The Glebe Report - February 2025

‘Doing’ history makes it come alive

Glebe Collegiate’s Jessica McIntyre was thrilled to win the 2024 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching, but what really touched her was the reaction of her students when they heard the news.

“When they were told, they erupted in hoots and hollers and cheers,” she says. “It was such an affirmative moment, it was really humbling.”

The 38-year-old history teacher travelled to Winnipeg in November with her parents, her husband and two sons, aged six and eight, to accept the award, along with six other recipients, from Governor General Mary Simon.

“She’s so kind, such a role model,” McIntyre said of Simon, who insisted on picking up her youngest boy for a group photograph. “It was a wonderful experience.”

McIntyre’s award was in recognition of Project True North, which started in 2021. It focused on “what is not written,” illuminating the often-overlooked role of some First World War participants, like nurses and Black soldiers.

Each student was assigned one person, then had to do primary research, going through census records, military documents and old

newspapers to tell their story. It’s a lot different than memorizing names and dates, different from the way history used to be taught, but that’s the way they do it at Glebe, where history is the largest department.

“Glebe students don’t study history, they do history,” insists McIntyre, who’s been at the school since 2011. “We’re asking them to think about the world, not just remember things.”

Her three Grade 10 classes – two French immersion and one English as a second language – first studied the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the only allBlack military unit, that worked behind the lines in Europe to build roads, bridges, railways and water systems.

She was amazed how deep her students went. One spent 250 hours building a model of the ship that took the battalion to Europe because after great controversy, it carried the first non-segregated load of Canadian troops. “She wasn’t just building a ship,” says McIntyre, “she was building a piece that unified.”

Another student went through 2,000 pages of PDFs to find the alleged crime for which his soldier was court-martialled. “He genuinely cared. ‘It’s not

any soldier, it’s my soldier’.”

The next year, the focus was on 2,800 nursing sisters who cared for wounded soldiers in Canada, England, France, Belgium and Russia. At least 58 died during the war, including 14 killed when the Llandovery Castle hospital ship was sunk by a German U-boat. One girl told McIntyre that young women often didn’t relate to war stories mostly about men but “she thought this project allowed a lot of girls to see themselves in our history.”

In the third year, students researched soldiers who had medals housed at the Canadian War Museum, using primary documents and interviews with relatives to produce biographies of their subject.

McIntyre grew up in Ottawa and says she fell “in love with history at a young age” as she listened to her father tell old stories, and she credits other mentors along the way – her Grade 8 teacher Jamie Waite, her Colonel By history teacher David Parsons, uOttawa history professer Sharon Cook (mother of historian Tim Cook) and the highschool principal who later became her boss at Glebe, France Thibault – “She’s my North Star.”

She also thanks Blake Seward and Mason Cook, former teachers and now entrepreneurs. They developed Project True North for the entire school board; McIntyre was chosen to lead the pilot project.

Its success at Glebe led to another project, Walking Them Home, in partnership with Lisgar Collegiate. Students pieced together the lives of soldiers who died in the Second World War and, with permission from current householders, put signs in front of the homes where they once lived. Many of you have seen them. There were 35 signs in 2023; that grew to 90 last year.

“When you focus on individuals, history is a lot more tangible,” says McIntyre. “You think that this soldier, who walked to school the same way I do, did that. We’re teaching world history through a local lens.”

McIntyre’s prize included $2,500 for her and $1,000 for Glebe. Most of the personal prize is paying tuition for her husband who’s returned to school to become a teacher. The Glebe money is going toward digitizing school archives that go back to 1923, providing accessible research material that might be used for another history project.

Roger Smith, a retired journalist and copy editor of the Glebe Report, wrote this story with contributions from local author Ian McKercher, a former English teacher at Glebe Collegiate.

Jessica McIntyre, left, with Governor General of Canada Mary Simon, receives the 2024 Award for Excellence in Teaching History at Government House in Winnipeg PHOTO: ANNE-MARIE BRISSON

GNAG – the early years

By Jennie Aliman

Happy 50th anniversary, Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group!

You are our treasure, our “community’s living-room,” and we love you.

GNAG is unique in many ways.

First, there is the building that houses its programs and activities, the former St. James United Church, purchased by the City of Ottawa in 1973. There were many renovations over the years, especially the big one in 2003, but there remain limitations to providing services out of spaces that are not typical of most purpose-built community centres. No gym! No pool! No outdoor space! GNAG has managed to work creatively within the building and has grown to include satellite locations at Corpus Christi School, First Avenue Public School, Mutchmor Public School, St. James Tennis Club, St. Matthew’s Church and Glebe St. James Church.

Quirky as it is, the community loves this old building! And they showed it in 1996 when 1,200 people from the Glebe and Old Ottawa South marched together along Bank Street to Lansdowne Park to save their community centres. They loudly protested the city’s proposal to close the Firehall and the Glebe Community Centre and build a new combined facility at Brewer Park. GNAG and the community rallied, and the city withdrew its proposal. In 2003, construction began on a major $1.6-million renovation.

Built as a church, the building’s Main Hall has a cruciform floor plan, a soaring dome overhead and superb acoustics. For more than 20 years, this space

has been transformed once (or twice!) a year into GNAG Theatre, launching productions ranging from Shakespeare to Broadway, all masterfully directed by Eleanor Crowder. Even renovations didn’t stop GNAG’s commitment to community theatre. During that year, GNAG moved into the basement of Fourth Avenue Baptist Church, ran a few core programs and produced three shows on the basement stage!

Former executive director Mary Tsai says the true spirit of GNAG is creativity, connection and community. This is GNAG Theatre! All are welcome to participate, on stage or working behind the scenes in props, costumes, sets, lighting, production, stage crew or advertising and promotion. At showtime, the community comes out and celebrates the magic of live theatre. In April, enjoy this year’s show, Mary Poppins! Asked about celebrities appearing in past productions, Eleanor Crowder said, “For my money, everyone is a celebrity in this context.” She mentions working with family groups –parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, three generations, families of four, some several times over. When pushed, she remembers performances by Alan Neal, Joel Westheimer, David

Chernushenko, Mary Tsai and Mary Tsai on Paul O’Donnell’s shoulders. GNAG was incorporated in April 1975. In September 1975, Ilse Kyssa opened the unique The Pantry Vegetarian Tea-Room in the GCC. GNAG began advertising that “healthy snacks” were included in the after-school program. The children would line up at the kitchen door, and Ilse would serve them a cup of hot vegetable soup or a bagel with cream cheese or everyone’s favourite, her home-made honey-butter! Ilse was way ahead of her time, rode her bicycle to work, wore Birkenstocks, shopped at Herb & Spice and took compost home from the restaurant because there was no city recycling program. Her tea-room was cozy, with the church’s original woodwork and old-world furnishings that made folks feel like they were in a European café. GNAG celebrated Ilse with a retirement strawberry social in June 1995. The traditions of the cozy vegetarian café carried on with Carolyn Best for many years.

Jane Wilson, who cheerfully worked at the front desk from 1984 until recently, remembers that from the mid to late 80s, The Pantry was host to George the cat. “George came every morning to The Pantry, entering off

Second Avenue and residing at the head of a large oak table that would seat eight comfortably. He was a lovely cat, never cranky, just content with a gentle pat on the head.”

Over the years, GNAG has provided a safe and welcoming place to play, learn and grow. Mary Lovelace, a forever volunteer and GNAG’s long-time director of administration, remembers “the chaotic hum of a busy place that was making a difference to the community.”

Friends who live in Alta Vista say they always feel welcome at GNAG events. Former GNAG vice-chair Sheri Segal Glick convinced her husband to move from Centretown to the Glebe because “my oldest was attending Glebe Cooperative Nursery School, and I just fell in love with GNAG.”

These both speak to the specialness of the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group. So, congratulations GNAG on 50 years of success, and thank you for listening, believing, inspiring and empowering us.

If you wish to learn more about the Glebe Community Centre, there is a comprehensive history of the building written by former GNAG chair Karen Reynolds available on the GNAG website under “history”.

50 Memorable Moments

GNAG invites you to share a favourite GNAG memory on its social feeds. Send your memories to clare@gnag. ca with the subject line “Memorable Moments” and then check out what others remember!

Watch for upcoming information about GNAG’s Family Celebration, Saturday afternoon May 31 and the 50th Anniversary Dance, Saturday evening May 31, featuring Kelly Lee Evans! Jennie Aliman has been growing with GNAG since 1987.

Behind the banner, from left: Wendy DaigleZinn, Diane McIntyre, Paige Zinn, unknown child, Doreen Drolet, unknown woman, Nadia Moravec In front: artist Ian Van Lock and children SOURCE: GLEBE REPORT, AUGUST 1996

In 1996, 1,200 people from the Glebe and Old Ottawa South marched along Bank Street to Lansdowne to save their community centres The city eventually dropped its proposal to close the Glebe Community Centre and the Firehall SOURCE: GLEBE REPORT, JUNE 1996

Paul Barber, the Black man who shaped Ottawa’s horse racing scene

By Lauren Roulston

When Queen Victoria chose Ottawa to be the capital of Canada in 1857, the city’s population surged. Construction teams hustled to erect government buildings and homes for civil servants as part of the rapid expansion.

The jobs that opened up in Parliament and the city’s industrial sector welcomed a rich tapestry of newcomers. For Black people at that time, jobs were mainly limited to service-sector jobs like general labour, barbering or cleaning laundry.

Yet Paul Barber, one of Ottawa’s earliest Black residents, stood out as an exceptionally skilled horse trainer who would make significant impacts on the city’s equestrian community.

Tom Barber, Paul’s grandson, lives in Ottawa and has been gathering extensive documentation about the history of his family, particularly his grandfather. According to his research, when his grandfather came to Ottawa around 1885, there weren’t any horse trainers listed in the city directory.

In those days before mass-produced automobiles, he says, people cared deeply for the horses that brought them to and fro. But horses weren’t just trained for the everyday.

“The premier sport, the sport of the elite was horse racing,” says Tom. “They held races on the Ottawa River, right where you see the inter-provincial bridge.”

As horse-racing elites caught wind of his talent for taming and caring for the animals, Paul Barber’s name became well known in the community. In the Glebe, horses raced at Lansdowne Park where Paul’s work played a crucial role.

The Central Canada Exhibition was an end-of-summer staple for over 120 years at Lansdowne. Most attendees came to the fair by horse-drawn cab or by boat along the Rideau Canal, until the streetcar made its debut in 1891.

According to the Historical Society of Ottawa, when the Exhibition opened in September 1888, over 300 horses were on show. There were standard horses, thoroughbreds, carriage horses, saddle horses, hunters and heavy draught horses. They even held Roman chariot races on the racetrack where the football stadium stands today.

Paul Barber’s skills as a horse trainer were rooted in his early life in Kentucky where he was born into slavery. There, he learned from his enslaver, Philetus Swift Barber, who worked with horses. Paul learned to ride and care for the horses, and he trained some of Philetus’s to race.

His grandson Tom has spent countless hours in libraries and archives, poring over maps, newspapers, pictures and public records. He also flew to Kentucky around 2003 and headed to the mansion where Philetus Swift Barber lived.

Rosewell, an 1825 mansion, sits at the end of a long driveway surrounded by lush grass. “At this house, my grandfather at four years old comes into [Philetus’s] possession,” Tom says. He walked up to the grand entrance of the estate with its tall white columns, then knocked on the door.

Tom recalls a short woman in a housecoat opening the door for him. “Hello, my name is Tom Barber,” he said. “I’m the grandson of Paul Barber.

Paul Barber, one of Ottawa’s earliest Black residents, stood out as an exceptionally skilled horse trainer who would make significant impacts on the city’s equestrian community.

He was a slave for Philetus Swift Barber, and I hear he lived here.”

She told him to wait while she fetched her husband. “This is where I get shot,” Tom jokes when he retells the story. Instead, the man took him down to the basement surrounded by thick stone walls. He was showing Tom the space where his enslaved grandfather would have slept with other slaves.

Paul Barber learned a lot in Kentucky and ventured to cities like Louisville and Bardstown. “Kentucky was innovative in all aspects of horses,” says Tom. The state famously stands as a cornerstone of horse racing history, with iconic tracks like Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

There’s also a precedent for Black excellence in Kentucky horse-racing, even though it was a racially segregated society. Tom points to the early years of the Kentucky Derby when most winning horses had either a Black jockey or trainer.

The National Bureau of Economic Research says 13 out of 15 jockeys in the

very first Kentucky Derby were Black. They dominated the sport until around 1903 when Jim Crow regulations began to push them out.

After emancipation, Paul stayed and kept working with Philetus for many years. When he decided to move from Kentucky, the Barbers gave him some money and new clothes for the journey. Cecilia Barber, Philetus’s wife, even left land for Paul in her will.

When he studies the past, Tom Barber considers himself a time-traveller. Looking back, he says, “you have to erase all your prejudices.” Through his years of research, Tom Barber has not only uncovered the legacy of his innovative and esteemed grandfather but also connected to a broader Black history in North America.

Lauren Roulston is a graduate of Carleton University’s Journalism program and currently working in radio.

Thank you to the Glebe community for your support over 35 great years!

Paul Barber with a horseshoe pin on his tie

PHOTO: COURTESY OF TOM BARBER

Horses racing in front of the Aberdeen Pavilion, 1903 PHOTO: CITY OF OTTAWA ARCHIVES

Business Buzz

The Taj Mahal, longtime Indian restaurant at 925 Bank Street, has closed. The building is for lease.

Bacata Colombian Coffee is now open at 684 Bronson Avenue. “Experience authentic Colombian coffee, roasted on-site, and freshly baked treats in a cozy, welcoming atmosphere. We bring the rich flavors of Colombia to Ottawa with every cup and bite!” Open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m.

Browns Crafthouse Glebe at 640 Bank Street has now closed.

Gong Cha Bubble Tea at 856 Bank Street has closed and the space is for lease.

Provence en Couleur has opened at 837 Bank Street, formerly Imperial Barber. It has another location in Vancouver. www.ProvenceEnCouleur. com. “Established in 2013, our Canadian aromatherapy shop has been a trusted source for premium French lavender and essential oils.”

Light of the World Church, bilingual (English/Spanish) Christian Church is located at 600 Bank Street. (819) 210-9756

Contributors this month

JENNIE ALIMAN

GERARD BAILIE

TOM BARBER

SIMON BECKETT

GWENDOLYN BEST

ROBYN BEST

CANDICE BLACKWOOD

ALI BOTY

BHAT BOY

ANNE-MARIE BRISSON

ALANNA BROWN

VALERIE BURTON

ALLAN CAMERON

TERRY CHENEY

BRIAN COX

ELEANOR CROWDER

JOHN CRUMP

GABRIELLE DALLA PORTA

SARAH GOOD

SCOTT HEALEY

JULIE IRETON

CLARE JACKSON

MAUREEN KORP

MICHELLE LESTER

AMANDA LLOY

CATHERINE MCKENNEY

IAN MCKERCHER

SHAWN MENARD

DANA MITCHELL

LYNN MORRIS

YASIR NAQVI

DOUG PARKER

DICK PEACOCKE

JUDY PEACOCKE

KEVAN PIPE

JOSH RACHLIS

LOUISE RACHLIS

PAIGE RAYMOND

CHARLOTTE RIOUX

VALÉRIE ROBICHAUD

MARISA ROMANO

LAUREN ROULSTON

SARAH ROUTLIFFE

ELLEN SCHOWALTER

TOM SHERMAN

PETER SIMPSON

THOMAS SIMPSON

DOROTHY SPEAK

SUE STEFKO

BEN TERRETT

DEBORAH-ANNE TUNNEY

HILDA VAN WALRAVEN

AMER WAHAB

JANET MARK WALLACE

JESSE-LEE WALLACE

BETTY WARRINGTON-KEARSLEY

ELLYN DUKE WATSON

JIM WATSON

CATHERINE WILLIS-O’CONNOR

CECILE WILSON

ZEUS

A Glimpse of the Glebe

Nipissing and Mississauga First Nations

What we don’t need now

If you try to think of the thing that you need the least, what comes to mind? Sidewalks that slope to the street, making it difficult to walk upright and turning the attempt to maneuver strollers and walkers into a life-threatening struggle? Yes, I agree – but not that.

Snow ploughs that roar past just after you shovelled the snow ridge at the end of the driveway? Annoying, absolutely. But, you know – life.

Getting the grocery cart with one frozen wheel? Wondering whether you need to sign the cheque you’re depositing in an ATM and thinking probably not but feeling the need to search for a pen and do it anyway?

All trials in life, no doubt. But not it.

The most unneeded thing I can think of is an Ontario election.

It doesn’t legally need to be called until well into next year. It looks like an opportunistic leap at the chance to retain power for another term while the governing party is up in the polls and

Trump’s tariffs are a convenient pretext for a provincial election. Also, to get the vote done while Justin Trudeau still provides an easy target to campaign against.

An election period should be a time to discuss options and policies on how to fix healthcare, the housing crisis, increased food insecurity, mental health and addiction problems and better schools. Instead, it’s a hurry-up vote based on a Trumped-up need for a new mandate to protect Ontario from US tariffs – a mandate already in place, with a legislative majority.

Politicians should get on with the jobs they were elected to do – yes tariffs, but also health care, education, social assistance – and when the right time came, we would vote on whether they did well or not, or whether someone else has a better idea. A premature election undermines that important democratic process.

—Liz McKeen

Established in 1973, the Glebe Report, published by the Glebe Report Association, is a monthly not-forprofit community newspaper with a circulation of 7,500 copies It is delivered free to Glebe homes and businesses Advertising from merchants in the Glebe and elsewhere pays all its costs, and the paper receives no government grants or direct subsidies The Glebe Report is made available at select locations such as the Glebe Community Centre, the Old Ottawa South Community Centre and Brewer Pool, and is printed by Winchester Print www.glebereport.ca

EDITOR............................ Liz McKeen editor@glebereport.ca

COPY EDITOR.................... Roger Smith

LAYOUT DESIGNER............. Jock Smith layout@glebereport.ca

GRAPEVINE EDITOR............ Micheline Boyle grapevine@glebereport.ca

WEBSITE EDITOR............... Kayleigh Osborne website@glebereport.ca

ADVERTISING MANAGER...... Judy Field advertising@glebereport.ca 613-858-4804

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DISTRIBUTION MANAGER.....

COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTORS Murray Kronick circulation@glebereport.ca Teddy Cormier, Eleanor Crowder

PROOFREADERS................ Martha Bowers, Jennifer D'Costa, Jeanette Rive

AREA CAPTAINS................. Martha Bowers, Bob Brocklebank, Judy Field, Deb Hogan & Dave Yurach, Lynn & Dave Johnston, Elena Kastritsa, Brenda Perras, Julie Stephens, Della Wilkinson

The Glebe Report strives to be inclusive and to represent the full diversity of the community we serve.

Jennie Aliman, Lawrence Ambler, Nico Arabackyj, Aubry family, Gaja Bartosik, Alessandra & Stefania Bartucci, Selena Beattie, Adrian Becklumb, Joanne Benoit, Carolyn Best, Daisy & Nettie Bonsall, Martha Bowers, Bowie family, Adélaïde and Éléonore Bridgett, Bob Brocklebank, Naomi and Audrey Cabassu, Ben Campbell-Rosser, Nico Cauchi, Bill Congdon, Ava & Olivia Carpenter, Chiu-Panczyk Family, Sebastian, Cameron & Anna Cino, Claypool Family, JJ Comptois, June Creelman, Marni Crossley, Olivia Dance, Mark Dance, Dawson family, Richard DesRochers, Davies Family, Roslyn Demarsh, Marilyn Deschamps, Diekmeyer-Bastianon family, Dingle family, Delia Elkin, Patrick Farley, James & Oliver Frank, Judy Field, Federico Family, The Foo Family, Liane Gallop, Joann Garbig, Camilo Velez Gorman, Barbara Greenwood, Marjolein Groenevelt, Oliver, Martin, Sarah & Simon Hicks, Cheryle Hothersall, Jennifer Humphries, Sandiso Johnston, Tani, Pete & Bryce Nisbet-Jones, Jungclaus Family, Elena Kastritsa, Kasper Raji Kermany, Michael Khare, Lambert family, Fenton & Cora Hui Litster, Leith and Lulu Lambert, Kathleen Larocque, Catherine Lawr, Jamie, Alexander & Louisa Lem, Brams and Jane Leswick, Alison Lobsinger, Aanika, Jaiden and Vinay Lodha, Andy Lunney, Vanessa Lyon, Pat Marshall, Patrick Collins Mayer, Catherine McArthur, Ian McKercher, John and Helen Marsland, Matthew McLinton, Josephine & Elise Meloche, Julie Monaghan, Vivian Moulds, Karen Mount, Diane Munier, Rafi Naqvi, Maddy North, Xavier and Heath Nuss, Sachiko Okuda, Nicholas & Reuben Ott, Matteo and Adriano Padoin-Castillo, Brenda Perras, Brenda Quinlan, Annabel and Joseph Quon, Beatrice Raffoul, Bruce Rayfuse, Kate Reekie, Thomas Reevely, Mary & Steve Reid, Jacqueline Reilly-King, Anna Roper, Frank Schreiner, Short family, Deka Simon, Cathy Simons, Andrew Soares, Stephenson family, Elsie Sutherland, Cameron & Quinn Swords, Ruth Swyers, Tomlin Boys, John & Maggie Thomson, Tom Trottier, Trudeau family, Will, Georgie & Blaire Turner, Zosia Vanderveen, Veevers family, Nick Walker, Vanessa Wen, Paul Wernick, Hope, Jax and Ash Wilson, Howard & Elizabeth Wong, Berkan Yazici, Martin Zak.

Along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

No more money for Lansdowne

Editor, Glebe Report

Re: “Lansdowne’s sad story – can we stem the losses?” Glebe Report, December 2024.

June Creelman’s article outlining “Lansdowne’s Sad Story” is an important documentation of how the City and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) got into their current financial mess. A mess that impacts all residents of Ottawa.

Like many, I participated in the community protests against the awarding of a sole source contract to OSEG. I still have the crazy, big, bright blue button stating ‘Let’s Get It Right’ which I wore proudly to the City/OSEG community “consultations”.

The most memorable aspect of the “consultations” was the line of gentlemen, in suits, standing at the back of the room representing the interests of OSEG. While resident after resident stood up to provide comments, constructive criticisms or objections to the OSEG plan for the Lansdowne redevelopment and associated financing, this group would smirk, smile and look at each other. They knew full well that the “consultations” were a sham and that the financial forecasts for OSEG revenue were a fantasy.

The City should not put any more money into Lansdowne. If it has money to spare, which I doubt, it should be spend on infrastructure maintenance, housing and transit.

G. Bailie

Thank you, McKeens

Editor, Glebe Report

Re: “McKeen Metro now just Metro,” Glebe Report, December 2024.

Many thanks to Jim McKeen and family, for decades of service and support to the Glebe community!

McKeen Metro’s generosity was consistent and far-reaching, including ongoing donations to GNAG, GCA, Abbotsford, local schools, clubs and sports teams.

Thank you for hiring our teenagers. Thank you for stocking local produce and organic foods. Thank you for recycling plastics and providing better packaging.

Going way back, thank you for the “Cookie Club,” where kids could get a cookie at the bakery, just for asking (politely)!

Thank you for attending events and meetings alongside us.

Thank you for being a member of the community.

Jim, you will always be a Glebite!

Jennie Aliman

Where would your spirit like to sit?

Editor, Glebe Report

Re: “McKeen Metro now just Metro,” Glebe Report, December 2024.

The McKeens did indeed set a high bar in their support of local charities, events and initiatives in the Glebe. Having lived here since 1979, I really appreciate this generosity to the community, as well as having a topnotch local grocery store where I see my friends and neighbours. Reading Metro spokesperson Stephanie Bonk’s statement about future support for local charities and events – “We’ll definitely be matching them in spirit. I don’t know we can match in numbers” –reminds me of a rather old joke.

A volunteer is selling tickets for a charity concert. When a vicar is approached for buying a ticket, he mumbles an apology and states that unfortunately he “cannot attend but will be there in spirit.” Quick as a flash, the volunteer replies: “Tickets are $5, $10 and $20. Where would your spirit like to sit?”

Dick Peacocke

The story of the O’Connor Street Bridge

Editor, Glebe Report

The O’Connor Street Bridge just so happens to be named after Daniel O’Connor, pioneer settler of Bytown, 1827, my great-great grandfather. His son Daniel O’Connor, Esq. QC, was appointed the Solicitor of the Crown business in Ottawa for Sir John A Macdonald in 1878 and ran a successful law firm in downtown Ottawa.

I had the honour of having one of my paintings of Patterson’s Creek, showing that very bridge as the front cover of the May 13, 2016 Glebe Report

My latest work, “Ottawa – Then and Now,” will be showcased at the Gordon Harrison Canadian Landscape Gallery at 465 Sussex Drive from February 21 to March 7.

Catherine Willis-O’Connor

Kudos from a reader

I just finished my December 13 Glebe Report. I am amazed at the quality of the paper. Lots of interesting articles including Lansdowne 2.0 (giving the last of our public space to sports and consumerism), possible plastic turf at Mutchmor, a fitting tribute to Jim and Christine McKeen and all the wonderful things that they brought to the community, a Glebe Meat Market story, need for a bus station and much, much more. This is becoming Ottawa’s newspaper. The Sun and the Citizen are the same and thin on news of a local concern.

What a splendid job of colour, local businesses, church activities and entertainment. Well done. I know it must be a lot of work to put out a free newspaper. I wonder how you do it. But you do. A heartfelt thanks to you and your contributors and your deliverers.

Douglas Parker

[Editor’s note: Gosh! We love getting letters like this!]

Sloping sidewalks a health hazard

Editor, Glebe Report

Re: “City sidewalks, broken sidewalks,” Glebe Report, December 2024

I recall an article you published on sidewalks in the Glebe. Must have been written by a young person. Now that winter is here, I notice the key feature of these sidewalks is the “Toronto curbs” whereby 25 or 50 per cent, or sometimes the entire sidewalk, slants towards the street. Amidst heavy snowfall, snowbanks (especially at intersections), freezing rain, ice and, worst of all, slush, if you are over 60, you’re putting your life at risk trying to walk on these. They are a health hazard.

Terry Cheney

We know better?

Editor, Glebe Report

My heart goes out to the residents of Hawthorne Avenue, where the city, after its usual lip-service “consultation” with residents, is going ahead with a 10-unit building at 185 Hawthorne, thereby destroying the small park at that site. These residents live in the shadow of the Queensway, with all its pollution, noise, stress and ugliness, and our city did not see fit to leave these poor people a little patch of grass to enjoy? Supposedly, the importance of new housing trumps everything, including the healing presence of nature in our neighbourhoods.

Has anyone at City Hall read the extensive studies of the serious mental-health issues suffered by city dwellers cut off from nature? Apparently not. Queen Juliana Park was wiped out by construction of the Civic Hospital’s massive parking garage, even though there is a forest of tall apartment buildings going up at Preston and Carling Avenue. Residents in these buildings needed that park. Where will they go now? Yes, the Arboretum lies beyond, but it is not a park. Acres and acres of the beautiful Experimental Farm are being obliterated by the Civic Hospital, construction of which is methodically wiping out 700 trees.

Similarly, Springhurst Park on Lees Avenue now faces destruction in favour of the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor. And at Lansdowne, the minuscule amount of green space left will undoubtedly be destroyed by the new arena.

In all so-called consultations with the public regarding the loss of parkland in Ottawa, the public always loses. “Oh, gee, sorry, we hear you, but we don’t care/we know better,” is what we are essentially told. Where are the councillors elected by the public who are supposed to be speaking for and defending the interests of Ottawa citizens?

Dorothy Speak

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By Tom Sherwood

I am middle-aged. Actually, I’m 76 years old, but as an instructor in the Senior Ravens Fitness program at Carleton University, I am middle-aged. Half of the participants are older than I am, half younger. The oldest participants are 15 years older than I am – in their 90s. The youngest are 15 years younger, just turned 60. I’m in the middle. But we are a coherent group of older adults concerned about fitness and wellness. Some are recovering from heart surgery, and our classes are recognized as a Heart Fit program by the Ottawa Heart Institute. Others are

recovering from joint replacement surgery or some other health issue. Perhaps they have had sessions of physiotherapy, and our Senior Ravens stretch-and-strength classes are an appropriate next step. Some participants have bone density concerns and appreciate that I have taken the bonefit training with Osteoporosis Canada. Many participants simply want to be well and flourish in the older years of our longer life spans. They golf and curl, play tennis and enjoy their grandchildren. And they want to continue to be able to do so.

Carleton makes this possible for them in several ways, including three

Stretch and Strength classes a week (Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 9:30 a.m.) and offering these classes in a hybrid format allowing for both in-person participation and Zoom access for working out at home.

The 75-minute morning classes that I regularly lead have about 40 participants, half in person and half online, half male and half female, with several married couples working out together.

The chemistry of exercise is well known now, and there is a lot more to it than just the “runner’s high.” Participants in the Senior Ravens activities may not achieve euphoria, but it is exhilarating to experience the release of endorphins, dopamine and serotonin into the bloodstream.

Endorphins are natural hormones that can alleviate pain, lower stress, improve mood and enhance your sense of well-being. Dopamine and serotonin are called the “happy hormones” because they promote mental well-being. Dopamine is the “feelgood” hormone associated with the brain’s reward system and produces pleasant sensations. Serotonin can help increase happiness by alleviating depression and anxiety.

Research on “human flourishing” emphasizes our need for cognitive stimulation, social relationships, mental and emotional engagement as well as physical activity in order to feel happy and satisfied with life.

In addition to producing good blood pressure and heart-rate metrics, fitness classes are a social experience as well. I notice the in-person participants arriving early and staying after for coffee

together as they develop new friendships. “I enjoy the community spirit of working out as a class even when it’s a virtual class,” says Suzanne. “And with Zoom I don’t have to get up and go out in the cold and clear off the car in winter.” Adds Shelby: “The camaraderie and enthusiasm are side benefits to the fitness program. For me, the Senior Raven’s program is a key element of a healthier lifestyle in retirement.”

And Sue appreciates the value: “Three fitness classes each week, plus Aquafit; access to the pool, fitness centre and the indoor track for safe winter walking with parking included.” I appreciate feeling “middle-aged,” laughing with friends new and old and the convenience. Even though the Carleton program includes free parking, many of us walk to and from classes, another healthy, invigorating activity.

Neighbours can join Senior Ravens anytime, paying for a month perhaps or for the rest of a term. It is not expensive. Carleton University’s mission statement emphasizes connecting with the off-campus, non-student community whether it be the children’s camps on PD days and in the summer or Senior Ravens Monday-to-Friday year-round.

For further information, go to Carleton.ca and look for athletics/fitness/ senior ravens.

Tom Sherwood is the former Carleton University chaplain. In his retirement, he is still a United Church minister, an adjunct research professor in anthropology, sociology and religion and a fitness instructor.

Tom Sherwood, fitness instructor with Carleton University’s Senior Ravens, welcomes seniors of all ages three times a week

Cross-training and how it works in winter

By Valérie Robichaud

How Cross-Training Can Keep You Active and Healthy at Any Age

Many of us feel the urge to hibernate as the snow blankets our sidewalks, but variety and outdoor activities are good for our health. That’s where cross-training comes in. Cross-training is a versatile fitness strategy that can be tailored to anyone. Whether you’re lacing up for a snowy hike, skating on the Rideau Canal or trying a new indoor workout, cross-training keeps your body prepared for whatever winter throws your way.

In contrast to popular belief, cross-training is not just for high-level athletes – it is for everyone. From kids learning a new sport to adults staying active to grandparents looking to maintain mobility and cardiovascular health. I want to explain what cross-training means, why it is important for every stage of life and how to use it to help support your musculoskeletal health, even in the winter.

What is Cross Training?

Cross-training means engaging in multiple activities to diversify movements and target different muscle groups. It is not a new concept, but it is important for us to understand it. Cross-training impacts multiple aspects of health, including preventing injuries, mobility, balance and cardiovascular and joint health. For athletes, cross training refers to engaging in different exercises that complement the primary sport. In general, mixing up your workout routine is an effective way to cross train and keep workouts interesting.

You may already be cross-training without knowing it. Let’s dive in!

Why is it Important to Cross-Train?

Diversifying activities equals helping prevent injuries. Repetitive strain injuries are very common in everyday life and in athletes. The goal is to prevent overuse of one muscle group with the same motions or activity. With cross-training, we can carefully choose sports that target opposing muscle groups and different systems including cardiovascular-focused or strengthening-focused.

Cross-Training for All Ages

Cross-training isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, it changes with you through every stage of life. For children, it’s about building coordination and fitness habits through a mix of sports. For example, swimming and soccer or hockey and dance. For adults, balancing cardiovascular and strength training with activities like yoga or Zumba classes helps you stay energized and injury-free. For older adults, we focus on joint health, balance and flexibility, ensuring mobility and reducing the risk of falls. For example, adding cycling or swimming to your routine alongside strength exercises can help support bone density and cardiovascular health.

How to Get Started

Start by identifying your primary activity and then incorporate complementary exercises that you enjoy doing. For example, if you’re a runner, try swimming or yoga to stretch and strengthen muscles that running

doesn’t target. If you prefer lower-impact activities like walking, add light resistance training or cycling to build strength and endurance. The key is to mix it up and listen to your body.

Stay Active This Winter

Winter offers unique opportunities to embrace cross-training while enjoying the snow and ice. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and skating are excellent ways to maintain cardiovascular health and help build strength. For those preferring indoor activities, Pilates, yoga and cycling provide low-impact options that support mobility. Remember to warm up before activity, especially in cold weather, to prevent muscle strains!

Making It Family-Oriented

Encourage your family to try new activities together, such as skiing or skating. These moments improve physical health, strengthen family bonds and keep you accountable in

your exercise routine. Teaching children about the importance of diversifying activities and sports early on will set them up for a lifetime of healthy exercise habits.

How Collaborative Care

Supports Cross-Training

Well-rounded musculoskeletal health and wellness will improve performance and support your physical needs. Chiropractic care ensures your spine and joints function properly, helping your body adapt to new movements and maintain mobility. Physiotherapy strengthens underused muscles, improves flexibility and helps recovery from common repetitive strain injuries. Massage therapy releases tight muscles, reduces soreness and promotes faster recovery after intense workouts.

Dr. Valérie Robichaud is a chiropractor at CURAVITA Health Group at 108 A

A variety of physical activities, especially outdoors, is good for our health, even in winter

A New Year, A New Chapter at Villagia In The Glebe

This year, start a new journey filled with comfort, connection, and vibrant living at Villagia In The Glebe, Ottawa’s premier retirement community.

Here’s to a fresh start with:

n Spacious, modern suites tailored for comfort

n Engaging activities, events, and social connections

n Gourmet dining and personalized meal options

n Caring, professional staff ready to support you

Whether you’re looking for independence, a sense of community, or a touch of support, Villagia In The Glebe is here to help you live your best life in 2025 and beyond!

GNAG’s executive directors, past and present

By Brian L. Cox

The Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group (GNAG) has had only two executive directors since the first full-time position was established in 1996.

Mary Tsai was the inaugural director, and she led GNAG through a time of significant expansion and growth before stepping down in 2022. She passed the baton to Sarah Routliffe, who has continued to build on the strong foundation Tsai helped establish.

With GNAG’s 50th anniversary approaching in May, Tsai and Routliffe took some time to reflect on where the organization has been, where it’s going and what GNAG has meant to them and the community it serves.

“This place is very near and dear to me,” said Tsai. GNAG “has helped me grow as a person and helped nurture my family.” Both executive directors say the Glebe Community Centre that houses GNAG is often regarded as the “community’s living room” and that it should feel like home.

Before Tsai worked directly for a neighbourhood activities group, she was a program coordinator for the City of Ottawa. This was at a time when the municipal government was actively fostering and encouraging the growth of neighbourhood organizations.

Jack Purcell, McNabb, Glebe and many others were set up or expanded during this time. Tsai recalls that the goal for the City was essentially “work themselves out of a job” as each community group gradually became self-sufficient.

The first full-time position at GNAG was created around the same time that the municipal Department of Recreation and Culture was restructured. As the inaugural executive director and initial full-time employee, Tsai was hired at a pivotal juncture in the organization’s expansion. For the next 26 years, her unwavering leadership and tireless energy helped GNAG grow to become an integral feature of the Glebe community.

Sarah Routliffe took over as executive director a few months after Tsai’s retirement. Although Routliffe was often told she has big shoes to fill, the pair jokingly point out they have the same shoe size and that Routliffe has literally worn Tsai’s actual shoes!

Before accepting the job at GNAG, Routliffe worked for about 15 years with the Jack Purcell Recreation Association. She started there as a counsellor before advancing to the role of supervisor and then director of children’s

programming. Routliffe went on to be hired as the general manager and then, like Mary Tsai at GNAG, she was appointed as the inaugural executive director for Jack Purcell.

After spending so long with Jack Purcell and guiding that neighbourhood recreation association through a sustained era of growth and expansion, Routliffe recalls that she felt “it was time to try something different.” Although the work tempo at GNAG is significantly higher, she says the “great team of full-time employees makes the pace more manageable.”

Routliffe emphasizes that one of her top priorities as director is to identify “opportunities to be creative in the programming we offer” at GNAG. Doing so, she observes, requires “striking the right balance between program costs and community services.”

Another priority that requires considerable time and attention is fundraisers such as Taste in the Glebe, the craft fair and the house tour. Money raised from these and similar events goes toward the Community Development Fund (CDF) that is used for initiatives such as GNAG’s financial assistance program, capital expenditures at the Glebe Community Centre, integration care and outreach projects.

One recent capital venture funded in part by the CDF was the redevelopment of the preschool playground at the community centre. In recognition of the inaugural executive director’s decades of dedication to GNAG, the playground was named Mary Tsai Park, and a plaque was installed to commemorate her extensive record of community service.

Tsai says the community centre “is an extension of my family.” Her tireless efforts building and expanding upon the foundation of the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group played a vital role in ensuring many others in the community share this sentiment.

Routliffe has suggested that GNAG “embodies the beating heart of the Glebe.” As the 50th anniversary approaches, the steadfast dedication of GNAG employees and volunteers, past and present, will help ensure it remains so well into the future.

Dr. Brian L. Cox is a graduate Master of Journalism student at Carleton as well as an adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School, a research fellow at the Centre for International Law and Defence Policy at Queen’s University and a retired judge advocate in the U.S. army.

Mary Tsai (left) was the first of only two GNAG executive directors, leading for 26 years until Sarah Routliffe took over in 2022

GNAG’s half century of community fun!

Conversations about resolutions and values seem to come up everywhere as we settle into the New Year, even in the GNAG staff room! A poll of who had made New Year’s resolutions showed we were split right down the middle. Personally, I always make resolutions, complete with a detailed fivepoint plan for how I’ll achieve each goal (nerd alert!). But beyond the resolutions, I find this time of year is perfect for reflection on what truly matters to me and what values I want to embody. Values are easy to talk about but much harder to put into practice. They challenge us to think about how we can align our actions with what we believe, not just in big moments but in our everyday lives. So, as we move through the first months of 2025, I encourage everyone to pause and reflect: What values guide you? How can they shape the way you show up for your family, friends and community? Here’s to a year of not just setting goals but living out the principles that matter most.

Mutchmor Rink

As you may know, GNAG is no longer managing the Mutchmor Rink. However, we’re proud to support Charlie Wood and Nate Wightman, who’ve done an outstanding job maintaining it this year! The rink has been a fantastic resource for the community. They still need help with shovelling, snow blowing and flooding – reach out to them at gleberink@gmail.com to lend a hand!

GNAG’s 50th Anniversary Party

Every month until May, I’ll drop a hint about our 50th anniversary bash – starting now! Let’s just say you’ll definitely want to dust off your dancing shoes for this one.

We are beyond thrilled to announce that Kellylee Evans, the Juno

Sarah Routliffe

Executive Director

Award-winning, former GNAG board member and all-around incredible person, will be gracing the stage during the evening portion of our celebration!

Kellylee is not just a phenomenal artist but also a genuinely kind soul, and we’re so excited to have a professional performer of her calibre help us celebrate this milestone.

Mark your calendars, Glebe, it’s going to be unforgettable! Look for 50th anniversary articles in each Glebe Report until May. Here are some plans:

May 30: Youth Dance

May 31: Family party: 2-4:30 p.m., Evening party: 7:30 p.m.

Taste in the Glebe: A Delicious Success!

Taste in the Glebe brought together some of the best culinary artists from local restaurants for an unforgettable evening of small plates and refreshments on January 29. The outpouring of support for this event made it one of our most successful fundraisers of the year for GNAG and our community projects! Proceeds from Taste in the Glebe go directly into our Community Development Fund, which supports vital initiatives like the Integration Program, Financial Assistance and community projects. This year, we are proud to announce a donation of $10,000 from the event to GNAG’s 50th Anniversary Youth Room renovation project. These funds will help create a modern, inclusive space for the youth in our community.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to Sara Adam and Dominique Laframboise from Sezlik.com (Luxury Realty) for their generous sponsorship of this event. Their support covered rental expenses and additional equipment needed to meet public health standards, ensuring the event ran smoothly.

Rays Repairs

Your commitment to our community is greatly appreciated!

We also extend our gratitude to the Lyne and Dominique Team at Engel & Völkers, whose sponsorship of the photo booth added a memorable touch to the evening. Thank you for helping us capture such a special night!

Finally, to every restaurant, beverage company, volunteer and community member who bought tickets and attended, thank you for making Taste in the Glebe a remarkable success. Special recognition goes to our incredible 2025 Taste in the Glebe Committee

– your dedication and hard work continue to inspire us all. From all of us at GNAG, thank you for supporting our mission and making this community shine!

Reminder: Summer Camp Registration

Summer Camp registration opened on February 4! If your desired camp is full, join the wait list. There’s often movement as families adjust summer plans. If you got your dream camps, YAY! We can’t wait to spend summer with your child.

This year’s Taste in the Glebe on January 29 was one of the best ever! From left: Mark Sutcliffe, Sarah Routliffe, Tahera Mufti

Ottawa Centre candidates

ONTARIO ELECTION – THE BASICS

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called an early election for Thursday, February 27.

The Glebe is in Ottawa Centre riding. Our current Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Ottawa Centre is New Democrat Joel Harding. He is not running again provincially, as he will be running for the NDP in the next federal election.

Ottawa Centre candidates for MPP

NDP: Catherine McKenney

Liberal: Thomas Simpson

Green: Simon Beckett

Conservative: Scott Healey

Voting

• Elections Ontario administers the Ontario election. Information on voting is available at www.elections.on.ca

• To be eligible to vote, you must be 18 years or older, a Canadian citizen and a resident of Ontario.

• Registered voters should receive a Voter Information Card in the mail, with the location of the poll.

• You may vote on election day, or vote early, or vote by mail. Advance voting days are not yet known at press time.

• To vote by mail, you need to complete a Vote by Mail application (available online at elections.on.ca) and send it with a copy of one government-issued ID showing name and home address. The application must be received by Elections Ontario by 6 p.m. on February 21. If approved, you will be sent by mail a voting kit with ballot.

• The Elections Ontario website has further information on voting by home visit, voting in hospital, voting if you have no permanent address and other circumstances.

The following statements have been provided by the four candidates running to become the MPP for Ottawa Centre. They are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Simon Beckett is a proud resident of downtown Ottawa with a passion for building a stronger, more vibrant future for the community.

As a small business owner working in the housing industry, he understands the challenges local families, workers and entrepreneurs face. From creating jobs to addressing housing needs, Simon brings firsthand knowledge and practical solutions to the table. He has also worked closely with youth in schools and other community organizations to support arts programs and inspire today’s young people.

Simon believes that leadership means listening, engaging and acting on behalf of the residents in the riding. His priorities include affordable housing, better healthcare and investing in mental and addictions services. With a clear vision for Ottawa Centre, he is ready to work hard to bring positive change to the heart of the city.

Above all, Simon is committed to ensuring every voice is heard and every opportunity is seized. He is committed to making Ottawa Centre a place where every resident thrives and asking for your support to help build a brighter future for Ottawa Centre, together.

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We'll be with you throughout the process, from the first day your home is listed, to the day you move

Scott Healey, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

Hi Glebe neighbours,

As your Progressive Conservative candidate for Ottawa Centre, I am honoured to be a participant in this democratic process for a second time, and I salute my fellow candidates for their engagement in this important election.

Ontario residents, like you, are going to the polls in 2025 to ensure that Ontario has a coherent, effective and strong response to the tariff and economic threats from the Trump Administration led by a majority Doug Ford government for the next four years.

To put it quite simply, to paraphrase James Carville, “it’s about the tariffs.” Ontario will have four years of economic anxiety and potentially devastating impacts on our communities and families if these tariffs are actioned. In this election the only qualified team equipped to meet this challenge is a Doug Ford led government; here to defend our great province.

As Ontario moves on from the pandemic, the Ford Government has been laser focused on investing in you.

To help all Ontarians with their cost of living, the government reduced

All Fall and Winter items are 60 - 80% o .

Longing for spring? New fashions are here nowcome in for a preview.

Simon Beckett, Green Party of Ontario

personal taxes, cut the gas tax by 10 cents per litre and scrapped licence plate fees, saving $240 for the average family.

By cutting red tape and taxes, Ontario has created 850,000 jobs since 2018 and has attracted more than $45 billion in new auto and electric vehicle investments.

The Ford Government has increased health care spending by $25 billion since 2018 and will invest $190 billion in infrastructure for schools, transit, long-term care homes, highways and hospitals.

The Ford Government has tackled violence against women through Bill 173, launched Ontario STANDS with $1.4 billion in funding to prevent gender-based violence, provided $120 million to the City of Ottawa over three years for shelter and homelessness support, $378 million for Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs of which Ottawa just received one and twice increased ODSP payments by its largest amounts in history, 17 per cent since July 2022.

All the infrastructure projects and social programs that are being built here in Ontario will be in jeopardy if tariffs are imposed.

A Doug Ford led Progressive Conservative majority government will have the mandate to work with the federal government to mitigate the U.S. tariffs and expend taxpayers’ money in the eventuality that support to Ontarians is required.

I want to represent you in this existential threat to Ontario, and thus I seek your support in this fight.

My name is Catherine McKenney, and I’m your Ontario NDP candidate in this month’s provincial election. You may know me as the former City Councillor for Somerset Ward, where I served for eight years, or as the founder of CitySHAPES, a non-profit dedicated to building better cities.

For decades, I’ve been fighting to make Ottawa the best city in Canada.

As City Councillor, I successfully led the charge to declare a housing and homelessness emergency—because everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to call home. At Queen’s Park, I’ll bring that same energy to ensure Ontario gets back in the business of building homes. The Ontario NDP has a clear plan: real rent control and build more affordable housing, so people aren’t priced out of their own communities.

I also fought for accountability in our transit system—demanding a public inquiry into the LRT debacle and pushing back against unfair fare hikes. As your MPP, I’ll continue this fight by

advocating for increased public transit funding and transparency. Ottawa deserves a transit system that works. I stood up against the trucker convoy’s occupation of downtown Ottawa when Doug Ford was out of touch. As your MPP, I will always stand up for you.

I love this community, and I’m running because I want to keep fighting for Ottawa at Queen’s Park.

We need real investment in health care and education—to fix the chronic shortages and improve conditions for everyone, including workers. We need evidence-based harm reduction policies that save lives. And we need to protect Ottawa’s independence from Doug Ford’s overreach.

These are the issues I have advocated for and will fight for as your MPP.

If you believe the Glebe needs more affordable housing, to protect its greenspaces, that our transit system needs urgent provincial support, and that our health care and education systems must be fixed, I ask for your vote on February 27. It would be an honour to represent you, and I promise—I won’t let you down.

Thomas Simpson, Liberal Party of Ontario

I’m Thomas Simpson, and I’m running to be your MPP in Ottawa Centre. I’m running because I believe in a government that puts people first As a community leader and disability advocate, I’ve spent over a decade working to help shape legislation like the Accessible Canada Act and securing funding to create jobs for people with disabilities. I know how to get results, and I’m ready to bring that same energy to Queen’s Park.

We need a leader who will fight for better healthcare, stronger schools, more affordable housing, and a reliable transit system that actually works for us.

Doug Ford has left Ottawa behind, and the NDP has failed to deliver after representing our community for seven years.

Catherine McKenney, New Democratic Party of Ontario

Healey

Shawn Menard

Councillor, Capital Ward

N 613-580-2487

www.shawnmenard.ca

Lansdowne 2.0 will mean significant construction challenges to the Glebe

In January, the city held public information sessions for the proposed re-design of the north-side stands at Lansdowne Park. Over the past few years, we’ve raised a number of issues with the Lansdowne 2.0 proposal:

• the lack of any affordable housing proposed on site,

• the significant amount of public greenspace (58,000 square feet) to be lost,

• the tearing down of a stadium and arena that have decades left in their lifespan,

• the smaller arena that won’t hold a large enough crowd for Professional Women’s Hockey League and other professional games,

• the lack of a roof over the northside stands,

• the higher ticket prices,

• no promise that the RedBlacks will remain here beyond 2032,

• the removal of the enjoyable green hill where families often look at soccer games from afar

The unsurprising election

The GCA is a non-partisan organization. We work for the benefit of the community and have no official position in any partisan political discussion, whether it be municipal, provincial or federal. What we have done for decades is to organize all-candidates meetings during elections.

So, it was timely that the GCA board met the same day the premier of Ontario called an early election for February 27. We are partnering with Centretown, Old Ottawa East and Old Ottawa South community associations, and the event will be held at the Glebe Community Centre on Thursday, February 20 at 7 p.m. It’s important that as many people as possible turn out to listen to the people who want to represent us at Queen’s Park. The meeting will be broadcast on Rogers Cable TV and uploaded to YouTube in case you can’t make it. But make it if you can.

and visit Lansdowne Park space and businesses afterwards,

• the notable lack of transportation improvements to get more people to and from the park,

• the half-a-billion-dollar price tag to be paid with public funds,

• the demolition of some of the only small businesses at Lansdowne, including the popular GoodLife, just built in 2014.

But I know most of the people in the community have heard some of this before (and if you haven’t, you can visit www.betterlansdowne.ca for a rundown). I want to talk to you about another significant aspect of the project that hasn’t received enough attention: construction impacts.

Construction impact of Lansdowne 2.0

Now, obviously, the re-re-development of Lansdowne Park would require construction. We are all aware of that. But I’m not sure everyone is aware of the duration of the construction and the disruption it would have, not only on the park but on neighbouring communities, small businesses and residents.

The construction is planned to occur in stages. First, they will have to prepare the Great Lawn for construction, fencing off the park space from the berm to the water feature. The contaminated soil previously buried under the large hill from Lansdowne 1.0 would be trucked offsite at a cost of $8 million. Once that is done, then the new arena would be built over at least two years.

Upon completing the arena, the north-side stands, historic Civic Centre and the attached brand-new retail strip

John Crump President, Glebe Community

Association

www.glebeca.ca

Your voice counts. Check the GCA website for up-to-date information.

Keeping

up the pressure on Lansdowne 2.0

You may have attended a City of Ottawa information session on Lansdowne 2.0 in mid-January to review plans for reconstructing the north side stands. The proposal calls for small stands with no roof and while city staff were on hand to answer questions, it was a show-and-tell event, not a formal consultation. It is hard not to think that the City has sliced and diced how it reveals information and what information is revealed to prevent really hard questions from being asked. For example, why are we talking about giving at least $500 million in taxpayer dollars to the Ottawa Sports

ted r. lupinski

ON K1S 2H4

tedlupinski@rogers.com

would be demolished. (That is going to turn useful, valuable and viable buildings into a lot of construction waste).

Then, the north-side stands can be built, taking another two years at least. This would be followed by development of the public land the city is selling off to a developer for new retail space and the skyscrapers, taking years to construct at some point after 2030.

These are not small projects. In all, small businesses and residents are probably looking at seven to 10 years of construction after having just completed the previous rejuvenation project 10 years ago – including a north-side roof loan of $23 million that the City of Ottawa would still be paying off even after the buildings are demolished!

There would be no events at the Great Lawn for at least two years. There will be at least one season of only half a stadium for RedBlacks games.

But the real impact will be on the Glebe and Old Ottawa South.

Every stage of this project will be loud and disruptive, from demolition to pile-driving.

And if the city feels it is running behind or if they have to work around the events that will still be occurring, they will try to impose overnight work. Make no mistake, our office will not approve such impositions – poor planning by the city should not mean disruptions to our kids’ sleep, creating significant quality-of-life and health problems – but that will be the next fight our communities will have to take on.

Currently, the plan is to have construction crews and equipment access the site by heading from the Queensway

and Entertainment Group’s latest iteration of Lansdowne when the promised “waterfall” of revenue for the City continues to come up dry? The recently released annual report for the Lansdowne Partnership between the City and OSEG shows that the arrangement continues to lose money (as it has every year since opening), and there is no prospect of the City getting any revenues from its initial investment of hundreds of millions in Lansdowne. And there is no reason to assume that any of the financial benefits promised for the original redevelopment will appear any time soon.

The GCA position is clear: there needs to be a pause in the development of Lansdowne 2.0, and the City should stop spending money on plans until a hard, objective look is taken at the whole thing. The GCA has made many suggestions for improvements to the plans. The GCA recommends that the City renovate the current stadium to increase its accessibility, but if the project does go ahead, it should aim for a better design including:

A high level of LEED certification for the new construction and should, at a minimum, retain the previous target of LEED silver.

The design of the north side stands should be harmonious with the south side stands in shape, materials and colours so that the City’s stadium at Lansdowne appears as a single entity and not two disparate structures. It should also be sympathetic to the adjacent new event centre and Aberdeen Pavilion to create a cohesive design approach to Lansdowne. Finally, the north side stands should be built with quality materials, as recommended by

along Bank Street through the Glebe. Some of the traffic leaving the site will be directed to Queen Elizabeth Place to Wilton Crescent and around to Bank Street. It will then go through Old Ottawa South and across the bridge to Riverside. At other times, traffic leaving the site will be directed north along Bank Street to the Queensway.

This will result in excess large truck traffic, making it more and more difficult to get up and down our streets. It will create significant noise disruptions, as these are not small, quiet vehicles.

And this will create a lot of dirt and dust being sent across the sidewalks and buildings along Bank Street.

The city has plans to clean up after construction in anticipation of major events, but right now, have not articulated a plan to keep the street clean for the people who live, work and shop here on a daily basis.

And, yes, all construction projects experience such issues, but few are this big or last this long.

It is a frustrating proposition when in 2014 the engineering assessment of the north-side and Civic Centre was that they will last to 2070 and were valued at $132,000,000. The buildings, in my view, should be maintained with renovation for accessibility improvements. Transportation to and from the site should be the focus. Bring back the Exhibition, and better connect the canal with a safe crossing at QED. All this at a much, much lower cost than half a billion. This project is wasteful and given the other financial difficulties in the city, such as transit and affordable housing, makes very little sense to pursue.

the City’s Urban Design Review Panel, in order to ensure longevity.

The north side stands should be designed with a roof to provide weather/climate protection and ensure that the current level of public comfort is maintained, particularly given climate change and the anticipated increase in weather extremes.

The access to the north side stands should be reconfigured to eliminate pinch points and pedestrian/vehicle conflicts.

Artificial turf at Mutchmor PS?

Representatives of the GCA attended a January meeting of the Mutchmor parent council to discuss an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) proposal to cover the school field with plastic grass. Members of the GCA’s Environment Committee presented a report on the well-documented concerns about artificial grass. These include the fact that it leaches toxic compounds into the environment and contributes to micro- and macro-plastics pollution in our neighbourhood. Studies have also linked the chemicals in artificial grass to health concerns for children who play on it.

This story will continue, and the GCA will continue to monitor and advocate at different levels. Based on what we know at this point, a decision is not expected this year so there is more time to work on this issue. Stay tuned for updates.

Next Meeting

The next GCA board of directors meeting is Tuesday, February 25 at 7 p.m. in the preschool room at the Glebe Community Centre.

What do you say? Lansdowne 2.0 survey results

In December 2024, the Glebe Report asked readers what you thought of the Lansdowne 2.0 development plans. We received 169 responses to our online survey. Here are the results.

A resounding majority, 128 respondents or 76 per cent, disliked the Lansdowne 2.0 development plans, selecting the response that they are “wrong-headed, financially reckless and biased in favour of private developers to the detriment of public green space and urban parks for people.” As reasons for their dislike, 82 per cent chose taxpayers’ burden/financials, 76 per cent chose loss of green space, 67 per cent chose traffic/parking, 56 per cent mentioned more condo towers and 39 per cent chose other reasons. An astonishing number of respondents took the time to comment under “Other reasons.”

• Some of these comments were short and pithy:

• Smaller arena?????? Not good.

• Waste of taxpayer money.

• Pouring good money after bad.

• Lansdowne 2.0 is dominated by uninspired private sector thinking.

• Long years of construction are a huge negative. I’m likely to move.

• Likely increased ticket prices due to less seating.

• Large mistake to place a stadium in a location without mass transport.

• It’s a race to the bottom.

Some respondents took the opportunity to provide more extensive comments or reasons to dislike the plans on a range of issues:

• [Need] off ramp in 2025 to consider the impact of the project in light of the financial crisis re transport, housing and infrastructure funding deficits.

• Another example of the ‘mediocritizing’ of the Nation’s Capital simply for the gain of unimaginative developers.

• We taxpayers can’t afford it, nor can the Glebe handle the excess traffic from building these condo towers, plus we need more green space, not less.

• With Ottawa’s limited resources, there are other pressing needs. The funding of deeply affordable housing, improved transit and long-postponed infrastructure upgrades are . . . more likely to guarantee long-term sustainability, growth, vitality and strong financial ratings than is a project unlikely to achieve its financial projections. With 10 years of anticipated noisy, disruptive construction and towers that steal the sun from existing patios it is unclear how . . . the projected substantial increase in retail income can be achieved. On top of that, essential green space will be lost, and new residents will discover they are in a neighbourhood that

fails to meet even 50 per cent of the city green-space standard. As well, Lansdowne 2.0 offers less stadium seating and a smaller arena that . . . may well become obsolete. Only OSEG . . . stands to benefit from Lansdowne 2.0. It is unclear to me why my tax dollars should bail them out. Surely our lesson should have been learned.

• Opportunity cost of not funding really needed services like public transit and climate change mitigation.

• Unsolicited sole source proposal times two. Lansdowne 1.0 was a financial disaster for the City. Vast amounts of staff time & city resources already spent on a flawed proposal for a project that is not a city priority. No remedy for existing traffic / parking issues. Unfeasible & impractical.

• Loss of the opportunity for a vibrant public space such as Winnipeg’s The Forks and Vancouver’s Granville Island.

• [Exacerbated] by possible QE Drive closure by the NCC.

• A public park is not the appropriate site for luxury condos. Of course it is better than it was before OSEG, but that is a strawman argument. Compare it to what it COULD have been.

• Lack of consideration of public consultation. The appearance that City staffers are not

independent of OSEG . . . This money would be better spent on housing, homelessness, creating a transit system that people WANT to use.

On the other side of the argument, 41 respondents or 24 per cent approved of the Lansdowne 2.0 plans, choosing the response that they are “on the right track, are a good use of taxpayers’ money and will result in a thriving people place.” As reasons for approval, 36 per cent chose new arena, 32 per cent entertainment/restaurants, 32 per cent more housing, 19 per cent stable OSEG finances and 44 per cent gave other reasons. Some of the comments made under “other reasons” were:

• I like everything about it. It’s a hub of activity, From Farmers Markets to Vintage Markets to Christmas Markets. I’m tired of the nimbys. If you don’t want traffic, events etc., move to the suburbs.

• What’s there to dislike – unless you dislike change! I live here –I shop here – it is my entertainment hub – I can’t wait to watch Lansdowne 2.0 grow and flourish!

Lansdowne 2 0 development plans include the construction of a smaller arena, new north side stands with no roof, the loss of green space, two new condo towers and revamped retail PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

Hugh Neilson, Beverley Wolfe, and Rachel Eugster directed by Eleanor Crowder

Kettlemans Bagel:

A Glebe staple with global reach

By Dana Mitchell

Kettlemans has been a beloved Ottawa institution since opening in 1993. This local bagel shop has become a cornerstone of the Glebe, known for its traditional Montreal-style bagels and welcoming atmosphere 24 hours a day every day of the year. It continues to thrive under the leadership of its president, Amer Wahab, who has guided the business through a period of growth and expansion while staying true to its roots.

“We’ve been in business 31 years, and we honour our history every day,” says Wahab. “The recipe we have is tried and very true, and we don’t veer away from it. We still make our bagels exactly how we made them 31 years ago.”

Kettlemans was founded by Montrealers Joe Bianchini and Craig Buckley, who saw a gap in the Ottawa market for authentic Montreal-style bagels. What began as a small, 1,200-squarefoot operation on Bank Street at Holmwood has since expanded into a 3,000-square-foot space, with mul tiple locations across Ottawa and beyond. Despite this growth, Wahab emphasizes the enduring spirit of the business.

stores,” says the president. “We’ve taken the pergola feel of our original location and we’ve applied that: the exposed

brick, the wood, the barn board, the exterior sign. The DNA is all there. It’s evolved, but it’s only gotten better.”

Wahab’s journey with Kettlemans began like many others – as a customer. One late night in 1993, he stopped by for a Reuben sandwich and chocolate milk, an experience that still resonates with him.

“I walked in at 3 a.m. and had this incredible Reuben sandwich on a bagel,” Wahab recalls. “To this day, the Reuben is my go-to sandwich. There was something magical about the experience.”

Wahab officially joined Kettlemans in 2015 when he was approached with an opportunity to help grow the brand. At the time, Wahab had built a career in the restaurant industry but had never considered that Kettlemans could be scaled.

“It was always something special,” Wahab says. “But I never thought of it as being scalable. It had the mom-andpop feel. But once I saw the renovations and the sheer volume of guests, I knew this had legs, and we could make a run with it.”

Since then, Kettlemans has opened several new locations, including Col-

became a pillar of the neighbourhood’s identity and a post-party-snack rendezvous for many a Glebe teenager. Wahab believes this connection with the community is part of what makes the business so special.

“Our people are amazing, and it’s them that make every single experience at Kettlemans what it is,” says the president. “It’s not just a community – it’s a village. Our guests and our team members are bigger than we ever will be.”

Over the years, Kettlemans has supported local schools and participated in events like Taste in the Glebe and community fundraisers. Wahab is also proud of the job opportunities the business provides, sharing stories of employees who have grown within the company.

“We’ve been huge supporters of the Glebe community,” he says. “It’s about more than just making bagels or even making money. It’s about creating jobs and watching our team members grow.”

While Kettlemans remains deeply connected to the Glebe, the business’s impact has spread far beyond Ottawa.

Fans of Kettlemans have sent photos of their bagels from places as far away as Antarctica. Wahab proudly shares that Kettlemans bagels have travelled the world, and the feedback from global customers continues to inspire the company’s growth.

Wahab remains committed to ensuring that any expansion stays true to the company’s values. With possible plans for more locations across Canada, Wahab emphasizes the importance of maintaining the quality and authenticity that has defined Kettlemans for over three decades.

“It’s bread, at the end of the day, and bread has brought people together for centuries,” Wahab says. “It feeds into why Kettlemans is so magical. It’s because it’s honest, it’s simple and it’s good.”

To experience Kettlemans for yourself, visit the flagship location on Bank or one of the other locations in the city.

Dana Mitchell worked with the Glebe BIA as its Communications & Outreach Intern. She is a Glebe resident who is currently completing her PhD in English at Carleton University.

PHOTO: DANA MITCHELL

Kettlemans’ Glebe location after it was renovated in 2014 PHOTO COURTESY OF KETTLEMANS BAGEL CO

The St. Rita a labour of love

By Jessie-Lee Wallace

In the heart of our community lies a pizza-scented gem, The St. Rita, a quaint restaurant at 753 Bank Street that has become a warm gathering spot for locals. It serves homemade, unfussy Italian classics like Margarita pizzas, from which the restaurant borrows its name.

This culinary haven is the brainchild of 24-year-old Amadeo Ifelice, a passionate, independent owner who has poured his heart and soul into every aspect of his venture.

“We just celebrated our second anniversary on January 4, and it’s been a whirlwind journey,” he says with pride. “In the early days, it felt like we were just getting started. Now, it feels like we’ve settled into our own rhythm.”

The cozy restaurant is a real labour of love. In fact, along with his buddy, the young owner renovated the restaurant himself on a slim budget and even found décor on Facebook marketplace.

Its primarily dark wood and forest-green-accented 25-seat interior is warm and inviting. The “heart” of the place is an open-plan brick wood-fire pizza oven.

Ifelice, who has been immersed in the culinary world since he was just 12 years old, brings a wealth of experience to his restaurant. By the age of 19, he had served as the kitchen manager of his family restaurant until he seized the opportunity to launch his own venture.

“It kind of runs in the family,” he says. “This has been something that I’ve been laser-focused on having for a long time, believe it or not, since elementary school. My Nana (grandmother) moved here from Italy; she opened up a little deli corner store.

“Then my dad opened up our family restaurant with his cousin in 1997. It’s still open today and called Johnny Farina on Elgin Street. So, I guess you could say it’s in the blood. For better or worse, we’re kitchen people.”

Most 24-year-olds are not looking to own a restaurant but it is exactly where Ifelice wants to be.

“Being an entrepreneur gives you a lot of freedom, but there are also challenges. I work every day, but I don’t get tired. A strong work ethic has been ingrained in me since I was a kid. You have to work for it. Right now, I have zero social life because of the long hours, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Ifelice’s team is equally committed, showcasing dedication not often seen in the service industry. His

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grandmother also makes the pasta fresh daily.

What are other standout menu items?

Their top seller is the pappardelle (similar to fettuccine) ragu. “It melts like butter in your mouth” adds Ifelice with a smile. Their best-selling pizza, besides their margarita, is their diavolo pizza. It’s a whipped ricotta base, green onions, spicy soppressata, and cheese.

Their extra unique condiment? Their house-made spicy honey.

More importantly, what is Ifelice’s personal favourite in terms of dishes?

“Purely for nostalgia, because again, my Nana makes all the pasta, is the gnocchi with rose sauce. It’s heaven.”

Ifelice chose the Glebe for his first business once the former Anthony’s Pizza’s lease was up. He also gets to walk to work from his apartment on Elgin Street.

“The neighbourhood is lovely, welcoming, kind and relaxed,” he describes. Ifelice thinks his restaurant fits seamlessly into the fabric of the community.

He’s optimistic for the future despite inflation and supply chain problems in the last couple of years. “Business can be tough, but we are still here. It’s not about making millions; it’s about creating a space where people feel welcomed and appreciated,” he emphasizes.

What is he looking forward to over the next year? Valentine’s Day. They have a special menu and are almost full.

“Warmer days are ahead so we can roll up our doors and let the breeze in. I can’t wait for that and the Great Glebe Garage Sale,” Ifelice said. He will also be adding new items to the menu in the spring, but doesn’t want to spoil the surprise yet. “The new dishes and drinks will be really good!”

It’s clear that Ifelice’s culinary journey is just beginning, and we can’t wait to see where it leads. Whether you’re a long-time resident or a first-time visitor, support a local business and be sure to experience this special St. Rita warmth and flavour.

Jessie-Lee Wallace is a writer, nonprofit leader and volunteer who believes in the strength of local community. She calls the Glebe Annex home.

is more than just a school, because she’s more than just a student.

To them, we’re a support system, a studio, a playground, a blank canvas. Here, they can explore beyond the curriculum, developing passions and skills that help them achieve whatever they can imagine.

The St Rita is known for its cozy vibe and delicious pasta and pizza

PHOTOS: JESSIE-LEE WALLACE

Amadeo Ifelice, the young owner of The St Rita restaurant

The Rowan’s salads bring colour and warmth in winter

By Peter Simpson

The colours of winter may be white at best and grey at worst, but lately with purple highlights.

First, we had tickets to the National Arts Centre to see the Classic Albums Live performance of Purple Rain, that big-bang moment of Prince’s musical career. I had to miss that show due to a seasonal Canadian ailment I call “the flu or whatever the hell that was.” Those tears on show night were not from doves crying.

I did get to go crazy for other parts of the month’s purple palooza, which were two salads at the The Rowan, with the principal colour provided by beets in one and radicchio in the other.

The Rowan kitchen, led by chef/ co-owner Simon Fraser, has been drawing us in lately. The missus and I love to support local businesses that support local businesses, as The Rowan does with local ingredients, along with local craft beers and regional wines.

Lately, I’ve been thrilled with a Flintstone-ian, bone-in, schnitzel pork chop and also a Cornish hen that was spatchcocked and served with coconut carrot purée. Both have since been replaced with other dishes on the rotating menu, but I look forward to trying the bacon-wrapped pork chop with spätzle.

Meanwhile, everyone needs their

veggies, and I can’t imagine any diner, whatever your ’vore, not enjoying this purple pair of substantial salads. Either could be a meal for some people.

The beet salad comes with orange, cumin and walnuts on a bed of hummus made with roasted shallots and garlic, topped with a composed salad of chopped celery, small onion, radish, fresh parsley and celery leaves.

The other salad we tried was radicchio & endive, with fennel, pear, blue cheese, pistachios and a maple white vinaigrette.

Each salad was a lesson in contrasting, complementary flavours – the sweetness of the beets with the slight tartness of the orange; the soft, sweet pears with the crunchy, bitter radicchio and endive.

Hummus, generally speaking, is one of the world’s great simple foods, perhaps deceptively simple. Technique matters, and the creaminess and smoothness of the hummus in the beet salad are as pleasing as are its deep flavours, boosted by the roasted alliums.

The radicchio and endive salad has exquisite accoutrements, with thin strips of crunchy fennel, tiny bombs of Meyer lemon and bits of crisp, fried rosemary.

As for the blue cheese, well, dairy and I don’t get along – we battle like the Avengers and Thanos – but the missus reports that it gave the salad “a nice umami and richness.”

February may not seem like salad season in our part of the world, but these are enough to bring colour and warmth to any cold, grey day.

Peter Simpson is part of the team at Flora Hall Brewing, florahallbrewing.ca.

The Rowan’s beet salad is a study in contrasting and complementary flavours

PHOTO: THE ROWAN

Valentine’s Day:

Aphrodisiac foods that spark romance

By Marisa Romano

According to the Christian calendar of saints, February 14 honours Saint Valentine, the martyr executed by the Romans in the third century for secretly officiating weddings of would-be soldiers, forbidden by the law of that time. Today Saint Valentine is recognized as the patron saint of love, and on his day we express love to all around us by exchanging “valentines” and gifts of chocolate and flowers. Romantic candlelight dinners are also part of the celebration; on the menu are aphrodisiac foods that spark romance.

Like other Christian observances, the origins of this festival of love are pagan. Around the 14th of February, ancient Romans observed Lupercalia, a festival of fertility and prosperity with pretty violent and sexually charged rituals. With the advent of Christianity, Lupercalia was banned and replaced with a more chaste celebration of love: Valentine’s Day.

Nowadays, removed from its pagan and religious past, Valentine’s Day is one of the most commercially lucrative festivities. According to Hallmark, the company that first started printing Valentine’s cards in 1913, Valentine’s Day is the second-largest holiday for greeting-card sales; anything with red and pink hearts flies off the shelf. Valentine’s is also reported as the most important floral holiday of the year

with red roses, the symbol of romance, topping flower orders. The day is also a waterfall for the chocolate industry with the classic heart-shaped boxes, first marketed in 1868 by Richard Cadbury (yes, the same Cadbury chocolate maker we know today).

Cherubic Cupid, the “mascot “of Valentine’s Day, was the ancient Roman god of love. His origins date back to ancient Greece where he was known as Eros, the handsome god of love and son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and desire. The Romans renamed them Cupid and Venus, but reference to their Greek names are still in our dictionary with terms like “erotic” and “aphrodisiac”.

Aphrodisiacs – foods and drinks that light the romantic spark – have been part of ancient cultures worldwide, and their reputation is still with us. The list includes delicacies like oysters, caviar and quail eggs, fiery spices and valued flavours like the ones from stamens of saffron crocus and pods of vanilla orchid. But many are foods that we keep in our fridge and pantry and consume daily like honey, pistachios, asparagus, watermelon, strawberries and dark chocolate.

Although we need to appreciate that some of these foods contain nutrients, vitamins and minerals that boost energy and give stamina, very little is proven by science regarding their aphrodisiac power. But if efficacy

claims cannot be supported by scientific data, then we can certainly say that their placebo effect is all that is needed to add zing to the celebration of love.

Chocolate-covered strawberries

The combination of fresh red, heartshaped strawberries and chocolate –the food of the gods, as Mayans called it – is a not-to-be-missed confection on Valentine’s Day. Showy and very easy to make at home, chocolate-covered strawberries can be served as is or used to decorate cakes.

Ingredients:

Strawberries, washed and thoroughly dried

Chocolate, your favoured semisweet or bittersweet, chopped. Semisweet chocolate chips can also be used, although they may not melt as smoothly as other baking chocolates.

For decorating chocolate-dipped strawberries: White or milk chocolate for drizzling; chopped nuts, sprinkles or shredded coconut for coating.

Method:

Wash the strawberries and let them dry thoroughly on paper towels. Note: chocolate does not stick on wet fruit.

Melt the chocolate: while the best method for preparing chocolate for dipping is by tempering it, melting it in the microwave is easier and gives good results.

Microwave the chocolate in a glass bowl for 30 seconds at full power, mix with a spoon and repeat. When almost all the pieces have melted, keep mixing quickly until smooth. The last little bits will melt with the residual heat.

Zap the creamy mixture just a little bit more as needed, but be careful, too much heat results in a grainy and lumpy mess.

Dip the strawberries: When ready, dip the strawberries holding them by inserting a toothpick into the strawberry’s stem. Shake off the excess chocolate and then dip again in your favourite coating.

Let cool on wax paper for 30 minutes or so. If drizzling, wait for the chocolate to solidify first.

Store at room temperature for up to a day or in the refrigerator in an airtight container on wax paper for 2 to 3 days; if the dipped strawberries make it that far, that is!

Marisa Romano is a foodie and a scientist with a sense of adventure and an appreciation for interesting people and good food.

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Victorian Afternoon Tea Experience

When winter feels never-ending, there’s no better way to li the spirits than with a journey back in time to elegant Victorian England. e Victorian A ernoon Tea Experience in Chelsea, near Ottawa, o ers just that — a delicious escape into history, culture, light comedy and of course, scrumptious sandwiches and cakes! Don’t miss this rare event combining entertainment with a classy a ernoon tea.

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Chocolate-covered strawberries may spark romance and are easy to make at home

PHOTO: MARISA ROMANO

What’s in a name? Origins of Glebe Annex street names

By Sue Stefko

While most of us take our street’s name for granted as an immutable fact, many of our neighbourhood’s streets have changed names over time – sometimes to try to escape a reputation, sometimes to avoid duplication, at other times to pay tribute to the history of the area’s earlier residents. This series will look at the history of street names in the Glebe Annex.

East/west streets

Orangeville

Until 2002, the street was called Elizabeth Street. The name Orangeville references the first settlers in the area, as they were believed to be Orangemen – an order of Irish Protestants named after William of Orange. The Orange Order was a secret society established in 1795 to maintain Protestant political control in Ireland.

The origin of the previous street name Elizabeth is difficult to determine. However, John Rochester, also an Orangeman, was a prominent local businessman who operated two sawmills at the Chaudière Falls and launched other business ventures such as a tannery and brewery. The area just west of what is now the Glebe Annex was called Rochesterville. This could be why streets in both Rochesterville and Mount Sherwood bore the names of his daughters, Elizabeth and Emily.

Plymouth

This street was originally part of a parcel of land called Dolly Varden Square by owner Joseph Patterson.

Patterson came from Ireland and became a mill foreman at the Bronson and Weston lumber firm. He was very well known in the community and built the first home in Mount Sherwood, likely in the early 1870s, at the corner of Lebreton and Elizabeth (Orangeville). He bought a four-acre block of land which now encompasses much of the Glebe Annex, from Lisgar (now Bell Street) to Division (now Booth Street) and from Elizabeth (now Orangeville Street) to Ernest (now Powell Avenue).

At the time, the southern part of the property was partly brush but was also used to grow orchard fruit and vegetables and house horses. He called the property Dolly Varden Square after a popular comedic opera based on the Charles Dickens’ novel Barnaby Rudge Before his death in 1893, he subdivided and sold the property. The purchaser named one of the streets – now Plymouth Street – Dolly Varden Street. However, residents soon expressed discontent with the name, creating a petition in 1909 to change the name to Dominion, with a city controller (what we call a councillor today) calling Dolly Varden a “cheap and foolish name.” Dominion was not accepted by the city, although officials suggested shortening it to Varden. A similar petition was raised in 1910, as there was a street with an unsavoury reputation bearing the same name in another city. Other suggested names were Dominion (again), Pleasant, Grant and Walnut. Walnut was selected, but the change was never implemented. Finally, in 1911 when Mechanicsville was annexed to Ottawa, a number of street names where changed, largely to avoid conflict

with what was then Imperial Avenue

in the late 1800s, is now the site of Natural Resources Canada Henry Street is now just one block long, extending from Bell Street South to Lebreton Street South

or duplication with other street names in the city. At that point, Dolly Varden was changed to Plymouth Street, after the English seaport town which was the home of many famous explorers such as Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to sail around the world.

At the time, Plymouth stopped at Lebreton. However, in 1930 the city planned to extend Imperial Avenue, which stretched across both sides of Bronson, ending at Cambridge on the west side. This left a gap between Cambridge and Bell. However, with just a slight curve (and the removal of several buildings), the two streets could be connected – which is why Plymouth has an S-curve. In 1953, the portion west of Bronson became Plymouth, with the Glebe portion of Imperial keeping its name.

Henry

Maps from 1879 show Henry Street already in place, although at the time it

was twice as long, stretching from Bell Street (then Lisgar) to Booth (then Division). John Booth bought the western part of Henry as part of an 1870 land deal to create the Fraserfield Lumber Yard. Maps show Henry shortened to make way for the yard at some point between 1888 and 1901. References to Henry Street in local newspapers date back to 1865 (before Canada was a country!), although it’s not clear whether this is the same street that exists today. Henry may have been named after lumberman and entrepreneur Henry Bronson. Bronson co-founded the Harris and Bronson timber company at the Chaudière Falls in 1852, moving from New York to Ottawa in 1853. Bronson Avenue was subsequently named after his son, lumber baron Erskine Henry Bronson.

Sue Stefko is vice president of the Glebe Annex Community Association and a regular Glebe Report contributor.

The west end of Henry Street, which had been truncated to create the Fraserfield Lumber Yard

PHOTOS: GABRIELLE DALLAPORTA

1887 map showing Elizabeth, Dolly Varden and Henry Street in 1887

Source: Map of the City of Ottawa and the City of Hull, compiled by John A Snow and Son, 1887, City of Ottawa Archives

The S-curve on Plymouth Street was created in 1930 to enable Plymouth to connect

Taste in the Glebe turns 25!

By Jim Watson

It seems hard to believe but Taste in the Glebe (formerly Taste of the Glebe} turned 25 years old earlier this month as hundreds of residents lined up early in the chilly weather to taste some of the best food, wine, beer and spirits our community has to offer.

Its origin has an interesting history that few know about.

Back when I was mayor of the pre-amalgamation city, the Glebe community and in particular the amazing community organization, the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group (GNAG), met with me to see how we could secure funds from the city to renovate the community centre. The centre was a former religious building and when the city bought the building, it had significant limitations as a community centre –remember the sunken floor in the main hall? I arranged several meetings with the community and city staff to see how we could move the plan forward.

It was a long drawn-out process and money was tight. I suggested GNAG hold a fundraiser to show the city we were serious about the need for a complete retrofit of the old building. At one meeting, I suggested we contact all the many fine restaurants in the Glebe and have them provide samples of their food and drink. I recalled a similar event called Bon Appetit that was very popular and raised significant dollars for several local charities, I saw the event as a win-win-win. First, it allowed local eateries to showcase their offerings that might entice those in attendance to book a lunch or dinner based on the tasting menus they experienced. Second, it brought

in honour of his role in originating the Glebe’s annual fundraiser, Taste in the Glebe

residents out in the January cold and gave them a chance to get acquainted with restaurants they had not tried before. And finally, it raised money for the renovation fund we started.

After boldly suggesting this would be a great project for GNAG to take on, some of the dedicated leaders from GNAG turned the tables on me and said, “Great idea, why don’t you organize it!?” Some of those GNAG leaders, among many others, were Mary Tsai-Davies, Jennie Aliman and Mary Lovelace.

I accepted the challenge and gathered up some of my mayor’s office staff and working with GNAG and leaders from the Glebe Community Association, such as Councillor Inez Berg, Beatrice Raffoul, Allison Dingle, Lynn Graham, Wendy Daigle Zinn and Diane Lupinska, as well as Jim McKeen, Jim Foster and Caren von Merveldt, we started organizing. We went up and down Bank Street pitching the idea and to my great relief and surprise, only

one restaurant we approached refused to participate.

We sold tickets in person (no online orders back then!) and to our delight, the event sold out! I believe we raised close to $10,000 for the community centre renovation and showed the city the community was fully behind the project.

I chaired the event for two years, Doug Ward took over for a few years, and I believe the longest serving chair is the dedicated Tahera Mufti, who is still chair! Many more residents were our superstar volunteers, and I apologize

The Charm of a living advent calendar

By Ben Terrett

You may have been walking down Third Avenue this holiday season and noticed festive decorations displayed in windows, wondering what they are, before continuing on your way. You had just witnessed the living Advent calendar!

The living Advent calendar was started by a local family on Third Avenue. After living in England and being invited to participate in one, they brought the tradition to the Glebe in December 2021.

You might be wondering what is a living Advent calendar? It is an Advent calendar, but instead of toys or chocolate each day, a different decorated window is lit up each evening

if you’ve been left out. GNAG presented me with a beautiful stained-glass window that I believe was made by a great Glebe artist, Alice Hinther.

I hope everyone who could get a ticket had a good time and not too many New Year’s resolutions were broken so early in the new year!

Jim Watson was city councillor for Capital Ward from 1991 to 1997 and mayor of Ottawa from 1997 to 2000 and again from 2010 to 2022.

between December first and Christmas Eve. A group of calendars makes for a charming walk. The decorations are varied, and the event is holiday-winter themed. This year, one of our participants was an official photographer who captured beautiful photos and memories for everyone. So now you know what the living advent calendar is, I challenge you to start your own!

Ben Terrett is an enthusiastic participant in the living Advent calendar on Third Avenue.

Jim Watson with a stained-glass window presented to him

Babies of the Glebe

Rae Camille Kelly August 2024, Parents: Stacia and Connor Kelly

Remi Jack Purcell May 2024, Parents: Helena Bleeker and Devon Purcell

Eleanor Kourakis March 2024, Parents: Adam Kourakis and Elizabeth Krause

Elsbeth Jae Conley-Larocque July 2024, Parents: Bradley Conley and Leah Larocque

James Bleeker Malizia September 2024, Parents: Athena Bleeker and Matt Malizia

Emry Berman April 2024, Parents: Beth Barter and Avery Berman

Maya Sarah Stobo Sniderman September 2024, Parents: Jonathan Sniderman and Tamara Glavinovic

Davey Jade Bainerman June 2024, Parents: Corey Bainerman and Anita E

Sabrina Hicks Dunn April 2024, Parents: Pamela Hicks and John Dunn

Kai Gee-Zenar July 2024, Parents: Ivan Zenar and Diana Gee-Silverman

Sawyer William Jenkins June 2024, Parents: Lindsay Sinclair and Devin Jenkins

Ambroise Basile Carbonneau September 2024, Parents: Miranda and Laurent Carbonneau

Chloe Noa Hooper Krishnan November 2024, Parents: Kristen Hooper

Isaac Joshua Gordon Robbins December 2024, Parents: Mark and Rose Robbins

Hudson Robert Casey September 2024, Parents: David Casey and Jasmine Fenn

Sniderman Sniderman

From dragons to giant mechanical ravens

Here is a list of some titles read and discussed recently in various local book clubs:

TITLE AUTHOR BOOK CLUB

All That She Carried Tiya Miles 15 Book Club

Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons Charlotte Gray Abbotsford

Unearthing

Seven

Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons

If your book club would like to share its reading list, please email it to Micheline Boyle at grapevine@glebereport.ca

By Candice Blackwood

S.A. Patrick

You’ve probably heard the story of the Pied Piper – after relieving a town of its rats, the Piper isn’t paid and steals all the children from the town. Have you ever wondered what happened to those children? While the Piper of Hamelyn was caught, where the children were stolen away to is still a mystery years later. What Patch Brightwater does know is that the song the Piper of Hamelyn played that night is forbidden. Despite that, Patch still finds him-

an infamous traitor?

After being attacked by an ice fairy in the middle of Boston, Kelcie Murphy is transported to the Otherworld where she learns she’s arrived at the initiation ceremony for the Academy of the Unbreakable Arts. At the academy, students are trained to use their powers and fight with swords because the lands of Summer and Winter are at war. Kelcie tests into the school and discovers that she has elemental powers. This

world should have been her home all along, and Kelcie is determined to find out what happened to her parents and why that ice fairy attacked her.

Readers who enjoyed Percy Jackson will love exploring the Celtic-inspired lands of Summer with Kelcie.

The Five Impossible Tasks of Smith, by Tom Llewellyn

Eden Smith has been orphaned and moving from home to home, school to school for the past six years. Now at 13, her case worker finally discovers that her grandfather is alive! Dropping her off at the front door with nothing but some paperwork, Eden soon learns that the building where her grandfather lives isn’t a retirement home like she initially thought, it’s a guild where metalsmiths live and work. But before she can even be introduced to her grandfather, he’s sentenced by the guild to house arrest for the rest of his life for a series of minor infractions, including refusing to make his daily bowl.

After being taken in by eccentric sisters and deciding to become an apprentice, she learns of the five impossible tasks that have killed or maimed many of her ancestors throughout the guild’s history. While her grandfather seems to want nothing to do with her, Eden is determined to free him from his imprisonment, and the only way to that is by completing all five tasks – something that has never been done before. The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith is about perseverance, family, friendship and overcoming prejudice.

Candice Blackwood is the coordinator at the Sunnyside Branch. She enjoys reading fantasy titles from the children, teen and adult collections.

A Darkening of Dragons, by

For the Love of Cats

Paintings by Bhat Boy, Gwendolyn Best and Ellen Schowalter will be featured at Life of Pie. the cozy, family-run bakery and cafe at 1134 Bank Street near Sunnyside in Old Ottawa South from February 7 to 28. All three artists are long-time Glebe residents with years of community involvement, probably over 100 years for the three combined. Best has moved to the Parkdale Market area but has strong ties still to the Glebe.

Why cats? Elizabeth, Alexander, Candy, Moe, Midnight, Molly, Rosie, Tony, Mitty, Candy S., Lily, Fred, Danny, Skinny, Fluff-fluff, Rolo, Poe, Clovis, Orange and Dusty, to name a few reasons.

Margaret Atwood, also a former Glebite, sums up this time of year neatly in her poem “February”:

You’re the life principle, more or less, so get going on a little optimism around here. Get rid of death. Celebrate increase. Make it be spring.

Easy to relate to these words in the depths of a snowy, cold, oh-so-long Ottawa winter! Enjoy coffee or tea and a delicious sweet or savoury treat while visiting the exhibit. Life of Pie is open Tuesday to Friday 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m., closed Monday.

Ellen Schowalter, “Pierrot”

A Romance-era concert with Seventeen Voyces

By Clare Jackson

Have you been looking for the perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend? Seventeen Voyces, directed by founder Kevin Reeve, will present a concert featuring the choral music of some of the Romantic era’s greatest composers on Sunday, February 16 at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church. Celebrate the year’s most romantic holiday with Ottawa’s premiere chamber choir and a program of gorgeous choral gems by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Berlioz and other contemporaries.

Over a quarter century, Seventeen Voyces has established itself as one of Ottawa’s best chamber vocal ensembles, known for presenting eclectic concerts featuring rarely heard music. The choir has collaborated with many of Ottawa’s top ensembles, including the Thirteen Strings, the Ottawa Baroque Consort and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Seventeen Voyces features handpicked singers from Ottawa and surrounding areas who are seasoned choristers and soloists. For this concert, the choir will step outside its usual fare of eclectic Renaissance and Baroque pieces and will present some of the choral works of the Romantic era’s best-known composers.

On the program will be Johannes Brahms’ (1833-1897) Liebeslieder Waltzes, a collection of love songs

written in the summer of 1869, possibly as an expression of the composer’s frustrated love for fellow pianist and composer Clara Schumann. The lyrics of the Waltzes are taken from poet Georg Friedrich Daumer’s Polydora, which explores the depths of human love, from longing and obsession to sadness, joy and rapture.

Also on the program is incidental music written by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) to accompany Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The composer returned to this play for musical inspiration twice in his lifetime; the first time, early in his career, with a concert overture based on the themes of the play, and again near the end of his life, with incidental music to accompany a production of the play. (This incidental music includes the famous “Wedding March,” still played at present-day weddings over 180 years later). Seventeen Voyces will present the final movement from this incidental music, the charming Fairy Chorus “Bei des Feuers mattem Flimmern” (“Through this house give glimmering light”), written for solo soprano and women’s chorus. The delicate melody invites the listener to imagine “Every elf and fairy sprite, hop as light as bird from brier, and this ditty after me sing, and dance it trippingly,” setting to music lines from the comedy’s fifth and final act.

The program will also feature vocal works by other Romantic-era greats including French composer Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), Liechtenstein-born organist and composer

Ottawa Bach Choir presents Polychoral Extravaganza

The JUNO award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents the second concert of its 23rd season, Polychoral Extravaganza, on Saturday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre. The concert features a joint performance with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, with works by each choir as well as polychoral music for double choir. Composers include Bach, Bruckner, Schütz, Tavener and Martin, along with the OBC performing Langlais’ Messe solennelle with organist Matthew Larkin and the VCC showcasing works by Muhly, Hawley, Whittall, Dove and more.

“The OBC is thrilled to welcome the

Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901) and Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960).

Please join Seventeen Voyces for a Romantic concert ideal for Valentine’s Day weekend, on Sunday, February 16 at 4 p.m. at St. Matthew’s (130 Glebe Avenue). Tickets are $30, $20 for students and free for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased in advance online at www.seventeenvoyces.ca and at the door (cash, credit and debit accepted).

Audiences thinking ahead to the spring can also mark their calendars for the last concert of the choir’s 202425 season. For the last two decades, Seventeen Voyces has presented a concert featuring a silent film classic, which is projected on a large screen and accompanied by live choral and

Vancouver Chamber Choir, directed by Kari Turunen, back to Ottawa, and to collaborate on such an eclectic program,” says artistic director and founder Lisette Canton. “Don’t miss this choral celebration, featuring music from the Baroque to the Contemporary, by two of Canada’s exceptional professional choirs!”

Founded in 2002, the Ottawa Bach Choir offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. The choir has garnered acclaim through award-winning recordings and worldwide tours, including in Canada, Europe, the United States, Mexico and China, featuring prestigious appearances at Bachfest Leipzig, Meet in Beijing, Festival Música Santa Fe, Ottawa Chamberfest, Carnegie Hall and more.

organ music. Past film selections have included The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), Peter Pan (1924), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), and Joan of Arc (1928). This tradition will continue this season with two performances accompanying the 1925 silent classic Ben Hur next May to mark the centennial of this epic film. This show is not to be missed by music and film fans alike and will feature guest choir the Ewashko Singers, virtuoso organist Matthew Larkin, four percussionists and three vocal soloists. The performance will feature selections from Carmina Burana and other works. Ben Hur will take place twice at St. Matthew’s on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3, both at 7:30 p.m.

Clare Jackson is a Seventeen Voyces choir board member.

Ottawa Bach Choir with the Vancouver Chamber Choir;

Kari Turunen, Artistic Director

Matthew Larkin, organist Lisette Canton, conductor

Polychoral Extravaganza

Saturday, March 1, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper Street

Tickets: Reserved $55, Adult $45, Senior $40, Student $20, Children 12 and under free

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca or 613-270-1015

Seventeen Voyces will present a concert of St Valentine gems by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Berlioz and others on February 16 at St Matthew’s Church PHOTO: ALI BOTY

Poetry in response to art in any form

Maureen Korp

In the Garden for Jennifer Dickson, RA (1936-2025)

the beauty of the stillness the silence of the hour in the stillness of the moment yet-to-be in us all when it’s nighttime the curtain falls

Maureen Korp

WATERFORD CRYSTAL

she’s tensed with questions she dare not ask Saturday, in the gallery silver, gold. . . sun-burning lines along the cut-glass edge, what does it cost? Waterford crystal, table settings what will he think if she asks him that, dare . . oh. look, silver gold. . .the stag leaps

Louise Rachlis

Moaning Lisa My goodness, It’s so small! They cried, Not big at all!

As they blocked the painting, taking selfies By the wall.

Louise Rachlis

Time Travel

I play John Barry’s music score From the movie “Somewhere in Time.” It makes me travel through time myself, Because the music Is so sublime.

Have you ever been so affected by a work of art – a piece of music, dance, a film or visual art – that you were compelled to write a poem about it? We asked Glebe poets this question, and here are your poems in response.

The poems may illuminate the art itself, or the artist who created it. The poem stands alongside the art that inspired it and can deepen its meaning. Poetry Quarter curator: Deborah-Anne Tunney

Maureen Korp

e e cummings, re-read 95 Poems (1958)

oh my. . . e e after all these years, I get it whee. . . we . . oui, oui words hardly spoken openings between the words with thoughts beyond. . . punctuation oh . . . e e thank you merci

Maureen Korp

OUT SHOPPING

Jules et Jim, 1962

Remember Jules et Jim that film we all loved so . . ?

all those many years ago?

It’s playing again. . . Wha. . .?

“Living is risking,” she said.

Who. . .?

Jeanne Moreau.

Remember?

freeze. frame bold

Jeanne Moreau

“I want to see it again.” “OK. We’ll go.”

“Could we get some?”

What. . .?

papaya, over there, on the shelf.

“Why? What for? because.. .

The Poetry of Home Call for submissions

Home – there’s no place like it! Even board games have a “home” square where you are safe from all comers! In hide-and-go-seek, “home free!” is the call of triumph and relief. Home is where you find comfort from the world, where you can be, in short, “at home.”

Let us know your poetic thoughts on the idea of home, the longing for it, the sanctuary it can provide, or the heartbreakingly easily-fallen-into pit of homelessness.

As usual, poems should be:

• Original and unpublished in any medium (no poems submitted elsewhere, please);

• No more than 30 lines each;

• On any aspect of the theme within the bounds of public discourse; and

• Submitted on or before Monday, April 21, 2025. Poets in the National Capital Region of all ages welcome (school-age poets, please indicate your grade and school). Please send your entries (up to 5 poems that meet the criteria) to editor@glebereport.ca

Remember to send us your contact information and your grade and school if you are in school.

Deadline: Monday, April 21, 2025

Maureen Korp

That Painting Vermeer.“Woman Holding a Balance,” c.1662-63

she holds in her hand it’s pure gold he said, a glimmering heartache. . . but, nothing’s there. Does it matter? he said Look again.

Betty Warrington-Kearsley

A Bark Painting of Five Resplendent Quetzals

Entering a small store in the crowded market

My eyes swiftly point to a lengthy portrait, grabbed by its pallet of instant soul-lifting colours, of five resplendent Quetzals, each regally perched per bough within the tree’s embrace, in silent grace, serene, below their spread of a heady canopied arbour. Their iridescent tail feathers rich in reds, gold, orange, shimmering greens, indigo, black, brown, and white, flow down behind them like liquid light, even brighter when beams of sunlight shine between wet leaves around their golden-green wings, chests, backs and heads and, in high flight seem like a painted stream afloat, from tree to tree.

Five Quetzals, who in their bold colours exude a fascination and calm for several hours and beyond, for me; a painting on pressed bark five feet in length to accommodate five birds, each resting on a branch, each magnificent.

In content serenity daily I sit before this display, Awestruck still, as joy and my spirits lift and flow I think of these Quetzal birds in all their glow, And of that little market store in Mexico.

Paige Raymond

Arresting

When I was 23 I travelled around the world  to see with my own eyes things  that I had only read about in books.

One stop was in the Belvedere in Vienna  where I sat on a bench overwhelmed by the huge passionate kiss.

Gustav Klimt’s paintings towered and surrounded me.

In Munich, a Pablo Picasso travelling show featured Guernica.

The landscape canvas of war imprisoned me. Ottawa is where I raised my children, and I took them often to the National Gallery.

Louise Bourgeois’s Maman guards this sacred place.

In the winter, her egg sac collects snow.

In the summer, visitors pose hugging her legs.  Her bronze strength reminds me to stay present.

POETRY QUARTER

Beverley Wolfe’s 50 years in theatre

By Judy Peacocke

On a damp, chill afternoon, I crossed the twilit lobby of The Gladstone and opened the door to the brilliantly lit stage. The post-rehearsal atmosphere was still crackling with energy as longterm Glebe residents, actor Beverley Wolfe and director Eleanor Crowder, greeted me, along with actor and producer Rachel Eugster.

Wolfe was looking for a monologue to perform when she came across the play The Children by award-winning British playwright Lucy Kirkwood. It had been staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London, on Broadway, in Melbourne and Sydney and at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. She was so enthusiastic about the play that she immediately brought it to Bear & Co. because she felt this artists’ collective was the natural home for its production in Ottawa and because of her longstanding friendship with Crowder.

Wolfe knows a good script when she sees one. She has taught in the Screenwriters programme at Algonquin. She also taught at the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama, “now, sadly, gone,” she says. The first play she wrote, while an undergraduate at Ottawa U, was as an independent study, Marian, her middle name, and of course was about herself. Wolfe wrote the piano music and lyrics and cast three guys with her, and it ran for three nights – she got an A-plus! Her next play, Hannah, was about a homeless older woman, produced as part of a series of work by women, at the GCTC. Again, Wolfe wrote the original music and lyrics. She likes to write about women. Her next play, Jump!, for the Fringe Festival, won the prize for “Best in Venue.”

“Currently,” says Wolfe, “I’m working on a very dark comic script called Say When.”

So here we are. Two exhausted actors and their director, who just want to get home, and me, here to find out about the play and especially about Wolfe’s amazing 50-year career.

Wolfe’s love of acting was fired up in Grade 10 when she auditioned successfully for the part of the Artful Dodger in Oliver, competing against a lot of boys including her boyfriend. Probably not too good for their relationship, as he only got a part in the chorus. But hearing Wolfe laugh and seeing the sparkle in her eye and watching her nimble movements, I can tell that there was no other casting choice the director could have made.

Lucy Kirkwood’s play The Children is tightly written and peels back its layers to reveal both story and characters. It is funny and threatening, the best balance of black comedy. Wolfe plays Hazel, a doyenne of domesticity, mother and grandmother, who appears to be keeping the lid on everything until you realize that there is a Geiger counter on the kitchen table. Hazel, her husband Robin, played by Hugh Neilson, and a visitor, Rose, played by Rachel Eugster, are in a cottage on the south coast of England, where there is cliff erosion. But this is not Robin and Hazel’s real home. They have had to shelter there because of the greater danger outside. All three had worked in the nuclear power plant along the coast decades ago and now an accident has occurred. All three have a history, and it is the arrival of Rose that plunges the cast and us, the audience, into the imponderable.

Wolfe was in Behind the Mask (Odyssey Theatre, 2006). She won the Rideau Award for outstanding actress in The Lavender Railway (2012). She was in the NAC English Theatre Group.

She won another award for a two-person play at the Fringe Festival called Sex Is My Religion, a dark and edgy script which she says she worked very hard at “so that was gratifying.” Although she has won numerous awards, Wolfe says, “It is best when your fellow actors give you a thumbs up.”

Wolfe also worked in more than 20 plays, including some touring children’s shows, at GCTC, when it was homed at The Gladstone Theatre.

What seems so remarkable, considering the precarious life of acting, is that Wolfe did not work much outside her much-loved chosen field. For a while she was a sous-chef in a great little restaurant, The Interlude, in Old Ottawa South. She twinkles at me: “Haven’t I been fortunate.”

Judy Peacocke is a microbiologist and epidemiologist. Her fiction includes Murder at the Avalon which was produced by GNAG Theatre.

The Children, by Lucy Kirkwood February 19 – March 8

Directed by Eleanor Crowder Produced by Bear & Co

The Gladstone Theatre, 910 Gladstone Ave. (613) 233-4523

boxoffice@thegladstone.ca www.thegladstone.ca.

Beverley Wolfe, whose career as an actor, playwright, teacher and musician spans 50 years, will appear in The Children at the Gladstone Theatre from February 19 to March 8 PHOTO: E CROWDER

164 Sunnyside Avenue, Rideau Gardens

73 Riverdale Avenue, Rideau Gardens

69C Hopewell Avenue, Old Ottawa South 143 Fourth Avenue, Glebe SOLD

From player to Ottawa BlackJacks president: Mark Wacyk’s lifelong passion for basketball

By Robyn Best

Mark Wacyk has always had a love for basketball.

“Basketball was like a unifying thing . . . we all just focused on playing and being teammates,” he said of his varsity basketball days at the University of Ottawa. He loved the game so much that he stayed involved after graduating.

After being an assistant coach at uOttawa and volunteering with the Ottawa Shooting Stars, Wacyk can now add president of the Ottawa BlackJacks to his resumé.

“It was a lot of emotions,” he said of the moment when he got the call about his new job. “I’m still pinching myself that I get to combine my busi-

GNAG as participants and then in their leadership program,” Wacyk says. “I see the value of GNAG, it’s had such a positive influence over my family.”

While he can’t share details yet, he hopes this partnership will show that they’re “trying to positively impact the community.”

The goal is to reinforce the idea that the BlackJacks are an Ottawa team that cares about its community. “Connecting with the community to ensure that the community is a big part of this is an important part to make this an Ottawa-based team,” Wacyk says.

“When I say Ottawa-based, I mean a team that has Ottawa people surrounding it and running it and making sure it succeeds.”

Many of the players on the team come

can sit basically right on the floor. When there’s a loose ball (a player) might fling themselves into the audience and fall on someone.”

Another plan for the team is to host a school-day game in May. While not all the details are sorted out yet, the plan is to “get (the kids) in the arena, have them experience basketball,” Wacyk says.

The BlackJacks finished third in the Eastern conference last year. Wacyk is hoping for more wins this year and to

Glebite Mark Wacyk is the newly appointed president of the Ottawa Blackjacks basketball team PHOTO: ROBYN BEST

Abbotsford Seniors Centre turns 50

By Julie Ireton

This year, Abbotsford is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a resource, social hub and service provider for seniors in the Glebe and surrounding communities.

Senior leisure activities at Abbotsford at the Glebe Centre have changed dramatically since the 1970s when crafting with macrame or decoupage was all the rage. By contrast, today’s members, aged 55 plus, are more likely to be lifting weights than crochet hooks, as they take part in a wide variety of activities including Zumba Gold and belly-dancing.

“It’s so interesting how being an older person today is so different than it would have been in the 1970s,” said Janice Bridgewater, Abbotsford member, cardio instructor and the centre’s former executive director.

“I’m so proud of this place and the way it’s evolved.”

“Abbotsford Seniors Centre has been a great touchstone for seniors living in the community throughout these past 50 years,” said Pat Goyeche, coordinator of community programs. “Whether for recreation, socializing, creating, volunteering or keeping fit, Abbotsford has been a constant in an ever changing and aging society.”

Big changes in 50 years

The gothic revival stone house which has become a beacon for elders in the community has a rich history. It was originally built in 1872 as the private residence for Bytown pioneer Alexander Mutchmor.

When Bridgewater first arrived at the heritage house across from Lansdowne Park in the early 1970s, it was an all-male senior’s residence, which at one point housed 38 men.

Now retired, Bridgewater has witnessed some of the changes at Abbotsford over the years, having worked there before starting university, then establishing her own career at the centre after graduation.

“We served meals for members of the community. If they’d lost wives or needed some help, they came by for lunch – a dinner in those days,” remembers Bridgewater.

“1973 was an important time of transition – the evolution really started as it transformed into what it is today.”

The male residents were moved into the Tower next door and the building was refashioned into a co-ed seniors centre. When Abbotsford officially opened as the “Elderly Persons’ Centre” in 1975, the first formal duty of Ontario’s then-minister of community and social services was to cut the ribbon.

Crafts were the big draw in the 70s, said Bridgewater, including ceramics and quilting. Art classes and craft making for the annual Craft Fair are still woven into the fabric of what Abbotsford is today.

Celebration being planned

“Now at Abbotsford, people take language classes, meditation, writing and there’s a much different focus than 50 years ago,” she said.

Today, many of the exercise programs, like tai chi, that fill the centre’s multipurpose room would have

been unheard of at the 1975 opening.

“Abbotsford will keep reflecting the needs of seniors who want to and can “age in place” through programming and services for at least another 50 fabulous years,” said Goyeche.

Stay tuned – a celebration will be planned for the official 50th anniversary in the fall.

Abbotsford Seniors Centre of The Glebe Centre Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit, organization which includes a 254-bed long-term care home. Find out more about their services and programming by dropping by 950 Bank Street (the old stone house) Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., telephoning 613-2305730 or by checking out all The Glebe Centre facilities and seniors’ services on their website www.glebecentre.ca.

Julie Ireton is a journalist who often writes about Abbotsford for the Glebe Report.

Abbotsford House was an all-male seniors’ residence until 1973 when the men moved into The Tower next door and Abbotsford became a social and community hub for seniors

Yasir Naqvi MP, Ottawa Centre

N 613-946-8682

E yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca

GST/HST holiday for you, Canada Carbon Rebate for our small businesses

I trust that the holiday season has afforded you an opportunity to gather with family and friends and a restful time off. My family and I had the chance to spend meaningful time together, with the much-needed luxury of reading books and catching up on movies!

However, for too many people, this time of year underscored the challenges being faced to make ends meet from week to week. I have been canvassing regularly across Ottawa Centre, and the number one issue by far for those living within our community is affordability, both in the cost of living and housing.

Even though we are living through a tumultuous period across the globe, I remain optimistic about our future. The foundation blocks for a sustained economic recovery across Canada are in place. Inflation and interest rates have reduced significantly over the past year, and the OECD predicts that Canada’s economic growth will lead the G7 nations this year. But, in the short term, assistance is still needed

30

now for those who continue to feel the effects of the financial challenges that have gripped the world since 2020. Recently, the federal government has implemented two important initiatives that will provide financial relief and support for consumers and businesses in our community – a twomonth GST/HST holiday on essential goods and the Canada Carbon Rebate for small businesses.

GST/HST tax break on holiday essentials

You may have already noticed the federal government has introduced a two-month GST/HST break for groceries and holiday essentials. This temporary tax relief is running from December 14 to February 15, 2025.

What this means:

The GST/HST will be fully removed from qualifying goods, which include groceries, restaurant meals, children’s clothing, gifts and more.

In Ontario, families could save an estimated $260 on every $2,000 spent on qualifying purchases.

For businesses:

Businesses are encouraged to ensure the GST/HST is not charged on qualifying items at checkout during the relief period. This applies to both in-store and online purchases, as well as imports of eligible goods delivered or paid for within the timeframe.

Qualifying goods include:

Children’s essentials: Clothing, footwear, diapers and car seats.

Holiday-related items: Christmas trees, decorations and select toys.

Groceries and food services: Restaurant meals, snacks, bottled water and more.

Books and media: Printed books, newspapers and specific gaming items.

Years Ago in the Glebe Report

Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses

While affordability concerns have moved to the forefront over the past year for many people, the climate crisis remains a key issue. Any serious plan addressing climate change requires a balanced approach, recognizing the need to ensure that the economic impact on families and businesses is taken into account. That is why I am pleased to share that payments for the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses were deposited into small- and medium-sized businesses’ bank accounts in November and December via direct deposit. Businesses can check whether they have received the payment through their CRA My Business account.

Key details: This initiative will put over $2.5 billion into the pockets of approximately

TRAGIC DISCOVERY

by Ian McKercher

600,000 small businesses across Canada where the federal fuel charge applies (that incudes Ontario).

Payments are based on the number of employees a business has.

These are important supports for many in our community. But I am mindful that while the economic recovery continues across Canada, we must be diligent in striking the right balance between spending and fiscal prudence. We cannot afford another period of inflation or high interest rates that would jeopardize programs for families and businesses.

We have much work to do in 2025, and I am ready to continue working hard for you. As always, our team at the Ottawa Centre Community Office is also here to help you. Please never hesitate to contact us at Yasir.Naqvi@ parl.gc.ca or call at 613-946-8682.

Happy New Year!

Glebe residents and Fifth Avenue Court merchants were shocked when a newborn baby was discovered dead in a garbage can in the women’s washroom on January 30, 1995.

The night janitor made the discovery and called the police. The baby’s mother had been located, although no charges had yet been laid.

Merchants in the court cooperated with the police investigation while dealing with the media and other curiosity seekers. Some retailers expressed concern with the tone of the Ottawa Citizen’s coverage of the tragic event.

Authorities were awaiting the results of forensic tests.

YOUTH CAFÉ

The Youth Café in the basement of the Glebe Community Centre had been crowded with dozens of patrons since it opened January 20th. The café ran Fridays from 7 p.m. until midnight, serving teas, coffee, assorted baked goods and vegetable platters.

The idea was the brainchild of Colin Richards who supervised painting and setting up the room to look “like a cool, downtown coffee bar.” Sponsors who supported the endeavour included the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group, Glebe Collegiate principal Graham Thompson, Steven Roberts of Grabbajabba, City Councillor Jim Watson, the Glebe Community Association and Ilse Kyssa from The Pantry.

DRAMA AT GLEBE CHURCH

A quiet tradition of thespianism had taken root at Glebe-St. James United Church. The church had frequently welcomed rehearsals by the Great Canadian Theatre Company. New activities went well beyond traditional church pageants. A Youth Drama Group had grown under the leadership of Janet Guillén. The previous spring, The Technicolour Promise (about Noah) was presented. Godspell was to be performed that April.

Glebe-St. James minister, Jack Nield, welcomed these activities. “Drama is an excellent way to approach both the serious and funny questions in our lives,” he said. “And everyone gains from the community experience of putting a play together.”

TEETH: A MEMOIR

By Valerie Burton

When I was a kid, everyone told me to brush my teeth every morning and night. When I was about six, fluoride toothpaste was introduced and I used it, but badly. My efforts were in no way adequate. When I was really young, I used to bite dentists when they tried to explore my molars, not endearing me to them nor them to me. Fortunately, my excess sweet-eating only affected my teeth – I was skinny as a rail and not diabetic. I stopped biting dentists when my parents sent me to Dr. Bilkey, who must have read me the Riot Act as I never again indulged this bad habit. He started filling my many cavities, sometimes seven at a time. I really hated him and all dentists and everything I was forced to endure at these visits. The drilling! I don’t know which was worse – the endless drilling or the sound that the drill made as it slowly descended to my gumline.

But I was addicted to candy; penny candy was the best thing in the world. So much candy for so little money.

One day, I persuaded my younger neighbour- friend to break open her piggy bank with a hammer, so we could go to the corner store and buy a whole lot of sweet sherbet powder with a licorice straw, wax lips and jawbreakers. With all those coins, we could eat all we wanted and stash the rest in the playhouse in my backyard. However, we got caught that same day when her mother found the smashed piggy bank and my friend confessed to the crime. My parents were told, and my punishment was light but still memorable. I understood my addiction to sweets, still very evident, but I never again brought a friend to participate in a purchase.

My aunt in Florida had a friend who owned a corner store in St. Petersburg, and I still have fond memories of going there and being told I could

help myself to whatever candy I wanted. That day was one of the highlights of my childhood. Now, as an adult, I no longer have cavities, and I do brush my teeth properly. But too late –I now have to pay for the bad habits of my child hood, and by pay, I mean pay with my own money. Paying for your own dental work is very expensive. Several crowns had to be installed as my extensively filled teeth deteri orated. Crowns and fragility led to implants in a couple of my side teeth, one a resid ual baby tooth which became loose as I turned 70. When the tooth was pulled, the anes thetic caused a severed nerve, resulting in permanent numbness in my upper lip and a good deal of aggravation. I had an implant on the right side, which fell out after 12 years, and a crown on the left, which broke off last week. The dentistry continues.

I have learned my lesson, much too late for my poor mouth. Hours in the dentist chair and all that digging and drilling are more than most people, especially me, can stand. Every time I see a child buying a choco late bar, I want to take them aside and tell them about the evils of candy and preach about clean ing and fluoride.

My daughter married a man who has never had a cavity, and all their three sons have never had a cavity, despite being just as addicted to candy as I was at their ages.

I am consumed with envy and large dental bills. Valerie Burton is a Glebe resident who is experimenting with writing memoir.

National Capital Opera Competition

Applications now open

The 16th National Capital Opera Competition will take place on Saturday, October 18 in Ottawa. Prize money of $21,000 will be awarded to the six finalists. Previous finalists include Joyce El-Khoury, Wallis Giunta, Joshua Hopkins, Sharleen Joynt, Meghan Lindsay, Shannon Mercer, Julie Nesrallah, Philippe Sly and Daniel Taylor, all of whom have enjoyed successful performance careers.

The competition was established in 1993 to support singers from the National Capital Region focusing on a performance career. The first competition was called the Brian Law Opera Competition in honour of Brian Law’s contributions to classical music in the National

Capital Region. In 2023, eligibility for the competition was opened to all young Canadian opera singers. The competition is now known as the National Capital Opera Competition, organized by the National Capital Opera Society.

The format of the competition is a concert showcasing the finalists’ voices. Hosting the concert will be mezzo-soprano Sandra Graham, who had a renowned singing career and more recently was professor of music at University of Ottawa. The lead judge is soprano Maghan MacPhee, founder of the Breno International Music Academy and a voice teacher.

Application details are available on the National Capital Opera Society website at www.ncos.ca.

A Tribute to our fallen heroes, 80 years later

By Kevan Pipe

In remembrance of the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, 2025, we honour the 32 servicemen from St. Matthew’s Anglican Church who sacrificed their lives during World War II.

Since the September 2017 edition of the Glebe Report, we have had the privilege of recounting the valour of these young men and have ensured their legacies remain alive within our community. Their names are displayed on bronze wall plaques in the church’s southeast corner, and we invite the public to view this tribute.

Who were these men?

They were our friends and neighbours, many of whose descendants still live in Ottawa and across Canada. They lived in the Glebe and attended St. Matthew’s. They were privates and sergeants, lieutenants, captains, pilots and wing commanders.

They went to school at Mutchmor, First Avenue, Glashan and Kent Street, then went on to Ottawa Technical High School, Ottawa (now Lisgar) Collegiate, Ashbury and Glebe Collegiate. Six went to Kingston, either to Royal Military College or Queen’s University. Two went to University of Ottawa, and there were graduates from McGill, University of Toronto, Victoria College at University of British Columbia and Western University. Many were athletes, some were musicians, all were scholars.

Many died on the battlefields across France, Italy and the Low Countries. They were shot down from the skies of Europe, torpedoed, lost at sea. Others died protecting Hong Kong and Burma. They were teenagers. They were husbands. They were fathers in their mid30s. Some were race winners at St. Matthew’s church picnics, others were choristers. Some were married at the church, some had funerals there. Some

were single, some were married. Some had young children.

Some died in military accidents and training exercises in Canada, the U.S., Iceland and England. Some died from serious illnesses incurred during military service.

Others were decorated for bravery on the fields of battle, including one who personally negotiated the surrender of a French village and singularly escorted 2,000 German troops away; he was killed shortly thereafter. Many were lost, their bodies never found, often in the North Atlantic or the North Sea.

They were men of the Black Watch, the “Princess Pats,” the Cameron Highlanders, the Grenadier Guards and others. They were airmen with multiple RCAF and RAF Squadrons. They were on board naval vessels, including the doomed HMCS Ottawa and the troop ship SS Nerissa.

They represented all services and are remembered today in war cemeteries across Europe and Asia as well as at Beechwood and Pinecrest in Ottawa. They are remembered at Ashbury,

Lisgar and Glebe Collegiate; at Queen’s and RMC, University of Ottawa, Western and McGill. They are remembered at RCAF, RAF and Bomber Command memorials on both sides of the Atlantic as well as other memorials in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Halifax and Ottawa. And in so many cases, on family headstones here in Ottawa, with their parents, who never recovered from their unstoppable grieving of the loss of their young and precious sons. They are our heroes from the more than 300 families in our neighbourhood who served Canada in this global conflict. Their ages ranged from 19 to 33, averaging out at just 25. They hailed from various streets in our neighbourhood, including the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, Isabella, Clemow, Renfrew, Muriel, Lyon, Hinton, Fifth, Patterson, Bronson, Glendale, Third, Findlay, Flora, Grove, Percy, Gladstone, Powell and Strathcona.

Kevan Pipe is a Glebe resident and member of St. Matthew’s, The Anglican Church in The Glebe.

Here’s a look at their service and backgrounds:

Service branches:

• Royal Canadian Army: 15

• Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF): 16

• Royal Canadian Navy (RCN): 1

Education: High School:

• Glebe Collegiate Institute: 17

• Ottawa Technical High School: 3

• Ashbury College: 1 University:

• Queen’s: 4

• Royal Military College: 2

• Other universities: 5

Canadian military units:

• Army: Regiments such as Prince Edward & Hastings, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Glengarry Highlanders and more.

• Air Force: Squadrons including RCAF’s 408th, 420th, 407th and RAF’s 35th, 107th, 158th, among others.

• Navy: HMCS Ottawa.

Let us remember and honour their legacy this VE Day. “With the going down of the sun, they shall not be forgotten.”

James B. Anderson

George Jackman

Gault Robinson

William Cowling

Edward A. Langman

Donald F. Shearn

Sydney Darling

Mervyn Lowry

Gordon Sim

John S. Dunlevie

Harold Magladry

Gerald Snow

Harold C. Fisher

Richard Maundrell

Donald J. Sterling

Walter D. Gardner

John R. Maynard

John D. Twigg

George Gould

Henry E. Murdoch

Linley D. Wetmore

Robert Graham

Lionel M. Palmer

Arthur C. Wilkinson

Alfred Hall

William Paveley

Charles Williams

Clement W. Hall

David M. Price

William J. Windeler

W. Leonard Igglesden

Keith F. Wright

A plaque honouring the men of St Matthew’s Church who died in the Second World War hangs on the church wall PHOTO: KEVAN PIPE

Protect Our Winters from an existential threat

By Cecile Wilson

[Atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, January 19, 2025: 428.37 ppm]

It’s official: According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 was the hottest year on record. Helped along by El Niño, we breached the 1.5degree Centigrade average warming limit proposed by the Paris Agreement.

It can be difficult to appreciate the significance of that ominous boundary when we’re in a cold snap with nighttime temperatures down to minus 18 and windchills nearing minus 30. After an extremely short season last year and no season at all in 2023, skaters welcomed the opening of the Rideau Canal Skateway on January 11. But as The Ottawa Lookout pointed out, the unreliability of when – or even if – the canal will open has nudged the Skateway from its centrepiece role in Winterlude.

Adapting for economic survival

As Winterlude pivots to respond to climate change and protect its place as an economic contributor to the region, most ski resorts in the Ottawa-Gatineau area have already invested in adaptation strategies.

It’s not just higher than average temperatures that present challenges for ski operators. The area entered winter in a mild drought, and snowfall so far has been light. While cross-country skiers are fine, downhill ski resorts require a minimum of 30 cm to open.

A 2019 study by Daniel Scott from the University of Waterloo and three other researchers looked at 171 ski areas in Ontario, Quebec and the American Northeast. It found that ski resorts need to operate for a minimum of 100 days a season to be financially viable. This includes being open regularly during the critical Christmas and New Year’s holiday period.

Man-made snow can save the season

for many operators, if temperature and humidity are within the favourable range for making snow. Both these factors are influenced by climate change. With a low-emissions pathway – that is, one consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goals – the study shows that reductions in the length of the ski season were limited to 12 to 13 per cent. With a high-emissions scenario – the one we are in now – seasonal reductions increased to 15 to 22 per cent, and the amount of skiable terrain decreased. Most shockingly, by the end of the century, a high-emission trajectory predicted that only 29 ski areas in Quebec and only six per cent of Ontario ski hills would remain open!

A similar study of American ski resorts by Scott and Robert Steiger showed there was a reduction of 5.5 to 7.1 days in the length of ski seasons between 2000 and 2019, compared with the period from 1960 to 1979. The resulting decrease in attendance and increased cost in snowmaking led to a loss of U.S. $252 annually for the resorts.

As effective as snow-making machines are, they are costly to buy and operate. In addition, they require large amounts of water and power.

Wild turkey stand-off

By Lisa Provost

What people don’t realize is that while pet sitting or dog walking sounds like an easy gig, it does come with its own challenges.

One spring day while walking my clients’ two small terriers named Skye and Pepper, we encountered a female wild turkey in a wooded area. Now I’ve seen wild turkeys before and can’t say I’ve ever had any issue with them. But on this day of dog walking, there was going to be trouble.

The wooded area was a shortcut I often took when it was time to head back. It was a short path that lead from one street to another, and so like any other day we ventured in. Usually there might be a squirrel or two, but that was it.

So as we got to the middle of the path, there suddenly came a frantic chirp! I looked to see a baby turkey, or what they call a poult, camouflaged under the brush, huddled under its mother’s wing. The terriers I walk, a White Highland and a Cairn terrier were as surprised as I was! The mother turkey began to cluck and strutt as if to say; “Intruder, intruder get away from here!”

It gets worse. She decided she was going to start

This adds to the cost of running the resort and can threaten the sustainability of the enterprise. If the power supply is generated from fossil fuels, this can contribute to the problem that is causing the threat to viability in the first place.

“The future of winter is in our hands.”

The organization Protect Our Winters (POW) is acutely aware of the existential threat that climate change poses for outdoor winter activities. Made up of ski resort owners, athletes, scientists, business people and outdoors enthusiasts, POW has several chapters across Canada and is part of an international movement. Its members are committed to taking action to protect their livelihoods and the sports they love.

Last October, a group of POW members were in Ottawa to hold non-partisan meetings with various members of parliament. According to POW’s blog, Snow Is Money, the Canadian snowsport industry generates more than $9 billion annually. In Ontario, alpine skiing contributes $373 million to the province each year; in Quebec, it’s about $833 million.

To protect the industry and its

moving towards us while madly flapping her wings. Shocked and not having any previous experience with turkey altercations, I began to move slowly backwards out of the bush, dragging the two terriers with me. If you know these types of dogs, they don’t generally back down from another animal they think they could take.

They both started barking and growling like they were ready for a fight. Skye was growling as if to say; “I’m not afraid of you, old mother hen!”, while Pepper backed her up with growls and barks.

We continued to walk backward out of the bush and I assumed once we were back on the street, the turkey would return to her poult. But to my dismay she did not. She continued to stalk us and we ended up in someone’s driveway! My heart was now pounding in my chest as neither the turkey nor my terriers were letting up. I started to look for another escape route.

I looked up and down the street and realized there wasn’t much I could do but go around the wooded area. As I turned the corner, I saw a service van parked in a homeowner’s driveway. He appeared to be working in the garage.

With the wild turkey still following us, I approached him and explained that we were being stalked by a wild turkey, pointing behind me. I asked if he would be so kind as to give us a drive back to the

contributions to the economy, POW members advocate for renewable energy, nature-based solutions and climate finance. The group affirms that the best way to protect the outdoors industry is to fight climate change with effective policies, such as those that lead to a reduction in methane emissions and a cap on industrial emissions.

As Dave Erb, executive director of POW Canada, says on its website: “[T] he ski industry in North America is at a major crossroads . . . Essentially, the future of winter is in our hands.”

What you can do:

Join Protect Our Winters Canada and Protect Our Winters Ottawa. Check out the national website protectourwinters.ca or the Facebook pages for both groups.

Call, email or write your MP and MPP and let them know you support POW’s initiatives to cut methane and cap industrial emissions.

For a deeper appreciation of winter, read Sheila Watt-Cloutier’s 2016 book, The Right to be Cold

Cecile Wilson lives in the Glebe and is interested in climate action and the discourse of climate change.

house where the terriers lived. The look on his face was like; “Are you serious, lady?” I mentioned that the turkey was aggressive, and I was concerned she would attack me and the dogs. He looked again as the turkey drew closer and he could see I wasn’t kidding.

He agreed to give us a lift, and within moments of entering the van, the turkey was on to her next victim, another lady walking her dog nearby.

I’m happy to say that we did not see that turkey again. Nor did we return to the wooded area.

Now I am much more cautious with or without my dogs when I spot a turkey meandering in a neighbourhood. I looked up what you are supposed to do when encountering a wild turkey and it said to establish dominance first thing, whether that be to yell, clap your hands or have a leashed dog with you to bark at it! I laughed, thinking to myself: “Yeah sure, two aggressive little terriers could not scare this mama bird away!”

However, I will know what to do should there be a next time. If you have wild turkeys in your neck of the woods, what would you do?

Lisa Provost has run a pet sitting business for over 20 years, caring for people’s pets while they are away.

Our outdoor winter activities, like skating on a frozen pond, are under existential threat and need protecting One way is to join Protect Our Winters

PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN

The Glebe according to Zeus

The Glebe or Greenboro for 51st neighbourhood!?!

It is well known that Rump wants the Glebe as the 51st ‘hood in the United Neighborhoods of America (UNA) for its natural grass resources and the potential for more condos along the canal. And he also wants to annex Greenboro. Usually in lockstep, multi-dollaraire He-Long Tusk unexpectedly expressed massive disagreement with Rump on the Glebe, twigging “Ditch the Glebe! I’m for Greenboro! They dress much better there, wearing black caps. They’re cooler. Even their name is cool. “Green” is good for electric car sales!” twigged Tusk on Y (formerly Twigger).

Tusk’s twig resulted in a slew of rodent retorts with Zeus, King of the Glebe, over which ’hood was better and should be the 51st ’hood. Not unexpectedly, the two multi-dollar business owners spiraled into personal insults

and found themselves steeped in lawsuits by Monday. After Zeus twigged to Tusk “You need Ozempig just to stay chubby,” Ozempig launched a suit against Zeus for libel. Similarly, when Tusk twigged “Rump said he doesn’t even want you at My-a-Ego!” Zeus responded with a libel and a slander suit against both Tusk and Rump.

But many criticized Zeus for not defending the sovereignty of the Glebe. Why should it be the 51st ’hood of the UNA at all, asked Floof from GP-TV when he caught up with Zeus. “Oh I’m all for sovereignty! But to be clear,” explained Zeus with gravitas, “if any ’hood deserves to be the 51st one, it is the Glebe, not Greenboro!” Zeus further reminded pigizens that Greenboro is 144th in natural grass in the world, while the Glebe is the 5th largest producer and 4th largest exporter of natural grass.

At press time, the argument between Tusk and Zeus was ongoing. However, Floof did report that Ozempig allegedly had to drop their lawsuit due to the misspelling of several key words, including “neighbourhood”.

Keep those milk bags coming!

The milk bags that you place in the bin at the Glebe Community Centre are delivered to the chair of the environment committee in Old Ottawa South, who repurposes them as bed mats and seat cushions. These are distributed locally to those in need, including the Centre 507 drop-in on Bank Street just north of the Glebe. A big thanks to all of you who continue making the effort to donate milk bags; they are being put to good use. Keep them coming!

In the Glebe

By Josh Rachlis | SparkTheGenius com

The mat draped over the bench in Central Park is made of milk bags – your donations put to good use!

February Crossword

By Ellyn Duke Watson

February Crossword answers: Page 5

Healing power of forest therapy

By Sarah Good

In the heart of Canada’s capital city, the Glebe is a unique neighbourhood blessed with an abundance of urban greenspaces and waterways. These natural treasures not only enhance our community’s charm but also serve as powerful tools for healing and well-being.

For centuries, artists, philosophers and healers have turned to nature for its ability to inspire awe, restore balance and promote healing. Today, modern science confirms what we’ve intuitively known: Time in nature is good for the mind, body and soul.

What Is Forest Therapy?

Forest therapy, inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing,” involves guided, sensory-focused experiences in natural settings. Participants are encouraged to slow down, engage their senses and connect deeply with the natural world. This practice promotes well-being and fosters a reciprocal relationship between people and nature.

The Science Behind Nature’s Benefits

Research highlights the profound benefits of spending time in natural settings:

Mental health: Nature therapy can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress while improving mood, sleep and self-esteem. It enhances attention, creativity and cognitive functioning, making it especially valuable for neurodiverse individuals and those managing ADHD.

Physical health: Studies show that spending time in natural environments lowers blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels while boosting the immune system by increasing natural killer (NK) cell activity. These cells are vital for combatting infections and improving overall health.

Post-surgical recovery: In a landmark 1984 study, patients recovering from surgery with views of trees healed faster and required less pain medication than those with views of walls.

Focus and attention: Research also reveals that time in nature enhances attention and cognitive flexibility. This is particularly significant for children and adults with attention challenges, as natural environments provide restorative settings for mental energy.

Social and emotional resilience: Nature fosters patience, gratitude and a sense of connection, helping to reduce loneliness and strengthen social bonds.

A Resource for the Glebe

As a long-time neighbourhood resident and occupational therapist, I’m proud to use the incredible urban greenspaces and waterways of the Glebe as the setting for nature-based therapy. Whether it’s a quiet moment beside the Rideau Canal or walk-andtalk therapy through local parks, these spaces offer a perfect backdrop for reflection, healing and growth.

In the spring and fall of 2024, I offered the Resilient Nature Therapy Program to first responders in the Dominion Arboretum. This program combined nature immersion with group reflection, helping participants manage stress, build resilience and foster connections with one another.

Additionally, I provide walk-and-talk

therapy sessions along the Rideau Canal and in local parks. These sessions blend movement and conversation in natural settings, offering a dynamic way to support mental health and well-being.

Why Nature-Based Therapy Works

Advances in neuroscience help explain why nature is so effective. Spending time in natural environments increases alpha brainwave activity, associated with wakeful relaxation and reduced stress. It also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body and mind. These physiological effects are complemented by the emotional benefits of being in a serene, restorative environment.

Take the Next Step

Nature-based therapy is available in one-on-one or group sessions here in Ottawa. If you or someone you know could benefit from this holistic approach, I invite you to explore how

forest therapy can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Sarah Good is a Glebe resident and an

occupational therapist, mindfulness teacher and nature and forest therapy guide. Visit www.sarahgoodOT.ca to learn more.

Seedy Saturday coming soon!

By Lynn Morris

Great news! Join us for Seedy Saturday on Saturday, March 1 at Emmanuel United Church, 691 Smyth Road from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Kilborn Gardeners Group, in collaboration with Just Food and Seeds of Diversity, is happy to once again host Seedy Saturday. You’ll be able to:

• Bring and exchange seeds for free

• Explore seed vendor offerings

• Seek out master gardener advice

• Attend presentations on water management, bird friendly backyards, starting seedlings in spring and winter and Hillcrest High’s gardening club

• Support local artisans

• Meet community gardeners interested in Ottawa’s food security

• Sample local cuisine

Admission and parking are free. Local bus route #55 serves Emmanuel United Church, and the site is accessible.

Don’t forget to bring your own reusable bags and, if you can, your reusable beverage containers. If you plan on donating seeds, please package, label and date them.

Contact us at altavistaseeds@gmail.com, and go to justfood.ca closer to the event for updates on our vendors and presentations.

Just Food is a local, non-profit, community-based organization that works on both rural and urban food and farming issues in Ottawa and the surrounding region. It is an information and resource-sharing network supporting the

sustainable development of its Community Gardening Network. Consult justfood.ca for more.

Seeds of Diversity is a Canadian organization dedicated to preserving, perpetuating, studying and encouraging the cultivation of heirloom and endangered food crop varieties. Its backbone is seed savers who protect Canada’s seed biodiversity by growing it themselves and sharing it with others. With over 1,000 members across Canada, it’s a vibrant and visible part of the gardening and food security scene. Go to seeds.ca for more information.

We look forward to seeing you at Seedy Saturday!

Lynn Morris is a member of the Jardiniers Kilborn Gardeners Group.

Looking forward to gardening this spring? Come to Seedy Saturday for a warm-up! PHOTO: JANET MARK WALLACE

Forest therapy is a powerful tool for healing, says Sarah Good, a forest therapy guide

PHOTO: AMANDA LLOY

Two award winners in GCI in 2024

By Charlotte Rioux

Two women at Glebe Collegiate Institute, Aimee Barber and Jessica McIntyre, were recently recognized for their exceptional contributions to education, receiving impressive awards that highlight their dedication to their students and their profession. These women are not only brilliant educators and humans, but they are humble and inclusive, always going the extra mile for those around them.

Ms. Barber is the recipient of the Ontario Teacher Librarian of the Year Award given to those who show exceptional leadership through education. Some might only know Ms. Barber as a librarian, but her role goes far beyond that title. She has dedicated so much of her time building a rich learning environment where students can thrive.

One of many reasons Ms. Barber won this award was because of her ability to create workshops and tailor them to the diverse needs of all the students at Glebe. These programs are available to ESL (English as a Second Language)

News from Glebe Collegiate Institute

students, ECL students, French classes, or those in the English curriculum. Ms. Barber ensures everyone’s needs are met and that they feel included. She also works very closely with our amazing Developmental Disabilities Program (DDP) students. She has been a part of exposing them to new literature for many years and now works on reading programs with them as well.

Ms. Barber’s leadership extends way beyond the library; she is a collaborative force within the school, working closely with teachers and other educators. Ms. Barber is a true role model for those around her, always lending a helping hand and helping to lift students and staff members. Her impact on Glebe is truly inspiring, and she embodies the leadership qualities that the Ontario Teacher Librarian of the

Year Award represents.

Ms. McIntyre has been the lead teacher for Project True North, showcasing her commitment to both social justice and history. This amazing project was created by her mentors and close friends, Mason Black and Blake Seward, to honour the minority groups that fought in the First World War. Through this project, students have been able to gain a deeper understanding of those who were often overlooked in traditional history books. These people not only fought for our country but also for the freedom of others; through this project, students are able to commemorate these individuals and honour them appropriately.

In recognition of Ms. McIntyre’s outstanding efforts on this project concept as well as her dedication to her students

and to education, she was recognized by her peers and awarded the Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching History. This award honours those who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation and community engagement. Project True North has now become a board wide project, with more than six schools participating.

In addition to Project True North, Ms. McIntrye has demonstrated exceptional leadership in all aspects of her teaching. Those who know her, both colleagues and students, can attest to how wonderful and kind she is. Her students consistently speak highly of her as an educator as well as a mentor.

Both Ms. Barber and Ms. McIntyre exemplify the very best qualities of leaders – they are passionate, inclusive and creative. Their work in our community never fails to impress the people around them, and the awards they won in 2024 are a testament to that. Congratulations to both of you!

Charlotte Rioux is a Grade 12 Glebe student.

The Glebe Montessori School Elementary students enjoyed preparing and performing The Wizard of Oz in December, to an appreciative audience! PHOTO: MS THOM

Ottawa — Vancouver — Montréal

Glebe Co-op Nursery School –children making great strides!

By Alanna Brown

Happy New Year from all of us at GCNS! Our preschoolers, toddlers and teachers had a restful holiday season and are excited to start the New Year together again. January marks the beginning of a fresh chapter in our nursery school, full of opportunities for growth, exploration and joy.

Before we look ahead, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on how much our students have achieved so far. In only a few months, our toddlers and preschoolers have really settled into their routine. From learning where to put their outdoor shoes and boots, to washing hands before snack time, to cleaning up after playtimes, our students have developed a great sense of independence and confidence. It’s always important that after a break from school we spend a little bit of time reinforcing these skills and talking about the importance of remembering our daily routines.

In the first months of the school year, we’ve seen tremendous growth in all areas of development. From early literacy skills to motor skills, creativity to social development, our students are making wonderful strides. We’ve also loved watching the bonds of friendship grow between the children as they share and collaborate, learn to communicate, solve problems and empathize with one another. The classrooms are full of laughter, curiosity and exciting discoveries.

Our teaching team continues to be inspired by the children’s wonder and enthusiasm. The learning environment at our nursery school is designed to foster independence, creativity and a love of learning, and we’re proud of the progress the children have made in just a few short months.

As we begin this second half of the

school year, we’re excited to dive into new themes, activities and experiences. Some recent mornings have been particularly windy and cold, so January has been all about cozy indoor activities. In the coming weeks, we’ll be focusing on topics like winter weather, hibernation and animals in cold climates. We’ll explore these themes through books, hands-on activities and interactive lessons, giving the children opportunities to learn about the world around them in a fun, engaging way. We are lucky to have the great hall upstairs in the community centre where we spend the last half hour of school on days that are too chilly to play outside. The children love taking the elevator or stairs up to the hall where they can shake their sillies out, run around, ride in toy cars, chase giant bouncy balls, explore obstacle courses and jump on the big blue crash pad.

Despite the cold, outdoor play remains an important part of our daily routine when possible. Fresh air, exercise and nature-based activities are essential for children’s physical and mental well-being. On the milder winter mornings, the children enjoy jumping and playing in the snow in our beautiful play yard. They love to give each other sled rides.

At this stage of the year, we also focus on building strong social-emotional skills, which are crucial for children’s overall development. As children interact with peers, learning to share, take turns and express their feelings, we’re here to support them every step of the way. Our educators use a variety of strategies to encourage positive social interactions, including role-playing, circle time discussions and reading stories about emotions and relationships.

One of our goals this year is to help each child develop a strong sense of self-confidence and self-regulation.

We encourage children to express their needs and feelings in a constructive way and to understand the importance of kindness, co-operation and empathy. We invite you to come to our annual Open House to check out our beautiful classroom, meet our teachers and get a first-hand glimpse of life in our nursery. Glebe Co-0perative Nursery School is a non-profit licensed childcare program in the lower level of the Glebe Community Centre (175 third Avenue). Will your child be between the ages of 18 months and 2.5 years old

in September 2025? Please join us on Tuesday, March 4 from 10 to 11 a.m. Will your child be between the ages of 2.5 years and 4 years old in September 2025? Your open house is on Wednesday, March 5 from 10 to 11 a.m. We look forward to answering any questions about our part-time programs and are excited to spark the interest in nursery school for your little ones.

Alanna Brown is responsible for communications at Glebe Co-operative Nursery School.

Hazel practises her letters PHOTO: TEACHER HELEN

Messages without

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

ABBOTSFORD SENIORS CENTRE (950 Bank St ) 2025 CHINESE LANTERN FESTIVAL, AN EVENT OF CULTURAL PERFORMANCES, UNITY AND JOY! Come celebrate it with us on Wed , Feb 12, 2:30–4 p m Performance by Zhonglele Culture & Art Troupe, Chinese traditional snacks and small gift of a Chinese craft Registration (members only) required, call 613-230-5730

ABBOTSFORD SENIORS CENTRE (950 Bank St , Tel : 613-230-5730) FREE LEARN & EXPLORE SPEAKER’S SERIES, (non-members welcome) Wednesdays, 1-2:30 p m Feb. 12: Join Kelly Beaton, registered holistic nutritionist, for her presentation: Food for Thought: How to Feed an Aging Brain What are the food trends? Do they stand the test of time? Feed your brain some thoughtful, informed food and feel better LIVE and on ZOOM Feb. 19: Join Shelagh Tuddenham, coordinator, Neighbours Helping Neighbours, Ottawa Branch, National Association of Federal Retirees, to learn some simple ways to offer respite support and give a caregiver a temporary break The Neighbours Helping Neighbours program was created by the Victorian Order of Nurses This will be held LIVE Feb. 26: Lauren Parkes, business development manager at CAA for North and East Ontario, will present CAA’s range of services, including auto, life and home insurance, travel agency services and travel insurance She will highlight the benefits and discounts available to members of Abbotsford Seniors Centre Held both LIVE and on ZOOM Mar. 5: Stacey Pryde, investment specialist and financial planner at Scotiabank, is our neighbour and longtime supporter of Abbotsford She will be talking about fraud prevention and cybersecurity Her own mother was stung by fraud, and she wishes to arm others against malicious fraud Fraud has become very sophisticated, and we need to know how to make sure we and our loved ones don’t fall victim to it LIVE and on ZOOM N B : The lectures are free, but one must register in advance for a seat or Zoom link Tea/coffee and treats available for purchase in dining room courtesy of your Members Council and Amica the Glebe

ABBOTSFORD SENIORS CENTRE (950 Bank St )

VALENTINE FRIENDSHIP LUNCHEON FOR MEMBERS, Fri , Feb 14, 12-1 p m Limited seating available so must register in advance at Reception or online at myactivecenter.com or by calling 613-230-5730 Cost: Free, though donations at the door would be most appreciated

ABBOTSFORD SENIORS CENTRE (950 Bank) continues to look for books, flea market items and your treasures to sell in-house Accepted at Abbotsford House Mon - Fri , 9 a m –4 p m Your donations will be supporting the Centre’s Programming and Services

ALPHA EXPERIENCE Come and explore the big questions of life, meaning and faith through the Alpha Film Series, Mondays, starting Feb 24, 7–9 p m at St Mary’s Parish, 100 Young St , access via parking lot For more details and to register, please visit www.stmarysottawa.ca/alpha or email: alpha@stmarysottawa.ca – Alpha is free, the experience priceless! Refreshments will be served

CALLING GLEBE ARTISTS! THE GLEBE ART IN THE GARDEN TOUR 2025 will be held on July 5 and 6

We are accepting applications from local artists who live, work or have studios in the Glebe, and we are looking for a variety of high-quality, original artwork from painters, potters, sculptors, photographers We also have a few spots available for guest artists who may exhibit their work in the garden of a Glebe resident The deadline for submission is April 30 For information and an application form, please contact glebearttour@ hotmail.ca or visit our website glebearttour.ca

NOTES OF LOVE, a special side-by-side fundraiser for OrKidstra featuring the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Feb 14, 7 p m at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St For more information and ticket prices, please go to orkidstra.ca/notes-of-love/

OLD OTTAWA SOUTH GARDEN CLUB MEETING Tues , Feb 11, 7 p m : Water-wise Gardening: As climate change brings hotter weather and more extreme precipitation, how can gardeners adapt? Master Gardener and blogger (www gardeningatlast ca) Rebecca Last will discuss strategies for water-wise gardening, including preventing

Janus V

Janus, the 25-foot-high snowman along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, came to life the first year of COVID during a lockdown after a snowstorm. The builders thought his smiling face should be seen both by passers-by on the sidewalk and by cars passing by, so they gave him two faces. The name Janus came from Janus, the Roman god of abstract dualities such as life and death or war and peace, who is always depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions.

Janus was made by hand using a ladder, shovels and a wheelbarrow, and some seven tonnes of snow. Janus V is the descendant of the original Janus – snow samples from the previous year are carefully preserved in a Ziplock bag in a freezer, and reimplanted in the next year’s Janus, keeping the spirit alive.

Last year’s Janus survived until April 16.

run-off, harvesting water, watering wisely, conserving soil moisture, xeriscaping and plant selection Membership: $25 per year; $40 for a family; drop-in fee $7 per meeting Info: Old Ottawa South Community Centre 623-247-4946

PROBUS Ottawa is welcoming new members from the Glebe and environs Join your fellow retirees, near retirees and want-to-be retirees for interesting speakers and discussions, not to mention relaxed socializing See our website: www.probusoav.ca for more detailed information about the club and its activities as well as contact points and membership information We will be meeting on Wed Feb 26, 10 a m at Gloucester Presbyterian Church, 91 Pike St , for a presentation about Underwater Archeology

SOUTHMINSTER SCOUTS invite you to celebrate the legacy of scouting and guiding with the LORD DAVID BADEN-POWELL on February 21 and 22 at Southminster United Church in Old Ottawa South, 15 Aylmer Ave Join the 17th Southminster Scouts for a weekend of celebration in honour of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the global scouting and guiding movement We are delighted to welcome The Right Honourable David Baden-Powell, 5th Baron Baden-Powell and great-grandson of scouting’s founder We invite you to celebrate with us at one or both events Legacy and Leadership: A Dinner with David Baden-Powell on Friday, Feb 21

at 6:30 pm Tickets are $100 and include access to Saturday’s talk; The Future of Scouting: Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders on Saturday, Feb 22 from 3 to 4:30 pm Tickets for the talk alone: Scouts/guides in uniform: $10, general admission: $30 Join David Baden-Powell for an engaging and familyfriendly talk on how scouting and guiding continue to empower young people to become compassionate leaders and global change-makers Discover how the movement’s core values of service, adventure and community are shaping the next generation and hear inspiring stories of scouting’s impact around the world For tickets go to: 17th-ottawa-southminster-scouts.square.site and click on “West Coast Trail 2025”or email: 17thSouthminsterScouts@gmail.com

FOR SALE

LARGE MAHOGANY DISPLAY EASEL, magnificent, hand carved, measures 85” x 26 ” Perfect for displaying a special painting or a restaurant menu $325 Call 613-261-4504

SET OF 3 ANTIQUE VICTORIAN CHAIRS, beautiful, handcrafted in walnut and gold-coloured fabric, must be seen $750 Call 613-261-4504

ANTIQUE DUNCAN PHYFE DINING-ROOM TABLE mahogany, measures 72” x 42” x 29” high, comes with one extra leaf $925 Call 613-261-4504

Kilometre 3 on the Canal at the Flora bridge PHOTO: CHERYL GAIN