We return once again this week to the relatively placid waters—or frozen creeks—of 2005, namely the Voice issue of February 16 2005. Our top story that week was the Kinsmen's selection of Citizen of the Year, Catherine Kuckyt, a former Town Councillor, chosen for her dizzying resume of volunteer positions on various boards and in various capacities.
From the front page story:
As for why she volunteers, Kuckyt simply asks where else could she start a newspaper, publish a book, and help raise $40 million for a new cancer centre in Niagara. Kuckyt said it is pretty special to be part of a group that includes Anne Robbins, George Kowalski, Eric Bergenstein, Jake Dilts, Tony Finamore and Carolyn Mullin. Kuckyt is the fifth recipient to be associated with Pelham Cares and the fourth to be associated with The Voice.
Kuckyt's connection to the Voice went back to its founding, in 1997, when she and its eventual first editor, Carolyn Mullin, spearheaded the campaign to establish a new weekly when news broke that the town's longstanding paper, The Pelham Herald, was being shut down by its corporate owner.
Kuckyt recalled those days 20 years later for this 2017 article about the Voice's founding:
Look carefully at the newspaper she's holding—yes, it's the very issue that we are drawing from this week, with news of her Citizen of the Year choice on the front page! If I'd planned this better, I would have tried getting a shot this week of Kuckyt holding a copy of the 2017 paper, which featured the photo of her holding a copy of the 2005 paper, for inclusion in this 2025 article. I'll make a note for 2045.
Somewhat more recently, Kuckyt was named in February 2020 as Chair of the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Niagara division Grant Review Team, an appointment that lasts until March 2026.
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In other news, the Woodlawn Road YMCA was set to open at the end of the month; a lengthy letter to the editor objected to the Town's purchase of, yes, those 32 acres at Rice Rd. and Hwy 20, without a "strategic plan" already in place for a new rec centre; and the Pelham Historical Society contributed an article about Pelham Township's early town council. There were a handful of youth sports stories, plus a report from the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council.
MPP Tim Hudak (remember him?) visited St. Alexander Catholic Elementary with a giant 2005 Tim Hudak calendar featuring Tim Hudak (hey, the time-span between Grade 8 and the voting booth is only five years):
Fonthill Rotary took two new members aboard, including the (apparently now retired) realtor Penny Lane, whose marketing materials featured musical notes floating around her headshot, something that middle aged folks in 2005 understood and few folks under 60 would probably get today (hint: think Paul and Ringo):
There was a happy birthday for Hayden:
At Pelham Library's Fonthill branch, a young florist created a Valentine's arrangement:
A baker's dozen of skaters (minus the 13th) basked in award-winning glory at the old barn on Haist Street:
Finally this week, the tweens of yesterday, the early-30s of today, a gaggle of Girl Guides visited the Voice office to earn their "Reporter Badge," an achievement that seems to have been dropped in the last 20 years, as I was unable to find it among—I think I have this right—the 49 badge options currently offered, including "Change Champion," "Foodie," and "Money Sense." One hopes that the first lesson of "Money Sense" is, "Don't go into journalism":
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