A New West boy recently paid tribute to a mentor and struck gold all in the same day.
When the New Westminster Heritage Preservation Society approached Marie Takacs about including her Dutch Colonial house on this year’s Heritage Homes Tour, she agreed – on the condition that she be able to raise funds in memory of her former neighbour, Shirley Piper, who passed away suddenly in April 2014. Piper was a founding member of the Group of Five, which raises money to buy equipment for Royal Columbian Hospital.
“The community really supported it which was really, really sweet,” she said. “What they were trying to raise money for is a teaching mannequin with a spine for epidural placement. Royal Columbian is a teaching hospital. They spoke with the doctors about what they would wish for and this is what they had asked for.”
Matthew Takacs, 11, insisted on being part of fundraiser and offered to play the bagpipes at the May 29 event. A member of the New Westminster peewee A1 Salmonbellies team that was taking part in the Wayne Goss Tournament in White Rock that weekend, he missed his team’s morning game because he wanted to help his mom raise money for Royal Columbian Hospital.
“He was very, very close to Shirley Piper, and Michael,” she said. “They were the ones who influenced him to become a bagpiper.”
The Takacs family moved into their home across the street from the Pipers’ home when Matthew was three-years-old. He would see Dr. Michael Piper outside his home wearing his kilt before attending weddings or funerals and told him he wanted to wear a kilt, only to be informed he needed to be Scottish, marry a Scot or become a bagpiper to don a kilt.
Today, Matthew is a bagpiper with Simon Fraser University’s Robert Malcom Memorial Pipe Band (Grade 5). For the fundraiser, he donned his kilt and raised money for Shirley.
“She was like a grandmother to Matthew growing up,” Takacs said. “They have had a very profound effect on my kids.”
Matthew played the bagpipes and accepted donations for the Group of Five, raising more than $400 in two hours. Takacs made some fairy gardens and flower arrangements to raffle off, bringing the family’s donation up to $1,359.
Matthew made it to White Rock in time for the afternoon game, where he helped his team win the gold medal. The Bellies weren’t the only winners that day, as the Heritage Homes Tour was a huge success.
“More than 1,000 visitors criss-crossed the city to view 13 homes and venues including Bernie Legge Theatre, 100 Braid Street Studios, the museum at Anvil Centre and the Gallery at Queen’s Park,” said Catherine Hutson, a director with the New Westminster Heritage Preservation Society. “The sun shone and the houses, gardens and tour-goers basked in its warm glow. It was a New West kind of day.”
