Keeping the Peace
By Tom Lessard
On the 16th of December, 1974, at the South Huron Hospital maternity ward, a cute little guy named Casey Kyle Baxter Lessard was brought into this world. In those days the mother and baby stayed in the hospital for a few days. In the interim, Father Moody visited Rita and Casey and inquired as to his names. Rita told him and his reply was, “They aren’t saints’ names!”
“No,” said Rita, “but we are going to baptize him with the name John,” to which the good Father asked, “Which Saint John?”
“Why Saint John the Baptist,” replied mom. This pleased the priest very much because that was the name of the saint from which his name was derived.
I went to pick up Rita and Casey on the fourth day. We bundled into the car for the trip home. There was a detour along the way because I had promised the staff and customers at the Club Albatross that I would stop in on my way home. Well, they were ecstatic at seeing mom and baby.
I believe it was Alice who suggested that someone phone in the birth announcement to the Times-Advocate newspaper. When asked what the baby’s name was, she gave a list of all the staff and patrons’ names. The girl at the T-A said she couldn’t print that many names for a baby, so we settled on his given ones.
This boy grew up quickly with a super personality and a quick and generous smile. His brothers Tom, Glenn, Mike and Bill were very good to Casey and helped us much in teaching him all he needed to know.
Following grade school at Mount Carmel and high school in Exeter, he entered the University of Western Ontario. While there he became interested in radio, television and journalism. Moving on to study journalism at Fanshawe College, he started developing his interest in photography. A few years later, he returned to school for photojournalism at Loyalist College in Belleville.
His last job as an employee was with the Haliburton and Minden newspapers, at which he was praised for his professionalism. “Enough of working for someone else,” he said, and set up a small business of his own, which everyone now knows as the Grand Bend Strip.
I hope you will all join me and my family in wishing Casey a very happy, prosperous 34th birthday and future. Keep up the good work, and as Santa would say, Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. P.S. that includes you, too, Angela. Love Tom and Rita.