Sure sign of spring? Snow fleas.
They’ve been spotted in Milby, Sharon Moore tells me.
Have you seen any? They’re dark blue. Tiny things, one or two millimetres long. No wings. They have six feet with tiny claws, and two antennae. They jump around on top of the snow on warmish days, sometimes in clusters near a tree or rocks, up to 100,000 of them in a square meter. When it gets cold again, they go back under the snow.
That’s according to Marjolaine Giroux, an entomological-information person at the Montreal Insectarium. Despite her credentials, the little critters are neither fleas nor insects. They are springtails, little arthropods in the species Hypogastrura nivicola, with segmented bodies and jointed legs.
They don’t bite.
And they are marvellous. They enrich the soil. They also have antifreeze proteins in their blood, which researchers at Queen’s University have synthesized. They hope to use it to transplant organs at lower temperatures, thus keeping them viable longer. They also think they can use the snow fleas’ antifreeze to produce better ice cream.
Now that would be a marvel!
ST. PAT’S IRISH FESTIVAL
The Irish Embassy in Ottawa celebrates the Irish diaspora with an exhibition of panels coming to the county just northwest of us, Richmond. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is on Sunday, March 19, at 2 p.m., but a series of activities extend throughout the month, starting Saturday, March 4th. That’s when the exhibition is open 1 to 4 p.m. at the Richmond County Historical Society Museum, 1161 Route 243, Melbourne. Admission is free.
The panels highlight the history and contributions of 20 Irish immigrants to Canada. From 2 to 4 p.m., violinist Isabelle Gosselin will play traditional Irish music while visitors peruse the exhibit. That same day, a woodworking demonstration is at 1 p.m. in the St. Andrews Hall, and a corned beef supper at 6 p.m. at the Grand Central Hotel.
Over the following weeks will be concerts, a St. Pat’s Party, a Celtic Celebration with Solstice, a St. Patrick’s Day Mass, an art show, an outdoor bandstand show, and more. The activities culminate on Sunday, March 26, with another showing of the Irish diaspora exhibition from 12 to 3 p.m. and music by Isabelle Gosselin from 1 to 3 p.m. For details about the Richmond Irish Heritage Festival, visit richmondstpats.org. It is organized by the Richmond St. Patrick’s Society.
BILINGUAL TAX SERVICE
A free bilingual income tax assistance program in Sawyerville permits trained volunteers to prepare both Canada and Quebec returns for persons with limited income. Here’s who is eligible: (1) a single person with a maximum annual revenue of $35,000; (2) a couple with a maximum revenue of $45,000, plus $2,500 for each dependant; or (3) a single parent with a child with a maximum revenue of $45,000 plus $2,500 for each additional dependant. Income from interest should not exceed $1,000. Persons with income from self-employment, bankruptcy, or deceased persons are not eligible.
You will need: (1) any papers you received from the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec in the past months, and your last Notices of Assessment; (2) your T4 and Relevé slips from your employer, or any other forms you received regarding income or tuition; (3) the RL-31 form from your landlord, if you are a renter. House owners will need their property tax number, which is on the municipal property tax bill. Bring receipts for any payments you made for pills, dentist visits, glasses, or other health expenses.
Persons above age 70 should inquire about a refundable tax credit for expenses incurred to continue living independently. Bring your home maintenance expenses, including purchasing, leasing or installing eligible equipment or fixtures, or staying in a functional rehabilitation transition unit. This year the credit is up to $2,000, depending on your total income.
When? Wednesday afternoons, March 8 and 29, from 1 to 4 p.m., and March 15 and 22, from 1 to 6 p.m. Where? At the Catholic church in Sawyerville, Église Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire, 4 Randboro Road. Use the back door to enter the basement. If you need any information, call Danielle at 819-889-2614.
ESTATE PLANNING
“Estate Planning: What you need to know in advance” is the topic of a free online webinar offered by Seniors Action Quebec on Tuesday, March 14, at 10 a.m. to noon. The registration deadline is March 7.
The session will include three topics. First, planning ahead: How to prepare your finances and plan your taxes so as to reduce the tax burden on your estate. Second, having a will, and reviewing it: The different kinds of wills, what documentation you need to put together in advance to help with the liquidation of your estate, and what information to share – or not – with your heirs. And finally, the role of the liquidator: The duties and obligations, and how to carry out a will search.
The presenters are Maitres Linda Hammerschmid and Samy Staltari, and Financial Advisor Danny Sirgnano. To register, send your contact information to Ruth Pelletier at ruthkathleenpelletier@gmail.com by March 7. For more information, visit www.seniorsactionquebec.ca.
WRITE HERE, RIGHT NOW!
For information about the free online workshops in March with Bishop’s University Lifelong Learning Academy (BULLA), email bulla@ubishops.ca.
CHURCHES
United. Beginning March 5, Sunday services are at 9:30 a.m. at the Trinity United Church in Cookshire, and at 11 a.m., at the Sawyerville United Church. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. All services are at the Sawyerville Baptist Church, 33 rue de Cookshire. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Anglican. No Anglican services are planned in Cookshire until the spring of 2023. For the schedule of services at the St. George’s Anglican Church, 84 Queen St., Lennoxville, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by March 6 for publication March 15.

Honestly, my teeth almost flew out of my mouth, and they’re not even false.
It’s surely not one of Facebook’s finest hours, welcoming Trump back into the fold. But that’s not what shocked me. It’s the Science & Astronomy group, boasting 1.2 million members. It’s been taken over by Flat Earthers.
A poll they’ve posted asks people to vote on the shape of the earth: round, cube, flat, or donut. Encouraging: 92% of respondents voted “round.” Discouraging, a plethora of comments such as this one: “NASA brainwashed 92% of the people who voted on this pool (sic).”
Meaning that they believe the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the U.S. faked the moon landing in 1969, whose photos clearly show the earth is round.
At first I thought such comments were satirical, but no. They’re dead serious. The Flat Earthers’ responses to science-based reasoning are harsh and mean.
It’s scary: A similarly named Facebook group, Astronomy and Science, whose content really reflects its name, has less than one-third of the Flat Earthers’ group’s.
This topic leaves me speechless. How can you respond to someone yelling insults, denying reason and physical reality?
It’s reminiscent of facing someone in a state of psychosis, who is clinging to an intractable belief in a desperate attempt to defend their ego, their personhood. Let’s leap ahead here to suggest LEAP, the approach Dr. Xavier Amador advocates.
First: Listen. Listen closely. Truly try to understand what the person is saying and how they are feeling. Then: Empathize. Try to reflect the person’s emotions or fears. Next: Agree. This is the hardest! I prefer to use the word “Accept” here. I tell my friend I accept their belief, and will not argue with them. (In return, I ask they accept my beliefs too, and we still love each other.) That brings us to P for Partner. We are in this together.
It dismays me that we are on this earth together with truth-denying Flat Earthers. But I accept this reality, and try somehow to engage with them. A LEAP of friendship. The alternative is scary.
MENTAL ILLNESS? LEAP!
Dr. Xavier Amador wrote one of the most popular books in the library of Mental Health Estrie. It’s entitled I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! How to Help Someone with Mental Illness Accept Treatment. He will be speaking via Zoom on Wednesday, February 22, at 6 p.m. Mental Health Estrie offers this 1.5-hour workshop.
His book is a resource for family and friends of loved ones experiencing psychosis, a symptom that may be part of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder illness. Helping his brother undertake treatment for schizophrenia, plus his work as a therapist, have inspired him to write this book as well as to found The LEAP Institute. LEAP stands for Listen-Empathize-Agree-Partner, with a goal of building relationships with someone who lives with a serious mental illness.
You can hear Dr. Amador at Youtube.com/@LEAPInstituteOrg, or by joining the February 22nd Zoom. For information, contact Emily McBurney at outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com or 819-565-2388.
BRRR
It’s still on, this year’s HUGS for the Homeless campaign by Mental Health Estrie. Spring is not here yet! For the rest of February, Mental Health Estrie accepts donations of “NEW Hats, Underwear, Gloves, Socks, Scarves, and other warm articles of clothing.” Drop off your items at Mental Health Estrie, 3355 College, Lennoxville. Deposit them in the beige bins next to Door #2. To make a cash donation for the HUGS campaign, please email info@mentalhealthestrie.ca, or call 819-565-3777. Receipts will be issued for donations of $10 or more.
THE SUN’S UP
Right now. Your February Townships Sun is shining brightly beside the crossword books on the magazine stand just before the cash registers at the Cookshire IGA. New! Now you can also pick it up at the Dépanneur C.P.L. in Sawyerville, 2 Cookshire Street.
Can you recognize the 22-year-old on the front cover, tending to his well-drilling rig? Hint: His last name begins with S.
The youngest contributor in this issue was 13 years old. See if you know her! And let anyone in their teens or twenties know: If you enjoy writing, photography or art, you can win a cash award and get published in the Townships Sun. Visit townshipssun.ca/Townships-Young-Voices for details. Deadline: February 28.
WRITE HERE, RIGHT NOW!
Bishop’s University Lifelong Learning Academy offers these free, fun workshops and events on Zoom for lifelong learners like you:
Theme and Structure in Fiction Writing, with Rebecca Welton, on Wednesday, February 8, 1:30 p.m.
How to be a Goldfish, by Jane Baird Warren: A virtual book launch of this novel for students in middle grades, on Saturday, February 11, at 1:30 p.m.
Flash: Writing Short Prose, with Jane Draper, on Thursday, February 16, at 1:30 p.m., featuring turning an event from life into a memoir.
Nonfiction Writing for Magazines, with Rachel Garber, on Friday, February 24, at 10 a.m., about personal essays.
Overseas Adventures, by Arthur Shears: A book launch on Saturday, February 25, at 1:30 p.m., from Afghanistan to Zambia and Points In-Between.
Fugue Forum: U is for Unreal, with Etienne Domingue, on Monday, February 27, at 7 p.m., on Discord, on magical realism.
For information or to sign up for any of these free workshops, please email bulla@ubishops.ca.
CHURCHES
Anglican. No Anglican services are planned in Cookshire until the spring of 2023. For the schedule of services at the St. George’s Anglican Church, 84 Queen St., Lennoxville, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Sunday services are at 10:30 a.m., at the Sawyerville United Church, 42 Principale N., Sawyerville (before Bédard Road). Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. All services are at the Sawyerville Baptist Church, 33 rue de Cookshire. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by February 6 for publication February 15 or by February 20 for March 1.

“The thing is, we’re just going to take it easy.”
Those are the famous last words of someone who is trading in one whirlwind of activity, known as a job, for another, called retirement.
Truth is, Diane Grenier will be busy. She talks about cleaning out her attic. Putting a new roof on the house. Travelling to visit her kids in Prince Edward Island and Michigan. Doing volunteer work.
The job she is leaving? Coordinator for services in English for the Centre d’action bénévole du Haut-Saint-François, often simply known as the CAB. As its name suggests, its role is to support voluntary action in the community.
Diane has been in that role for the past seven years, she reminds me, before, during and after the pandemic. She’s been involved in the Bulwer Community Centre and the Golden Agers. She has promoted the “Hero in 30” program, offering simplified CPR training in 30 minutes. (That’s the kind of volunteer you want around if you go into cardiac arrest!)
She’s been leading two groups for caregivers, in Bury and in Sawyerville. Among other activities, she’s accompanied them on field trips to enjoy an Uplands English tea. Chinese food in Magog. Italian food in Sherbrooke.
Conferences in English for seniors? She’s organized them. A police officer to explain the etiquette of traffic circles, for example. She has been active with Health Link. She’s offered help making appointments for COVID vaccinations and flu shots. She’s distributed frozen meals and organized Meals on Wheels. She’s led bingo games in seniors’ residences. She’s played cards with seniors, she’s played the role of Mrs. Claus.
“It’s been a beautiful run,” Diane wrote in an email. Her enthusiastic tone leads you to believe she has thoroughly enjoyed her job, and will probably enjoy her retirement, too, in equal measure. Only difference: whereas she’s been coordinating Stand Up, a falls-prevention program, now she will be participating in it. Don’t worry, we haven’t seen the last of Diane!
KIMBERLY FLETCHER
So who will be stepping into her shoes at the CAB? Introducing Kimberly Fletcher of Spring Road in Cookshire-Eaton. Kim is an experienced nursing assistant with a bunch of other skills, too.
In fact, one of her first projects is to organize a beginner’s computer course. The course, Pause numérique, is free for persons aged 65 or older, and covers the ins and outs of cell phones, tablets or laptops. The weekly sessions will go four or five weeks, and will be offered in both French and English. Kim herself will be teaching the sessions in English.
She will be working out of the CAB’s East Angus office. To reach her, call the CAB at 819-560-8540 and dial 9 for English. Email her at coordo@cabhsf.org. Or just drop in for a visit. She’ll be working Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Cultural Centre, 288 Maple Street, in the CAB office located just inside the front door, on the right.
WERE YOU SCAMMED?
Marie Moliner says yes, she was.
In case you don’t know Marie, she is a lawyer. She even used to be Vice Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board. If scammers can nab her, anyone is fair game.
Marie has written an easy-on-your-eyes article about being scammed. About various kinds of fraud―investment, email, phone and internet, and most insidious of all, the grandparents scam. Her article is a free read offered on the Townships Sun website, townshipssun.ca/Recent-Issues.
Just in case fraudsters have turned your holiday cheer into a lump of coal, here is Marie’s suggestion: Take these six steps recommended by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Step 1: Gather all the information you have about the fraud.
Step 2: Write out a chronological statement of events. For example, when were you first contacted, and how? Then what happened?
Step 3: Report the incident to your local police. For example, in Cookshire-Eaton, phone 819-875-3331, or visit the station at 440 Craig North. (In emergencies, call 310-4141 or 911).
Step 4: Report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre via the Fraud Reporting System (find out more at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca), or toll-free at 1-888-495-8501.
Step 5: Report the incident to the financial institution (bank) or payment provider used to send money to the fraudster.
Step 6: If the fraud took place online, report the incident directly to the website involved.
TOWNSHIPS SUN
In the current Townships Sun are “Homeless in the Townships,” “In Praise of Humble Houses,” and “My Old Square Log House,” written by our very own Haut-Saint-Françiscans Jackie Hyman, Denis Palmer, and Scott Stevenson. The Townships Sun is on the Cookshire IGA’s magazine rack, just before the check-out counters. Or subscribe at townshipssun.ca/subscribe.
HUGS
Winter is still before us! Help the HUGS for the Homeless campaign. Mental Health Estrie accepts donations of “NEW Hats, Underwear, Gloves, Socks, Scarves, and other warm articles of clothing,” from now until March. Drop off items at Mental Health Estrie, 3355 College, Lennoxville. Deposit them in the beige bins next to Door #2. To make a cash donation for the HUGS campaign, please email info@mentalhealthestrie.ca, or call 819-565-3777. Receipts will be issued for donations of $10 or more.
CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. All services are at the Sawyerville Baptist Church, 33 rue de Cookshire. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Anglican. No Anglican services are planned in Cookshire until the spring of 2023. For the schedule of services at the St. George’s Anglican Church, 84 Queen St., Lennoxville, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Sunday services resume on January 15, at 10:30 a.m., at the Sawyerville United Church, 42 Principale N., Sawyerville (before Bédard Road). (No service on January 8.) Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by January 9 publication for January 18, or by January 23 for February 1.

Received: An email from Charlotte in Calgary, asking if I know someone “who used to teach the art of stencilling” in the Eastern Townships.
“My Aunt Dorothy Newton was a long-term resident of Sherbrooke, and between 1980 and 2000 she participated in stencilling classes, at a location that is likely within 20 kms of Sherbrooke. I am fortunate to have some of her stencilled art on recycled tin trays and am very interested in taking stencilling classes if they are still offered in your area.”
Help! I’ve seen stencilled art. But who teaches, or has taught it? Do you have any idea? Please, for Charlotte in Calgary, let me know at 819-640-1340 or rawrites@gmail.com.
HERITAGE TALKS, 24th
The Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN) is hosting a series of free, online public lectures, starting Thursday, November 24. Participants will get to explore Canada’s past in the company of scholars, historians and fellow lifelong learners. The series features historic events and figures in a range of subjects and periods, from origins of Indigenous mission settlements to the rise of modern art.
On November 24, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., the pioneering life of Harriet Brooks is featured in a presentation by Marelene and Geoff Rayner-Canham. Brooks’ colleague, Ernest Rutherford, won a Nobel Prize in 1908 for their breakthrough discoveries about radioactivity. She, however, did not receive this recognition.
To register or to learn more about the series, visit QAHN.org, or email Dwane@qahn.org.
CHRISTMAS MARKET, 27th
Back by popular demand: The Christmas Market with 24 artisans and their local products, on Saturday, November 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Victoria Hall, 125 Principale W., Cookshire. Organized by the John-Henry-Pope Cultural Centre.
AROUND THE WORLD, 27th
Au tour de la terre is the title of an exhibit at the Galérie Métissage in Lac-Mégantic featuring Nihonga, an ancient painting technique from Japan. The artist, Yolande Bernier, offers 20 large works and some 200 in mini-format. The gallery is at 6361 Salaberry Street, Lac-Mégantic, and is open Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It closes Sunday, November 27, when the artist will be present.
DEPRESSION & BURNOUT, 30th
At the End of My Rope, Understanding Depression and Burnout. That’s the topic of a free Zoom workshop in English with Dr. Camillo Zacchia, psychologist, on Wednesday, November 30, at 7 to 9 p.m. Organized by Mental Health Estrie. Info: 819-565-2388, outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com.
THE GIFT OF ART, 3rd
An exhibit of small and diverse artworks – just right for gift-giving – is at the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery from December 3 to 24. In the Gallery’s upper level will be paintings, prints, collages, and sculptures by 24 different artists. Among them are John Ward, Yong Sook Kim Lambert, Denis Palmer, and Jo Cooper. In the lower level will be Treasures of the Countryside, an exhibit of photos.
The Gallery at 125 Prinicipale West, Cookshire, is open Saturdays and Sundays, as well as December 23 and 24, from noon to 4 p.m.
DARK SIDE OF HOLIDAYS, 6th
Fraud and scams. Beware: Fraudsters thrive in the shadows of holiday activity.
Just in time, Seniors Action Quebec offers an online webinar in English, Protecting Yourself from Frauds and Scams. Tactics are constantly changing. The two-hour session will inform us about the many types of fraud today, what we can do to protect ourselves, who can help us, and how to report fraud and scams. Information is power.
Ken De Melo, senior branch manager at BMO, will talk about the different types of fraud and scams seen at the bank, credit and debit card protection, and spotting financial abuse. Stephanie Senecal, a senior support unit coordinator, will talk about fraud that targets seniors, the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre, and what they can do for us.
Finally, Brad Russell, a senior competition law officer in the deceptive marketing practices directorate of the competition bureau, will explain what the Competition Bureau is, how it protects people from deceptive marketing, and what resources are available to protect us from deceptive marketing.
The webinar is Tuesday, December 6, from 10 a.m. to noon. For details and to register, visit SeniorsActionQuebec.ca, or email ruthkathleenpelletier@gmail.com.
CHRISTMAS CONCERT, 10th
Pierre Heault, tenor; Catherine St-Arnaud, soprano; Julien LeBlanc, piano; Marilène Provencher-Leduc, flute: These are the four musicians offering a Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the St-Camille Catholic Church, 170 Principale E., Cookshire. Admission is by voluntary contribution at the door.
“HUGS” FOR THE HOMELESS
Launched: This year’s HUGS for the Homeless campaign spearheaded by Mental Health Estrie. From November to March, this non-profit group accepts donations of “NEW Hats, Underwear, Gloves, Socks, Scarves, and other warm articles of clothing,” which they donate to local shelters for people experiencing homelessness.
Items can be dropped off at the Mental Health Estrie office, 3355 College Street in Lennoxville. Deposit them in the beige bins next to Door #2. To make a cash donation for the HUGS campaign, please email info@mentalhealthestrie.ca, or call 819-565-3777. Receipts will be issued for donations of $10 or more.
Donations received before mid-December are prepared into gift bags for the holiday season. But cold weather does not stop at Christmas; the HUGS campaign runs until the end of March.
CHURCHES
United. Because of construction work at Trinity United Church in Cookshire, weekly Sunday services will be at 10:30 a.m., at Sawyerville United Church until further notice. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Baptist. In-person services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Anglican. No local service is planned, but on December 4 at 11 a.m. will be a service at St. George’s Anglican Church, 84 Queen St., Lennoxville. For a schedule of services, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by November 28 for publication December 7 and by December 12 for January 4.

You and your Significant Other are on your way to town. Going down the 108, you look out the car window and suddenly you notice something very strange the horses in the field are on fire! As flames leap from their backs, they keep on calmly grazing.
“Stop! Look at that!”
Your Other slows down and looks at the field, then at you.
“Don’t you see? The horses are on fire!”
“I don’t see any fire.”
It dawns on both of you that you are actors in two different films.
In your Other’s world, happenings are predictable, governed by causes and effects that―right or not―most people agree on. Yours is populated by the inexplicable and dangerous, where the laws of physics no longer apply. No one else will even listen to your perceptions of how things work. Your connection with others is profoundly broken.
It is like being hurled onto an alien planet, alone.
For your Other, it’s like that a bit, too. It feels like they’ve lost a very important person in their life.
Maybe you’ve guessed I’m talking about mental illness. The scary kind, where you feel you don’t recognize someone, or you can’t talk with them the way you used to. It’s scary for your Other, but it’s even scarier if it’s happening to you.
We go through life depending on our social ties. Certain kinds of illness threaten to break those ties, because we can’t guess what the other person is thinking or feeling. We can’t understand the little gestures or expressions we usually depend on. We don’t seem to share the same reality.
This is psychosis, and various illnesses can bring it on. Your illness could be certain medical conditions or substance abuse, or here’s the biggie schizophrenia.
What does losing touch with reality mean? You may have hallucinations. For example, seeing flaming horses calmly grazing, or hearing a voice speaking to you.
Or you have delusions thoughts that grip your mind and just won’t let go, although to those around you, they are patently untrue. Like the idea that Putin is out to poison you. (Mind you, for certain persons on the planet, this has turned out not to be delusional.)
Schizophrenia is such a biggie because there’s no cure, and there’s not even a really great way to treat the symptoms of hallucinations and delusions. Anti-psychotic medications are not always effective for all the symptoms, and can come with other problems that impede your life in other ways. For example, you might sleep 14 hours a day, have bizarre muscle spasms, or be unable to speak without saliva pouring out of your mouth.
That makes you look even crazier. So there you have it. In one fell swoop, you’ve lost all your friends and your family. You have nobody who can understand what’s going on with you, and you can’t figure it out either.
But the losses don’t end there. You notice, when you go out, that people look at you funny. Or their eyes just slide past you as if you are invisible. So mostly you stay at home in your room, or stay on the outskirts of any group. You are intensely lonely. Those voices that no one else can hear become even more important to you.
But that’s not all. You find you can’t focus on your work anymore. Your attention is on dealing with all the stuff going in that alien planet that has become your life. You’ve achieved so much―maybe you’re in a PhD program, headed for a brilliant career. But now that future is lost to you too.
That adds to the pain of being around others. “What do you do?” they keep on asking.
It’s years later. You and your Significant Other are driving down the 108. You don’t see any horses on fire, but you are lost in your thoughts, thoughts that no one else can understand. You are intensely lonely, and your only hope is a delusion that if you drive past a church every Sunday, and do certain exercises everyday, you will suddenly stop hearing voices on Halloween.
You have lost so much, but you have not lost the capacity to love. I salute your courage.
FEELING LOST?
Feeling Lost: Understanding and Coping with the Stress and Stigma of a Psychotic Illness is the topic of a free virtual workshop in English, presented by Mental Health Estrie on Wednesday, October 26, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
The presentation by psychologist Camillo Zacchia, PhD, will focus on understanding the nature of mental illness, especially psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder. Zacchia will examine treatment principles and roles family members can play and discuss the stigma faced by those living with these illnesses, as well as their loved ones. This will include some simple but effective de-stigmatizing techniques.
For information or to register, contact Mental Health Estrie at 819-565-2388 or outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com.
VIACTIVE
Weekly bilingual sessions of Viactive, those gentle yet peppy exercises for persons age 50 and over, are in Sawyerville on Wednesdays at 10 a.m., in the Catholic Church basement, 4 Randboro Road, Sawyerville. Info: Gérard Nault, 819-889-2630.
And in Island Brook, Viactive sessions are Wednesdays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Newport Municipal Hall, 1452 Route 212. Info: 819-889-1340.
CHURCHES
Anglican. In-person service is November 6 at 11 a.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Cookshire. For a schedule of services, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Because of construction work at Trinity United Church in Cookshire, weekly Sunday services will be at 10:30 a.m., at Sawyerville United Church until further notice. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Baptist. In-person services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by October 31 for publication November 9 and by November 14 for November 23.

It is the migratory season for many animals, humans included. This year Literacy in Action is celebrating the theme of migration with a creative cultural literary festival in English. Community art, emerging artists, storytellers, live music and food are part of the three-pronged event.
And the festival is migrating to Bury on October 15, after a day in Richmond, and before one in Stanstead.
Leading up to the event is a series of Arts & Scraps workshops that LIA organized in collaboration with local community organizations such as the Bury Historical and Heritage Society and the Community Learning Centre at the Pope Memorial school. Meghan Dove, new Bury resident, is the Bury-Community-Artist-in-Residence for this project.
“Art has such an amazing way of exploring and expressing pieces of our journeys, especially when words don’t easily come to us,” wrote Yolanda Weeks of LIA. She is organizing the workshops and festival.
“So, what does this have to do with literacy?” you may ask.
Joanna Bateman, executive director of LIA replies. “We often say literacy skills help us navigate the world around us, but it is also that literacy skills help us communicate with each other, to imagine and create the world we want to be part of.”
She distinguishes between two types of literacy: cultural and core. Core literacy has to do with the three Rs – “reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic.” But these skills are intertwined with cultural literacy, understanding the world in which we live and communicating with others. Cultural literacy is what makes the three Rs so important, and so rewarding.
During the festival, Roy MacLaren and Marie Marceau will be making music. Art will be on exhibit, exploring the theme of migration, especially as it relates to the English-speaking community in the Townships. Yummy treats, with dairy- and gluten-free options will be on the menu. And the event will be in English, with French translation available for festival goers.
LIA’s Migratory Community Arts Festival in Bury will be on Saturday, October 15. It begins at the Bury Municipal Library, 569 Main Street, from 1 to 2 p.m., and migrates to the Bury Armoury, 563 Main Street, from 2 to 4 p.m.
TOWNSHIPS YOUNG VOICES
Keep your antennae up for news about the Townships Sun’s new project offering $750 in awards to under-30 creatives who enjoy art, photography, or writing, whether poetry, fiction or non-fiction. A series of online workshops will be offered in October and November, leading up to the awards deadline, December 1st. For more information, visit the Young Voices page on the townshipssun.ca website!
TRANS OR NON-BINARY LOVED ONE
Mental Health Estrie is offering a free workshop in English on Zoom on how to accompany a trans or non-binary loved one on their journey. The workshop will offer information about gender identity and transness, understanding what a transition entails, and practical tools to become a better ally to trans and non-binary people. The presenter is Séré Beauchesne Lévesque, intervener and educator at TransEstrie, and the date is Wednesday, September 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Info or registration: 819-565-2388, or outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com.
BULLYING: HELP FOR CHILDREN
A two-part series of workshops in English is planned for parents and caregivers, offering tools to help children when faced with bullying, via Zoom. The presenters are Rebecca and Jade from Bulle & Balluchon, and the dates are Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 20, from noon to 1 p.m. Info or registration: Vanessa at va@townshippers.org.
HEALTH DECISIONS
The Basics on How to Plan when making health care decisions is the topic of a Zoom workshop presented in English by Educaloi on Thursday, October 20, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The workshop offers information about the rules on consent to health care, and the various legal tools for planning health care in advance, including protection mandates, advance medical directives, and living wills. Info or registration: Vanessa at va@townshippers.org.
AGEISM AT A GLANCE
The Observatory on Aging Society is offering a Zoom workshop in English, discussing how ageism has been observed in many areas of our society, including family, education, work, health, media, and politics. The speaker is Daphne Nahmiash, PhD, and the date is Tuesday, October 25, from noon to 1 p.m. Info or to register: Vanessa, va@townshippers.org.
FREE LEGAL INFO
Townshippers’ Association offers free, confidential access to legal information in English, in partnership with the Université de Sherbrooke. The Legal Info Clinic is staffed by a student from the Law Faculty one day a week, who can answer legal questions by phone, email, or in person by appointment. Although students are not permitted to give advice or opinions, they can give information, refer you to practising lawyers, or services such as Educaloi. The Clinic is open Mondays from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. until April 2023. Info: 819-566-2182 or legalinfo@townshippers.org.
ART, CULTURE, MUSEUM
Visit the art exhibit at the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery in Victoria Hall, 125 Principale West, Cookshire, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Info: galeriecookshireeaton@gmail.com.
See the John-Henry-Pope exhibit at the Maison de la Culture John-Henry-Pope, 25 Principale West, Cookshire, open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Thanksgiving weekend.
Stop by the Eaton Corner Museum at 374 Route 253, Eaton Corner, on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., until the end of September. Info: 819-875-5256.
CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Anglican. For a schedule of services, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca. Note that October 3 is the 200th anniversary of St. George’s Anglican Church in Lennoxville, with a service at 11 a.m.
United. Regular services are at Trinity United, Cookshire, at 9:30 a.m., and Sawyerville United, 11 a.m. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by October 3 for publication October 12 and by October 17 for October 26.

Working on the September issue of the Townships Sun these past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot.
For example, what’s been going on at Bishop’s University after that message on the bridge last fall: “He raped me, I reported, he’s still in my class, BU take action”?
Did you know Black Cats Book could be closing? A community meeting has been called on Wednesday, September 14, at 5:30 p.m., at the Amédée Beaudoin Hall, 10 Samuel-Grantham, Lennoxville, to discuss how we can save it.
What does our resident philosopher, Don Atkinson, recommend for our school system?
Oh, did you know homeschooling is IN among English speakers in the Townships? About 2.5 percent of our students were homeschooling in 2021-2022; more than twice as in Quebec as a whole. Scott Stevenson tells us more in the September Townships Sun, available now at the Cookshire IGA.
DENIS PALMER & FRIENDS
A new exhibit of recent works by artists Denis Palmer and Réjean Côtes is at the Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre. Palmer’s new works include woodcut prints developed from sketches, old and new, created during his wanderings in the woods and waterways surrounding his home. “Carving a woodblock for an hour or so on a late winter afternoon, for me, seems an ideal way to embrace the season,” he commented.
If it’s Réjean Côtes, it’s ceramics, including pottery and murals: In 1982, he and Palmer collaborated on an award-winning mural in Sherbrooke. His “current approach is more oriented towards the research, diversity, and uniqueness of each piece,” in his words. Other artists, Anne Letendre and Marianne Cusson for example, collaborate by decorating his pieces.
Uplands, 9 Speid Street, Lennoxville, is open Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Recent Works exhibit continues to October 30.
VIACTIVE BEGINS AGAIN
Weekly bilingual sessions of Viactive, those gentle yet peppy exercises for persons age 50+, begin in Sawyerville on Wednesday, September 7 at 10 a.m. Where: In the Catholic Church basement, 4 Randboro Road, Sawyerville. Info: Gérard Nault, 819-889-2630.
The Viactive sessions in Island Brook are to begin during the second half of September. Stay tuned.
QUILT SHOW
The Lennoxville Quilters Guild’s annual Quilt Exhibition is on Friday, September 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and September 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Grace Village, 1515 Pleasant View, Huntingville. The show offers many large and small quilt displays, quilting demonstrations, and more. Admission is $5.
YOGA IS BACK
Yoga classes begin in Sawyerville on Tuesday, September 13, at 10 a.m. in the Sawyerville Catholic Church basement, 4 Randboro Road. Info: Myrna MacDonald Lowry, myrnamac44@gmail.com, or 819-875-5393.
MUSICAL UNIVERSE
Visit the art exhibit at the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery, and you’ll be intrigued by this concert: The Musical Universe of Louis-Pierre Bougie. On the program are works by Mozart, Ravel, Hétu, Shostakovitch, and Debussy. Musicians: the Quatuor Molinari with the flutist Myriam Genest-Denis, and the participation of René Lussier, a good friend of Louis-Pierre Bougie.
It’s Saturday, September 17, at 3 p.m., at the Saint-Camille Church, 170 Principale East, Cookshire. Tickets: $25. Reserve at galeriecookshireeaton@gmail.com.
OPEN HOUSE AT VICTORIA CENTRE
The Victoria Centre in Bury has been reborn, and is having an open house to prove it. Earlier this year, the Bury municipal offices moved into the former Caisse Desjardins building down the street, and the “Old Town Hall” building was christened the “Victoria Multipurpose Centre (Centre multifonctionnel Victoria).”
The Bury Municipal Library has been joined in the Victoria building by several local community organizations: the Bury’s IMAGE de Bury Community Newspaper, the Bury Athletic Association, and the Bury Heritage and Heritage Society are now headquartered there. (The Society’s first project after its founding in 2002 was to restore this very same building.)
On Saturday, September 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., these organizations are opening their doors to the public. The Open House coincides with the final Public Market of the season, in the park just behind the new Victoria Multipurpose Centre. All are invited to stop by and meet the members of these local groups and learn about how they support the community.
MURMURS, MUSEUM
The multimedia show in the Parc des Braves in Cookshire is still showing on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The 30-minute wordless image and sound show can be viewed twice each evening just after dark, until September 17. Sunset is at 6:54 p.m. on September 17. That’s your last chance.
The Eaton Corner Museum at 374 Route 253, Eaton Corner, is open on weekends only during the month of September.
DRAWINGS IN SAWYERVILLE
Congratulations to Logan Sidaway, winner of the drawing contest at the Sawyerville Library, and “many thanks to the children who submitted drawings…. They certainly livened up the space!” said Librarian Ann Rothfels. Drawings were submitted between June 15 and August 15, and posted in the library.
CHURCHES
United. In-person Sunday services on September 4 are in Cookshire at 9:30 a.m., and Sawyerville at 11 a.m. “At both services, we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper. It is also a Food Bank Sunday, and we ask anyone coming to workship to bring a non-perishable food item,” said Rev. Tami Spires. To make a financial donation, call her at 819-452-3685. No services September 11 or 18: Rev. Spires is away on vacation. For pastoral urgencies September 5-14, call Rev. Samuel V. Dansokho (873-200-2011); September 15-18, call Robert Halsall (819-875-3601).
Baptist. In-person services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. The Sawyerville Baptist Church plans to celebrate its 200th birthday on September 3 and 4. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Anglican. An in-person Sunday service is planned for August 21 at 11 a.m. at St Peter’s Church in Cookshire. For a schedule of services, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by September 5 for publication September 14 and by September 19 for September 28.

It was Canada Day in Bury. There I was at the bright orange-clothed Townships Sun table, facing the entrance of the Armoury. Hungry hordes came in waves to get strawberry shortcakes served up by stalwart volunteers of the Bury Historical & Heritage Society. A fair number stopped and chatted with me.
For which I was grateful. Some even leaned over me to speak confidentially. I confess we were mostly mask free. I confess it was fun. I confess a good time was had by all.
The latest mutant of the novel coronavirus stopped by and apparently had a great time too.
We came down with something about 48 hours later, feeling woozy and a little feverish. We picked up a Rapid Response home testing kit at the pharmacy. I was never very good at chemistry (which is why I chose journalism over nursing in those faraway days when girls’ career choices were rather more limited). But it was kind of fun, setting up the tiny test tube and employing my huge magnifying glass to follow the minuscule instructions. Swabbing, swirling, squeezing out three drops, and timing the whole procedure.
My test was negative, but John’s was definitely positive. The fever stayed three days, the fatigue and coughing stayed longer. After two weeks, he tested negative (which is a good thing), but he still feels relatively weak.
In our household, we are all in the high-risk category. I hear about the rising rate of Covid hospitalizations. I learn that multiple reinfections can exacerbate the severity of the illness. I observe that carelessness has its price.
We feel fortunate to have had all four vaccinations. But I learned the hard way that the virus is not finished with us. Fact is, in following the zeitgeist and letting down our guard, we’ve been had.
RAGTIME IN CONCERT
In the Parc aux Braves in Cookshire, on Sunday, August 14, at 5 p.m. is planned a concert, Ragtime et compagnie with Catherine Meunier, percussionist, and Steve Normandin, accordionist. In case of rain, the concert will move to the St-Camille Catholic Church, 170 Principale East.
This is the final concert this season in the Concerts Apéro series organized by the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery.
BINOCULARS TO WIN
Children age 13 and younger: It’s not too late to join in the drawing contest at the Sawyerville Library, 11A, Clifton Road, sponsored by the Toronto Dominion Bank. The prize will be a pair of binoculars and the draw will take place on Wednesday, August 17. Library hours for delivering the drawings: Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The drawings will be placed on display at the library, although it is not necessary to be a member of the library to participate. For more information, please contact Ann Rothfels at 819-875-5438.
COOKSHIRE FAIR
The Cookshire Fair is back, August 18-21. What’s planned? Arts and culture exhibitions on the ground floor of the main building. A wrestling match and bingo on Thursday evening. Arm wrestling competition on Saturday afternoon. Tractor and truck pulls on Friday and Saturday night. A horse pull on Sunday night. Animal judging classes Friday through Sunday. Latino dancing Sunday afternoon. Winslow dancers Friday and Saturday night. A family zone with more than 25 rides and games for youngsters and teenagers.
Entrance for ages 7 and under is free; for others, $10 for Thursday, $20 for Friday and Saturday, $15 for Sunday, or the whole weekend for $45. Questions? Contact Barb Ward at 819-640-7367 or Myrna MacDonald at 819-875-5393. For information in French, visit expocookshire.com.
FARMERS’ MARKETS
August is the high season for farmers’ markets, with their fresh veggies, baked goods, crafts, jams and jellies, music and outdoor friendly visits. The market in Canterbury (Canterbury Centre, 1095 Victoria Road) is on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; in Dudswell, on Saturdays at 9 a.m. to noon; in Bury (in Memorial Park, or if it rains, the Armoury), on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and in East Angus, on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
MURMURS ON THE MURS
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at the Parc des Braves in Cookshire is the multimedia show about the history of Eaton Township. Murmurs of the Township, or Les Murmures du Canton. It begins at nightfall on the murs (walls) of Victoria Hall, Cookshire Elementary School, and St. Peter’s Church. The 30-minute wordless image and sound show can be viewed twice each evening.
EATON CORNER MUSEUM
The Eaton Corner Museum at 374 Route 253, Eaton Corner, is open Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entrance is free for members; non-members pay a fee. Info: 819-875-5256 or eatoncorner59@gmail.com.
JOHN-HENRY-POPE
The tourist information bureau at the Maison de la Culture John-Henry-Pope, 25 Principale West, Cookshire, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CHURCHES
Anglican. An in-person Sunday service is planned for August 7 at 11 a.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Cookshire, August 14 at 11 a.m. at the Brookbury Church, and August 21 at 11 a.m. at St Peter’s Church in Cookshire. For a schedule of services, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. An in-person Sunday service is August 7 at Sawyerville United; August 14 at the East Clifton United; and August 21 at the Trinity United in Cookshire. All the services are at 10:30 a.m. Check the answering machine message at 819-889-2838 for information; the regular worship schedule will resume at the end of August.
Baptist. In-person services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. The Sawyerville Baptist Church plans to celebrate its 200th birthday on September 3 and 4. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by August 8 for publication August 17, and by August 22 for August 31.

The Townships Trail is launching the English version of the mystery drama created in French in 2019. “For several weeks now, something has been amiss on the Townships Trail. Objects have been disappearing or turning up in unexpected places,” reads the synopsis. “Ghost hunter Glenn Stevens has been tapped to investigate. Thanks to his paranormal detection doohickeys, he discovers…”
Ghosts & Other Doohickeys is on tour across the region along the Townships Trail, and stops at the Parc des Braves, 125 Principale West, Cookshire, on Sunday, July 24, at 4 p.m. The performance is outdoors, but if it rains, actors and audience will move into the adjacent Victoria Hall. Attendance is free of charge. Bring your own chair.
The three actors are directed by Mary Harvey; the play was written by William S. Messier.
MURMURS ON THE MURS
Look for Murmurs of the Township, or Les Murmures du Canton on the murs (walls) of three historic buildings, Victoria Hall, Cookshire Elementary School, and St. Peter’s Church, starting Thursday, June 23, at nightfall. The wordless multimedia light and video projections continue all summer on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at the Parc des Braves in downtown Cookshire.
Each show is about 30 minutes long, with two showings every evening. On average, about 15 images per second scroll across the walls, showing some 50,000 drawings. Three videos are projected simultaneously.
The show is about the history of the Eaton Township, but is also reminiscent of the Eastern Townships in general: original Abenaki residents, American soldiers, American and British settlers, and flora and fauna.
Les Murmures du Canton was launched last summer, a collaborative effort by the Productions de l’Inconnu dans le noir, the Maison de la culture John-Henry-Pope, the Town of Cookshire-Eaton, Tourism Eastern Townships, and the Quebec Ministry of Tourism.
EATON CORNER MUSEUM
At 11 a.m., the Eaton Corner Museum will open to the public, and stay open until 4 p.m. This happens June 25 and 26, and then every Thursday to Sunday during July and August. Find out about membership; it includes the Museum’s entrance fee. Where? At 374 Route 253, in Eaton Corner. Info: 819-875-5256 or eatoncorner59@gmail.com.
CANTERBURY CONCERT
On June 25 at 8 p.m., at the Canterbury Center, musicians Christian Nolet, Kevvin Hinse, and P.O. Boudreault will perform traditional Quebec music on guitar, mandolin, violin, Irish bouzouki and voice. To be among the audience of 50 persons, reserve your $15 seat by phoning Gilles Gaulin at 819-872-3273, or Ed Pedersen at 819-872-3400. Masks are suggested. Proceeds will help support the restoration of the Center’s small windows. Where? At 1095 Route 214, Canterbury.
COOKSHIRE CONCERTS
Afternoon concerts in the Parc aux Braves in Cookshire, Concerts Apéro, are back again, organized by the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery. On Sunday, June 26, at 5 p.m., two guitarists will play Jean-François Desrosby and Tommy Dupuis in a concert entitled Place à la relève : le maître et l’élève (Make Way for the Next Generation: the Master and the Student). In case of rain, the concert will move to the St-Camille Catholic Church, 170 Principale East.
We can look forward to a July 17th concert by the Quintette DeVito, with Robin Doyon and Stéphane Beaulac playing trumpet, Gabriel Gauthier Beaudoin on horn, Martin Ringuette on trombone, and Jean-Philippe Dutil playing tuba.
And then on August 14 is planned Ragtime et compagnie with Catherine Meunier, percussionist, and Steve Normandin, accordionist.
CANADA DAY
At the Canada Day parade in Bury on Saturday, July 2, the Bury Historical & Heritage Society will be serving strawberry shortcake. Homemade shortcake, fresh strawberries, $8 a plate, between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the Armoury. Yours truly will be near the Armoury entrance, at a sunny yellow table showing off the new July-August issue of the Townships Sun magazine, and our new Young Voices project.
JOHN-HENRY-POPE
The tourist information bureau at the Maison de la Culture John-Henry-Pope is now open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where? At 25 Principale West, Cookshire.
COOKSHIRE ART GALLERY
Iridescent Thought, or Pensée irisée, the Raven Collective’s exhibition is still on, showing the work of Ann Bilodeau, Yong Sook Kim-Lambert, Laurence Bacon, and Norman Gladu. As of June 25, the gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where? At the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery in Victoria Hall, 125 Principale West, Cookshire.
CANTERBURY FLEA MARKET
To donate good quality items to the Canterbury Center fund-raising campaign, please call Tony De Melo at 819-872-3400 (leave a message) before July 15. Pick-up of items can be provided. All proceeds go to help restore the former Christchurch Canterbury, now Canterbury Center. The items will be on sale at the Canterbury Flea Market, July 30-31. Re-use, Re-cycle, Reduce!
TOWNSHIPPER WARNHOLTZ
Townshippers’ Association has a new president, Donald Warnholtz of Sherbrooke. Warnholtz is also Director General of the Dixville Foundation, and has had a 36-year career as clinical program manager in health and social services. Gerry Cutting has stepped down after 12 years as president of Townshippers’ Association. Townshippers’ has been around since 1979. Info: www.townshippers.org.
CHURCHES
Baptist. Regular in-persons services are in French at 9 a.m., in English at 11 a.m., respecting Covid protocols, including masks and hand sanitizing. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. An in-person Sunday service is July 3, at 11 a.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Cookshire. Also, Bishop Bruce Myers offers Home Prayers at 4 p.m. on Sundays via Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. In-person Sunday services are June 26, July 3, and July 10 at Trinity United in Cookshire at 9:30 a.m., and at Sawyerville United at 11 a.m. In case of any changes, please check the United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge answering machine after Friday at 819-889-2838.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by June 27 for publication July 6, and by July 11 for August 3.

“Prepare yourself mentally for sewing. Think about what you are going to do. Never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically. Good results are difficult when indifference dominates. Never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade.”
That’s from the Singer Sewing Machine Manual. It was published in 1949, not long before I was launched into my youthful indoctrination on how to grow up to be a woman. The manual’s instructions continue:
“When there are urgent housekeeping chores, do these first so that your mind is free to enjoy your sewing. When you sew, make yourself as attractive as possible. Put on a clean dress. Keep a little bag of French chalk near your sewing machine to dust your fingers at intervals. Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on. If you are constantly fearful that a visitor might drop in or your husband will come home, and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing.”
I retch. I’m hearing these words in the voice of Aunt Lydia of Handmaid’s Tale fame as she explains the rules that dominate women in the Republic of Gilead. I do not miss the overt suggestion that I should be “constantly fearful … [my] husband will come home” when I am not dressed up. What are the consequences? I will leave this to the gentle reader’s imagination.
Who reminded me of this advice – and yes, it is genuine, per fact-checker Snopes.com – was Margaret Atwood in an interview I recently watched via zoom. The topic was Burning Questions, her new book of essays.
The interviewer asked her to comment about the current abortion controversy in the United States. She had some telling comments. One was the common-sense observation that if society requires women to bear children, it is in fact engaging their services. Women conscripted for these services should have the same benefits and salaries as military recruits. Think about it: military personnel put their physical bodies at the service of the state; so do child-bearing women. Aren’t child-bearing and child-rearing a battle, in many ways?
Yes, of course, the circumstances surrounding childbirth are much more complex than simply remuneration. For most parents, having children is enormously rewarding and joyous, maybe the best experience in life. That has been my experience, too.
At the same time, as a single parent, I can tell you that balancing the hands-on care of a child with the need to make a living is overwhelming. Rigid workplace demands oppose essential child-rearing demands, and the scale on which one balances priorities simply breaks down.
The shortage of baby formula revealed to the world that only a quarter of babies in the United States are breastfed. In Canada, it’s about 34 percent by the age of six months, reported a study in the International Journal for Equity in Health, and many of the mothers who don’t nurse are economically disadvantaged. While the reasons for choosing not to nurse can vary, the necessity to work at a job that precludes nursing is a big one.
Then a shortage of baby formula happens, and the whole system breaks down. Who suffers the most? It’s a toss-up between the hungry baby and the mother desperately seeking to save her child.
Take away a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body and life, trap her in an impossible predicament, and you have the stuff that revolutions are made of: a hefty proportion of the population with nothing to lose.
I see the focus on regulating a woman’s body as a throw-back to the era of woman-as-chattel who must fearfully please her master, à la Singer Sewing Machine instructions.
Why is it hard for me to believe anti-abortion sentiment has anything to do with the life of the child? Because society arranges itself to care so little for that life after the child is born. As a village, we have failed our children and their mothers, in so many ways.
Well, that pretty much sums up why I don’t sew.
JUNE 24th CONCERT
Canterbury Center is to host a concert celebrating the Fête Nationale du Québec on Friday, June 24, at 8 p.m. Musicians Christian Nolet, Kevvin Hinse, and P.O. Boudreault will perform traditional music of Quebec on guitar, mandolin, violin, Irish bouzouki and voice.
Only 50 tickets will be sold. To be among the 50 lucky people in the audience, reserve your $15 seat by phoning Gilles Gaulin at 819-872-3273, or Ed Pedersen at 819-872-3400. Masks are suggested. Proceeds will help support the restoration of the Center’s small windows. The Canterbury Center is located at 1095 Route 214, Cantberbury.
“THREE R’S” FOR CANTERBURY
If you have good quality items that you would like to donate to the Canterbury Center fund-raising campaign, please call Tony De Melo at 819-872-3400 (leave a message) before July 15. Pick-up of items can be provided. All proceeds go to help restore the former Christchurch Canterbury, now Canterbury Center. The items will be on sale at the Canterbury Flea Market, July 30-31. Re-use, Re-cycle, Reduce!
CHURCHES
United. In-person Sunday services are in Cookshire at 9:30 a.m., and Sawyerville, 11 a.m., with Rev. Tami Spires. For service information, please check the United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge answering machine at 819-889-2838.
Baptist. Regular in-persons services are in French at 9 a.m., in English at 11 a.m., respecting Covid protocols, including masks and hand sanitizing. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. In-person service on Sunday, June 5, at 11 a.m., at St. Peter’s Church in Cookshire. Also, Bishop Bruce Myers offers Home Prayers at 4 p.m. on Sundays via Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by May 30 for publication June 8 and by June 13 for June 22.