Bulwer is in their blood, so to speak.
We’re talking about Leigh and Peggy Grapes, the movers and shakers behind the Bulwer Community Centre and the Bulwer Golden Agers. On their Facebook page, “Bulwer Bulwer,” Peggy wishes “Mr. Bulwer Bulwer” happy birthday. We know who she means.
The Bulwer Community Centre at 254 Jordan Hill Road was formed in 1963; the Golden Agers in 1983. “I felt a family obligation to keep it going,” Leigh said.
“Leigh’s grandfather was involved in building the Bulwer Elementary School,” Peggy continued. It was built in 1963. When the school closed, they turned it into a community centre.”
“It doesn’t belong to the municipality. It belongs to the community,” Leigh emphasized. “We’re a non-profit organization. My dad spent all his extra time there. He was devoted to it.”
Leigh, and both his parents, went to school there. “In the 60s and 70s and 80s, there were lots of English-speaking people in the area,” he said. “There are still a few of us who went to school there. For example, Sharon Moore, Robert Richardson, Clayton Lackie, Barry McElravy, Richard Rothney and his family.”
Or was it Peggy who said that? I was speaking to them by phone, and they had a charming way of completing each other’s sentences.
Leigh had a career as a truck driver for Kruger Inc., then a repair technician for Dorson. “He spends his time now helping as president of the Eaton Cemetery, the Bulwer Community Centre, and the Bulwer Golden Agers. And in his free time, he helps out as a farm hand for a neighbour,” Peggy emailed me.
Peggy worked as a dressmaker when their children were young, and then qualified as a home care assistant in 1990. Many times, she wrote, she was holding down three jobs of home care, cooking for the Bulwer Golden Agers, and catering weddings with her brother Perry Hodge on weekends.
“You gotta do something or your mind turns to mush,” Peggy laughs. “I love to cook.”
“Seniors need something to do to keep their minds alert,” Leigh says. “After the pandemic, people were anxious to get out, to socialize.”
He has similar interests. “I like to talk to people, and I have a special attachment to the community centre.”
That brings us back to the Golden Agers. The group has 47 members, and on average, 30 or 35 people attend the bi-weekly card parties from September to June. Peggy’s been cooking for the group since the 1990s. They had hot meals until the Covid pandemic; now they offer a cold buffet. They had a crowd of 50 for a turkey supper at Christmastime, and offer a cold supper at the season’s end in June.
The food comes after the games: cards, cribbage and carpet bowling. Carpet bowling is like shuffleboard, on a felt mat about five feet wide and 35 feet long. Last year, the group bought a “new” used mat from a Golden Age group in Roseneathe, Ontario. They had lost lots of seniors to Covid.
“The CAB donated money last year for the mat,” Peggy said.
“It’s very expensive felt, from France,” Leigh explained. “They also gave us a bingo machine, but our seniors prefer to play cards.”
“Money is a struggle,” he said. “We had to change the windows in the centre. That helped with the heating.”
“We had activities to raise funds for that,” said Peggy.
The old school house had never been insulated. They―Leigh, Peggy, and Jeff Sylvester―tore the walls off, and then hired a company to put in foam insulation and re-build the walls. This past winter they also put in a new furnace. “The building is in good shape now,” said Leigh.
“Our MNA, Mr. Jacques, gave us a grant for that,” said Leigh.
“It’s hard to keep it going,” Peggy said. “We try to keep rental costs down, to get a few more rentals to help pay for upkeep, to keep our head above water.”
“Anything else you’d like to say?” I ask. I don’t remember who answered, but the message is clear.
“If anybody would like to make a donation, the address is the Bulwer Community Centre, 254 Jordon Hill Road, Cookshire-Eaton, QC J0B 1MO.”
I really enjoyed my interview with “Mr. and Mrs. Bulwer Bulwer.”

Both the CAB and our new editor-in-chief, Stephanie Paquet, suggested I interview the Grapes in relation to the “ainés en action” theme of this week’s Journal. I googled the term, and found another interesting mention. It’s Ainés Action Quebec, or in English, “Seniors Action Quebec.” Its mission is to “maintain and enhance the vitality of English-speaking Quebec seniors” and promote a healthy and active lifestyle.
How? The answer is at seniorsactionquebec.ca. Check it out.
BULWER CARD PARTIES
Every two weeks on Tuesdays from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., the Bulwer Golden Agers group hosts card parties and a light lunch at the Bulwer Community Centre, 254 Jordan Hill Road, Bulwer. Activities include cribbage, carpet bowling, and cards. Dates of the upcoming meetings are January 30, February 13 and 27, March 12 and 26, April 9 and 23, and May 7 and 21. New members are welcome.
Info: Peggy & Leigh Grapes, 819-875-3543.
YOGA
Yoga-light classes have begun in Sawyerville on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in the Sawyerville Catholic Church basement, 4 Randboro Road. Info: Myrna at myrnamac44@gmail.com, or 819-875-5393.
CHURCHES
Anglican. No services in Cookshire. To find services in the deanery, check the schedule at deaneryofstfrancis.com/calendar/. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Sunday services are 9:30 a.m. at the Trinity United Church (Cookshire), and 11 a.m. at the Sawyerville United Church. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Baptist. Sunday Services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m., 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 5 for publication February 14.