radio Forum of the ‘40s to ‘60s) within just a couple of days,� said Schieck, adding Campbell was able to quickly access information on virtually any topic. “She had a lot right in her head, but she did a lot of research,� he pointed out. Campbell was also actively involved with the Wellington County Historical Society. The society’s recently-released 2016 history journal contains two articles under her byline. Perhaps one of Campbell’s most enduring contributions to local history can be found within the pages of Mapleton’s own Continued on page 2
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