As you walk into Ruth’s house, you will be greeted by Hudson, an 18 year old black cat with a meow that begs you to stop and say “hi”. He is only one of many rescued cats Ruth has had in her nearly 92 years and only one of possibly hundreds she has helped through her kind donation of time. What started as a few knitting lessons as a young girl has transformed into an amazing way to give back to the community and help animals in need. Although she was born in Montreal and spent much of her life in Toronto, she always loved the Georgian Bay area and after retiring at age 60 she made the family cottage in Woodland Beach her permanent home. She moved to Collingwood at the age of 87 and is loving all that it has to offer.
Ruth is no stranger to giving back – she has spent much of her life helping others. From volunteering at the hospital, the Georgian Triangle Humane Society, and serving as president of the Bayshore Seniors Club, she has touched the lives of many and continues to inspire others along her journey. She has continued her giving intentions by coupling that with her craftiness and came up with an innovative idea. Neighbours now drop off balls of yarn to her so she can craft her much sought after handmade dishcloths. She then donates these works of passion to Treasure Tails which are sold as quickly as received. At her peak crafting time, it took her 1 week to make a dozen of these cloths and her next delivery will top the scales at an incredible 1600 crocheted and sold to date – that’s nearly $5000 raised! Her middle daughter Barb is now helping to carry on the tradition by making her own cloths with her mother – although the friendly banter between the two of them of whether 28 or 32 stitches is better has yet to be settled.
Nearly two years ago Ruth and her family celebrated milestone birthdays for herself (90) and 3 of her 6 children (70, 60 and 50 years), and in true Ruth fashion she made dishcloths for all the attendees! It is amazing what dedication and talent can lend to a charity and we are thankful for all that Ruth has done for us in the many years she has been involved with the GTHS. Her youngest daughter Janet has also followed in her mother’s foot steps and has volunteered with the animals. Ruth’s children have also asked for donations to be made to the GTHS in lieu of their own birthday presents in the past and have a brick dedicated in their name.
Thank you Ruth for being such a great role model, a fantastic animal advocate and an absolute inspiration to all those around you!
