Swan Lake

Recently I went over to LaSalle Park in Burlington, to try and get my bearings and to marvel at the majesty and enjoy the serenity of the swans.

Dad's Passing - More Reflections

Recently a distant cousin sent me family material and pictures related to my interest in genealogy, especially as per my North Yorkshire Riding roots. It made me think of my links through Dad to the past - and to that part of the family. Here's my letter of thanks:

Hi !

I don't think I've got back to you yet, and I really do apologize.

I have a bit of an excuse in that I've been away for a week in the United States at a seminar / consortium, related to my job. But the real upsetting thing (in more ways than one) has been the recent passing of my father - who was my link of course to all of this side of the family (in terms of the Pennock and other Yorkshire family connections).

It's been a long goodbye, as he had several brain bleeds which removed him from us gradually (as his mind went into senility) - from the father we have known and loved. He was 86 ready to go, 'knew the Lord' and as we sometimes say: 'you can't threaten Christians with Heaven!" -- so I'm both Happy and Sad that he has gone to be with His Saviour in the Bright Country. There are many there whom we 'have loved and lost awhile . . .'

I'm sad now not to be able to pass on to him new information of family records, pictures, etc., as I have gathered or received it, in these last months - and now forever. He and I travelled to Yorkshire in the early '90's and (beyond bonding in a new way) really loved seeing the land, meeting family and making new friends - in Suffolk (where Barbers come from and where I've traced back directly to 1434; but also in the NRY regions). His mother was born in Cowesby, the generations before that knew life in Bransdale, Farndale, Rudland Rigg, Danby, Egton, Egton Bridge, Huttons Ambo, Glaisdale, Farndale, Gillamoor, Harland Rigg and other places . . .

My wife Jane and I have visited the region several times too and seen the Limber Hill land and homes of the Pennocks. I am also connected in that area to Wilsons, Hoggarths, Woods, Lengs, Gatenbys and other families. My information in part is on my more 'personal' ancestry site at www.laurencebarber.ca

I'm so grateful for your keeping in touch, for the new and very helpful information sent and so graciously shared from time to time - and for these recent photos which are so very helpful. I've been in the very graveyard - in Egton, NRY, looking for and finding Wilsons - and didn't know Pennocks were buried there - or when there didn't know I was related to them, etc. So this is all very helpful.

Greetings to you all. It's a wonderful adventure to be journeying with you (sometimes into the past, as per this information) as well as into the future - as life goes on, and we continue to share this planet as contemporaries - and on the Journey of life.

All the best to you all. P -- again, thank you so very much !!

Good Stewards

As a Christian, I believe that all of us who live on planet earth ought to be the best stewards of the gift of this blue and green planet as we possibly can be.

And yet, having just read Michael Chrighton's 2004 fictional novel, 'State of Fear,' I have to admit a certain amount of confusion. Without necessarily wanting to be a contrarian, there seems to be so much that is presented in his arguments and in the actual footnotes, charts and grafts, that one cannot help but go 'hmmmmm' . . . and be at least a little bit quizzical - and sceptical even, given the new politically correct assumptions and dogmas (ladled out almost nightly now via newscasts) about 'global warming.'

Early in the book, Crichton has one of his characters define global warming as “the heating up of the earth from burning fossil fuels.” (p. 80) Another character disagrees: . . . global warming is the theory that increased levels of carbon dioxide and certain other gases are causing an increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere because of the so-called ‘greenhouse effect.’ (p. 81, italics in the original)

Over the course of the book, other characters document the following flaws in the theory of global warming:

most of the warming in the past century occurred before 1940, before CO2 emissions could have been a major factor (p. 84);

temperatures fell between 1940 and 1970 even as CO2 levels increased (p. 86);

temperature readings from reporting stations outside the U.S. are poorly maintained and staffed and probably inaccurate; those in the U.S., which are probably more accurate, show little or no warming trend (pp. 88-89);

“full professors from MIT, Harvard, Columbia, Duke, Virginia, Colorado, UC Berkeley, and other prestigious schools ... the former president of the National Academy of Sciences ... will argue that global warming is at best unproven, and at worst pure fantasy" (p. 90);

temperature sensors on satellites report much less warming in the upper atmosphere (which the theory of global warming predicts should warm first) than is reported by temperature sensors on the ground (p. 99);

data from weather balloons agree with the satellites (p. 100);

“No one can say for sure if global warming will result in more clouds, or fewer clouds,” yet cloud cover plays a major role in global temperatures (p. 187);

Antarctica “as a whole is getting colder, and the ice is getting thicker” (p. 193, sources listed on p. 194);

The Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica has been melting for the past 6,000 years (p. 195, p. 200-201); “Greenland might lose its ice pack in the next thousand years” (p. 363);

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is “a huge group of bureaucrats and scientists under the thumb of bureaucrats,” and its 1995 report was revised “after the scientists themselves had gone home” (p. 245-246);

James Hansen’s predictions of global warming during a Congressional committee hearing in 1988, which launched the global warming scare, were wrong by 200 percent (.35 degrees Celsius over the next 10 years versus the actual increase of .11 degrees);

in 1998, Hansen said long-term predictions of climate are impossible (pp. 246-247);

there has been no increase in extreme weather events (.e.g., floods, tornadoes, drought) over the past century or in the past 15 years; computer models used to forecast climate change do not predict more extreme weather (p. 362, 425-426);

temperature readings taken by terrestrial reporting stations are rising because they are increasingly surrounded by roads and buildings which hold heat, the “urban heat island” effect (p. 368-369);

methods used to control for this effect fail to reduce temperatures enough to offset it (p. 369-376);

changes in land use and urbanization may contribute more to changes in the average ground temperature than “global warming” caused by human emissions (p. 383, 388);

temperature data are suspect because they have been adjusted and manipulated by scientists who expect to find a warming trend (p. 385-386);

carbon dioxide has increased a mere 60 parts per million since 1957, a tiny change in the composition of the atmosphere (p. 387);

increased levels of CO2 act a fertilizer, promoting plant growth and contributing to the shrinking of the Sahara desert (p. 421);

the spread of malaria is unaffected by global warming (pp. 421-422, footnotes on 422);

sufficient data exist to measure changes in mass for only 79 of the 160,000 glaciers in the world (p. 423);

the icecap on Kilimanjaro has been melting since the 1800s, long before human emissions could have influenced the global climate, and satellites do not detect a warming trend in the region (p. 423);

deforestation at the foot of the mountain is the likely explanation for the melting trend (p. 424);

sea levels have been rising at the rate of 10 to 20 centimeters (four to eight inches) per hundred years for the past 6,000 years (p. 424);

El Niños are global weather patterns unrelated to global warming and on balance tend to be beneficial by extending growing seasons and reducing the use of heating fuels (p. 426);

the Kyoto Protocol would reduce temperatures by only 0.04 degrees Celsius in the year 2100 (p. 478);

a report by scientists published in Science concludes “there is no known technology capable of reducing [global] carbon emissions ... totally new and undiscovered technology is required” (p. 479);

change, not stability, is the defining characteristic of the global climate, with naturally occurring events (e.g., volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis) much more likely to affect climate than anything humans do (p. 563);

computer simulations are not real-world data and cannot be relied on to produce reliable forecasts (p. 566).

One character in State of Fear concludes, “The threat of global warming is essentially nonexistent. Even if it were a real phenomenon, it would probably result in a net benefit to most of the world” (p. 407).

Remembering Dad

`I think of Dad in light of Easter, in the light of Christ's Resurrection
- the first of a new Race that will one day rise with Him, too.

Jane's Dad too is there to greet him -

and we remarked to each other yesterday,

I wonder what our Dad's are doing today, this Easter Sunday!

What must it like to be in Heaven on Easter Morning !!!?

And now here are some thoughts about Dad's life that I shared at the funeral service . . .

On behalf of my mother and my sisters, Beth and Muriel, and all of our family
we want to thank you for your presence yesterday and today

– to join with us in our tribute and farewell to Dad . . .
– for your kinds words & remembrances
in so many ways.

We are honoured & thankful you have come to share
this part of the Journey & these moments with us:
– sharing with us the good memories
of this wonderful man
who was our husband, father, grandfather, brother,
Christian companion and friend.

How can one squeeze into a few moments a lifetime ? . . .
- of precious memories
- of faithful actions and activities
– talking of the impact and the legacy of this man.

My thoughts - like my dreams of him in these last few days
have been a kaleidescope of ever-changing
colours, textures, stories & images of his life.

— like a Monet painting -
of little points and dots of colour and light
- that we shall treasure in the memory and in the telling.

Born in Guelph, Freeman Barber lived with his family
in several places – Guelph & Toronto, Dundas

and Burlington
as his father scrambled to find work
during the dirty thirties . . .

He came to Burlington in 1932
- to Brant Street, then to Freeman Corners
- and then to the farm on the Middle Road
(now the QEW) – just E. of the Guelph Line.

Dad had SEVERAL CAREERS, really . . .

He left school early and always regretted it that decision
- but he left because of a love for the farm and farming.

He married my Mom - Mary Almas - in December of ‘44
– and they spent & celebrated 62 years happily together.

Market Gardener

He had the opportunity of buying his own property -
from Uncle George Pollard . . . on Maple Avenue
and like Mom's extended family
- took up market gardening . . .

I think of all the planning & then the planting
in late winter and spring
- his creativity of trying new seed-brands
- the sheer hard work of it all . . .

Carpenter

In the mid '70's, Dad sold the farm and became a carpenter . . .
and was one for nearly as many years as he’d been in market gardening.

But I always think of him as on the farm,
for those are the years I shared with him at home . . .

So many people, yesterday, mentioned his creativity
and honest, professional work
. . . making ‘Florida Rooms' and rec rooms
and restoring garages.

You have seen how he was good with his hands:
– he learned & he expressed himself manually
& practically.

He became a custom craftsman in retirement years . . .
- like his Uncle Newark whom he’d always admired . . .
- carving as part of the living Nativity
here in this building . . .
- & colourful, intricate birds, wee shoes, lanterns,
butterflies, cradles,
- with intricate - patience and skill.

As with the gift of faith, Dad could see things whole
– real developed before they had actually been formed
or come into being.

HIS FAMILY

Dad was always saying, whenever we gathered:
– It’s so good to have all the family together . . .

He had many corny sayings, really:
- passed down through many Barber generations - 'Barbarisms' . . .

Boy, these cookies really get into your mouth, don’t they?
or
‘That filled a long felt want . . .’
– ‘Now it’s time to move to softer seats . . .’

- after dinner mints - ‘just mint for me . . .’


He was a wonderful Husband, companion & friend to Mary Almas
They knew each other from teen years -
— & really ever, only had eyes for each other.

Even in the recent extremities of his failing health
and limited capacities . . .
he kept saying to Mom: ‘together' . . .

And, indeed for over 62 years they did everything together: -
– they were inseparable
as they will be together again one day --
- as will we all
- in the Bright Country . . .

Father

He was a faithful, steady, a wonderful example
to Beth & Muriel & me
of a godly man, a faithful husband,
. . . a truly Christian father.

A few years ago, he & I took a trip together to England
- to see family ‘holy spots‘ of our origin . . .

- visiting farms, towns, churches and graveyards -
like in Fressingfield, Suffolk -
where from the 1300's at least Barbers have lived
& then been gathered to the Lord.

We bonded in a special way during those days together.

Brother

He was a good brother - caring for his siblings
– leading by example . . .

He was a twin to Frances -
& there were so many uncanny coincidences
(if that’s what they were)
of their often sending each other - without knowing -
the same card or a remarkably similar gift.

Sisters, Dora and Marnie were precious to him
- Dora with the Lord . . .
- Marnie, here today . . .
- wanting to clap (she said yesterday)
- and say, "Good for you: well done !"

- And his brother, Bert - whom he wrote faithfully week after week
through the years his brother and family
were missionaries in Honduras.

Wonderful Grandfather & Great-grandfather
-from his first granddaughter, Becky - 'his little puddin’
- to his great-grand-daughter – Elizabeth
- whom he saw with understanding – but once.


PERSONALITY

More lies are told at funerals than most other places

Dad was human - he had a temper and he had opinions . . .
He could be forthright

- Most people were never in doubt
of what he thought about certain subjects.

But he was a kind man –
a gentle, humble, self-effacing man, really.

He was a MAN OF FAITH

He knew he was a sinner saved by grace . . .
and with faith and conviction he lived it out,
without shame or apology
& his faith resulted in Good Actions & Good Deeds . . .

“Get the Book” - he would say, after supper each night -
& we would have a family reading & devotions
as he’d read a chapter of the old King James Version
& lead us in evening prayer.

What a godly heritage he formed in us !!! . . .

He was a ‘Gideon’ (the Gideon Bible Society)
- for over 35 years .

Thousands of school kids in Burlington
received their New Testaments from Dad . . .
and for many years, he saw to it that Gideon Bibles
were placed in hospitals and motels
throughout this area.

He was an Elder and leader -
at Freeman Gospel Tabernacle (Brant Bible Church),
and then Park Bible Church
and latterly as Elder Emeritus.

He was honoured to help turn the sod for this present building . . .

Dad had so many memories & stories of both churches
– & of this town he knew well.

- You’ll have to ask my Mom now . . .

I found in some papers where he had written. . .

The Desires of My Heart

1. I want to walk with Him

2. That each one my family may know Him in all His fullness

3. I want my work to be done in a way that will honour Him

4. I want my Church to be a place where God’s Word is taught in all
of its power – and a place where I can truly worship Him.

His thoughts were often about heaven . . .
- and we used to discuss and debate it, we family -
(pulling radishes together afternoons
on hot afternoons, in the fields on Maple Avenue,
— now long ago).

He knew so many of the great old hymns & gospel songs -
— all the verses (from the Sankey Hymnal)

Next to his bed in this last year of his long farewell
there was his Bible and his Sankey hymnal -
— not that he needed it: he knew all the words by heart!

In the land of fadeless day
Lies the city foursquare
It shall never pass away
For there is no night there

God shall wipe away all tears
There’s no death, no pain, no fears
And they count not time by years
For there is no night there.

There’s no need of sunlight there
In that city foursquare
For the Lamb is all the light (underlined in the little sheet I have)
In that city four square . . .

He loved the Lord and He so longed to see Him -
whether the Lord came for His Church first
or He was gathered to see Him in Eternity.

II Timothy 4:8 – Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day:
and not to me only, but unto all them also who love his appearing.


Dad loved to plough . . .
I see it now as one of the major themes of his life.

He would talk of old Ned and Dolly - and of Junie -
the horse he raised from a young foal.

He took me once back to the farm
– Harvestor Road, at the top end -
across the tracks from the house on the QEW . . .

There was a tree there then; it’s still there today . . .-

And it’s the tree Dad would look to
as he began to mark out the first straight furrow line
– with horse-team & plough
— keeping his eye fixed, straight.

All his life,
since one day as a boy, coming to faith
at revival meetings in the old Oaklands Park,
Dad kept his eyes fixed on Jesus . . .
– the Author & Finisher of his faith . . .
- from the first furrow till the last.
– firm in faith in Jesus’ finished work on a tree.

Scriptures talk somewhere - giving a maxim and a warning
that: ‘No man who puts his hand to the plough,
and then looks back, is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.’

When he ploughed – Dad told me once –
he would pray . . . . in the rhythm of his walking:
– in furrow, field and acre . . . ‘Lord, make me a good man . . .”

I said to him once recently, reminding him of that –

You know how you prayed that, Dad ?
Well, He did. – God made you a good man.

Good-bye Dad . . .

Thank you for being the man God made you to be
– by His grace and power – a truly good man.

Your life & example - your hand, your humour,
your twinkle & your smile
will never be gone from our memory
– and we so look forward to seeing you again.

Monday After Easter

Today I awake
and God is before me.
At night I dreampt
He summoned the day:
for God never sleeps
but patterns the morning
with slivers of gold
or glory in grey.

Today I arise
and Christ is beside me.
He walked through the dark
to scatter new light.
Yes, Christ is alive
and beckons His people
to hope and to heal,
resist and invite.

Today I affirm
the Spirit within me
at worship and work,
in struggle and rest.
The Spirit inspires
all life which is changing
from fearing to faith,
from broken to blest.

Today I enjoy
the Trinity around me,
above and beneath,
before and behind,
the Maker, the Son,
the Spirit together.
They called me to life
and call me their friend.

- Morning Songs, Iona Community