TheJoseph L. Mocsan Memorial Rose Garden in Chippawa Park is deserving of placement on any ‘Landmarks’ list. Most of its beds showcase varieties of roses, the Rose City’s long-time official flower. Mr. Mocsan was an eminent rose grower, exhibitor and promoter, chair of the Rose Festival’s rose show and a member of the committee that chose the rose that became Welland’s official rose. The rose garden draws many visitors, especially over summer and fall. It’s a reflection of outstanding work by City of Welland horticultural staff who tend to it with tender, loving care. The above photo shows only a portion of the sprawling site, being visited on this occasion by a family celebrating a graduation, background. The garden was renamed in Mr. Mocsan’s honor in a public ceremony Saturday, June 9, 2012. A new feature on the blog, Landmarks will appear from time to time. Joe Barkovich photo.
Please support/attend this deserving community event
Fundraiser for PC Special Olympics. Menu: appetizers, salad, chicken, potatoes, veggies, dessert. Tickets for athletes are $40, all other guests are $55./Barky’s Billboard is a recurring feature on the blog.
Hundreds of food drive signs could be found on street corners and streets across the city this morning, timely reminders about the city-wide food collection coming up Saturday, Nov. 4. The signs don’t pop up magically, they are “planted” overnight and early Sunday morning by long-time volunteers, the Martin family and their team. The ubiquitous little signs are counted on year after year to keep the food drive high profile in the minds and hearts of the community. /Joe Barkovich photo
Rebecca Jamieson presented with honorary degree on October 2
NC President Sean Kennedy (right) and Chair of NC’s Board of Governors Mishka Balsom (left) welcome Rebecca Jamieson (middle) to NC’s Welland Campus on the afternoon of October 27 where she was presented with an Honorary Degree in Applied Studies at Fall Convocation./Niagara College photos
A prominent Indigenous education leader was in the spotlight as Niagara College capped off its Fall 2023 Convocation ceremonies on October 27.
Rebecca Jamieson, President-CEO of Six Nations Polytechnic – who has been a leader in Indigenous education for more than 30 years – was presented with an honorary degree in Applied Studies in recognition of her significant accomplishments during the last of this year’s expanded Fall Convocation Ceremonies at the College.
In addition to conferring an honorary degree upon Jamieson, NC also presented her with a Haudenosaunee-style raised beadwork stole and the Strong Water Singers – an Indigenous drumming collective – performed an honour song for Jamieson.
Strong Water Singers take the stage on October 27 to welcome graduates. They also performed an honour song for Rebecca Jamieson during the afternoon ceremony.
“Rebecca is an extraordinary leader in the Indigenous education sector and a true inspiration,” said NC President Sean Kennedy. “Her work has had a positive impact on countless lives. It’s such an honour to welcome Rebecca on this stage.”
“I would like to say nya:weh to be invited today to gratefully receive this honorary degree in Applied Arts from Niagara College,” said Jamieson. “Congratulations to all the graduates and good luck on your future endeavors.”
In-demand graduates
The morning ceremony celebrated 537 graduating students from various programs within the School of Business and Management Studies; School of Environment and Horticulture; School of Hospitality and Tourism; School of Wine, Beer and Spirits; and School of Culinary Arts.
The afternoon ceremony celebrated 563 new graduates from various programs within the School of Allied Health Studies, School of Nursing and Personal Support Worker, School of Community Services, School of Justice and Fitness Studies, School of Trades, and School of Technology.
Twenty graduating students were among NC’s first graduates from Massage Therapy on the afternoon of October 27. The program launched in September 2021 to help serve a growing need for professionals in Niagara.
Many of the new graduates are helping to fill a need for health care professionals; 205 students graduated from the School of Allied Health and 111 from the School of Nursing and PSW during the afternoon of October 27 – joining 348 who graduated from the School of Nursing and PSW on Oct. 26.
“Nursing and PSW graduates are in high demand in all areas including long-term care, community, and hospital,” said Courney Evers, Associate Dean, School of Nursing and PSW. “We are in the midst of a health human resources crisis and these graduates will be instrumental in serving our community through health care upon graduation.”
“The Massage Therapy team has done an incredible job preparing the graduates for their entry to practice licensing exams and for prosperous careers as Registered Massage Therapists. We are so excited for the graduates as they embark on their careers as critical members of the health care team,” said Associate Dean, School of Allied Health, Eva Lemak.
Lemak noted that dental and pharmacy students, who also graduated from the School of Allied Health during the afternoon ceremony, are also in demand.
“There is currently a shortage of health care professionals in all areas of health and wellness. Dental offices are experiencing a shortage of dental hygienists and dental assistants, and cannot operate without either of them. Our students are in demand and presented with employment offers even before completing their programs.
“Due to the increased strain on the health care system, the provincial government approved regulations that enabled pharmacy technicians to administer COVID and influenza vaccinations. Pharmacy technicians help meet the patient demand and expand access to health services for high risk populations, especially those who do not have access to health care providers.”
Fall 2023 Convocation
NC celebrated its largest Fall Convocation to date with almost 1,600 new graduates. Ceremonies were held at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre (gymnasium) at the Welland Campus on October 26 and 27.
Students graduating from NC this fall join 4,500 from NC’s Class of 2023 who graduated during the College’s week-long Spring Convocation Ceremonies in June. They will also join NC’s alumni community of more than 120,000 – and growing!
Niagara College has a full-time enrolment of more than 11,000 students from over 80 countries, who study in 130 diploma, certificate and bachelor degree programs at specialized campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara College is also involved in educational projects and partnerships around the world and is consistently ranked among Canada’s top 10 colleges for research funding. Learn more at niagaracollege.ca.
Photo: Reminisce Magazine 2004, Year in Review 1927
By Terry Hughes
Halloween monsters written about through the ages were creatures known as ghouls. With the advent of movies such creatures were depicted as beings who raided cemeteries looking for recent corpses on which they could feast on their flesh. Another need that ghouls satisfied was the providing of bodies to be dismembered and reused to create a living creature like the infamous Frankenstein monster. Although this idea was never legalized, the medical schools required cadavers in order to instruct new doctors medical procedures and recognition of illnesses. The pay was good, making grave robbery an active industry!
Apparently such activities were not restricted to other places away from our locality because a story that appeared in the Evening Tribune at the turn of the last century indicates that one such misadventure occurred in Port Colborne. The passing of a local character called Jimmy the Picker. who had no family nor income, well, he was to be buried in a pauper’s grave in a cemetery close to the lake. The soil here was sandy and made easy work for those digging his grave and covering the casket.
A local jack of all trades and adventurer known as Pete Doe heard of Jimmy’s passing and struck on the idea of fetching his body and selling it to a medical school for a handsome profit. Keeping his scheme secret, he found a young partner who would provide a horse, wagon and muscle to assist him in this unlawful deed. The night was dark as the two ghouls approached Jimmy’s grave and set about removing the sandy soil. The soil was placed on cloth sheets that would be used later to cover the grave, leaving no evidence of the robbery.
After removing the majority of the soil, Pete reached the coffin, opened it and removed Jimmy’s body in his arms. At that moment the unstable sandy soil caved in burying Pete up to his elbows while still holding the body. His young accomplice seeing this catastrophic event ran off taking the horse and wagon with him leaving Pete who for the moment couldn’t move.
Unable to reach a shovel and daring not to call out for help, after several hours struggling Pete was able to drop the body and climb out leaving Jimmy half buried in the open grave. Grabbing the shovel and sheets he took off into the night not to be seen.
But our story does not stop here! The next day word spread about what happened at the cemetery. A local gossip, Pat Fahey, spread the word about this incident. He said that Jimmy the Picker was buried alive! He said, “The poor fellow worked himself half out of his coffin and fell again. I’m seeing it with my own eyes. It’s terrible.”
The local authorities buried Jimmy again and the story eventually disappeared as did the two ghouls who initiated this tale.
Our picture shows silent movies’ credible character, Lon Chaney Sr. depicting a doctor about to work on a cadaver in one of his numerous roles as a terrifying monster.
Next column: It’s 1939 and Canada Is about to declare war.
(Terry Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His opinion column, Heritage Lives, appears on the blog once or twice monthly.)
WELLAND – An area along Kingsway that saw the removal of approximately 250 trees due to Emerald Ash Borer will begin a rejuvenation of its tree canopy thanks to a $10,000 grant from Tree Canada and the LCBO’s Spirit of Sustainability initiative.
The grant allows the City of Welland to plant 20 native tree species along the canal, primarily in the location of Kingsway and Glenwood Parkway. This project area is used for many summer recreational events, including international rowing competitions.
“Increasing canopy in Welland is important to the Community Services – Parks and Forestry Division,” said Dave Steven, manager of parks, forestry, cemeteries, operations, and development. “By improving our park green spaces through canopy replacement, it provides residents with an area that is more inviting and cooler for recreation and relaxation, plus they provide habitat and food for animals.”
City staff plant 300 to 350 trees annually to beautify residential and park spaces as part of the City’s canopy replacement strategy.
“Each year, Tree Canada’s Community Tree Grants help support schools, community groups, Indigenous communities and municipalities across Canada to increase their green infrastructure through the planting of trees and shrubs,” says Nicole Hurtubise, CEO, Tree Canada. “Thanks to the contribution of partners like LCBO’s Spirit of Sustainability initiative, we are able to take meaningful steps to increase Canada’s tree canopy and help grow better places to live in communities like the City of Welland.”
The City is looking for five to 10 volunteers to join Tree Canada and the City as they plant and mulch the new trees. The City will supply all volunteers with shovels, gloves, and other necessary equipment. Planting occurs on Friday, October 27, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact parksandforestry@welland.ca.
Tree Canada is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to planting and nurturing trees in rural and urban environments, in every province across the country.
Tree Canada helps to grow Canada’s tree canopy through their programs, research, and engagement efforts and by offering grants to communities and schools. Learn more about Tree Canada by visiting their website www.treecanada.ca.
Caption: A walk along Merritt Island’s upper and lower trails today yielded a treasure chest of fall colours. Here’s a mosaic of memories I was left with. /Joe Barkovich photos.
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