Your Mayor

One of my favorite things is old photographs. I have been lucky enough to inherit many of them from different relatives over the years. Some folks in the pictures I know. Some I’m related to but others are just unknown faces. I keep them all, even the strangers photographs. I wonder about them, who they are, where they lived, how they came to know or be in a batch of my family’s photos. The answers don’t really matter. I enjoy them all.

I knew I had many family members who served at one time or another in the military. On this Remembrance Day I would like to share them with everyone. The pictures will be scattered through out this edition of The Oracle(click on any of them to see enlargements) I have named those I know and put dates on those that were marked. Some folks I haven't a clue about. Most photo's are from Canadian military men but some from the US and by the looks of one from Scotland in WW1!

I hope you enjoy them.

Joy

At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare. The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months. In November the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender.

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month attained a special significance in the post-war years. The moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war. This first modern world conflict had brought about the mobilisation of over 70 million people and left between 9 and 13 million dead, perhaps as many as one-third of them with no known grave. The allied nations chose this day and time for the commemoration of their war dead.

On the first anniversary of the armistice, 11 November 1919, the two minutes’ silence was instituted as part of the main commemorative ceremony at the new Cenotaph in London. The silence was proposed by an Australian journalist working in Fleet Street, Edward Honey. At about the same time, a South African statesman made a similar proposal to the British Cabinet, which endorsed it. King George V personally requested all the people of the British Empire to suspend normal activities for two minutes on the hour of the armistice "which stayed the world wide carnage of the four preceding years and marked the victory of Right and Freedom." The two minutes’ silence was popularly adopted and it became a central feature of commemorations on Armistice Day.

On the second anniversary of the armistice, 11 November 1920, the commemoration was given added significance when it became a funeral, with the return of the remains of an Unknown Soldier from the battlefields of the Western Front. Unknown soldiers were interred with full military honours in Westminster Abbey in London and at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The entombment in London attracted over one million people within a week to pay their respects at the Unknown Soldier’s tomb. Most other allied nations adopted the tradition of entombing unknown soldiers over the following decade.

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I never met my uncle Gordon because of his death in WW II. He died May 28, 1943 at the age of 23 and is buried at City Road Cemetery, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He was the fifth child of seven children and my mother was especially close to him.

In 2001 the Province of Manitoba compiled a book of all men from Manitoba who had died in WW II and with it went their photo, biographies and even letters they had written home. The Province also named a lake in northern Manitoba after each man.

My eldest uncle, Hugh, wrote:

Gordon attended Moore Park Consolidated two-room school. Moore Park was a very small farming community and although we were not prosperous farmers, there was always good food on the table. Gordon was a fun loving and happy individual and like a lot of other small town boys growing up during the Depression, there was not the opportunity to participate in sports like they do today. We had to make our own entertainment - no TV and few radios. We played baseball and football in the summer and skated on the outdoor rink and street hockey in the winter. It didn’t matter that there were not enough skates to go around, we just took turns using the ones we had. Gordon had a real talent for sketching and especially loved to draw cartoons and animals. Going to local dances was always the highlight of his weekend.

My eldest cousin named Gordon for our uncle wrote:

He died when the Boston aircraft in which he was a gunner approached the airport with the port engine unserviceable. The first landing attempt was aborted and the plane dived into the ground one mile from Talbenny, Wales as it turned to make the second approach. Many people of Talbenny saw the crash and attended right away but all crew had died on impact. Haverfordwest was the closest military cemetery and the Air Force sent photos to my grandparents when he was interned there.

In a letter to Hugh, Gordon wrote:

Well Hugh, I was up to London last week for the first time. I was one of the 120 Canadians representing Canada in a "Wings for Victory" campaign parade. We paraded for an hour and a half through the heart of London. My feet were really sore but we saw a lot of swell places; Fleet Street, Law Courts, House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Westminster Abbey, Waterloo Bridge, Waterloo Station and Buckingham Palace. It was tiresome but fun. I sent Pearl a picture from the newspaper, but it’s too distant to recognize anyone. I’ve been watching all the news reels for days, but I haven’t seen me yet. I know the movie camera was there ‘cause I saw it. Maybe I’ve made my screen debut at last eh? (March 12, 1942)

I had the opportunity in 2006 to attend the cemetery in Haverfordwest with my cousin. It’s on the coast of Wales with the Irish Sea. Gordon’s grave is situated on the slope of a hill and the cemetery is kept in pristine condition. It was a very emotional experience to look down at the grave and wonder what might have been if he had made it back safe and sound. We laid flowers on the grave and scattered poppies all around, and I will always be grateful that I was able to make the journey there. I think I feel in a way that our grandparents would be very happy that finally someone from our family was able to make it to his grave in a country that must have seemed so alien to them.

Hannah

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Poppy seeds also well known as Khus-Kush in some Asian countries, come from the Poppy flower. These seeds originated in the Orient and Greece and today are grown all over the world. The poppy seed oil is rich in omega 2 fatty acid and a good source of oleic (oleic oil is helpful in treating breast cancer) and linoleic acids (linoleic acids help protect from heart attacks and other heart disorders). They also contain a moderate amount of calcium, thiamine, riboflavin, lecithin, oxalic acid, pentosans and amorphous alkaloid

From my research to say they do not contain trace amounts of narcotic is basically wrong. If you eat a poppy seed muffin and go for a drug test you just may test positive for opiates ( morphine and codine) up to 48 hours afterwards. Not that you’ll be high as a kite by any means but it’s still in your blood stream. So lay off the poppy seed bagels if you’re in a job that does drug testing!

Because of their content perhaps this is why these little seeds are found to help with the following ailments and disorders.

-A teaspoon of poppy seeds will help with a cough and asthma.
-Drinking a decoction of the seeds (25ml) helps nervous disorders
-A paste made of seeds (4gm) taken twice per day will help with insomnia.
-To help with diarrhea make a paste of seeds again ¾ of a gram and take twice per day.
-Have abdominal pain or colic or sciatica? Try a powder made up of seeds and taken with ghee (clarified butter). I personally would not use this on children.

Apart from all these good things poppy seeds also taste great in your baking. Refer to this months recipe Poppy Seed Cake.

A Footnote;

I was told a story many years ago by a dear friend who has long since passed. She told me her mother in law used to keep poppy seeds for medicinal purposes. The woman also had a canary which was in a cage in the kitchen that she loved dearly. I guess one morning she was a bit groggy and went to feed the bird. She didn’t have on her glasses and just reached for a bottle nearby which looked like birdseed but she fed the bird a bunch of her poppy seeds.

As the story goes.. a while later the bird dropped off it’s perch and fell to the floor of it’s cage. Concerned she went to the cage and tried to replace the bird on it’s perch but alas it fell to the floor of the cage once again.. Upon better inspection she found one of it’s legs missing. Apparently the bird had gotten so high it gnawed off one of it’s legs after eating the poppy seeds..

Now.. this may sound like a rather gruesome story but I have to tell you we laughed so hard that night ( and we were eating nothing with poppy seeds in it either)… Poppies always remind me of Shirley and the hilarious stories she would tell all the while laughing so hard tears would roll down her cheeks.

So friends.. watch your intake of poppy seeds.. and never feed them to your canaries!

The photos in this article are of my Mothers Sister, Kathleen. The first is when she was younger at home and posing in one of her brothers navy uniforms. The second is with her husband William Menrath who was an American citizen and in the US Navy. She really was one for Navy duds.. or should that be Dudes? She was also a very lovely woman with a great sense of humor.

Not Forgotten..

Once upon a time, on January 15th, 1943, a Spitfire pilot crashed in northern France. He was on his way back to England, and dove to strafe a train. It is not known if he was shot-down in that attempt, if he made a mistake flying, or if he was already in trouble and shot at the plane in a last-ditch try. He died in a sprawling crash in a farmer’s field on the way home, in Normandy, France.

That crash was near a town, more a hamlet maybe, of less-than 300, called Saint-Martin-des-Entrees. It’s a little southeast of Bayeux, and west-northwest of Caen. They make lace there, and Calvados, which is an apple-brandy of dubious fame. It would be a full year and a half before the D-Day assault – which would occur not very far-away at all. In the meantime, this tiny community had seen thousands of planes fly overhead, and was “occupied” – but had not seen the war so right-there, before gathering the remains of the pilot.

On finding his papers, they discovered he was barely 20, and from a place called Peterborough they had never heard of. That was in Canada, which some hadn’t heard of either, but the very notion that someone had come from so far - and fought - and died there, for them, was amazing to the people in this tiny place, who had thought they were forgotten, and lost. The town arranged and held a funeral for this unknown pilot from a strange land, and buried him with honors and flowers and respect.

The German occupiers forbid them to do so – but they did anyway. TEN people of that tiny hamlet were sent to concentration-camps, simply for taking-part in honoring that dead pilot. FOUR of those ten never returned and died in the camps. But the tiny place always maintained the grave of “le soldat Ferguson”, the pilot who died there, so out-of-the-blue, once upon a time, in defiant-cause.

When the French government issued funds to commemorate the D-Day invasion and 50th-anniversary celebrations of that, the tiny hamlet of Saint-Martin-des-Entrees chose to host a celebration, not of D-Day, nor even for their own lost; but to rename their short main street after that pilot they knew no better 51-and-half years later, yet remembered still. A number of his Canadian relatives, including two siblings, were there when the wee town of Saint-Martin-des-Entrees, in Normandy, France, swollen to a grand population of 500 or so, had the main-street renamed as, “Rue de William Kennedy Ferguson”.

You can look it up, or go there, but the tiny modest grave is kept, the remembrance lingers – not for some general or leader, just a soldier who died... there, once upon a grim time.

As told to Ed...

In 1972, I sailed with Royal Canadian Navy as an instrument/electrical technician responsible for all the electrical circuits, wiring and instrumentation for the Sea King on board the HMCS Fraser. The standard of the day, when I first went aboard, was 1½ ounce of Pusser rum, 151 proof which was designed to ward off the cold of the North Atlantic and I must tell you it sure worked. This practice was later replaced with beer but I could never seem to consume enough to keep warm; happy but not warm.

We went to such ports as San Juan, Bermuda, Scotland, England, Barbados and Conerbrook Newfoundland. We participated in NATO exercises detecting submarines (the main role of the sea king). We also fired our 8 inch 50 deck guns on the island of Calebra which is the property of the USA and used for this purpose. We found ourselves surrounded by small fishing boats full of angry squatters on the island demanding we stop shooting at them. We left the area immediately. The shame of it all, a big bad destroyer driven away by a few small boats. We all had a good laugh and nobody got hurt.

The sea king helicopter was plagued with problems even way back then. We had crashes on land and sea with loss of life but our ship was the first and only ship to have a crash on deck. Fortunately, the proper procedures weren’t followed upon landing on the ship and those mistakes probably saved four souls from certain death when the right wheel broke loose sending the helicopter onto it’s side with the rotor still turning at full RPM. People were running and ducking trying to protect themselves from the flying parts which went in all directions and through the thick hangar door.

After the initial shock, we noticed that the helicopter was still on board although most of it’s weight was over the side (engines and transmission). The oversight that saved them was that the ship’s cable hadn’t been released from the aircraft upon landing, which is normal procedure, and the cable’s pressure prevented the helicopter from going overboard taking the four crewmen with it.

The deck personnel immediately put chains on the aircraft securing it to the deck. The fuel tanks are along the bottom of the aircraft which ruptured so there was the danger of fire because the fuel had run all over the ship. Immediate action by the firefighters prevented this from happening. The captain of the ship wanted us to release the aircraft over the side to protect “his” ship but we convinced him that we could post a reliable watch to make sure the ship was secure. We had to find out why the wheel broke away. We posted a 24 hour watch on the aircraft for four days until we arrived back in port in Shearwater NS. I’ve included pictures of this event.

A side note:
When the aircraft rolled onto it's side and the parts were flying, everybody was ducking and trying to protect themselves from the flying pieces. After things settled down, they opened the emergency hatch on the left hand side (the normal entrance was on the right hand side which was now under the aircraft) and started to extract the four people inside. They only found three. They searched everywhere and finally found the fourth guy in the mess drinking heavily. Apparently he exited the aircraft while everybody was ducking and nobody saw him leave. He never flew on the Sea King again.

We also had an event worth mentioning that could have had dire consequences. We sent our sea king helicopter over to the supply ship PRESERVER to retrieve a parcel. Because there was already a helicopter setting on the deck, our helicopter was required to hover close to the edge of the ship and the parcel was going to be taken on board by a winch just above the cargo door of the aircraft.. The signalman had both arms straight out which indicates “hover” while the parcel was being retrieved. His arms got tired and he dropped them down to his side and the pilot of our aircraft thought he was being told to land. When the signalman saw what was happening he immediately held his arms straight out again and the helicopter went into the hover but not before he drove the rear stantion up into the aircraft. The stantion is just forward of the rear wheel and is used to guide the aircraft into the hangar on board the ship. The tail wheel was over the edge of the deck and if he hadn’t lifted off when he did, the aircraft would have gone overboard. After inspection revealed the damage, the aircraft was grounded and we were out of action.

HMCS St. Laurent was going into “black fleet”(retirement) immediately and had a good helicopter on board so we went to Amsterdam, Holland. The helicopter from the St. Laurent was sent flying and a floating crane took our damaged helicopter off our deck and placed it onto the St. Laurent and their helicopter was retrieved on our deck. We were now back in the exercises. We always had something exciting happening every time we left harbor.

Sgt DW Geddes (ret)

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3/4 cup poppy seeds
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 egg whites only, whipped.
1 lemon grated (add even more juice for more lemony flavour)

~ Cover the poppy seeds with boiling water, drain and then soak in the milk for half an hour.
~ Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla (and lemon)
~ Blend in the flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds (and milk)
~ Fold in the egg whites.
~ Bake in a bundt pan (or springform pan with the bundt bottom) for about 40 minutes at 350-375
~ Ice with plain vanilla (or lemon) sugar frosting.

EnJoy!

Turkey meat contains an amino acid called L-tryptophan, and this compound helps makes you sleepy. But you'd have to eat turkey on an empty stomach with nothing else to really make you snooze. Thanksgiving foods have a lot of carbohydrates -- those are nutrients found in things like bread, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. These foods can help make you sleepy. And you probably eat a bigger meal than normal at Thanksgiving. That makes your stomach work harder to digest the food, and more blood flows to your stomach and away from your brain. All together, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner is designed to make you sleepy!

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Wars produce what people see as heroes. Some are recognized and some are not. Hollywood makes movies about brave men fighting in great battles and such things are as they should be.

But all those who die in wars are not engaged in combat. Some are doing other things at the time.

One of these was K.C. Nokes of the 237th Dust Off. A medic who was on his second tour in Vietnam. K.C. had two distinguishing characteristics. He was known to have the highest I.Q. and the Biggest feet in Northern I corps. His jungle boots were size 17. An inch for every 10 of his IQ points. KC could rattle off calculus as off hand as most guys could name the members of their family. Yet he never talked down to anyone. He had a way of simply accepting that others didn't have his gift in the same way that others were taller or shorter. It was just a small matter of difference. The only time he ever seemed to be in any hurry was when it was his turn to fly. Most guys grumbled but KC ran to the flight line without any concern for what the mission was. He went in to hot Landing zones under enemy fire and never knew what the next mission would be. In September of 1970, KC was on a mission to bring in some wounded Vietnamese civilians. The Crew consisted of CW2 Robert Hill,WO1 Mike Bradley,Crew Chief Jeff White and Medic KC Nokes. It was raining and very foggy with little visibility. The Huey (helicopter) crashed into the side of a mountain in the Northern Highlands . At that point there were no more reports. Another Chopper from Eagle Dust Off was sent to the scene. I remember being in the Radio Shack when the word came. all it said was "we need 4 body bags".

I knew Hill,and White since I first got in country. Bradley, I just knew on sight. But I was most effected by the loss of KC Nokes. He liked to party and and could get loud when he was happy. He was a genius who never gave any sign of feeling superior or even different from the rest of us. Never overtly macho and never showing any hesitation to face danger. He joined the army to go to Vietnam. Reenlisted to stay in Vietnam but had no interest at all in a military career. He turned down Officers Candidate School . His country was at war and he joined to fight for it. That was all.

I know there are others, perhaps thousands of stories like this around names that are on that wall and from many wars before and since. All brave men who died doing their duty and no one will ever make movies about them. Some could have gotten out of it. Some could have invented reasons why they should have gotten out of it. But they didn't see it that way. They did what they thought was right . No One can ask more of anyone.

ISHMAEL

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My Maternal Grandmother and Grandfather seeing off one of their 4 sons (Donald) who served in the military in the 40's.

My gosh where has the year gone!? Here it is November already and the Christmas ads are everywhere. There’s been so much happening here at RoseWillow this year and more yet to come!

We have decided to make our site completely .. FREE!! Yes you read right FREE. Full Memberships are completely FREE.

Once you register you will have all the perks of full memberships for one year at a time. You will have to reregister each year to keep your membership.
To the Members who have already paid this year:
Your Accounts have already or are in the process of being updated already. There is no need to reregister on your anniversary date.

What does full membership give you? Well lessee..
-Your own personal handle of course
-An icon of your choice. One of ours or one of your own. No larger than 100x100 pixels
-Your Personal Homepage
-A Forum of your own.
-A Private Chat Room.
-Your Own Guestbook for visitors
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-A RoseWillow Email address.
-Access to even more goodies coming in the future!

How can we do this? Well we can’t really but we’re gonna! The site will be run on donations. If you like the site, if you use it and would like to contribute then it’s totally up to you how much to spend. The donation button in the paper will also be put on the membership and front page. All donations maybe made through Paypal or by contacting me joy@rosewillow.ca.

I’m working on a few projects that will be announced in the New Year. Hopefully everyone will enjoy them.

There is only so much time in the day and I’m on a bit of a learning curve here so please forgive me if some things are a bit slow in coming. If anyone would like to contribute ideas, time or expertise to the site please contact me. I’m more than willing to hear any of your ideas to make our site better and I could always use a hand here and there.

I’d like to wish our American Friends a very, very Happy Thanksgiving this month. I’d also like to let you know we’re also anxious to hear your election results up here. We’re hoping for the best. Whom ever wins the election I just hope they can do what’s best for the people.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos in this months paper. I had no idea just how many of my relatives actually served in the military in one branch or another. Also my husbands Father and Brother are both retired from the military. It has quite a learning experience for me. A bit of an eye opener I must say. I wish I knew more about their stories.

Have a good month everyone!

X
Joy

Aries: Your sense of perspective and proportion is a bit skewed at the moment. Small problems loom large and details and other minor matters consume a lot of attention and focus. You are apt to be mentally restless, scattered, unable to concentrate on the immediate task at hand, absorbed in something related to the past. A somewhat disconcerting, but only too familiar, interaction with a parent, child, or other family member is likely. Be aware that you may be too stuck in your own point of view or self protectiveness to really hear what they are trying to convey. Taurus: Care must be taken to keep fairness and peace in a close intimate partnership or marriage. The tastes, values, attitudes, and reactions between you and a mate can pose problems and frustrations in your relationship now. Either you or your partner may be competing with each other in some subtle manner. Barriers to romantic or wedded bliss need to be removed through resolution, negotiation, and compromise at this time. A new love relationship may appear to lack staying power or suffer interruptions and obstacles to further growth and commitment.

Gemini: Frustrations and minor irritations concerning personal or work-related ambitions may be characteristic of this time frame. You may have a tendency to act in haste without proper forethought, due to impatience and aggravation over conditions at work or in your personal life. Aggressive tactics may bring about conflict with similarly inclined people in your personal or professional life. Sorting out various new issues, arrangements, and everyday responsibilities can be rather difficult now. For example, a work situation or personal activity may require more organization or extra effort than you had anticipated. Or, you could feel discouraged over situations in which persons or professionals keep you from moving forward.

Cancer: You are more prone to vexation and aggravation right now, especially in traffic or in some area of your life that you are trying to get ahead in. Accidents due to trying to force a situation, ignoring safety precautions, hurrying, or anger need to be guarded against. You are apt to feel that you have no outlets or means of expressing your anger or aggressive impulses, and right now that is probably true. Standing your ground and insisting upon your rights or your position only leads to unnecessary friction and bad blood, with no clear winner or loser emerging. Either transcending or letting go of your frustration is really the only way out at this time.

Leo: You may be ardent in expressing your affection, devotion, and loyalty to your marriage partner or significant other at this time. You are eager for closeness, reassurances of commitment, and emotional interplay. The satisfaction you derive from these experiences will boost your own ego and confidence, as well as make you feel completely at ease with your mate. You could also be very supportive of your partner's needs at this time; however, you will expect the same treatment in return. If you are married or committed to someone, just knowing you can rely upon someone for love and assurance is very compelling at this time. If single or unattached, you may desire to initiate a romantic relationship now or may simply be excited by the idea of marriage and all its trimmings.

Virgo: You may be ardent in expressing your affection, devotion, and loyalty to your marriage partner or significant other at this time. You are eager for closeness, reassurances of commitment, and emotional interplay. The satisfaction you derive from these experiences will boost your own ego and confidence, as well as make you feel completely at ease with your mate. You could also be very supportive of your partner's needs at this time; however, you will expect the same treatment in return. If you are married or committed to someone, just knowing you can rely upon someone for love and assurance is very compelling at this time. If single or unattached, you may desire to initiate a romantic relationship now or may simply be excited by the idea of marriage and all its trimmings.

Libra: This is a happy and cooperative time for family or career matters. You develop strong feelings of concern for anyone or anything that needs your support or direction. You will find it easier to handle both taking care of your family and gaining control of personal and business affairs. Other people may admire and count on your dependability and loyalty and you enjoy the attention you receive from helping others at this time. This is a good period for entertaining and playful times with family members. If you have children, you may notice that you are less strict with them just now and should use this time to boost their self-esteem.

Scorpio: Sharing your thoughts and ideas with your mate or marriage partner is rewarding to you now. A blending of similar interests and attitudes can help establish closer ties between you and your mate. In an ongoing relationship, pledges of love, commitment, and loyalty can be exchanged, or you can have a meaningful conversation which brings renewed vows. You or your loved one may be especially revealing with regard to affectionate feelings and open communications. Carrying out day to day routines and obligations with your companion should also prove more pleasant during this period. You may even receive an invitation or news of a wedding, birth, party, or engagement now.

Sagittarius: Hard work is rewarding, rather than burdensome, for you at this time. You can apply steady effort and dedication to accomplishing your work duties and obligations without much difficulty. Authority figures and superiors are cooperative and helpful to you as they sense your ambitious and responsible attitude. If you have an opportunity to work in an administrative or executive position, your reputation will be highly respected. A methodical and mature approach to work will be likely and you will want to follow the proper guidelines and rules of your organization or work place. You will be especially good at completing projects or tasks which demand perseverance and determination.

Capricorn: This is a favorable time for love and marital relationships. You and a mate or lover can have the opportunity to enjoy mutual interests and find satisfactory solutions to any problems that might arise now. You will want your loving companion to be there for you, to share in your ups and downs, and to show loyalty and commitment to the relationship. You expect the same devotion and affection which you lavish on your mate to be fully reciprocated now. Entertaining in your home or hosting an event or party with your mate or spouse would be rewarding to you. If you are currently unattached, this period may feature a brand-new love attraction whom you may meet during a social gathering.

Aquarius: You may have to set aside leisure activities in order to work on an important business or career endeavor. Current work-related projects need your attention or supervision. However, you should approach tasks with an attitude of cooperation and sharing, or else you can expect some opposition. Refrain from being overbearing or headstrong when promoting your own interests to other individuals now. Career obstacles can either be viewed as a nuisance or an opportunity to prove your dedication and stamina. If you fall short of your goals, try to remain centered and in command of your vocational directions.

Pisces: You are in a festive, partying mood and just want to play and share a good time with your friends. Community social events and fellowship are very rewarding now. Also, at this time it is hard for you to say no to food, drink, or extravagances in any form. You are also very generous and tolerant toward others. Though you feel wonderful now, you're likely to regret your actions later if you don't curtail your impulses to overindulge, overspend, and enjoy too much of a good thing.

-Deborah Browning

I am terribly sorry for the delay in publishing the paper this month. Though we usually are out on the first we thought it best to hold off a few days to make sure everything got added. I cannot thank this months contributors enough! We could not have put out the paper with out you folks! The stories and photo’s are just wonderful. You people make this job a joy. Anything our members or friends care to contribute is always greatly appreciated.

We’re already gearing up for Christmas here at RoseWillow. You may have noticed the site now is offering FREE memberships to all. This is great news. I’m told there will be lots to report in the coming months so I’ll let you know when I know.

Attention all Artists and Crafters! Please take a look see at our Classified Section. There is nothing happening there yet but we hope to make it a place for you to sell your wares. It’s open to anyone who has something they would like to advertize. Simply sign up and post away it’s free!

We’re still looking for artists to make new Egreeting cards. If you’re interested contact Joy. Don’t forget about the Recipe Center either! I’m looking for some Christmas recipes. If you have any specialties you’d like to add please feel free! Joe is also looking for Christmas drink recipes so pop into his Bar Book and add your favorites.

We are looking for your favorite Christmas stories and photo’s for Decembers Oracle. Send in as many as you like! If anyone has anything they’d like to add to the paper we encourage you to send it in. If you’d like to do a monthly coloum we’d love to have you aboard. I can be contacted any time at Pierre. or you can leave a post on theThe Oracle Bulletin Board.

Happy Thanksgiving to the US. Best of luck on the election results. I hope you all will take some time on November 11th to remember, as we will be.

Best Wishes till next month.

Pierre.
Editor of the Rosewillow Oracle

This is a photo of my father again. He served in the RCAF, Royal Canadian Air Force briefly. You'll notice the flag to his left. It's the British Union Jack.

Up until, 1945, the only "official" flag that Canada flew was the Union Jack. The Red Ensign was flown for Canada, at sea and at posts throughout the world, and in 1945 (with the addition of Royal Arms) it was established as the "temporary" Canadian flag, until a replacement was found. They did not realize it would be another 20 years before that would happen.

When William Lyon Mackenzie King suggested that Canada consider researching and adopting its own flag, he fell under much criticism. In short, many people felt they had fought in WWI under a waving Union Jack and that it would be disrespectful to replace it.

The flag issue was dropped until WWII when King insisted Canadian Forces be acknowledged for their part in the war rather than as a part of Britain's effort. The Canadian Army, not having a distinctive flag for themselves started to use the Red Ensign with the shield of the Coat of Arms of Canada in January 1944. The Royal Canadian Air Force followed soon after.

King decided to try to bring the issue of a distinctly Canadian flag to the forefront of debate in parliament. The response was the same as the first time. King was burned and his popularity in office was damaged.

Again the issue went unresolved. Pearson faced the same intensity of battle and the same criticisms as King had faced years previously. The battle was just as ferocious and political, but at the end Canada had a new National Flag.

Joy