Mennonites see value in old things. They don’t like to throw used items into the trash heap.
The following article was written by John Wiens, in honour of his dear friend, Harry Riediger. Harry Riediger and his wife Margie Riediger were chosen by the Essex-Kent Mennonite Historical Association to receive the prestigious annual Community Service Award. for 2002.
My introduction to Harry Riediger was at the annual banquet of the Essex-Kent Mennonite Historical Association in March 2002. Harry had been chosen by the association as their honoree for that year.
Harry’s Farm
If you drive on Road #3 north of Harrow, you will see a neatly engraved and varnished wooden sign that reads HARRY’S FARM. Turn down a short lane and you will find a small ancient log house built many years ago, with massive, square, axe-hewn, hardwood timbers.
It is, perhaps, the oldest structure in Harrow and its surrounding area. A quaint scenic setting nestled among two acres of beautiful evergreen, hardwood and ornamental trees – a place of beauty. Yes, that is, as long as you keep your eyes looking up at the treetops and the beautiful sky over them. Look down and beauty becomes a matter of what is in the eye of the beholder.
You see, Harry is in the recycling business, and too often, stock coming in exceeds stock going out. Harry is not always around and so sometimes leaves the site unattended. Neighbours, friends and other area folks will just drop off their donations of recyclables, and put them wherever they may find a handy spot, without Harry’s attendance. Certain days, before the municipal truck makes its rounds to pick up discarded household items, Harry also makes his rounds with his mini 1984 Chevy pick-up, checking out and picking up items he considers still salvageable for his business.
One day he picked up a lawn mower that still seemed to be in very good condition. Soon after, a not too friendly man was to see him, accusing Harry of having stolen his lawn mower. He had left it by the curb, to get some gas because that is where it had run out of fuel.
Some twenty years ago, at the age of 56, Harry had retired from his job as a lineman with Ontario Hydro. That was about the same time that the Etcetera Shop opened in Leamington, in August of 1982. Since then, the many activities Harry has occupied himself with have caused his friends to blame him of giving retirement a bad name.
Harry, always having had been conscientiousness about wastefulness, now saw the opportunity to pursue his real passion: junk. He gathers the treasures that some folks discard and that other folks can use, and does that in a most charitable manner by taking advantage of the Etcetera Thrift Shop in Leamington. Through the many years, Harry’s contributions to the store have amounted to many thousands of dollars for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). The proceeds from the many private sales he makes, he also turns over to them.
Most of us think of food banks as a place to donate food for needy folks, but sometime needy folks need more than just food. Harry re-donates used stoves, used fridges as well as other appliances and household items through the Food Bank.
Last year, at their annual banquet, the local Boy Scouts honoured Harry for having been eighteen years with them, and having served as a troop leader longer than anyone else. Before the introduction of blue boxes for recycling, Harry and his troops organized newspaper drives, for which they won several Ontario Government awards.
For many years, Harry was active in the establishment of the Silver Lake Youth Camp in the Bruce Peninsula, where he served on the property committee and was responsible for bringing in Hydro and electric wiring as well as other items of infrastructure. When I asked him how long he had served the camp, he told me his first recollections were the rebuilding of the dining hall after the first hall had burned down in May 1968. Rebuilding began a very short time later. Then he said that the year when Pierre Elliot Trudeau took a walk in the snow (February 1984), he too took a walk in the snow and just like the prime minister decided to “call it quits.” In my math, that amounts to sixteen years.
Harry and his lovely wife Margie are both active members in the Harrow Mennonite Church and serve on many committees. A few years ago, both of them served on the building committee of their new church and did a lot of volunteer work during its construction.
Because of their wide range of interests, Harry and Margie give each other a lot of liberty in pursuing them. They will take separate vacations. In the winter when business is slower, Harry will take off and go to the Florida Pan-handle with his friend Henry Lepp. Together they will drive in Harry’s little old pick-up and stay in cheap luxury motels. At one of the lodgings where they stayed, the bathroom door was off the hinges. To enter it, for some privacy, they would pick the door up, walk through and then lean it back against the jamb behind them, with the hope that it wouldn’t fall over. For entertainment, they would drive out to visit some of the beautiful junk yards they have there, and ogle the amazing stuff that they wished they could get their hands on.
Their wives, Margie and Marina, are more patriotic and true Northerners and take Canadian vacations.
In Harrow and in the surrounding communities, Harry, Margie, and their family are well known and loved, and we who live outside that community and know them for their kindness and their generosity feel that way about them as well. And so they are truly worthy candidates to be chosen by the Essex-Kent Mennonite Historical Association to receive the prestigious annual Community Service Award.
