Summerland residents living in the Canyon View Road area may have noticed something different the last couple of Aprils.
No longer has Ed Antonovitch been pulling up on his bicycle and coming to their doors, canvassing for the Canadian Cancer Society as he had done faithfully for 24 years.
“I started from Canyon View Road at the bridge that went across the Canyon and went all the way up to the golf course and did all the side streets off of there,” explained Antonovitch.
“I did that the first week in April and people were always ready with their cheques. They knew I was coming.”
Antonovitch and his wife have lived in Summerland for 50 years. Arriving in 1965, he opened Ed’s Radio and T.V. He operated his shop until he retired in 1994.
For his retirement, his children bought him and his wife each a bicycle.
When April rolled around the next year, Antonovitch started canvassing using his bike.
Since his assigned area was hilly, he broke it up, covering the area over the span of three or four evenings.
“I never kept track of how much I collected but I know it was between $1,000 and $1,500 each year,” he said.
Although Antonovitch found it difficult to knock on doors and ask for money at first, after a couple of years it became a force of habit for him.
He enjoyed meeting the people and listening to how cancer had affected their lives.
“Boy, some of the sad stories I ran across, that cancer was doing to those people,” he said.
During his door to door canvassing, Antonovitch also discovered senior citizens who were lonely and just wanted someone to talk to.
“One woman always had goodies and coffee for me,” he explained.
Cancer touched Antonovitch himself a number of years ago. It motivated him to keep on with his volunteer work with the Cancer Society.
“After all the sad stories I heard it made me feel pretty good to be doing something to help,” he said.
Elsie Antonovitch supported her husband during the campaigns and always kept supper warm for him long after she and the children had eaten.
Speaking of his volunteer work she said, “I thought it was a good thing he was doing….a wonderful thing really.”
Antonovitch is no longer able to continue in this type of service.
“I had to retire because my legs and back wouldn’t let me do anything anymore,” he explained.
Although his body may be weak, his spirit remains strong.
“I’d like to get my bicycle and go out again,” he said.
The Cancer Society recognized Antonovitch for his years of service by mailing him a certificate expressing their appreciation.
Antonovitch said he was not looking for publicity. “I just liked doing it and riding my bicycle and that was it,” he said.
Although he did not want publicity, he said he did hope that by sharing his experience as a volunteer with the Cancer Society, that it might encourage others to volunteer themselves.
April is Daffodil Month.
It is the time of year when the Canadian Cancer Society holds its national fundraising campaign. According to their website, there is always an urgent need for volunteers.