Carole Anderson, Chief of the Year
Nairn Recreation Park, Nairn, ON
Saturday, July 9th, 2016
WELCOME and CHIEF REMARKS
Thanks again for attending the reunion today. I’m very happy to have been asked to be the chief for this year. Some of you will recall that I was chief in 1989, the year it rained and the reunion was moved to Ailsa Craig United Church. I’ve attended many, many reunions and am one of the smiling children holding the Stewart sign in the 1962 photo! I looked forward each year to the picnic at Springbank Park — the races, the games, the train!! In recent years I’ve enjoyed connecting with my cousin Laurie Pallett who lives just a short drive away and who shares a love of music.
I am the eldest daughter of Don and Irla Stewart and the niece of Margaret Bennet-Alder. My great-great grandfather is Jack of the Hill, his son, Dan the father of my grandfather, Roy Stewart. I have always felt a great sense of pride in being part of the Stewart family and have wonderful memories of the farm, now the home of Liz and Bill McHugh.
I continue to enjoy looking back and learning about the history of my ancestors. Indeed, we will all be “ancestors” one day and I hope that the family that come after me will continue to appreciate that we are all an accumulation of our own life experiences and the lives of those who have gone before. My Aunt Margaret says it beautifully in her inscription in my copy of Heather to Hill: “May this book nourish your pride and enhance your feeling of belonging.”
Carole Anderson
2016 Chief of the Year