Greenwood News

Old Fashioned Christmas

I hope this message finds you well, as you get ready for the Christmas season. There are several events that are coming up at Greenwood that will really help to get you in the spirit of things, and we'd love to be able to have you join us to celebrate the holiday season.

This Sunday, Dec. 7th, and again on Sunday, Dec. 10th, we invite you to celebrate an "Old Fashioned Christmas" at Greenwood.

This is a wonderful chance to see so many of Hudson's best loved thespians, storytellers, musicians and singers up close, (these include Rod Hodgson, Mark Drake, Peter Williamson, Helen Zajchowski, Mary Jeffries, the Greenwood Singers and the Kitchen Ceilidh) while enjoying the beautiful Christmas decorations that have been designed by Kathryn Lamb, June Kendall, Barb Gibb, and Audrey Gray. To top it off, our dedicated volunteers will provide you with hot apple cider and homemade Christmas goodies.

There are still tickets available for both these dates. The price of admission is $10, and are available at May's, or by calling here (450-458-5396) or e-mailing us at greenwood@bellnet.ca

Music plays such an important part in the Christmas season. To this end, theGreenwood Singers present "Carols for a Mid-Winter's Eve" on Wednesday, Dec. 10th, at St. Mary's Church.

This dedicated group of talented singers will be performing a broad range of seasonal carols, interspersed with the ever popular carols that invite the audience to sing along. To add to the magic, the singers will be reading a variety of poems that relate to Christmas, and finally, Hudson's favorite performer, Helen Zajchowski, will read "It was Never like this in Manchester".

In addition to the concert, our visitors our invited to either a pre or post concert reception here at Greenwood. Come at 6:30 for coffee and cake, or come after the concert for a cup of good cheer and something to nibble on.

Tickets are $20, and include both the concert and the reception. Call us, e-mail us, drop in at May's, or give Frank Royle a call for tickets (450-7316).

These events wrap up our season! We hope you can join us to celebrate a remarkable year. Thanks for all you do for Greenwood. It's been a pleasuregetting to know you, and working with you, these past months.

May you all have a joyous holiday.
Audrey Wall

StoryFest 2008 Featured in the Newly Launched Rover Arts Review

We are excited to tell you that StoryFest has been featured in a new online arts review. To view it, visit: http://roverarts.com.

Please note that the Joseph Boyden presentation on Nov. 6th has been moved to the Hudson Village Theatre because of vibrant ticket sales! We want to have enough room for all of you. Boyden's name has been in the news of late, as his new book "Through Black Spruce" has been nominated for the prestigious Giller Prize, which will be announced on Nov. 11th.

We've had great advance sales for the Stevie Cameron night on Tuesday, Oct. 28th. There are still tickets available at the door.

Since the interview with Rover Arts took place, we have confirmed the addition of the Montreal Gazette veteran reporter and film buff, Jeff Heinrich, at our feature film presentation of Fugitive Pieces on Monday, Nov. 3rd. He is preparing a written handout for before the film and will also be available to take questions on the book or the film after the show. We are interested to hear how he compares the book to the film. Tickets for both the matinee and the 7:30 films will be available at the door, at May's Studio in Hudson or A Temps Perdu in Hudson.

And finally, don't forget that Monday, Oct. 27th, William Toye will be at the regular Hudson Historical Society meeting at 7:30 at St. Mary's Church Hall. We hope to see you there.

Tea With Shane Kelly,
Accomplished Photographer/Writer
A StoryFest Event, Oct. 15

Due to a last minute cancellation from our first author, Katherine Barber, Hudson's own freelance photographer/writer, Shane Kelley, has generously offered to share her unique way of communicating stories.

We know that you'll find Shane extremely interesting: she was one of Canada's first female photojournalists to work for a major daily newspaper, and has an impressive list of places her work has been published.

The event will be held at St. Mary's Hall at 3:00 pm October 15th, and tea and delicious apple strudel will be served.

For those of you who have already bought tickets for Katherine Barber, these tickets are valid for Shane Kelley, or may be exchanged for another event (excluding Theatre Panache).

As we look ahead, our next event is the Local Storyteller's Corner, which will take place on Wednesday, October 22nd at 7:30 pm at Greenwood, and will be hosted by Rosemarie Belisle. The theme is "Only in Canada"- and we welcome storytellers or listeners to this event. Bring along and share your memories of something that could only have happened in Canada. We look forward to welcoming you here.

Following that, Stevie Cameron will be our distinguished guest on Tuesday, October 28th at 7:30 pm at the Hudson Village Theatre. Stevie is one of Canada's foremost investigative journalists and authors, and has written many books, including Blue Trust, Ottawa Inside Out, On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years, The Last Amigo, and The Pickton Files. We are thrilled to have her visit Hudson, and hope many of you will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to meet her first hand.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.greenwoodstoryfest.com or by dropping in at May's Studio or A Temps Perdu in the village.

Please call Greenwood at 450-458-5396 if you have any questions or concerns about StoryFest.

Theatre on the Lawn Aug. 24

If you haven’t visited the Greenwood Centre for Living History yet this summer, there are still several special summer events coming up in our beautiful garden. Make sure to mark the dates on your calendar.

On Sunday, August 24th, the Hudson Players Club will present “Theatre on the Lawn”, a tradition which was started by Greenwood’s beloved owner, the late Pheobe Hyde, and which continues in her honour. There are two performances under the willow tree: one at 11:30 am and one at 2:30pm. Following the performances, tea, lemonade and homemade goodies will be served by our wonderful volunteers.

It is suggested that you bring along a lawn chair, and that you park your car on Butternut Street. A shuttle service will run between Greenwood and Butternut for your convenience. Lawn chairs will be set up at Greenwood, but to ensure you have a place to sit, you might want to bring along your own chair.

Admission is a donation to Greenwood, and families are encouraged to come and enjoy this very special event.

Our final Home and Garden Tour (with Tea) will take place on Labour Day Monday, September 1st, at 1:30 and 3:00 pm. Come and enjoy the view of the lake dotted with sail boats, and listen to stories, told by our very own raconteurs, Bill Young and Rod Hodgson (Trapper Rod!). We are fortunate to have two summer interns working at Greenwood as Research Assistants this summer. Thanks to a grant provided by Young Canada Works, Alix Balevi and Caroline Cawley are spending the summer learning the history of Greenwood, and working on individual research projects which will be added to the archives found on the premises. Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious; drop by and meet them.

Our doors are open from 9am to 3:45pm on week days throughout August, and visitors are welcome to drop in, or phone for a tour. We look forward to seeing you at Greenwood!

For more information please contact: Greenwood .

Greenwood Centre Opens Its Garden, Treasures For All

Audrey Wall hosted her first Home and Garden Tour as Greenwood Centre's Executive Director. She is pictured below wearing one of the late Phoebe Nobbs Hyde's summer hats.

Louise Carson read one of her many original short poems in the garden at Greenwood during this summer season opener. Fifteen guests enjoyed the creative output of the six poets who read their work overlooking the Lake of Two Mountains.

Greenwood hosted guided tours of the historic house, as well a serving tea and goodies on the back porch. The sun stayed out and the rain held off until festivities ended around 5 p.m.

The Greenwood Centre for Living History was bequeathed to the Canadian Heritage of Quebec, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of lands and buildings of beauty or historic interest, by Phoebe Nobbs Hyde, the last of five generations of the Delesderniers/Shepherd families to live there. Phoebe's generous gift led to the establishment of the Greenwood Centre for Living History.

The house, part of which was built in 1732, is a repository of artifacts, many of them collected by Phoebe herself. It was her wish that the historical character of the building be maintained and the property be shared with the people of Hudson and the surrounding communities. The Centre hosts a full range of weekend activities over the summer and guests are welcome.

Picture provided by Shane Kelley

Ken Bouchard:
Long-Distance Rower Stops at Greenwood

We have all heard stories of ultra-long distance runners slogging their way across the country. Or cyclists pounding the pavement up and down the continent. Or canoeists retracing old voyageur routes deep into the west.

But long-distance rowing! What's that all about?

Let's ask Ken Bouchard. He will soon be rowing from Hull to Quebec City, stopping at the Greenwood Centre for Living History on Thursday June 19. He has lots to say on the topic.

A veteran of Tourism Canada who has been associated with Elderhostel and countless similar projects in the Outaouais region, Ken is passionate about the joys of never-ending rowing - and he has the calluses to prove it.

This summer, to honour the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, Ken has pointed his oars in the direction la veille capitale. He is about to strike out down the pesky Ottawa River and out onto the mighty St. Lawrence, rowing all the way. He expects to reach Bassin Louise in the heart of the Port of Quebec on Canada Day.

Ken is no stranger to the challenges of long-distance rowing. In 2007 he completed Row on the Rideau, a trip through the spectacular Rideau Lakes system from Kingston to Ottawa.

He will be offering his own power-point presentation about that experience at Greenwood on Thursday June 19, at 7:30 pm. According to a colleague who rowed with him, it is "very well worth seeing, great music track, solid historical information, and all the rest."

This event is a Greenwood fund-raiser and a nominal donation will be collected at the door. Space is limited, so best to call and reserve a spot ahead of time.

On each of his rowing adventures Ken is accompanied by a crew of second oarsmen. These stalwarts stay with him part way, changing at different stages along the route. Ken is the only one expected to make the full journey.

And why do they do it? Michael Cooper, a friend who was with Ken on the Rideau, says, "Because it's great fun. Rowing is a social event, a great chance to chat" and he adds, "seriously, if you are not in constant communication with your partner and in perfect sync, your oars will clash - and this is not a good thing."

Rowing is so much fun, in fact, that Ken has already agreed to take part in next summer's Founding of the Royal Navy Dockyard, 1759-2009 re-enactment festivities in Halifax Harbour.

"We will be fitted out like a picket boat," says Ken, "surrounded by more than 60 tall ships. Our crew will consist of Michael Cooper and me - stage name James Macdonald. Our cabin boy will be my wife, Heather Barbour, to be called Henry - we think."

On June 19 and 20, Ken will lay-over at Greenwood to prepare for the challenge of the St. Lawrence, making whatever adjustments his boat requires, gathering supplies - and bringing on a new crew. An appropriately outfitted "sag" wagon, driven one of the crew members, will follow the boat on land, transporting much of their camping and other gear.

And the boat? It is a double-ended Loudon-type craft built by Rossiter Boats in Meaford Ontario (www.rossiterboats.com/). The manufacturer describes it as a "full-size classic rowboat, finely executed in teak and fiberglass...with features not found in other rowboats."

The Loudon is about as far removed from the clunkers we used to rent at the public beach as the QE 2 is from the steamboats that R.W. Shepherd once ran up and down the Ottawa River.

Ken has christened his craft the Ruth Agnes B, in honour of his late mother. She is a beauty.

So remember to mark the date. Learn more about Ken Bouchard's monumental journey of a life-time: come by Greenwood and say hello. He will be here on June 19 and 20. And don't miss his Rideau Canal presentation at 7:30 pm on the 19th. It will be a treat.

Greenwood Singers Present...
"Songs for a Midsummer's Eve"

This Friday, June 6 2008, St. Mary's Church Hall will host the Greenwood Singers for their annual "Songs for a Midsummer's Eve."

The Greenwood Singers were founded six years ago to cap off Greenwood's winter holiday season but since their beginnings as Christmas carolers, they've become something of a warm up act for the year to follow. Bill Young, then Executive Director of the Greenwood Centre, said after their successful inaugural performance, "Hey, you sound pretty good. So can you do it again in the spring?" Since then they've become an annual tradition, with four performances every year. On Monday, Frank Royle rehearsed with John de Sévigné, Dan Gallant, Graham Campbell, Phyllis Matte and Terry O'Shaughnessy for Friday's performance.

"There no director, which is quite unusual," said Royle. "It causes us to be responsible for what we do. If one of us is out of check it's the responsibility of the person next to them to alert them.” The Greenwood Singers currently include 13 members, although there’s been some give and take throughout the years.

“There’s been quite a lot of evolution,” admits Royle. After their first June performance in 2002, the Greenwood Singers received requests to showcase their talents in other venues, such as the Hudson Village Theatre and John Abbott College’s Stuart Hall. “It’s not like we asked to be showcased in other venues,” said de Sévigné, one of the group’s basses. “They came to us.”Royle said the group has a lot to be proud of. “We pride ourselves on our blend of songs,” he said. “And when it works well, we call it the Greenwood sound.” Their repertoire will include traditional songs sung acapella, such as Danny Boy and popular tunes like Billy Joel’s and So it Goes. “its difficult finding songs we all like and can also perform,” said de Sévigné. Although their repertoire now includes an impressive 180 different songs, they feel obliged to deliver something new at this Friday’s show. New this year is the work of the late John Harley; a Hudson resident who gently satirized his neighborhood in How Sweet To Live in Como, a well known Anglican church choir song with rewritten lyrics.

“It’s going to be sung in deadpan,” said de Sévigné, which should only make the humorous lyrics stand out more, which include reference to Phoebe Hyde, Greenwood’s previous owner. Although de Sévigné said the group consists of some of the top soloists and choral singers from Wyman, St. James and the McGill choir, “the key thing is that each one of us loves to sing.”

New Executive Director

The Board of Directors of the Greenwood Centre for Living History is pleased to announce the appointment of Audrey Wall as Executive Director.

Audrey comes to Greenwood with a long history of service both in the public and private school systems. She will be remembered by many as a teacher at Hudson High School, Hudson Elementary, Mount Pleasant and St. James Nursery School. Recently retired from her last position as Vice Principal and Director of the Senior School at Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's (Montreal), she brings with her a great deal of experience in all aspects of administration.

Audrey and her husband George raised their three children in the Hudson area and are long-time residents. Both are involved in many local activities and clubs.

We are delighted to have Audrey as part of our Board and the Greenwood community. We look forward to working with her.

Donna Seaman,
President


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