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"A Family Tradition for 125 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 16, 1991 - 3 A favorite of local children Melanie remembered as a "very special girl" The inscription on the swing reads "In memory of Melanie C. Harris, 1977-July 1, 1991, From 2 close friends, Andrew and Erin." Although this is a rather modest memorial for a young girl who died so tragically, it says a lot about the way people felt about her. Melanie Harris, 14, was killed in a traffic accident July 1on Highway 7A. There is not one person who lives in the Victorian Village area that in some way didn't know her, or who in some way wasn't touched by her untimely death. "The whole village loved her, she was known by everybody," said Steve Caldwell, a resident of Victorian Village, and whose children Melanie baby-sat on occasion. Dorothy Baron-Clarke, a Sexton Street neighbor, said the news of the accident was a tragedy. She said she was al- ways smiling, and was always very pleasant and friendly. A neighbor who lived up the street from Melanie on Sexton Street described her as "a very special girl." The neighbor said that the residents could always see her riding her bicycle in the neighborhood, and she always had a pleasant thing to say to somebody. "Both the children and adults feel like they have lost their best friend," she said. "It was just the type of girl she was." Perhaps the one thing that everybody remembers most about Melanie is the way she got along with the children in the area. Melanie was not only the baby-sitter to a lot of the neighborhood children, she was also their friend. "The kids just looked up to her, she was such a great per- son," said Mr. Caldwell. Many of the neighbors that the Port Perry Star talked to said they would often see a group of kids clustered around and knew that Melanie was in the middle of this pack reading to them. This was something she enjoyed doing often. Many were amazed at how much the children "idolized" her. As a result of this adoration, many of the children in the community have taken her death rather hard, and feel an emptiness without her. As a memorial to Melanie, a number of children have dedi- cated her favorite swing in her honor. The swing, which appro- priately hangs from a weeping willow in the park behind Pop- lar Park Crescent, was made for Melanie by Matthew Cald- well and her close friend An- drew Garnett. After Melanie's death, Andrew carved the in- scription in the wooden swing, and a number of children laid flowers near the swing in her memory. Julie Harris, Melanie's old- der sister, said the swing was her sister's favorite spot, add- ing that she would spend quite a bit of her time on the swing reading or telling stories to the neighborhood children. Melanie was an above aver- age girl in a lot of ways. Aside from her friendly and outgoing personality, she was also a tal- ented and gifted student. At R.H. Cornish Public School, she was in the Gifted Children program, and had just completed her first year at Port Perry High School. Melanie had aspirations of following in her grandfather's Forder-Parks Insurance Brokers Inc. (CX HN OF GROIN Penconal attention to all of youn 25% 985-8471 general insanance needs. ony \ best 34 Water Street, Port Perry, Ontario LIL 1J2 rate Subject te change without notice. The Bridal Touch > 209 Mary Street, Port Perry (located in the Personal Touch building) 985-8208 Nellie Stell All Dresses 15 % off (in-stock only) Bridal Gowns, Bridesmaids dresses, Mother's dresses and Flowergirls Browse through our Sale Rack starting from $100.00 & up. We also carry an extensive line of wedding invitations, accessories and a complete line of tuxedos from foot steps in becoming an equine veterinarian. Melanie had many interest- ing hobbies, from many ordi- nary ones such as figure skat- 1 HOUR PHOTO PROCESSING Smiles Above the Rest in Service & Quality ing, drama, the yearbook staff and tennis which any girl her age would be involved with, to the not so common sports card collecting, and watching reruns Enlargements - Slides - Copies from Prints - Prints from Slides - of "Star Trek: The Next Genera- tion" with her nine-year-old brother Brian. Her cat, which she purchased from her own hard-earned money is named "Warf", after one of the charac- ters from the television series. Julie says her sister spent a lot of time and money at Vince's Bullpen, a local card shop, 1ook- ing at the latest cards. She also spent a lot of time trading these cards. Although she had these hob- bies, her real love and real de- votion lay in her thoughts of others. Not enough can be said about the things she did for oth- ersin the community. Nothing exemplifies this more than her dedication to others. Dorothy Imperial, Com- munity Care administrator, said Melanie was involved for approximately a year at Com- munity Care as a volunteer. The dedication which Mela- nie showed towards the job stuck in her mind, Mrs. Imperi- al said. She remembers Mela- nie breaking down and crying when she learned that the eld- erly lady whose grass she used to tend to, had passed away. This, Mrs. Imperial said, really showed what a "caring and compassionate girl she was." Her caring and compassion is the way all are going to remem- ber this outgoing and pleasant girl. Thereis noother way. MINOLTA MASTER 8-308 Advanced Performance and Full Feature Versatility * Fully automatic operation with program autoexposure. * Ultra low light recording down to 2 lux * 8X power zoom lens with tele & wide macro * 1/10,000 sec. high speed shutter, comprehensive LCD data panel, wireless remote control, & built-in character generator. 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