THANKS: Thanksgiving Day Weekend Holds Special Meaning for SABRFC

members    14th October 2009

Jessie Matiaszuk, Ben McHugh and their families will  join the many  other Rugby Club members for whom the Thanksgiving weekend holds special meaning. In a beautiful ceremony, lit by a bright sun shining through glorious stained glass windows at St. Ignatius de Loyola, they were married before family and friends.

As with many other Rugby club  weddings ( Dowling, Dudley, Jamieson,) the catering services were provided by Ste-Anne's Club members. By all accounts, the cocktail party after the ceremony was  a great success. Many familiar faces were there including Trish Jaworski and Jess Young. The food was plentiful, and of course the  Rugby club's specialty - the bar ...never ran dry.

       

Later, after the ceremonies, and as tradition dictates, the Thompsons, minus Grinch Lawton  ( "there is so much to do at this time of year" ), headed north to  honour the memory of their father, Bryan, with a hike in the autumn colours. In this case the group, which included Florence and Matthews walked to Back Lake and thence to the mountain top near the museums of Ralph Silverstone. These museums are where  the club shovels snow from the roofs, a tradition for over 20 years.

       

On Sunday 10th October Dr. Dudley showed off his surgical skills by carving a festive
turkey at his and Marge's spacious home on Aylmer Avenue in the McGill ghetto. Even with his now reduced playing time due to a hectic work schedule Dudley still manages to work hard for the future of our  Rugby Club. At the dinner he stood and announced his latest initiative: He and Marge will soon be the proud parents of a second prospective Ste-Anne's Rugby player: Our congratulations.

          

On Monday, 11th October, a full squad of Ste-Anne's players showed up for a spirited game of  touch at Mcewen field. The game was followed by what has become another annual tradition: The Club Thanksgiving dinner which usually draws a good  crowd of Rugby players as well as students who can't make it home for  the thanksgiving holiday. This year there were attendees from California, Venezuela, Boston, China, South Africa and Vancouver.

Macintosh and  Leroux provided two perfectly cooked turkeys, while Savanna Leroux 
picked and transported to the dinner a few dozen of the best seed farm corn yet picked. We had a moment of silence for Chain, a  homeless man who lived in the woods beside the Rugby field one summer. He disappeared after attending the Thanksgiving Day dinner that year and we still hope that he is alive and well somewhere.

Please remember that next Saturday 17th October that there will be some great Rugby at the McEwen pitch as part of the Macdonald College Homecoming ceremonies at 3:00 pm or earlier. Many of you may wonder why the Club's Fall series is so closely tied to the College with games and practices being held there. Well, SABRFC began as the Macdonald College Rugby Club, which later became the Ste-Anne's Rugby Club in 1980 and later moved to Ecole  St-Georges. Now with the College Club back in action in its own right,  the Fall series allows us to return to our roots and extend the season.

Younger players like Cameron, Brad, Mitchell and others are particularly encouraged to fill out the Mac side, while all Rugby  players ( as well as interested people who may want to trey out the Game), are encouraged to show up for practices and matches. The next one will be held next Saturday. It promises to be a great day and copies of  the Rugby love story  SWEEP will be available at the Macdonald bookstore, with proceeds split between the author (proceeds to the Rugby Club) and  Mac Rugby (with proceeds 
going to Mac Rugby.)