November 2024 - 33

and we are patriotically proud to
honor our troops and first responders.
We recently honored Don Bowen
on his 99th birthday with 68 players!
Originally from Michigan, Don
Don Bowen (seated) celebrates 99 years
with (from left) Julie Halperin, Joe Volanski,
Susan Fenton and Kathy L'Hommedieu.
Veteran honored
By Kas Rangan
Bridge Club of Houston has several
members with U.S. military service,
enlisted in the Signal Corps during
World War II and later transferred
to the paratroopers and the 82nd
Airborne. After the war, he returned
home, graduated from college and
became a teacher. " I spent 36 years
in the seventh grade, " Don says, " 37
if you count my own! " Don learned
to play bridge in college and remembers
that the good players were not
very helpful back then, and adds,
" Zero Tolerance changed all that, and
bridge is better today. "
Congratulations to Don, and we
await your century celebration next
year! 2
Denise Barker and Joe Jennings
Joe Jennings
By Margaret Tominosky
The Field Club in Sarasota FL had
an opportunity to celebrate longtime
player Joe Jennings' 102nd birthday.
The club has offered an invitational
Toronto East Bridge Club members (from left): Jan Mahood, Virginia Hoffman, Bill Roscoe,
Janet Roscoe, Ken Perkin, Laurie Miller, Margaret Simmons, John Parkinson, Syndey
Johnson, Bill Dunk-Green, Cathy Naphin and Penny Ballagh in support of Orange Shirt Day
Bridge club supports Orange Shirt Day
By Laurie Miller
On Sept. 30, the Toronto East
Bridge Club was proud to support
" Orange Shirt Day " and the National
Day for Truth and Reconciliation, an
indigenous-led grassroots commemorative
day intended to raise awareness
of the individual, family and community
intergenerational impacts of residential
schools, and to promote the
concept of " Every Child Matters. "
There were 140 federally run
residential schools in Canada that
operated between 1867 and 1996.
Survivors advocated for recognition
and reparations and demanded
accountability for the intergenerational
impacts of harm caused.
The Truth and Reconciliation
Commission ran from 2008 to 2015
and provided those directly or indirectly
affected by the legacy of the
residential schools' policy with an
opportunity to share their stories
and experiences. Orange Shirt Day
is a movement inspired by Phyllis
Jack Webstad, who is a Stswecen'c
Xgat'tem First Nation elder. She told
the Commission about how she had
worn her new, bright orange shirt
on her first day of residential school
in 1973, when she was 6 years old.
In her own words, " It was pee-yourpants
terror to be there, to realize
that I wasn't going home. My shirt
was taken away. No matter what
I did, they wouldn't give it back. I
never got to wear my shirt again. "
game to its members and guests for
over 30 years. Joe, who was born
Sept. 14, 1922, remains sharp as a
tack, and, with his partner, Denise
Barker, are regulars at the game and
frequently among the winners. At
this event, they tied for second with a
54% game. 2
National Day for Truth and
Reconciliation has been a federal holiday
since 2021. The day honors the
children who never returned home
and survivors of residential schools,
as well as their families and communities.
Public commemoration of the
tragic and painful history and ongoing
impacts of residential schools is a
vital component of the reconciliation
process.
TEBC opened its doors in April
2019 and was building at a rapid pace
until shutting down in March 2020
due to the pandemic. TEBC reopened
in April 2022 and is growing every
month. 2
November 2024 | Bridge Bulletin |
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November 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2024
