Dear Canimites,
With the parade of south-bound campers now over-the-hill, thoughts turn to reaping the last of the harvest and topping off the woodpile.
In the night sky above, Orion the hunter sneaks over the Eastern horizon, followed by his faithful dog Canis Major marked by the brightest of all stars – Sirius.
Harvey Ostroff, playwright
Hawkins Lake resident Harvey Ostroff – playwright, poet, singer-songwriter, sculptor – has one of those minds that runs on high octane fuel and just never quits.
Harvey’s play DeliMax will run Jan. 7-18 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. The play is set in Montreal as Quebec nationalism gives birth to the first language laws.
The Jewish owner of a delicatessen, a holocaust survivor who runs afoul of the language police, decides to teach his French-Canadian waitress and her ultra-nationalist boyfriend the true meaning of oppression.
Harvey played and sang his own composition, The Ballad of Terry Fox, at the run in Langley this year. His sculpture pieces, which he calls "assisted driftwood," also draw attention. Using materials from the land and a bit of paint, Harvey creates people and creatures within fascinating naturally sculpted settings, bringing new and unexpected life to his materials.
Harvey is a native of Montreal. Moving to British Columbia in 1970, he taught English and theatre in high school and university until his retirement in 2002.
He and his wife, Margie, now split their time between travel, Hawkins and the Lower Mainland. He says the lake is a "friendship and kindness driven" place, a "real community" in which all are included. He finds it an ideal spot to pursue his daily avocation, writing and sculpting.
Young people shining
The Zemanek twins, Debra and Andrea, spent the summer firefighting out of Lillooet.
Both are now at Queen’s University in Kingston in third-year science and will soon be off on an international exchange – Debra to Edinburgh and Andrea to Helsinki.
Evelyn Froehling, daughter of Waltraud and Wilhelm Froehling, is in her last year at University of Alberta, pursuing her passion for language and culture.
Samantha Tait is in second-year science at Thompson Rivers University, immersing herself in biology this semester.
That’s all for now. Until next time, here’s wishing you many blessings.