Eldridgeville Social Page

"What Our Men Are Doing"

Residents have probably noticed that the front porch of Eldridgeville General Store has been a beehive of activity the past two weeks. Several community men have replaced the post of the porch, propped up the overhang and replaced some of the floor boards. A fresh coat of paint will soon have the porch looking as good as new.  A suggestion was made by Walter to build two benches and two planters for the porch, one set to be placed on each side of the door. Everyone was excited about the idea and in the excitement formed a new social group "Men's Bench" which is a spinoff of the Men's Shed Movement. It is based on a simple mandate "For the Betterment of Our Community".

What newcomers to Eldridgeville may not know is that Mr. Eldridge, owner and operator of the General Store is a direct descendent of the founders of Eldridgeville. Mr. Eldridge recently celebrated his 85th birthday and has no intention of slowing down or selling his business. He was touched by the efforts of the Men's Bench to fix his post and porch.

Fergus suggested a plaque be installed on one of the benches as a dedication to Cora Johnson. That was quickly voted down although all the men acknowledged that Cora's mishap has been the greatest community spirit builder in decades. If you are reading this column Cora, thank you!

Men's Golf League will begin next week, weather permitting. Retirees will tee off at 9:30 each Thursday morning and the younger working men will tee off at 5:30 p.m. Both groups are welcome at the clubhouse for refreshments after the second group finishes.

The men of Eldridgeville have been invited to play darts on Wednesday nights over at Stewart Hill. It is a drop-in game starting at 7:30 p.m. There has been some talk that the Men's Bench could install dart boards and build cases  for them in the community centre next fall. This could possibly lead to tournaments with Stewart Hill and other communities in the future.

The horseshoe pitches are open and running. We are testing the waters for a summer league and would invite volunteers to come forward if they would like to have an organized league.

Speaking of waters, The Kids Fishing Derby will take place Saturday May 10 at 9 a.m. The pond behind Eldridgeville General Store has been stocked with fish. Admission is $2 for men, free for kids. The admission proceeds will be used for prize money for the child with the longest fish caught and another prize for the heaviest fish caught. This will give Dads and sons something to do while mothers and daughters are at their fancy Social Tea.

Residents are invited to contact the Gazette editor if you have something to add to Eldridgeville social news or if you have an upcoming event.