August, 2005 - Nr. 8
Summer gatherings
and get-togethers
Often times I am asked why there is no longer a German Fest at the CNE, and NO - it is not because Gabi Schick and I do not want to do it together any more! If you believe that then I would like to sell you some swampland in a remote area. As was announced last year, the CNE wanted to give other communities also a chance to perform their special day. There are a lot of ethnic communities out there and they all would like to participate. The other reason is that it is not so easy to finance and our community is not as ready and able to support these things as it was in the past.
Anyway,
Gabi and I met up with her mother at the Black Dog Pub in West Rouge,
a really friendly community oriented place with a pleasant interior, a great
patio, good food and good choices in beer and other wet stuff, as well as
desert…. The cheesecake is to die for! The staff is real friendly and
helpful too and I hear there is regular entertainment offered, including
fundraising for a very good cause, like a community member in need. That is
where we met on what appeared to be the hottest day of the summer yet. Good
thing there was no short supply of German wheat beer. That is where we
reminisced and talked about any possible future venture. And it always ends
up with the same result: who is going to pay for it? If you have any great
ideas - or money - please share with us!
I
have also been asked how Zoe is doing, the little girl from Germany,
who had her eyesight saved in Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital. Well, she was
here again for a short interlude to have one singular little tumour removed.
Otherwise the courageous little girl is doing fine, and so is the entire
family. They are working hard to normalize their lives and catch up with the
financial responsibilities. Dad is currently working 3 jobs to make ends
meet. If you still want to help, you can. In
![Ingrid Szauter with Zoe [photo: Szauter Family]](502c-Zoe-e.jpg)
Germany
there is another special bank account for the purpose: Kreissparkasse
Luechow, Kontonummer 66581, Bankleitzahl 25861335. At the website
www.zoe-heisst-leben.de you
can always find the newest on Zoe. And also see pictures of her and her
family.
Summer usually also means a good get-together with the Forget-Me-Not clan, well, the like to be called a fold now, as in the Carter Fold, which they regularly visit and have become friends with. I think that very appropriate.
A Barn Dance
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Anyway, another barn dance delighted all that came one hot summer night. Everyone brought cake or pie, which where displayed on a very long table. It was a slow start because of the heat, but after a while, when it had cooled off, the music did not stop and the dancing commenced in earnest and everybody practised what they had learned from the real genuine square dance callers, professionals, no doubt.
Meeting of Friends
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I
gave up counting the friends that arrived…and brought the many pies…and
devoured them too! Dancing makes hungry it seems.
Fun was head by all! See lots of photos on our website a www.echoworld.com.
Another form of get-together was of a professional nature.
After the London terrorism the Canadian government scrambled to assure its
citizens that all is done to protect all of us, and the
Deputy
Prime Minister Anne McClellan called for a round table talk with the
ethnic media. And though we all had the same data on the facts from the
mainstream media, we heard it again form the horse’s mouth. Canada is doing
quite a bit and we can in fact be reasonable assured of our safety, as far
as it is possible. All the possibilities of tightening the borders and
listing the risky radicals, more observation and research, more co-operation
between nations and so on, all contribute to our safety, that and the fact
that we did not go to war on Iran.
This was also a good opportunity to query the dreaded subject of who gets in and who decides and how someone can get expelled from Canada. As the South-East Asian community and others are stating separately and also jointly, the process is in need of review. Community’s claim, that the crown is not the correct terminal to do so. The courts should have that power, as is usual in most other civilized countries. The German Canadian Congress has also made a case for a change in the process.
The D.P.M. answered Echo Germanica’s questions very aware of the pressure that is being put onto Minister Volpe, and welcomed the opportunity to explain that the crown reserves the prerogative till now. "It is a privilege to be in Canada and not a right!" she stated. And that she feels is enough to explain the lack of judicial process.
If you are interested in more information on that subject or many other things that concern our German Canadian community you can always go to the website of the German-Canadian Congress at www.dkk-ont.net. There is also a direct link from our website under the button of German organisations.
Comments to: sfr@echoworld.com
