Guest Post by Joe Barkovich – fromareportersnotebook

WELLAND – Life can be extinguished, but not so much the memories. Mark Turner found himself turning back pages of his in an almost empty coffee shop one night this week.

Pond hockey, family bonds, and Julia’s Hope Cup were among reasons for our rendezvous. Turner, an assistant coach with Pelham Panthers Jr. B hockey team, came bearing a gift: a poster for the upcoming Julia’s Hope Cup and Carnival in Chippawa Park.

Niece Julia Turner was on his mind and close to his heart, the latter softly written upon his face. Julia passed December 23, 2011, aged 15. He recalled her community involvement, things like volunteering at Hope Centre or helping mom Tina at Harvest Kitchen nights or her social justice activities at Notre Dame. He fielded questions about her not hurriedly but so lovingly after giving each some thought.

Asked to share a memory or two, he replied: “She made you feel special, but you knew she was special. This was as she was getting into her teens. I couldn’t talk to her like she was a little girl anymore…. I suppose the biggest thing would be, whether it was me or someone who just met her – she was a caring person, she always had a smile on her face.”

I’ll let the poster in the photo accompanying this piece speak for itself. It does a good job promoting the popular wintertime fundraiser, this being the 13th. It gives you what you need to know about what it has to offer. Chances are you’ve heard about it or read about it by this time.

What I wanted from this interview was for Turner to amplify three cornerstones that contribute to its success: family, friends and fun. You might say the three are in the family’s DNA. Here are snippets of our conversation:

Why is Julia’s Hope Cup important to you?: “Julia was such a special girl. We’re honoring her, celebrating her. This is something she would like to be involved with. It’s important because it keeps the memories alive for us and for so many people.”

Why is Julia’s Hope Cup important to the Turner family?: ”Although she had such a short life, she gave so much value – not only to her life but to other peoples’ lives. Our father (Fred Turner) used to say: always respect your last name. Julia definitely gave the Turner name that same respect. Like everyone else in our family, she’s a big part of our family to this day. She always will be.”

Why is Julia’s Hope Cup important to the community?: “ There’s such a need ‘out there’, not only in the city but the country we live in. So it’s nice to raise not only the money, but the recognition the homeless, and homelessness, need when we put Julia’s name to it. She cared about other people, she cared about the human spirit and she valued life. You feel good when you give to something like this, you know this is what she would have done.”

Turner says he’s not surprised the event is still going strong. When the weather’s right, it’s Canadian heritage at its finest, he says.

“It’s a winter event that family and children can come out to and enjoy, with hot chocolate, hot food. Being outside in February is the Canadian way that we grew up with and being at Chippawa Park pond holds a special place in the hearts of many Wellanders. I was there after school in winter every day and weekends too. It was a Turner tradition, a neighbourhood tradition. We all skated there.” (If the pond can’t be used for skating, the format will be a ball hockey tournament on a closed-off street at the park.)

Turner, 56, says he started skating when he was about two, “probably when I started walking.” Before becoming part of Pelham Jr. B. Panthers, he was an assistant coach with Welland Jr. B Canadians for two years and also coached in the Welland Minor Hockey Association ranks about 15 years. The affinity for being on blades of steel was described as “a Turner thing” – they all did it. Thanks to his hockey involvement, he says the Panthers team will be in attendance at Julia’s Hope Cup and some of the Welland team’s players too.

The out-of-town Turner siblings come home for Julia’s Hope Cup weekend: Michele from London, Greg from Lambton Shores, John from London and this carries on another family tradition.

Says Turner: “We had two caring parents, they were always there for us, they had their social life but they always supported our dreams, our sports events. My dad never skipped out on any of our stuff to do something for himself, he was at every occasion.”

The fund-raising goal for Julia’s Hope Cup and Carnival is $50,000. It’s in recognition of The Hope Centre’s 50th anniversary. Turner is confident Wellanders will respond to the call, confident the goal will be reached.

“This is a caring community.  Whenever there’s a crisis in Welland the city comes together, the community comes together,” Turner says. “If there’s an illness and someone needs help or a special occasion that needs support, people just pull together. That’s Welland for you, that’s Wellanders.”