Olympic Torch Relay Comes to Norfolk County

The Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay Route Community announces in the Simcoe Reformer Wednesday, December 8, 2009, that the Torch Relay comes to Norfolk County on Tuesday, December 22, 2009. This once in a life-time opportunity arrives in Simcoe, in town at 8:58 a.m.. Presentation at Norfolk County Administration Building on stage will be held at 9:14 a.m. 

Tentatively scheduled to take part are: local singer/songwriter Tia McGraff; Ashley Haskett who took part in the Special Olympics in China this past fall; Olympic medallists Megan Timpf  and Margaret McGowan-Hendershaw; Mayor Dennis Travale; the lucky person who wins the Stand On the Podium With the Olympic Torch contest(entry forms available in every issue of the Simcoe Reformer). Oh, AND ME!

I am a past runner in the Olympic Torch Relay when the Olympics took place in Calgary 1988. I carried the torch on December 28, 1987, on Highway #3, west to the very border of Norfolk County, where the McDonald’s is located in Tillsonburg. Although I have misplaced the hat pictured above, I still have the red jacket.

Show your Canadian spirit and pride: support this year’s lucky carriers of the Olympic Torch as they enter Simcoe. Wear something red and white, and line the route in welcoming the Olympic Torch to Norfolk County on Tuesday, December 22, 2009, as it makes a brief stop on the stage located at the Norfolk County Administration Building at aproximately 9:14 a.m.  The Torch arrives in town in Delhi at 10:25 a.m. and in Courtland at 10:57 a.m.

A full Schedule of Activities for the day will be published Tuesday, December 15th, 2009, in the Tuesday Times-Reformer. For more information, please contact Ingrid Zyma-Irvin, Active Living Co-ordinator at 519-426-8866, X 2303 or email her at ingrid.zyma-irvin@norfolkcounty.ca.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This is the group photo that was taken in the early afternoon of December 28, 1987. These boys were athletes who were asked to participate, to run 5 kilometres each. I know that either the boy on my left or right was named Chris Clarke, and the boy on the far right of me was Mike Miller. They signed the back of my envelop with my Certificate in it. Other names written there include Ron Taylor and Amie Chong. I can’t make out the others. I was 22.

Here I am carrying the Torch on Highway #3, December 28, 1987, a day that I still remember just like it was yesterday. I could barely see down the roadway because hundreds of people had turned out to line the road and cheer us on. An OPP detachment lead the way, through almost 3 feet of snow which began falling at about noon that day, and believe it or not, a huge bus is following behind me. The woman running beside me is a “safety monitor”, who has to run beside the Torch, making sure I don’t drop it or catch myself on fire! The hats were coated with esbestos or some kind of flame retardent chemical. The Torch itself was very top-heavy and full of a thick, fluid oil. Passing the Torch to the next person was done very carefully, and it was one of the special moments that I have never forgotton.

The first picture of this blog was actually taken the next day in the morning, December 29, 1987. I kept my Official Olympic Torch Relay Certificate framed on my wall with these little pictures jammed in it for 20 years. One day the kids were playing and it fell, and the glass broke. So I put it in my career portfolio with the pictures and the letter. There are also photos of myself and other local participants in the Bay Fest Parade in the summer of 1988. One of those participants is Tara Runge, daughter of Dennis Runge, who lived in Long Point at the time. She also ran on December 28, 1987. They have since moved, so Tara, if you happen to be reading this within the next 12 days, please contact Ingrid so you can be on stage in Simcoe with me December 22, 2009.