“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” John F. Kennedy
Back in 2009 I joined Apsley School Council as my oldest daughter was starting kindergarten. At my very first meeting former Principal Empringham spoke to us about a possible school Christmas dinner. The idea being that our children would come together and share a wonderful holiday meal in the spirit of joyful celebration. I immediately volunteered to coordinate this event and thanks to community donations and many dedicated volunteers it was a resounding success. One volunteer in particular was crucial to this success: Darlene (Aunt Dar) Doxsee.
Over the next few years, starting in September Aunt Dar and I would meet in her kitchen and go over all the details and duties to start preparing for that year’s Feast. All students, along with the daycare, school bus drivers, other community organizations and representatives are invited to share a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings and even Santa appears bringing presents for everyone! When I stepped down from school council 3 years ago I missed it terribly, especially organizing the Feast but I knew with Aunt Dar’s guidance it would continue to be a success.
This year I was happy to volunteer as a server for the event and was thrilled to see it had grown to nearly 200 guests! During the set up Aunt Dar pulled me aside to say that she needed to slow down her volunteering and that this Festive Feast would be the last one she would oversee. While I understood and accepted her reasoning it was hard to hold back my tears as I thanked her. While I am sad about this I am confident that we will be able to carry on with this tradition thanks to the training we received under Aunt Dar’s leadership.
However, what should be a happy memory for Aunt Dar as part of her incredible community legacy, has now been tainted by the stomach flu virus outbreak and the speculations suggesting it might have been food poisoning. Needless to say these speculations have created a lot of anxiety and stress in our community and have devastated Aunt Dar.
I was so concerned by the rumours and gossip that I contacted the health unit inspector investigating the incident in the hopes of getting some factual information. The following is an excerpt from my email to the inspector:
My daughters [and I] attended the feast on the 18th and my oldest and I (along with other friends and family) ate the leftovers the following night. While my youngest daughter and I were terribly ill the night of Jan 19, 2018, my oldest daughter did not get sick, nor did the others that ate the leftovers. My husband was away during our illness and returned home the night of Jan 21st. To our surprise he came down with what appeared to be a milder version of the illness on Monday January 29, 2018. To this day, my oldest daughter has not be affected by it. Based on my experience I do not believe that this was food poisoning. Many people who attended the event and/or ate the food did not get sick while others who did not attend nor eat the food did. I am hopeful your test results will confirm my belief.
I believe the fact that so many people were together sharing a meal, made it incredibly easy for the virus to spread.
On February 8, 2018 a letter from Peterborough Public Health was sent home with all students and clearly stated that: “Our food sample testing did not identify a pathogen.” I am confident that this will end any further speculation about the safety of this event and the competency of our volunteers. As I stated in my letter to the inspector: I am concerned that the future of this fabulous event may be in jeopardy. Almost all of our volunteers (including myself) have completed the Food Safety Certification Course and the food preparation, cooking and serving was done in the kitchen at the community center under the guidance of volunteers with years of experience in the food service industry. We take the health and well-being of our children and community very seriously.
With the conclusion of the health unit investigation, I am hopeful that we as a community will find some peace of mind over this and move on. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Aunt Dar for all that she has done for us. Her dedication and unwavering commitment to our town is both humbling and inspiring. She is an important part of what makes our town so amazing. When I think of all the positive and wonderful things about Apsley and North Kawartha, it isn’t the buildings or the surroundings that first come to my mind… it’s the people I share this community with. People like Darlene Doxsee. It has been an honour and privilege to work with Aunt Dar. She is a positive force in my life and in our town and I am grateful for all that she has done. I will continue to follow the example she has set and I pledge to support the continuation of this fabulous school community tradition. The Feast shall go on!