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www.celtic-connection.com
DECEMBER 1999/JANUARY 2000
BILLIE-JO and Sean Minagh at their wedding reception at the Burnaby Rugby Club.
Best Wishes to Sean and Billie-Jo
VANCOUVER — On November 6, at St.Patrick's Catholic Church, family, friends and members of the Vancouver men and women's Gaelic football and soccer teams were on hand to witness the marriage of popular fellow players Sean Minagh and Billie-Jo Billings.
Sean is originally from County Cavan in Ireland. He is a very popular football and soccer player in the Irish community, having won several most valuable player awards in various tournaments. Billie-Jo is also a soccer player on the Vancouver women's team.
The wedding was followed by a reception at the Burnaby Rugby Club. Catherine Flynn and Keri Piggot-Duggan of the Moore School of Irish Dance paid a surprise visit to the reception and provided an exhibition of Irish dancing for the appreciative bride, groom and guests.
— Catholine Butler
CATHERINE Flynn and Kaia Piggott-Duggan who danced at Sean and Billie-Jo Minagh's wedding.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Fond Memories of Joseph Locke
Dear Editor:
Your November article on the passing of a great Irish tenor and character, Joseph Locke brought back many wonderful memories to this old aging mind.
I knew Joseph when he owned a hotel in Listowel, County Kerry. He was so good and kind to us commercial travellers (salesmen)^ Very often in evening time, he would call for a round for "the boys."
He once owned a rental office building in Dublin and on one occassion, he kicked out a tenant "Biddy Brewster's Dating Service," as he claimed she was running a bawdy house.
I knew Rose Tynan when she sang with the Joe Loss Band in the Arcadia Ballroom in Bray. Dear Editor, where have the years gone? I dearlv recommend that vou and your readers rent the old video movie Hear'My Song. It is a very funny movie about Joseph.
Goodbve Joe.
Yours sincerely.
Gerry Croke Vancouver. B.C.
A SAD FAREWELL TO A MIGHTY MAN
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
Sam (Sherman) McKale was a mighty man both in stature and heart. Born into an Irish community at Venosta, Quebec in the Gatineau Hills, he later moved to Alberta, finally settling in Rich Valley where he took to the western way of life like a duck to water.
Sam's smiling face and fun-loving sense of humour, big cowboy boots, western belt and different baseball cap for each day, soon became his trademark. He was a carpenter, painter, mechanic, sandblaster and rice farmer, to name a few of his talents. But, the job he loved best was driving his big rig with his coffee mug close by.
He was also a very spiritual man who lived with his faith daily and he truly loved his wife and family. He was also a great friend to his many friends.
On November 25, Rich Valley became a little poorer with Sam McKale's passing at the age of 55. He leaves his loving family to cherish his memory: wife Linda and three daughters Rachel (Chris) Taron of Vegreville, Alberta; Roberta McKale of Camrose, Alberta; and Shawna (Brett) Sinden of Prince Rubert, British Columbia. And, three grandchildren: Chenoa, McKale and Dawson Taron.
Sam was from a family of 21 children and at his funeral mass on November 29, 18 brother and sisters attended from all across Canada. They were: Raymond, Theresa, Edsel, Verna, Alvin, Alic, Kay, Orvil, Berneice, Elmer, Marie, Bernadette, Dorothy, Jean, Arleen, Homer, Rene, Edna and their families, along with numerous other relatives and friends. He was predeceased by his parents Emilda and Anthony McKale and one brother Gerald McKale.
Sam was very involved in the community of Rich Valley and after the Mass of Christian Burial attended by an overflow capacity at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Barrhead, the whole congregation was invited to the Rich Valley Community Hall for lunch before continuing on to St. Albert Holy Cross Cemetery for the burial.
SAM (SHERMAN) MCKALE
After driving for over two hours with no sign of Rich Valley on the horizon, I pulled into a gas station to ask for directions. The gas attendant asked me, "Where are you driving from?" I replied "Edmonton." He said, "Well, if you keep driving on this road, you're on you're way to Alaska."
When I finally arrived at the McKale's and told Sam what had happened, he couldn't stop laughing. He said, "You know where you should live?" I said, "No, where?" He said, "In the Territories, where there's only one road in and one road out!"
After I moved to Vancouver, he used to refer to me as "the Old Sea Hag," and I would call him "the Old Prairie Dog."
Along with Sam's family, the community of Rich Valley, the Old Sea Hag said goodbye to Sam McKale and we all know that we have lost a unique friend but one who will not be forgotten. He has left us all with such a good example of what life is all about and how to live it to the fullest.
At his funeral, many people from all walks of life spoke of Sam's many acts of kindness and the help he had extended with no fanfare or thought of repayment. He was also a very active volunteer at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Centre in Gunn, Alberta.
Sam McKale was my brother-in-law and we often exchanged good-natured banter and laughs. One of his biggest laughs at me happened when I was living in Edmonton. I had been invited to my sister Linda and Sam's house for dinner. Sam had given me directions to Rich Valley and told me that the drive shouldn't take more than an hour and a half.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness,
joy-
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so
much to seek to be consoled
as to console;
To be understood as to
understand;
to be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we
receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
LINDA McKALE (centre) is pictured with the 18 McKale brothers and sisters who attended Sam's funeral in Rich Valley, Alberta. They are: Raymond, Theresa, Edsel, Verna, Alvin, Alic, Kay, Orvil, Berneice, Elmer, Marie, Bernadette, Dorothy, Jean, Arleen, Homer, Rene and Edna