​Purple Grove news

Here comes November with a blast of snow! It must be the week of the Royal Winter Fair, as there is usually some rain, snow, or sleet – maybe a bit of sun, just to remind us that we do live in Canada! Several folks in the area are attending, and participating in, all the livestock shows and other activities. Thank you and congratulations to all our exhibitors! Our area 4-H members are doing their best, bringing home the ribbons and representing Bruce County very well!

Congratulations to Angela and Tyson Devitt of Stone Bridge Flour, on receiving an Agriculture Award for Supply Chain Excellence! Stone Bridge Flour grows, mills, packages and distributes its flour and has a closed loop production system. Angela and Tyson and family members were at the presentation, Sunday at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Happy Birthday to Clara Farrell, Barb Kester and Brenda Grice last week and to Deanna Scott, Mary Anne Kukoly and Simon Logtenberg this week!

We also extend our best Wedding Anniversary wishes to Stefani and Mike Simpson, and Dennis and Donna Bridge!

The annual meeting for Purple Grove Community Centre is Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m., at the school.

Our sympathy is extended to the families of Dick Stanley of British Columbia, Rick Lehman of Kincardine, Betty Kirkland of Lucknow, Ron Snowden of St. Helen’s and Mary Kathryn Campbell of Toronto, and many families that are grieving at this time.

We also want to extend our get well wishes to those in hospital and recovering at home. We miss you and look forward to seeing you again soon.

It was encouraging to see the great turn-out at the Remembrance Day service in Ripley, despite the wet weather, and at other locations in our communities. It was a wonderful service at the Ripley Cenotaph and we were glad to see the children from Ripley-Huron Community School too. Thanks to the teachers who encourage this attendance. The Ripley-Huron Legion, Branch 440, led the service.



A crowd gathers for the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph in Ripley, Tuesday morning; photos courtesy of Fran Farrell





PURPLE GROVE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

Last Wednesday evening, the Purple Grove W.I. gathered at the home of Betty Johnson for the November meeting. President Bren de Leeuw called the meeting to order and 11 members and five guests answered the Roll Call with "A war-time memory."

Convener Fran Farrell introduced guest speaker Kevin Larson of Kincardine. Since retirement, Kevin has been researching local history and has a passion for talking to students about our war history. He gave an excellent presentation on the Malcolm Furniture Factory in Kincardine and how it became one of the sites for building parts for the Mosquito bomber.

The 250 employees, many of whom were women, were building the leading edges of the wings and the wing tips. This work was very exacting and as these planes were built out of wood, they were much lighter and could fly at speeds up to 437 miles/hour. These plane parts were then shipped to the Weston Road Plant near Toronto and then onto Windsor where the engines were installed. The engines were built in the United States and shipped to Windsor.

Kevin also talked a bit about the Air Force training site at Port Albert. Several in attendance shared what they knew of local history and helped identify people in the photos. We thanked Kevin and presented him with one of our Women's Institute history books - "Ordinary to Extraordinary."

After lunch, provided by Robyn Bridge and Fran Farrell, we welcomed a new member, Molly Sangster!

Moving into the business, it was agreed to place a wreath at the Remembrance Day service in Ripley and we made a donation to the Women's House Serving Bruce and Grey. Kinloss-Kairshea W.I. members invited us to their Nov. 20 meeting, with Glenda Morrison as speaker.

Bren de Leeuw, Robyn Bridge and Marilyn Reid attended the Huron Perth District W.I. meeting in Listowel with comedian Jennifer O'Reilly of Port Elgin as their speaker. Reports were given on the Grey-Bruce Area Convention and Bruce County Rally in October.

There were some beautiful items at the silent auctions. Thanks were expressed for all attending and helping out for another fun meeting.

There will be a quilt-tying day at St. Andrew's United Church in Ripley, Thursday, Nov. 13. Bring your
darning needle, scissors and a sandwich.