Joan O'Hara
According to a picture of a May Day concert in Alexandria, it looks like Joan started her fun life in public at the age of six with her close friends in 1929. There were many and varied concerts put on in Alexandria through the years and then she got into Highland Dancing under the teaching of Mrs. Carrie Biggers, who came from Montreal every Saturday. She was the Champion highland dancer of Scotland and very strict. After competing in and winning many local and Ottawa Exhibition competitions she began to teach dancing to local children. Joan is proud to say that Jean Campbell MacInnes started her dancing career with her and both danced at the first Glengarry Highland Games.
Through the years she and her friends put on many programs at all the local church socials under the direction of Mrs. Agnes (Blue Room Joe) MacDonald and she later choreographed other revue numbers with her pupils.
After taking some figure skating lessons, Joan did the Sword Dance in full kilt at a carnival in Alexandria, out of sheer determination and fun.
At Alexandria High School she got into track and field sports and was Senior Girls Champion for three years, 1937-38-39. While in A.H.S. a girl’s hockey team was formed and she played center with her friends. The hockey team became inter-scholastic with Maxville, Vankleek Hill and Hawkesbury and lots of fun. It’s unknown when there was time for schoolwork!
After school she joined The Bank of Nova Scotia and later joined the Glengarry News office until 1952. She married Howard O’Hara from Cornwall and Maxville, they then moved to Cornwall. While in Cornwall she was women’s editor at the Standard Freeholder for five years.
When Summer Heights Golf Club opened, they decided to play golf and after lessons and a few years of playing she won the Ladies Class A Championship in 1967 and 1969. She was the runner-up to Louise Clark in 1966-68-70. In 1967 a centennial tournament was held at Summer Heights and she was very happy to win that special trophy.
The ladies of Summer Heights had a twilight league. In 1973 when Donald Peter Grant, who worked at the club house and was a very special friend of all the girls, died, the MacLennan family held a one-time tournament in his memory. This is a prized memorial cup for Joan.
In golf also there is a Valley League, at a time consisting of Summer Heights, Brockville, Morrisburg and Iroquois. In 1969, Summer Heights won the trophy at Brockville and Joan won the B Class.
Joan and her husband were Ottawa Rough Rider football season ticket holders for 30 years and true fans.
Joan was the Charter President of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Legion Branch #423 in Alexandria and in 2001 she received a 50-year plaque. Through the years she has done many years of volunteer work at the Hotel Dieu Hospital and the Maxville Manor.
At 78 she is stil playing golf and volunteering and is still the “baby” of the fourteen children of Tom and Florence Gormley.
Sports have given her many good friends and memories and taught her early in life how to lose and win. Both are important.
