My first cell phone came in a black bag. A 1992 model, it had a receiver, an attachment to connect it to the cigarette lighter in my car, a battery pack and a plug for a wall socket. The numbers lit up, and you could increase or decrease the volume with a button on the…
My Mom, who is quite a character (for those of you who don’t know her). She loves wood. She loves birds eye maple. She adores butternut. She can do wonders with red cedar. She has a well supplied woodworking shop and last summer she presented us with a picnic table for the rock outcrop at…
Dooley Greer died this week. He had a stroke in his home and his vital signs left him at Royal Victoria Hospital a few hours later. He was 78. And for three days, Barrie residents whose lives have been touched by the actions and attitudes of this man, have been thinking about him, paying homage…
There’s a house on Burton Avenue that looks much like any other. But, inside is a plethora of scent and colour. The basement floor is covered with clipped boughs, stem bits, ferns, petals. The workbench is crammed with containers, sponges, foams, wires, cutters. It’s here that artist Marti Evans uses living plants and flowers to…
Philomena Purdon had made herself sick with worry. Since moving to Barrie from Ireland (via Toronto and Bracebridge), she had joined the rat-race of the unemployed job seeker. She’d filled out so many applications she lost count. She photocopied resumes, hand delivered them with covering letters, hoping she’d get a call. She didn’t. She took…
It’s a typical thing… and I guess we all get caught up in it. The late part of August has parents thinking about Fall activities. The Y brings out its fall activity brochure; the City brings out its Department of Recreation programs. Thoughts turn to new classes at school, new opportunities, and “re-joining” clubs and…
It was a classic case of the chickens coming home to roost. For years, those of us lucky enough to enjoy a water-based community in the Georgian Bay have been clucking away about the recklessness of pleasure cruiser drivers… people who go out and spend thousands of dollars on powerful pleasure boats and don’t spend…
You might say that Jeanne Best reached the glass ceiling. Jeanne Best is a registered nurse with a university degree which concentrates on the very special needs surrounding aging and medical care. As a multi-year employee with Simcoe County Health Unit, Jeanne’s work centred around accessibility to nursing and retirement homes for aging seniors. She’s…
So… you’re just finishing your second year in radio and television arts at a Toronto university. It’s summer and you need at least 16 weeks of solid work to earn the money for next year’s education. You’ve got some choices… you can wait tables or tend bar at a summer night spot (good for the…
This weekend, year-round and summer residents of “The Point” will look up on a stage with scenery so familiar they’ll want to step into the picture. They’ll be watching a historical stage show that captures some of the highlights of the last three-quarters of a century in their community. The event is the celebration of…