| Number One | July 1, 1999 |
Welcome to the first edition of our family newsletter. Our subscription list is fairly short, about 60 in all, but our reach is long. We cover North America from the Atlantic in the east, to the Pacific in the west, and from Rankin Inlet in the north to Texas and California in the south. We also touch Europe and Asia through cousins in Britain and Korea.
So while only 60 copies are going out it's to be hoped that the readership will be quite a bit higher. If an average of three people in each of those households read some or all of the letter we'll have reached nearly 200 Beck descendants.
I would urge those of you with nearby relatives to print a copy and share it with them and encourage them to pass it on to other relatives. In that way our circulation can be increased and will undoubtedly lead to finding more people with e-mail addresses.
After you've finished reading it, send along your comments. We're in the early experimental stages here and your comments and suggestions can help to decide the path taken. Perhaps we can incorporate your messages into a Letters to the Editor column. Even more important, please send along any news of family members for inclusion in future issues.
Ivan Munn (1.4.2.2,2.2.)
THERE'S ANOTHER REUNION IN THE WORKS!
While last year's Beck reunion in Prince Edward Island is still fresh
in our minds, another branch of the family is preparing for their
get-together in a couple of weeks. The Roberts/Smith Family gathering
takes place July 16-18 in Moose River, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.
This is the branch of the family that descends through the two oldest
daughters of Vere Beck -- Elizabeth Emma, 1.1, and Martha Lucy, 1.2,
who married Thomas and Peter Roberts.
Tara Phillips, a Halifax school teacher, is organizing the event and
she says plans are going well.
"The reunion is gaining momentum and excitement is building. With just
over two weeks to go, many people are only now sending in their
registration forms. Thanks to much help from Ivan Munn, Jim Beck and
Ena
Dow, I'm discovering many more of the relations and thankfully, some
are
able to make it. If anyone else is interested in attending, please
e-mail me at
tphillip@ddes.ednet.ns.ca because there is plenty more room. Everyone
is
very excited. I hope that includes the meteorologist! Maybe we'll see
you in July!!"
The Roberts branch is the line of the family that's least well-known
to
us. This reunion will provide a chance to gather information and fill
in
many of the blanks.
The program shapes up this way:
Friday, July 16 -Registration at the "Smith" house (across from the church), followed by a family orientation night
Saturday, July 17 - Various activities including a beach trip, a clambake, kid's games, and sightseeing trips etc. Evening meal and dance/talent night
Sunday, July 18 - Midmorning coffee, group picture, afternoon church service and good-byes
TEACHING ENGLISH IN KOREA
The prize for "farthest from home" surely goes to Tobi Jackson, 1.4.6.8.3,4) daughter of Hugh and Sarah Jackson of Beach Point, who is in Seoul on a teaching assignment. Tobi arrived in Korea about mid-May and after a slow start, says she's now very busy. Her day looks something like this. "I have a full schedule. am - aerobics, afternoon - hapkido, with drawing lessons twice a week, with English classes in the evening.
"I'm doing well teaching - only made 2 children cry so far. When I get serious my "big" eyes scare the students - I think The children are sweet, so funny... I'm sure it will be difficult to say "good-bye" even though I will only be here 3 1/2 months. Teaching can be very challenging, but a lot of fun. When they come to my class they seem to have the attitude that it's 'free time, say anything in Korean - she can't understand.' But I surprise them. I catch a few words in a sentence and get the idea of what they are saying. I love shocking them by coming back with a complete Korean sentence."
Tobi is finding the local customs a little strange. She says the people are obsessed with the body and during aerobic classes the other women are always touching her and admiring her long legs, which seem unusual to them
"I've only been here a month and I'm losing my English already! I've adapted to getting by with "Konglish," a mixture of Korean and English."
Tobi says she loves Korea. "It teaches me to be more tolerant and to endure.... everyday is a new experience!"
To keep in touch by e-mail, she visits a local internet cafe to grab some computer time. She tells me she hasn't had much time to get in there lately, but promises to send more information soon. We hope to have more about Tobi's work in Korea in future issues. Here some pictures of the people, the area, Tobi and her pupils.
MUNNS SPONSORS KOSOVAR FAMILY
Sheila and I are involved with a group in the sponsorship of some Kosovar families
in Nova Scotia. Our group is made up of about 6 couples, almost all
of
them CBC Retirees. We've been hard at work on this project for more
than 6 weeks and things are finally coming together.
Immigration looks for at least five people to sponsor a refugee family
settling in Canada and since we have more than that they suggested
we
split up and sponsor two families.. We didn't want to split because
some
of our members go south in the winter, so we compromised and took two
families. After an uncertain start we've been paired with Enver and
Makfire (Mak-Feer-Ah) Halili and their infant son, Adrian, the first
Kosovar child born in Canada, and Nerxhivane (Ner Shi Vanah) Alishani,
and her two sons, Muharrem, 8, and Labinot, 6. Her husband was missing
in an Albanian refugee camp, but has since been found.
We do not have any financial responsibilities, but are required to
spend whatever time is necessary to help them fit into the community.
We've taken them apartment hunting and have found two suitable units
on
the Dartmouth waterfront. We've spent a lot of time looking for
furniture, and have donated many things to get them started without
using up their furniture allowance which comes to about $1,500. per
couple. They can keep anything that isn't spent so they are very happy
to accept used donations.
Language is a real problem but we are learning to communicate and are
getting by quite nicely, speaking slowly, using small words, and lots
of
sign language. We've taken them on outings in the community and had
them
to our homes. The plan is to move them into their apartments on July
7th. We've been chosen to be the "Poster People" for the Nova Scotia
end
of the refugee resettlement operation so we expect to see the media
out
in force on that day.
LOBSTER SEASON CLOSES IN KINGS COUNTY
The lobster fishing men and women of Murray River, Murray Harbour,
Beach Point and most of Kings County are relaxing a bit today after
two
months of very hard work. There are no slackers in the lobster business
with everyone crawling out of bed in the wee hours to head for the
fishing grounds. Hugh and Sarah Jackson (both Beck descendants) are
among those wrapping up their season, which opened on the first of
May.
We have not yet heard how the catch was this year, but from a weather
standpoint it would appear to have been better than average spring.
A
mild winter in the Maritimes reduced the ice buildup and most of it
would have been cleared out before the first traps were set. From a
landlubber's point of view, there seemed to be few storms during May
and
June, but it's not always that way on the water. I expect Sarah will
be
giving us some details when she finally catches her breath.
JIM IS STILL HARD AT WORK!
Most of you are probably aware that our chief genealogist, Jim Beck, (1.4.6.6.1) retired a year ago from Michigan State University. But that doesn't mean he's been twiddling his thumbs. He puts it this way:
"I have been very busy. I have 3 active research contracts and am working on a big proposal for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. The proposed project has aspects like the genealogy work. The linear transient heat conduction solutions (wrote a book on the subject) of a great many problems for simple shapes are to be derived, compiled and put on the web. They are to be used to check certain parts of the massive finite difference and element codes for large scale fires. I would be the main scientist (behind the scenes) on the proposed project but professors at Michigan State and University of Nebraska would be involved. Both mechanical engineering and mathematics professors (and students) would take part. My role would be something like that for the PEI Beck group, somewhat to the side of the main local committee."
Jim is just back from a trip to the State of Washington, where he also managed to delve into a bit of family history.
"One afternoon I went with a couple to the Olympic National Park and drove through Port Angeles. That was significant for me because my Uncle Lewis Angus Beck lived there at one time. He died in 1957, at the age of 69 (which is my age now). I remember my father writing letters to his brother in Port Angeles, WA. My father died in 1948."
TOBIN WORKING AND PLAYING HARD.
Carolyn Tobin (1.4.2.2,7,4.3) has put away the books for a few months
and is putting in 50 hour weeks on her Summer job. Still she finds
time
to pursue her many hobbies, such as distance running, and horse back
riding. Now she's thrown herself into a new hobby.
"I've been quite busy of late, and to top it off, I joined a Medieval
society, the Society of Creative Anachronism or the SCA. I've taken
my
historical bug to new heights and dimensions. I hope to do the heavy
list "sword and shield fighting." It's all show, but the thought of
wearing family arms kind of brings on a sense of honor. Most people
make
up their names, you have to choose a historically accurate one..no
Bronwyn or Rhiannon since they appeared in Wales during the 19th
century, the name has to be pre 1700. I intend to do a wee bit of
research on that first."
In case any others out there wish to take up this hobby, the avowed
purpose of the SCA is the study and recreation of the European Middle
Ages, its crafts, sciences, arts, traditions, literature, etc. The
SCA
"period" is defined to be Western civilization before 1600 AD,
They study dance, calligraphy, martial arts, cooking, metalwork, stained
glass, costuming, literature etc. Fighting in the SCA evolved from
what
happened when two armed knights were unhorsed and had to fight on the
ground. It resembles nothing so much as medieval foot tournaments.
There
are two basic types of SCA fights: single combat, and group
or team battles, known as melees. Well, you get the picture. Anyone
for
a melee?
When Carolyn unveils her "new" medieval name, you'll read about it
here
first!
GWEN MUNN MOVES SOUTH
My daughter, Gwen, (1.4.2.2,2.2.2) and her partner, Rod Wendt, are in
Texas now having accepted jobs in the computer industry in Dallas.
Rod
transferred from Ottawa with his company, Nortel, to their Dallas
office. Gwen, a former Nortel employee, and lately with Crosskeys in
Ottawa, looked at several offers, including ones from Nortel and Sprint,
before accepting a job with PageMart, a company involved with Pagers.
Gwen listed her home in Ottawa about June 20th, sold it within a few
days, and managed to get all the details cleaned up before they left
for
Dallas on June 29th. Rod is already at work at Nortel, but Gwen doesn't
start her new job until July 12th. We'll try to include a picture of
their new home in the next news letter.
FROM THE GUARDIAN
I visited the Dartmouth Main Library to get some idea of what's happening on PEI that might be of interest to the far-flung Beck family. Papers are more than three weeks late in arriving. When I was there on June 15, the latest Guardian on the shelf was dated May 20. What was even more disappointing was the news content of the paper. It's an awfully poor excuse for a newspaper with a minimum of local reporting, and most of that concentrated in the Charlottetown area. If there is a Montague bureau any more there is little evidence of it in the news columns. It's certainly not the Guardian I remember, but memory can play tricks.
There was evidence in the paper that PEI is a good place to live.
Statistics Canada says Islanders live longer than most other Canadians.
Life expectancy on the Island is 79.4 years, with the gap between men
and women quite narrow. Perhaps it has something to do with a more
relaxed life style? Stats Can says that cancer and heart disease are
the
leading causes of death.
A 911 service is expected to be in operation on the Island by July, 2000. Work is underway at the moment to create a system that will identify every property in the province. Each property and building will be assigned a unique number and that job is expected to be completed by the end of October. The aim is to avoid any chance of confusion when dispatching emergency vehicles to a site.
Basil MacLeod, 1,12,6,2,8, died on April 29th of a stroke. He was predeceased by his wife, Myna MacLeod, who was the Beck descendant. Basil was in his 70s, and had become quite reclusive after Myna's death. For many years he was the Post Master in Murray River. After serving in the navy during the war, Basil started as assistant to the Post Master, Harold Keenan. When Harold retired Basil took over and operated the Post Office, assisted by Myna, out of their home on the Main Street until he retired about 10 years ago. I'm writing this from memory as the Guardian carried nothing other than the brief obituary supplied by the undertaker.
A trip to the library last evening, June 29th, found three new copies
on the shelf dated June 23, 24 and 25th. The gap from May 20th has
not
been filled in. I found the following items:
Annie Laura Buell, (1.6B.6.5,) died in Riverview Manor on June 18th at the age of 90. She was the daughter of Henry Phillips Vere Beck and Mary Ann Buell. She was predeceased by her husband, Freeman Buell. She is survived by several sons, two sisters, Jane Hume, and Mabel Alley, and a brother, Leith Beck. Many of you will remember Leith as the oldest of the entertainers at last year's reunion. The funeral service was held on June 20th with interment in the Murray River Cemetery.
Prince Edward Island is providing shelter to about 100 Kosovar
refugees. The first of them started arriving in Charlottetown on June
23rd by bus from Camp Aldershot in Nova Scotia. The sponsorship groups
are spread across the province, including the Murray River/Murray
Harbour area.
That's it for this edition of the Bulletin. My apologies to Island readers who will find nothing new in the above briefs from the Guardian. However, I'm sure they will be of interest to those who have strayed far from our Island roots. The next edition will be out on August 1st. Spread the word and lets try to increase our circulation by word of mouth, printed copies and more e-mail addresses.
Ivan Munn, Editor.
The Vere Beck Family Home Page
We're always looking for news of Beck family members. If you know of any significant events drop me a line with the information. imunn@accesswave.ca
imunn@accesswave.ca