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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday April 7, 2007 - 3 No one should go hungry in Oakville Dudley Clarke makes sure everyone gets their fare share at the food bank By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Dudley Clarke is bothered that any child in affluent Oakville should go hungry. That's one of the reasons that Clarke, at a spry age 78, spends a hefty number of hours each week at Oakville's food bank, Fareshare. Business is brisk this time of year at Fareshare as its annual Easter food drive got underway on Saturday, March 31 and continues until Sunday, April 15. So far, donations are ahead of the last two years at Easter, but numbers of the needy have also gone up, just in the last month. According to Clarke, Fareshare's annual Easter and Thanksgiving food drives bring in up to 80 per cent of the food Fareshare needs over the year. Fareshare depends on the food drives to stock its shelves with nonperishable food items to last much of the year, according to Clarke, who was born in India -- in an area that today is called Pakistan, but remains India in Clarke's mind and heart. A world away from Oakville's food bank, that's where Clarke, as a young boy and then young man went to school and was educated. In those years, his dad worked for the railway, but the family knew they would leave the country that was becoming increasingly rife with political upheaval upon his retirement. "Life just wasn't as good as it once was," said Clarke. After finishing high school, Clarke went to work for British Airways. "I started off as a file clerk," said Clarke noting he later graduated to the stores department. BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER STOCKING UP: Dudley Clarke oversees the running of Oakville's food bank, Fareshare, but he is quick to acknowledge the many volunteers who pick up, deliver, sort, package and put together grocery orders for client families. "I was 16 years old, everything I did was very exciting," he smiled, recalling at 17 his employer even flew him to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. Not long after, his dad, Osbourne who liked to be called Mick, retired and the family -- Clarke, his mom, Merle, sister Audrey and older brother Malcolm -- packed up and headed to England. "I was pretty assured of going back to work with British Airways," said Clarke and sure enough, about a month after arriving in England, he was back at work. The family spent a decade in England and that's where Clarke became an accountant. It was also where Clarke's dad passed away while only in his mid50s, and where Clarke met his wife of 50 years, Shirley. A year after their marriage, the couple came to Canada and once again Clarke was on the move in search of a better life. Clarke and his wife settled in west-end Toronto in an apartment not far from the office where he went to work for Park-Davis, a pharmaceutical company. As soon as they had their first child, however, the couple was again on the move, this time looking for a new house. They found a new subdivision just north of the QEW and what is now Oakville Place and near the Oakville Golf Club. There, they still live after having raised a family of four -- Christopher, now 47, David, 44, Jennifer, 40 and Stephen, 37. The couple now boasts six grandchildren aged nine to 22 and two great grandchildren, three-year-old Emery and two-year-old Tyler. Over those years, however, Clarke's company was bought out by Warner Lambert and moved its office from Toronto to Scarborough. Clarke commuted for years rather than disrupt his family from what had become their home community. After progressive career moves, Clarke finally retired in 1992 after 35 years and admits that with four children, a long commute and a career, he never really had time for a hobby. Now, at 78, the story is the same. Clarke is so busy in his retirement years with his wife, who he calls "adorable," and his volunteer work with Fareshare that he still has no time to take up something like golf. Upon retiring, Clarke found himself one day being asked to help out with the books at Fareshare. "That was 1992 and here it is and I'm still here," said Clarke. Though Clarke began "doing the books," he has been involved in just about every aspect of the food bank. He said that upon retiring it was just the right thing to do to get involved in some volunteer work. "The fact that I'm helping local families who need a helping hand makes it a very worthwhile endeavour," said Clarke. "There's the social side of it, too. From my personal point of view, I enjoy working with people and we've all become good friends. It's not a chore, I enjoy it," said Clarke. "It keeps my brain active and that's so important as you get older. I'm 78 though I don't know what 78 is supposed to feel like," he said. Though he spends at least two days a week at Fareshare, and other days working on food bank issues from home, Clarke smiles, "I don't have much time to sit around." Though he gives most of the credit to the long-time volunteers at the food bank, people like former Oakville high school principal Ron Zeigal, who have been helping out at Fareshare for years. See Cash page 4 PREPARE FOR THE ROAD AHEAD. Next course: April 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. (2 weekends) April 16th, Mon. & Wed. (4 weeks) 6:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. www.youngdrivers.com 905.845.7200 MTO APPROVED BEGINNER DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE PROVIDER