By Waldo Redekop – Ontario District Historian
Some events that were scheduled according to the 1965 Ontario District Directory were as follows.
- The OntaFame Show in the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto on February 21, 1965.
- The Spring Convention in Stratford on April 9-11, 1965. It was called “Festival of Harmony Convention”.
- The 27th International Society Convention in Boston, Mass., on June 23-27, 1965.
- On August 20-22 the Ontario District held an International H.E.P. School at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
- On October 29-31 the Ontario District Fall Convention was hosted by the Burlington Chapter at the Royal Connaught Hotel in Hamilton.
- An advance notice that the Ontario District Mid-Winter and Chapter Officers Training School was going to be held January 14-15, 1966 in Owen Sound, Ontario. Sure was nice when they shortened this name to C.O.T.S. Of course, the Society couldn’t leave it as such but that is a story for another day.
There were 32 chapters listed in the 1965 directory. More details next month. Ontario District had 1313 members. The Society had 30,022 members in 685 chapters as of December 31, 1964. The previous year Ontario had 1176 members, the Society had 30,041 members in 689 chapters as of December 31, 1963. For those who are mathematically challenged, yes, the Society gained four new chapters but lost a total of 19 members while the Ontario District increased its membership by 137 members in 1964. WOW!
Chapters no longer listed in the directory were Barrie and Orillia (which amalgamated to form Huronia), and Lindsay.
We also had another Internationally Certified Judge in the Ontario District for a total of seven. Sid B. Pyper – Burlington – Secretary & Timer was the new judge added.
The Executive Director of the International Headquarters staff was Barry Best. (He signed my membership certificate.) Ever look at your certificate lately? The Society President was Albert L. Smith.