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stouffville suntribune thursday march 17 2005 7 boyhood dream alive on rails for don reesor of whitchurch- stouffville its a boy hood dream come true the 73yearold former marmill feeds owneropera tor vividly recalls watching from his bedroom window as freight and passenger trains rumbled in and out of the nearby markham station but never did he expect to see himself seated at the con trols of a 500ton juggernaut travelling the line between stouffville and uxbridge but truth is stranger than fiction mr reesor is one of four qualified locomotive engineers with the york- durham heritage railway hes looking forward to his third season- as a boy i always enjoyed playing with trains he remembers id wind them up and away theyd go they were favourite christmas gifts later as mill manager mr reesor watched as many as five steam units both freight and passenger huffed and puffed their way through markham daily some stop ping to deposit grain cars on adjacent sidings the steam was later replaced by diesel power dorothy reesor remem bers keeping suppers warm for her husband thinking he was working overtime at the mill only to learn he was awaiting the arrival of the go train from toronto it always was and still is my favourite hobby he admits when the heritage train became a reality the reesors had already moved to vvhitchurchstouffville it was only natural mr reesor would want to associate him self with this long anticipated project he would soon be asked by the board to take charge of locomotive maintenance three engines in total with two standbys for spares this only fuelled an interest in tak ing these duties a step further two years ago last september he commanded the controls hes been a regular ever since but it wasnt automatic because the public is involved the entire operation comes under the supervision of transport canada and its standards are high mr reesor explains it was his good fortune to learn from bruce kearney a canadian national locomotive engi neer with 42 years experi ence he knew everything there was to know mr reesor says i trained with the best mr kearney also tutored others to follow taking regular turns with mr reesor are ken harding rob pare and brad lawrence with dennis gabout of mississauga an accountant roaming around with jim thomas on the staff of markham stouffville hospital waiting in the wings the crew includes two in the cab a conductor and trainperson all are vol unteers a coengineer or second eye is required to ensure all levelcrossing signals are operating and no obstruc tions are on the track we have an ongoing bat tle with beaver mr reesor says in a marshy area south of uxbridge they continually block up a stream and flood the rail bed one time they felled a tree forcing the train to stop i guess they were trying to get even he joked to take care of such emer gencies a saw and an axe are always kept handy the crew also keeps a close lookout for deer and canada geese because the trains speed seldom exceeds 25 kmh collisions of this kind are avoidable mr reesor says its human error he fears motorists not pay ing attention or trying to beat the train to a crossing go transit mr reesor says has been wonderful so also have mayors sue sherban of whitchurch- stouffville and gerrilynn oconnor of uxbridge this years first train run is in june and the season con cludes the weekend following thanksgiving a round trip from stouffville to uxbridge takes about two hours and costs 17 the train may also be booked for corporate func tions weddings and private parties the reesors are cog nizant of this two years ago they were surprise guests at an onboard 70th birthday party hosted by family and friends while mr reesor is happy at the controls of no 3612 hed dearly love a return to the steam era the locomotive he remembers as a boy he admits however these units are scarce and very costly as much as 400000 boiler certifications also very strict he notes and rightly so but some day i hope we can obtain one he adds jim thomas is a stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years buy a from us youll be happy weve made hams in our business for the last 18 years we just werent ready the first year when i think back to those times i laugh a bit at what we went through to do it our cooking facilities consisted of a domestic range that we bought at pascals long gone now both the range and pascals we absolutely wore out that stove roasting two hams at a time day and night in the ensuing years we added oven and added more to the point that we can now cook about 65 hams at a time and that doesnt include smoking i laugh as well when i think of the quantity of ham that weve sold over the years by now in excess of a million pounds not of raw product but the finished product what have we learned over the years the short answer is that you dont change a thing the recipe the technique the cure the seasoning none of that has changed our customers evidently appreciate that because if you took a poll of our customers lets say for the occasion of easter youd be amazed at how far they come for our ham if youve never had a handmade ham youll be amazed at the different texture the tenderness and the flavour that made ham the popular item it is today and if handmade is what youre used to were it california trawbermbs maplesugar ham whole or half 95 lb boneless blackforest ham whole or half 95 although the california weather hasnt been so good for lettuce its been great for berries and this week weve got a load of great ones quarts quart grjsa2ve o carrot soup this is one of if not the bestselling soups we make we start by making our own chicken stock use local carrots while theyre available which are nice and sweet we use cream and its spiced just right reg 549 ea serves 34 sausages we use fresh pork not too fat or lean lots of fennel a good amount of chili in the hot and it seems like just the right amount of salt pepper and of course garlic theyre good roasted or pan fired or barbequed if the snow drifts on your deck are not too high gj reg 399 lb i off f this week lb traditional bonein smoked eater ham its best to order- 9059400655 59 lb cbdcciceinjr cljtiyets this is one of our more popular meat counter preparations we begin with our chicken breasts and flatten them so theyll cook quickly we bread them with egg crumbs and a french herb seasoning and voila a quick and tasty meal that can be served on a bun or on a plate with your veggies and fries reg 995 lb our feature from the salad counter for this week is our feta pasta we use de cecco farfalle bow ties with crumbled feta and a dill vinaigrette its a delicious salad reg 149 100 g easter chocolate an extensive selection of really good easter chocolate is available for both kids and grownups yet further proof should you need it that a bonafide chocoholic is at the helm of this store and you could win one of two giant chocolate easter rabbits from chelsea chocolates of barrie you must be under twelve fill out your name and number and deposit it at the cash area of our store draw will take place on thursday march 24 so what wxl be baking for iaitje w dinner from our frozen section well have our chicken supreme on sale for the week this is made in our bullock road facility as are all our village kitchen products during a visit last week it was on the lunch menu and i enjoyed it thoroughly i think the delicate seasoning the creamy sauce the very large chunks of chicken breast all these things make it great serve it over rice or broad noodles serves 3 4 reg 1795 white easter cakes these are cakes with pastel icings piled high with easter cookies and eggs ma- two sizes jlx and 3 e croquembouch made with profiteroles cream puffs filled with four mousses chocolate white chocolate raspberry and lemon stacked together with caramel drizzled with chocolate and decorated with sugar cookies and easter eggs 20 le mo i a pistachio- shortbread crust made with lemon mousse surrounded by strawberry halves on a shortbread bottom with chopped pistachios decorated with whitechocolate s eo- dipped california strawberries 20 and 27 white toblerone mousse almond crunch c we make the mousse with white toblerone bars layer it with white cake and almond meringue and finish it with toasted almonds and of course easter eggs 20 and 27 jelly rolls only three types this week co mixed berry strawberry and lemon 12 ea cheesecakes four to choose from lemon raspberrywhite chocolate amaretto with a butteredalmond topping and chocolate with dark and white chocolate ganache swirled 12 and 20 creme brlees even after last week well be making more available flavours will be fresh vanilla bean grand marnier grand marnier with chocolate ganache lavender especially for g easter and lasdy raspberrywhite chocolate 3 ea mousse cakes there will be black and white now famous chocolate raspberry white chocolate s sij95 and lemon 18 and 27 easter cupcakes these cupcakes runneth over ea our chocolate cake made with moist and rich chocolate cake layered and covered with chocolate ganache decorated for easter 13 and lo and hundreds op sugar and ging cookies actually about 2000 maybe just maybe this year well have enough now im sue that you all know what easter is like at our bakery counter so please please order early to avoid disappointment aitd please be patient with us if our usual repertoire is not all available this week and next everything is made and finished the evening before or the morning of its all fresh village glilpjli quality foods j specials in effect until closing sundatmarch20 hours mon 1100700 tuesthurs 900700 fri 900800 sat 900600 sun 1000500 548 garlton road unionville 9401770