The author of the upcoming Valley East history
book told The Vision that a draft of the cover of the book will be
available for Valley East Days and that the final sorting of over 2,000
photographs for the upcoming 2002 book is now underway. "We have an
excellent selection of historic pictures thanks to a hard working group
of volunteers," Wayne LeBelle of Field said.
"I will sort those photographs to have as
many individuals, families and businesses that provided pictures
represented in this first history book of all Valley communities. People
will be amazed by the variety of photos collected and scanned for
permanent archives of Valley history. There are also some great stories
about the Valley that will keep people entertained for years," he
said.
Area residents can get a sneak peek at that
history book's cover at the Valley East Days where advance orders will
be taken. There will only be 3,000 copies of this limited edition
printed according to organizers of the Valley East Heritage Committee so
interested people are encouraged to purchase their book in advance now
so they are guaranteed a book when it is published. It is expected most
will sell in advance however those wishing to wait for the book to come
out may leave their name and phone number with the Heritage Group at
Valley East Days. They will
be called if any books are left over.
"A lot of credit goes to Research Chair
Ron Mrochek and his committee for all the work done so far on this book.
Our deadline for photographs was extended several times and the groups
came through with many interesting stories and photos," LeBelle
said.
Volunteer area chairs included Leo Burns who
covered sports; Agathe Dube for Hanmer; Lois Simard for Blezard Valley;
Fern Gascon, Capreol Township and Clothilde Baelde for Wisner and Bowell
townships. Other volunteers served on the many area committees including
Heritage Committee Chair Claudette Lahti-Ouwens and director Gerry Pope.
The Heritage Committee is aiming for release of
the history book in mid-2002 when area celebrations get underway with
the Blezard Valley Roman Catholic Church celebrating its 100th
anniversary. The book is expected to have over 232 pages with over 800
historic black and white photographs and stories of the Valley
communities.
Over the winter months, the volunteers will
continue their work reviewing proofs of the book as the author puts
together the many pictures with histories collected by Valley East
residents.
"Right now, the whole thing is one big
jigsaw puzzle and I have to put the pieces together," the author
said.