Afternoon with the elders
Come for lunch, stay for photos
If you’re a fan of Chase the Ace (CTA), you’ve probably met some of Membertou’s elders and seniors over the past months.
About a month ago, the Membertou Seniors 55+ Society and Treaty Day Committee cut a lovely cheque for nearly $30,000 to one lucky winner.
The ace had been hibernating for nearly 40 weeks until finally apprehended by Membertou’s own Adrianna (Googoo) Bonnell on St. Paddy’s Day. Considering the lousy weather we’ve all shared, I don’t blame the ace of spades for hiding out for so long.
Oh - congratulations again, Adrianna! Oh, and to CTA fans, the Membertou seniors and Treaty Day planners are planning on another ace hunt next month. Keep your eyes and ears open for details.
But if you haven’t been part of the ace-hunting group, you may not be familiar with the elders and seniors of our charming little community. Allow me some of your time to introduce a few of our beloved community members.
In Mi’kmaq culture, elders are highly revered and rightfully so. They are our grandmothers and grandfathers, our kijus and niskamijes; our knowledge keepers and preservers of our ancient language.
They’re also a wicked fun bunch of folks to sit around with and just enjoy their company. Our seniors club is always on the go, always doing something, and always having fun.
During chase the ace, entertainment would rotate between karaoke and live music. Often, members of the 55+ society would bring their own instruments from home and strike up a super group on the spot, giving the likes of the Traveling Wilburys a run for their money.
Recently I was invited to the seniors society monthly meeting, and asked to do a photo shoot of its members. Gloria Nicholas is the club’s co-ordinator, and had been wanting to get new photos for some time.
When Gloria, or any elder, makes a simple request such as this, you jump at it. For this assignment, I called in the funlovers from Destination Membertou, Rochelle and Kelsea (R&K).
Rochelle and Kelsey had been wanting to meet Membertou’s elders, and this was the perfect day to do so. I arrived to the meeting a few moments late,
but R&K had already enjoyed lunch with the club members. By the way, the seniors society has the best (no exaggeration) caterer in Cape Breton. Shout out to our buddy Janine Christmas.
During the meeting I snapped a few candid photos, and also shot a couple of portraits.
The seniors society has a spacious games room with darts, card table, some exercise equipment and a pool table. I thought it would be a great idea to get some snaps of elders partaking in some of the room’s activities.
Enter Gordon Christmas and L’lun (‘Lawrence’ in Mi’kmaq; pronounced Loo-Lunn) Wells.
After L’lun racked ‘em up and Gordon broke ‘em, the game was on. L’lun lined-up an early
lead, sinking an early pair.
Gordon, a former chief of Membertou, was not finished yet. After a slower start, he came back while L’lun’s selfproclaimed “pool rust” may
have caused him to stall a bit. After a few scratches, some near-shots, and a lot of laughs, we were at a tie game – one ball each, and the infamous eight ball.
To be totally honest, I even forget who won the game as I was caught up with the laughter and banter with the pool sharks. All I remember is that I had a blast photographing them.
As I’m writing this, I’ve been asked to do another shoot in the near future. For now, I hope you enjoy the photos, and will see you again next month! Nmultes, nitaps.