The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
What if you threw a party and everyone came? Well, you'd have to have a fairly large home to hold them all _ and that wasn't a problem with a recent retirement shaker held in honour of Doc and Maureen Macleod's many years of service to Snow Lake. The hoe-down was held Saturday, July 27 in the Macleods' beautiful and expansive lakeside home. By the mid-point of the evening there were by some estimations 130 invited guests milling about on the outside decks and areas inside. The evening began with Doc and Maureen's family, as well as former clinic employees and their spouses, sitting down to an amazing barbecued smorgasbord laid out by Doc and son Roddy. When folks had finished up this feast, the reminiscing began. Egged on by those in attendance, Doc called upon his marvelous memory and regaled guests with stories of his first days in Canada, the North and eventually Snow Lake. He came to the community on July 25, 1979 and Doc stated that everyone who had ever worked for him in the clinic and pharmacy, other than Lena Fletcher, was in attendance. With this, a toast was offered up in Lena's memory. There were numerous stories told of buying appliances for the Macleods' first Snow Lake home and the first social function he attended in the community. As well, others in attendance recounted tales of Doc's first forays into the town's medical and social scene. Many stated what a pleasure it had been to work for and with him. Those compliments of course were reciprocal. At around 7:30 p.m., about 100 additional guests began to arrive and as the deck filled up, everyone was invited to the west side of the home for a group photo. Later folks gathered in the home for a carrot cake taste-off put together and overseen by Doc and Maureen's longtime friend, Sharon Stubbs. Most who know Doc are aware of his affinity for this particular dessert and numerous folks in attendance had over the years made carrot cakes that crossed Doc's palate. Stubbs explained that Doc was the only participant in the taste-off and the quest was to identify who made each of the four carrot cakes he was about to sample. Doc had his game face on and as he delved into each, he identified subtle characteristics and consistencies of the cake and icing prior to pronouncing his score of '89' for each of the four pieces. Pressed by Stubbs, he finally guessed at who baked each entry and, amazingly, was only wrong on one! This is a man who knows his carrot cake, but it seemed he had a favorite in mind. 'Where is Vi Wood's cake?' he queried. After the contest was over, Doc thanked everyone for coming and especially thanked Sharon Stubbs for organizing the entire event on the couple's behalf. Subsequent to enjoying a massive spread of shrimp, salads, barbecued treats _ as well as much of the aforementioned carrot cake, an evening of socializing was enjoyed by all. My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
