Welcome to our 40th Anniversary page!
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Ausable-Port Franks Optimist Club. It all started back in 1983 here in Port Franks when a group of fellows shared BIG optimism and our club was created. That's right - no women allowed until Optimist International changed the rules in 1987. Also missing 'back in the day’, the current Optimist Community Centre did not exist. With the procurement of land the work began and continued over the years as the building was expanded and the surrounding grounds saw the addition of playgrounds, a toboggan hill, soccer field, skateboard park, pavilion, and tennis courts. We are currently piloting a disc golf course which is getting a lot of use and positive feedback. All this and so much more are accomplishments of which Optimist members are justifiably proud. Our club also boasts not one, but two Optimist International Presidents. Tracy Huxley will be serving in this auspicious capacity for the 23-24 Optimist year. Her dad Ron Huxley filled the role in 2013-14. Forty years is a long time, but believe it or not we still have several Charter members who are active in our club. These include Charter President Len Belton, Jim Waite, Ron Huxley, and Bob Hexter along with their wives Pearl, Janet, Deb and Sherry who joined as soon as membership opened to women. We’re looking forward to the future ‘bringing out the best in youth, in our communities and in ourselves’. Come join us - new members are always very welcome!
Our club was sponsored by the Sarnia-Bluewater Optimist Club, the members of which helped get our fledgling club up and running. Their 'Highliner' bulletin was full of news and encouragement about us. Then we published our first newsletter, a precursor to our very first bulletin - the 'Optimum P'. An added bonus is the page of advertising sponsors' ads - what a walk down memory lane! Our first bulletin features a message from Charter President Len Belton.
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The Optimist Community Centre and Hall in Port Franks is the product of a remarkable partnership forged between our club, the Town of Bosanquet (precursor to the Municipality of Lambton Shores), the Province of Ontario and the County of Lambton in the early 1980's. The County of Lambton deeded the necessary land to the township. Jointly financed by the province, Bosanquet, and the Optimists, the centre became a reality as members of the newly formed club combined their dollar contribution with some 1800 hours of volunteer labour. Clearing the land, installing sports facilities and constructing the Optimist Hall preoccupied club members for a number of years. Once the facility was ready for use, the township assumed its management and maintenance, but the club continues to this day to work toward the improvement of both the park and the building.
Yes, a lot has changed in four decades. Once upon a time we had a local newspaper that published a paper edition and featured all manner of local news. Our club's creation made quite a splash! You can view more clippings by visiting our photo archives at the bottom of this page.
The Charter officers for our club in the Optimist year 1983-84 (the Optimist year begins October 1) were:
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Len Belton
Vice-President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Doug Wilson
Vice-President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Waite
Secretary-Treasurer. . . . . . . . . . . . George Harris
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Len Belton
Vice-President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Doug Wilson
Vice-President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Waite
Secretary-Treasurer. . . . . . . . . . . . George Harris
Dinner meetings were held the first Tuesday of each month at the Coach House Restaurant on Highway 21, as of course the current Optimist Community Centre was not in existence. Over the early years, club events were held at various locations such as; Lambton Heritage Museum, the Port Franks Community Centre then located in the old schoolhouse near the intersection of Riverside and Superior - commonly referred to as 'Four Corners' , the Yogi Bear Campground in Northville, and the Pinery.
As you can no doubt imagine, over 40 years we've accumulated a lot of photos. The digital age has made taking lots of pictures so easy, and we do have a lot saved. Unfortunately, when pictures are not printed they are often not archived so we also have a small vacuum of documentation for the period when prints stopped happening, but social media and our website were not yet in existence. That said, we still have quite an archive of prints thanks to members Janet Waite and Pearl Belton. Recently, we were very fortunate to have Denning's of Strathroy step up and offer to scan everything for us - for free! We are so thankful to them for taking on this herculean task. Our history is now safe from the ravages of time. Recent photos are abundant on our Past Events page, and if you look us up on Facebook you'll see many there too. You can see a very comprehensive selection of historical photos by visiting our archive gallery - just click on the button below:
