Happy Mother’s Day Sault Ste. Marie; is yours as busy as June Harbottle and her kids?
Harbottle, “almost 89”, was visited by her daughters Deanna Bigras and Carol Fryia for a Mother's Day bunch at the Ontario Finnish Resthome on Friday.
The family has always treated Mother's Day like a special holiday along the lines of Easter or Christmas and as the family expands its gotten to be a hectic time of the year.
Bigras has a daughter and two granddaughters, Fryia has five kids, and their sister Dawn Monarch has two kids and a grandchild.
“It’s a little bit busy of a time. We make sure we come and visit my mom, some of the grandchildren visit as well. I have three kids out of town – they better call me too,” said Fryia, who said she herself is going to have dinner with her two children and their spouses. "I guess my husband can come too – we’ll allow it.”
Fryia actually volunteers at the Ontario Finnish Resthome, a big part of that is so she can spend time with her mother, a resident there.
She said her mom is always bragging to her friends by pointing and saying to the other residents ‘that’s my daughter over there.’
Fryia said the family has always treated Mother’s Day like an important holiday, they always make time to spend it with each other.
“My mother’s made me who I am today. I feel privileged to have my mother around to be able to come to these events with us. Her mother lived until she was 100 so we keep telling her she has at least 11 years to go because she’s going to beat her,” said Fryia.
And what did Harbottle say about her kids visiting her?
“I love my daughters. Mother’s Day is great,” said the smiling octogenarian short on words and quickly getting back to Friday's fun.
During the Friday OFRA brunch, the residents of the resthome were serenaded by the Senior Singers Sault Ste. Marie choir.
The group is based out of the Senior Citizens Drop In Center on Bay Street and typically does fourteen shows at both Christmas time and in the spring.
Many of their performances are at venues with seniors so they try to play ‘uplifting’ and ‘happy’ songs that can date back as far as the 1930s so that “maybe they’ll remember them from back in the day,” said director Masotti.
Here’s a song from Friday's performance.