MERRITTON MATTERS

Blake Richardson
By Tom Barwell
Blake passed away on Wed. Sept. 2, 2009. A long time Merritton
resident, he was an avid sportsman playing baseball, tennis and
badminton, and was a staunch member of the strong Merritton
Badminton Club teams of the 50’s. Blake spent 25 years as an
elementary teacher and principal with the Lincoln Country Boards.
He had a love of airplanes and flying led to his enlistment in the
R.C.A.F. where he was a Wireless Operator-Air Gunner with the rank of
Sergeant. His other hobbies included music and dancing. He played in
the Merritton Junior Boys Band as well as the Thorold Reed Band in the
30’s. There was also a brief stint in the Lincoln and Welland Regimental
band before enlisting and he was a long time member of Branch 51 of
the Royal Canadian Legion. Blake was a very good carpenter and could
be seen in his garage at his home on Park Ave., busy building all sorts of
objects. He once said that he would have loved to build an airplane and
there was no doubt he could have done it. An interesting man. Goodbye
to another Merritton icon.
St. Theresa
Cancer
Fundraiser
Congratulations to the staff
and students at St. Theresa
Catholic Elementary School
for their efforts in raising
more than $1,700 for
pediatric cancer research.
Two students and a teacher
also donated their hair to
make wigs for children
who lose their hair during
chemotherapy treatments.
Lancer
Congratulations to Peter and Sharon Holley, new owners of the
Lancer Restaurant at 85 Hartzel Road. It must have taken much
consideration for Peter and Sharon to take up the mantle of
restaurateurs but we know that they will be terrific!
Don’t Stop the
‘Merritthon’ Hike
Al Stevenson, archivist with the Niagara Bruce Trail Club, wrote an interesting letter to the Editor of the St. Catharines Standard in early November
commenting on the recent blockage of the Merritt Trail at the railway crossing near Moffatt Street. This was the solution of the city to avoid disturbing
the residents around Moffatt Street who were annoyed by the train whistle at the trail’s crossing. Al found it unfortunate that the city chose to block the
Merritt Trail and wondered if the CN really needed to blow the whistle for that crossing. Could a warning sign be used instead? Allowing the train to
travel without blowing the whistle and unblocking the trail would allow the Niagara Bruce Trail Club to continue its 45-kilometre ‘Merritthon’ hike, an
annual event since 1988.
I MERRITTON MATTERS