THE BECK BULLETIN
BECK PICNIC PLANNED
An informal get together will be held in Prince Edward Island in mid-August for Beck descendants and others who may be interested in the Becks and their history. Sarah Jackson (1.4.6.8B.4,) and her daughter, Tammy, (Clements) are organizing the event.
 “Tammy and I thought it would be nice to have a picnic when some relatives are around,” Sarah said.
They decided to hold it on Saturday, August 14th, from one until 5 pm with a potluck supper at 4 pm. The location is King's Castle provincial park on the Gladstone Road, a couple of miles past the Northumberland Arena. Sarah says the picnic will be held rain or shine and she has booked a shelter in case the weather does not co-operate.
Nothing formal is planned for the afternoon, Sarah says, and it will just be an opportunity for relatives to mingle and chat, share memories and take pictures. Jim and Barbara Beck of Michigan will be there and anxious to meet as many relatives as possible.
People should bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on, and a plate, and knife and fork if they are staying for the potluck supper.
HOMEFREE IN GEORGETOWN
Nancy Beck (1.4.3B.7.2.5,) and her troupe of performers are in the midst of a busy season at the Kings Playhouse in Georgetown. Her professional theatre company, Homefree Productions, is providing the bulk of this summer's entertainment at the Playhouse. They are performing four of their own plays: Amazing Gracie, A Nightingale Sang, Wingin' It, and Off Her Rocker.
 For Nancy this represents a return to familiar territory. She formed Homefree Productions in 1989 to put on plays in Georgetown for the summer. Things went so well that she returned for four years in a row.
Amazing Gracie explores the comedy and music of the legendary British entertainer Gracie Fields, and features many of her biggest hits. A Nightingale Sang is one of the most successful shows in Homefree's history. The audience gets a sense of daily life in wartime PEI as much of the script for the show is taken from the pages of The Guardian during the war years. Wingin' It is a one-woman show featuring Pamela Campbell and has played in many venues from Georgetown to Off-Broadway. Off Her Rocker is set at a campsite on the Montague River. It takes a zany look at what happens when a stuffy British journalist comes to visit a jingle-writing judge.
Others taking part in the productions are sisters Pamela (1.4.3B.7.2.2.1,) and Christie (1.4.3B.7.2.2.2,) Beck of Montague.
Sundays will be Family night at the theater. Four different family groups will perform over the summer ending with the Beck Family on Sunday, August 15th. Siblings Rob, Jock, Scott, Nancy, and Cam will be joined by members of the next two Beck generations (including Pam, Christie, Rachel, Amy, Laurel, Lisa, Quincy, Leah, and Katie). Their concert is billed as an evening of Gospel Music for old and young and everyone in between. Proceeds will be donated to the Southern Kings and Queens Food Bank.
RESCUE AT SEA
When Bud Osborne of Beach Point decided on Friday, July 16, he’d like to go out jigging mackerel he had no idea of what a fateful decision that would prove to be. He searched for some companions to go with him and was about to give up when Neil and Tracy MacKay (1.11.2,4,1.4.) and their children agreed to go along.
As they left Beach Point at 6:30 pm they noticed something in the water near Murray Harbour. Unable to identify it, Bud steered his boat closer and soon realized it was a sailboat on its side with the owners, Bill and Jean Struthers of Murray Harbour, clinging to it.
At 10 am that morning they had set sail on their 18-foot boat heading east out into the Northumberland Strait. They returned about 2:30 and were lowering the sails when the boat spun around and tipped over. The hatches were open and the mainsail was still up and both filled with water and the craft was unable to right itself.
They were wearing their lifejackets and managed to cling to the boat all afternoon but were starting to weaken when spotted. Mrs. Struthers was suffering from hypothermia but with the help of her husband was managing to keep her head above water. The Struthers were taken to the hospital in Montague and were released later that night.
Bud and Neil returned to the scene for the sailboat and were able to turn it over and take it back ashore undamaged.
BRAD RICHARDS DAY
 History will be made in Murray Harbour, PEI, on Tuesday, August 3, 2004. That's the day the Stanley Cup, emblematic of hockey supremacy, arrives in the village courtesy of Brad Richards. The local hockey hero, star of the Stanley Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning, will also have two personal awards with him, the Conn Smythe and Lady Byng trophies.
The Conn Smythe Trophy is given to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs while the Lady Byng trophy is for gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.
The event gets underway with a parade through Murray Harbour at 11 am to the ball field where the hockey hardware will be on display until 3 pm. People can walk past the trophies and take photos.
Brad said, “I am happy to bring the Cup home to where I grew up. It will be a great day for everybody.”
Premier Pat Binns agrees and he's declared August 3rd Brad Richards Day in the province.
Traffic will be blocked from entering Murray Harbour and diverted to designated parking areas. People will be bussed in and out of the village throughout the day.
The ball field is located behind the Community Centre. After viewing the trophies, people can go over to the centre where local entertainers will be performing.
ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Amy Beck of Montague is one of six high school graduates to win Sport PEI/Investors Group scholarships valued at $500 each. The awards recognize graduates who have managed to combine a sound athletic career with an impressive academic record.
 Amy (1.4.3B.7.2.2.4) is a talented soccer player and an excellent student with an average mark in the high 90s. She was named Montague Regional High School Female Athlete of the Year last year, and was also named a AA Provincial All-star soccer player and has been a part of the provincial all-star team for the past three years.
Amy also plays basketball and was a First Team Provincial All-Star in 2003 and 2004, and won the team's Most Valuable Player award as well. She also volunteers at the Eastern Eagles Soccer Club where she has coached and officiated.
She will be attending UPEI in the fall, where she will be taking a Bachelor of Arts degree, as well as trying out for the university Panthers' soccer squad.
DEATHS
Brehaut: Wayne Kenneth Brehaut (1.10B.7.5A,4.3.) of Stratford died in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, P.E.I., on July 16, 2004. He was 43.
He is survived by his wife, Laura (Bryant), a daughter, Sara, and a son, Michael. Other survivors include his parents, Keith and Velma Brehaut, a brother Robert (Emily) of Winsloe, and a sister, Susan Brehaut of Bunbury.
The funeral was held on July 19 from the First Baptist Church in Charlottetown with interment in the Sherwood Cemetery.
 Brooks: Blanche M. (Penny) Brooks (1.5,4.3.2.2,) died in the Dr. John M. Gillis Memorial Lodge in Belfast, P.E.I., on July 9, 2004, at the age of 87.
She was the wife of Victor Brooks of White Sands. Other survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth (Gordon) Harper of Calgary, and a son, Robert, in White Sands. She is also survived by a brother, Wallace Penny, Murray Harbour, and sisters Grace Herring, Murray Harbour, and Vivian Stephenson, Las Vegas. She was predeceased by sisters Gladys Irving, Marion Gormley Bell, Ethel Lostus, Mary Jones and Thelma Bell and brothers Garnet, Franklin and Alonzo Penny. The funeral was held from the Southern Kings & Queens Funeral Home Chapel in Murray River on July 13, with interment in the Murray Harbour Cemetery.
Herring: Marvin Gordon Herring of Murray Harbour died in the Kings County Hospital in Montague on June 16, 2004, at the age of 89.
He is survived by his wife, Grace(Penny) (1.5,4.2B.2,) and sons Carl (Paulene) of Charlottetown, and Blair (Velma) of Moncton, N.B.
He is also survived by four grandchildren: William, Edward, Valerie,(Malcolm MacBeath) and Kathy as well as great grandchildren Brodie and Taylor MacBeath.
The service was held from Ferguson's Funeral Home Chapel with intermentin the Murray Harbour Cemetery.
WILDLIFE PRIZE WINNER
Hailey Bell of Abney ( 1.4.2.1,5.4.2.1,) is all equipped to take up birdwatching. The Grade 6 student at Southern Kings Consolidated School submitted a winning entry in the Prince Edward Island government’s National Wildlife Week poster contest. Ten-year-old Hailey won the province-wide contest in the Grades 4 to 6 category.
The contest was held in conjunction with National Wildlife Week, from April 4-10 with the theme of “Give Backyard Birds Something to Sing About.”
She won $25 and a copy of Petersen’s Field Guide to Birds. The school principal, David Miles, made the presentation.
Hailey is the daughter of Jeff and Linnea Bell.
MORE FREEDOM FOR ROGER
After spending the past year in a halfway house in Halifax, Roger Bell (1.4.1,10,5,2.) is being granted more freedom. In early June the National Parole Board eased its restrictions, allowing Roger to move into his own apartment in Halifax.
 In 1997 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting off four pipe bombs in the previous nine years, including one at the legislature building in Charlottetown.
Last year the parole board released him with the condition that he had to live in a halfway house. The board noted that he abided by all rules in the past year and did not create any problems at the home. It added that Roger has been “extremely open and attentive to all persons and agencies tasked with supervision.”
Last fall the parole board relaxed the rules allowing the 60-year-old former chemistry teacher to leave the halfway house for up to three days at a time to visit family in PEI. A board spokesman said the latest ruling means that Roger can live and visit wherever he wants. However, he will have to report to his parole officer regularly until his statutory release date in June 2006.
JORDANS GATHER IN MURRAY HARBOUR
The descendants of Edward Jorden, who emigrated from Wales to Prince Edward Island in 1848, will hold a Jordan/Jorden family reunion on Saturday, August 7th.
 The day-long event will be held in the Murray Harbour Community Centre and organizers hope there will be representatives there from the descendants of each of Edward’s six children. Many of them live in the Murray Harbour area and throughout PEI. Others, however, are scattered across Canada and throughout the United States.
The Becks and Jordans have been connected since Martin Luther Jordan, a grandson of Edward, married Ada Margaret Beck (1.4.9,) in 1884.
Registration forms and a tentative program have been mailed to family members. People are asked to bring any family memorabilia - snapshots, recipes, hooked mats, maps, clothing, jewelry, etc to the homecoming.
The formal program at the community centre will wind up at 5 pm and will be followed in the evening by a beach party at Jordan’s Cottages in Guernsey Cove.
The Vere Beck Family Home Page
The Marfleet 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
That's it for this edition .. please share it with relatives who aren't on line. The next edition will be out on October 1st.
Copyright © 2004 The Beck Bulletin
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