BY JEFF MAGUIRE
EMC News - Dave Findlay loved the Carleton Place Canoe Club (CPCC) and Friday afternoon members of the organization offered a moving show of respect and affection on the Mississippi River paddling course.
Findlay, who died last Monday at age 82, was honoured by some of the youngest members of the CPCC. Led by head coach Ryan Blair, they dipped their paddles into the water in unison at precisely 5 p.m. in a special "Commodore's Salute."
The ceremony is so rare that current members of the club executive had to research the subject in order to ensure the necessary protocol was followed. The commodore is the head of a canoe club's board of directors. Locally the role is currently filled by Jim Hicks, a popular figure in the organization.
Following the on-water tribute and three cheers for Findlay, a minute of silence was observed in his memory. Bagpiper Andrew Shepherd, a nephew of Findlay, also played in tribute to his uncle.
Family friend John Edwards, a two-time Olympic paddler from the CPCC, was emcee for the occasion. He underlined Findlay's contributions to both the club and community using a list of carefully selected words he feels applies to his life and work in Carleton Place in general.
Findlay was also a piper who played the bagpipes for the local Legion band, as well as the 42nd Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Pipes and Drums based in Perth and more recently the Mississippi Mills Pipe Band.
He began his piping career at the University of Toronto (U of T) from which he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. At U of T he started playing with the faculty's famed Lady Godiva Band.
Following the riverside ceremony and tributes, Friday's special event moved back inside the canoe club building which was packed with family and friends, as well as dozens of past and present CPCC members.
A DVD tribute was introduced by Edwards. The video included an interview with Findlay taped for the club's archives, as well as comments about him from former CPCC head coach Graham Barton. Edwards and Barton both work for Ottawa-based Canoe and Kayak Canada, the national governing body for the sport of flatwater paddling.
Commodore Hicks also spoke to the gathering, outlining his admiration for Findlay's long contribution to the club which began at age 16 and continued until just days before his death. He was alternately a paddler, executive member and supporter for more than 60 years.
Many tributes
Hicks later told the EMC, "Some people in life impact you in ways words can't describe. Dave Findlay was one of those people."
He explains Findlay's contribution to the club as "quite simply beyond measure.
"His passing has left a gaping hole in the hearts of all those who knew him and who have been part of the paddling community over the years."
An emotional Cathie McOrmond, vice-commodore of the club, described how Findlay had become a mentor during her short time (two years) on the club executive.
"Dave was a very special person who will be deeply missed," she observes.
Former commodore Sharon Mousseau, who is now the deputy reeve of neighbouring Beckwith Township, describes Findlay as "one of the most positive, forward thinking, constructive people I have known.
"When I became commodore in 1983 I was very green. And there we were in the midst of building a new (headquarters), never mind my lack of knowledge on the paddling program.
"Dave was always there for me with solid, common sense advice, not to mention that on most days, at any hour, there he was pounding nails - whatever it took to get the building finished and open on time," Mousseau recalls.
She says he was equally helpful during her later rise to commodore of the Canadian Canoe Association (now Canoe and Kayak Canada).
"Dave was a role model to me in always keeping to the high road. I have tried to emulate that both in my canoeing career and my political career," she states.
Carleton Place councillor Wendy LeBlanc, who worked with Findlay at both the Carleton Place and Beckwith Historical Society and Carleton Place In Bloom, is high in her praise of his many contributions to his hometown.
Both are past Carleton Place Citizens of the Year.
"Dave Findlay had a tremendous impact on our family's life. From working with my Mum on the VON (Victorian Order of Nurses) and school board, encouraging her to become Leigh Instruments' second employee, coaching my brother at the canoe club, hiring my daughter at the museum (Victoria School Museum) and challenging me to volunteer with Carleton Place In Bloom and the museum," LeBlanc explains.
"Very few people make an impact on a community the way Dave did. His legacy lives in the youth of the canoe club, the flowers on Bridge St. and the celebration of our town's history at the museum," she states.
Born in Almonte on Nov. 13, 1927, Findlay was the son of Hamilton and Norah Findlay. He grew up on High St. with his parents and four younger siblings, in the same house in which he and his wife Betty resided at the time of his death.
Findlay was one of the last surviving members of a family dynasty which was once the most prominent in the Carleton Place community.
The former Findlay Foundry, which among other things produced the famous "Findlay Oval" stove, once sprawled along the north bank of the Mississippi River, facing High Street and just west of Bridge St.
Findlay was the namesake of the founder, David Findlay, who first opened the foundry in 1862. As the late local historian Howard Morton Brown, author of 'Founded Upon A Rock' the history of Carleton Place observes, "The factory opened while civil war was raging in the United States."
In his book Brown notes "it became the town's most successful industry."
In 1901 the Findlay family built a new, larger riverside plant of brick construction. At the time Carleton Place had a population of about 4,200 and the industrial situation locally was in decline, mainly due the collapse of the wool textile industry which was once a mainstay in the district.
FOUNDRY THRIVED
The Findlay Foundry, however, thrived.
The firm remained in business until the early 1970s and was a leading manufacturer of stoves and appliances which were distributed nationally.
A graduate of Carleton Place High School and later the U of T Findlay worked at foundries in the United States before bringing his knowledge and skill back to the family firm in Carleton Place.
Daughter Janet, the second of five children raised by Findlay and his wife, Betty, told the EMC her father originally worked at Findlay Foundry during his school days, an experience which peaked his interest in working there full-time later in life.
"He was the first of his generation to work in the business," she says.
"He became the superintendent of plant operations and he introduced some innovative ideas."
When the famous foundry was sold in the 1970s, Findlay remained at the firm to help oversee a transition which later saw the popular Findlay Oval manufactured at a factory in Elmira, Ontario.
Meanwhile the moulding operation relocated to the Carleton Place North Industrial Park where it remained for several years in what is now the Seagrave Fire Apparatus Company (formerly Almonte Fire Trucks) building.
Findlay eventually took alternate employment with Statistics Canada in Ottawa where he remained until his retirement in the early 1990s.
From paddler to executive member he was involved in every aspect of the local canoe club, a passion he retained throughout his life.
Janet and her siblings, including her older brother David, were also paddlers. Brother Stephen's daughter Kaitlin reached the national level in the sport, just as Janet did in her youth.
Janet, who now resides in Lake Placid, New York continues to paddle in marathon events. She is also the representative of a firm which sells sprint canoes and kayaks. Recently she sold some boats to the CPCC which were purchased using an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.
Not surprisingly her father was thrilled.
"I still attend a lot of (canoe) competitions," she explains.
Recalling her dad's love for his own family Janet says "there are many things I will always cherish.
"Like the time he spent telling me stories about our older Findlay relatives and ancestors.
"He made them exciting enough that a young child would want to hear them," she says. "But more importantly he was implanting the importance of tradition and family ties in my young mind, which have provided a strong base in a fast moving world."
Janet adds, "I also remember him doing the kindest things for people.
"He was always very busy when we were growing up. But in his later years, especially after he retired, he spent many precious hours with us all. I especially loved to watch him enjoying his grandchildren as they grew up.
"We'll all miss his sound judgment and advice," she concludes.
FLORAL PROGRAM
A member of the Eastern Ontario School Board for many years, he was very involved in community activities.
It was a visit to Carleton Place's twin community of Comrie, Scotland in 1996 (with the 42nd Pipe Band) which led to the formation of Carleton Place In Bloom. Findlay so admired the award winning floral displays in Comrie that he brought the idea back to others here, including former Mayor Brian Costello. The two men were instrumental in the process which led to the current downtown floral beautification program which is now overseen by the Business Improvement Association and Carleton Place In Bloom Committee.
Among the honours he won was the first ever Citizen of the Year Award presented in Carleton Place in 1974. In 1987, Findlay was presented with the R. Edgar Gilbert Award by the Canadian Canoe Association in honour of his many years of service to the national organization.
Later in life, Findlay continued to fulfill his passion for outdoor life, spending a great deal of time on properties in Pakenham (a ward of Mississippi Mills) and Lavant Township. He and Betty hosted family and friends year round at their cabin atop Mount Pakenham.
He was also an avid skier for much of his life and led canoe club members on weekend workouts in rural areas of his beloved Lanark County.
David Gordon Findlay died peacefully at Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital on Monday, Sept. 13, 2010.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years Betty and their five children David (Chris Mondor), Janet (David Hunter), Stephen (Carol-Ina Trudel), Allison and Dolora. Also surviving are six grandchildren Tracey, Shawn, Joshua, Stephanie, Kaitlin and Lucas, as well as seven great-grandchildren.
Also among the survivors are his sisters Leigh and Sheila, brothers Michael and Timothy along with numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was the special friend of Jeremy as well as John and Sue Edwards and family.
Visitation was at the Alan R. Barker Funeral Home in Carleton Place on Thursday evening, Sept. 16. Interment was private.
The canoe club celebrated his life from 4-6 p.m. Friday, including the Commodore's Salute. Findlay requested no ties be worn during the "celebration" at the canoe club.
The Findlay family suggests donations in his name be made to the canoe club or the Victoria School Museum, c/o the Carleton Place and Beckwith Historical Society.
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