6 - Sunday, May 14, 1989 — North Shore News INSIGHTS Thanks, Frank and Anna, for this Sunday in May! MOTHER’S DAY, like motherhood itself, enjoys unani- mous support. But stories of how it came to be occasionally worry the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Certain reference books credita elaborate festival at which 10,000 Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia carnations (another of Anna’s with first dreaming up the idea ideas) were distributed. while commemorating her own However, North Van Eagies mother’s death in May 1907. A president Tom Pennington has year later, on May 10, she orga- shown me official records confirm- nized a first Mother’s Day celebra- _ing that the concept was actually tion and the following year, 1909, born three years BEFORE Anna city hall got inte the act with an got going. Ata 1904 Eagles me- Photo submitted MOM OF THE YEAR...North Van's Loreen Chambers (right) — also a dedicated fund raiser for Eagles’ good causes — presents a cheque to LGH head nurse Sybii Hanlon. Can't buy her love OTHER’S DAY comes but once a year, but some of us rue that it comes at all. It is pathetic enough that showing our grat- itude is seen as worthy only of a once-a-year gesture, fet alone that that gesture is often a material one. Mother’s Day, as dictated by an external commercial source, sadly meets our innate laziness and indifference when it comes to our parental relationships. Is love or gratitude for a parent such that it must be prompted? This is not the nature of love. Ironically, the annual nature of the occasion con- tradicts the very content ii proclaims. In an authentic familial relation, appreciation is integral, a given. It therefore is absurd, if not redundant to artificially recognize this appreciation punctually at the same time every year, at the same time as everyone else. Furthermore, if one’s relationship with a parent is not a loving one, then a display of appreciation comes off as mere hypocrisy. Love does not wait for an occa- sion to shew itself, and certainly we cannot ‘‘buy’’ ourselves out of our indebtedness. The debt owed to a parent is immaterial. At best, Mother’s Day should act as a reminder that gratitude should be shown when’ warranted, throughout the year, and accerding to the unique pat- terns of one’s personal relationships — not when urged by an external source. morial service in Indianapolis, Frank Hering, a past grand presi- dent, delivered an impassioned plea for a day to be set aside as a national tribute to Mother. The F.O.E. launched a nationwide campaign to promote the concept and by 1907 it had already been taken up in numerous other states. Seven years later President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day, the second Sunday of May, as a national institution. All of which explains why the Eagles traditionally mark the day by honoring a local ‘‘Mother of the Year.’” This year the North Van branch chose 59-year-old Loreen Chambers, nurse since age 19 and a devoted mother of two. She’s also a tireless volunteer in the F.O.E. Ladies Auxiliary, as well as with Job's Daughters, bowling, soccer and Little League baseball teams, and other com- munity activities. A good Mon is like that. There's no end to her selfless giv- ing of herself. Thank you BOTH, Frank and Anna, for inventing this Sunday in May for her! zee IF STATIONERY is on their shopping list, a name that likely springs to mind for many North Vancouverites is ‘'McGill."’ To- day, May 14, there’s a more per- sonal reason to remember it, as Mac and Jessie McGill. celebrate their Golden 50th anniversary. Though they're now retired and able to enjoy winters in Arizona, the business they founded here 40 years ago is still a strictly family affair, run by their three children, Jack, Gordon and Margaret, with even the eldest of their four grand- children working there piaei ime. In this age of mergers and buy- outs, when so many store names no longer give any clue to their ownership, McGill Stationery looks like it will mean exactly what it says for a good many years to come. Congrats, Mac and Jessie, on your special day — obviously you did quite a few other things tight, too! ake TAILPIECES: Where are you Eva Carr, Phyllis Clarke, Gordon Cockrell, Eugene Cornborough, Jeanette Falls, Raymond Heim, Muriel McInnes, J. Reed, Edward Reid, Roy Sumpter, Lawrence Webber and Kenneth Young — all original 1939 members of the North Van Youth Band? They want you at the Band's big 50th anniversary party and Orpheum concert May 20-21. If you’re still around, please cal! Keith Errington pronto at 929-3975 and get in on the fun ... How to guard against fraud, rubber cheques, counterfeit money, shoplifting and internal theft is the agenda at the North Van RCMP's Small Business Crime Prevention Seminar Mon- day and Tuesday, May 15-16, from 7 to 10 cach evening at Queen Mary Community School, 250 West Keith. All North Van smatl business owners and employees welcome ... Ef you ever lived in Williams Lake, they'd love to have you there June 29 to join in the day (and night!) long celebration of the city's 60th anniversary, with non-stop Cariboo hi-jinx and Photo submitted McGILL means McGill ...as Mac and Jessie celebrate their Golden Sunday. entertainment in their new Twin Ice Arena. Write Win Pigeon, Box 4871, Williams Lake V2G 2V8 — or call her at (£)392-5036 — for all the details ... And a_ respectful salute, please, to Jack Webster, C.M., so long one of West Van's own, who was invested last month by Governor General Jeanne Sauve as a member of the Order of Canada, aon WRIGHT OR WRONG: Yes, God is everywhere, but sometimes he needs a little help. That’s why he created mothers. fui NEWS photo Mike Weketield EACH YEAR the three and four-year-old preschoolers of Grand Boulevard Parent Participation Preschool host 2 Mother’s Day Tea. With some help from teacher Heather Cairns, goodies and gifts are made in ad- vance and invited mothers sit back while their children bring them tea and cake. Above, 32-year-old Brit- tany serves her mother Bonnie Sills punch at last week’s event. envelope. Publisher . Peter Speck Display Advertising 980-0511 ‘ Editor. .. Barrett Fisher Classified Advertising 986-6222 Managing Editor N e 1 Wright Newsroom 985-2131 sociate Editor... Noe! Wrig Distribution 986-1337 Advertising Directur Linda Stewart & Bre teri tna setts Subscriptions 986-1337 SUNDAY + WEDNESDAY + FRIDAY 985.3297 North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent ax suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Patagtaph Ul of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and dsinbuted to every door on the North Shore Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Subsenptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year Mailing tates available on request. Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept fespansibitity tor unsolicited material including manusenpts and pictures. my which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 §9,170 (average, Wednesday Friday & Sunday) SDA DIVISION Entire contents © 1989 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. North Shore owned and managed MEMBER sx. & aceewe