Number 62 April 1, 2009
JIM BECK 2, CANCER 0
It would not be stretching things to refer to it as “The Miracle in Bloomington.” It didn't happen in an instant – it took eight weeks – but it was a miracle nevertheless. Just as Daniel survived the lion's den, and Jonah survived the whale, Jim completed 39 sessions in the cyclotron and so far shows nothing but a couple of minor side effects. It may be too soon to declare a complete victory over the malignant brain tumor, but we should soon have more complete information. One sure thing is its a big win for Jim, his family, and for Beck genealogy.
Jim and Barb Beck recently returned home from Bloomington, IN, where Jim had undergone proton beam therapy for the recurrence of a brain tumor. It was located extremely close to the brain stem, and the treatments involved being confined and held tightly but there was no pain or sensation from the application of the beam. Although the treatments were difficult, Jim has few side effects including a mild headache and a buzzing in his head. He is able to carry on with his research and is involved in planning for a conference at Michigan State University. In about a month, Jim expects to have another MRI and then they will return to Bloomington for evaluation of the treatment.
Jim and Barb stayed at Jill’s House, a “home away from home,” for those having proton beam therapy. They enjoyed their eight week stay very much. They quickly bonded with the other patients and their families. The patients were all very supportive of each other. The home provided many amenities such as laundry facilities, a large library and exercise equipment. The surrounding area is wooded and so they saw many deer almost on a daily basis. Everyone enjoyed that and some left food for the deer and others took pictures of them.
The Becks wish to thank you for your cards, notes, prayers and phone calls while they were away. They were very encouraged by them. They thank God for what he has done for Jim and look forward to continuing his work on the genealogy of the Beck family and seeing many of you in the future.
RECYCLING POP CANS TO FEED HUNGRY CHILDREN
A Beach Point fisherman is gathering recyclables to feed needy children in Haiti.
Guy MacKenzie (1.4.1,9,3,7.) is calling on the people of Murray Harbour, Murray River and surrounding areas to donate their recyclables to the cause. He has set up a collection route to gather materials to raise money to help the work of a mission in Haiti. Guy made his first run on Monday, March 23, and the people responded big time. He built a rack on the back of his truck and finished the day with a heaping load.
The proceeds go toward the work of the Emergency Relief and Development Overseas Agency, which is run by the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Guy, a member of the Pentecostal Church in Murray River, told David MacDonald of The Eastern Graphic that he thought of the idea after noticing many people don't bother returning their reusables and put them out for the garbage pickup.
“A lot of people are just throwing their empties out. They have to drive so far to return them and a lot aren’t being returned, so I thought there may be some use for them.”
He has raised more than $525 so far.
“People have been coming from as far as Charlottetown (to help). People are kind,” he said.
In addition the effort has received cash donations from the Pentecostal Church in Murray River. The church’s Vacation Bible Study group raised $308 in a week, and during the Sunday church service, another $335 was donated. The mission feeds 1,500 Haitian children twice a week, with meals consisting of rice, beans and dessert. Guy said it costs 25 cents to feed each child, but with the rising cost of food the price could soon be higher. He said three disastrous hurricanes in the past year have destroyed Haiti's crops.
Guy plans to make the rounds of his collection route every fourth Monday of each month.
JUSTIN MOVES ON
Justin Bowers continues to climb the hockey ladder. After a stint with the Lake Erie Monsters of the Amerian Hockey League he has moved on to the Quad City Flames, another AHL team. The Flames signed him to a Professional Try-Out Agreement on February 27.
Justin (1.4.6.5,10,1,2.) started the hockey season by attending the Flames 2008 training camp, and has seen a lot of the United States since then. From there he went to the Florida Everblades, and then to the Dayton Bombers, both of the ECHL. After that he moved up to the Lake Erie Monsters and now is with the Quad City Flames, farm team of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.
The Quad Cities is a geographic region of the Mid-Mississippi Valley of the United States that includes several communities in the states of Iowa and Illinois. The five most populous cities in the region are: Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline, Rock Island and East Moline, Illinois.
Justin has played 17 games with the Flames and so far has seven points, made up of 4 goals and 3 assists. His best performance was against the Houston Aeros on Friday, March 13th. He scored three goals, a hat trick, in the Flames 6 to 3 win.
The statistics don't tell the whole story either. Justin has performed well in shoot outs, but goals scored in shootouts do not get counted in player's personal stats. For instance, the Flames lost 3-2 to the Chicago Wolves in a shootout on Saturday, March 28th. After a scoreless overtime, the teams headed to a shootout. Through the first five shooters, the contest was tied at one on goals by Quad City’s Justin Bowers and Chicago’s Joey Motzko. In the sixth round, Justin and Motzko again traded goals to force a seventh frame. It went scoreless, but Chicago scored in the eighth round to win the game.
NOT ALL CANCERS HAVE BEEN BEATEN
While Jim reports excellent progress, little headway has been made in my case of colon cancer.
I (1.4.2.2,2.2.)have seen many doctors since our last newsletter on February 1, but no action has resulted. This is due mainly to my heart problems. The cancer specialist in charge of chemotherapy says I'm not a candidate because chemo and bad hearts do not go together. She has one drug that could be used, but it will be held in reserve for possible use down the road.
She referred me to a surgeon and he set a date of March 19 to remove the tumour. However after reviewing opinions from an anesthetist and a cardiologist, he concluded my chance of surviving the surgery were not good, perhaps 50-50 at the best. The operation was cancelled and my file has been forwarded to a radiologist.
I have an appointment there for April 14th.
If you're interested in the details, you can learn more than you wanted to know about colon cancer on my website, http://ivanmunn.ca
DEATHS
FERRIOLI: Mark J. Ferrioli of Northeast Philadelphia died of heart disease at home on November 21, 2008, four days before his 56th birthday. He had taught martial arts for almost 40 years.
A native of Stoneham, Mass., Mark (1.4.1,3.2A,1,2.) began studying martial arts and Zen philosophy after moving to Philadelphia when he was 11. At 15, he was giving karate-do instructions in a church hall in his neighborhood and he gave lessons at Northeast High School while still a student there. He earned a first-degree, black belt at 18 as a correspondence student of Matsutatsu Oyama, a Japanese karate expert and founder of an international school.
In 1970, he opened his own karate studio and taught more than 2,000 students there before retiring in 2008. Mark also founded T.T.M.K. Educational Services, offering stress management through applied Zen philosophy.
His nephew, Matthew McKenna, said Mark taught his style of Zen karate-do at several colleges and produced documentaries on the history of martial arts as well as instructional videos. He had been featured on KYW-TV's Evening Magazine, and on the Larry King radio show. He was a master of the Japanese bamboo flute, ink painting and more than 30 Japanese weapons, his nephew added. In addition to his nephew, he is survived by a sister, Elizabeth Ferrioli-McKenna; a niece, Shannon McKenna; a nephew Sean McKenna; and his companion, Linda Wellington.
More information on Mark is available in the February, 2007, edition of the Beck Bulletin.
MacLEAN: John Allen MacLean of Dover, P.E.I. died in hospital in Charlottetown on Wednesday, February 4, 2009. He was 35.
He is survived by his wife, Cathy (Young) and two children, Sarah and Jake. He is also survived by his parents, Francis and Phyllis (Singleton) MacLean of Murray River, and by sisters and brothers, Anna Marie (Winston) Enman, Montague; Lockie (Rita), Eldon; Zelda MacLean (Chris Bernard), St. Mary's Road; and Scott (Rebecca), Murray River.
He was predeceased by brothers Alvin, Allan and Wayne. All three died in 1974 – two of them were struck by a vehicle while riding a bicycle.
The funeral service was held from Ferguson's Funeral Home Chapel in Montague with interment later in the Murray River Cemetery.
MOSHER: Esther Marie (Ferguson) Mosher (1.4.4,1.5.1,) of Murray River, P.E.I., died in hospital in Montague on Sunday, March 1, 2009. She was 73. She was the wife of the late Maynard Mosher, and the oldest daughter of the late Jack and Doris Ferguson. She is survived by children Marilyn (Wayde) MacKay, Laura Jane (Jackie) Graham, Betty Jean (Ronnie) Millar and Keith Mosher, as well as sisters Anne (Chester) MacLean and Rita (Johnny) Higginbotham, as well as her sister-in-law, Dianne Ferguson.
Esther was predeceased by her sons Stephen and Kevin, an infant daughter, Christine, and her brother, Alvin Ferguson.
The funeral service was held at Ferguson's Funeral Home Chapel in Montague with interment later in the Murray River Cemetery.
Esther was a strong supporter of the Beck Reunions. She attended many of them and as a member of the Murray Harbour Drama Club often helped out with the catering.
VanIderstine: Sylvia Jean (MacNeill) VanIderstine died on Thursday, March 12, 2009, at the Dr John Gillis Memorial Lodge in Eldon, P.E.I. She was 80 and a resident of Murray Harbour.
Sylvia (1.4.9,2,7,)is survived by her brother, Gerald (Bub) MacNeill, Beach Point; a son, Gerald (Heather) MacKay, Murray Harbour; daughters, Marg (Wayne) MacKenzie, Bedford, N.S., and Wilma (Jamie) Miller, Murray River; grandchildren, Sandi (Dan) Caron, Paul MacKay, Sheri (Troy) Bailey, William, David and Jordan Miller; great-grandchildren, Connor, Nigel and Nicholas Bailey, and Calista Caron.
She was predeceased by her husband, Ashley, and special friend, Charlie Beck. She was also predeceased by brothers, George, Jack, Wilbert, Lester, and sister, Lyma Kinsman.
The funeral was held at the Murray Harbour Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 15, at 3 p.m. with interment later in the local cemetery.
WHITE: Elmer Preston White (1.12,2.5B.2.) of Murray Harbour died at the Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague on Saturday, March 28, 2009. He was 67. He is survived by his brother Cecil (Joan), of Kentville, N.S.; niece Janet (Ian) Ripley and family, N.S.; nephew Peter (Nancy) and family, Oakville, Ont.; and several aunts, uncles and cousins. Elmer was predeceased by his parents Freeman and Margaret (Robertson) White and a son, Joey.
The funeral is under the direction of the Southern Kings and Queens Funeral Home in Murray River.
The funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2009, from the funeral home chapel at 2 p.m. with interment later in Murray Harbour Cemetery.
SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION SORE POINT IN PEI
The Eastern School Ditrict of PEI is recommending the closure of 11 of the 43 schools in its jurisdiction. The reason is shrinking enrolment, and if the report is accepted the 11 schools will not reopen in September. This has led to much opposition in the communities affected.
George Ferguson (1.4.4,11A.2.2.) of Murray River was among those voicing concern. In a letter to the local papers, he criticized the fact that the report failed to consider the impact on the local communities.
“These are the type of problems that arise when an issue such as school reorganization is addressed in isolation with what seems to be in this case a predetermined agenda. One should not disregard the social and economic impacts of such decisions on affected communities,” George wrote.
He criticized the decision to leave the impact information to local trustees, saying that some of the issues would be more suitably addressed by professional consultants.
“There are a host of issues affecting rural P.E.I. such as declining traditional industries, aging populations, young people leaving, centralization. How do school closures affect these issues? Does it alleviate the problems or exacerbate the problems? Can the closure of a school kill a small town or village? Do we want to save rural communities? Do we want to stem the decline in population in rural communities, maybe even reverse it? What are the implications for the province if rural P.E.I. is depopulated?”
George said these are issues that should be addressed by the provincial government in the broader context of school closures, hospital consolidation, rural incorporation and tax equity.
Murray River and Murray Harbour are not directly affected as their schools were closed many years ago. But George has an on-going interest in political and social matters affecting the province.
MEMORIES ARE A BIG HELP
A retired Kings County veterinarian, Dr. A.E. (Bud) Ings of Montague has written a best seller that's doing a lot for the PEI Humane Society. The book, Mud, Sweat and Tears, tells the story of Dr. Ings' life and career as a vet in rural PEI. The book came out last November and has been extremely successful, selling more than 3500 copies so far. Dr Ings is donating his royalties to the Humane Society.
The firm of Stewart & Beck has sold a number of the books. The business recently donated $1,000 to the Humane Society as well. The money was from the proceeds of the book sales.
The Eastern Graphic published a picture of the cheque presentation. The picture included Dr. Ings, Kelly Mullaly, acting executive director of the PEI Humane Society, and Mark Beck,(1.11.8.3.2.1.) representing Stewart & Beck. Guest of honor in the photo was Missy, a Shepherd Husky mix, who was at the Society's shelter in Charlottetown awaiting adoption.
ANNEARS SWEEP TO VICTORY
Kings County Construction was the big winner at the 3rd Annual Business Bonspiel at the Montague Curling Club on January 31st. Skipped by Harry Annear (1.11.6,4.4.) the Kings County Construction team racked up 53 points in a three games.
A total of 22 teams took part in the Spiel and raised $1,800. for the Southern Kings and Queens Food Bank. The money came from entrance fees and a silent auction. Items were donated by local businesses.
Scott Annear (1.11.6,4.3.1.) organized the Bonspiel. Other team members were Thomas Annear (1.4.1,2B.5.4,1.) and George Matheson.
The Vere Beck Family Home Page
We're always looking for news of Beck family members. If you know of any interesting events drop me a line with the information. imunn@accesswave.ca
That's it .. please share it with relatives who aren't on line. The next edition will be out on June 1, 2009. 
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