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heating ar conditioning systems 191wesngisteunil7 4711748 ratsiikinslip tribune community doug kackert 6405339 m siding windows specializing in replacement doors and windows serving whitchurchstouffville uxbridge and area a metroland community newspaper wednesday march 2 1988 edith bacon awaits army corps reunion by bruce stapley for stouffvilles edith bacon june 24 to 26 will be a return to a time when comradeship dedica tion to duty and self sacrifice comprised the essence of her very existence for it is on that weekend that the veterans of the canadian womens army corps cwac are being recalled to peterbor ough for what they hope will be the biggest reunion since the second world war and edith is already counting the days it was the highlight of my life she insists of her years in the corps a time that saw her serve at a medical hospital in kitchener and eventually make the trip overseas after ve day as part of the postwar program in britain for edith the memories of the friendships and the feeling that what she was doing was contribut ing to the war effort has left a magic glow over the years 1942 through 1946 the very thought of getting together with so many of the cwac women in june has her as excited as a little child i got the old uniform out she said proudly and it still fits it was such a great feeling to be cleaning buttons again the reunion which edith is helping to publicize in this area is being hosted by cwac members of the elizabeth smellie branch 452 of the royal canadian legion and will coincide with the corps 47th anniversary edith is assist ing in the effort to contact the corps 21000 members the task becomes difficult when one con siders how many of the women married after the war changing their surnames we have the names of 1100 so far she claims two of the organizers are friends of mine so i got early notice on the reunion the reunion will include orga nized activities such as a memo rial service a boat trip down the trent barbecue dinners and bus tours to museums and craft shops it is to be held on the cam pus of trent university and it is hoped that as many as 500 will make the trek from all across canada there is a contingent from victoria british columbia that will board a train in vancouver says edith they are going to pick up women in calgary reg- ina and winnipeg as they go along stouffvilles edith bacon serving canada in wartime the reunion promises to be a time of renewal of friendships and of reminiscing about the varied experiences of these ladies who all of a sudden found themselves immersed in a world previously inhabited only by men edith recalls the reason for the cwacs creation in the early 1940s the cwac was originally formed to relieve men in canada from their duties on the home front so that they could go over seas i never expected to go over seas myself but it was a wonder ful experience she initially joined in septem ber of 1942 and was stationed in the kitchener hospital base i was in the orderly room as a clerk with some ward duties on weekends she recalls that the conditions were somewhat spar tan we were the first womens corp on that base it had been occupied by men up to that point so it was pretty crude she recalls that the barracks were heated by pot bellied stoves i remember many a morning when the wash cloths were frozen solid she laughs in july of 1945 she was sent overseas on a reconverted cruise ship it was called the isle de france she recalls i remem ber that i was sick the whole way over upon arrival she was assigned to the quartermasters store of the canadian army entertain ment unit in guildford near lon don england was a mess she remembers it was so drab they hadnt started rebuilding when i went back in 1961 it was so different it had all been refur bished the reward was certainly not financial i was paid 120 a day when i got my corporals stripes i got a raise but the big payoff she insists was that of personal satisfaction a feeling of doing ones bit of making an important contribu tion i was so proud of that uni form she says sincerely just the fact that we were doing our part i really enjoyed the work i was doing and the friendships were wonderful and these friendships werent restricted to fellow service peo ple the civilians in kitchener would have us over for supper and when i was in england i met a lady in aldershot whom i still keep in touch with so much so that she recently attended the wedding of the womans granddaughter and they say they are going to name their first girl after my daugh ter she says proudly part of the warmth of army life in cwac edith maintains was that the camaraderie trans cended position and rank even the superior officers would mix with the enlisted girls the cap tain would come in and play rum my with us in the evenings in kitchener edith picks up a scrapbook and points to pictures of fellow cwac ladies every snapshot conjures up a memory and a smile she turns to a page with a photo of one of the six women she still sees on a fairly regular basis she lived in springhill nova scotia she ex plains she and her husband were reestablished in port col- borne after the mining disaster another turn of the page and she smiles at the recollection of another friend now living in sas katchewan i hope to see as many of them as i can at the reun ion she says and shes sure to have her uni form buttons polished and shiny for the occasion science fair results cm bruce stapley c5 recalling wartime memories stouffvilles edith bacon is raring to go to a reunion of canadian womens army corps in peterborough in june the former corporal was stationed in kitchener but travelled overseas in 1945 as part of the postwar contingent in britain bruce stapley gables anne returns to uxbridge the music theatre of uxbridge secondary school is presenting anne of green gables this thurs day friday and saturday at 8 15 pm in the school auditorium the cast of 30 is headed by julie henderson as anne with steve kerr as matthew cuthbert kcrri prentice as marilla cuthbert rick bagshaw as gilbert blythe and karen wintcrstein as rachel lynde alisa whitaker marianne smith marianna djurakov jen nifer prentice nadia brown mylissa faulkner and kim de mpster are other featured perfor mers backstage activities are super vised by staff members at the school including bruce brandon producer richard watson musical director and sharron marshall marilyn langs sandy darby jan buchanan anne chil- lingworth and many more from the community david reeds in charge of special effects and michelle garbutt supervises makeup anne of green gables a music al based on the novels of lucy maude montgomery has played every summer at the charlotte- town festival for the past 20 years this show is the 11th pro duction by the uss music theatre since its formation in 1971 director john garbutt decribes the production as an excellent ex ample of family theatre the cost is 5 per ticket with a special 4 rale for seniors and students combatting 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