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stouffville suntribune thursday march 27 2003 7 return to roost a huge cardinal expertly carved was perched atop a sign post beside hwy 47 near the bloomington road saturday afternoon the size of the bird undoubtedly attracted the attention of motorists travelling into stouffville one driver was so intrigued he stopped to inquire if the audubon society was holding a bird watchers convention when i informed him- it was a reunion of the 1958 stouffville cardinals baseball club he wasnt impressed is that all he replied winding up the window and mov- ingon is that all is that allbelieve me if this guy had been seated in the stands as i was 45 years ago he wouldnt have treated the occasion so lightly for like the cardinal cutout this team allontario cham pions was huge truth is they were the talk of the town and still are for those whose memories go back that far the spacious backyard at the iincolnville home of murray and tiny stewart was the scene of a joyous gettogether re- uniting all but two mem bers of the original roster ted suzuki and ross madill both of stouffville couldnt make it due to prior com mitments also absent but appre ciatively remembered was harold ike hodgson the club manager ike died nine years ago y the gathering the sec- ond since the teams title tri umph was organized by bob stover gord eckardt john little and don haynes some accompanied by their wives travelled long roaming around with jim thomas distances to attend so where are they now lawrence and barbara wideman reside near kingston they have one son one daughter and two grandsons lynn and gayle taylor live outside calgary they have two sons and five grandchildren harry and pat barber reside near fergus they have two sons three daughters and nine grandchildren bob and nancy stover live in stouffville they have one son two daughters and nine grandchildren murray and doreen holden reside in peterborough they have three sons and six grandchildren don and karen haynes live in brampton they have two sons two daughters and five grandchildren john and joan little reside call scarborough home they have two daughters and four grandchildren gord and fran eckardt have one son one daughter and two grandchildren theyliye in eckardts corners east of stouffville eric and judy barber reside in port perry they have one son one daughter and one grandson glenn stoney jackson lives in stouffville he has a son arid a daughter murray and tiny stewart have three sons arid four grandchildren murraywas the teams coach memorial to ike hodgson bob stover spoke in glowing terms of murrays leadership qualities this is why were here today he said he recalled how murray and ike worked exceptionally well together the reunion he said was meant by murray to be a memorial to dee murray believed in us don haynes said in doing so we came to believe in ourselves hany barber recalled how the team would pile into murrays 1955 ford and travel to ball parks all over ontario he said the fact a reunion could occur 45 years later was testa ment to strong friendships- baseball was fun lynn taylor said murray made it so lawrence wideman- describing himself as a utility out fielder said murray never set one player ahead of another there was never any star status on this club he said murray holden drew a laugh when said the speed of his fastest pitch could be timed with a sun diali wasnt much of a pitcher when i started but murray made me what i became he contended leftfieider john little credited everything he learned about baseball to murrays guidance eric barber said over the years hed played for- many coaches andmanagers but none equalled murrayvpatience and skill the team expressed its thanks to murray by presenting him with an exact replica of an 1958 championship jacket later each player was similarly honored my modest part in stouffville cardinals immortality was also recognized through the gift of a baseball auto graphed by coach stewart and all team members jim thomas is a stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years certified amish made shop and compare i bedroom suites dining room suites jehhr kitchen suites computer workstations lessr desks tables entertainment centres no taxes or no gstno interestno payments up to 12 months w0 seniors 55 save anadditional v 5 off until september 15th ams 1428 hwy2 courtice just east of oshawa townline 18774389053 wwwoakcountrycanadacom i exit oh mon fri 99 sat 9 530 stin 10 5 slimflli kirit si e hwy 2 swiss chalet restaurant come nome to amish furniture values hwy 401 delivery and setup available a message from trie war amps many members of the war amps champ program for child amputees have ibst limbs in accidents through the playsafe program champs teach other children spot the danger before you play pliakes picnic fun for jill when you use your key tags you support war amps programs like champ and piaysafe t to order your 2001 key fags a spot the danger video or the new playsafe e interactive cdrom visit our jk web site at wwwwarampsca id or call 18002503030 charilouo regijlration numbor 131 www rr0001 is roeaje bromhc to jcu u i carmriq jovlce of the fconomiitsuvtnbune i or200pecpleshcwecl uptomeet mayoral ccndi- datesteve pliakes scturday at rupert park to enjoyfree hot dogs and pop when asked why he was dang this mr pliokes said he wentedto m eet the peopledndshdre apicnic the neighbours wholive in 4heareasaid it was a cjeat idea it gavethem a chance to meet andtdk with steve pliakes in a relaxed environ- merit seyerd others who live heartheparksaid they heard his name a lot and it was nice to be ableto put a person to thenama the picnic waked out geat fascme little leaguers as wel there was alittlelegguetdur- ndment going on a the baric whenthe game was finished v steve and his helpers cooked some additional hotdogsso thatthe kidsplaying in the last game could geta hof dog ahddrinktqo pliakes said that with the over- whelming success of this pic- y nic there will be more of them overthe next few weeks h e will continue to do this in various parks around whitchurch- stouffville as long as weather permits so lookforthe nexrpliqkes picnic when steve and his bbq team come to stouffef parkon the corner of stouffer and millard they will be serving up moref ree hotdogs this saturday sept 1 31h from 1 1 00 am- to 00rm and theyhopetoseelots of neighbours there f ddtof bfifrs cdmmweete elect