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6 Stouffville Sun-Tribune | Thursday, June 9, 2016 | O Fax: 905-640-8778 Class: 1-800-743-3353 OPINION COLUMNS 'm pro refugee. So if you're in the camp that likes to write nasty stuff on Facebook about people from Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Kosovo and other inhospitable places on this planet, you may want to turn the page, perhaps after burning it. I know your arguments: · We should spend our dollars helping "real Canadians". · They're "all terrorists". · "Let them look after themselves back home". · "Stephen Harper wouldn't have let this happen in my Canada." I just don't happen to agree with them. But continue to spout your views, especially on social media, where you may assume wrongly that you are anonymous. Please. It's a free country. And one that must be mighty confusing to any newcomer, be they escaping a deadly civil war or just visiting for a couple of weeks from across the pond. Take our language. Take it. Consider the number of English words that sound the same, but have multiple spellings as well as definitions. Think bare. Or maybe it's bear? Kernel and colonel. Put yourself in the shoes of a new Canadian. Then there are those fourlettered words that have steadily crept into the daily dialogue of so many of us. I doubt they're teaching any of those in ESL classes. Learning to drive in Canada? Those posted speed limits, stop signs and red lights that driving instructors and Ministry of Transportation examiners all speak of? They mean nothing. Just mere suggestions to drivers in the real world, if suburban Stouffville is any kind of example. Roundabout protocol? I'm not even venturing there. The broken glass and skid marks Publisher Dana Robbins General manager Shaun Sauve Editor-in-chief Joanne Burghardt 6290 Main St. Stouffville, ON. L4A 1G7 www.yorkregion.com 905-640-2612 DISTRIBUTION 1-855-853-5613 Director, Advertising Maureen Christie Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron Director, Distribution Mike Banville Regional Director, Finance & administration Phil Sheehan Editor Jim Mason jmason@yrmg.com I Put yourself in the confused shoes of a refugee to Canada The dance of 65 years of marriage wing and sway with Gord and Kay. For Stouffvillle's Gord and Kay Wagg, dancing's been a primary activity through 65 years of married life. They'll celebrate this marriage milestone with an `open house' at the Royal Canadian Legion Saturday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. They hosted a dance last Saturday at the same site with dozens of friends attending. "I had to coax him off the beach into the water," Kay jokes while recalling how their long-standing partnership evolved more than six decades ago. Kay, 90, was a member of a "dancing family" while Gord, now 92, was new to the game. He caught on quickly, Kay says, allowing the two to continue this diversion all these years. They cover the dance circuit two and sometimes three nights a week including stops in Port Perry, Whitby, Holland Landing, Manilla, Little Britain and Newmarket. "I'm pretty high mileage," he says. Born in the small community of Mongolia, just south of Stouffville, Gord is one of seven in the family of Foster and Mary (Snowball) Wagg. Two of three brothers survive: Murray of Stouffville; Grant of Bobcaygeon and one of four sisters, Ruth Robinson of Markham. A brother Ken and three sisters, Ethel Lundy; Annie Brillinger and Edna Carruthers are deceased. Gord received his elementary education at four different schools ­ Mongolia, Victoria Square, Bloomington and Stouffville. At age 15 he went out to work, employed as a hired farm hand in Stouffville. In 1950, he took over the prop- S Off The Top with Jim Mason tell the story. Ontario isn't New Orleans or Key West. Yet. But our liquor laws have certainly relaxed aplenty in the past 25 years. It wasn't that long ago, liquor stores were closed on Sundays. You couldn't buy a cold one at a sporting event or the theatre. Liquor stores were bland institutions. You filled out a form with the code for your favourite potent potable and got in line like you were at Service Ontario. It was a cross between Seinfeld's Soup Nazi and Consumers Distributing, for those of you old enough to remember either. Now, you can buy wine in some supermarkets. Drink beer in Stouffville Memorial Park ­ during a licensed event. Wineries have sprouted up in the countryside surrounding Stouffville. Alcoholic beverages are generally forbidden in Islam. So I wonder what our Muslim friends make of our liberal liquor laws. Our questionable driving skills. And our complicated language and its nuances. Or the trail of tall boy cans that often litter our downtown core the morning after the night before. Jim Mason is editor of The Sun-Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @stouffeditor Roaming Around with Jim Thomas erty, in east-end Stouffville where the Northern Gate community now sits, and became one of the most successful dairy farmers in what was then York County. His purebred Holstein herd numbered as many as 70 with eager buyers coming from as far distant as the United States and across Ontario. The property was commonly known as Wengay Farm, named after daughters Wendy (Machesney) of Leaskdale and Gayle (LeDuca) of Stouffville. Wife Kay (Hamilton) grew up on a farm at Brougham, one of four in the family of Fred and Cora Hamilton. A sister, Beula Duncan, resides in Courtice, near Oshawa. Two brothers, John and Ron Hamilton are deceased. She attended Brougham public school and Pickering High. "I was brought up a dancer," Kay remembers. Her father was a `caller' when dances were held regularly at the Brougham community hall and in local homes. "Gord learned to like it," she says. Following their marriage June 9, 1951 in Brougham United Church, they left on a one-week honeymoon to Niagara Falls and points north, returning to live on the Stouffville farm until their present home was Advertising Manager Mara Sepe msepe@yrmg.com Circulation Co-ordinator Daphne Lawrie dlawrie@yrmg.com York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, published every, Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a whollyowned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. To speak to a customer service rep: 1-855-853-5613 Delivery inquiries: yrcustomerservice@ yrmg.com Delivery issues? LETTERS POLICY All submissions must be less than 400 words and include a daytime telephone number, name and address. The Sun-Tribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space. E-mail jmason@yrmg.com completed. Never one to be idle, Gord later operated a mobile grain grinder at Stouffville's Master Feeds and then worked at Chesebrough Ponds in Markham where Kay was also an employee. Previously, she served on the staff of Imperial Oil Ltd., Toronto and at General Motors in Oshawa. For close to 20 years she was the engaging receptionist at Stouffville Cleaners. A skilled seamstress, she makes her own dance skirts and tops. She also creates attractive shirts for Gord. Having grown up on a farm, Kay was familiar with the operation of a tractor. She also knew all about milking cows by hand. "Only once did we ever have to do that here," says Gord. "This was in 1954 when we lost power during Hurricane Hazel." The Wagg family has a long association with the Masonic Order. Gord joined Stouffville's Richardson Lodge in 1950, advancing through the chairs to the office of master in 1972 and grand steward in 1980. While dancing remains a favourite past-time, Gord honestly admits he's no longer able to do-see-do like years ago. However, he still teams up with wife Kay and floats around the floor during round dances and, if need be, sits back and enjoys the music. He knows the majority of circuit musicians personally. But don't think for a moment this extra-curricular activity occupies all their time. They're justly proud of daughters Gayle and Wendy; their four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, "the light of our lives," they both agree. Jim Thomas is a Stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 65 years.