About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Dad Memories

I've learned a lot about my Dad in the last several years. It's helped me to understand him as a person, not just as my father. He was lucky not to have had to go overseas during WWII, but he was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force training other pilots and patroling the East Coast of Canada for submarines and enemy aircraft. He never talked much about the war until recently and it's been fascinating to hear his stories.

On Christmas Day, my daughter was showing Dad the wonders of the internet. He was amazed when she pulled up the 1946-47 photograph of his soccer team. Dad was a local athletic hero back in his younger days. We have many newspaper clippings from the Vancouver Sun Sports pages extolling his skill on the soccer field. Bookshelves proudly display his medals, trophies, and framed photos. He then became a linesman and referee, and ultimately, Northern Commissioner for the province of BC. He was also instrumental in modernizing the referees' uniforms, changing them from the black and white stripe to basic black with white collar. In 1987, the St. Andrew's Soccer Team was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. It touched my heart as I watched the memories flooding back to him.

The players on the 1946-47 St. Andrew's Soccer Team were: Frank Ambler, Johnny McKay, David Brown, John Newbold, Ted Enefer, Robert Newbold, Nick Glover, David Simpson, Cecil Goodheart, Earling Storness, Jimmy Greig, George Steele, Wes Henderson, John Webber, Jack Jones, Jack Whent, Don Matheson.

"The 1946/47 season saw St. Andrews win every competition they were eligible to enter. Consequently, they brought home the Anderson Cup, the Mainland Cup, the Pacific Coast League Trophy, the Nanaimo Perpetual Trophy, and the Dominion Football Association Trophy. The team won the 1947 Dominion Cup for the Canadian Soccer Championship. The Cup final was played at Callister Park in Vancouver before the largest crowd (7,533 spectators) in Canadian soccer history. It was the first national championship for the forty year old club." (from the BC Sports Hall of Fame http://www.bcsportshalloffame.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?team_id=23&stype=searchsport&keyword=&type=ind&sport_id=18&year_=1987&category_id=team


I remember Dad blasting on his referee whistle to call us kids to come home from whatever we were doing in the neighbourhood. I also remember going to soccer games around Vancouver, especially Callister Park. We kids loved Callister Park because it had bleachers and a refreshment stand. We'd run up and down the steps and around the outside of the stadium, stopping for a hot dog and a pop when we got tired. At outdoor parks, we'd play on the swings as my Dad ran up and down the field blowing his whistle, making weird gestures, and waving flags. Before the games, my Dad would always tell us to stay out of the way if a fight broke out. That happened frequently when the Italy and England teams played. We weren't really interested in the games and didn't understand such things as "penalties" or "offsides" but what was important was that we were with our Dad.

9 comments:

Jo said...

Leslie, what a wonderful post....! You will have to be sure to show it to your father. I didn't know he was a pilot.

Cheers,
Josie

Leslie: said...

Thx Josie. We didn't always have smooth sailing with Dad - I know now about his background and can "understand" it but there are a lot of things I've had to just "let go." As he gets older and closer to leaving us, I am remembering more of the happy times.

Anonymous said...

A very nice tribute to your father. I hope that you enjoy many more years with him.

beachgirl said...

HAPPY NEW YEAR LESLIE!!!

MAY ALL YOUR ADVENTURES IN 2007 BE AS SPECIAL AS YOU WISH THEM TO BE.

CAROL

Belizegial said...

Hello Leslie,

Your dad is lucky to have you around him to share the happier memories of your time spent together with him and your family.

Always a pleasure to visit with you here and may all your dreams come true in 2007.

Saludos
Enid

ClickGirl said...

Greetings!!

I’m trying to stir up a little ‘Adventurous Hearts’ reunion on the Blogs tonight! If you don’t have anything going on … come on over and help me count down … to the New Year! Just come to my Blog and link over to the AH Blog … or type in:
www . theadventuroushearts . blogspot . com/
(just remove the spaces to go to the Blog)

Hope to see you there! If not … have an amazingly HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Cheers!
Brenda aka ClickGirl

Leslie: said...

Happy New year to you, too, Enid and Brenda. Hope all your dreams come true in '07.

Lady Base Camp said...

Oh Leslie, what a wonderful story. I was running up and down the bleachers with you-summer hotdogs and playing in the park. I enjoy helping older folks navigate the internet. It becomes a way to share some magic.

WWII was so huge and permeated life in so many ways.

When I was young my parents were fond of German Park- a place somewhere in Indiana where German Nationals gathered and played Polka Music and ate delicious foods on Saturday nights, oh . . . and of course beer. Yellow lights were strung about the wooded area and everyone had a good time.

Leslie: said...

Hey...LBC!!! Great to hear from you. You comin' down to the reunion in Manhattan Beach next month? Yes, it is great fun to reminisce about the "good old days," isn't it? I can close my eyes and be right there! I'm sure you can, too.