Page

3

Page

4

Page

Did you know...

Ben was Boxing andWrestling championwhen he was inhigh school...

BEN, THEFAMILY

MAN

BEN, THEMILITARY

MAN

BEN, THECOMMUNITY

MAN

A Ke

epsa

ke C

ELEB

RATI

NG a

GRE

AT m

an’s

ent

husi

asm

for

life

6

Read allabout Beninside...

Phot

o: Bo

b Sl

oan

Uncle Ben’s 90th Birthday,

family and friends reunion...

A special edition of The

SEEKER Broughttoyouby

theSloa

n Family

Vol. 90 - Fall Issue - Sept 11 1923

In this veryspecial IssueLo o k w h o ’s

t u r n i n g 9 0 !

The Seeker does not accept responsibility for errors, misprints or inaccuraciespublished within. The opinions and statements of our columnists are not to be presumed as the statements and opinions of The Seeker.

The Seeker, Cornwall EditionVolume 90, fall issue, September 11 2013Founded by Julia Lucio and Mai-Liis Renaud 2010Published by Local Seeker Media Group, Cornwall, Ontario

OUR CONTACT INFORMATION:

CLASSIFIED ADS: 613-613-935-3763 ext 2BUSINESS ADS:

613-935-3763 Ext. 101(Julia) / 613-935-3763 Ext. 102 (Mai-Liis)Email: info@theseeker.ca

www.theseeker.ca Office: 327 2nd Street E.OFFICE HOURS: Mon. to Wed. 9am - 5pm - Closed noon-1pm

otherwise by appointment only

Creative Design: Julia Lucio Reporters & Photographers: Bob Sloan

The Local Seeker is Proudly printed on a paper manufactured in Canada by Paper Mason

YOUR ONE STOP SHOP! for Advertising, Graphic Design,Web Design, Photography and Printing

THE SEEKER TEAM

THE SEEKER (Sept 11 - pg. 2) BUSINESS ADS: 613-613-935-3763 ext 1 www.theseeker.ca

DAD’S SECRET TO A GREAT L I FE REVEALED…

After muchthought about what Ishould get my dad forhis 90th birthday Irealized the bestthing to do was just

ask him. His answerwas really a sobering reminder of what isreally important in life, “I just want to seeas many family and friends as possible”.That wish started the planning of a partywhich quickly turned into a family andfriends reunion. On behalf of myself, mybrother Stephen, and my sisters, Lynn, &Donna, I would like to extend a heartfeltthank you to everyone for participatingtoday. Without you, dad’s request couldnever have been fulfilled.

As his grateful children, we realize wecould not have been more blessed than byhaving such a considerate and loving father.He has supported us all, withoutjudgement, as we chose our journeys inlife. He’s truly the backbone of our familyand has been called upon many times byvarious family members and friends for justabout anything you could imagine. It couldbe simply giving a ride to someone, orlending an ear in a crisis with some addedsage advice offered, or lending a shoulderto cry on. These kind gestures remainsteadfast in the fabric of his personality.Even today he remains relentless, giving hisall, to all, without any return expected.This is truly a remarkable attribute aboutour dad, and makes us so proud to be his“children”.

Today we are witnessing a milestonebirthday of an elder in our community, yourUncle Ben and a friend to all who knowhim. Even more remarkable is his healthand quick witted nature. He should havebeen the spokesperson for “EverReadyBatteries”, as I believe he’s even out lastedthe Energizer Bunny! Growing up wealways knew that our mom and dad werespecial, as they always made time for theirfamily, neighbours, and friends. There werecontinual social gatherings hosted in ourhouse where all were welcome. Even todaydad has a healthy following of neighboursand friends who look out for each otherwhile fostering a greater quality of lifethrough simple kind gestures.

Dad gave us a scare in August 2012,where he spent his first time ever with anextended stay at the Queensway CarletonHospital where he fought a bout ofpneumonia. To all of us this was a gentlereminder that we are not getting anyyounger and we need to remember not totake each other for granted. I think youwould agree it’s about time we saw eachother more often! The good news is dad ishealthier now than ever, and he nevermissed a beat of his enthusiasticvolunteering with the seniors. Some retireat age 65, but dad never has stopped. Maybethat’s the secret of living healthy to 90 andbeyond.

Maybe it’s the genetics of the Sloan’s, butwhat also is remarkable is how almost allhis siblings are by his side here today, and

that they too are as healthy and vibrant asdad. Not bad considering the ages spanfrom 80 to 91! As you peruse this specialedition of The Seeker, you will see anincredible history unfold before your eyesthrough the contribution of the manyphotos & anecdotes generouslycontributed by his family and friends. Dad’shistory is our history and one can’t helpbut feel a greater sense of the bondbetween the Sloan’s. A family, humbled bysimple beginnings, who have endured theirshare of hardships from a large familygrowing up during the Great Depression,the uncertain times of WWll, the KoreanWar, and the Cold War that followed.These have shaped the course to nextgenerations of Sloan’s and the wonderful,fortunate people we are today. I am sure Ican speak for all of the nieces, nephews,cousins, grandchildren and friends that welove them all and are grateful as to howeach and every one of them has enrichedour lives. It is such a pleasure to see all ofthem here today.

Today is Uncle Ben’s day, and it’s yoursto enjoy with him. I hope you will takepleasure in your day with us as much as weare so very pleased having you here. Myone final thought is to wish cheers to youdad…(known so affectionately as UncleBen), and on behalf of all who havegathered, wish you many more healthyyears to come. We will all await your100th birthday celebration!

SEEK

ER S

NIP

PETS

by B

ob

Slo

an

THE SEEKER (Sept 11 - pg. 3) CLASSIFIED ADS: 613-935-3763 ext 2 www.theseeker.ca

Uncle Ben James and LauraUncle Ben’s Parents

Siblings above Back rowfrom left:

Monica, Shirley, Marie,Dorothy

Front row from left:

Percy, Clarney,Desmond

Siblings, a few years laterSloan Family Gathering...Somewhere, sometime...

Uncle Ben and Aunt Elva’s Wedding

Uncle Ben’s kids

Where does the name Ben comefrom...

In the family photo, my story is of Ben sitting on the step ladder.

He refused to have his

picture taken unless he was sitting on the step ladder. My mot

her lost the argument

and there he is sitting on the ladder with a big smile.

Another humourous story is one I recall of Ben and his friend, Phil

lip Morrisey. They were

good friends and went back and forth to each other’s houses to p

lay. One day they had

a falling out and were mad at each other. Ben went over to their

house and knocked at

the door. When Mrs. Morrisey answered, he told her he wanted

his things back. She

looked around and said, “We don’t have any of your things.” Ben re

plied –“oh yes you do

– your house is full of my stuff”, and marched off in a huff. Mrs

Morrisey was so upset

she phoned my mother to say that wasn’t the case and we all had

a good laugh.

As far as his nickname goes, my mother told me I couldn’t pronoun

ce Vinnie for Vincent,

and it came out Benny. Other kids must have picked it up from

me because everyone

called him Benny or Ben. In his teen years Ben (who was short) ha

d a real tall friend and

everyone called them “Mouse and Moose”.

Did Ben ever mention that he was quite a talented boxer in the Ba

ntam level? His

coach came to see my dad to suggest serious training to continu

e on, but my dad

turned down the idea.

The Sloan FamilyHow Vincent became Ben...by Monica Lang, his eldest sister

THE SEEKER (Sept 11 - pg. 4) BUSINESS ADS: 613-935-3763 ext 1 www.theseeker.ca

Remembranceparade Uncle Ben

with Uncle Elwood

Lackie

Uncle Ben & Uncle Clarney

Ben And Friends

THE MILITARY MAN

A staff photo – Notice Uncle Ben,

with Aunt Elva sitting in front of him.

L – R Uncle Des, UncleClarney, Uncle Ben

L-Uncle Ben at a military gathering.

Uncle Ben,havingsupper

somewhere in

Europe duringWWll

Uncle Ben in Italy during WWll

Uncle PercyUncle Bill Lang

Uncle Elwood Lackie

L – R, Uncle Ben, Uncle Clarney, Uncle Des,and Terrance Sloan

R – Uncle Ben during inspection.

L – Art Lane, Uncle DickStethem, Aunt Willow, andAunt ElvaBrothers on parade L – R, Uncle Des,

Uncle Ben, Uncle Clarney

The war is over,returned to Edmonton,

and reuniting withCanadian Beer!

Uncle Stew Paul

Steve Prieur,Bob & Ada’s son

Uncle Ben’sGrand Niece,

Emily Gelowsky

Dear Shirley,Well, as I was writing mom a letter tonight, I thought I better write you too inanswer to your last letter, although I think I did answer it before this. I got abox from mom and dad and I think I’ll have a snack after I finish this. You askedme if I wanted a pen for Xmas. Do you think I need one? Yes…everything isjust about the same over here, although it is getting much damper and colder.

I have just come from off 9 days leave, and for a change I didn’t go anyplace.Can you imagine that? You asked me to tell you of some of my experienceson those “hair-raising ops”, as you call them, so I’ll tell you about my last one. The trip out and back was lovely, as can be expected, but when we gotback to base the fog was like pea soup and it was closed right down to thedeck. At the same time control passed us the info that some…crew hadbrought back a block buster and 3,500 lb bombs, and dropped them on therunaway when they landed so we had to go to another base. After 20minutes, we decided that we had the name of the other drone wrong and atthe same time our two most precious instruments went dead. Outcome,we were completely lost and with very little gas left. We saw a light so we dove on it but lost it again. I could just barelymake hills on either side of us and we were below the tops of them. Wefinally saw that we thought was a flare path and dived on it. It turned outto be the main street of a small town and we nearly hit a couple of housesand we had to pull up to miss a church steeple.

The next thing I saw was a giant outline of the coast going by and wewere heading out to the North Sea. We came back inland and got really low looking for ground detail.We saw nothing and the engineer fired off a flare to see if I could see the ground. I saw it all right, andmy hair stood on end. We were about as high, if not lower, than coal chutes at home. We were doing240 MPH and were in a 45 degree bank with the nose slightly down. It was a matter of seconds beforewe would hit. I shouted for Pete’s sake skipper, “pull the nose up”, and braced for the crash. The airspeeddropped off to 125 MPH, and we nearly stalled. We got out of that and with 10 minutes gas left we

prepared to bail out.

At the last possible moment we found a drone and made two other guys overshoot so we could get in. As we approachedthe strip the horn started blowing to indicate that the under cart was not down. We had to land so we prepared for the crash.It turned out that the tail wheel was not locked down but when we hit the jar must have locked it. As we got to the end ofthe runway two engines cut. No gas…for two days the crew went around as if we had Bell’s palsy. This is a true story in everydegree and not fiction.

Loads of love…Clarney.

THE SEEKER (Sept 11 - pg. 5) CLASSIFIED ADS: 613-935-3763 ext 2 www.theseeker.ca

Nephew Alan Paul,driver

Uncle DesBottom R - Uncle Clarney and his squadron.

THE SEEKER (Sept 11 - pg. 6) BUSINESS ADS: 613-935-3763 ext 1 www.theseeker.ca

THE SEEKER (Sept 11 - pg. 7) CLASSIFIED ADS: 613-935-3763 ext 2 www.theseeker.ca

There are friends,there is familyand then, thereare friends thatbecome family.

- Unknown

UNCLE BEN’S SPORTING DAYS

A twist of fate reunited after 63 years!

Pictured here isUncle Ben withhis lovely highschool girlfriendreunited onleave after bothhad beenseparated bytheir newcareers. Bobbiegave dad achoice to marryher now as shehad been askedher hand inmarriage by aG e n t l e m a nnamed Redmond. Dad, although smitten by h

er, was not yet ready for

a permanent commitment, so he congratulated Redmond with the

note on a napkin, seen in the picture. Bobby married him, and had

four children and eventually lost her husband. Then, one day in 2007,

after 63 years apart, they found themselves sitting beside each other

in St Maurice Church. They struck up a conversation only to discover

each other after all those years. He’s still the same”, says Bobbie, “we

just both look a little different now,” she chuckled.

STORIES

Uncle Ben in his pink hat – one of

his many disguises - we think?

Up all night watching Lady Di’sWedding. Crumpets with that?

Uncles Ben, Clarney, & Des visitingthe old homestead in Venosta, QC

THE SEEKER (Sept 11 - pg. 8) BUSINESS ADS 613-935-3763 ext 1 www.theseeker.ca

I predict a great future for everyone

Good times with friends and family

Shirley Paul remembers...

When Ben was about ten, and I would have been seven, we had library

cards for the wonderful Carnegie Library on Laurier. Ben would finish

his books and want to go and get more. I’d say I’m not finished mine and

he’d say I’ll read them fast to you and he’d read fast and skip a whole lot of

pages and then deny it – but I saw him.

When he got a little older, he always had paper routes for the Citizen, and so

had a little money. He fixed bicycles and mended a lot of flat tires with little

patching kits. Very clever!

He became a good wrestler and boxer when he attended St. Pat’s College

High School. He won a bronze medal for boxing in the big ring at the

Coliseum at the Ottawa Exhibition before a large crowd. I was there with our

dad. Once a fight promoter from the Golden Gloves in New York came to our

house to try to sign him up – and our dad said NO – “I’m not going to let him

get his head and brains all scrambled.”

He started in a job in the government and got some nice clothes especially

a light blue suit – looked really smart – and for some reason we called it

“Buddy by Tuck”.Then one day he came in Air Force blue and looked very

nice.

Later he was sent to Prince Edward Island and one winter the ferry was

frozen in, and he couldn’t get home for his leave and we all missed him.

He went to England and one day walking down a road near the base, he

met his own brother Clarney. What a shocker as he didn’t know little

brother had come over. He served in Italy and brought a necklace with

three different lovely carved cameo faces which our mother gave to me

and I wore many times.

These are a few of my memories of Ben, my oldest brother.

“The surprising thing aboutyoung fools is how manysurvive to become old fools.”

-Doug Larson