News & Announcements |
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BPHA President's Fall Notices
LABOUR DAY WEEKEND! LAST WEEKEND THE POOL IS OPEN. DON'T MISS OUR CLOSING BBQ Please join us for our annual end of summer barbeque! It will be held in our pool pavilion on Monday, September 5th with the barbeque starting at 5:00 p.m. and the talent show commencing at 6:00 p.m. Please bring a side dish to share and your own plates and cutlery, hamburgers and hot dogs as well as drinks will be provided. Be sure to sign up with the guards this weekend to be in the talent show.
UPCOMING EVENTS in August... Ladies Night -Thursday, August 25 7:00-9:00pm. Farnaz Ashjari will host our summertime "Ladies Night in" at her home. Please bring either an appetizer or bottle of wine to 223 The Lion's Gate. (Farnaz's phone is 519 896 9035 just in case). Come spend an evening sharing stories about your summer vacation with your neighbours! Hope to see many of you there!
Don't Miss BPHA's Upcoming Talk Under the Pavilion! Special Guest Dana Shortt - Tuesday, August 16, 7pm Dana Shortt, from Waterloo's Dana Shortt Gourmet, will be bringing along several different varieties of olive oils and balsamic vinegars for sampling under the pavilion. She will share pairing suggestions and with the samples, you will taste the difference! Learn different ways of using oils and vinegars and their wonderful health benefits. You will also get to bring home delicious recipes that will wow your family and guests!
Come Out and Support Our Local Artists! BPHA ART AND CRAFT SHOW AND SALE! This year BPHA will host its very first Art and Craft Show and Sale!! Come out to the recreation centre and be impressed by the amazing work created by talented members of our BPHA! A portion of the proceeds will go to a local charity. Wednesday, August 17, noon - 6pm. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Super Hero Day – Wednesday, August 3, 5:30pm Kids, dress up like a Super Hero and come out for a fun time with your friends! Games, crafts and BBQ for only $3.00. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Inter-Beechwood Swim Meet!
Junior Swim Meet: Tuesday, August 9, 3:30pm Craigleith Pool. Ages 4-8
Senior Swim Meet: Wednesday, August 10, 3:30pm. Upper Beechwood I. Ages 8+
Details and sign up sheets will be posted at the pool this week.
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Penny Carnival - Wednesday, August 10, 1:30pm. Bring your pennies and enjoy an afternoon of fun! Kids of all ages welcome. Wednesday, August 10 1:30pm. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ask a RIM Expert – Learn about the many apps available for your BlackBerry and find out about the features of RIM's new BlackBerry PlayBook! This is a free talk under the BPHA pavilion! -Tuesday, August 2, 7pm.
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Scrapbooking Workshop – Hang out with your friends and enjoy the art of scrapbooking. Perhaps you can create a scrapbook to capture all the fun times you have at BPHA this summer! -Monday, August 8, 2pm (tweens and teens) Cost is $5.00 for materials. Please sign up at the guard office. Space is limited so sign up early!
____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ July 14th - The Membership Passed the proposed Bylaws after making several constructive amendments. They will be posted on the website once available.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Upcoming Events in July
Gardening Talk -Tuesday, July 12 at 7pm Elaine Baldwin, Master Gardener is coming out for a talk on herb gardening. Please bring a lawn chair to the BPHA pavilion and join your neighbours for this free interactive talk!
Creative Workshop -Sunday July 17 at 7pm We have the second workshop in our Creative Series for adults, Design Your Own Greeting Cards. Our lovely neighbour Vanessa Midwood will be leading this informal and fun session. The cost is only $5.00 and it includes all materials needed. Space is limited so please either sign up at the pool or e-mail me by Thursday, July 14.
Pamper Yourself Workshop - Wednesday, July 13 at 7pm Estheticians from Gina's Spa will share their secrets to applying make-up in our Pamper Yourself Workshop for our tweens and teens. Cost is $5.00 for this fun interactive session! Space is limited to please sign up at the pool or email me as soon as possible so we can reserve your spot!
Mini Olympics - Friday July 15 at 1:30pm. We have Mini Olympics for the kids. This is one of our most popular summer events! We invite all BPHA kids to bring your bottled water and get ready for some friendly competition!!
Sign up now for our upcoming Jewelry Making workshop! Tweens and teens are invited to create handmade pieces of jewelry while spending time with friends. Workshop will be Monday, July 18th from 2pm-4pm. Cost is only $7.00 and includes a piece of jewelry to bring home and wow your family! E-mail me or sign up at the pool!
Sign up for our second session of FREE Synchronized swimming classes!! The session will run July 18-July 29 (Monday to Friday at noon). If interested, please email me or sign up at the pool this week! Please note that you must be at least 5 years old and able to swim a length of the pool.
Movie Night – Enjoy a movie flick with friends at the BPHA recreation centre. A drive-in theater experience without having to fill up the car! Two movies will be offered.
Tuesday, July 26th. Cost is $2 (popcorn and juice included). Despicable Me at 7pm Pirates of the Caribbean at 8:30pm.
UPCOMING EVENTS in June... END OF SCHOOL PARTY - Thursday, June 30 4-6 pm Come out and join your friends at the pool to celebrate the end of school! Cost is $3 (includes BBQ) See you there!
CREATIVE WORKSHOP - Sunday, June 26, 7pm Learn the Art of Felting! Artist Manuela Ullrich will introduce you to this unique textile technique and you will create your very own piece of felted art. - under the BPHA pavilion. Cost is $6.00 Please email l.bacic@hotmail.com if you would like to sign up. Space is limited.
Ask a Lawn Specialist - Tuesday, June 7th 7pm Joe Wyatt, owner of Neighbour Lawn Care, will return for an interactive discussion titled "A Season of Lawn Care".
ANNUAL POOL & PATIO PARTY "SOIREE A PARIS" Posted 2011-05-16 In one month from today on June 16th, our annual Pool and Patio Party, Soiree a Paris will be held! Come join your neighbours for an evening of champagne cocktails, delicious French food and entertainment! Adults only, tickets are $40.00 per person cash or cheque to 330 Coleridge by June 2nd. Chic attire encouraged! A bientot, Cynthia
ANNUAL VICTORIA DAY BBQ & FIREWORKS Our annual Victoria Day BBQ and fireworks will be held on Monday, May 23rd 2011 starting at 5:00 p.m. Please bring a side dish, dessert or salad and your own plates, cups and cutlery and join us for hamburgers and hotdogs. We'll also have the kid's bicycle parade (decorate those bikes), and Soap Box Derby down Shakespeare Drive. At 9:00 p.m. we'll have fireworks at Claire Lake, they're sure to be spectacular!
I look forward to seeing everyone there,
Cynthia
MORE PICTURES Posted: 2011-05-16 Come & take a peak at our Facebook group for new pictures posted from year's past. Face book group name: Beechwood Parks Homes Association. See you on the Wall!
ANNUAL SPRING CLEAN UP ON SATURDAY MAY 7 2011 at 9 A.M.
Please come join us for the annual Spring Clean Up of the pool, tennis courts and grounds surrounding our Club. Bring your rakes and work gloves and lend a helping hand on May 7 2011. The more the merrier! Bring your children, your grandchildren, your neighbors, and spend just a few hours of volunteering together to get the club ready for the Summer Season. Even the little ones can help pick up litter around the club just to be part of the group effort for the Summer fun ahead! (That was my environmental pitch/lets all chip in speech.)
April 16 2011: Due to the rain expected this weekend, the Easter Egg hunt is being post-poned until Saturday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m. I apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you on the 23rd. We will still meet on the green space near Claire Lake.
SPRING TIME IN BEECHWOOD VIDEOS: APRIL 9 2011 JUST CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW & ENJOY!
http://smilebox.com/play/4d6a51774d5467314e6a453d0d0a&sb=1
EASTER EGG HUNT: APRIL 17 2011
Our neighbourhood Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for Sunday, April 17th at 2:00 p.m. Please bring your children to the Claire Lake Green Space with their Easter baskets! Let's welcome spring with some chocolate!
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: 2011-04-04 The Beechwood Park Homes Association is on Facebook. Under search, just type in Beechwood Parks Home Association. (Please note in this case only, that on Facebook "Parks" is plural and not "Home") Come and join us on THE WALL! Share in on discussions, stories, pictures and videos of our years together at our community club. The Beechwood Parks Home Association is a closed group for BPHA members only. The public content is available only to members.Admins must approve requests for new members to join. Anyone can see the group description, but only members can see the Wall, discussion board, and photos.Privacy settings are monitored and updated by administrators on an ongoing basis. How to join? It is simple! Just click on Request to Join! Awhile back, invitations were sent out to members via emails. Check your inboxes for this Facebook invite. If you did not receive an email invitation, just go on our Facebook account and click on request to join. Let's start chatting and sharing! If you have any problems signing up please contact Lori at lori.de@rogers.com to assist you. As well, you can just email me and I will send you an invitation if you have any difficulty getting onto the Facebook account. If you are new to Facebook and want a little guidance, email me as well and I would be happy to help you. See you on THE WALL!
LADIES NIGHT IN - MARCH 25 2011
The Beechwood Park Homes Association Committee organized a Ladies Night this past Friday night, March 25 2011. Appetizers and wine were enjoyed by all the ladies who attended this lovely evening. Thanks go out to Cynthia and Johanna for organizing this wonderful event for all the ladies from Beechwood. Thank you Johanna for opening up your beautiful home for this entertaining evening. See pictures to the right.
CLAIR LAKE UPDATE: DECEMBER 15 2010 Dear Neighbours
FALL CLEAN UP THANK YOU: NOV 13 2010
Thank you to all those that helped cleanup the Association Property. We made it just in time for the City Leaf Crew to pickup the piles of leaves. We had many hands helping and that saved the day. Afterward we even had an impromptu BBQ and Tennis match that went until sun down. ( That means 5:00 p.m. these days ) Thanks again to everyone for helping. Enjoy the off season and see you in early 2011. Cheers, Ed Korschewitz
FALL CLEAN UP: NOV 7, 2010: Just a quick announcement that the Fall Clean up is going to be on Nov 13th. 9:00 until ...........(More hands the quicker we get finished) This is a very important chore since it determines how quick and easy the pool opening becomes in the spring. On another note please attend the AGM in February. We will have many items to discuss. New bylaws are going to be presented so this one will be very important for our continued success. If you want to volunteer, or have questions and concerns please contact a Board Member or go right to the Prez (Ed Korschewitz - 293 Longfellow Dr. )
SPRING NEWS LETTER - MAY 6 2010 COMING EVENTS Monday May 24th Victoria Day Celebration and Welcome to New Neighbours BBQ at Pool: 5:00p.m. Soap Box Derby 6:00p.m. on Shakespeare Hill (helmets required) Decorate your bikes and join the bike parade Fireworks: 9:00p.m. at Clair Lake Saturday May 29th Neighbourhood Garage Sale (Association will insert ads and post Signs) Saturday June 5th Opening Pool BBQ at 4:00p.m. Thursday June 10th Pool and Patio Party
HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AT THESE EVENTS!
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Beechwood Park Homes Association is going through some exciting times. This year everyone is a voluntary member for the first time. We are sorry to see members leave, however, the membership numbers remain the same as last year through the efforts of our membership drive. This is terrific news because it allows us to budget the best programs and keep our facilities in top notch condition. As everyone is aware, we purchased a new Winter Pool Cover last fall which has been a very worthwhile investment. The water will be cleaned and filled in the next few weeks in preparation for our weekend opening on May 29th. Then our Solar Heater will take over and bring the temperature up to a very comfortable 27ºC (80ºF).
Based on the tremendous popularity of our tennis programs the past few years, your Board has made an important decision to completely replace the courts this year. While a significant investment, it’s one that the Association has been planning for a long time, given the courts are over 40 years old. Once completed we will have one of the best tennis facilities in the city. In order to accomplish this major restoration, we ask for your patience during the construction period, which will extend from about the middle of May to the middle of June. The timing will still leave our Peak Tennis season intact and we are working on an arrangement with one of the other Beechwoods close by to allow our members to play at their courts during this period. Feel free to contact Lynn Van Der Hoeven on Shakespeare Drive for updates on this arrangement. As well, many thanks to the Zehr family for setting up the tennis nets so that we have had almost a month of tennis already. This includes the Wednesday evening men’s and Thursday evening women’s round robins which are in full swing.
The regular speaker series in the pool Gazebo was such a success last year, thanks to Lisa Bacic’s efforts, that we are planning to expand from four speakers to one every second week, most probably on Thursday evenings. Some of the topics may include: Nanotechnology Advances, City Amalgamation, Homeopathic Care, Fire Safety, Solar Energy, and Eco Lawn Care. Some of the speakers have been confirmed and once the website is up and operational again, everyone will be able to see the topics, speakers and dates. Yes, we have a new website under development at the following URL: www.bpha.ca Hopefully, everyone will make use of this convenient tool for keeping our neighbourhood connected. Finally, as a future project we are also looking into the feasibility of installing a Volleyball court in the greenbelt behind the pool centre and are asking the City about this. That’s about all for now and I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming Victoria Day celebration on May 24th.
Sincerely, Ed Korschewitz, President BPHA, info@bpha.ca
THANKS DANA On behalf of the entire Beechwood community, we would like to thank Dana Fox for his tremendous efforts on our behalf during his four year stint on our Board as both Vice President and President. Dana has always been a real cheerleader for our community, telling anyone in the city who will listen just how unique Beechwood Park is. Over the past two years as President, Dana and the Board kept our Association in tip top shape with innovations like the Gazebo Speaker Series. Membership increased every year as well. Dana also utilized his considerable computer skills to knit our community together via the website which he created and managed (www.bpha.biz), as well as the email chain that informed our membership of important event and community information. For Dana, building strong, sustainable community in Waterloo is very important and he spends much of his spare time doing things like hosting out of town visitors who are thinking of making Waterloo their corporate home. According to Dana, strong community and citizen involvement is the “secret sauce” behind our city’s economic success. Thanks Dana.
CLAIR LAKE UPDATE Here is an update from the Clair Lake Citizens Task Force chairman, Brian Dixon, who lives on Marlowe. The Task Force has been working diligently on our behalf for several months with the consultants (Conestoga Rovers), the City, and the Ministry of Natural Resources on resolving the future of our neighbourhood Lake. On behalf of the neighbourhood, thanks so much for your efforts. Brian reports:
The Clair Lake Citizens Task Force has continued to meet since the Public Open House in January. We met in February to discuss the EA addendum that Conestoga Rovers had prepared including the three options presented at the Open House. Those three options are “On-line lake, Dredge Only”, “On-line Lake with enhancements (which would of course include dredging) and “Stream Only” which would involve removing the Dam and the Lake. Conestoga Rover’s initial analysis concluded that “On-line Lake with enhancements” was the preferred option. Other stakeholders have also been providing input, most notably the Grand River Conservation Authority(who is acting for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Ministry of Natural Resources). They have been carefully examining the information provided by Conestoga Rovers and they have met three times with Denise McGoldrick from the City, the Conestoga Rovers team and myself in order to clarify information in the EA addendum. The GRCA hopes to provide their final written comments by this Friday, which will allow us to move forward with the addendum process. Conestoga Rovers will incorporate all of the comments into their addendum analysis, although at this point they do not anticipate a change in the preferred option. While this process has ensured that the stakeholders have all provided strong input, which will hopefully keep the process smooth after this point, this consultation period has lasted longer than we hoped. We were hoping to present the addendum to council in May, but the delay we have experienced now means that we will most likely be presenting the addendum to council for approval in September(and we will make every effort to do so in advance of the Municipal election, which could cause further delays.) Unfortunately, this will delay any construction on the lake. We were hoping that construction would begin this winter, but due to this delay and a legal restriction on construction during the months of April, May and June, this now means that any construction will have to wait until July 2011. While these delays are irritating, they are largely out of our control, and by ensuring that all stakeholders clearly understand the Addendum and its outcome now, we will avoid any further delays through the rest of this process. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact myself or any of the other members of the task force. Cheers, Brian Dixon bdixon@uwaterloo.ca
TIDBITS You always experience interesting things when you are strolling through the neighbourhood; in my case something I do quite often with Sparky the dog. Recently, I came upon Kay Wentzell, a long time resident who lives beside Clair Lake, busily hunched over a wooden contraption with two of her grandchildren. When I asked Kay what they were doing she said they were making ice cream in an old churn she’s had for years. Unfortunately, the ice cream making wasn’t complete when I arrived and I forgot to return for a taste, which Kay said was unfortunate because it turned out the vanilla was delicious.
As well, this past Wednesday I had a chat with a nice retired gentleman who pushes a Zehrs shopping cart strung with returnable bags around the neighbourhood on Wednesday mornings collecting all the beer cans and liquor bottles we leave out in our blue boxes. He’s got this collection process down to a science and it’s amazing how much he can cram into his cart. While he does make a bit of money with his little recycling venture he really does it to get out of the house and get a bit of exercise.
Don’t you just love some of the creative “Chalk Art” you run into on our sidewalks and driveways done by the kids? Tracey and David Nairn’s kids, who live on Marlowe, are particularly adept at this art form, although it does make you kind of dizzy trying to read it as you stroll along. Too bad the rain acts like a giant eraser every few days.
Finally, I was chatting with my neighbour John Brzozowski about his recent trip to a computer science conference in a mountainous, rural province in Southern Mexico called Oaxaca (that’s pronounced “Wahaca”) that has been left relatively untouched by modern ways. John enthused about the wonderful farmers markets they went to where the rural “Campesinos”, in this case indigenous Zapotecs, sold an unbelievable variety of tropical fruits, vegetables, handwoven clothing, handmade jewelry. It’s nice to know authentic, land based communities like this still thrive in some parts of our globe.
NEW ARRIVALS We’d like to welcome both the new families and the new-borns who have recently joined our community. We hope to see you out and about this summer. - Congratulations to Chris & Katya Georghiades of 272 Shakespeare, on the arrival of their new son Christopher on March 6th, a brother for Charles and Marcos. - Best Wishes to Dave & Anna Marshall of 218 Mohawk, on the arrival of their son Matthew on December 9th, a brother to Sarah, Grace, Peter, Daniel, Hannah Rose, Luke, and Faith. - Welcome to Tom & Monica Erling, who have moved into their new home on 214 Mohawk. Tom, who is a family physician, is also an avid tennis player. - Welcome also to John & Bess Markou, who recently purchased the Fitzpatrick home at 163 Tennyson Place. - Welcome to Susan & Warren Chung of Toronto who are in the midst of renovating their new home at 284 Shakespeare. Their children, Brandon and Rachel, will be living there while attending Science programs at the University of Waterloo. - Welcome to Ian & Jocelyn Robertson and their two 3-year-olds Katie and Duncan, who are busy settling into their new home at 212 Mohawk.
THE PRODUCE STAND AND COMMUNITY GARDEN Dolores Penner and I, along with our many community volunteers, are looking forward to a third great season of the Beechwood Neighbourhood Produce Stand which will open on Wednesday June 16th. It’s become more popular each year as word has spread how delicious and fresh the Mennonite-supplied fruits and vegetables are. The stand will be open from 12:00 noon to 6:00p.m. each Wednesday as it was last year. If you are interested in helping us out don’t hesitate to contact Dolores (pennerfamily@sympatico.ca) or myself (singercutt@golden.net). If you want to see a great video on why it’s important to buy local food, I highly recommend Hellman Mayonnaises’ short video on You Tube as part of their Real Food Movement Campaign. You can watch it at vimeo.com/5477517; you can also access their website at EatRealEatLocal.ca. In addition, this year a group of gardening volunteers are starting a Beechwood Community Garden behind our tennis courts in the city-owned greenbelt. Under the City of Waterloo’s Partners in Parks Program we are able use their land to build a community garden that will grow vegetables and flowers. We are starting out with a small plot 25’x45’ and if successful will expand this area next year. “Seed” money for the project is not coming from BPHA; instead, we are using some of the funds we have saved from the Produce Stand. (Last year we used our Stand money to purchase a bronze dedication plaque for our Beechwood Gazebo.) We will need lots of volunteers to help maintain the garden during the season so if you want to get involved, if only for an hour a week to do some weeding or planting, please contact Paul Struck at (pstruck@arcafinancial.ca) or myself. It should be both fun and tasty. We hope to be planting the garden around the third week in May. Besides providing a healthy food source of organic produce for all of us, we hope that this garden will improve our local environment, become a neighbourhood meeting place, teach our children about how food is grown, and generally help grow a healthier and safer community. We are also looking for any serviceable garden tools, equipment, hoses etc. – even a garden shed - that you may wish to donate to our garden project. If so, please give us a call. Thanks.
VANDALISM IN BEECHWOOD Brian Hendley from Coleridge Drive asked me to let the neighbourhood know about a new kind of vandalism popping up in the city called “House Hopping”. Unfortunately, Brian was a recent victim of this trend. Thieves entered his garage through the open side door and stole Brian’s GPS unit from his unlocked car. He strongly advises all of us to take their valuables out of the car each evening, and lock both their car doors and the door to the garage at all times. He also suggests keeping their main garage doors closed when not in use, as vandals can quickly enter and steal a bike or a lawnmower when you are not aware.
By the way, although there was little we could have done about it, our area was faced with a case of Golf Cart mayhem last week. Apparently, kids stole eight golf carts from the Westmount Golf Club and drove them into our neighbourhood, running over small trees on some front lawns on Shakespeare Drive. Two of the carts actually ended up in Clair Creek where it goes under Coleridge Drive. Thankfully, not a lot of damage was done but it’s amazing the kinds of things that can happen. Who knew that golf carts could be a source of crime! THE PROVINCE’S NEW GREEN ENERGY ACT Last year the Ontario Government brought in its new Green Energy Act which has made our province one of the most attractive places on the globe to invest in new green energy technology. Under the new act, residential owners can install micro solar installations on their roofs (usually in the 2kw-5kw range), sign a 20-year fixed price contract with the government, and sell the power they produce for 80.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. For example, a 3kw capacity system would cost in the neighbourhood of $25K-$30K to install, including the solar panels, the inverter, and installation expenses. The revenue you would generate would be about 3,000 kwh annually which would translate to $2,400 worth of income. There should be little or no annual maintenance on the equipment and Waterloo North Hydro will charge you a billing fee of about $70 per year. Consequently, the annual rate of return on your investment would be in the 8%-10% range, which means you would double your money over the life of the 20 year contract. The life of the equipment is in the 30-40 year range (excluding the inverter, which costs about $5K and may have to be replaced) so you would generate additional income even after the 20 year contract is completed. This income is of course subject to tax; but there is some offset from rapid depreciation of the equipment; for details, see your tax expert!
It obvious that investing in solar under this new Green Energy Act would be an environmentally sound decision that would generate a much better rate of return than you can get from the bank or the stock market, while increasing the value of your home to a future buyer. So if you have a south facing roof that is not shaded by trees or other buildings you might want to investigate putting solar panels on your roof. One of our neighbours, John Holmes, who lives on Mohawk, installed a 3 kw system about a year ago. The Ontario government Micro Fit website for information on this program is fit.powerauthority.on.ca As well, there is a local renewable energy organization called CREW(Community Renewable Energy Waterloo) that is helping our community group buy solar installations. Their website is www.crewzone.ca Finally, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me (Steve) or John directly.
STUDENT IN HOUSING IN BEECHWOOD Recently, the University of Waterloo announced its long term plan to double in size over the next 20-30 years. Much of this growth will take place on their vacant land North of Columbia Street between Fisher Hallman and Phillip Street. Currently, the student enrolment at Laurier and Waterloo combined is approximately 40,000 students, representing about 1/3 of the City of Waterloo’s total population. From an economic development perspective this announcement is good news for our City which owes much of its business growth to the knowledge-based companies that have either been created by U. of W. grads or have moved here to take advantage of our research and technology advantages. However, this announcement also means that there will be even more pressure to provide additional student housing capacity within a reasonable distance of the universities. Given our close proximity to both universities, it is therefore likely that our Beechwood Park area will continue to be in the student housing cross-hairs for years to come, notwithstanding the rising price levels of our homes.
We can be proud of the fact that currently, we are one of the few housing communities in Ontario located so close to a university campus that is still predominantly populated by family residences (witness Queens, Western, and McMaster for examples of the opposite). This has been largely due to two factors. First, the work of our Neighbourhood Association in mobilizing our voice at City Council, which helped to convince our city to revamp its student housing strategy; moving away from its Lodging House model to a denser, high-rise, Student Apartment model. (Witness the building along Columbia between Phillip and King for example) This new strategy has been a win-win for both our neighbourhood and the city by relieving student housing pressures while at the same time providing residential capacity for the City’s rapidly growing population in the face of its declining land resources.
The second reason for our success is that most of the residents of our close-knit community feel strongly about selling their homes to individuals and families who will experience the same satisfactions they did living in Beechwood Park. They wish to carry forward the legacy that has made our neighbourhood such a successful model for sustainable, urban living, since its award winning beginnings 50 years ago. So, whether by staying involved with your neighbourhood association, or by passing on your home to individuals and families who will live and care for them as you have, each one of us must do our part in keeping Beechwood a healthy and vibrant community for the next generation. Finally, we would ask that the owners of neighbourhood homes where students currently reside keep them up to the same standard as the home they live in. We all will benefit from this cooperative approach.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE NEIGHBOURHOOD In every newsletter, we write a short article on one of our neighbours to illustrate the unbelievable diversity of talents and interests that abide in Beechwood. I hope you enjoy this article about Joe Wyatt, who along with his wife Liz and daughter Gillian, have lived at the corner of Mohawk and Longfellow for 17 years.
A MAN WITH A “BIG EYE” Last week I dropped in on Joe to do the interview for this article. I had casually known Joe for several years and had heard that he had been involved in the Canadian art world for many years. However I was not prepared for what I heard and saw during our 2 hour chat. The first half hour was consumed by Joe’s guided tour of the many wonderful pieces of Canadian art that he had collected during his 20 year career as an art curator. Joe had either been given or had purchased these pieces from the numerous Canadian artists he had curated exhibitions for and who had become his friends as a result. These artists appreciated both Joe’s professional art knowledge and the fact that he always put their career success ahead of his own. Commenting on how radically different his works were in style, technique, and form, Joe explained that he always had what he termed a “Big Eye”, appreciating many different styles of art simultaneously; a bit different than most curators who tended to gravitate to a particular style during their career. To cultivate this “Big Eye”, Joe incessantly visited galleries looking for new talent, especially in New York City which he visited over forty times. And when he saw something he liked he was willing to take a risk. Like the time early in his career when he put on a Conceptual Art exhibition for a “high strung” Toronto artist that included chickens on a treadmill and goldfish in plastic tubing. As part of the exhibition, which took 8 months to put together, the artist insisted on having a live elephant present, which Joe managed to find in Ohio and board at the Guelph Vet College. In later years, Joe would go out of his way to curate exhibitions for what he termed “Marginalized” artists from the world of aboriginals or folk art, or for “Outsider” artists, who were often talented self- taught artists who had been institutionalized because of their mental deficiencies.
Joe always loved art. As a kid growing up in Oshawa he and his friends would often visit the nearby Robert McGlauglin Art Gallery to see its myriad of painting styles. His passion for art and drawing, which he studied throughout high school, made it an obvious choice for him to do a Fine Arts degree at York and Guelph where he specialized in Drawing and Print Making. In addition to making his own art Joe loved exploring the history of art. Through this exploration Joe began to realize something important about himself. That while he enjoyed creating his own art, he enjoyed the discovery and promotion of other artists works more. This he did passionately for 20 years, first at an Artists Run Centre of converted warehousing he helped create in Guelph after graduation, then progressing to positions as Assistant Director of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Director and Curator of the McLaren Art Centre in Barrie, and finally as a lecturer and Curator of the University of Waterloo’s two art galleries, in the Modern Languages building and in the Department of Fine Art. However, all good stories have a twist and this one is no exception. As I prepared to leave, Joe insisted that before departing I follow him downstairs to view a different kind of art that he also had been collecting for a long time. I was amazed to find ringing the walls of his basement, framed golf towels from 17 consecutive U.S. Opens including one from Pinehurst No. 2 where the late Payne Stewart, dressed in his plaid knickers, had been victorious. It turns out that Joe loves golf. Or should I say golf courses. And it was his love of golf courses that eventually lead Joe from the world of Fine Art to his current vocation, applying his same “Big Eye” and attention to detail to the landscaping business, Neighbour Lawn Care, that he created two years ago. Joe loves his work, both the physical and the creative, most of it done for local homeowners in his own Beechwood neighbourhood. And as it was when he was an art curator, Joe always puts his neighbour’s lawn ahead of his own convenience. Good habits die hard.
OUR TRIP TO THE VANCOUVER OLYMPICS By Nicholas and Daniel Penner In February of 2010, all eyes turned to Vancouver as the city prepared to host the world for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Millions tuned in to the seemingly endless coverage on television, radio, and in the newspapers. However, a few lucky people were fortunate enough to be there in person to watch the games live. My brother Daniel and I (Nick Penner) were among some of the lucky few who got the opportunity to view these games in Vancouver, and we would like to share our experience with you.
The Olympic Games officially started at 5:59PST on February 12, 2010, yet our Olympic adventure started almost a year and a half earlier in November 2008. That’s when the official request period for Vancouver 2010 tickets started. We put in our requests for tickets, and soon found out which ones we had received. From then until the start of the games, we bought and sold tickets until we had assembled the perfect schedule. We decided early on to only attend the first twelve days of the Olympics, as my brother and I, being good students, wanted to miss as little school as possible. Daniel is in grade 10 and I am in grade 12, both at WCI.
We wanted to get a good mix of events, with some sports we were already familiar with, like ice hockey, and some other sports we weren’t familiar with, like curling and Nordic skiing. Next, we arranged with some relatives of ours who live in Vancouver to let us stay with them. We also decided, in collaboration with our parents, that we were going to pay for the trip exclusively with our own money.
We left for Vancouver on Wednesday February 11th, the day before the opening ceremonies. When we arrived in Vancouver the first thing we saw was the giant illuminated Olympic rings outside the airport. The next day, we walked around the downtown core of Vancouver. Even though it was the middle of the day before the Olympics had even started, there were thousands of people walking around in the streets, with lots of flags and people cheering. Everywhere you looked, there were people selling things like Olympic pins or roasted chestnuts. The whole city had a very festive mood, and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face.
Another highlight was definitely getting to attend the opening ceremonies for the Olympics at BC Place. We had to arrive almost five hours early in order to go through security and rehearse the audience participation portions of the ceremonies. It seemed like everywhere you looked, you saw celebrities or dignitaries from foreign countries. When the show actually started, everything was so visually stunning that it took our breath away; giant statues rising from the ground, people flying on ropes around the stadium, and even a giant bear. Though our seats were closer to the rafters than the floor, the whole experience was larger than life.
For the rest of the Olympics, whether we were banging our cowbells with Norwegians on the ski slopes, watching speed skating with a couple from England, or sitting next to a roofer from Toronto in the curling rink, everything seemed surreal. One of the things that was really special about the trip was talking to the volunteers and the many other people we met. Everyone was friendly, and we had some great conversations with them. No matter where we went, we always had fantastic experiences, and saw lots of world class athletes at the top of their game. The whole world truly was gathered in Vancouver, and we were very fortunate to have a chance to be there and take it all in.
That’s all for the Spring Newsletter. As always, if you have anything of interest to our community that you would like to share, feel free to send it to me at singercutt@golden.net for the next newsletter.
Cheers, Steve Singer 269 Shakespeare
For BPHA, "Local" means single family dwellings on:
NNUAL VICTORIA DAY BBQ & FIREWORKS Our annual Victoria Day BBQ and fireworks will be held on Monday, May 23rd 2011 starting at 5:00 p.m. Please bring a side dish, desert or salad and your own plates, cups and cutlery and join us for hamburgers and hotdogs. We'll also have the kid's bicycle parade (decorate those bikes), and Soap Box Derby down Shakespeare Drive. At 9:00 p.m. we'll have fireworks at Claire Lake, they're sure to be spectacular! |
Gallery
 Farnaz Ashjari hosted a summertime "Ladies Night in" at her home.  IN & ABOUT BEECHWOOD ON OUR FIRST REAL BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY - APRIL 9 2011  IN & ABOUT BEECHWOOD ON OUR FIRST REAL BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY - APRIL 9 2011  IN & ABOUT BEECHWOOD ON OUR FIRST REAL BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY - APRIL 9 2011  IN & ABOUT BEECHWOOD ON OUR FIRST REAL BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY - APRIL 9 2011  The Beechwood Park Home Association Committee organized an Ladies Night this past Friday night,March 25 2011. Appetizers and wine were enjoyed by all the ladies who attended this lovely evening. Thanks go out to Cynthia and Johanna for organizing this wonderful event for all the ladies from Beechwood. Thank you Johanna for opening up your lovely home for this entertaining evening.                       The Beechwood Park Home Association Committee organized an Ladies Night this past Friday night,March 25 2011. Appetizers and wine were enjoyed by all the ladies who attended this lovely evening. Thanks go out to Cynthia and Johanna for organizing this wonderful event for all the ladies from Beechwood. Thank you Johanna for opening up your lovely home for this entertaining evening.  A participant in the 2010 Talent Show  A participant in the 2010 Talent Show  Participants in the 2010 talent Show  The Crowd watching the talent show  A family enjoying the talent show  2010 Talent Show Participant  2010 Summer Party Pig Roast  Who do you think won? Does not matter, because we all had fun watching. The pit crew even had to deal with a run away wheel.  Waiting for the Soap Box race. Of the 120+ people, these early birds got the best seats.  Parade Marshall working to get things organized on Shakespeare Drive  May 24th Parade Vehicles  May 24 BBQ - After a short winter we were happy to see everybody.  After rolling the surface water tests showed that we have drainage, no pooling and in 5 - 6 weeks we will be ready to apply the paint. .JPG) 2010 Spring Clean Up .JPG) 2010 Spring Clean up .JPG) 2010 Spring Clean Up .JPG) 2010 Spring Clean Up .JPG) May 18 2009 BPHA Fireworks during the Victoria Weekend  May 18 2009 BPHA Victoria Day Weekend BBQ .JPG) May 18 2009 BPHA Victoria Day Weekend Soap Box Derby. .JPG) May 18 2009 BPHA Victoria Day Weekend Soap Box Derby |
The Spring Clean Up is actually a fun time spent together as we wait for the warm weather to blow in and stay with us. Catch up with your neighbors who perhaps you have not seen all winter while pitching in around the club. Or just drop by to say hello & tell the volunteers what a good job they are doing for the club! 
If you would like to contribute but cannot join in on the physical activity, in the past it was always nice when members would surprise the hard working folks working up an appetite with warm, baked goodies. On a few occasions, we have even been known to fire up the BBQ after the clean up is done so it is not all work. Love to see you out contributing in any way you can on May 7 2011. See you then!