The Westerner for January 28, 2013

Posted by Brian F. Thompson 
on Jan 28, 2013
 

Meeting:   Chair - Rob Dunseith; Music - Jerome Martin; Grace - Rob (Robbie Burns)

Attendance / Guests - 32, including Brent Birch (guest of Mike Ryan & proposed member), Nadine Fulmer, Edmonton Northeast, and Butch Balch (piper).

Announcements / Meeting Notes:

  • Butch Balch and President Rob Dunseith (in kilt) piped in the haggis and Past President Jim Johnston performed the traditional address to the haggis.  Bob Lamoureux & Jim served it along with a choice of scotch to wash it down.
  • Ingrid & Jerome have produced new posters advertising the upcoming concerts at Capital Care Grandview.  The first one will feature Tommy Banks on Tuesday, February 12th at 6:30 pm.  The next two concerts will be on April 16th and May 28th with performers to be announced later.  Mark your calendars and plan to attend if you can.
  • Steve McEachern told the story of the Scottish fellow who made a blood donation to an Arab Sheik who desperately needed it.  As a result, the Arab gave the guy a new Mercedes car.  A year later, the Arab needed another transfusion, so the fellow stepped forward immediately to provide the needed blood donation.  This time her received a Thank You card.  He asked the Arab why only a thankyou card this time?  The Arab said, "Well now I have scottish blood in me."
  • Grocery Cards - January sales have been pretty good, so our year to date sales total is $19,400 worth of Safeway, Saveon and Sobeys/IGA cards.  This has generated a profit to the Club of $1552.00.  We still have more members who are not using these cards for their grocery purchases than we have members who are using them regularly.  Please consider buying a card or two and giving them a try. It won't cost you any more than you are already paying for your groceries.
  • 50/50 Draw - No match by Brent Birch and Jim Johnston, so $36 carries forward to the next draw.
  • Jim Johnston & Butch Balch performed a musical? reading of a Robbie Burns poem.

PROGRAM - A TOAST TO ROBBIE BURNS

President Rob introduced Past President Doug MacDougall to make his 5th presentation to the club on Robbie Burns.  To make it different this time, he talked about the contributions of the Scots to Canada of which there are many:

  • Some five million Canadians have scottish ancestry
  • In the early days of the Hudsons Bay Company with 530 total employees, 413 were Scottish
  • 13 of 22 Canadian Prime Ministers had scottish blood
  • Pierre Elliott Trudeau was very proud of his mother's scottish heritage
  • John A MacDonald, William Lyon McKenzie King, Allan Napier McNabb, James G. Gardiner, Tommy Douglas, & Grant McEwan were all famous Canadian Scots
  • The Fraser Highlanders, the Black Watch & the Cameron Highlanders were famous Canadian regiments.  The Germans called the latter "the ladies from hell"
  • Many of our early explorers were scotts
  • A few more famous names - Nellie McLung, Alexander Graham Bell, Lord Beaverbrook

Doug went on to talk about Robbie Burns mastery of English, French, German and Latin, his many poems to his various girlfriends, several pregnancies, drinking poems, and an epitaph which he created for a friend, but which applied to him.

Doug led us in a toast to Robbie Burns.

President Rob thanked Doug, Jim, Butch and Bob for their efforts in making this a fun and interesting meeting.

The meeting ended with attendees joining hands and singing Auld Lang Syne.