MERRITTON MATTERS

Merrittonians We’ve Lost
Whenever we hear that we’ve lost another Merritton community
member, it reminds us of the wonderful contributions so many
people have made to this great community.
On October 1 st , we lost David Hayes. He was a former
teacher, Merritton High School principal and superintendent. On
October 12 th , Kathleen Michaud passed away. She was an active
community member, particularly in the CWL of St. Patrick’s
Church and in the Girl Guides, Hartzel District, and later in the
Trefoil Guild. On October 15 th , Janette Marshall passed away.
Merritton was Janette’s home town and after serving in the Armed
Forces during World War 11, she returned home, married Bill,
and both of them became very active in the Merritton community,
serving in many capacities over the years.
On January 13 th , Eva Glyn-Jones died at 90 years of age.
Mike Collins wrote to tell us that he remembers when he was in
Eva’s grade 12 Algebra class in 1962. “She was VERY firm but we
certainly were well prepared when the provincial Grade 13 exams
rolled around. Everyone in the class respected and admired Mrs.
Glyn-Jones at Merritton High.” Spencer Fielder passed away on
January 28 th . Spencer had been a member of the Merritton Royal
Canadian Legion Branch 138 for 38 years. His daughter Deanna,
along with her husband Robert Mussell, has continued this long
tradition of service with the Legion.
To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, we know that these
people truly believed that their life was part of a community and as
long as they lived, it was their privilege to do for it whatever they
could.
Sharing Memories
We strongly believe that part of our reason for existence as a
Merritton organization is the need to recognize contributions
made by people to our community. Please let us know if you’d
like to share a memory about someone who has recently left
us. We’re not talking about the conventionally paid obituaries
but more like the Globe and Mail’s Lives Lived minibiographies
that leave readers feeling like they’ve shared a cup
of coffee at Timmy’s with the person. Thanks to Tom Barwell
for starting us off. Email us at merrittonmatters@hotmail.com
if you have a recollection that you would like to share.
John (Jack) Craig
By Tom Barwell
Jack passed away on Saturday, January 20, 2009. Not only did we lose a
great Merrittonian, we lost another Veteran of World War II. Jack took
an active part in the invasion of France. There are not many of these
brave Canadian warriors remaining.
He was not just a soldier. Jack was an artist, hunter, fisherman,
golfer and a volunteer. He wrote many articles for the local papers and
I read them all. They were full of history and interesting ideas. He
was not shy of voicing his views on any subject. As an avid reader, his
knowledge of world and local events was astonishing.
Jack came from the family of Craigs who, for many years, lived in
Merritton. His passing will be sorely missed by the community.
Editor’s Note: John (Jack) Craig was the husband of Jean, father of
John, Colleen and Kathleen, and brother to Betty, Sheila and Dr. David
Craig. For 40 years Jack wrote a weekly column “Here and There” for the
Thorold News. Merritton Matters has been very fortunate over the past
years to receive recollections of Merritton days gone by from Jack, as well
as from his siblings Sheila and David.
Calling All
Gardeners...
Our annual garden tour is fast
approaching! Should you be
interested in allowing a tour of your
garden this year or know of someone
else who has a green thumb.... please
call Pat at Bloomin’ Busy flower
shop, 905-988-8840.
Sunday, June 28th we will host our 2009 self-guided tour of Merritton
gardens. Tickets are $10 each and will be available at: Bloomin’ Busy Flower
Shop; Merritton Community Pharmacy; Home Hardware and Lock 3 Museum.
Remember, all gardeners love to share ideas with other gardeners, no matter
what the size of your treasured green space. Please don’t be shy, sign up!
MERRITTON MATTERS I