The believers behind the building of Hospice Simcoe knew how important the facility would be. They knew that people can’t always die at home; and that most of the time the wrong place to die is in a hospital. The staff, volunteers, fundraising coordinators, and ultimate believers like Dr Rick Irvin… they knew how important…
Nena Kaczanowski (now LaMarre) was 14 when she achieved her Grade 10 piano. And she was 14 when she started teaching piano, carrying 10-12 students all through high school. She was in the first violin class in elementary school in the region. She was the first person to perform a concert on the newly built…
When Patricia Phillips cuddled her first baby, Ryan, to her breast, she knew something wasn’t right. A year later, her daughter Kara had similar behaviours. Both were subsequently diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Called the children’s disease, Patricia was told not to expect either of her children to live past age 10. In 1982 and 83…
Very shortly, the wrecking ball will begin the process of taking down the old IGA, now the 24-hour Foodland on Mulcaster St near Collier. The store is coming down to make way for a substantial condo/commercial/residential development. Ultimately there will be a bigger Food Store incorporated into the development. But, that will take some time….
Next to Downtown and Allandale, the East End was the first part of Barrie to be developed. Kempenfelt Drive was a horse path in early years and the first stately homes were built along Blake St. Farms dotted the field of what is now Codrington St, and the road to Shanty Bay was an unpaved,…
“By sending this card which is printed on 100% ozone friendly paper, I am not only showing an interest in your Birthday, but in topical environmental issues as well! …So send it back when you get the chance and I’ll send it to you again next year!!” That was the message 20 years ago when…
It’s estimated that there are 2,500 people in Barrie whose first language is Spanish. That’s about the size of the town I grew up in. For people moving to build a new life in Barrie, people like Natalia and Max Fernandez and their wee daughter, there’s so much to learn. School systems, neighbours, culture, how…
It’s been four and a half years since Bob Reid became an almost-millionaire. It was big news at the time; 27 employees at Powco Steel Ltd had their ticket come up and won $24.5 million. Three women, 24 men. Two from the office, the rest from the plant. Some really young. Some, like Bob at…
And then I remembered these very days, only they occurred over a weekend in 1975. Barrie’s population was 31,399. Eastview Arena was a new building on Grove St, surrounded by farmland. The south end ended at the top of Essa Rd, near what was CKVR Television. Ponderosa Steakhouse was a mainstay eatery on the…
Braydon Miller gets the wiggles. When he was a little fella, doctors thought it was restlessness or ‘just being a boy’ but it turned out the wiggles became tics, uncontrollable tics, and finally, a year ago, Braydon was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Stacie Miller, Braydon’s mom, is an Educational Assistant at a school other than…