Number 51 June 1, 2007
REUNIONS THIS YEAR AND NEXT
There will be a Beck Family Reunion later this summer for people who like to mingle with their relatives more often than once every five years.
Sarah Jackson (1.4.6.8B.4,) of Beach Point has been organizing smaller, picnic style gatherings annually for the past few years. Sarah has completed arrangements for this year and the location will be Kings Castle Provincial Park in Gladstone, P.E.I. The large shelter near the main road has been booked from 1:30 pm Saturday, July 28. A potluck supper will be served about 4:30. Everyone is invited even if they aren't relatives and would just like to meet some Becks.
This will be an opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones, swap stories of the good old days and reminisce about some of the more colourful Beck characters.
Among those attending will be Jim and Barb Beck of Michigan. Jim (1.4.6.6.1.) is our chief genealogist and he will be gathering the latest information on the expanding Beck family.
Meanwhile plans are starting to fall into place for the full reunion next year. It will be held again in the Northumberland Arena in Murray River. We have it booked for Friday, August 1, and Saturday, the 2nd. There will be tours of areas of interest, and books and CDs of Kathy Sencabaugh's listing of the Beck family. And there will be a special speaker and a potluck supper on Saturday afternoon.
There's been a suggestion that we prepare a video for the event. Jim has lots of pictures of family members that could be used to make a video. We're looking for a volunteer or volunteers to put it together. If you're interested in taking that on, please let us know.
TERRY FOX HELPS THE SEALERS
By David Munn, (1.4.2.2,2.2.1.) First Officer of the Terry Fox
Spring in Newfoundland traditionally signals the start of the annual seal hunt. This year as usual the sealing fleet set out as soon as the ice started to open up, but a shift in the prevailing winds and heavier than normal ice soon created unexpected challenges.
As the boats worked through the ice floes, the winds blew from the north and northeast, pushing the ice field back against the coast under tremendous pressure. More than 100 sealing boats were trapped and unable to move. Some were squeezed up on top of the ice floes like pits squeezed from cherries, while an unfortunate few were crushed.
The Canadian Coast Guard in Newfoundland sent 4 ships to assist, but they experienced problems too with three of the lighter icebreakers becoming stuck in the ice at various times. The Maritimes Region was asked for help, and on April 22nd, CCGS Terry Fox, a heavy icebreaker based in Dartmouth, sailed for the area.
Forty-eight hours later, Terry Fox was in the ice in the Strait of Belle Isle. It was predominately heavy first year ice with a liberal sprinkling of multi year ice that had drifted down from northern waters: icebergs, bergy bits (small ice bergs) and growlers (small pieces of ice bergs that had broken off.) A nasty mix for large ships, and impossible for small boats to cope with.
Our first contact was a relatively large wooden boat from Nain, Labrador. They were trapped 12 miles from open water. Like many of the sealers, this one was running low on drinking water, fuel and food. Supplies were passed over the rail, and then the escort to open water began. As the ship eased by, the boat was able to slip into the small pool of water at the stern.There were a few anxious moments when the ship’s propellers spat out a particularly large chunk of ice that would shove the smaller vessel sideways. However after just a few hours, a very grateful group of sealers were turned loose in open water and on their way to St. Anthony.
Terry Fox was then asked to proceed south towards White Bay where a group of 10 sealing boats were trapped. The ship arrived just before midnight to find a scene of pure bedlam. The shifting ice was under extreme pressure due to a combination of wind and tide. One vessel was squeezed up on top of the ice and laid over on her side. Another was rolled over so far that she started to take on water. Crews of both vessels jumped out and walked across the ice to take shelter with some of their more fortunate comrades. The icebreaker was unable to do more than watch and wait for conditions to improve. Shortly before daylight, the tide turned, and the pressure came off the ice. The situation stabilized and the crews returned to their boats. Terry Fox successfully worked to get the squeezed boats back in the water again. However she was less successful escorting them to open water. The big “breaker” was churning up massive pieces of ice in her wake and the small boats were understandably nervous about trying to follow. Finally the attempt was abandoned with a promise to send a smaller icebreaker as soon as one was available.From there we joined the Henry Larsen, a heavy icebreaker based in St. John’s, in aiding the tanker Diamond Star. Outbound from Lewisporte after delivering her cargo of refined products, the Diamond Star was unable to push through the ice in Notre Dame Bay. The tanker simply wanted to turn around and head back to Lewisporte to wait for an improvement in conditions. The two icebreakers worked through the night, and 15 hours later were successful in turning the ship around and guiding her to open water in Lewisporte Run. For the crew of Terry Fox, their 28 day shift had come to an end and it was time to go home. The ship put in to Lewisporte, and was turned over to the relief crew who had flown in from Dartmouth. The Terry Fox continued to work with her Newfoundland colleagues until all remaining boats were freed, finally returning to Dartmouth, May 8.
Editor's note: As for David, after a two-week break he took command of the Earl Grey and spent a week placing off-shore navigation buoys along the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. He now takes command of the Hydrographic vessel, Matthew, and will spend the rest of the year charting various areas of the Atlantic Region.
SUCCESSFUL FUND DRIVE FOR HOSPITAL
The annual telethon in support of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown was a resounding success again this year. The 21-hour broadcast was held on the weekend of May 26 and 27 and raised $493,778. This means a lot of new equipment for the Intensive Care, and the Coronary Care Units and the Cardio-Respiratory Department.
Paulette Hooley, Chair of the QEH Foundation said, "Thanks to the generosity of Islanders, we will be getting a new ventilator, two non-invasive ventilators, eight ECG machines, a temporary pacing generator, a portable spirometer, heated humidifiers, three critical care beds and two epidural pumps.
Once again Murray River and surrounding areas played an important part in the fund drive.
The Murray River contribution was the largest yet, a little over $27,000 bringing the total raised in the past seven years to $133,000.
Garnet Buell (1.6B.6.5,2.) is the driving force behind the Murray River effort built on a series of weekly ceilidhs.
He takes part in the entertainment and lines up a lot of the performers who donate their time and talent to the cause.
DOCTOR VOICES NEED FOR CAUTION
Prince Edward Island has a new government. The Liberals, led by Robert Ghiz, swept to power in the provincial election on May 28, capturing 23 of the 27 seats available. Premier Pat Binns held his own seat to lead a tiny Conservative opposition.
The Conservatives and the Liberals both made many promises and one they agreed upon was a hospital residency program to attract young doctors to the province.
Local doctors had strong reservations about it. Dr.Gordon R.Beck of Charlottetown (1.4.3B.7.3.2.) wrote to The Guardian to express his concerns. He said he endorses a residency program, but only if the province steps up recruiting and retention of physicians so they will have time to devote to teaching. Without a stable medical workforce, Gordon says the residency program will be doomed to failure.
"When physicians are overburdened because of inadequate manpower,the first thing we cut back on is teaching. We experienced this first-hand last year when we faced a significant manpower shortage at the QEH emergency department. We had to refuse taking any students for a year due to our manpower crisis."
"Obviously,” he added, "if we had had a formal residency program in place, we would not have been able to sustain it and maintaining accreditation would have been impossible."
A MORE FOCUSED APPROACH
Montague Computer has changed its name and direction in an attempt to better serve its customers.
The business is now known as Synergy Technology Solutions. Owner Debby Beck said Montague Computer was too diverse to manage effectively and it was time to narrow its focus, "so we could devote more quality time to our customers." Synergy Technology will concentrate in three areas: customized business training, design work, and a print and copy centre.
The training will concentrate on programs such as Simply Accounting by Sage BusinessVision and Microsoft Office; the design work will concentrate on websites, graphic and software design, and the copy centre offers printing, binding, laminating, brochures and business cards.
Synergy’s newest offering is a bookkeeping service for clients. Debby said, “We have found that small businesses don’t have the time, interest or expertise to manage their own bookkeeping. After several inquiries from interested customers, we decided to offer this service as well.”
BIRTH
CAMPBELL: A son born to Eddie Campbell and his wife, Shana (Harris) (1.4.6.5,3.3.1,) on March 13, 2007. The Campbells live in Tantallon, Nova Scotia. The baby weighed in at 7 lbs, 14 ozs. A grandson for Don and Betty Joy Harris of Murray Harbour, P.E.I.
DEATHS
PENNY: Pamela Elizabeth Penny (1.5..,4.3.2.4.2,) died at home in Charlottetown on May 10, 2007. She was 37.
She is survived by her parents, Ronald and Maretta Penny, and a brother, Blair. She is also survived by her grandmother, Hannah Lanigan, and by many aunts, uncles and cousins.
The funeral service was held in the Belvedere Funeral Home chapel in Charlottetown on Saturday, May 10, at 10 a.m.
Interment followed in the Sherwood Cemetery.
WHITE: Doris Althea White (1.4.6.7,1.) of Montague and formerly of Murray Harbour died on April 2, 2007, at the Dr. John M. Gillis Memorial Lodge in Eldon, P.E.I. She was 88. She was the widow of Captain Lester Brehaut White and the daughter of the late David and Mary (Roberts) Reynolds.
She is survived by a daughter, Sharon, (Brian MacAskill), Port Coquitlam, B.C., and sons David (Anne), Montague, and LeMoyne (Alana), Gaspereaux, and grandchildren Mark Andrews, Sara, Andrea, Alan, Ryan and Leanna White, and great grandchildren Paige and Brycen Andrews.
Predeceased by her sister, Florence Leviston of Boston, Massachusetts. Survived by brother-in-law, Fred (Cora), Dartmouth, NS; sisters-in-law, Phyllis Herring and June (Elmon) Nicolle, Murray Harbour; and Elva Bell, White Sands. Predeceased by her brothers-in-law, Lloyd (Evelyn) White, Gavin Bell and Clarence Herring.
The funeral service was held Thursday, April 5, at the Hillcrest United Church. Interment later in the Community Park Cemetery, Montague.
SOCCER IN SEOUL
If you go out to watch some soccer on a Sunday in Seoul, South Korea, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Prince Edward Island. Nine Islanders play for the Expats of the Seoul Sunday Football League. They are all in Korea teaching English and managed to get on the same team. Don Morrison, a sports columnist for The Guardian, tells their story following an e-mail interview with Ben Wilson of Charlottetown.
Other team members include Nathan Beck,(1.10B.7.6.2.5.) Dave MacDonald,Jordan Chandler, Nick MacLean and Logan Paynter, all of Charlottetown, Bruce Deacon and Justin Chaisson of Cornwall and Joe Seaman of North River. Nathan and three of the others played soccer for UPEI.
The Expats play in Division 2 and are 2-3-2 in their first seven of 14 games. Joe Seaman leads the Expats in scoring with five goals, Ben Wilson and Nathan Beck each have three while Chaisson, Chandler and Deacon have one apiece. The Islanders find the league a great way to remain in touch, allowing the chance to meet outside of work.
PEI SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEAM CHOSEN
Special Olympics PEI has released the names of the team members who will participate in the 2008 Canadian National Winter Games in Quebec. The competition will take place from Feb. 18 – 23 in Quebec City.
Thirty eight athletes and coaches will represent the province in floor hockey, figure skating, curling, snowshoeing and Nordic skiing.
Alyssa Chapman (1.2,2.6.1,3,1.2,) will represent the province in figure skating. The Murray Harbour teenager is a veteran of the games competition. She is also a swimmer and represented PEI at the Canadian Special Olympics in Brandon, Manitoba, last July. She won a gold medal in one event and took bronze in another.
Bevan Woodacre, a team official, said, “It will take a lot of hard work for the athletes to train and be prepared to bring home the gold next year.” He added that words cannot describe the positive impact this has on an athlete and their family.
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 August 1, 2007. 
Copyright © 2007 The Beck Bulletin