RALU News – Volume 6 Number 1 November 2013

RALU News – Volume 6 Number 1

November 2013

RALU news

The Retirees’ Association of Lakehead

University (RALU) was formed in 2007 to give a unified voice to retirees, their spouses or partners; to provide social and creative interaction and debate; to be a forum for discussion of matters of common interest; to provide contact with similar associations, monitoring retiree activity; to pursue benefits and considerations from the University that match the best practices of other institutions.

IN THIS ISSUE:

President’s Message

Did You Know?

Member’s Articles

Upcoming Events CURAC report Our Thunderwolves Humour Hub

There are eight meetings of the full membership per year; September (AGM) to April. A field trip is organized in the Fall.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

RALU President's Report – 2013

Welcome to our new season. As with all organizations, summer is a quiet time for RALU, but we are now getting into gear for

Executive Committee:

President: Dave Kemp

an interesting fall/winter season.

The

Program Committee has put together a series of talks that over the next few months will introduce us to safe driving for seniors, aspects of genealogy, teaching in
Vice President: Clem Kent Secretary: Beverley Stefureak Treasurer: Bonny Wigmore

China, and more.

If any of you have

suggestions for future presentations please let me know. All of the presentations will take place at the 55+ Centre on River Street.
Past President (ex officio): Brian Phillips

Communications Committee: Kathy

Crewdson, Walter Momot, Margot Ponder, Ian Dew
We continue to keep in touch with other

retirees’ organizations through CURAC.

Earlier in the year, with the financial

support of the Emeritus Professors’

Committee of LUFA, Brian Phillips attended

its annual conference in St John’s,

Newfoundland. His report can be found elsewhere in this newsletter.

Program Committee: Ernie Epp,

Jenny Phillips, Jim Stafford

Home page: http://ralu.la/

One issue that has been around for several years now, and is still outstanding,

1

November 2013

involves pensions. As most of you will know, RALU has been working through the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to deal with concerns over the

university’s handling of our pension plan. RALU’s Pension and Benefits Committee

has worked hard over the last several years to deal with this and we hope that the issue is now close to resolution. At the moment we are still waiting to hear from FSCO. As soon as we do I will let you know what has transpired.
The flowers are frozen, and the bees are

nowhere to be seen.

They are now

confined to and clustered in their abodes for the next five months. Actually, the whole summer has been a preparation for the coming winter. Our honeybees here in northern Ontario evolved most recently in Europe, where the colony must survive a long winter or perish. The strategy for survival necessitates storing enough nectar and pollen to keep themselves alive until the days begin to lengthen and rearing of the young begins, as early as January. The colony population increases more quickly once pollen and nectar are available from pussy willows, alder, fruit trees and dandelions. Gathering the
As always, if you have any comments or

suggestions on RALU’s activities, I would

be happy to hear from you. Dave Kemp

Your tongue is the fastest healing part of your body

You burn more calories sleeping that watching TV

A Crowded Hive Will Swarm

You begin to feel thirsty when your body loses 1% of water nectar and pollen by the bees involves a

complex system of gathering information
The human body contains 96,000 km of

blood vessels

and

communication

and

cooperation

among the 80,000 members of the summer bee hive. Tasks in the colony are usually performed by bees based on their age. First they are hive cleaners (but unlike humans who are 74 years old and still cleaning their abode, bees are promoted), then they become nurse bees feeding the young larvae pollen and

MEMBER’S ARTICLES

Honeybees and Winter

secreted brood food.

Later they are

involved in comb construction, secreting beeswax and turning it into those beautiful combs with hexagonal cells for storing honey and pollen, with areas also used for rearing brood. One of the last tasks is guarding the hive, stinging intruders such as honey collecting robber bees, bears and

Beehives Buried in Snow
2

November 2013

beekeepers, as well as bee- eating

Bees that emerged in the fall, and didn’t

have to raise babies will live for the whole winter, unlike their hardworking summer sisters who only live about 35 days. The queen honeybee actually begins laying eggs in the honeycomb in the center of the clustered bees of the hive in January, even

hornets and skunks.

Foraging usually

doesn’t begin until a bee is about 21 days

of age, although there is some plasticity in the performance of the various tasks depending on the needs of the colony. Foragers first need to locate a source of

nectar and or pollen.

If they find a

if it is thirty below zero outside.

The

particularly rich productive patch of flowers, they will communicate information regarding the source to their hive mates, by performing a dance indicating both the direction and distance to the location of the find. middle of the cluster will be about 93 degrees Fahrenheit, and the increasing day length stimulates the colony to begin

brood rearing.

The colder it gets, the

tighter the bees cluster. Of course, the bees are only able to maintain such a temperature if there is sufficient honey available for fuel to keep them warm, and if there are enough bees in the colony to cuddle together in a ball and generate sufficient heat. Pollen is also necessary as soon as those eggs hatch, so it behooves the colony to have some stored pollen inside the hive, as there is none available

to

the

bees

outside

at

winter

temperatures. Larvae require both nectar and pollen, and as the colony increases in

Harvesting a Beautiful Honeycomb

size, more stores will be required.

A

In addition, they may give interested bees a taste of the nectar they have gathered,

and a whiff of the of the flower’s fragrance.

Many bees will follow the dancer, and be directed to the source, and in turn perform a dance when they return to the hive with colony without sufficient stores in the fall, about 85 pounds of honey, with pollen as well, will likely perish before flowers bloom and nectar is again available in the spring. Lack of pollen will result in the bees using stores from their own bodies to secrete the royal jelly needed for the queen, and the

their bounty.

It doesn’t take long for

thousands of bees to start working a lucrative area for its honey and pollen. Years ago, clover fields in bloom were a fine source of forage for honeybees, but now farmers cut it before it blooms in order to preserve the protein content of the hay for the cattle, so one of the best plants for honey and pollen is no longer available to the bees. July used to be the best month for honey production. That is

no longer the case because of “cut before bloom” regarding the clover and alfalfa.

Bees are more dependent than ever on weeds such as dandelions, goldenrod and asters growing on their own in the wild. brood food for the larvae. winter temperature occasionally rises to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the bees may take a whirl around the bee yard.
When the
Even in
January, with snow on the ground, bees will take these cleansing flights. Some will perish in the snow, but they will soon be replaced by young bees emerging in the center of the cluster. Our summer in the Thunder Bay area was not ideal for honey bees this year. July was extremely wet and cold, and it is usually a time when bees gather much of the honey for the year. Another problem our local bees are dealing with for the first

3

November 2013

time is the mite Varroa destructor. It is a very small external parasite of the honeybee, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. For 25 years roundup on the genetically modified crops. Roundup is sprayed on these genetically

modified roundup-resistant crops.

All

other non-resistant-plants in the field and surrounding the field are killed, resulting in a lack of both nectar and pollen for the bees. That is the current plight of the

bees:

poor weather and herbicides

resulting in lack of winter stores, parasites to weaken them, and poisonous pesticides affecting the winter survival of colonies. Canada lost 30% of its bees last winter. It is scary, as one third of the food we eat is dependent on pollination by

Queen bee with workers

honeybees. ever increasing, we need to guard the health of every bee.
With the world population concerned local beekeepers successfully

kept our Thunder Bay District free of that parasite, but last year some uninformed person foolishly imported infested bees to our area. Before they were discovered, the mite had spread to 200 colonies in the Slate River area.
Jeanette Momot

Thailand, Our Second Home

The mites suck the blood of the bees. Varroa mites in a hive will shorten the lives of the bees, damage their immune systems (making them susceptible to other diseases), and possibly infect them with viruses. This parasite, together with our lack of a good summer, resulted in a very limited amount of honey and pollen the colonies were able to gather this year. Colonies did not thrive and increase in size as they usually do over a summer. In addition, the new neonicotinoid pesticides being used as seed treatments including corn, soybeans and canola to control pests of those crops, causes the whole plant to become toxic and therefore produce nectar and pollen with sublethal effects on bees, as well as butterflies and other pollinators. Lethal effects on bee colonies from the neonicotinoid contaminated dust generated at planting time have also been reported by many beekeepers. Europe has recently enacted a temporary ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides because of these problems. In addition, there is a lack of

forage in the form of weeds on today’s

farms, because of the use of the herbicide
We first went to Malaysia in 1960 (Malaya as it was then) to teach in the British Army Schools during the communist insurgency. This was a very large-scale, violent and bloody affair much like the Vietnam situation and the principal victims were civilians. This was an alternative to military service. The Army garrison near us while we were in Kuala Lumpur was primarily that of the 17th Gurkha Rifles. The Gurkhas were among the most honourable and likeable people we have ever met. While there we were able, to a limited extent, to travel around Asia and became greatly interested in the various cultures. Travel within Malaya, except for the main north-south road and the western areas, was restricted because of insurgent activity. Later, after a 2-year stint of postdoctoral work in Britain, I was

offered an appointment at

a

Thai

University (The University of Medical Sciences, now Mahidol University) in the mid-1960s and we leapt at the chance to return to Asia. We worked in Thailand (Bangkok) for several years in the 1960s

4

November 2013

and again in the early1970s (on sabbatical from LU) and we made lifelong Thai friends. We were also able to explore a vibrant and unique culture.
Thunder Bay for our remaining time there but they were never really satisfactory. We still wished, post-retirement, to resume our visits to Thailand for much longer periods but we needed to be sure that physiotherapy facilities would be available. One of our Thai friends found a truly excellent clinic for Barbara and she used it whenever we visited Bangkok.

Classical-style pavilion on the lake at the Bang-Pa In Summer Palace

Upon coming to Canada and LU in 1968 with a young family and university responsibilities, our visits to Thailand could only be sporadic and short-term (except for a sabbatical) although we kept up our Thai friendships and a lively interest in Thai culture. Incidentally, Thailand was the only country in SE Asia never colonised by European powers and attitudes towards foreigners are generally somewhat different from those in neighbouring countries. One is judged more on one's personal qualities rather than the colour of one's skin or national origin. One can easily feel at home there as indeed we do.

Pagodas in Ayuthaya Historical Park

After we moved to Qualicum Beach in 1999, we were able to continue her program here and in Bangkok. Initially, we were able to explore the cultural treasures of the country (and of neighbouring countries such as Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Bali in Indonesia, Brunei, India, etc.) extensively and this continued until about six years ago when Barbara's condition deteriorated to the point that the physiotherapy program (at a new clinic much closer to our wonderful hotel) became a major focus of our visits while still being able to spend time with our friends and enjoying the more local culture. Just as Thunder Bay has winter snow and blizzards, so coastal BC has frequent heavy rain and high winds. Thus, we go to Bangkok for several months during the period of inclement BC weather and at the time it is the cool(!), dry season there.

Traditional teak house at the Suan
Pakkad Palace in Bangkok

Two years before I retired from LU in 1996, Barbara had a stroke, long-term treatment of which required an ongoing program of physiotherapy. She was able to use the rather limited facilities in

5

November 2013

show of the various planes on the display line, which will include the Spitfire, P40, Tomahawk, Corsair, Avenger and Hell Diver. Please come and join us for this presentation, coffee and conversation.

Everyone is welcome and the Centre is handicap accessible. Small tours can be arranged by appointment. Please call 807 623 3522, or email [email protected] for details.

Royal barge on the Chao Phya River

Alan Hughes

Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre (NOAHC) Open House

Editor’s note: Thanks to Jeanette and

Alan for their articles. All submissions would be welcome!
Please come and join us for coffee and conversation about aviation. Sundays 1 to 4 p.m.

Everyone is welcome.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday 19 November 12:30 pm. Lumina Series
2014
McNulty Recital Hall, Music and Visual Arts Building, Thunder Bay campus.

Parking in the lot at the side (Security does not ticket for the duration of the concert). Tickets at the door $15 regular and $10 for students.

Mid Winter Bash.

More details to follow. Refreshments available. Annual Midwinter Tea and Buzz. For more information [email protected]

Everett Hopfner piano http://music.lakeheadu.ca/events/?display =events&eventid=197

CURAC REPORT 2013
Thursday 28 November, 7 pm. Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre (NOAHC) Special Event

Note new location, 430 Waterloo Street South (Facing the DaVinci parking lot), Thunder Bay.

Wayne Pettit will be showing a DVD video of the 2012 Hamilton Air show. It will include some of the vintage planes on display, and the fly-by of the Harvard, Lancaster, B29, B25, Catalina, and DC-3. If time permits he will also present a slide
In reporting on the CURAC meeting one could follow the more traditional approach of summarizing the sessions and events. We were greatly entertained by a well known Newfie storyteller; we were scared

6

November 2013

witless by a paper presented on 'elder abuse' in Canada; I was able to talk with the CURAC Pension Committee chair about the LU Pension Amendments recently deemed illegal by the OFSC and responded to by LU with the hiring of a lawyer to contest the issue; I did attend an illuminating small group discussion on Retiree Benefits. memoranda of agreement with their Retirees Association, that maintain a database of retiree skills that can be called upon, that subsidize their health care and maintain a plan parallel with active faculty, that provide space on campus for a continuing presence of Retirees, that invite their Retirees to their major functions, that encourage Retirees to participate and use the fitness and recreational facilities on campus and formally and annually recognize the special successes of their Retirees in the third phase of their lives. There are colleges and universities in Canada that head their administrative memoranda "To all administrators, staff, faculty, students and retirees". How wonderfully inclusive that is for all those who are and have been part of those institutions.
However, my report focuses instead on what I was feeling and thinking as I journeyed home from the meeting, and reads as follows :-

I returned, as a delegate, from the 2013 annual meeting of the Colleges and

Universities

Retirees

Associations

of

Canada

(CURAC)

in

St.

John's,

and

Newfoundland,

both

saddened

encouraged. Though the sessions naturally tend to focus on matters of pensions, health issues and insurance, ample opportunity is given for the exchange of experiences between delegates from across Canada.
In Canada, universities and colleges have a fair degree of autonomy and each develops a different culture, personality and focus of excellence. Yet they are not isolated from scrutiny and comparison, and it is organizations like CURAC that provide the forum for a national overview of how the Retirees of its colleges and universities are faring and how they are configured within the ongoing activities of their former institutions. The national scale scenario reveals unfortunate differences from institution to institution, one wonders why.
It is uplifting to hear that there are institution administrations that place high value on their Retirees, recognizing first that these older people, with a now old fashioned work ethic, built the very institutions they have inherited and now administer. A local Retirees Association comprised of former administrators, staff,

librarians, technicians

and faculty is a

remarkable resource of talents, skills and experience, and very likely predisposed to desire the continuing success of the institution in which they spent their energies, often over many years of service. True, they are now grey haired and possibly less spritely, but as older persons know, the body seems to admit to
Is a former administrator, staff member, librarian or academic of one institution of greater worth or more deserving of fair play and respect than one from another institution? How is it that Retirees figure on the administrative and academic agendas of one institution yet perhaps seldom, if ever, in another? How reasonable is it that those who worked within the Canadian university system should find themselves in widely different circumstances due only to the corporate ageing well before the brain loses its

sharpness.

There are institutions that have signed

7

November 2013

personalities of the specific institutions in

playing last season with Lake Superior

State of the NCAA. Joining Jeff Bosch in goal will be Justin McDonald who hails from Saskatchewan. He played in the Saskatchewan Hockey League and last season posted a win-loss record of 27-13 for the Manitoba Blizzards of the MJHL. Other newcomers include Adam Restoule,

which they worked?

And so I return

saddened, yet also encouraged in the knowledge of what could be.