Column 129 If we’re going to open a cheese shop, where is the best location? Where will our customers come from? Will a destination location work, or should we choose a high traffic area? And how about cheese distributors and quotas? And what cheese will be popular? And might people want to stop by…
Column 128 Well, it’s back to school time. Four year olds are thrilled with new lunch bags. Grade 9 students are nervous about ths first step into high school. College kids are learning how to get around new communities and set up bank accounts. What about the older folks? The desire for information never…
Column 127 For those of us who’ve lived in Barrie a long time, the Snelgrove name is tied in with entrepreneurial effort and communications. Ralph Snelgrove started CKVR Television; his brother Bert managed CKBB and CKCB radio stations; the two families lived on Theresa St and the kids went to public and high school…
Column 126 When John Beecroft took over Dr Art Doidge’s medical practice at Wellington Medical Group in 1972, he stepped into the new world of family medicine. One of the first graduates in the family medicine specialty at Western’s Medical School, Dr John Beecroft was certified in the college of family practice, treating family…
Column 125 I was an awkward, unsure 12 year old the day my dad drove in with a canoe tied to the roof of his car. An on-the-road salesman for automotive parts, his territory included parts north of Orangeville, which made our Irish Lake cottage a handy overnight location and time with his busy…
Column 124 It could be your toddler at preschool. A major storm hits, traps kids in a burning building. It could be your parent, in a secured ward in a long term care facility. The building is threatened and the people are trapped. It could be a mentally ill gunman with death on his…
Column 123 Kelly Scaglione has a multi facetted view of the penal, system. She’s married to a soft spoken police officer. She’s served on the board of directors for the John Howard Society which helps men reintegrate when they finish a prison term. She helps out at the Salvation Army’s Bayside Mission, which is…
Column 122 Picture this. Your grandfather, or your father, or someone you care about is living alone. Not in the same city as you. He (or she) is unwell. They need regular medications and they get confused about whether they’ve taken their pills or even had breakfast or lunch. It happens. Picture this. You’ve…
Column 121 This afternoon (if you’re reading this on Thursday) scores of farmers, restauranteurs, foodies, and community builders are gathering to honour Sandra Trainor. This woman’s diligent activism has changed everything from seeds in the soil to food in our mouths in Simcoe County. Sandra Trainor is moving to Sault Ste Marie to join…
Column 120 For many of us Barrie ‘oldtimers’ the half block from Bayfield to Maple, from Ross towards Dunlop represents the Woolworths Department Store. In its heyday, it was the pre-mall shopping mecca and it truly carried everything, from men’s suits to goldfish! In later years it has held, simultaneously, a huge bar called…