FEBRUARY 2021 A Voice of Riverview Park MARCH 2021 Trail enjoyment will live on with Riverview Park community effort by Ron Ridley hat started as a holiday idea to cheer up a small Wsection of a local trail in the woods, ended up becoming an entire community effort, bringing Christmas joy to so many. Back in November Carleen and I came up with the idea of decorat- “Shhhh, Trinity ing a section of the wooded path. Community Then on December 1st we hung 25 gold ornaments on the path in the Garden is in woods between Cluny St. and the a deep winter east end of Knox parallel to the hy- slumber dro corridor. A few days later, our neighbours, by Rhonda Turner the Herdman family, added 25 red But, it won’t be long until ornaments bringing the total to 50. gardeners will be planning The number of ornaments grew, their garden plots with what to forming quite an eclectic mix from grow, where and how much. bright glass bulbs, shiny plastic Many are already ordering ones, antique ones, child made their seeds. Remember the ones, wooden ones and some rush on all things garden last candy canes. Nanci Burns even year? With the continuation made some dog/bone shaped ones of Covid-19 the interest in gar- named after some of the local pups dening will probably be as big that use the path regularly. Two sisters, Piper (7) and Livia (8), enjoy spending time in the hydro as ever for 2021. Sadly, on December 12th, some- corridor among the ornaments with cute pets, Myla, the Ridley’s seven This year, be prepared and one (or some naughty squirrel) year old red-coated dog and their own six month old pup, Jersey. PHOTO: order your seeds early. And broke some of the ornaments. The CARLEEN RIDLEY although it may be several community response to this unfortu- months before gardening ac- nate event was amazing. The orna- The decorated path brought and would like to donate them to the tually begins, gardeners are ment count quickly became 120 and joy to many, from young children path, they can be dropped off at 186 anxious to put shovels to the continued to grow right up until Jan to seniors, with numerous peo- Cluny St. We plan to put all the or- ground as soon as the warmer 18th when they were taken down ple expressing how the ornament naments back up on December 1st. weather permits. and stored for next holiday season. decorated path brought solitude, To brighten up the path on a lon- We can’t wait until we can get We had originally planned to peace, stress relief and enjoyment, ger-term basis, we are welcoming back into the garden to grow take the ornaments down on Jan- especially in this socially distanced families to make, install and main- produce for ourselves and for uary 4th, but there were so many Covid time. tain bird feeders. There are six donations to Blair Court Com- requests to keep them up the date If you have any extra ornaments CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 munity House Food Bank. was extended until January 18th. You will find more information On that day we took down 193 or- about the Trinity Community Can we do something related to covid?Read David Knockaert’s view of City of Ottawa’s naments and plan to repair those Garden in the next issue of the Draft Official Plan, taking in future regeneration that are repairable and store them Riverview Park Review. We are open during the lockdown curbside only Byof appointmentRiverview Park. And Page recomndation 28 to stay safe until next season. And mentioning gold buying as well Open during the Covid lockdown Curbside Pick Up and Appointment Only We are buying gold, silver and jewellery at the best possible price 613-680-8883 13-2651 Alta Vista Dr. www.nouras.ca Located in Vista Plaza – Bank at Alta Vista Page 2 Riverview Park Review February-March 2021 Trail CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 colourful eclectic bird feeders hung there now. Kathy Rowe and her group of children recently decorated the path with very colourful hearts for Valentine’s Day. Well done! Shortly we will be soliciting names for the forest paths (likely a unique name for each of the three sections). Watch for the request on the community Facebook pages [Riverview Park, Elmvale Acres and Alta Vista (Ottawa) Neigh- bourhood, Friends of the Alta Vista Greenspace, and RPCA]. A lone walker gets exercise while practicing ‘social distancing’ during a corridor hike. PHOTO: GREG MONEY Ron Ridley got a head start on cre- ating the first of a number of bird feeders contributed by community residents for the corridor. PHOTO: Jennifer Blattman snapped some wonderful shots in the corridor. MANON HERDMAN Wanted The Riverview Park Review needs a Volunteer Distribution Manager Publication/Deliveries are the first week of February, April, June, October and December. For further information and/or to apply: [email protected] * cool van not included February-March 2021 www.RiverviewParkReview.ca Page 3 Scarlet fever saved my life! Now COVID-19 threatens by Bill Fairbairn scampering around the floor, but ne morning, when I was nobody would believe me. I guess a boy aged nine living in they thought I was delusional. Omy Scottish home town Like today's elders in many in- of Hawick during World War II, fectious COVID-19 virus-struck I woke up with a sore throat. My long term care homes in Canada, I mother had me gargle and stay in saw visitors through only a window bed rather than go to school. Next to guard against passing on my day I developed a red rash that re- diphtheria. I remember my oldest sulted in her summoning the doctor. sister Irene, in her Auxiliary Terri- Dr. Haddon came to my bedside, torial Service (ATS) khaki uniform, immediately diagnosed scarlet fe- visiting me and at her third attempt ver and had me sent to the fever successfully throwing a chocolate hospital located in a rural area out bar to me through the big window of town. A mild epidemic of scar- open narrowly at the top. let fever had broken out. I was put to bed in a large ward with at least Keeping our distance 12 boys suffering from scarlet fever My other aid to recovery was when yet flitting around flying paper air- I was transferred to a smallish room planes. One paper plane landed on next door to that of a girl my own my pillow. I had no appetite for fun age recovering from diphtheria even though I knew a few of the with measles. Nurses found it hard other boys as school pals. to keep the two of us meters apart In the wee hours of the morn- exclaiming I would get measles and ing, Dr. Haddon, with antibiotic she scarlet fever. penicillin and a syringe in his bag, What followed at home was four was called to the hospital. My par- weeks off school and another two ents were at my bedside too. I was weeks of half-day school. It was win- having a nightmare struggling with ter and I enjoyed tobogganing on the my breath and likely to die, not of sidewalk outside the house and was the scourge of COVID-19 now kill- told I had nearly hit Dr. Haddon on ing so many in Canada, but die of one of his visits. I missed the intro- diphtheria. Complicating this was duction at school of algebra and ge- the scarlet fever that had sent me ometry. My teacher, who was handy to hospital. A quinsy throat with with the belt, laid off me when I was infection behind the tonsil com- possibly misbehaving and deserved plicated things even more. I had punishment. The funny thing is that not been fully immunized against today, at aged 85, it's not what I for- diphtheria. Only one jab and not get about the early years of cost-free the necessary two. Today I believe government health care in my na- I caught the disease delivering local tive land it's what I remember. newspapers in damp tenements. Vaccination against the Was I lucky! COVID-19 virus is today being I still recall barely holding on administered free all over Canada until by magic the penicillin did and in much of the world. Diseases its work and let me breathe. How almost driven under by similar vac- lucky I was that scarlet fever had cination in the past include diph- sent me to immediate care in a good drug during that awful war? How live again in peace. theria, polio, influenza, measles, hospital. How fortunate, too, that many legs and arms of wounded My recovery from diphtheria chickenpox, mumps, smallpox, penicillin, first developed in Scot- WWII soldiers were saved from kept me five weeks in hospital. I tetanus and more. We're at a cross- land by Dr. Alexander Fleming, amputation through treatment with had been quickly moved out of the roads with the current virus. came to my rescue. How many mil- penicillin? No one knows. But it busy welcoming ward to another I honestly confidently await my itary lives in how many countries can certainly be said that penicil- big ward as its solitary patient. In COVID-19 virus jabs. What about were being saved by that antibiotic lin saved fighting heroes survive to my lonely days, I spotted field mice you? Monday to Saturday 10:00am to 6:00pm curbside Sunday pickup 11:00am to 5:00pm Home of the in Ottawa 197 Trainyards Dr.