B6 CASTLEGAR NEWS, January 5, 1983 UNCLE VINCE He wanted to bea newsman By JANICE WLASICHUK WINNIPEG (CP) — As a young boy Vince Leah used to rewrite sports columns he had clipped out of newspapers. Today, Leah, 69, is known across Western Canada. for his contributions to sports, both as a writer and as a coach. “I wanted to be a newspaper man from Day One,” said Leah, also known as Uncle Vince, during an interview at the, Winnipeg Free Press, where he still writes a weekly soccer column, But the Irishman also was interested in amateur sport and spent most of his life teaching young boys the ins and outs of hockey, soccer and baseball. He gave Winnipeg Blue Bombers their name and helped ~ bring Little League baseball into Canada. Leah was stricken with polio early in his life and couldn't participate in sports, so he took up.coaching and’ organized his first soccer league when he was only 13. MADE 89 A WEEK At the same time, he developed an interest in writing. - When he was 16 he began submitting articles to the children’s section of the Winnipeg Tribune. He started working for The Tribune as a copyboy and later was hired as a reporter at a salary of $9 a week, Although he was assigned to write obituaries, Leah soon wandered over to the sports department. “I used to haunt the sports di ” said Leah.” “W.L, McTavish was The Tribune's editor and he said ‘Look, if you're going to keep looking in the door buster, you're going to work in there.” Leah, a cheerful fellow with a sharp memory, recalled the day in 1935 when he was assigned to cover one of the Winnipeg football team’s practices. Manager Joe Ryan had . just shown him the team’s new royal blue uniforms. “I had to write an advance for the first game of the season,” said Leah. At the .time, Joe Louis was the, heavyweight boxing champ and Grantland Rice had called him the Brown Bomber. NAMED TRE TEAM “I'went back and thought for a moment about the advance I had to write and I started off the article ‘The Blue Bombers of Western Football’ and the name stuck like glue.” But amateur sport remained a big interest. When he hi ly GWEN DI DEAMBROFSKY a { EDMONTON oe — Fox.the last year, retired teacher ta ta Davis has been ponding her nights with an ubusual if people — -thickers: who frequent her. roadside t from he 66-year-old mother telephone interview from’ Champion, Alta. ‘kinds of interesting ‘stories to tell, and I - ~ Most nights ight and Ba m. they can drop in for alittle of Davis’ 's hom cooking or have her fill up their rigs with diesel fuel. . Such hours are no strain for the energetic senior, who Rot used to the schedule when she started university at age ide and went on to wet degrees in-education and recreation Lt th time; she was in the midst of raising her children elp.of‘her.own’mother and fatheri’ She and her amicably split.because he wanted to return to felt the ‘children could get a T had: ‘to study at night a lot,” she recalls, "_. BECAME TEACHER Alter completing her degrees, Davis became a physical ducati teacher i thie small ‘communities of Vulcan and ahh + She’spent 18; years at that, but it wasn't enough. In 1975 Davis ‘bought a‘gas station at Champion. A short time later, @ gota chance to buy an old‘ Dutch Reform church for $850 shad it moved next. to ‘the’ gas ‘station so she could form it into @ restaurant. ‘When ‘she retired, froin teaching “Iast( year, Davis. “ilecided to. personally. work the: graveyard shift at the No time tolo Editor's Note: Not every one who turns 65 wants to relax and recall the old days. This story looks at poet Dorothy Livesay, still going strong at 73. STURDIES BAY (CP) — ‘When Dorothy Livesay.was a teenager, she wrote. in her siery that she zou never. wasn’t at The Tribune, Leah was out he combined the two jobs, which resulted in the formation of the first Little League group in Canada. The idea came to him while he was covering junior hockey in southwestern Manitoba. “I bought a Saturday Evening Post to read on the bus and the first thing I saw was a story on Little League baseball, which had flourished in the U.S. It was then I decided that this is what we needed for boys in Winnipeg. “It seems that organized sports for boys under 12 was absolutely forbidden. I don't know why. And I Proved that we could play the game pretty damn well.” After 39 times — she’s a mover SURREY (CP) — Gertrude Constain considers herself an expert on the art of mishaps of family moves. As she packed her condominium for yet another move —her 39th — the 60-year-old, now-widowed mother of five children recalled her first move in her native Britain. She and her impecunious musician father made a light flit from a ing house on Chri: Eve. When she woke up Christmas morning in a small hotel, her gifts were beside her bed — in a suitcase, ready for possible hasty departure. Married following the Second World War, she and her husband, then in the air force, came to Canada when one move followed another. As long as a case of cold beer was available to coerce reluctant movers and she had some sort of human, emotional support, "I have found I can survive what the psychologists describe.18 4 ‘i jence.” Most moves can be planned but Costain recalls one when the moving truck arrived days before it was expected. “The baby was in his highchair having breakfast. Those movers went through the house like the white tornado in the laundry commercials. When I unpacked at the other end, it was to find a half-finished bread roll had been crated up, complete with butter and marmalade.” In preparing for a move, Costain makes a household inventory and as each box is packed labels it with contents and room where it is to go in the new dwelling. “It should save time,” she says, “but don’t count on it, Movers have a way of di: your planned Costain recommends moving the contents of the kitchen to the new home a day ahead if possible. “Even so, it’s a good idea to make a packed breakfast or splurge at the local rather than the hospitable offers of a neighbor.” be writer in Canada, She was a young women, she wrote to Bere and the world be- longed to men. Almost six decades separ- ate that Winnipeg-born teen, | ager — who was ‘already’ Published poet — * from ‘the stalwart, white-haired wom: an who sits in the loft of a Galiano Island bungalow writing her memoirs, More than 1,000 poems have been ‘ written and she has received two Governor General's Awards for literature. She has had careers as a journalist, editor, social worker and university pro- “fessor. She has worked in Zambia as an English spec- ialist with UNESCO. She was one of the founders of Am- nesty International in Can- ada. Livesay, says critic George- Woodcock, is the best poet in Canada today. At 78 she is giving no indication that she’ is considering putting aside « her pen. “Other elderly senior citi- zens say to me, “This is the period when we can do the most because we don't have the:burden of having to look after a family,” says Livesay.. ‘“Very_ often we're” single, ‘The husband is,dead.-I don’t mean that crudely, but we don't: have’ the same ‘family responsibilities ° any more. We can be free: to let go.”: : “” Livesay, «interviewed. ‘in her, cluttered in (which, it:tsed Pe a chic- éri"“edop; ‘hag teen “chris-- ned The Chicken Hilton ‘by island residents), is not going to sit back, stare out at Ge- orgia Strait and squander that freedom. z WAS IN BULGARIA. She’ recently returned from a world peace’ “confer- ence in Bulgaria, attended by about 180 writers from 66’. countries: In the New Year, she'll spend four months as writer-in-residence at the University: of Toronto. Her latest interest was a Galiano Island referendum on nuclear disarmament. “That indeed has been my main interest for .many © years,” Livesay. said slowly, He's cooking for TORONTO (CP) Multilin- gual Herman (Willie) Willen- eger, former headwaiter ex- traordinaire, has just com- pleted his second cookbook for seniors. In his spare time, the 86-year-old Willeneger main- tains his life-long ‘association with the boy scouts and keeps involved with church and community affairs. - Willie's Cookbook, his first, was published after he taught several groups of; seniors at the Donway Uni- ted Church how to cook well on a limited budget. De- signed to appeal to seniors and others looking for simple, inexpensive dishes — some with a gourment touch — the book has large print, step-by- step directions and a standup format. Now Willeneger,’ former headwaiter at Toronto's Roy- al York Hotel and managing director of the Elmwood in Windsor, Ont.; at that time Canada’s biggest nightclub, finished . Willie Cooks “Again, ; Born in Switzerland, he was apprenticed at age 15 to a pastry cook. By 1922 he was headwaiter a the Continental hotel in Cairo and leader of the 1st Cairo Mohamedan Scout Treop. seniors “evenly; sie ‘the focus of ‘the. discussion: to & painting hanging in:the living room. The watercolor portrayal of Galiano shoreline, painted by. a friend from Winnipeg, was ‘the: prize for a ‘raffle -the island committée-held to. fi- nance the Teferendum. “ACwriter has to be doing - something” on behalf of peace,” . Livesay. ‘said. “T?'m active wherever Iam on the: anti-nuclear movement.” . It has Jong bei Livesay’ ‘3 should not, give ders or be comitted only to their own: work. As artists, their duty is: to’ promote. a greater. ‘understanding amoung’ « it ‘through pillews, plants - and “glazed bowls. A typewriter is oh the table ‘in the corner. A-rain- soaked overstuifed varmehalr - sits ona concrete slab outsid sliding doors,” % Between. sips ‘of. coffee, cultural exchange. non ” “We should meet® people from other countries and not cold-shoulder’ . them,”.. she --said. “The worst thing in my: view, is:.that*® although. “we ladly sell grain to ‘Russia, ° we've cut off all cultural ties.” Livesay, dressed ina grey, : purple-flecked dress, has the same simple; comfortable ap- pearance as her home. She: wears no jewelry. ‘The Chicken Hilton is small and strewn with hand-woven, Willeneger arrived in Mon- treal in 1927, planning to ‘spend. only a year to learn more about the hotel busin- ess. But while working at the. * Ritz Carleton Hotel,-he met: the widowed mother of one of the boya in his Montreal. scout troop,. married and - Secided Canada: was for him.* Proceeds of his first cook- book went to the church as will those of the second, he says. Enquiries about Willie's - Cookbook .and Willie Cooks Again should be sent to The Donway United: Church, 230 The. Donway West, -Don Mills, Ont., M3V 2V8. ‘workshop on. aging given in. White Rock by Beryl Petty and- Betty « “Andersen, : 24-hour restaurant, ©" « Given her past record, neither Davis nor her children find her. hectic schedule particularly amazing. “It. Joa seems I Have alot to do,” she says. “I don't‘like to sit stil Be TRUCKERS ARE FRIENDS David doesn't have many. friends other than the ickers; betause most people her age are retired. think it's ad,” she says of her less-active peers. “So peer just try to dees old people aside, but then there * pendency 3 / their parents’. ‘to. their ‘ parents’ srowing dependency’ to help the'p: “daughter, I+ should | have + enough energy’ to look after... "them wel ee love fet, . -oresentment while: those. liv- ing | elsowhora may Have -feelings of guilt. ;. _The workshop agreed the time daughters’ have: avail- able for parents,-even if the parents are still vigorous od living "independently, diminished. Many... working: _Wwomen ‘are torn by conflicts as how to share their time fairly among family mem- bers, their’ job, the home, -community undertakings and friends. Parents who" have been easy-going may become diffi- “cult when ‘health problems and the restrictions of aging frustrate them, and they fail to adapt to a changed life- style. The counsellors: said parents can become excess- ively dependent, oy. domin- eering, placing,a’ strain on eq gement. No longer do- they receive encouragement. from a boss, the community, syoung children or a society generally geared ‘to youth, They need reassurance — and may not know how to , seek it, resulting in feelings of isolation and insecurity.’ ‘| However, itis important to ‘let parents know about your - own feelings and when they make demands, | especially emotional ones, set limits in * order to avoid, feelings of _ exploitation, said the: coun- sellors: 2 Avoid quick solutions to problems because change is more difficult for older. peo- - ple. To rush. a widowed period -of their “Wes, noted Petty and: past, . whe has looked after’ in th their. children, the” commit- ment was less binding be- cause the parents’. usually died at an earlier. age.” . Communication about deci- sions relating to aging par- ents must be improved, Those at the workshop were advised to really listen: to their parents, to try to under- stand what their parents are trying to say, without being judgmental. Even when con- cerns may appear trivial, it is important to realize that these concerns are not trivial to the aging parent. - * ‘parent into your own home before all the family has had “a chance to express their true feelings .about such an arrangement can lead to hurt feelings, Parents still want to use their children as sounding boards when they are making a decision, And they still want to be allowed to make up their own minds, even when they appear to be passing the responsibility on to their children. Children must learn how to respond with gentleness and the. acceptable amount of intrusion on the faltering independence of their par- ents, said Petty and Ander- sen. = op — Durstin, Now, she feels she is being cut off from them because at 69, widowed and her health failing, she has to move to a senior citizen's home. Her house in this about 30 kil “T sat at that desk in my mother's place shortly after Home is where the memories are ALDERGROVE (CP) — Roots mean a lot to Laura financially and she made this when she was working at a in their-home. on —_ mae You don't ‘ueed J wrltligg talent to write fer profit ... all -you need is‘a list of items you'd like to sell . . . good things that you no longer.enjoy, but that someone else would pay cash for. You reach that * "someone" with on: action-getting Classified Adv casTLg@i-NEWS Classified Ads 365- 2212 she died. I knew I had to go through it and I was grateful for the bottle of scotch sitting on her dresser. What upset me were the little notes telling me where to find policies and on, all tucked into pigeon-holes southeast of Vancouver is too big for her to manage alone, and her only daughter lives in Alberta. “I always said I would never get that attached to things,” she said. “But then I look around and try and decide what I will leave and what I will, take to furnish my bed-sittingroom at the home. It is distressing. “Take my antique writing desk, for instance, the one with the long scratches on the fold-down flap. One of our cats was a real character and though I've always said I would have the scratches filled in, somehow they always reminded me of my favorite cat and so I never got around to it. © along with pictures that had been drawn by my daughter. when she was young.” RECALLS FRIEND Should she take her favorite coffee table? It was really too big for the apartment but it had always made her smile. She had bought it from a friend who, after years alone, married a millionaire and inherited a set of furnishings that outclassed the coffee table. “You don’t know until-you have to leave your home what memories are stored there. For instance, that heavy, brass dish —my daughter made it for me when she, was in Malaysia. She took all sorts of jobs to keep going ©” brass foundry. She had to carry great vats of boiling liquid arourd in that place where government safety regulations were unheard of. I'm glad I didn’t know about it at the time.” i Nearly all her things have become treasures. There's a.print bought in Paris when Durstin visited there in her early 20s and another print shows the pier in the little seaside English town-where she was. born. Durstin recalls the bombing of London during ‘the Second World War. “I remember talking toa middle-aged couple who were‘sitting on the side of the rpad with. what ined of their bombed‘out home stacked beside’th on the sidewalk. : “The woman's comments have always ‘stayed with me, because she was so angry. She told me she and her’. husband had scrimpted all their lives to have nice things), ‘But ttt bloody Hitler has wrecked it all,” the woman told Durstin. The episode left her with a deter- mination never to get to rapped up in “just things.” “After, all,” Durstin said,.“probably her family was just pleased their parents ‘had survived and didn’t care much about their stuff at all.” . But attitudes change over the years and now Durstin acknowledges the hidden meaning of her possessions, “I don't want to-have to wake up each morning and look around and feel my home has disappeared, It would be like.the loneliness of a hotel room on a business trip. I need to beable ‘to touch that cushion, for ‘instance, because my husband used to rest his head on it. {Thave tobe able tokeep in touch with my roots and have..some ‘things around me that can remind me of people, and places that. have meant’ a lot to mo. ”