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Eddie Williams keeps 1920s St. Patrick's Day walk going by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 9 | Friday, March 15, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Toronto St. Pat's jersey. Check. Walking stick. Check. Bright green tam and pants. Check. Oakville's Eddie Williams, 61, will hit the streets, Sunday, to once again undertake the time-honoured St. Patrick's Day tradition of a 40-kilometre walk from Toronto's City Hall to a bar in downtown Oakville. This will be trip No. 37 for Williams, who stopped by the Oakville Beaver Wednesday to talk about the upcoming trek. "Maybe it's an addiction, maybe it's a compulsion," said Williams, regarding why he does the walk every year. "The people of Oakville expect me to do it. After I do it, for the next six months people come up to me at work, on the street and in the shopping mall and ask if I did my walk. After that at around October, November, December people come up and ask if I'm going to do the walk... It's just amazing. It's become a tradition and I feel good when I do it." The ritual, which Williams honours so passionately, dates back to 1922 when a group of prohibition-weary Irishmen made the trip from Toronto to Oakville in search of bootleg green beer. The memory of this great journey was initially kept alive by walker Charlie Priestman, who passed the responsibility on to Barney Heard, who in turn undertook the walk for 20 years before collapsing during a St. Patrick's Day snowstorm in 1976 in Mississauga. Heard was driven to Oakville that year, but completed the walk the next year for the final time. Williams joined Heard for that walk and promised to keep the tradition going. It is a promise Williams intends to honour for as long as he can. "My son thinks I can do No. 40. I tell him `Let's just get through No. 37 first,'" said Williams. "No. 40 is around 1,000 days away, but I would strive for that. As I was doing it I got to 10 years and then to 15 then 20 then a quarter century. It just seems like the time has flown by." Williams said this year he will be walking in memory of the penny, which was retired in February, and Canadian country musician `Stompin' Tom Connors, who passed away on March 6. The walk will take place rain or shine, Sunday, with Williams kicking off the walk at Toronto City Hall at 9 a.m. Williams expects to finish the walk at downtown Oakville's Southside Cottage Grill, located at 234 Lakeshore Rd. E., between 4 and 5 p.m. As always, he said, anyone who wants to accompany him on the walk is more than welcome to do so. Oakville's own Eddie Williams, 61, is back for his timehonoured traditional St. Patrick's Day walk from Toronto to Oakville. This will be the 37th time Williams will be putting on his annual walk. photo by Riziero Vertolli ­ Oakville Beaver Protect your family. Prepare for their future. We can help with both. Stop by for your free State Farm Insurance and Financial Review®. Get to a better StateTM. Get State Farm®. CONTACT A STATE FARM AGENT TODAY. The Regional Municipality of Halton REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS P-544-13 Affordable Housing Communities For Halton Region To Be Developed Under The Investment In Affordable Housing (IAH) Rental Housing Program Issue Date: Thursday, February 28, 2013 Closing Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013 Closing Time: 2:00 p.m. Oakville Time On and after the Issue Date, Bid documents are available for download from the Biddingo.com website at www.Biddingo.com/halton. Halton Region's non-refundable fee is $12.43 (includes HST). Bid documents can also be viewed or obtained from Purchasing Services Halton Region, 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, ON, L6M 3L1, during regular business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For inquiries telephone 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-442-5866, ext. 7011. The cost for a hard copy bid document is $31.07 (includes HST), payable to Halton Region, which is non-refundable. 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For further information go to: www.biddingo.com/halton Darryl R Demille Ins Agcy Ltd Andrew J Heideman, Agent Angelo Gualtieri, Agent Bartucci Ins and Fin Svcs Inc Stacey Sutherland, Agent Darryl R Demille, Agent 905-829-0018 Deborah Bartucci, Agent 905-339-3276 905-257-7773 www.insuranceinoakville.com 905-842-1020 www.andrewheideman.ca www.angelogualtieri.com 905-337-3276 www.autoinsuranceoakville.ca www.darryldemille.ca Stephen Ostapchuk, Agent Michelle Cooper Ins and Fin Sv 905-238-5643 Michelle Cooper, Agent www.stephenostapchuk.ca 905-826-4900 www.michellecooper.ca Grant Leslie, Agent 905-469-4499 www.grantleslie.ca Daniel Durst, Agent 905-847-1898 www.danieldurst.com Please contact us, as soon as possible, if you have any accessibility needs at Halton Region events or meetings. 14/15 0313 statefarm.ca® 1201622CN State Farm, Canadian Head Office, Aurora, Ontario