Brother collectors

Paul Bertin looks down the barrel of his training riffle. It isn’t working at the moment but he hopes to repair it sometime in the future.

Dennis Bertin’s favourite statue he owns of the X-Men Character Cable. One of the few statues he owns that he believes will never leave his shelf.

By: Tony Bourgeois         

Woodstock- Collecting could be considered a brotherhood, especially for Paul and Dennis Bertin.

Everybody has hobbies. Whether it’s reading, writing, or collecting it’s just something people do for fun.

In the case of the Bertin brothers of Moncton, they take their collecting hobbies to a whole other level.

Dennis Bertin is considered a collector, today his collection occupies not only the majority of his room but many boxes on one a very large pallet in the garage which creates a small mountain as testament to his collection. He had to move back home due to some issues with a roommate and his collection was too large to actually fit in the house. He believes when he was young, kids were trained to collect things which started him off.

“Pretty much everyone my age has some kind of collecting quirk,” said Bertin. “We all started off the collection habit with Pokémon (cards). I was the weird kid out though because I never did get Pokémon.  For me, it was getting Star Wars collectables, be it anywhere from cards to action figures.”

Gathering those small collectibles was just the beginning for Bertin. He now is the proud owner of a massive collection of comics, video games and statues. His first real collector’s item was the comic, which started his obsession and made his old apartment like a bat cave of geeky items.

“When I started making money, I started a small collection of comics; it wasn’t so much a collection as much as I was just buying comics as a kid,” he said. Bertin says his first real dedicated collection started when he was twelve. Like a crow to shiny objects he felt himself drawn into hockey cards. He says he had collected several thousand hockey cards in those early years.

It seemed that Denis Bertin’s collection habits go by his source of income. When he started mowing lawns and making money it opened the flood gates to the first of his big three obsessions he has today.

 “After the hockey cards then started the video games, because I started to work and I learned I was making a lot of money, and ended up buying my play station and started buying games for that and then a lot that started coming out like the Final Fantasy games started to get popular.  Then I worked my way up to my PS2 and started buying a lot of games for that to,” said Bertin. “I learned that a lot of these older games have a lot of value and had a collection of older games because I never sold any of them. I noticed they were valuable so I started looking around at stores because stores at the time didn’t know the value yet.”

Learning the true value of some of his collectables was the starting point for Bertin making money from his obsession. Bertin also learned to spot a deal, get a discount, save a few dollars while collecting, a skill he continues to use as he soldiers on to add on to his growing collections. Anytime you see him in a store he’s usually talking to the owners, making connections to find out when the good stuff comes in and hoping for special deals as well.

Soon after Bertin started collecting classic games, he began collecting the systems as well. The first addition to this collection was an Atari computer he got from his grade 10 English teacher, Mr. Campbell.  Campbell gave it to him after Bertin wrote an essay about classic games that he said really showed how passionate he was for the old machines most people have stored in their basements or would sell at their next garage sale.

Bertin says his statue collection started out because of a bad habit of buying things he couldn’t afford.

“Literally it started with just buying a few anime figures on EBay and I had a little collection there,” he said. “Of course we had local conventions and I noticed there were bigger ones and I got them at discounted prices. Over time I had a fair amount of old anime collectables.”

He said once his interest in anime faded and hebecame more interested in American comics. Once again the obsession switched genres.

While collecting, Bertin learned to hunt to a good deal, almost never paying full price for his statues.  Part of what makes collecting so much fun for him is knowing the value will only go up if he takes good care of them.

Already, there are some figures he paid $100 for that are currently being bought on EBay for over $300 now. Although there is a profit to be made from selling some collectables, he said there are some that are far too precious to part with.

“The ultimate example of that would have to be my Cable statue. Cable’s a character from X-men. He’s my favorite character and they only created one statue for him.”

Bertin says regardless of the limited quantity of the statue, there is no profit to be made by hanging onto it. Not being able to make a profit from selling the X-men character doesn’t bother Bertin as he is more than happy to display proudly at his home. The old soldier holding a gun non-existent in a factual world protecting the little red headed baby can always be found in a place of honor in his home.

Dennis Bertin is not alone in his collecting habit. His brother Paul also has a collecting hobby. The younger Bertin said his habit started by wanted to learn about the history behind the collectables as opposed to the price tag.

Paul Bertin is a university student majoring in History and is an avid collector of military memorabilia. Paul said it’s not the items that are his obsessions but the events that surround them.

He showed up in full German uniform he purchased.  Tick, tick, tick, with every step from all the bayonets, knives, and other assorted pieces of his collection hitting together as he carried them.

“I started getting interested in history back in high school,” said Bertin. “Whenever we talked about the First World War, or Second World War, the Cold War, anything of the sort, I was really drawn into it and I felt a sense of national pride whenever Canada was mentioned.”

Soon after graduation, he acquired the first part of his collection: a few commemorative post Second World War Soviet medals. They may not have been worth much, but since finding those medals, he has obtained bayonets, knives, shells and uniforms. Bertin says after every find he has a ritual he always goes through with each item.

“Every single item I get my hands on, I look up what it is. Like right know, I’m holding a bayonet.” He said examining the antique blade in his hands. “It’s about two feet long in total, and just by looking at the surface of it, you can see there’s a little C shape with an arrow in it. So I figured out that was and still is the Canadian forces symbol and there is also a date on it, 1907, and through the magic of Google and image recognition, I found out this is a LE Enfield First World War bayonet.”

He hasn’t found anything owned by anyone high ranking or well known like Hitler or Stalin, but hopes someday to find such a treasure.

Both Bertin brothers have extensive collections, each with their own reasons behind collecting: One for his love of history and knowledge and the other for the love of the search and the love of all things geeky; One intends to sell a chunk of his collection to buy more while the other intends to keep everything and use them as teaching props after graduation. Which collection is of higher value? Both cost a lot of time and money, but both have significant value to each collector.  Neither brother can see the other giving up anytime soon.

Remembering the fallen

the Cadets with Mitchell McClain at the front pay their respects for those who died in the great wars.

Ryan C. holds his turn at Vigil in front of the memorial.

The Wreath set by the mayor in honor of the town of Woodstock.

By: Tony Bourgeois

Woodstock

The anniversary of the Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge during World War two where Canadian soldiers managed to capture the ridge using rolling barrages and superior tactics and training. The day marked one of the greatest military triumphs the Canadian history. The cadet core in Woodstock paid tribute to the fallen soldiers by holding vigil all night at the memorial in front of the court house. Each cadet took turns swapping each hour, the sound of the replacements marching could be heard every hour there stomps after every command sounding almost like a gun shot. At 5:30 the veterans looking over the cadets lowered the flag to half mast for those fallen in the taking of Vimy Ridge. In the morning all the cadets marched to the memorial where a ceremony was being held, a red poppy placed next to every name on the memorial that was from Carleton County. To remember the soldiers that fought and died for their country. A simple yet ever so important task.  

Theresa Ruel is Cadet Captain and believes days of remembrance are very important anniversaries. “I think events like this really bring home our history.” Said cadet captain Ruel “I know in a lot of places like in England when we were doing the Remembrance Day training for the Silver Star cadets some of them remarked that they have friends in England who said they don’t have parades anymore for Remembrance Day. They don’t acknowledge it anymore.” She says, “I think it’s important to remember how we got to where we are and the sacrifices that were made.”

Theresa Ruel stayed up most of the night to make sure Master warrant officer Mitchell McClain had all the kids up when it was their turn at vigil and marched them down to swap up every hour, his commands echoing through Main Street.  He says events like Vimy Day heavily influence the cadets. “I’ve seen some pretty messed up faces when they saw images of trench foot and tonight their out in the cold just for an hour where as the people that fought in trenches in Vimy Ridge and elsewhere. They sat in the trenches 365 days a year and they never got a break and usually sleep was restless similar to what I am going to experience, not on as great a level. It’s still an eye opener.” He said before he went down to check on the next group of cadets about to take their turn at vigil.

Near the end of the Vimy Day ceremonies mayor Arthur Slip placed a wreath on the memorial. He said, “It’s reassuring to know people still are willing to come out on a beautiful spring day to pay tribute to the fallen. A lot of people probably weren’t aware that there were ten Carlten County residents that were killed in that battle and I think having the names read here this morning drive that point home.”

Paul Hanson is a member of ANI Vets and is the one responsible for putting together the list of all the soldiers on the memorial who were from the Carlton County area. Hanson was up at 5:30. He was the man chosen to lower the Canadian flag to half mast and was also chosen to be the master of ceremonies. He dedicated a portion of his life to making sure the soldiers of Carlton County would be remembered.  He decided to compile the list on the anniversary of Vimy ridge a few years ago. Then he started doing research through the internet and through the libraries to narrow down but says it’s still subject to correction. He said he put a lot of work into gathering the information. Hanson believes it’s important for people to know their heritage. He says now the cadets who paid tribute at the cenotaph can “in twenty years time maybe with their children with them and tell them “I was on guard of honor on that all night when I was in Cadets in honor of Vimy Ridge and I can take you up there and show you that name and around there is another name of the people who were killed in that battle” he said, “It’s all in our history. That’s how we got to where we are.”

Some people have more reasons than others to remember the pat soldiers who fought and died. Allan Sears was in the Navy 13 years and his Father served in world war two and killed in 1944. He was shot down over the Dutch border and five of his crew were killed and two were captured. He says to him Remembrance Day is one of the most important days of the year “to remember the sacrifices of those men and women that fought to keep Canada free and keep the western world free.”

Allan Sears, his Father and every other Veteran sacrificed a lot for this country. Many made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives and remembering them is the least we can do. Whether it’s the names on Paul Hanson’s list or simply the deeds that they did we all have a reason to remember them and hold their memories in or hearts.

                                                          

Soldiers on the memorial from Carlton County

Robin A. Hawkins

Guy Tompkins

Perley H. Green

Lucius McDougall

Reuben L. Nevers

Lee W. Grandlemire

Arthur Frost

Harliegh B. Watson

Charles H. Bull

Accounting for the future

Anatasha Lyons shows her pride in the job NBCC prepared her for.

Anatasha Lyons in her office as account manager at RBC.

By: Tony Bourgeois

Woodstock Among the many graduates of the NBCC Business administration is Anatasha Lyons, account manager at RBC, Woodstock branch. Two weeks before attending the course she was diagnosed with cancer.

Lyons graduated from the business administration accounting program in June 2010. She is currently working as an account manager at RBC.  Two weeks before attending college, Lyons was diagnosed with cancer. Today, she’s two years cancer free. She looks back upon her time at NBCC and said her instructors were very supportive. “I went to all my teachers and told them this is my goal and I don’t want to be treated differently but I will be going through treatment for the next two years and they were highly, highly supportive.” She said the entire experience was a tough and challenging one. She was not only going through her cancer treatments, but had a two year old at home that needed to be cared for. It was the support from friends that made it possible for her to handle. “It was very challenging” she said, “but with the support that I had with the teachers and the friends that I had there it was a camaraderie that really made it possible to go through those two years.” 

She owes a lot of her success to positive thinking in order to get through the piles of schoolwork and cancer treatments. “There’s a lot to be said about positive thinking and making it smaller than what it is,” she explained. “It was a challenge and every day, I told myself this is where I need to prove myself and everything I didn’t do during high school, I‘m gonna do now.” Lyons joined the SRC, which helped her do special assignments and projects in order to get the scholarships she did.

 Now out of college, Lyons looks back at her college experience and tells us one of her favorite memories from when she was a part of the student council. “We did a whole month of ‘We love Haiti’, and we did a bake auction,” she said.  “Everyone would bid on these cakes and cheese cakes and cup cakes and cookies. I swear to God, every time that I tried to win something or go half on something with someone, Tim Marshal would out bid me on the cupcakes. He still owes me about six of them because he looked at me and he knew he was going to out bid me.”

Lyons is still connected with the school through Hillary Crawford. She says she’s still fighting for one of the issues she wanted back when she was the Provincial President. “One of the big issues I wanted when I was the provincial president was to get a health care program in place,” she explained. “I’ve been doing my best to keep in touch and offer my services and volunteering my time.” In fact, Lyons is still dedicated to the idea of a health care program for the school and is still trying to get it into place.  

Lyons says she owes a lot to this school and still suggests to anyone interested to check it out. This college she believes can do a lot for the town. “It brings in people from different areas,” she said. “When I was there, we had a lot of people in my class that traveled down from Plaster Rock and Florenceville.” She says having the school being known for trades will bring in tradesmen from the city that are renting buildings and bring business to the town.

Lyons is just one of the success stories of NBCC alumni and she says she would like to thank all her instructors “I had a great two years with you guys and I don’t regret taking one single step with you. Thank you so much for supporting me.”

Stabbed journalist remembered as a hero (My Obituary)

MONCTON - Moncton Journalist Tony Bourgeois died a hero March 5^th, the eve of his 30^th birthday. Bourgeois was stabbed to death while preventing a rape of a 14 year-old girl when walking home from The Manhattan Bar.

“He was really drunk after the ‘3 Inches of Blood’ show,” said Dennis Bertin. Bertin was a close friend and attended the concert with Bourgeois. “He decided to walk home after the show for some reason, I think he just didn’t want to pay for a cab but he mentioned something about ‘liking the stars’. I think he got hit in the head a few times during the show.”  

While walking home, Bourgeois reported spotted three men attempting assault upon a young woman.  Eyewitnesses claim Bourgeois attacked the assailants, screaming incoherently. During the altercation, Bourgeois was reportedly stabbed, leading to his death.  On scene police claim Bourgeois was protecting the young victim, screaming, “Is that all you got! I’m indestructible, bitch!”  The journalist later died from the injuries sustained during the dispute.

Bourgeois’s funeral was held in his garage.  Mourners were invited to riffle through the deceased collectables, getting an insight into the life Bourgeois led.

“We got bored one night and we all wrote down what we would like our funerals to be like,” Robby Carl, the deceased former roommate. “That’s why there’s a shot gun at the back, he always hated zombies.”

Many people lined up to pay their last respects, each mourner taking a shot of fireball on the casket as a sign of respect as they walked by. 

“Tony didn’t want us crying about him. There was actually a sign up somewhere that said ‘No Crying Allowed’,” said Tony’s oldest friend Matt Luy. “He hated when people were upset.” 

The cheers of honour rang out and the Bourgeois Band took the stage to play “A Tout Le Monde”, a cover originally performed by MegaDeth.

“He always loved super heroes and comics,” said his girlfriend Elizabeth Horgan. “He told me once if he had to choose a way to die, it would be to save someone else. His only regret would be he didn’t have a super hero costume on when it happened.”

Teachers Teaching Teachers

Signe Gurholt, president of APACT has her photo assignment looked over by the class.”

Derek Croney NBCC Photography instructor teaches a group of instructors about the rule of thirds at the APACT Conference earlier this week.

By Tony Bourgeois

WOODSTOCK-The 37^th Annual Atlantic Province Association of Communication Teachers Conference was held at NBCC in Woodstock earlier this week with instructors from all over Atlantic Canada coming in for the event. This year the focus was about making students feel involved.

“The main theme of this year conference is inclusion, so we have looked at that from all sorts of angles,” said APACT President Signe Gurholt. “We’re thinking of ways to get all sorts of different kinds of students learning.”

The most popular part of the conference, like most years, was the ‘best practices portion’. The idea is for instructors to share lessons, tools or methods they have used and found helpful so other instructors can learn from them.

Tammy Hillworth, an instructor at Holland College in PEI attended her first APACT conference.  She says the part of the conference she loved the most is the best practices, “We get ideas from other teachers on activities and strategies and tools they use in their classroom that’s invaluable.” Hillworth presented her project geared toward the students who ask, “Why do we need this?”

Woodstock was chosen to be the location of this year’s conference by request from other members. It was Hillworth’s first time in Woodstock. “I’ve never been to Woodstock before and I didn’t realize the town was as big as it actually is,” said Hillworth. “It’s very beautiful and the campus here right along the river is just gorgeous.”