The Princess Avenue Playhouse made full use of their new sound system this past weekend with performances by Quartette Friday, and by popular local entertainers, The Sheridan Band on Saturday and Meg Barber McTaggart on Sunday. 

The Quartette show, sold out well in advance of Friday’s engagement, was also a celebration of the many improvements made possible by a generous donation from the estate of Dorothy Palmer. The gift has enabled the theatre to make upgrades to roof, stained glass, sound system, stage and more.

Executor Andrew Gunn was on hand Friday evening to present a plaque commemorating Dorothy Palmer’s donation. Elgin Theatre Guild president Peter Leack noted the Guild’s delight with the help - upgrades which had been planned to take place over the next several years, have suddenly been possible in a matter of months.

Andrew Gunn highlighted the last sentence from the plaque, “Let members of the Elgin Theatre Guild and all others who perform here do so secure in the belief that music and theatre are significant parts of what constitutes the good life in this community.”

Members of the four-woman Quartette and their excellent back-up musicians presented a line-up Christmas music which showed off their rich harmonies, and also demonstrated just how superb that new sound system is.

At show’s end, Quartette member Sylvia Tyson complimented the quality of the theatre for music, noting that in their travels over several years Quartette has found that such lovely, small venues are becoming fewer in number. She reminded the audience how important it is for the community to give the Playhouse its on-going support.

Here is the full text from the new commemorative plaque.

2011-2012

The renewal and restoration of the Princess Ave. Playhouse was made possible by a very generous donation from the Estate of Dorothy Fay Palmer (1925-2010).

A graduate of St. Thomas Collegiate Institute, Dorothy Palmer taught elementary school children in Eden, Sparta, and at Myrtle Street School in St. Thomas. An accomplished pianist and singer, she particularly enjoyed her role as music instructor in the schools and as a member of church and community choirs. Mrs. Palmer lived her whole life as a resident of Elgin County.

Let members of the Elgin Theatre Guild and all others who perform here do so secure in the belief that music and theatre are significant parts of what constitutes the good life in this community.

For more about the Elgin Theatre Guild and upcoming shows, visit www.elgintheatreguild.ca. 

Looking for a railway themed outing, holiday gift idea, or fun family day over the school break? The Elgin County Railway Museum is the place to find all of these.

A December 14, 2011 news release from the Museum includes the details and a reminder that they are now open year-round. 

From the Railway Museum, December 14, 2011
It may be cold outside, but things are warming up at the Elgin County Railway Museum. The Museum’s doors now remain open year-round, to promote and preserve the rich railway heritage of St. Thomas and Elgin County.  

Canada Southern Railway Station was launched Monday December 5th in the Ladies Waiting Room of the station in St. Thomas. An appreciative crowd gathered to purchase the book and have their copies signed by author Laurence Grant. 

A note from Laurence at the end of the book reads:

“This book features historic photographs that profile a time period when the Canada Southern Railway Station, later known as the Michigan Central Station and the New York Central Station, was the architectural centrepiece of the City of St. Thomas.”

The back note includes a little photo of the author, having donned the persona of CSR Detective J. Murray. It’s appropriate, as the investigative work to track down such an intriguing collection of representative and reproducible photos, and the accompanying accurate descriptions was considerable.

The book came about as the result of encouragement, interest and contributions from a wide range of people and sources. It was made possible through funding from North America Railway Foundation. Sales of the publication will help raise funds for the efforts of the North America Railway Hall of Fame.

Browsing the pages provides the experience of a having seeming bird’s eye view through space and time. It’s a “read” that will be appreciated and enjoyed by many in our community and beyond. The photos that were chosen help bring to mind the sights, sounds and smells of the activities that were connected to the station and the movement of locomotives, cargo and passengers. The wordage isn’t extensive, but it’s precise and interesting, and adds substantially to the enjoyment of the photos. 

Cover image: The Empire State Express in front of the Michigan Central Station (Collection North America Railway Hall of Fame).

The 32 page soft-cover publication contains over 40 historic black & white photos from the collections of Library & Archives Canada, the Elgin County Archives, Elgin County Museum, Elgin Military Museum, North America Railway Hall of Fame and the private collections of Steve Peters and Ken Verrell. There are two contemporary photos by St. Thomas photographer Mike Wood. For information, please call 519-633-2535 or email info@narhf.org.

It was Christmas Time with Stephanie McIlroy at Coffee Cultures in St. Thomas, Thursday December 4th as she treated the packed coffee house to her new song, It’s Christmas Time plus a selection of her traditional holiday favourites. 

 Between festive tunes, Stephanie reflected on the special meanings the songs have for her. Then she called upon the band to join in, with “Lets rock this coffee shop!” - which they proceeded to do. Stephanie carried the crowd along through performances of her own songs and a number of well-known popular hits. Launching into Queen of Hearts, she enthused, “I love this song,” and the audience clearly loved the McIlroy and band rendition of it and others throughout the evening.

Stephanie’s talented band includes Rick Van Rycheghem (bass guitar & banjo); Jeff Mifflin (bass guitar); Rick Chrysler (drums), all from the Chatham-Kent area.

Photographer Mark Girdauskas was on hand to rock and get some great shots of the evening. See the sampling below, then visit his website to see more. 

Read Anita LaRue’s article about Stephanie McIlroy in the 2011 Holiday Edition of Relish Elgin . Visit her facebook page for the latest news, and download It’s Christmas Time for enjoyment over the Christmas season; if you have an upcoming event calling for some crowd-pleasing music in a wide range of genre, give Stephanie a shout via manager Jennifer Mott (519-639-4744).