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WOMEN
“Senior of the Year” in Stratford
40
PRESBYTERIAN
WINTER 2022
presbyterian.ca
Jean Aitcheson, local volunteer and member of the Women’s Missionary Society (WMS), was presented with the “Senior of the Year” award by the city of Strat- ford, Ont.
Having spent 53 years as a registered nurse, Jean now vol- unteers with the Stratford Mission Depot, which, for 27 years, has been accepting donated medi- cal supplies that would normally be tossed out to landfill. Instead, volunteers pack and send the supplies to people in need around the world. Currently, shipments are made to Ukraine, Cuba, South Sudan, Zambia and Sierra Leone. Many of the shipments also con- tain miniature prayer shawls, made by Presbyterian WMS
group members, with a prayer written in Ukrainian, Spanish or English. Many donated supplies come via contacts of Presbyterian churches throughout the Synod of Southwestern Ontario. The work at the depot increased in February in response to the war in Ukraine. Thankfully, the great warehouse space at St. Andrew’s Presbyte- rian Church in Stratford made it possible for the depot to meet the increased demand.
Jean has led and participated in 38 short-term mission trips to Guatemala, El Salvador, Nica- ragua, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Guyana, Malawi, the Philip- pines and Bangladesh. She has also mentored mission partici- pants who have gone on to form
their own mission trip teams to Guatemala, El Salvador and Nica- ragua.
Within the community of Strat- ford, she’s a member of the Festival City Stratford Club and an active Rotarian, who holds several Rotary awards, including the “Service Above Self” award in 2017—one of 120 given yearly around the world by Rotary Inter- national.
There are many more local charities and organizations that Jean supports, not to mention she is an active member of Avonton Presbyterian Church and serves as president of the church’s WMS group.
Thank you, Jean, for your gen- erosity and selflessness!
BOOKS
Pictured (l to r) is former Stratford mayor, Dan Mathieson, councillor Kathy Vassilakos, Jean Aitcheson and recently elected mayor, Martin Ritsma.
A Review of
is filled with mystery and intrigue and secrets that will only be re- vealed in the final chapter.
Also, anyone who is inter- ested in history, particularly as it pertains to Grey County, will be drawn in by this story. Henderson grew up on a farm in Grey County and her appreciation for the land and the people of the area shines through.
But what does the author hope you will get out of reading this novel? It is, she says, “a tale of a family defined by loyalty, betrayal, rigidity, resilience, longing, and above all dreams.” It “explores how family, place and dreams shape our lives. Prepare to laugh and cry. In the end you will feel you are part of this family.”
Dorothy has written three previ- ous novels: The Season of Straw- berries and Happy are Those, both about a young woman min- ister, and Dr. Bloom’s Event, about a Jewish surgeon in London, Ont.
Dorothy lives in Waterloo, Ont., with her husband, John. She has enjoyed a variety of careers: music teacher, mental health worker, Christian educator and Presbyterian minister.
Dreaming in Grey
By the Rev. John Congram, former editor of the Presbyterian Record magazine
Dreaming in Grey
Written by Dorothy Brown Henderson July 2022
This is the fourth novel by Cana- dian Presbyterian, Dorothy Brown Henderson. It centres on five generations of one family living in Markdale and Grey County, Ont., between 1935 and 2009.
The main characters in the novel are all fictional and part of the extended family, with one ex- ception. Tales of Grey County’s most famous politician, Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to Canada’s House of Commons and founding member of the CCF, are woven throughout the narra- tive. We learn of her causes, such as fighting for pensions for sen-
iors and worker’s rights. Although most of the char-
acters in the story are fictitious, many places and events de- scribed in the narrative are not. Even Markdale’s famous Chap- man’s ice cream makes a brief appearance. Black settlers who once farmed in Grey County and then suddenly disappeared are discussed several times. Ques- tions are asked about why all traces of this settlement are gone. Historic events, like the construc- tion of the railway station in Owen Sound, are worked into the story.
The novel moves back and forth between two members of the main family, Sara and her grandmother Ruth.
Sara is nine years old when she is traumatized by the sudden death of her mother. She must then assume responsibilities no nine-year-old should have to car- ry. Her father’s main interest and
focus is on municipal politics. He is constantly in conflict with Sara’s eldest brother, Kep, who Sara loves and admires. Sara assumes large responsibilities for two younger brothers, one of whom is an infant.
We are taken through the 1930s and ‘40s, the hardships of the Great Depression and the second world war, through Sara’s grandmother and her memories. We learn that Ruth marries her childhood sweetheart who then betrays her by impregnating a young woman who had come to help out on the farm. But the mar- riage survives and Ruth and Wil- liam, her husband, adopt the baby when he is born.
Henderson has a passion for good food and cooking. Her first book was a cookbook. So it’s no surprise food plays an important role in her stories. Kep develops a passion for food and cooking
from the medieval age, and even- tually goes off to study in the cu- linary program of George Brown College in Toronto. The author includes two recipes for the ad- venturous reader to try—Kep’s Lenten Heathen Quiche (adapted from the medieval era) and Pio- neer Apple Pie out of the Old Grey Highlands Kitchens.
Who should read this novel? Anyone who enjoys a good tale of the trials and temptations of family life, which will likely reflect aspects of your own family, will appreciate this novel. The story
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