May 8, 2009. Baysville, Ontario. Cousins.

They had never met, these two cousins, but now they know each other, thanks to lunch yesterday at The Landscapes. Jim Ferris lives in Parry Sound and came for lunch along with his wife Marion. Ken's cousin Ian Dickie lives in Sudbury, and Ian and Rita have been with us since Wednesday. Ken and Ian are first cousins, as their Fathers were brothers. Jim's grandfather was a brother to Ken and Ian's Grandmother, so these three men are related. The wives all got along well, in fact both Marion and Rite are avid quilters, so I am sure they will stay in touch. Our lunch was a festive event, the conversation jumping between the past to the present with great speed. Ken and I could not remember when we last saw Marion and Jim, but we were very happy to see them yesterday.

Jim was born in Parry Sound, and worked there for 32 years, as head of the Music Department at the High School. He retired ten years ago, then worked six year for Yamaha. Now he leads The Silver Band in Orillia. Marion also plays in that band. His father was for many years was the leader of The Salvation Army band, the band Ken that played in for many years. In fact Bob Ferris, Jim's father taught Ken to play. Jim is ten years younger than Ken and as Ken left for college at age eighteen, the two did not have much to do with each other when they were young. We have always seen Jim and Marion when we were back to Parry Sound and we kept track of Jim's success at the school and in the community of music in Parry Sound. Jim came to the High School right from his graduation with a degree of Bachelor of Music. The school had one band. Over the years he introduced the music world to every student and to every parent and had a huge impact on the community. He ended up with fourteen musical groups at the school, many led by a student. His groups won many prizes at the National level. His impact on the community at large led to the Festival of The Sound, a three week long festival of music in every form. If you ever doubt the value of one, just think of Jim Ferris and the music scene in Parry Sound. It is very impressive. We were delighted to get to spend time with this cousin and his wife, who we have known almost all our lives. We will be a better job of keeping track of them over the next years.