It is always fun to watch the small planes come in for a smooth landing. On Sun., July 21, there were many of these throughout the morning. Tinkess Photo
IROQUOIS – How good is this: You get to enjoy a delicious, hot breakfast of ham, eggs, baked beans, a roll, coffee or tea and orange juice for $12 a person (kids eat free), and you get to do this while watching planes land and take-off while in the background there are ships entering and leaving the Iroquois Locks. It is an attractive proposition, and a lot of people seemed to agree as there was a steady stream of hungry people right from 7:30 a.m. when things kicked-off.
John Ross, the founder of Ross Video and a benefactor of many things in his adopted community, is the force behind the event, but he says he has stepped back a bit, concentrating on quality control (tough job) and letting his over-abundance of community spirit infect anyone who comes near. Ross spent most of the morning conversing with everyone and frequently receiving thanks for everything he and the company he founded has done. As is his nature, he humbly accepts the thanks, but then proceeds to treat each person as if he had known them his entire life.
“I love living here,” said Ross. “The best thing I did in my life was to come to this area. It’s a jewel, and you know, in all of Canada, this is the only town, the only community where they’re park within a built-up area that has an airport runway. That would make you wonder you know, if people would want the airport shut down. You ask any of these people, we have over 95% acceptance. And they tell me spring, for them, is when the ships and the planes come back.”
Natalie Page is in her second year of helping to organize this event, and as is often the case when you become a member of John Ross’s team, one thing often leads to another. Being involved with the Fly-in breakfast led to her also being involved in the waterfront committee. She obviously enjoys what she is doing, and if the sun comes out, she will be even happier.
“We hope to have up to 700 people this morning, but it will depend on the sun,” says Page. “There isn’t much we can do about that, but people look forward to this event, and they often ask me when it will be.”
On this day Page has approximately 25 people helping in various capacities. “The majority of people volunteering are from Ross, and then we have some volunteers from the Flying Club and lawn bowling as well.”
It’s a very active group, and it seems that everybody seems to want to be involved in helping any way they can.
The day started slowly, due to heavy clouds and a low ceiling, but as things started to clear, the planes started to appear, so that by mid-morning at least a dozen had touched down including some ultralight helicopter hybrids, which attracted a lot of attention.
As popular as they are, the flying machines weren’t the only attraction. The Golden Gears Car Club was on site with several of their members and the classic cars they are so well known for. There were also information tents hosted by the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada, The Ontario East British Home Child Family, The Historical Society of South Dundas, and the Friends of Crysler’s Farm Battlefield, and each of these groups interacted with folks young and old throughout the day.
Eventually, the sun did come out, and the people continued to arrive to discover what “The best little town by a dam site,” had to offer. What they would discover is that any community can be better when the people who live there are prepared to show how much they care.
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Terry Tinkess is a professional photographer, educator and journalist. He has been making a living with a camera and keyboard since 1999 and has been featured in such publications as The Ottawa Citizen, Cornwall Standard Freeholder, The Globe and Mail, The Miami Herald, Ottawa Construction News, The Ontario Construction Report, Ontario Home Builder Magazine, Reed Construction Data, Canadian Potato Business and most recently, The Record and Eastern Ontario AgriNews. Terry lives in Ingleside, Ontario with his wife Brenda, Mia the anxious Pittie and cats Wally and Chubbers.