The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow stops St. Patrick's Day walkContinued from page 1well-wishers and attention from local media.needs to keep moving to keep his schedule up,anyone is welcome, but he does have tips forIve gone through about five restaurantsHowever, in recent years hes picked up someand the other is that he worries his muscles willanyone interested in joining him for the walk.now. The ownership just keeps changing, hefans along the way and his walk has receivedseize up on him if he stops for too long.I suggest people have good footwear becausesaid.coverage by major media organizations in Its mental. When I stand there at (Torontos)youre walking 43 kilometres, he said. DontThe walk tradition dates back to 1922 whenToronto.City Hall, I ask myself whos got the hardest part,dress too warmly.Irishmen made the trip from Toronto to OakvilleIn the last few years a group of well-wishersthe person whos never done this walk andThe walk begins at 9 a.m. from Torontos Cityin search of bootlegged green beer during prohi-in Port Credit have also jumped on his band-doesnt know what theyre in to or the personHall and much of it goes along Lakeshore Rd.bition.wagon.whos done it and knows every step. After 35The "tradition" was first picked up and con-Since then, several walkers have continuedThey had the beer there last year. It was soyears I know almost every landmark, where Ivetinued by Charlie Priestman more than 70 yearsthe annual tradition. Williams did his first trekgood I could have stayed there and had two. Itgot to be at certain times to keep the scheduleago. He was followed by Barney Heard, whoin 1977 and has not stopped since.was just great. It was nice and cold and you getgoing in order to get here at a half decent timemade the walk for another 20 years.He has made the annual walk in all kinds of so dehydrated walking, he said.of five oclock, Williams said.In 1976, Heard collapsed in Mississauga andweather, under all types of circumstances, usu-However, he cannot stop in any spot for tooTheres always something different that hap-failed to complete the trek. Williams respondedally without a lot of fanfare other than somelong for a number of reasons: one being that hepens from year to year. Last year the TV crewsto a plea from Heard for people to join him thewere down there. They had about six cameras infollowing year, and has carried on the traditionmy face.ever since. This year marks the 89th anniversaryThe number of companions has also grownof the walk.each year, with eight individuals walking withEach year, Williams, who is proud to wear aWilliams last year.green Toronto St. Pat's (now Toronto Maple I dont know how many people are comingLeafs) jersey, always wears a green sports jerseythis year but I wait until I get down there andbearing the number that corresponds to thethen I see whos there, he said. Williams saidanniversary year of the walk.Woman walking to raise funds for Home Suite HopeFormer Oakville-resident Agatha Platiel The money will help the single motherswill be walking with Eddie Williams as she has get the education and skills training they needdone the past two years.to secure better employment to provide forAnd just like those previous years, she will their families and to end the cycle of home-be raising funds for Oakville-based Home lessness and reach housing stability.Suite Hope, in support of single mothers in Platiel will end her walk at Knoxthe organization's residential and outreach Presbyterian Church.programs.In the past two years she has raised Donations can be made at www.homesuite-more than $6,000.hope.org.! "ETTER 7AY TO #LEAN 9OUR (OME &Areproudtopresentanewtravelpartnership.4HE "ENEFITS OF AN %ASY &LO The Benefi ts of an Easy-Flo"UILT )N 6ACUUM 3YSTEMBuilt-In Vacuum SystemTE 0RICED 2IGHT Priced Right!s ,IFETIME WARRANTY $URABLE COMPONENTS ASSURE LONG s LIFETIME WARRANTY Durable components assure LIFE AND SOLID PERFORMANCE long life and solid performanceRU 3UPER QUIET )DEAL FOR HOMES OF ALL SIZES AS WELL AS s TOWNHOMES AND CONDOS Super Quiet Ideal for homes of all sizes, as well as townhomes and condos 0ERMANENT SELF CLEANING FILTER .O MESSY BAGS TO s REPLACE OR FILTERS TO WASH 0APER BAG UNITS AVAILABLE AR Compact Size Fits almost anywhere (IGH PERFORMANCE 3INGLE AND $UAL MOTOR UNITS UP TO s AN ASTOUNDING AIR WATTS FOR ONLYINCLUDES FREE #OMPACT SIZE &ITS ALMOST ANYWHERE VOsElectric Power Hose$Power Head3999 Piece tool setIncludes:EP>Electric power hose)DEAL REPLACEMENT FOR CENTRALS THAT ARE Phd .OISY "LOWING DUSTLE ,ACKING POWERbyship,train,coachorcar )N NEED OF REPAIR n WHY REPAIR WHEN YOU CAN REPLACE AN EXISTING SYSTEM FOR A SIMILAR COST WWW EASYFLO COMEachcountryinEuropeisuniqueuntoitselfofferingawonderfultravelexperience.OpentoresidentsofOakvilleandyourguests;bookyournextOAKVILLE VACUUM LTD.Europeanholidaywithusand30%ofourcommission,onyourbehalf,willgoto CATALOGUE STORE 35 years in OakvilleUnitedWayofOakville.We Repair all Makes of Vacuum Cleaners & Sewing Machines635FourthLine,Oakvilleinfo@bobscruises.com198 SPEERS RD. OAKVILLETelephone:905-338-2077www.bobscruises.com905-844-4736OntarioTICO#4406856Just West of Kerr Street, beside MoneyMartBOB'ScruisesHeather'sTravelBOB'stoursUnitedWayofOakvillewww.oakvillevac.comwww.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 16, 2011 4