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AN
INCH OF A GLIMPSE
In one “inch of a glimpse” into a man’s
character, author Baden Vance captures Henigan Rush
in a delightful reflection on the marking of a man’s
passage on earth. Henigan Rush was born to Charles
and Winifred Rush on their Sugar Island farm quite
near the end of the long wintertime-afternoon shadow
of St. Edmund’s granite tower, at Stoco, Ontario,
in 1891.
Henigan Rush purchased a place of his own, still within
sight of St. Edmund's, but on its other side, closer
to that afternoon sun, and with his wife Maggie Mae
kept the farm in calendar-picture condition while
raising three daughters, teachers each of them. As
it happened, too, Mr. Rush loved a fair, and pitched-in
as treasurer or sometimes secretary of The Tweed Fair
Board for between 40 and 50 years — “closer
to 50!” says Stan Genereux, an admirer. His keen
interest in federal and municipal politics led him
to serve as president of the Hungerford Liberal Association,
for a mere 35 years. Then on top of that, being a
milk producer, he thought he had better take his turn
as president of the Stoco Cheese Factory: a 37-year
turn. And he superintended the St. Edmund's Cemetery
“for ages and ages,” according to Elaine
Courneya, a neighbour. No, no, John Henigan Rush would
have been happy being summed up as a responsible —
as quite a responsible — citizen, and leave it
at that.
But author Baden Vance, at 25, had had no knowledge
of this 83-year-old Mr. Rush's civic record, nor would
Mr. Rush enlighten him either, as age and youth paid
their visit to that farm. What did capture the Vance's
imagination that day was this old widower's fearless
and sometimes quite tender revelations, his story-telling
fluency too, yes, but rarer still an ability, an eagerness,
to listen to stories — even, even, when interrupted
by them.
HENIGAN COMES TO LIFE AGAIN
“You will enjoy this moving reflection on a poignant
experience long cherished by the author, upon whose
mind was indelibly impressed his encounter, as a young
man, with an elderly local legend. The arresting illustrations
by a very talented local artist, Sue Vander Wey, delightfully
enrich the verbal images of the text. The subject,
the creative writing and the striking artwork of this
book make an important contribution to our recorded
heritage…”
– Evan Morton, curator, Tweed and Area Heritage
Centre
“Baden Vance has brought Henigan Rush to life
again. As I read I can hear that raspy cackle, see
the shake of his laughing, suit-coated shoulders,
feel the mirth behind the glint of his one good eye.
Like the Moira River that poetically meanders through
the story, Baden winds the past and present, youth
and age, into a revealing glimpse of a good man, a
thinker and born story-teller. How proud Henigan would
be to know he truly is “Gone but not Forgotten…”
– Patricia Cockburn, publisher, Them Were The
Days
“I will always remember Henigan’s bright
geraniums and, when my parents would take us on a
Sunday drive, my father would comment on the neatness
and tidiness of the Henigan Rush place. Somehow, I
was given to understand that the measure of a man
was connected to the look of his “place”.
I truly enjoyed Baden’s accounting of his trip
to the farm, his curiosity, his impatience and the
metaphors he used to describe the many special moments
of his visit … a lovely literary piece.”
– Leona Dombrowsky, MPP, Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox
and Addington
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HENIGAN
RUSH 