In The Hills Autumn 2011

V O L U M E 18 N U M B E R 3 2 0 11

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R E G I O N

Meetings with remarkable trees Gypsy horses

Can gravel be green?

A visit to the food bank Autumn arts season

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

There has been no let-up over the summer in the battle against the Melancthon mega quarry. And after a summer of events, the anti-quarry campaign is anticipating a huge turnout on Sunday, October 16, to Foodstock, a food festival on farms near the quarry site, organized in association with the Canadian Chefs’ Congress and featuring Michael Stadtländer and some 70 other chefs.

But however ill-conceived the Melancthon quarry may be, the big question remains: how do we satisfy our voracious appetite for aggregate?

In this issue, Tim Shuff reviews what might be the beginning of an answer to that question: green gravel certification. As Tim points out, certification will not be a panacea for all our gravel woes, but it seems to offer the only ray of hope for a compromise in the province’s bitter and staggeringly costly aggregate wars.

One thing the quarry battle does make clear is just how passionate this community is about protecting the region’s natural landscape – the water, farmland and forests that drew people to live here. In this issue, Don Scallen introduces you to some of the individual characters who distinguish that landscape: twelve remarkable trees. He even supplies a tour guide so you can make their acquaintance in person.

As always in our autumn issue, we also preview the bustling fall arts scene, and this year that includes two profi les of local artists for whom the local countryside has provided a sustaining source of inspiration. L.P. Patton recalls the intimate creative bond she and her father, William Scobie Houstoun, forged with each other and the environment on their excursions to paint trees. And Tom Smart visits wood engraver Rosemary Kilbourn, for whom the hills and woods around her Dingle Schoolhouse have been a lifelong muse.

However, because the landscape is such a dominant and compelling feature of our region, it tends to absorb our passions, pushing some of the social issues that affect our communities into the background.

Food-bank usage is one measure of overall community well-being, and Jeff Rollings reports that there has been a significant spike in the number of citizens who are using local food banks and soup kitchens since the onset of the recession. His report is a call to action, and a reminder that in this relatively wealthy community, with its rich foodland resources, too many are going without.

EDITORIAL

Janet Dimond | Monica Duncan Bethany Lee | L.P. Patton Douglas G. Pearce | Dyanne Rivers Jeff Rollings | Nicola Ross Don Scallen | Tim Shuff | Tom Smart Ken Weber | Chris Wedeles PHOTOGRAPHY

Mark J. Barrett | Martin Julian Peter Kelly | Bob Langrish Pete Paterson Ben Radvanyi | Don Scallen I L L U S T R AT I O N

Shelagh Armstrong | Jim Stewart DESIGN | ART DIRECTION

Kim van Oosterom Wallflower Design ADVERTISING SALES

Roberta Fracassi | Julie Lockyer ADVERTISING PRODUCTION

Marion Hodgson Type & Images PROOFREADING

Susan Robb ONLINE IN THE HILLS

Valerie Jones, Echo Hill Bethany Lee, Focus on Media COVER

Under the Canopy

by Lynne Schumacher — In the Hills is published four times a year by MonoLog Communications Inc. It is distributed through controlled circulation to households in the towns of Caledon, Erin, Orangeville, Shelburne and Creemore, and Dufferin County.

Subscriptions outside the distribution area are $22.6o per year (including hst).

Letters to the editor are welcome.

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Photo: Ben Radvanyi

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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I N

T H I S

I S S U E F E A T U R E S

D E P A R T M E N T S

20 GREEN GRAVEL

Can certification solve gravel woes?

by Tim Shuff

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14

Twelve trees you should know

by Don Scallen 17

Unwelcome invaders

by Chris Wedeles

52

THE DIGEST

Countryside news

by Douglas G. Pearce

30 MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE TREES

44 WORMS IN THE WOODS

LETTERS

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

John Ashbourne

58

HOMEGROWN IN THE HILLS

The Sausage King

by Nicola Ross 66 HEADWATERS NEST

Sharing work

by Bethany Lee

70 GOOD SPORTS

Carriage driving

by Nicola Ross

HEADWATERS ART SHOW

An exhibition preview 54 ROSEMARY KILBOURN

88 WHAT’S ON IN THE HILLS

Caledon’s wood engraver

by Tom Smart

A calendar of autumn happenings

60 EMPTY PLATES

98 A PUZZLING CONCLUSION

A visit to local food banks

by Jeff Rollings 72

Our favourite picks for fall

Saddlebag preachers

by Ken Weber

A daughter’s memoir

by L.P. Patton

60

MUST DO

68 HISTORIC HILLS

48 WILLIAM SCOBIE HOUSTOUN

52

18

Our readers write

by Ken Weber

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L E T T E R S

woes

Mega quarry

Because of Tim Shuff’s article on the mega quarry (Birth of a Protest, summer 2011), I spent a wonderful morning photographing the beauty of that area. I wanted to try and photograph my impressions of the land, how vast this area of proposed devastation was going to be, and what it was going to swallow. On arrival, I noted the beauty of the country (very rarely are we blessed with such long views from such high vantage points) and the sheer size of the area being farmed going off into the distance concession by concession. It impressed upon me the obvious care and respect the farmers are taking and the varieties and healthiness of the crops.

I drove all the roads on the map trying to come up with a way of conveying what I was seeing and feeling in this beautiful piece of country.

Did my photographs convey what I set out to capture? I tried, but I don’t think you can capture all of such a vast piece of land.

The quarry is something I hope will never happen, but those in the fight to stop it will need help. I urge each and every one of the readers to go as I did and stand at the corner of 20 Sideroad and Melancthon Town Line, look to all points of the compass, and think what it would be like if most of everything you can now see was no longer there.

John Church, Caledon

SHELBURNE

Melancthon potato field photographed by John Church.

ORANGEVILLE

CORRECTION:

QUARRY LOCATION Our profound apologies and thanks to John Church and other readers who pointed out the egregious error in the map in our summer issue showing the location of the proposed Melancthon quarry.

In a Photoshop slip, we moved the quarry location one line east. The correct location is shown above.

We also failed to credit the map to CAUSE, which supplied the correct original.

Excellent article! Tim Shuff eloquently and effectively captures the spirit and momentum of the “No Mega Quarry” movement. My only comment is that the fact that Highlands claims that the quarry will have to be “dewatered” to the tune of 600,000,000 litres of water per day comes late in the article, almost as an afterthought.

This is the single biggest issue with this proposed extraction, though of course it may not be for the people living on fertile farmland that could one day be a deep, rocky chasm.

Carl Michener, Alliston — Let’s keep fighting. We need good Canadiangrown food and pure water for our future generations. Don’t let a foreign company rob us of our precious natural resources.

Wayne Patterson, Niagara — Great article, but I am surprised and disappointed that there is no mention of The Coalition of Concerned Citizens and their recent battle and defeat of local aggregate company James Dick in its Rockfort Quarry

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

application. I am equally disappointed that the CCC doesn’t even make mention of the Melancthon quarry on their website. Environmental issues don’t stop at the imaginary borders we’ve drawn up on a map.

Matthew, Caledon, web comment — The great and amazing thing about the power of the people is watching each person do something. With today’s online technology you can literally watch the ripples of action extend further and further each day. The proposed Melancthon quarry is so outrageous, so offensive to Canadian sensibility that it is not difficult to get people to act – from adding friends to the “Stop the Quarry!” group in Facebook, to meeting with their MPP. Of course, this fight will not be easy – a quick review of the Flamborough fight has shown me that, but I have faith. Site 41 was very inspiring. And the Rockfort quarry. We just have to be as tenacious as those who are going after profit. Our profit will be in landscape, food and clean water today, tomorrow and for the next generation.

Donna Baylis, Creemore

Thank you for such a great article. I cannot imagine the environmental disaster if this pit is allowed to go in. We have farmed up here for 24 years.

When we were looking to purchase farms, this area had the perfect soil and climate suited to our crops. As Bill French said in the article “there is nowhere else to go” and we always wanted to remain here and call this our “home.” Thank you for keeping the word in everyone’s face and keeping it on their minds. It took me a while to “get it” and I am going to live beside this mega quarry if it is allowed to go in. I understand people’s apathy saying “it is a done deal already” but, People, it is not a done deal yet!! Keep writing great articles, spread the word and send videos. I know the video of the blasting being done was the one that made me have my “aha” moment. It opened by eyes.

Diane French, Shelburne — What a wonderful article, Tim Shuff. It’s sad that the citizens of Ontario need to fight for their water and their land, but I have to admit, this potential environmental disaster has brought out qualities in my neighbours that make me proud to live in their midst. The fight is far from over, but at least now we know, thanks to articles such as this one, that we will be heard, and that we will not stand by when unabashed greed attempts to destroy our resources.

Gail, Shelburne, web comment — Thanks, Tim Shuff, for an excellent article about the fierce battle to stop the Highland Companies from destroying vital agricultural land and threatening our fresh water resources in perpetuity. Country and city are uniting against this reckless proposal as the Ontario election draws closer. I think we should be asking every candidate who wants our vote to state their position on the mega quarry. One of the many questions we could ask is: Will your party promise that there will be no quarries of any size on prime agricultural land? The parties’ answers should determine the outcome on October 6th.

Tess Mansfield, Mulmur — Thanks for this powerfully moving revelation of the issue, packed with people connections. The in-depth coverage and accompanying photos were instrumental for visualizing the impacts, illustrating the interrelated reality that makes this a crucial concern, and helping to reveal the monumental task of the defence demanded and undertaken. This seems a poignant reminder of the struggle that went into saving Clayoquot Sound, but I feel exposure through excellent articles like this will greatly assist resolution without need for those extreme actions. People power + press = success! With such a great geographical distance separating me from my neighbours this has been a heartwarming introduction to the many passionate people protecting my backyard. Thank you to all involved!

Jayne Wilson, Columbia-Shuswap, BC — We now have another mega project to worry about. Just received notice of a mega wind project, about six times the size of the mega quarry and overlapping the same area. This 100 MW wind producer will dominate the landscape, kill hundreds of birds yearly, further impact the local environment and – perhaps – create even more dust and pollution from the construction and the ninety-foot blades turning to churn up nice limestone dust from the quarry. Again, local government and residents have no real say, although there are four public meetings planned. Details are at dufferinwindpower.com a protest or civilian voice site designed to inform on this issue. Just one more thing to worry about! Let’s stop the quarry and stop the Mega Dufferin Wind Power project too. It’s biggest risk will, again, be to farmers.

Derek Armstrong, Shelburne more mega quarry letters on next page

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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L E T T E R S

continued

Gratitude to volunteer firefighters

• Old-fashioned quality craftsmanship & design • Trim Carpentry • Cabinetry & Bookcases • Finished Basements • Renovations • Permits Trevor Haws

519-941-1428

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I read with intrigue the article about the proposed Melancthon quarry in the summer issue and you had my interest up to the point where you listed some statistics (complete with sources) about the development. I stopped reading there, since the way you have chosen to cite your sources is completely laughable and basically useless to someone interested in checking up on those sources.

Any Grade 9 high school student knows how to correctly cite references when they are completing a research project, so it’s a pity that the author of this article has either forgotten that skill or chosen to ignore the accepted format(s) for citing references. If you want people reading your articles (and by extension, your publication) to take you seriously, then you need to make sure that you start referencing your sources correctly so that your readership can be properly informed. Putting down only acronyms or something like “In The Hills research” and then expecting your readers to do the legwork in order to verify your sources does nothing but frustrate them, turn them off and diminish the quality of the reporting/writing in your publication...

I have a very high regard for the gifted (grade nine) students that I teach and most of them can write (and cite sources) at a higher level than what I have read in your article. I will be using your article to show all of my students (from 9-12) how not to cite references for their work.

Nick Cox, e-mail —

Thank you for your article on the Grand Valley Fire Department (A Day in the Life of a Volunteer Firefighter, summer 2011). In the early morning of February 22, 1988, our house in Waldemar was on fire.

First on the scene was the Grand Valley F. D. Alas, the fire got the better of them, even with support from the Orangeville F.D. and Shelburne F.D., so the house had to be destroyed.

Thankfully, we did manage to save some personal things because of their efforts. Even our 17-year-old cat survived when a firefighter carried his limp body to the waiting ambulance and put him under the oxygen mask. He lived for a year after that experience. Some of these firefighters were our friends and neighbours who risked their lives to save our home. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for them.

Sally Mappin, Erin — My nephew Neil also serves in Grand Valley Fire Dept. and makes us proud every day, as do all our firefighters all over our country and around the world. Every Christmas eve for years when my health allowed, I took a cookie tray, in my father’s name (he was also a firefighter), up to our fire hall here. My way of giving thanks.

Cindy Gasperski, Jackson’s Point

Heron identification Last Sunday morning, my wife Donna and I were in our usual place on a sunny weekend morning. From our back deck overlooking the pond we noticed a larger bird in flight coming to perch high in a tree adjacent to our house.

After referencing our bird books, we could not identify the bird with 100 per cent confidence. I then went through our collection of back issues of In The Hills and settled in with the article in the spring 2010 issue by Don Scallen featuring herons (Herons & Co.) Thanks to this article we were able to identify, without doubt, the American bittern sitting in our tree. Not only is your wonderful magazine enjoyable reading, but it can also be used as a reference document.

Donna & Dave Frantz, Caledon

Now that’s what I call statistics! Bravo!

Carl Michener, Alliston — This is great journalism, very well referenced. Thank you Tim Shuff!

Johnny Dib, Toronto Editor’s Note: For more reader response on Tim Shuff ’s article, Birth of a Protest, see the comments section at the end of the article at inthehills.ca.

American bittern photographed in Caledon by Dave Frantz.

ONLINE IN THE HILLS We welcome your comments! For more commentary from our readers, or to add your own thoughts on any of the stories in this issue, please visit inthehills.ca. You can also send your letters by e-mail to sball@inthehills.ca. Please include your name, address and contact information.

In the Hills reserves the right to edit letters for publication.

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

Shakespeare for all The prefi x “South Mulmur,” and the absence of an indication of how the Shakespeare Study Group might be contacted, may have left readers of Cecily Ross’s gratifying article (Reading Shakespeare in Mulmur, summer 2011) with the impression that we are limited to residents of south Mulmur and closed to newcomers. In fact, members of the group come from Palgrave, Orangeville, Creemore, Meaford and Mono, as well as Mulmur. We can be reached at lilactreefarm@gmail.com.

Brian Bixley, Mulmur

Join Chef Michael Stadtländer and 70 of Canada’s best chefs as they cook with the produce of Melancthon Township in an outdoor, pay-as-much-as-you-can*, public food event in solidarity with the movement to Stop The Mega Quarry.

All funds raised will be used in the fight against the proposed destruction of thousands of acres of Ontario farmland.

SOUTH

PARKING

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Melancthon 20th Sideroad Melancthon 17th Sideroad

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to toronto

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Hwy 10

3rd Line

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Hwy 410

NORTH

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collingwood

11 AM-5 PM Rain or Shine! Rubber boots recommended!

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C O U N T R Y S I D E

D I G E S T

by Douglas G. Pearce

Peacocks, oysters and rubber ducks Chernobyl Census

Last Meal

“Wildlife is thriving in lakes contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, with both overall numbers and species diversity holding up well.

Any harmful effects from radiation appear to be negated by the benefit of the absence of humans.” From New Scientist, Apr 30/11. newscientist.com

“Ever since he was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991, Ötzi, the 5200year-old Iceman, has been dishing out information about Neolithic life.

Researchers ... sequenced the DNA of animal fibres in the Iceman’s stomach to reveal his last meal: the meat of an Alpine ibex.” From Science, Jun 24/11. sciencemag.org

Bath Break “In 1348 the medical school at the Sorbonne decided that warm water opens the pores and allows disease to enter. And from then on, for about four to five centuries – depending on where you lived ...[b]aths were looked upon as things to be taken only as desperate remedies: a medical necessity prescribed by doctors.

“During this long bath-phobic period of human history, people who were fastidious in their personal hygiene habits were thought be particularly odd and noteworthy.

The well-known 19th-century dandy Beau Brummel scraped himself all over with a brush every day and took baths in milk. ... Although he was considered to be exceedingly strange, Brummel was well connected in the upper echelons of society, and his new ideas came to have considerable influence. It was he who started the trend of tailored suits and ties for men that continues to this day, and by the time he died, it was much more fashionable to be clean.” From Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health, by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie (Vintage Canada, 2010).

Seeing Spots “If peahens (Pavo cristatus) tally eyespots on their suitors’ tail feathers, they do a sloppy job. As long as the male displays about 140 spots in his gaudy train, extras do not improve his chance of mating. ... Researchers confi rmed that, among feral peafowl in North America, snipping out 20 spots wrecked males’ prospects for mating. But few peacocks were naturally so plain. Most displayed 144 to 169 eyespots – and within that acceptable range, hens relied on some other cue (still unknown to science) to rank their suitors. From American Scientist, Jul-Aug/ 2011. americanscientist.org 14

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

Shucks Chesapeake Bay “...now yields about 1 per cent of the 15 million bushels it did annually around 1885. The phenomenon is not limited to the bay.

Worldwide, 85 per cent of natural oyster reefs are gone. Those that remain are about 10 per cent as productive as they were during their historic peaks.”

From Shucking open a tale, by Michael Anft, in Johns Hopkins Magazine, Summer/11. magazine.jhu.edu

Fish Shucks “While exploring Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, professional diver Scott Gardner snapped the first photographs of a wild fish using a tool.

Gardner found a foot-long blackspot tuskfish (Choerodon schoenleinii) holding a clam in its mouth and whacking it against a rock. The shell gave way, and the fish gobbled up the bivalve, spat out the shell fragments, and swam off.” From Science, Jul 15/11. sciencemag.org

Pound for Pound “The truth of the matter is that lawns are giant pesticide guzzlers. They consume 90 million pounds of pesticides and herbicides each year in the United States. In a strange coincidence this is also the amount of chicken wings consumed on Super Bowl weekend...” From Smith and Lourie, op. cit.

Climate Psychology “Grim warnings about climate change may prompt more skepticism than action, simply because they seem unjust. Portraying children as innocent victims, for instance, confl icts with common assumptions that the world is fair – a clash that might trigger doubt and inaction. Indeed, a recent survey showed that that the stronger one’s belief in a just world, the greater

one’s skepticism after reading a grim global warming article (but not an optimistic one that also presented solutions).” From American Scientist, Mar-Apr/11. americanscientist.org

Junk Science “Speaking of the Federal Government, it’s been busy passing rigid new standards surpassing those recently adopted in the United States to get lead and phthalates out of children’s toys. Not everyone is happy about this progress. The National Post, for instance, has launched a new award in our honour. The ‘Rubber Duck Award’ will now be given out annually to recognize the scientists, environmentalists, politicians and journalists who each year advance the principles of so-called junk science.

We predicted a response like this and are delighted to report that having spawned the ‘Rubber Duckies,’ we are the first recipients of the prize.”

From Smith and Lourie, op. cit.

Junked Science “History traditionally has ranked alchemists with counterfeit artists, huckster quacks, snake oil salesmen, and witches. Medieval men hunkered in dungeons, using primitive materials in an absurd quest to turn base metals like lead into gold? Definitely not scientists.

“During their heyday, alchemists may not have successfully spun gold, but they created cosmetics, dyes, liquors, pharmaceuticals, and pigments.

They analyzed metals, created artificial fertilizers, and tested hypotheses that proved pivotal in the development of science.

“Crystallization, distillation, sublimation – all techniques for working with substances that are still in use today – were developed by practitioners of the alchemical arts, who plied their trade from 300 bc, when they emerged in Greek-speaking Egypt, until they were discredited and given the existential stage hook by scientific academies in the early 1700s.” From Johns Hopkins Magazine, Summer/11. magazine.jhu.edu

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

A R T I S T

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R E S I D E N C E

clockwise from top : Man and Nature: Rooted, cold cast bronze; Old Man of the Wood, polymer gypsum; The Knowledge of Autumn, pastel; Out of Eden, cold cast bronze; Man and Nature: Losing Touch, clay model for casting.

John Ashbourne : Green Man Series Despite its seemingly pagan symbolism, the image of a human face (usually male) emerging from leaves and branches was a theme widely used by stone masons in their architectural ornamentation of Christian churches from the 11th to the 16th centuries, and again during a revival in the 19th century. The mysterious Green Man has resisted numerous serious, as well as more fanciful, attempts to satisfactorily explain its presence and meaning, but for Mono artist John Ashbourne, it symbolizes the relationship between “Man and Nature,” a theme he finds particularly relevant at the dawn of the current century. The British-born artist, 73, is a former corporate executive who, on retirement, finally took up his youthful ambitions to create art, beginning with a year-long apprenticeship with a sculptor. He has also been a practising falconer for 20 years. See his paintings, wood sculpture, photography and other Green Men, at johnashbourne.com IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

17

must do

A highly selective guide to the picks of the season.

like orangeville

About 400 people are taking a long stroll down memory lane together via Facebook, where a group called “I grew up in orangeville and surrounding area, I remember when …” is attracting dozens of posts a day – more than 2,000 in its first two weeks of existence.

Members describe the page, created

by April Glagow, as “addictive.” From Fairburn’s gas station to high school hijinks to the long-gone drive-in, if you were ever connected to Orangeville you’ll find faces and memories you hold dear, plus some you forgot.

Another group, “Orangeville Classmates and Friends – Where Are You Now,” allows users to search for people they’ve lost contact with, and includes a “Gone Too Soon” section, to remember those who died before their time.

Everyone can read posts by signing into Facebook and searching “I grew up in Orangeville and surrounding area, I remember when …” To include your own, ask an existing member to add you to the group.

sing

They’re called Sweet Adelines, and this year the more than 50 women who make up the Orangeville Chorus are celebrating 30 years of sweet harmony. Under the direction of Joan Borden and Pat Vipond, the chorus kicked off their anniversary in April with a gold-medal performance at an international competition in Syracuse, New York, and held a sold-out local concert in June. They’ll be presenting their four-part a cappella arrangements again this fall during gala matinee and evening performances on November 5 at the Town Hall Opera House in Orangeville, with a reception between the shows.

And if all that joyful music gives your vocal cords an itch to get singing, you can do just at the drop-in rehearsals the chorus offers for three Wednesday evenings this September at the Horizons Event Centre on Highway 10 in Mono.

Tickets for the November concert tickets are $30. Reserve at 519-942-3423. For more information about the chorus, including the drop-in rehearsals, see orangevillechorus.com

must P H O T O P E T E PAT ER S O N

must

must

go down to the farm

We’re surrounded by farmland here in the hills, but the truth is a lot of us have no idea what it really takes to produce the food we eat. On Saturday, October 1, the Dufferin Town & Country Farm Tour gives you, and your kids, a passport to see first-hand what’s on the other side of the farm gate.

The self-guided tour will take you to working sheep, dairy, beef, alpaca and horse farms in Amaranth and East Luther, as well as to the ecological wonderland of Luther Marsh. Along the way, you’ll get up close to the animals, talk to the farmers and view various farm-related displays and demonstrations. There will also be plenty of opportunity to purchase local produce.

The tour takes place rain or shine from 9 am to 4 pm. You can pick up your passport from 9 am to 2 pm at the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Information Centre at Highway 10 at Buena Vista Drive in Orangeville. The only admission requested is a food bank donation.

For information, go to thehillsofheadwaters.com/ farmtour, or call 1-800-332-9744.

East Luther sheep farmers Peter and Elly van der Veen and family are among those who will open their farm gates to visitors during the Dufferin Town & Country Farm Tour.

18

Ready to be Indulged?

must

never forget

Even with the death last year of the last Canadian veteran of the Great War, and with the numbers of living veterans of the Second World War diminishing, attendance at both national and local Remembrance Day services is increasing. Many of the faces at those ceremonies now belong to young people whose personal connection to the great world conflicts of the 20th century is only through scraps of stories or faded mementoes passed on from their grandparents or great-grandparents.

Perhaps it is the very loss of those living voices that has inspired a new generation to pick up the solemn promise never to forget.

And perhaps it is also because, on some local cenotaphs, among the weathered names of those long-dead soldiers, are etched new names, sons and daughters of our communities who died in Afghanistan – their freshly inscribed names the only visceral link for many of us to a distant and complicated conflict.

For information about local Remembrance Day services on November 11, contact your local branch of The Royal Canadian Legion or town office.

must

Spend a day soothing your body and soul at top-rated Millcroft Spa, Centre for Well-Being.

Put your best foot (and hand) forward with a manicure and pedicure.

A wide selection of spa treats await.

Enjoy our swimming pools, hot tubs, fitness facilities and healing gardens during your visit.

Call 1-888-669-5566 or visit vintage-hotels.com

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love your library

When Margaret Atwood recently tweeted her followers to sign a petition to save the Toronto Public Library system from Mayor Rob Ford’s proposed funding cuts, the TPL site crashed from the overwhelming response. But it’s not just city folk who love their libraries.

While many communities have a Library Week, for the past 13 years, Caledon Public Library has celebrated a Love Your Library Month. And this October the celebration is extra special as CPL launches a spiffy new logo, new extended hours at all branches, a new lending card (including a key-chain version – so no more pocket searching), and a streamlined new website that promises to be more user-friendly.

Celebrations, including entertainment, kids’ activities, and salutes to long-time staff and volunteers, are scheduled throughout the month at each of the CPL’s seven community branches.

Check your local branch for details, or contact the main office at 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

19

GR E E N Can a green gravel certification solve the controversies over aggregate in Ontario?

It had better, because it may be the only way out of our current mess.

BY T IM S H U FF

hough she doesn’t say so, Andrea Bourrie could be forgiven if she felt skeptical going into her first meeting with Rick Smith. After all, Bourrie is director of planning and regulatory affairs for Holcim Canada, operator of Ontario’s Dufferin Aggregates and one of Canada’s largest stone, sand and gravel companies with 25 quarries nationwide. And as the executive director of Environmental Defence, Rick Smith’s usual job is to fight the plans of companies like Holcim. His organization is embroiled in five gravel fights at the Ontario Municipal Board, and Smith himself was singled out by the OMB for his failure to present a nuanced understanding of the issues during Caledon’s Rockfort quarry hearing. The OMB categorically stated that its decision to quash Rockfort was no thanks to “ill-informed rhetoric like that of Mr. Smith.”

20

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

G R AV E L So Rick Smith is not the first person you might expect to help broker “peace in the sandbox” in Ontario’s heated gravel wars. But his participation does add eco-cred to the result: the June announcement by Holcim and Environmental Defence that they had agreed on draft principles for a green-label certification for aggregate, and formed the nonprofit SERA (Socially and Environmentally Responsible Aggregates) to implement it.

Following in the footsteps of the successful Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for wood and paper (SERA’s new executive director, Lorne Johnson, is a former chair of FSC Canada), SERA’s aim is to turn their “straw man” standards into an independently auditable, FSC-style certification by the end of next year.

The sooner they can do it, the better, because the aggregate debate in Ontario is boiling over. Quarry fights rage province-wide, and dwarfi ng them all is the Highland Companies’ fiercely controversial application to blast the 2,300-acre, 200-foot-deep Melancthon Quarry on prime farmland in Dufferin County. For the first time in history, anti-quarry signs are showing up in downtown Toronto, and local quarry stories are making international news and circulating widely on Twitter and Facebook.

An anti-quarry petition posted on the website Avaaz.org in July pulled in 110,000 signatures in three days.

The 2010 State of the Aggregate Resource in Ontario Study (SAROS), published by the Ministry of Natural Resources, suggests that because of competing land uses, suitable quarry lands may be running out. The report found that “93 per cent of unlicensed bedrock resources have overlapping environmental, planning and agricultural constraints.”

Of the remaining 7 per cent, 91 per cent are located in eastern Ontario, far from major markets.

The Highland Companies is framing the debate as one of stark choices. To quote its recent video: “We can stop building for the future. We can keep growing but rip apart more of the [Niagara] Escarpment… We can bring in rock from hundreds of kilometres away, at vastly higher economic and environmental cost. Or, we can develop the Melancthon Quarry.” Presented with a set of options

unless we are willing to give up our houses, our roads and highways, hospitals and schools and airports – or surrender to the spectre of the Melancthon mega quarry – certification looks like the only way forward that are all, frankly, crap, more and more people are asking if there isn’t a better way. A certification standard for green gravel could be the answer.

Ontario’s aggregate policy gets most of the blame for this massive confl ict by aiming, above all, to maintain a cheap supply close to major cities.

Recognizing the necessity of aggregates and the high cost of transporting them, the Provincial Policy Statement directs municipalities and the province to ensure that “as much of the mineral aggregate resources as is realistically possible shall be made available as close to markets as possible.”

To this end the PPS dictates that municipalities identify aggregate reserves and protect them from other forms of development; that quarry applications are not required to demonstrate a need or undergo any type of supply/demand analysis (as is required for major developments under the Environmental Assessment Act); and that prime agricultural land may be developed for aggregate, in many cases with no responsibility for returning the land to agriculture.

Critics say these policies amount to an enshrined government subsidy for urban sprawl and have produced a cascade of similarly aggregate-centric legislation, such as the 2005 Greenbelt Act’s protection of aggregate extraction as an accepted rural land use, and laws allowing quarrying to be considered in 30 per cent of the Niagara Escarpment and 50 per cent of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

The 1989 Aggregate Resources Act, which sets the conditions for approval of new quarries – and is considered by the MNR to preclude the need for review under the Environmental Assessment Act – is another part of the problem. Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Gord Miller says the process set out in the Act is “not consultative by nature” and that it “moves inexorably towards [quarry] approval, despite the potential environmental impacts and the legitimate concerns raised by municipalities, citizens’ groups and individuals.”

The effects of these policies play out in battles all over Ontario. In 2005 the fight over Dufferin Aggregates’ application to expand its Milton quarry concluded in what an industry report called “one of the longest and most costly hearings in Ontario’s environmental history.”

Last year, environmentalists celebrated the OMB’s rejection of the Rockfort Quarry expansion in Caledon (the subject of Rick Smith’s “illinformed rhetoric”), but the fight can also be interpreted as lose-lose. The Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Caledon fought for 14 years, spending 350,000 volunteer hours and close to $1.8 million, money eaten up by legal and consulting fees as quickly as it could be raised through garage sales and golf tournaments.

“Both sides went away thinking, ‘Oh my god, this was not a way to spend our money,’” said Ric Holt, executive director of Gravel Watch Ontario. Gravel Watch acts as a kind of umbrella organization and information clearing house for gravel issues in Ontario, and has produced several information guides to aid local activists.

In Flamborough, near Hamilton, residents have been fighting for nearly eight years against St. Marys Cement’s plans for a limestone quarry on Greenbelt lands with the highest protection level. They thought they’d won last year when the province stopped the project with a rare Ministerial Zoning Order, but now St. Marys has responded with a legal challenge at the Ontario Superior Court, and its Brazilian-based owner, Votorantim Cimentos, has sued the federal government for $275 million under NAFTA rules. It’s another one of those cases where lawyers and consultants are the only true winners. continued on next page

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

21

The obvious question and perhaps the litmus test for green certification will be: Could the Melancthon Quarry be certified? With the Aggregate Forum not yet working on certification and the standards set out by SERA (Socially and Environmentally Responsible Aggregates) only in draft form, it’s premature to speculate whether the 2,300-acre proposal that everyone’s watching could be “green.”

But it looks like various sections of SERA’s draft standards would pose a challenge for the Highland Companies, beginning with the requirement for a “collaborative process” of public consultation.

Then there is the list of “No Go,” “Maybe” and “Go Carefully” zones that ban or severely restrict quarry development. Class 1 agricultural land is a “Go Carefully” zone where green quarries would be allowed. But if the Melancthon site were officially designated as specialty cropland – something opponents have been fighting for – it would be off limits. And if the site is deemed to contain “key hydrologic features,” it would be classified as a “Maybe” zone, subjecting it to higher standards.

In any case, SERA’s standards for water protection appear out of reach for a proposal that is struggling to meet the baseline standards set by government. Water and fisheries concerns have motivated DufferinCaledon MP David Tilson to launch a petition requesting a federal environmental assessment.

And the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has formally objected to the application, stating that Highland’s studies “failed to demonstrate a three

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gravel continued from page 21

Meanwhile near Duntroon, opponents to an application to expand the Walker Aggregates quarry are holding their breath for a ruling on the exhaustive, four-sided, 14-month OMB hearing that wrapped up in June. The Clearview Community Coalition stated that the OMB process “has cost far more than we ever could have imagined.”

In Caledon, PitSense continues to fight a proposed 40.5 hectare, belowthe-water-table pit at the McCormick Farm on Heart Lake Road. And residents in Mulmur Township are closely watching the Arbour Farms Aggregate Extraction Proposal on Airport Road, which has been in the works since 2001.

Now the Melancthon mother of all mega quarries dwarfs every one of these fights, hoovering up all the media attention and threatening to shed a global spotlight on just how dysfunctional Ontario’s aggregate approval process has become.

Even the long-held belief that the process is a sweetheart deal for indus22

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

dimensional understanding of the geology, hydrogeology and hydrology of the site.” In early September, Ontario environment minister John Wilkinson announced the Highland Companies’ proposed quarry will be subject to the requirements of a “transparent and independent” environmental assessment.

The Melancthon Quarry would have a long way to go to meet green standards, but it could conceivably get certified if the company could apply social and environmental best practices on a mega scale.

However, the spectre of a five-kilometre-wide mega quarry on prime farmland earning the green stamp highlights the limitations of supply-side solutions to environmental problems.

Lorne Johnson points out that being “green” according to certification standards is not the same as being sustainable. He notes that FSC long ago decided to drop any reference to sustainability, for example.

The SERA standards allow companies to claim that they are “environmentally responsible and socially responsible, which is quite a bit more modest than sustainable,” he says.

SERA’s standards include a section on “resource efficiency,” but they do nothing to address the big questions about what’s driving our insatiable aggregate demand, or what to do about it. The standards say nothing about things like unsustainable government regulations, the bargain 11.5-cents-a-tonne provincial levy on aggregate, aggregate-intensive construction and development practices, and our grow-or-die economics. Green certification still does not require applicants to demonstrate a need, or do anything to prevent stone quarried in Ontario from leaving Ontario, as much of it already does via the Great Lakes.

If we want gravel, the industry may soon be able to serve it to us on a green platter. But unless we want that green gravel coming from a giant grey hole on former farmland, we must also tackle those bigger questions.

try is no longer true. Environment commissioner Gord Miller says the process is unfriendly to everyone.

“The citizens groups, my gosh, it drains the very life out of them. It’s not friendly to the companies because it traps them into a process where they become financially committed at an early stage,” spending millions before they have a chance to get significant public input.

Holcim Canada’s senior vice-president, Bill Galloway, says, “Today you go through your prescriptive process that’s laid out in the regulatory platform and you could be investing all the way through this and then find out on the last day that your pit is either accepted or denied.”

That’s what happened at Rockfort.

The uncertainty and cost of fighting for approval at the OMB is motivation enough for industry to seek a more collaborative than combative approach to siting quarries. In Galloway’s words, Holcim wants to “bring clarity to the issue.”

Environmentalists hope to save time and money too. Rick Smith says

certification “will be the lens through which we view the aggregate industry.

If we think that a proposed aggregate operation is likely certifiable under the standard, it’s doubtful that we would oppose it.”

From an environmental standpoint, certification isn’t perfect. But activists scarred by OMB fights support it, recognizing that a compromise is better than an all-out fight that everyone loses. Clearview Community Coalition president Neill Lanz told SERA that “if the standards translate into even one community group and one proponent avoiding what we just went through, then that is already a big win for everyone.”

“This whole certification idea is a good one,” says Ric Holt. “Now the real question is how to do it, not whether to do it.”

The SERA standards look promising because it’s already possible to identify at least a few quarry fights that would never have happened if everyone had been following them.

According to SERA’s concept of “no go” zones, the Flamborough land

BETWEEN A ROCK

W

hen it comes to aggregates, we are “between a rock and a hard place,” to borrow the title of one industry report. There is just no easy way around the high demand for aggregates in Ontario.

The literal foundation of our civilization, aggregates are the most used mineral in the world by tonnage, greater even than coal and oil. Ontarians would be champions in an aggregate eating contest. Our annual consumption of aggregate per capita is 14 tonnes, one of the highest in the world, equivalent to about 25 tractor-trailer loads of stone, sand and gravel for each of us in our lifetime. We use three-quarters of it in our roads, buildings, water pipes and sewers.

The 2010 State of the Aggregate Resource in Ontario Study (SAROS) concluded that Ontario will consume 186 million tonnes of aggregate annually for the next 20 years. That’s the equivalent of one Melancthon-sized mega pit every five years.

Virtually every industry observer agrees that we can do a better job of reducing consumption, as well as on recycling and reuse, which only supply about 7 per cent of current consumption. But the SAROS report states that all the recyclable material in the province is already used; more recycling will require more demolition. And even if we reach the high recycling rate in the U.K., at 21 per cent, we will still have a massive demand for virgin aggregate.

That 14-tonnes that we each use every year has to come from somewhere.

SCHUSTER CONTRACTING 30 YEARS OF QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP

AND A HARD PLACE

even the long-held belief that the quarry approval process is a sweetheart deal for industry is also no longer true … the process is unfriendly to everyone would be off limits due to its Greenbelt Natural Heritage System status.

As would the Clearview site, due to the presence of significant woodlands and endangered species. So, in the words of Gord Miller, who was subpoenaed to testify in Clearview, “We wouldn’t be wasting everybody’s time in the OMB.” Green gravel seems even more timely when you consider the Forest Stewardship Council started up in a very similar political climate in the 1990s. That was when the clearcutting of tropical rain forests and Canada’s “War of the Woods” took the international spotlight. Clayoquot Sound became the darling issue that Melancthon mega quarry is shaping

up to be. The fledgling FSC held its first general assembly in Toronto in 1993, the same year that Clayoquot’s “Summer of Protest” saw more than 850 arrested for civil disobedience.

The problems were obvious, but it took FSC several years to find the solution. Both sides first had to learn how to listen and to compromise. Early efforts, recalls SERA’s Lorne Johnson, amounted to environmentalists and First Nations talking to each other and making wish lists of standards for forestry companies to follow. This is like the stage in the spousal argument where you think you’ve solved the problem by pointing out all the ways that the other person has to change.

CUSTOM HOMES . ADDITIONS . RENOVATIONS INTERIORS & EXTERIORS

51 9 . 9 3 9 . 3 116

continued on next page IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

23

gravel continued from page 23

Gravel certification had a similar false start in 2007 when the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance unilaterally launched its “Green Gravel Campaign,” outlining a set of green standards signed by 81 member organizations.

An editorial in Aggregates & Roadbuilding magazine roundly dismissed it as “NIMBY in a green cloak,” saying that the environmental groups had “passed up a golden opportunity to work in a collaborative rather than adversarial manner” with industry.

At the same time, on the industry side, Holcim Canada was exploring the notion of a quality assurance label for Ontario-produced aggregate similar to the wine industry’s government-endorsed VQA program.

The FSC certification took off when it finally got significant industry players to buy in, which is the stage the green gravel movement hit about two years ago. That is when Bill Galloway and Rick Smith bumped into each other at a planning conference in Mississauga, discovered they had common ground on the certification concept and exchanged

business cards. And it is also when the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (OSSGA) started a parallel process called the Aggregate Forum, a round table of industry and six environmental organizations, including Ontario Nature and Gravel Watch.

The FSC example provided the motivation that such unlikely alliances can yield results for both sides – improving environmental practices while making more money for business. By 2001, there were enough companies producing FSC wood products and a big enough consumer demand for green alternatives that Home Depot announced it would stock only FSC wood. With spiking demand for the FSC label, certified companies were virtually guaranteed a market while non-certified players played catch-up.

Market incentive is what gives certification its power, by sparking a “race to the top.” The theory goes that there is a small group of environmental leaders setting the bar for best practices in a given industry that can become easily certified once a green standard is established – Holcim

The SERA Principles

S

ocially and Environmentally Responsible Aggregates has released a set of draft standards, agreed upon in principle by Holcim Canada and Environmental Defence. When the standards are finalized and auditable, Holcim Canada will endeavour to certify all 25 of its Canadian aggregate operations. Rick Smith of Environmental Defence says “SERA will be the lens through which we view the aggregate industry. If we think that a proposed aggregate operation is likely certifiable under the standard, it’s doubtful that we would oppose that.”

SERA proposes the following seven principles as a guiding framework:

1

compliance with laws

2

community consultation and involvement

3

respect for first nations rights and culture

Aggregate extraction activities (i.e., identification and siting, footprint design, operation and rehabilitation) meet or exceed the requirements of all applicable laws in the jurisdictions in which they occur.

Public understanding of aggregate extraction activities is achieved by inclusive and transparent stakeholder involvement in all major steps of the resource development, including siting, footprint design, operations and rehabilitation.

No one has all of the answers but collaborative efforts can lead to better solutions, better decisions and better outcomes.

The legal, customary and asserted rights of First Nations peoples to protect their cultural heritage and to own, use and manage their lands, territories, and resources is recognized and respected.

24

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

today’s certification debate in Ontario echoes the Forest Stewardship Council’s position about fifteen years ago, when the forestry industry faced a similar impasse considers itself to be in this class.

Certification benefits these top players by making their leadership identifiable in the marketplace. As certification gains recognition, buyers opt for certified product when it is available, and eventually, as in the Home Depot example, switch to buying only certified product.

Complementary certification programs, such as the LEED standard for green buildings, can also help boost the market by offering credits for using certified products. These market changes provide the economic incentive for more companies to invest in meeting green standards. When enough companies are meeting the

standards voluntarily, it’s a small step for government to make those standards mandatory.

Both the FSC and its seafood counterpart, the Marine Stewardship Council, have demonstrated this leadership effect on public policy. In its 2009, tenth anniversary report, the MSC gives the example of the hake fishery in South Africa. After MSC standards required all vessels to fly streamers to scare away birds, the government made the streamers mandatory on all fishing trawlers.

This dynamic of industry leading the way to stronger regulation through voluntary standards may be particularly useful for the case of continued on next page

4

benefits to local communities and workers

5

environmental and water impacts and site stewardship

6

resource efficiency

7

traceability

Aggregate extraction activities maintain or enhance the long-term social and economic well-being of local communities and workers.

Aggregate extraction activities – their identification, siting, footprint design, operation, rehabilitation, and other ecological initiatives – are designed to protect, restore or improve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources, soils, and to protect unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, and by so doing, maintain the ecological functions and integrity of the area and its connections to the regional landscape.

The efficient use and conservation of aggregates and other resources is achieved by putting them to their highest valued use, maximizing the use of recycled content by looking for alternatives to using high quantities of virgin aggregate and, in the medium to long term, developing optimal transportation networks that factor in both financial and environmental costs.

Systems are in place to track aggregate from certified operations through to its end use. source : seracanada.ca

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

25

gravel continued from page 25

aggregates in Ontario, where, according to Gord Miller, government has always been reluctant to introduce regulations that would affect price because it is also the industry’s largest customer.

Starting out on an entirely voluntary basis, entire industries are being transformed in this way. In 2009 MSC certified fisheries accounted for 6 per cent of the global wild fish harvest – 10 per cent if you include the fisheries under assessment. In forestry, the FSC is credited with shifting much of the environmental dialogue to a collaborative method. Last year, 21 major forestry companies and nine of North America’s largest environmental organizations signed a historic “peace in the woods” document called the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. Lorne Johnson, who coled the negotiations, says, “There’s just no doubt that that agreement never would have happened if it hadn’t been for the FSC.” Will the same forces transform the aggregate industry in Ontario? At least this new mood of collaboration is the flavour of the day, and not just with SERA, but across the entire industry.

The aims of OSSGA’s Aggregate Forum are essentially the same as SERA’s, but it is proceeding more cautiously. Since first meeting in 2008, it has arrived at a common-ground document called the Change Agenda and commissioned a $100,000 study to help chart a course. That work will include determining whether or not certification is “in fact the appropriate next step,” says Alton resident Moreen Miller, OSSGA’s executive director.

“Respectful and enduring relationships take a lot of time, and they take a lot of effort,” says Miller. “There are quite a few issues that we put in the ‘parking lot’ that are going to take some time to resolve, but we did find a lot of common ground… and one of those was a discussion about a certification process.”

Holcim sat on the Aggregate Forum when it started, but left to launch SERA. The key to developing a robust certification standard, according to Lorne Johnson, is to make the requirements achievable for a critical mass of industry leaders, while keeping them high enough to maintain a “blue ribbon standard.” Both Holcim and Environmental Defence believe that, with so many members to please, OSSGA will fail to hit this sweet spot.

Gravel Watch, which sits on the Aggregate Forum but has also met with SERA, says it’s too early to say where these two parallel processes will lead, and which one will prevail.

“We want to keep all our options 26

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

NO GO// MAYBE/ GO CAREFULLY NO GO Natural Heritage System “Core”

1 Niagara Escarpment Plan “Environment Natural” and “Environment Protection” areas

2 Oak Ridges Moraine Natural Core areas

3 New Operations in the Greenbelt Protected Countryside Natural Heritage System (NHS)

4 Provincially Significant Wetlands 5 Life Science Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest

6 Specialty Cropland 7 Significant Woodlands 8 Areas defined in Source Protection Plans as WHPA–A or IPZ–1

9 Significant Wildlife Habitat in NHS Core areas

10 Habitat of Endangered and Threatened species, except in accordance with provincial and federal requirements.

open. Mainly what we want to do is get the best certification process out there that we can. That’s the higher good,” says Ric Holt.

For all these positive vibes, however, certification is not without its critics, who charge it is often no more than the bureaucratic entrenchment of greenwashing. FSC-Watch, for example, slams FSC for certifying largescale monoculture tree plantations.

That practice recently cost FSC one of its key members, the European environmental group FERN. Yet, even as it withdrew, FERN emphasized that FSC remains the “most trustworthy” forest certification system and that its withdrawal should not be seen as an endorsement of competing labels.

The FSC’s success has spawned several imitators, including the PanEuropean Forest Council (PEFC) and the U.S.-

One of the most clear-cut aspects of the draft standards is a chart that categorizes lands into no go zones where new or expanded aggregate operations could never be certified, and maybe and go carefully zones where development may occur if companies meet certain environmental standards and follow “net gain” provisions whereby any significant habitat that must be destroyed is offset by a 3:1 or 1.5:1 ratio of lands elsewhere. Many of the terms in the table are subject to definitions and exceptions, but here’s a simplified version.

MAYBE

GO CAREFULLY

Natural Heritage System “Linkage”

Other Lands

1 Greenbelt Protected Countryside outside of NHS

2 NEP Rural (Plan amendment) areas 3 Oak Ridges Moraine Natural Linkage and Countryside areas

4 Existing operations in Greenbelt Protected Countryside NHS

5 Key hydrologic features 6 Significant valleylands 7 Sandbarrens, alvars, savannahs, and tall grass prairies

8 Habitat of rare and special concern species 9 Fish habitat in accordance with provincial and federal requirements

10 Areas defined in Source Protection Plans as

1 Agricultural Land 2 Hedgerows 3 Old Fields 4 Non-Provincially Significant Wetlands

5 Non-significant Woodlands

6 Areas defined in Source Protection Plans as WHPA–C (outside Greenbelt)/ WHPA–D, or outside WHPAs or IPZs

7 Any other lands not covered by “No Go” and “Maybe.”

WHPA–B/E/F or IPZ–2, WHPA–C (in Greenbelt) and designated vulnerable areas subject to study requirements to be defined

11 Significant Wildlife Habitat in NHS Linkage areas, subject to a defined removal and replacement approach described in this document.

based Sustainable Forestry Initiative, but critics say these only “certify the status quo.”

Still, in Ontario’s costly gravel stalemate, certification appears to offer the only ray of optimism. As Andrea Bourrie concluded after her meeting with Rick Smith, “Contrary to what people think, Rick Smith and Environmental Defence are not difficult people to work with. On the other side, the environmental community thinks big business is all scary and horrible, and I don’t think that’s the case. We really demonstrated that if you take the time to get to know people, that if you take the time to really be focused on a solution and listening and not jumping to conclusions, you can chart a new path and you can find a common ground and a common solution.”

Aggregate policy in Ontario is endlessly complex, documented in countless reports and OMB judgments. It will be ironic if what brings the opposing sides together in the end boils down to sandbox rules, that everything we really need to know we learned in kindergarten. ≈ Tim Shuff is a freelance writer.

His most recent article about the Melancthon quarry dispute, “Birth of a Protest,” appeared in the summer 2011 issue of In The Hills.

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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But trees are critically important in ways that go far beyond feeding people’s aesthetic sensibilities. By producing oxygen, reducing carbon dioxide, defending against erosion, nurturing plant and animal life and performing myriad other roles, they are the scaffolding that supports the health of ecosystems around the world.

Our hills are home to many remarkable trees.

Here we meet a few of them. — S TO RY A ND P H OTO S

BY D O N S C A L L EN

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meetings with remarkable trees

For many of us, trees are like old friends. They offer comforting stability in a world of rapid change. We protect them, fret about their health and look forward to seeing them. We revel in their beauty, relax in their shade and are calmed by the soothing sound of their leaves soughing in the wind.

We spin tales about them and celebrate their special qualities.

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very June, Wiccans and Druids gather around a magnificent red oak at Mansfield Outdoor Centre as part of a summer solstice celebration called Wic-Can Fest. Program organizer Anne Marie Greymoon said that the celebrants “draw energy from Earth through this tree.” At other times, said Greymoon, the Wiccans and Druids reciprocate and “send blessing energies to the earth by touching the tree.”

This great oak probably played a central role when Mansfield was selected as the site of Wic-Can Fest.

“The person researching a new site for our festivals at the time was a Druid, and Druids are very fond of oaks,” said Greymoon.

In fact, oaks are sacred to Druids – and it’s easy to understand why. These trees can live for hundreds of years and attain massive dimensions. Their muscular branches and sturdy trunks exude strength. Opengrown oaks, like the Mansfield tree, spread their limbs expansively, perhaps providing a subconscious reminder of the African savannah, where trees provided shelter and protection in humankind’s deep evolutionary past.

The Mansfield oak is 14 feet around and nearly 4.5 feet in diameter. The meadow surrounding the oak was cleared in the 1880s, said Outdoor Centre owner Ken Mikoliew. He guesses that by then the tree was already fairly large – large enough to stay the hand of the homesteader clearing the land. Assuming the tree was about 50 years old at that time, Mikoliew estimated its current age at 180 years.

As I photographed this oak, a bluebird perched on one of its uppermost branches. Birds have an affinity for oaks, which support a rich larder of insects. In Bringing Nature Home, a book that explores how people can sustain biodiversity by nurturing native plants, Douglas Tallamy estimates that, in North America, an astonishing 517 species of caterpillars feed on oak leaves. Most songbirds, including seedeating sparrows and finches, feed soft-bodied, nutritious caterpillars to their young. Simply stated, more oaks mean more birds.

The largest tree I found while researching this article was another old red oak. This tree, which grows on Second Street in Orangeville, is about the same circumference as the Mansfield oak, but the spread of its branches is even greater. Owners Robert and Jodie McArthur have been told that, at an estimated age of 208 years, it may be the oldest tree in town.

Taller trees punctuate our hills, but few, if any, exceed the overall dimensions of these monumental oaks.

continued on next page

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ature elms are gloriously unique, with arching limbs perched high atop stately trunks. But the vast numbers that once dotted the Ontario landscape have been severely reduced by Dutch elm disease – and this enhances the appeal of the few large survivors. One of these, called “Henry,” grips the shoulder of Charleston Sideroad just west of Airport Road in Caledon.

This tree is named after the late Henry Kock, a champion of Ontario elms. For more than two decades, Kock worked as an interpretive horticulturist at the University of Guelph’s Arboretum, where he founded the Elm Recovery Project. This project, now renamed the Henry Kock Tree Recovery Endowment, has since expanded to include recovery strategies for other tree species, such as ash, beech and butternut, which are also in decline.

The elm recovery initiative involves taking cuttings from large

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healthy trees, grafting them to elm rootstalks, and then inoculating them with various strains of Dutch elm disease to test their resistance.

Many of the grafted elms have shown promise and will soon begin to produce seed, providing hope that the elm-rich countryside of yesteryear can be restored.

Kock’s namesake tree was recently painted by Inglewood artist Lucille Weber for Time Frame, an exhibition held earlier this year at the Alton Mill Gallery. In Weber’s encaustic work, Kock cavorts au naturel above the boughs of the tree. Weber explained with a smile: “I have visions of Henry running along the treetops checking out his trees.”

Another lovely roadside elm is found at the side of Wellington Road 124, just west of Erin. Being close to Guelph, this tree would continued on next page surely have been on Kock’s radar.

a tour of trees in the hills Here is how to find the trees mentioned on these pages.

The tour starts in the north and moves roughly southward.

Note that some of the trees are on private property. When this is the case, please respect the privacy of the residents and admire the trees from the public street or road.

red oak – mansfield The Mansfield Outdoor Centre is on Airport Road about ten kilometres north of Highway 89. The oak is clearly visible from the parking lot.

eastern white cedar – mono cliffs provincial park The main entrance to the park is on the Third Line, Mono, one kilometre north of Mono Centre Road. Follow the park’s trail system to the lookouts on the cliff faces.

red oak – orangeville From Broadway, the town’s main street, go north to 46 Second Street.

black walnut – alton This tree is on Main Street (Peel Road 136), just south of Queen Street and across from the general store.

elm – caledon Find Henry on the south side of Charleston Sideroad, just west of Airport Road.

elm – erin township Follow Wellington Road 124 (Main Street) to the south end of Erin village where the road turns west.

This lonely tree is just west of the turn.

gingko – caledon Silver Creek Farm is located at 16849 Kennedy Road between the Grange Sideroad and Escarpment Sideroad.

Note: The gingko can be viewed this fall only during Silver Creek Arts Open Studio weekends: September 24–25, October 1–2 and October 8–9, between 10am and 5pm.

sugar maple – caledon View one of the many fine examples of maple-lined byways along Kennedy Road between the Grange Sideroad and Escarpment Sideroad. Find an excellent example of schoolhouse maples at Silver Creek Schoolhouse on the northwest corner of the Grange Sideroad and Kennedy Road.

eastern white pine – caledon The pine-bordered laneway is on the east side of Kennedy Road about one kilometre north of Olde Baseline Road.

shagbark hickory – caledon This one requires a little effort. Drive to the end of Chinguacousy Road, just north of Olde Baseline Road. Hike about 300 metres north on the Bruce Trail. Cross two small wooden bridges. Shortly after crossing the second bridge, look for the shagbark on the left.

osage orange hedgerow – caledon The hedgerow is on the west side of Torbram Road, north of Old School Road.

ash – caledon Ash trees border a section of Heritage Road between Mayfield Road and Old School Road.

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he eastern white pine is Ontario’s official tree, and in this province, white pines are emblematic of the C Canadian Shield, where they grow abundantly. In the past, these trees were probably abundant in the hills as well, but because they were a favoured material for building barns and other structures, their numbers declined dramatically.

Pines sculpted by the wind were favourite subjects of the Group of Seven, and Rose Cancelli’s statuesque white pines on Kennedy Road in Caledon show why.

Her trees lean perceptibly to the east, bowing to the influence of the prevailing winds.

Cancelli loves these trees, and her feeling is understandable. Mature white pines are truly beautiful.

The largest of the pines lining Cancelli’s driveway is more than three feet in diameter, a big tree for this area.

But elsewhere in the province, there are giants. The largest white pine in Ontario measures nearly six feet in diameter and stands nearly 150 feet tall. They are the province’s loftiest trees, often rising above woodland canopies to stand sentinel over maples, ash and oak.

Barbara Shaughnessy grew up in the house Cancelli now occupies. Shaughnessy, who still lives in the neigh-

id th hit pines i bourhood, said thatt th the white were one reason her parents bought the property in 1965. It seems that they, too, were wowed by the splendour of these trees.

Recalling a story she heard as a child from an elderly man who visited her home in the late 1960s, Shaughnessy dated the planting of the pines to the early 20th century.

The man told her that he remembered the trees being planted when he lived in the house as a boy.

Cancelli, Shaughnessy and the elderly man are linked by their mutual admiration of the pines. And given that the potential life span of white pines exceeds 400 years, this society of admirers has room to grow in the years to come.

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ome of the oldest trees in the hills wouldn’t rate a second glance from many people. Small and gnarled, these trees often appear more dead than alive – but these characteristics sometimes signal extreme longevity.

These senior citizens of the hills are the eastern white cedars that cling tenaciously to the cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. In 1988, Doug Larson of the Cliff Ecology Research Group at the University of Guelph, was astonished to find that some white cedars along the escarpment were more than 700 years old. Over the years, Larson and Peter Kelly, who joined the group in 1989, continued to count rings – and soon found living cedars older than 1000 years. The two told the story of these ancient trees in The Last Stand, which was published in 2007.

In the past two decades, Kelly has twice examined the escarpment face at Mono Cliffs Provincial Park, most recently in 2004, as part of the Niagara Escarpment Ancient Tree Atlas Project. The oldest trees he found have been clinging to the park’s cliffs for more than 400 years.

But Kelly has not had time to survey all the old trees in the park. “My guess is that there could be an undiscovered cedar close to 500 years old on the cliffs,� he said.

The exact whereabouts of the oldest Mono trees are under wraps, but a visit to the park can inspire a little imaginary time travel. Consider that some of the cedars there began their lives at about the same time as Champlain was establishing the habitation at Quebec. In those days, the Headwaters region was largely unbroken forest sheltering a variety of animals – passenger pigeons, elk, cougars and wolverines – that are now extinct or displaced. First Nations people and an occasional French fur trader would have been the only humans on the landscape.

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n the fall, patrons of the Alton General Store would be wise to think twice before parking under the huge walnut tree on the opposite side of Main Street. Showers of billiard ball-sized walnuts can rain down at that time of year. Tom Colson, a former owner of the tree, remembers the fall he collected an entire ton of nuts.

Three massive limbs – at one time, there were four – and their attendant branches are the source of this abundance of fruit. The limbs diverge from the main trunk less than 4.5 feet from the ground, the height at which the standard measurement of a tree’s diameter is calculated. This makes it difficult to compare the diameter of the Alton walnut to that of other trees.

But this is a big tree by any reckoning. Below the point of divergence, the diameter of the trunk is nearly six feet, and the circumference is a remarkable 18 feet.

The Alton walnut grows in the front yard of a house built in 1831, and the tree was probably planted at about the same time. Colson and his wife, Barb, lived in the house from 1986 to 2001.

For the couple, the upkeep of the walnut was a labour

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of love. There were the usual chores – nuts to gather, leaves to rake – but with the tree hanging over Main Street, the task of cutting dead wood took on an urgency motivated by possible liability.

The Colsons, who paid at least $500 a year to have dead and dying branches removed, steadfastly resisted the town of Caledon’s advice to cut down the tree. All who revere grand old trees owe the couple a debt of gratitude.

In pre-settlement Ontario, black walnuts probably grew only in the province’s Carolinian zone. Over the past two centuries, however, these stately trees have been planted widely in the hills. Squirrels are helping them integrate into the local tree community by carrying their nuts far and wide.

This is simply an acceleration of a natural process.

Tree species have been advancing north since the last ice age, though the movement is largely indiscernible over a human lifespan. But humans have given walnut trees a helping hand, and they, like many people, have put down deep roots in the hills.

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hagbark hickories merit attention not because of their size, their age or their provenance, but because of their rarity and their namesake shaggy bark. One of the few shagbarks in the hills is found on the west side of the Bruce Trail, north of the Chinguacousy Road dead end.

Linda Pim brought this tree and two others to the attention of Heritage Caledon, and they are featured on the Caledon Community Map. An Inglewood resident, Pim frequently hikes in the hills above the village and looks forward to her regular encounters with the hickories.

a r are and delightful surprise “Shagbark hickories are so rare in our area that when I come across one of the three I know, it’s like an unexpected meeting with a special friend,” she said. “Their bark is so distinctive. They are a delightful surprise every time we meet.”

A few other shagbark hickories are probably scattered here and there in the hills. And two isolated stands of shagbark hickory occur just south of Georgian Bay. One theory suggests that these outliers were planted by First Nations people who acquired the tasty nuts in trade. Headwaters residents would do well to follow the lead of Aboriginal people and plant these trees. Shagbark hickories are resilient trees, charmingly distinctive, and excellent for attracting wildlife. It would be wonderful to see these rare trees be given pride of place in parks and residential properties.

shagbark hickory continued on next page

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fa fascinating non-native tree, the gingko – a.k.a. “the living fossil tree” – has been cultivated in China for thousands of years. Its lineage stretches back 200 million years to the early Jurassic period, millions of years before Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops walked the earth. Long ago, these trees ranged over a vast expanse of the northern hemisphere, including what is now British Columbia.

A lovely old gingko stands beside Caledon artist Diana Hillman’s home at Silver Creek Farm on Kennedy Road. The tree’s provenance is somewhat murky, but Hillman said a likely story is that it was planted by a doctor named Robinson, who grew up in Cheltenham and later moved to the United States to practise medicine. When Robinson returned to Caledon in 1890, he built the house that Hillman now occupies.

In 1904, St. Louis, Missouri, hosted a world’s fair, where Japanese exhibitors offered rare gingko seedlings as souvenirs. Through Robinson’s connections in the States, Hillman suggested, he may have acquired one of the seedlings – and planted it beside his house.

This explanation seems plausible. The gingko’s size and apparent age suggest that it could have been planted in 1904. Regardless of its origins, however, this graceful old tree is a noteworthy addition to local heritage.

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he provenance of some of the most notable trees in the hills is often a m matter of speculation, obscured by the passage of time. The historic osage or orange hedgerow of Torbram Road is no exception.

The hedge “is thought to have been planted as a ‘living fence,’ likely for the purpose of animal husbandry with the possible secondary benefit of being a windbreak,” said Sally Drummond, Caledon’s heritage resource officer.

The seeds of the trees that form the hedge may have arrived in the satchels of itinerant salesmen, who sold them to local farmers. Today, the Torbram site is the only surviving osage orange hedgerow in Peel Region.

In 1999, the hedge became the first natural feature of cultural significance designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. As intriguing as the origin of this hedgerow is, it pales in comparison with the story of the osage orange itself. When Europeans first settled North America, osage orange trees grew only in parts of present-day Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. This is curious, because the fossil record shows that these trees once grew naturally as far north as Ontario, and the hedge’s well-established presence on Torbram Road confirms their hardiness here.

Scientists speculate that the osage orange was pushed south by glaciers during the last ice age. Afterwards, this tree was unable to repopulate the north because the wild horses, mammoths and mastodons that ate its fruit and dispersed its seed had become extinct. The osage orange had to wait until European settlers, recognizing its utility as a living fence, stepped in as surrogates for the extinct Pleistocene mega-fauna. continued on next page

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sh trees are not well-known despite their abundance in the hills. They conduct their leafy business quietly, seldom graced with a second glance, except when their foliage glows yellow and purple in the autumn.

The sheer volume of ashes, however, makes them worthy of attention. In urban areas, they often constitute more than 25 per cent of the urban forest.

In the wild, they are important early successional trees, growing in sunbaked earth, creating the shade and humus necessary for longer-lived trees to gain a roothold. In woodlands, large specimens compete with sugar maples, reaching lofty heights to catch the sun.

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Our region boasts three species of ash: black ash grows in wet soils, and white and red ash grow just about everywhere else. Unfortunately, these trees are threatened by a bug of terrible beauty.

The emerald ash borer is a stunning insect, with a shining exoskeleton of iridescent green. But this bug is also a natural-born killer, and since its arrival from Asia in the 1990s, it has destroyed ash trees across a wide swath of eastern North America.

Sticky traps hang in Mono Cliffs Provincial Park as part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s widespread effort to monitor and control the spread of the pest.

The presence of the emerald ash borer has not yet been confirmed in the Headwaters region, but it is on the doorstep. It has been detected in Brampton, and it is also approaching from the west.

Its arrival seems imminent, and when it appears, dead and dying ashes will suddenly stand out in the woodlands and on urban streets. This will be sad, not only for those who cherish trees, but also for the environment as a whole. No species of plant or animal lives in isolation. Countless insects depend on ash trees, and the death of these trees will create a ripple effect that could lead to a significant decline in biodiversity.

The coming attack may be inevitable, but before his death, Henry Kock, who was active in the battle against Dutch elm disease, offered some ideas. He maintained that cutting down ashes and halting their planting was not the answer. Instead, he advocated a more sophisticated, ecosystem-based approach that included encouraging natural predators like bacteria, fungi, wasps and woodpeckers, which control the borer. And borrowing a strategy from his experience with elms, he also stressed the need to search out ash trees that remain healthy while others around them sicken and die.

Rows of large, statuesque red ash trees shade Heritage Road north of Mayfield Road in Caledon.

As the borer moves north, these trees in the southern portion of Headwaters may be among the fi rst to continued on next page succumb.

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ugar maples are quintessentially Canadian. A stylized sugar maple leaf is the symbol at the centre of the Canadian flag. Sugaring-off is a rite of spring. The sap runs at about the same time as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ annual playoff quest falters. Sugar maples are Ontario’s most common large trees. Eliminate these maples, and the landscape would be embarrassed by its nakedness.

In the 1870s, farmers who transplanted maple seedlings from their woodlots to the verges of the roads bordering their property collected the tidy sum of 25 cents a tree from the Ontario government. Today, this program can be thanked for the lovely, mature maples that arch over so many rural byways. Sugar maples were also planted along lanes and around homes, contributing to the idyllic charm of the hills.

Nineteenth-century schoolchildren did their part, too, planting maple trees around their schoolhouses. Watering, at least in dry years, would have been crucial for success. It is heartwarming to think of these children and their teachers tending their little trees and, when necessary, fetching well water to give them a drink. Today, most of these schoolhouses have been transformed into homes, and their residents are the beneficiaries of the tender care extended to these trees so long ago.

But old age, pollution and soil compaction have taken a toll on this priceless legacy – and spurred Ken Jewett to action. In 2000, Jewett founded Maple Leaves Forever (see In The Hills, Winter 2009). His goal is to ensure that sugar maples will forever grace the landscape, and to this end, he is spearheading maple planting efforts in the hills and elsewhere in southern Ontario.

Maple Leaves Forever began by using seedlings, but the organization now promotes the planting of five-foot maple saplings, which are better-equipped to withstand the predations of rabbits and rodents.

Jewett’s organization picks up half the cost of the maples, while the landowner pays the other half.

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2010 Home Builder of the Year The sugar maples in the program are grown by some of Ontario’s largest nurseries from “zone-specific seed.” This seed yields trees suited to particular climate zones, and this helps the growing trees survive the vagaries of local conditions. gs are Wonderful examples of 19th-century sugar maple plantings found throughout the hills. Two of these are mentioned in thee tour on page 33.

passing down the legacy The men, women and children who planted the trees that engender joy today, as well as those who had the wisdom to protect trees in their natural habitat, are owed a debt of gratitude. We can learn from their example and endow future generations with the priceless gift of trees. We can protect the trees we have. And we can plant trees. But this needs to be done wisely.

Trees that are native to eastern North America are the preferable choice. Ontario’s glorious native trees – oak, hickory, maple, basswood, eastern white pine and many others – offer so much more to songbirds and wildlife than trees from Asia and Europe. If you have space, plant a diversity of trees. Harmful insects and tree pathogens can easily gain a foothold in mass plantings of only one or two species.

Dabble in the unusual if you wish. Some of the trees currently restricted to the Carolinian zone in Ontario will eventually arrive in the hills on their own. Why not accelerate the process by planting a tulip tree, a pawpaw or a Kentucky coffee tree? Then, after lovingly placing it in the ground, you can relax with a cold beverage and ponder the tales that future tree fanciers will weave to explain its origins. ≈ Don Scallen is a naturalist who teaches elementary school science.

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remember clearly when it first dawned on me that something was wrong.

It was on a late August afternoon about 15 years ago. It wasn’t exactly a “eureka” moment, more a slow revelation. At the time, my family and I had lived in the countryside south of Erin Village for just three or four years.

Having moved from a more urban environment, I savoured every opportunity to get out and traipse over our “back 40,” particularly enjoying our woodlot which is composed entirely of deciduous trees – primarily maples, beech and ash.

I had been noticing that our woodlot looked a bit odd, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. In hindsight, as a professional biologist, I’m a bit embarrassed that it took me so long to see the problem.

Our forest had no leaves – at least not on the ground. A seemingly lush canopy overhead provided the typical filtered light of a forest, but on the ground – just dirt and sticks. How could that be? My recollection of a normal forest floor, say, in cottage country, was a moist layer of leaves providing a soft spongy cushion underfoot. But here, hard dry dirt.

Why should my forest be without that characteristic layer of litter that helps define a rich woodland?

Over the next while, through investigations that included crawling around on the forest floor and turning over sticks and rocks, Internet searches, and reading scientific literature, I came to realize that my woodlot was suffering from an overabundance of worms. I found no salamanders in my woodlot and relatively few litter-dwelling insects. However, beneath almost every log and rock I turned over was a striking number of earthworms.

Worms are digesting the leaves that fall to the ground in my forest at such a pace that accumulations of litter do not occur. As it turns out, it doesn’t take any worms at all to comprise an “overabundance” in this neck of the woods. That’s because worms aren’t native to this part of the world. They are an introduced, or “exotic,” species.

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In virtually all of Canada and much of the northern United States earthworms were extirpated during the recent (well, recent in geological terms) Pleistocene glaciations of 11,000 to 14,000 years ago when the landscape was covered with ice sheets up to several kilometres thick.

According to one of the most accessible sources of information on worms and their impacts on forests, the website of Great Lakes Worm

Watch (www.nrri.umn.edu/worms) run by the University of Minnesota, the glaciers scoured the land, eliminating all forms of life. As the glaciers retreated, forests and other ecosystems migrated north. Slowmoving animals, such as earthworms, whose natural rate of spread is only about four to ten metres per year, remained in the south. Therefore, our Canadian forests evolved in the absence of earthworms.

Accumulating leaf litter creates a thick, slowly-decomposing “duff layer” (right).

A forest floor denuded by earthworms (left) supports less plant and animal life.

How did they get here?

The first earthworms and worm cocoons (egg cases) likely arrived with soil, plants, food and shipping ballast brought by European settlers in the early to mid-1800s. And exotic species of earthworms have continued to be accidentally imported ever since. According to Worm Watch, there have been 25 species of non-native earthworms reported in Canada and 36 in the United States. Most, including the familiar night crawler or dew worm (Lumbricus terrestris), come from Europe, with the remainder from Asia.

Now that they are here in abundance, the most common vectors of earthworm spread are vehicles and

shipments of soil or plant products.

Worms and their eggs “hitchhike” on cars, trucks, farm machinery and all manner of transportation. Worms are common passengers in shipments of agricultural products, horticultural topsoil, and the sand and gravel used in road construction. According to Erin Bayne, a forest ecology professor at the University of Alberta, worms are spread into off-road locations like my woodlot and more extensive regions of forest on horses’ hooves, hikers’ footwear, all-terrain vehicles, and by fishermen who dump or lose their live bait near lakes and along portages and trails.

What are the impacts of earthworms?

Earthworms seem benign and most people likely have an image of worms benevolently digesting dirt, making gardens productive and providing food for “the early bird.” While earthworms have been shown to have positive effects on soil structure and fertility in agricultural and garden ecosystems, these same creatures can have very different effects in hardwood forests.

Most of the creatures that hold my professional interest – like songbirds, moose and caribou – live in forests, but not within the forest floor itself.

Although I still chastise myself for not figuring out sooner that something was amiss in my woodlot, it turns out my lack of awareness is relatively widespread, even in academic and professional circles.

According to Tara Sackett, a postdoctoral student in the department of geography at the University of Toronto, there are very few researchers studying the ecological impacts of

earthworms. In fact, she says she is only one of two in Ontario. The other is her academic supervisor, Dr. Nathan Basiliko. Sackett is researching the impacts of earthworms on forest soil nutrients in Haliburton Forest, a large private tract of land south of Algonquin Park. She has found that worms are widespread in the forest there. Sadly, it seems that earthworms have a foothold in cottage country.

Sackett notes that in previously earthworm-free forests, decomposition of the mass of leaf litter is a slow process controlled primarily by fungal decomposers. Without a powerful detritivore (something that consumes dead material such as leaves), decomposition can be slower than the accumulation of new litter and the result is a thick spongy forest floor (noticeably absent in my woodlot) called a “duff layer.”

The duff layer can be several centimetres thick in forests dominated by

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45

worms continued from page 45

shade-tolerant hardwoods, such as sugar maple, yellow birch and ash.

The duff layer is an ecological community unto itself, supporting multitudes of micro-organisms, spiders, insects and fungi, which in turn help sustain the broader forest ecosystem.

The duff layer provides habitat for salamanders, nesting material for birds, shelter for small mammals, and a seed bed for many plants.

When earthworms become established they can rapidly remove the duff layer, literally consuming it from below. In the spring of the year, affected forests may have a veneer of leaves accumulated from the previous year’s leaf fall, but that thin layer is not enough to support the diversity of life that a full duff layer does (and it is also ephemeral, disappearing by August, as I found in my woodlot).

Researchers like Tara Sackett and those associated with Worm Watch have documented a host of problems associated with earthworm colonization of native hardwood forests,

including: · change in forest soil chemistry, including a decline in some nutrients such as phosphorus · decrease in vigour of existing trees, caused by removal of the duff layer and exposure of fine roots · reduction in seedbed and substrate for seeds and seedlings, resulting in a decline in plant species diversity · loss of habitat and decreased abundance of soil- and surfacedwelling invertebrates · decreased abundance of vertebrates, such as salamanders and woodland mice, which prey on invertebrates and for whom leaf litter is an important habitat element · creation of conditions amenable to invasion by non-native plants, such as garlic mustard.

In essence a forest with worms is a depauperate forest with lower populations and likely fewer species of native insects, vertebrates and plants.

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

If you turn over soil in your yard or garden you would not be surprised at all to f ind an abundance of earthworms, and sadly, if you look under rocks or logs in your local forest or woodlot, you will probably find earthworms there too. I have found them common on the stretch of the Bruce Trail that I frequently hike, suggesting they are widespread throughout our region.

Unfortunately earthworms are not benign, they are among the host of ecological threats that are affecting our forests. So far, no practical way to eliminate earthworms once they become established has been developed.

As Tara Sackett warns, any insecticide that would kill worms would undoubtedly also have serious ecological effects on other animal life and soil biota.

(It turns out that cluster fl ies, the well-known pest of rural residences in our area, actually parasitize earthworms. Fly larvae overwinter in earthworms and consume them from the inside. However, as Sackett notes, given the abundance of earthworms in the area, it seems that even the cluster flies are not effective at limiting worm populations.)

If there is a glimmer of good news it is that without the assistance of humans, earthworms spread very slowly, so a focus on preventing further movement of worms is important.

There are several species of earthworms that are not yet widespread

across the Great Lakes region, but have the potential to be very destructive. In addition, much of central and northern Ontario remains worm-free.

The most important thing that can be done now is to limit the spread of earthworms. To help accomplish this consider the following: · Spread the news – most people do not know about the dark side of earthworms. · If you use worms as bait for fishing, throw any unused worms in the trash, not on the land or in the water. · Do not transport leaves, mulch, compost or soil from one place to another. · If you use ATVs or other vehicles with tire treads that can hold soil, wash the soil from the treads before taking your vehicle off-road in other locations.

Most people treasure our forests as remnant natural ecosystems, sources of recreational enjoyment, and homes for many species of wildlife. No animals are “evil” by nature, and earthworms are surely not consciously malevolent towards forests. Nonetheless, they do pose a very real threat and our forests need whatever help we can provide to limit the damage caused by this and other humansponsored afflictions. ≈ Chris Wedeles is a biologist who lives in Erin.

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William Scobie Houstoun

a daughter’s memoir

I

n our family archives there is a photograph of a young man carrying a girl-child on his shoulders. She is clinging to him, her soft curls partially covering her chubby, little face.

They are smiling. He is looking up and back, his strong hands gripping her small, leather boots and ankles to keep her steady. She is looking forward, clutching his straight, blond hair, like a horse’s mane. They appear to be quietly reassuring each other, their rapport and trust self-evident.

I am the child in that snapshot. The man is my father, William Scobie Houstoun, graphic designer, art instructor, gallery owner – and artist.

My father was little more than a child himself when he knew he wanted to be an artist. As an adolescent in the 1930s, he attended Toronto’s newly opened Western Technical School where he studied with teacher L.A.C. Panton, who was then becoming a force in the Canadian art world.

With Panton and other artists and teachers, groups of students often set off on sketching trips to the surrounding countryside. The students were 48

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

For decades, artist William Scobie Houstoun (1914–2005) explored the Caledon hills and beyond, seeking the trees – remarkable trees, majestic trees, solitary trees, enduring trees – that became the focal point of many of his works.

In this personal reminiscence, the artist’s daughter fondly remembers her father’s passion for trees and the lessons she learned from him.

BY L . P. PAT TO N

encouraged to show their understanding of form and line, tone and colour, by designing compositions inspired by trees and other elements of the natural landscape. These early influences helped shaped my father’s artistic sensibility, inspiring his abiding passion for the natural world and instilling in him the lifelong creative habit of drawing and painting his subjects, most often trees, in their living environment. Throughout his life, he loved to travel the countryside in search of inspiration.

My father left Western Tech before graduating to accept an apprenticeship in a commercial art studio – a rare employment opportunity for a young artist during the Depression. Outside working hours, he continued to nurture his need to express himself through fine art.

It was during this period that my father became part of Toronto’s vibrant creative community. At the time, The Arts and Letters Club was the lively hub of the city’s artistic life, frequented by Panton, members of the Group of Seven and other regional artists, and Father enjoyed sharing ideas with

William Scobie Houstoun: Beyond the edges of all humanmade images, there are always other, bigger stories.

members of that group as well as other established and up-and-coming artists.

With the advent of World War II, hoping to serve his country as a war artist like Charles Comfort, an older colleague and mentor, my father joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and was assigned to design campaign posters and propaganda materials. It was during this service that he also met his future wife.

Once peace was declared, Father re-established his career as a commercial artist, becoming a successful art director. In 1950, in what was a turning point in his personal creative journey, my parents bought a 100-acre farm on Airport Road, just north of the village of Tullamore. There, his children grew up and he continued to commute daily to his job in Toronto until 1967.

At age 53, he gave up his commercial art career and founded the Tullamore Gallery in a historic building that had once served as the Orange Lodge.

He had it moved from its original location in the village to the orchard next to our house and, for the next few years, he devoted himself full-time to his personal fine art pursuits.

Then, in the early 1970s, he seized another creative opportunity when the Canadian government commissioned him as a field artist with the Canadian peacekeeping forces in Cyprus. Selected works from that commission are now in the collection of the Canadian War Museum. On his return home from Cyprus, he accepted an invitation to teach at Humber College, where he helped set up the art and design program and recruited other Toronto-based commercial artists to the faculty. Following his retirement from the college, he again turned fulltime to his art, travelling widely and completing many larger format canvasses.

facing : Forks of the Credit (1950s), oil on masonite, 16" x 20" top : Top of the Bluff (1930s), a study on the Caledon escarpment, pencil and watercolour, 15" x 11" above : Fourth Line West, Caledon (1950s), oil on masonite, 13.5" x 12"

continued on next page IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

49

above : Study of Elms (1930s), possibly in the Humber Valley, pencil and watercolour, 15" x 11" right : A View of the Hockley (1980s), oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

houstoun continued from page 49

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50

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

During our childhood years, my siblings and I were given a continuous supply of papers, coloured pencils, crayons and paints. We were encouraged to read, write, draw and make pictures. We were also introduced to a variety of other cultural activities and given the choice of music or dance lessons. And each of us learned to ride and care for the small herd of ponies and horses we had gradually acquired.

Father taught us how to look, listen and learn by observing the wider world. Sunday afternoon drives became routine, the family piling into the car and heading into the hills for a picnic and, of course, to sketch the landscape.

On these trips – and many others that he took with colleagues, including the artist D. Mackay Houstoun (1916–2004), his younger brother – Father’s attention was always drawn to trees. His enduring fondness for both deciduous and coniferous trees was a constant theme in his work. He drew portraits of trees the way some artists draw people, individually and in conversational groups, and his portfolio of work eventually became a commentary on the spirit of the place where he lived.

Father always searched for trees with unique characteristics. He was

especially fond of tall trees that towered like sentinels and of old trees that had withstood the ravages of time. He admired their tenacious stoicism, their dignity and courage.

Father encouraged me to draw and paint pictures of trees as a way of getting to know them, and we often created studies of the same trees and the same places using similar materials and similar approaches. This established a very companionable relationship that changed very little during the several decades we worked together.

My father’s comments – in words, drawings and paintings – helped me to see the natural world in different ways and instilled a sense of respect and reverence for trees, their strengths and vulnerabilities. I learned to appreciate the way they anchored themselves to rocks and soil, serving as hopeful, sometimes sombre reminders of universal human themes.

Our family albums contain many

photographs of the places we worked together. My father admired photographic technology, but he preferred the pure and direct simplicity of lowtech tools: pencils, paper, canvas and paint. He taught me that beyond the edges of all human-made images, there are always other, bigger stories – and he taught me to appreciate the very much bigger and very much longer story of trees and the people who love them.

In his portraits of trees, he developed a portfolio of work that became a commentary on the habitat of the region. Among his “landscape portraits” are some of the answers to the poignant question that so many people ask, and that he so often asked himself: “What endures?” ≈ This memoir was edited by Dyanne Rivers from L.P. Patton’s extensive notes and reflections about her father.

L.P. Patton is a regional artist and former teacher.

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Headwaters author, regular contributor to In the Hills magazine and editor-in-chief of Alternatives Journal, Canada’s national environmental magazine, Nicola takes the stage with her persuasive interviewing skills.

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Steven Volpe Exploding the Myth

Lucille Weber In the Beginning

COLOUR & PASSION Autumn brims with colour in the hills, not only across the landscape, but in the studios and galleries of our local artists. On these pages, we’re pleased once again to present our annual preview of the headquarters of it all: The Festival Art Show & Sale. The juried show represents the exceptional works of more than 40 local artists at the SGI Canada Centre, north of Alton. It’s open to the public for two weekends, September 23 to 24, and September 30 to October 2, with the opening night preview, and chefs’ challenge, on Thursday evening, September 22 ($50).

Jeff Stephenson Maritime Patrol

Marlene Kawalez Demise

Gail Prussky Mare In Foal Kathryn Thomson Me, Myself and I – Hatching a Thought

Along with the art show, the Headwaters Arts Festival offers a rich mix of other cultural events, including open studios, music, film, theatre, workshops and an excellent program of activities for kids. Visit the SGI Centre again on Friday, September 30 for the popular Armchairs, Authors & Art, this year featuring authors Linwood Barclay, Trevor Cole and Camilla Gibb ($25 at BookLore).

For the full program, visit headwatersartsfestival.com or call Headwaters Arts at 519-943-1149. ≈ Lynne Schumacher Beaver Dams Also on our cover, Under the Canopy (not in Festival show)

Marc Andre Filion Ford

Sean Galbraith American Hotel – Chairs Ken Hall Memory (detail) Rosemary Hasner Under the Big Top

At the Dingle Schoolhouse, in the shelter of the escarpment, wood engraver Rosemary Kilbourn has found a lifetime of inspiration.

light, line & lyricism

BY TO M SM A R T

he “Dingle Schoolhouse,” home and studio of Rosemary Kilbourn, one of Caledon’s most thoughtful and talented artists, is set in a wooded valley surrounded by conservation lands along a moraine that forms part of the Niagara Escarpment.

Kilbourn first saw the schoolhouse in 1957 in the company of painter and war artist Will Ogilvie, who had a sketching cabin nearby. The derelict school was “boarded up, and covered in tarpaper, with a frost-heaved f loor and no hydro,” she says, “but it looked like the answer to my long-held dream of living in the country… The fact that it was a mile and half from the road was an added bonus.”

The school had been constructed in 1872 on the former Second Line Albion, but the road had never been more than a rough carriage route for the school’s

P H O T O P E T E PAT ER S O N

T

The Dingle Schoolhouse and surrounding countryside have been a continuing source of inspiration for Rosemary Kilbourn since she moved there in 1957, although the forest has since covered the hillsides. left : Late August (1976) 4" x 6". above : The Dingle School (1968) 8.5" x 5.25". right : Rosemary Kilbourn at work with her etching tools this summer.

students and families picnicking in the nearby dell, or “dingle,” and had long since been closed off.

From the moment she moved into her rural hideaway, Rosemary began to interpret the landscape right outside her door and windows. The schoolhouse was perfectly placed for her to describe her close and continuing relationship to the land. It was sheltered by the escarpment on one side, with long views across gently rolling countryside on the other.

Over the years, those views have been slowly closed off by reforestation and natural regeneration, and the row of maples planted by long-ago school children beside a long-gone road are now gnarly giants, guarding her kept gardens from the wild wood beyond.

Each time I walk or drive along the long road to the schoolhouse, I feel as if I am being transported to a different dimension altogether – as if the meandering lane is an avenue to earlier times.

On my first visit to Rosemary, she cautioned me to be careful because a recent snowy rain could have flooded the lane where it skirts a low-lying pond. I had to be aware of the weather as much as the elaborate and detailed directions she had given me in order not to get lost on the wending trail. continued on next page IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

55

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The road, I discovered, was passable and safe, following the lay of the land as it brushes by rocky outcrops and streams. By travelling along it, I began to appreciate the lines and rhythms of the landscape that inspire Rosemary’s work.

Rosemary’s studio is in a large addition that hugs the original building.

From its westerly f loor-to-ceiling window, she looks out on a landscape that is lined by the gestures and caresses of ancient geological events.

As she pointed out various features of the landscape, her gentle commentary mixed fact and anecdote, personal history with elaborations on those ancient events that formed the hills and valleys we gazed upon.

She drew my eye to the dramatic interplay of the planes and folds of the hills, and the furrows and creases that meander along in the distance. It was not difficult to imagine the land as a living presence with the Dingle at its heart.

— Over the course of a pleasant morning’s visit, lunchtime conversation, and time spent studying her work in her studio, I came to realize how deeply attuned Rosemary is to the personalities and tempers, moods and emotions of this corner of the Caledon hills. She knows this environment by the truths that observation supply to the senses, and she translates this knowledge into her art. As an artist she is a participant in a complex choreography among the natural elements.

In a corner of her studio, Rosemary showed me where she carves the blocks of wood that are used to print her images. I became a student as she led me through this process-laden form of image-making that draws its inspiration from late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century English wood engravers.

56

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

above : Dingle Road in Winter (1975) 6.25" x 4.25"; below : In The Centre (1994) 3.75" x 5.75"

Rosemary said she began painting “with serious intent” when she was just 11, and she painted virtually daily through her adolescence. As a student at the Ontario College of Art in the early 1950s, she had very little exposure to engraving, and it wasn’t until she arrived in London, England, that she received her brief and only instruction in the craft, from the engraver who sold her the tools.

Nevertheless, she was captured by the medium and continued to refine her skills independently.

Her earliest efforts were illustrations for her brother, historian William Kilbourn’s first book – “A good way to make all one’s mistakes public!” she notes ruefully. She also illustrated a book by her neighbour, Farley Mowat.

“Some of the elements that I most want to express in landscape are, to some extent, a given in engraving,” she says.

“The first is light. Brilliance comes from the contact of the rich black printed from the surface of the block while every cut into it remains white.

The First Furrow (1979), 6.25" x 4.25".

This image, commissioned by Canada Post as one of a series of stamps commemorating Canadian authors, illustrates the 1933 novel, Fruits of the Earth, by Frederick Philip Grove.

The process is like drawing with light.

The second is movement. The path of the eye and the direction of the shapes in the composition can be shown and felt by the thrust and flow of the engraver. It also keeps a sense of the spontaneous, even though the design has been redrawn many times. This is a necessity to condense and simplify without being seduced by the realism of the moment.”

Rosemary set aside her engraving tools during the 1980s to experiment with stained glass. Those compositions harnessed the radiance of light to imbue her figurative and Biblical subjects with a dynamic spiritual energy and her work resulted in what she describes as “a fairly steady supply of church commissions.” Even so, she says, she never really felt at home in the medium, and she eventually returned to wood engraving.

Along with her landscapes, mythical and spiritual imagery has been a recurring theme in Rosemary’s work, some emerging from her own reflections and others in response to commissions. There is a sharper, more angular quality to many of those images, compared to the supple, meditative lines of her pastoral work.

What struck me about the intricately detailed drawings and engravings I saw in her studio was the intensity of her artistic vision. The visual energy that f lows in and through everything that my eye fell upon around the Dingle Schoolhouse is beautifully suggested in the rich orchestration of the sinuous lines of her wood engravings, as well as the paintings she continues to create. It is as if the land has an intelligence of its own that Rosemary interprets with a mind finely attuned to expressing its vitality and character.

As I made my way back down the roadway in the mid-afternoon light of an early spring day, I felt keenly aware of my surroundings. The intensely visual experience of visiting Rosemary’s studio and her engaging conversation gave me a deeper appreciation of the land and my own place in this small, beautiful corner of the world.

Through her work Rosemary allows us to experience the energy of nature and the sensuality of the land. Her art revealed to me the possibility for unity between viewer and subject – between me and the meandering road that I was on – that can be attained simply by surrendering to a deeply intuitive way of seeing.

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Toronto-based Tom Smart has written extensively about Canadian art and artists. He is working on an article about Rosemary Kilbourn’s wood engravings for The Devil’s Artisan, a journal of the printing arts published by The Porcupine’s Quill.

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

ask Jordan Livingston, 21, what jokes his friends make now that he has become the “Sausage King” of Broadway Farm’s Market on Heart Lake Road. “You wouldn’t want to print them in your magazine,” he assures me, adding, “You know, there just aren’t any clean jokes about sausages.”

Working for his parents, Janine and Jim Livingston, is the last thing Jordan thought he’d end up doing.

But after a year of culinary school at George Brown College, he realized that his love of food didn’t translate into wanting to be a chef.

“I’m a people person,” says Jordan.

And there’s no doubt this is true.

With short light-brown hair, sparkling hazel eyes and a fuzzy five o’clock shadow, he dons a butcher’s apron and a huge smile. Though Jordan must get razzed about being a sausage maker, he’s clearly a likeable guy and the jokes would be entirely good-natured.

Unimpressed by Toronto’s urban scene, Jordan came home after college and found himself drawn to butchering meat, the class he most enjoyed at school. When Larry Cudney, Broadway’s butcher sustained an injury, Jordan got the call to make sausages.

“One day,” he explains, “it was, Jordan, you have to make sausages.”

Soon he was turning out up to 600 a week.

“Because I was making so many, I got bored,” he says. Boredom led to experimentation, and this has resulted in some amazing sausages: spicy Thai chicken, rosemary lamb, and wild leek pork, as well as more exotic varieties, such as cranberry and orange zest duck. His latest invention is pork with sundried tomatoes, basil and Asiago cheese.

Jordan’s sausages, which are free of fi ller, gluten, sulphites and nitrates, are made from quality meat and have become one of Broadway’s signature products. Gagi Prahlad, a customer who is addicted to them, explains why: “I don’t buy sausages from supermarkets because I don’t know what’s in them. I’m very health-oriented. I lift weights daily and stick to a very wholesome diet.” The rosemary lamb sausages are Prahlad’s favourites, but he also likes the turkey and chicken because he limits his red meat intake.

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Jordan Livingston twists off links of freshly made sausage. “One day it was, ‘Jordan, you have to make sausages.’”

Broadway Farm’s Market, which turns ten next year, is housed in a building that was once the milking parlour on the Livingstons’ dairy farm. Over the years, the business has enjoyed an annual growth rate of more than 10 per cent.

As a result, the five per cent loss in business the market suffered when the Highway 410 extension opened two years ago was a surprise. “At its peak,” says Janine, “we had 12,000 cars per day travelling down our road. Now it’s 800.” Though she likes the quieter road, wooing back customers has taken time. “The biggest problem is that people find it hard to locate us now,” she adds.

At 6,000 square feet, the market has doubled its floor space since it opened.

It stocks an impressive selection of local food and food-related products, including fruit preserves made by Anne Livingston, Janine’s mother-in-law, and the much-loved lasagna baked

by Rick McKay, the market’s chef.

But it’s the meat counter that sets Broadway apart. In addition to Jordan’s sausages, their chicken has a loyal following, and customers are now swooning over their new black Angus beef.

The beef is raised by John Stirk, Janine’s brother-in-law and owner of Highgrove Farms in East Garafraxa.

“We follow a set of natural procedures and protocols,” says John. His cattle are grass fed and finished on grain.

He switched from more conventional cattle farming when he realized that there was a demand for a “premium

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Angus product.” He adds: “We produce what we want our family to eat.”

The quality of the beef isn’t a function of good farming alone; it’s also the result of the skills of the market’s butchers: Larry and, more recently, Jordan. The Sausage King says, “I like butchering. I like cleaning the carcass up and cutting nice steaks and roasts. I can break down a whole carcass now.”

When asked if he ever feels queasy about his job, Jordan explains that his farm upbringing attuned him to the idea that the animals would, at some point, always become someone’s meal.

Despite his flare for sausage making, Jordan has enrolled at University of Guelph, where he is studying waterresource engineering. But he will be home on weekends to earn extra money making the sausages that are fast becoming a popular option, even among Broadway Farm’s Market’s most health-conscious customers. ≈ Nicola Ross is the executive editor of Alternatives Journal. She lives in Belfountain.

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59

Headwaters is a community of above-average wealth, set in a landscape of rich natural beauty, but these very attributes mask the hunger and poverty among us.

For many people in this community, need and desperation are a daily reality, and front-line workers at local food banks say the situation is growing worse.

BY JEFF R O L L IN GS

“

W

e haven’t been to the food bank in two or three months now,” Stuart tells me, a hint of pride in his voice.

Too bad it couldn’t be for a worse reason. Stuart, his mom Helen and dad Harvey (not their real names) lost their rundown farmhouse near Grand Valley a month ago when they couldn’t pay the rent. They’re living in their minivan.

“The food bank doesn’t do me any good now that I have no kitchen,” Helen says.

Instead, they’re getting by on one meal a day at Orangeville’s Lighthouse soup kitchen, and the odd dinner invite from friends. Stuart is in his late thirties, disabled after surviving a brain tumour.

Helen and Harvey are in their sixties, though health problems make them look older.

“How long can this go on?” I ask Helen.

I’ve hit a nerve, and her stare cuts right through me. Then she shrugs: “Winter’s coming. We’ll have to do something.”

— Helen, Harvey and Stuart are just three of the hundreds of people in Headwaters who don’t have enough to eat.

In response to the need, Orangeville’s Good Friends Fellowship Church started The Lighthouse.

From its office window on Broadway, Pastor Kerry 60

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

Duffield says, “we could see the need walking by and started to think ‘Can we help them?’” It wasn’t all outside the door, either: hunger had begun to appear in Good Friends’ own congregation.

Duffield says, “We started simply, three years ago.” Now, they’re serving somewhere in the order of 70 people a day, six days a week – more than 12,000 meals a year. It’s not uncommon for them to see people who haven’t eaten in three days. The worst Duffield has seen is someone who hadn’t eaten in five.

At first Good Friends Fellowship funded the program themselves, but Duffield says, “The last couple of years, we’ve had a lot of help. Almost all the food and resources have come from the community.”

Other churches and social organizations in the area have stepped up to provide support, and 35 to 40 volunteers are now on board.

Of course, often people who are going hungry are struggling with other problems as well. Mental health problems, addiction and unemployment are common. The Lighthouse has also served clients who are dying of cancer. Duffield says, “Lighthouse is about more than just feeding people. It’s about providing a place of belonging.” He adds, “It’s an opportunity to tell people that life can be better.

Sometimes it’s a chance to say, ‘You know, maybe

some of the choices you’re making aren’t good for you.’”

Unlike the formal process used by food banks to confirm need, Lighthouse takes people at their word, and welcomes all comers. Does that invite people to abuse the program? Maybe a few, and Duffield admits that the program is “on the border of enabling some people’s bad behaviours.” But he’s quick to add, “You have to decide what your motivation is when you start feeding people, and for us that has nothing to do with what sort of people they are.” Besides, “If you don’t know the person, you can’t judge their situation.” Instead, he says, “We think of it as a gift of love. We try to give people the message that ‘We care about you and we won’t have anybody starve.’”

— Outside the front door at the Orangeville Food Bank in an industrial mall on Centennial Road, I see a group of half a dozen women, several of them smoking. There’s friendly conversation between them, though even a brief glance at their faces suggests something darker going on, like a crowd outside a funeral home. A man and woman in their fifties move back and forth, carrying bags of groceries from the building to an old, blue Buick. The intensity of their focus as they undertake the job

Poverty Amidst Plenty On average there are more rich and fewer poor in Caledon and Dufferin than in the province as a whole, but that is cold comfort for the growing number of people in Headwaters who are turning to food banks to feed their families.

2006 Census Family Income in Dufferin and Caledon

source: statistics canada

$100,000 + Total under 100,000 $90,000 – $99,9995 $80,000 – $89,999 $70,000 – $79,999 $60,000 – $69,999 $50,000 – $59,999 Total under $50,000 $30,000 – $39,999 Total under 30,000

gives me the feeling they can’t leave quickly enough.

Inside the waiting room, eight or ten more people sit silently, eyes downcast. This group is mostly men, spaced as far apart from each other as the room will allow. In one corner, a beautiful young woman plays with two toddlers. Her eyes look sad, but she’s putting on a good show for the kids.

It’s Tuesday, the one day a week the food bank is open, and as OFB board member Melissa Kovacs Reid puts it, the place is “in action.” Clients come in, take a number, and wait – sometimes for an hour or more – to be interviewed by an intake worker who questions them on everything from their income to their living arrangements to their special dietary needs. They’re even asked how the food will be stored and cooked: Do you have a microwave? A freezer? A stove?

Clients are permitted to use the food bank’s services up to once a month. Those who have been before still undergo the interview, so their fi le can be kept up to date. However, of the 1,585 orders filled in the 2010-2011 operating year – an average of 132 a month – relatively few were for frequent users.

Sixty-five per cent of clients visited one to three times, while only 5 per cent visited 10 times or more.

Mason Reid, Melissa’s husband and a fellow food bank board member, says, “We see a lot of people who’ve lost their jobs and need some help for two or three months, until either they’re back on their feet, or forced to move somewhere cheaper to live than Orangeville.”

After the intake interview, and assuming you meet

9000

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

Total under $10,000

2000

$10,000 – $19,999

1000

$20,000 – $29,999

10000 census families

$40,000 – $49,999

Dufferin

Caledon

Ontario

10% < $30,000 23% < $50,000 68% < $100,000 32% > $100,000

6% < $30,000 16% < $50,000 53% < $100,000 47% > $100,000

13% < $30,000 30% < $50,000 70% < $100,000 30% > $100,000

15,280 total census families

15,950 total census families

3,347,596 total census families

“You have to decide what your motivation is when you start feeding people, and for us that has nothing to do with what sort of people they are.” Pastor Kerry Duffield the criteria, an order is placed in the back room, where about a dozen of the organization’s thirty or so volunteers fi ll it, as though on some endless trip to the supermarket. There are even shopping carts.

The contrast in atmosphere between waiting room and warehouse is stark: the volunteers are a cheerful bunch, running what appears to be a well-oiled, highly organized machine. Several have been with the organization since it began 19 years ago.

As to what goes in the order, you get what you’re given. While to the extent possible a varied, nutritious diet is provided, there’s no picking what kind of soup you receive, or whether your sausages are bratwurst or breakfast. No one cares about your preference for crunchy over smooth.

This place operates mostly on the principal of weight. Every donation is weighed coming in, and every order is weighed going out. Currently, an order for a single person averages 50 pounds. A standard order for a family averages 75 pounds. But Mason emphasizes that these numbers are kept primarily for mandatory reporting purposes and inventory management, and that the averages can be misleading. An order is supposed to represent a balanced diet for three to five days – though he acknowledges

that many people stretch it out for much longer – and the weight of any particular order can vary according to the types of food available, how it’s packaged, and the number of people in a family.

It takes a computer spreadsheet and a lot of operating experience to match the volume of donations coming in with what’s going out. Mason says, “A while ago we were running family orders at an average of 79 pounds, but there was a dip in donations so we had to cut that back to 75.”

The volume of donations also fluctuates over the course of a year. There’s a spike between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when 30 to 45 per cent of the total annual donations arrives, and there’s a lull in the summer. “We get a large volume from Christmas food drives,” says Melissa. “Our facility has the advantage of lots of capacity, so we can even out the blips.”

Local grocery stores all have bins, where shoppers can buy food from the store and donate year-round.

Sometimes, the grocery stores themselves donate leftover baked goods, or stock damaged in transport, such as a case of soft drinks with one can missing.

Once a month, OFB receives a delivery from the Waterloo Food Bank, which handles sourcing and distribution of corporate donations from companies such as Maple Leaf Foods.

One chronic problem for food banks is how to source and handle perishable goods. Orangeville, for example, has 13 freezers, but only one refrigerator.

Melissa recalls a time when they received a donation continued on next page IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

61

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of 900 dozen eggs. “It was great for our clients, but we had nowhere to put them. All the volunteers had to take home as many as they could, and then bring them back as we distributed them. We defi nitely need more cold storage.”

Despite the need for refrigeration, the Orangeville Food Bank is attempting to incorporate more fresh, local food. They participate in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at Breaking Ground Farm in Amaranth and some years they have received large donations of local potatoes.

This year, food bank volunteers are growing a vegetable patch at Islandview Community Gardens that they hope will yield several hundred pounds of fresh produce, and that will be supplemented by portions of the bounty from several other community gardens, as well as from Awesome Blossom, a vegetable market near Caledon East that has been delivering produce weekly this summer. Still, Melissa says, “there’s room to source more locally.”

And there’s one more wrinkle: any meat or dairy products the food bank takes in must be federally inspected.

Orangeville Food Bank is also a founding partner of Gateway Community Centre, which opened this past June. Originally conceived as a way to reduce the risks associated with homelessness in Dufferin, Gateway evolved into a one-stop shop for accessing social service agencies. More important, the initiative, operating from the basement of St. Mark ’s church in Orangeville, provides a drop-in centre for disadvantaged people with no shelter from the elements during daytime hours.

After a little over a month of operation, Gateway is averaging about 16 users a day, though this is expected to rise significantly as winter sets in.

Several referrals to OFB and Lighthouse have already been made. Its youngest client to date was 10 years old.

Down in Caledon, meanwhile, there’s a different approach. There, while food hampers are distributed when they’re available, most food bank clients are given a gift card, redeemable at local grocery stores, which they can use up to twice a month. In 2010, $84,000 worth of the cards were distributed.

“We have occasions when someone will contact us and tell us that their neighbour needs help. But we have a policy here that we can’t approach people; they have to come to us.” Gillian Riseborough Monty Laskin, executive director of Caledon Community Services, says that while Caledon is a place of “some abundance,” which “should be able to take care of our residents,” that sure doesn’t mean there’s enough for all.

Laskin says CCS sees six to eight new homeless people every month. In March, 2011, their food bank served 464 individuals spread across 164 households. Of those, 191 were children under the age of 19.

The working poor also stand out in Caledon. In March, 2011, while Orangeville only reported 14 clients who were employed, in Caledon there

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were 64. Where in Orangeville only two clients owned their own home, in Caledon there were 34.

Laskin draws attention to another aspect of the connection between poverty and food: “We do have some people actually going hungry in Caledon, but the bigger problem is people eating unhealthy diets.” Many people lack the nutritional knowledge and cooking skills necessary to make the most of healthy food options, which can be cheaper than junk food.

At fi rst, I can’t decide whether to feel happy or dismayed when Laskin says, “We have big plans for the food bank in the next few years.” At least until he explains. Caledon Community Services has submitted a proposal to the United Way for annual funding to establish a food support program as a social enterprise. The initiative would create a 2,000 to 3,000 squarefoot food bank that would include a commercial kitchen and for-profit lunch nook, as well as a catering service. The plan is to operate it as a co-op where food bank clients work 10 to 15 hours a week as a means of giving back.

Gillian Riseborough is manager of community supports and volunteer co-ordinator for East Wellington Community Services, and she runs the Erin Food Bank. Erin served 261 families in 2010, what she describes as

a “huge increase” of 30 per cent over the year before. In 2010, they distributed a little over 30,000 pounds of food.

While urban Orangeville reports that the number of clients remains fairly steady over the course of a year, Erin gets a spike between January and March. Riseborough feels this is because they have a lot of seasonal workers who, for example, get laid off from the golf course in the fall and by mid-winter their employment insurance benefits have run out. Over the last two years, Erin has also experienced a spike in the number of teenagers using the food bank, most of whom are couch surfers (bunking in with various friends).

Though it’s clear there’s a need for food banks in the region, are there people who are actually going hungry?

Riseborough says, “Yes, there are. Not because there’s no food, but because people’s dignity prevents them from taking it. We have occasions when someone will contact us and tell us that their neighbour needs help. But we have a policy here that we can’t approach people; they have to come to us. So all we can do is give them the information and tell them to see if they can get their neighbour to use it.

I remember one woman in particular who turned up in my office, sobbing, when she finally had no choice.”

Despite describing her job as “very emotional,” Riseborough stresses that it’s also “very rewarding,” adding, “I have so many great stories of people giving back.” Stories like this one: “A few years ago we had a husband and wife who both got laid off from their jobs. They were here for a couple of months, then they disappeared. Six continued on next page

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months later I got a call from the woman and she said, ‘We’ve both got jobs, we’ve caught up on our bills and we’re back on our feet. Now, what do you need?’ Two days later they turned up with a car full of food.”

— When you think of KFC chicken, chances are the bucket you picture is not the dumpster behind the store.

Mary Vervoort, executive director of Choices Youth Shelter in Orangeville, tells me that at any given time she knows of more than 10 people who are surviving thanks to the food restaurants throw out at the end of each day. Food they destroy rather than donate, due to liability concerns.

An empty stomach has a way of sharpening the eye. Vervoort says, “People get to know exactly which restaurant throws out what, and when. If they’re lucky, they’ll get the food while it’s still hot.” In winter, that hot food serves another purpose: it means the inside of the dumpster is a place out of the cold.

Many of the dumpster divers are youths who either won’t come to the shelter or can’t, because they’ve broken the rules or committed a serious crime. Even then, Vervoort points out, “they’re still entitled to food.”

So, as an alternative to the dumpster, Choices also runs its own small food bank, giving out an average of about 20 boxes a month, each with enough food for roughly a week. Of course, that only solves part of the problem. Vervoort says, “Some have no place to cook, so we tell them to come in and eat here. We often have a few extra people around the table at suppertime.”

There is a popular conception that young adults choose to be homeless, rather than having to work for a living. Vervoort thinks that is mostly nonsense. Choices’ clients are between the ages of 16 and 24, and she says, “Most have an incomplete education.

When a recession hits and there are cutbacks, they’re the first to lose their jobs. Then they’re the last to get them back when it’s over. The working poor are the true victims, and that’s a very large segment of the population.”

Choices’ statistics back her up: every year for the past three, their client load has increased by 22 per cent, totaling 166 young people in 2010.

While Choices deals with young adults, it’s the school system that’s left to confront hunger in little kids.

In the Town of Erin and Dufferin County, 2,600 elementary and high school students receive daily breakfast, lunch or snacks through the Food and Friends program, operated by the Children’s Foundation in Guelph with the help of nearly a hundred

Orangeville Food Bank volunteers are supplementing donations by growing vegetables this year at Islandview Community Gardens.

Community Well-Being Report coming this fall Headwaters Communities In Action will release its Community Well-Being Report for Dufferin and Caledon this fall. The report provides measures of the Headwaters communities’ social, economic and environmental well-being, including indicators related to such social issues as poverty, homelessness, economic resilience and access to health and social services, as well as to other issues that define our sense of place, such as arts, culture, heritage, recreation and environmental sustainability.

For more information, including a copy of the report and an opportunity to contribute your comments once it is released, see headwaterscommunities.com.

“People get to know exactly which restaurant throws out what, and when. If they’re lucky, they’ll get the food while it’s still hot.” Mary Vervoort volunteers. As the foundation’s Anita MacFarlane told me: “For some students the meal they receive from our programs is the only food they’ll eat all day.”

Karen Kowaluk, principal of Centennial Hylands Elementary School in Shelburne, explains how it works.

There, about 100 kids take advantage of the school breakfast program, which is open to everyone. Of those 100, typically 30 or so have arrived with no midday meal either, so they’re quietly given a brown bag containing lunch. “That way,” she says, “they look just like all the other kids come lunchtime, so there’s no teasing.”

Back at Choices, Mary Vervoort sums up the matter of youth and hunger in blunt terms. She has seen a lot over the years, and admits that she has developed a thick skin. Now, she’s “not shocked, but angry. It tears your heart

out. We need to tell people to take one step back and look around. Open your eyes and see what’s going on.”

— A couple of hours pass as Helen, Harvey and Stuart tell me the litany of disasters that brought them to living in a minivan. No one thing was the determining factor, just the accumulated weight of one hard knock after another. They overwhelm me with a sense of there-but-for-the-grace-ofGod-go-I. Their story seems so extreme, so unfair. Perhaps it is, but it’s also far from singular. Even living in the car, they have neighbours: every night they’re joined by six or eight other cars, directed by the police to the same spot in Orangeville, so the cops can keep an eye out to make sure they’re okay.

All around us, so many struggling people, all with their own tale of woe.

The lump in my throat comes when, astonishingly, Helen says, “There are lots of people worse off than us.”

To a well fed, complacent slob like me, that’s hard to comprehend. ≈ Jeff Rollings is a freelance writer who lives in Orangeville.

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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H E A D W A T E R S

N E S T

by Bethany Lee

Sharing

work across generations

Hoof it over to the parade Trot your horse-mad children over to this unique event. See over 50 horses of all breeds and sizes parading through downtown Erin during the Parade of Horses, on September 24 starting at 5 pm. The parade launches Destination Equitation, a week-long celebration of horse in Headwaters, and it’s followed by an Equine Family Evening at the Erin Fairgrounds, featuring a barbecue, square-dancing tractors, and even a drive-in movie with a horsey theme.

For a full list of the week’s events, see horsesinthehills.com.

Outdoor Ed Open House Ever wonder what lies behind the gates at the Mono Cliffs Outdoor Education Centre? Here is your chance to find out.

On October 2, the centre will celebrate its 25th anniversary, and you are invited to its open house from 11 am to 4 pm.

The day includes horse-drawn wagon rides, children’s events, site tours, program displays, and birds of prey presented by Wild Ontario. The Centre is located at 755046 Second Line EHS Mono, just north of Mono Centre. This is a free event. toes.tdsb.on.ca/residential/ mono/index.asp 66

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

F

rom my position, lying in the back seat of the car, it always seemed to take forever to get to my grandparents’ house just off Victoria Park Avenue in Toronto. I’d know we were close when my mom told me we were passing the airport, and then very close when the green sound barrier fences whipped by my window. I counted them down. Excursions

to visit my grandparents were all so exciting for me: the smell of Ivory soap and fluoridated water in the bathroom, walks to the corner store to buy candy or to the park down the street, and a TV that picked up more than two stations.

As I revelled in these exotic city happenings, my dad invariably helped my grandfather with a project around the tiny wartime house: taking delivery of a load of wood and splitting it for the fireplace, fi xing the deck, lifting the stairs that sank every year, installing new windows or a clothesline. My brother and I poked around and watched the shared work sessions, pitching in where we could.

The day culminated in lunch or dinner – and oh, what delicious city food it was. There was something different about eating in the air-conditioned kitchen in Toronto, knowing that the food came from my “Nan’s deli,” a.k.a. Steinberg’s. I imagined all the other Nans in the city lining up to get cold cuts and salads, purses in the crooks of their arms, hair set and covered with a kerchief. My Nan’s lunches usually ended with something chocolatey and storebought. Even though I don’t have a sweet tooth, I gobbled it down. Tin-foil packages of leftovers made their way home with us, “They’re only going to go to waste,” my Nan would say.

I waited an interminably long few weeks for my grandparents’ turn to come to our house in the country. They would arrive in their shiny car (free of dust, not a farm truck), always very early, “to

get a jump on traffic.” Chores, renovations, small harvests, repairs to fences and, of course, the yearly hay season kept our whole family busy on those work weekends. Not exactly barn-raising, but the physical work was not for the faint of heart. My Nan would stay in the kitchen, again preparing food for everyone, while the rest of us laboured long and hard.

The work of the farm was never done. It must have seemed insane to my grandparents, who had never lived on a farm, to see their daughter (my mom) choosing this rambling, unpredictable, messy, muddy lifestyle. But they were also very curious and always willing to help. Imagine the stories that my grandfather could take back to the staff room at the school where he taught in East York, pipe in hand, launching into Wingfield Farm-type stories of weekend misadventures.

My grandfather died a few months ago. He had spent his last few years in a peaceful facility for war veterans in Toronto. I would drive to meet my family there, passing the airport, watching the familiar sound baffles whip by once again. When I saw him in his wheelchair, it was hard to remember the worksharing that our family had done over my lifetime.

Teddy Bear Picnic

I L L U S T R AT I O N S H EL A G H A R M S T R O N G

Even Teddy deserves a night out! On September 29 at 5 pm, bring dinner and your favourite stuff y to picnic and play at the Caledon Parent-Child Centre at 150 Queen Street South in Bolton. Then walk over and snuggle up for a storytime at the library, all in celebration of Literacy Month in the Region of Peel.

It’s free, but advance registration is required. caledon.library.on.ca

I saw him in his present state and thought only about the visit at hand, his frailty and when the inevitable would come.

Since his death, there has been more room for the vivid memories of childhood work sessions to come f looding back, especially when reminiscing over old photos of properties, projects and family meals.

I realize that I can credit these back-and-forth visits for an appreciation of both city and country. I love fast highways, but I also love winding dirt roads. I love urban delicatessens and all sorts of international delights, but I also enjoy locally grown food and simple home cooking. I like open spaces and unmarked trails, but I also fit quite well into tightly constructed city spaces. I was lucky to experience both. And I was lucky that my grandparents were a part of it all.

Through these shared work sessions, we accomplished more than expected. ≈ Bethany Lee is the online editor of kidsinthehills.ca, a sister site to inthehills.ca, where she also writes a regular blog.

Do you have the white stuff?

Attention kids in Grades 4 and 5!

Want to ski and ride for free this winter? Here is a great opportunity for you. The Canadian Ski Council invites you to join its 14th SnowPass season.

If you are 9 or 10 years old (born in 2001 or 2002) and attending a school in Canada, you qualify for the “SnowPass.” Sign up and swipe your card up to three times in exchange for a free lift ticket at some 150 participating ski hills in Ontario and elsewhere across Canada.

Parents, this is a great way for your children to try out this winter pastime and stay active as the white stuff takes over our region. For details, visit snowpass.ca.

Spa prices starting at $4995 plus HST

Winter noggin safety While we’re on the subject, don’t forget to protect your noggins this winter. With education, snow sport helmet use has increased year after year, and is now the norm. Helmets can make a difference by reducing or preventing injury from falls or other impacts during winter sports.

See lidsonkids.org.

Just a reminder that our kidsinthehills.ca calendar shows many more events taking place in the hills throughout the season. Fall fair listings, Halloween activities and Thanksgiving events are abundant right now. Don’t forget that if you have an event to share with our community, email me at bethany@ inthehills.ca and I’ll be sure to post it.

Take care and have fun in the hills this fall! —Bethany

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67

H I S T O R I C

H I L L S

by Ken Weber

Bringing ‘The Word’ to the Wilderness Clergymen who rode into the bush in the early days of settlement were called “saddlebag preachers.”

With little more than a Bible and a powerful belief P H O T O S CO U R T E S Y R EG I O N O F P E E L A R C H I V E S P N 2 011 _ 010 67

in their purpose, they roamed these hills to bring religion to the pioneers.

C

atholic missionaries were the first Europeans into the bush in Upper Canada long before it was settled, but their aim was to live with the Natives and convert them.

Two centuries later, the saddlebag preachers proselytized to people who were already Christian but who were too few and too scattered throughout the wilderness to have a community church. So these clergymen were circuit riders, travelling from one log cabin to the next, preaching, baptizing, marrying and reassuring courageous pioneers that neither their church nor their God had forgotten them. The Methodists originated the idea of the circuit clergy in the U.S. and spread it into Canada. Thanks to the famous John Strachan, Anglican clergy were right behind them, especially in these hills.

As early as the 1820s, Strachan had realized that although the settlers here desperately wanted religious services, the population was too sparse for churches. He also realized that if the Church of England didn’t recruit circuit preachers fast, the Methodists would fill the gap. One of his first successful protégés was the sturdy and devoted Reverend Adam Elliot.

so much to be done From 1833 to 1836, Elliot travelled day after day from the southern reaches of Peel, through Dufferin and Simcoe, and as far north as Penetanguishene (where the French Catholic population formed a psychological, if not a logical border).

His experience was typical of the saddlebag preacher: lonely travel in 68

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

The Reverend Adam Elliot

all kinds of weather, overnighting with families in log cabins, sharing their fare, and wherever he stopped, offering religious service.

In March 1833, for example, when he arrived at the Cobean home in Mono, the word went out and neighbours flooded in. Many were Presbyterians, but so strongly did they miss the power of religion that any (Protestant) denomination would do. In a single day there, Elliot held a prayer service and a funeral, and performed two marriages and eighteen baptisms.

Although he was told there were not enough people in Mulmur to make a trip worthwhile he went anyway and this time 50 people mustered for a service where he did 12 more baptisms.

In 1834, Elliot reported preaching in a barn in Castlemore during January and then in a clearing in April, near present-day Caledon East. In October, he preached in Bolton, with the worshippers snuff ling and sneezing because they were sitting on a barn floor where threshing had just been completed.

He then spent time in Orangeville and Albion before moving north and east beyond Newmarket. At every stop

there were lineups for communion, marriages and especially baptisms.

Elliot spent his last full year in these hills in 1835. By that time there were more preachers on the circuit (especially Methodists, causing Elliot mild annoyance with the Anglican hierarchy for being too slow to send him help), so he left the hills to spend the rest of his life preaching to Ontario’s Native people.

life in the saddle Rev. Elliot was an intrepid worker and in his extensive reports he never once complained about what must have been extremely challenging

conditions. This was not the case with one of his successors, William Darling. Born into a Presbyterian family, Darling became an Anglican (like John Strachan) and in the late 1830s was “saddlebagging” between Tullamore and Mono Mills.

Darling’s writings reveal a somewhat cranky nature, but perhaps a more honest description of what things were like for the men who preached in the bush. One thing that disturbed him was the pioneers’ ignorance – or lack of concern – for ritual. Of the worshippers in Mono Mills he complained, “When they should rise, they sit; when they should sit, they continue standing.” And when he administered Communion, he was horrified to find the vessels were “a black bottle and an old tumbler.” Darling also had little good to say about the church buildings that had begun to spring up in his time, calling them “remarkable specimens of ugliness.”

Darling’s frank reports include accounts of what it was like to bunk with his congregation in their one-room cabins. Like all saddlebag preachers, he could choose to sleep on the ground, in a barn or – probably the most sensible choice in winter – with a family.

On one occasion he describes going to bed fully clothed in a Caledon home because the family had stayed awake to watch him undress.

competing for souls Darling’s candid observations refer to yet another gritty reality: Old-World religious quarrels were alive and well in Canada. Cat holics, of course, were a front-line target. Residents of Mulmur and Mono were noted for making it clear that Catholics would be much happier if they settled elsewhere. When Darling wrote that he observed “downright uncompromis-

Religious Feelings a Two-Way Street?

According to historian Perkins Bull, the first teacher in Mono Mills was a Catholic who received the following instruction from the locals: “You are not to teach the children any of your Roman numerals. The Protestant figures are what we want.” Perkins Bull also tells of an unnamed Catholic farmer in Peel who, when asked what he’d do if there were no Roman church, replied he’d be an Anglican. If that were not possible, the old-timer allowed he might become a Presbyterian. “And if that were not possible, would you be a Methodist?” his questioner continued. “I’d die first!” was the reply.

When Duty Calls In 1856, Rev. Joseph Hilts of the Methodist Episcopal Church was riding a former circus horse to a service in Garafraxa. The horse’s sole gait was a trot, which it preferred to do in circles, so riding him demanded attention. Once, when Rev. Hilts was distracted as he bellowed out a hymn, he was suddenly tossed into a mud hole.

Undaunted, he immersed himself in a nearby stream, remounted the horse and, a few miles later, gave another service, still dripping wet.

ing hatred toward Papists, rebels and other enemies” in these hills, he was underlining a political fact of his day.

Although the 1837 Rebellion was over, the issues that prompted it were still unresolved. The wealthy class in Upper Canada, the notorious “Family Compact,” was still very much in control. They were mostly Anglican and, to a lesser extent, Presbyterian.

The “rebels and other enemies,” as Darling refers to them, were adherents of other religions. To him, these people, especially the Methodists, were potentially dangerous.

The Methodists were a thorn in the side of the Anglican and Presbyterian hierarchies for another reason. Those two religions were established and ritualistic, while Methodist preachers leaned toward revivalism and emotion. To early settlers, weighed down by the drudgery of survival and loneliness, whooping it up at a camp meeting probably had more appeal than sitting demurely through a ritualized church service, and that may be one of the reasons the four branches of Methodism outgrew all others in these hills.

Records for East Garafraxa in 1852, for example, show 479 Presbyterians, 457 Anglicans and 163 Methodists (65 professed other religions, with just one Catholic). Twenty years later, when the township population had more than doubled, the Anglicans had grown by 10 per cent, the number of Presbyterians had slightly more than doubled, while the Methodists had quadrupled. (And there was still but one Catholic.)

By that time, the saddlebag preachers were gone, and among the trees where they had once prayed and preached stood solid brick churches.

Adam Elliot, who first rode into these hills in 1833, lived long enough to see this dramatic change. And even though the Methodists appeared to be in the lead, it must have given him

great satisfaction to know the hardship he endured to bring “The Word” to the wilderness had been worth the effort. ≈

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When the Anglican saddlebag preacher, Featherstone Lake Osler, came to Bolton in 1838, he was greeted by an elderly man named Pringle who declared with tears streaming down his face that over 20 years of pioneering in (what is now) Peel, he had seen the face of a minister only four times. Records show that Methodist preachers would have crossed Mr. Pringle’s path at least several times a year in that time. Obviously they didn’t count.

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Featherstone Lake Osler (1805–1895, the father of Sir William Osler) was a popular saddlebag clergyman who not only preached on the circuit but pulled teeth. He gave a stained glass window to the Christ Church congregation in Banda at the north border of Mulmur around 1865. It is now in the current church, built c.1897.

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

69

S P O R T S

by Nicola Ross

P H O T O P E T E PAT ER S O N

G O O D

Putting the cart

after the horse

Neatly stacked English saddles, smartly hung snaffle bridles and oodles of unfamiliar harness line the walls of Beaverwood Farm’s tack room. Ribbons of all sizes and colours decorate the spaces in between. Some are enormous tri-coloured championship rosettes, others small pony-club versions – all take me back to my youth and my family’s tack room. But more than the equestrian paraphernalia, it’s the smell that brings on the memories. It’s a musty and thick combination of damp leather, sweat and saddle soap.

Until university, boys and shaky nerves came between me and combined eventing, I spent hours in the saddle – but I had never steered a horse from behind. Kirsten Brunner, who owns Beaverwood Farm near Hillsburgh, has agreed to introduce me to the world of driving. Kirsten coaches riders and drivers of all ages, while also breeding, training, competing with and selling horses.

“Combined driving, which is like eventing in a wagon, that’s my sport,” she explains. She was just home from Bromont, Quebec, where she won the intermediate single-pony division at the only Canadian combined driving competition sanctioned by the Fédération Équestre Internationale, or FEI. Combined driving is a gruelling three-phase team contest that takes place over three days. The fi rst phase is dressage, during which horse, driver and carriage get all decked out and perform a set pattern of precise manoeuvres, reminiscent of the compulsories that figure skaters once completed.

Day two is the marathon, an endurance phase that tests the horse’s and driver’s courage, skill, fitness and speed. The long course includes obstacles, such as water hazards, tight turns and hills.

The final day brings the obstacle-driving competition. This timed event requires horse(s) and driver to show that they are not too pooped to negotiate a 70

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

tricky course that passes through as many as twenty pairs of cones with balls balanced on top. Hit a cone and dislodge the ball, and you draw penalty points.

Categories include single rigs, pairs and teams of four, and in each category, there is a pony and a horse division.

Kirsten’s plans for me tend more toward pleasure driving, which suits me for my inaugural class. But first, we must harness Beaverwood’s Astilbe, a crossbreed and seasoned veteran who is our “mount” for the day. In no-nonsense fashion, Kirsten goes through each piece of harness, explaining how it fits. She trusts me to fasten buckles and allows me to put the bridle on, though she checks everything to make sure it’s done right.

We take Astilbe to the indoor arena, where I’ll start out behind her on foot. “Driving involves a combination of verbal commands, pressure on the reins and the whip,” Kirsten says. She demonstrates, hands over the reins, and I fall in behind Astilbe.

Using my voice rather than leg aids, I feel as if I’m speaking a foreign language.

In a few minutes, Kirsten takes over. She massages Astilbe’s rump lightly with the whip and calls out a few commands. Astilbe’s ears perk up. She arches her neck, rounds her back and comes “on the bit,” which means she’s really engaging her powerful

rear end. The transformation from cob to show horse is quick and impressive.

Then it’s time to place Astilbe between the shafts of an old-style wooden two-seater carriage. Painted a soft yellow with black detailing, the carriage would have been used to carry people into town to pick up groceries. Kirsten points out that it includes a braking system for going downhill.

I learn how to attach the carriage to Astilbe’s harness, and we climb aboard the surprisingly springy vehicle. It feels nothing like riding a horse.

“Trot on,” Kirsten tells Astilbe, and we take a few brisk spins around the indoor arena, passing between orange cones that have been set up in pairs.

One pair is set up so that they are only a metre farther apart than the wagon wheels. But when I remark on this, Kirsten laughs off my comment. At her level of competition, the cones are a mere 22 centimetres wider than the carriage wheels.

We slow to a walk, and Kirsten presents me with the reins as we head toward the two close cones.

“Do I have to go through those?” I ask, my voice strained. She advises me: “Don’t look down. Look well past the cones to where you want to go.”

And after a few tries – only once does Kirsten have to grab the reins to prevent a cone-carriage collision – I start to get the feel of it.

Soon, it’s time to turn the reins over to Kirsten, who guides Astilbe outside and onto the road for a short outing. I ask what it would involve to learn this sport. The first thing, she says, is to get some instruction. “After ten lessons, you’ll be driving a horse up the road just like this.”

The morning is warm and muggy, and as we turn right onto the newly gravelled road at the end of her driveway, an enormous gravel truck barrels

Kirsten Brunner’s daughter Kilby and her pony Starlight ride along while friends Tommy and Tara catch a ride with Kirsten and Raindrop at the scenic grounds of the Tralee Wedding Facility in Caledon. below : Kirsten in full regalia during the dressage portion of the international combined driving event at Bromont, Quebec, this summer.

DESTINATION EQUITATION 2011 September 24th to October 2nd

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519-833-6179 Drive Canada www.drivecanada.org Bill MacGillivray, President 905-702-9834

• Visit with the horses after the Parade • Drive-in Movie • Family Barbecue • Square Dancing Tractors

Kirsten explains that many equestrians who can no longer ride, for one reason or another, switch to driving.

They may take up combined driving like Kirsten (and the elderly Prince Philip) or they may choose pleasure driving. Either way, there are lots of local competitions where they can compete, watch and even volunteer.

Bill MacGillivray, who lives near Limehouse, is president of Drive Canada, the organization that represents combined driving, pleasure driving, recreational driving and draft horses. An enthusiastic driver, Bill is also the father of 26-year-old Courtney, whose success in combined driving has earned her a spot on Canada’s equestrian team. Always on the lookout for new participants, Bill says, “If people want to get involved, have them give me a buzz.”

Back at Beaverwood Farm, Kirsten tells me that she was the first Canadian woman to compete in the world championships of combined driving, and that she’s the only North American woman to breed, raise, train and compete in World Cup events. And if things go as planned, Kilby, her seven-year-old daughter who is already an acknowledged “horse-freak,” will help attract others whose talents and inclinations make them interested in harnessing, rather than tacking up, an equine friend. ≈

P H O T O CO T TA G E B R O O K E P H O T O G R A P H Y

toward us. We wave, and it slows down.

Astilbe remains calm, the truck passes, and we carry on at an active trot. I feel as if we truly are on our way to pick up provisions in town.

When we come to a gentle incline, Kirsten asks Astilbe to move on. Soon we’re flying up the road. Had I worn a silk scarf, it would have been streaming out behind me. All too soon, it’s time to go back. The carriage turns on a dime, as Astilbe does some fancy cross-over steps to get us headed in the opposite direction.

As we trot back, I ask Kirsten if she knows Jack Braithwaite, the only other driver with whom I’m familiar. “Jack Braithwaite gave me some equipment and some lessons,” she says.

Jack is the long-time manager of the stable at Tralee, Dr. Ray Cormack’s 140-acre estate on Mountainview Road near Mono Mills. For years, Tralee hosted the prestigious Canadian Car riage Driving Classic, and it’s also home to Cormack’s astounding collection of carriages.

Jack’s driving skills and Cormack’s enthusiasm put Caledon on the international driving map during the “Classic” period, when competitors came from everywhere to participate in the annual event. “In 25 years,” says Jack, “we sort of won everything at one time or another.”

Jack still drives competitively, but with Cormack in poor health and the carriage collection going up for auction this fall, he now spends much of his time helping out at what has become the Tralee Wedding Facility.

Most weekends during the summer, you can fi nd Jack hitching the horses to Tralee’s landau, an elegant fourwheeled convertible carriage, and transporting nervous brides between the marriage chapel and reception area.

Breeders’ Parade of Horses | Sept 24 Equine Family Evening | Sept 24

Gypsy Vanner Fair | Sept 24 to 25 Public Circuit Stable Tour | Sept 25 How to Draw Horses Art Clinic | Sept 25 Equestrian Fashion Show | Sept 28 Provincial Equine Forum | Sept 29 Erin BIA House Tour | Sept 30 Private Circuit Stable Tour | Oct 1 Cowboy Poetry | Oct 1 Leisa Way starring in Sweet Dreams: A Tribute to Patsy Cline, featuring the Wayward Wind | Oct 1 Provincial Forging Competition | Oct 2 Equine Art Contest | deadline for entries September 22

For a full list of equine related events, visit

www.horsesinthehills.ca

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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Caledon’s

gypsy Connection

72

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

P H O T O B EN R A D VA N Y I

BY M O NI C A D U N C A N

PHOTO MARK J. BARRE T T

Horse enthusiast James Wilson caught his breath. It was amazing. In the field of a King City farm he saw a vision, an enchanting little black and white horse, long mane and feathers flying on the breeze. When Wilson inquired, he was told it was a “Gypsy Vanner.”

Developed from Gypsy workhorse stock, it was a breed seldom seen in this part of the world. Smitten, Wilson soon embarked on a horse-buying treasure hunt. And now that first breathtaking sight has led to a new private club, complete with a “members only” boutique country inn and a multi-faceted partnership between Wilson’s own DeerFields Stables and Gypsy Gold, owned by Dennis Thompson in Ocala, Florida.

DeerFields, Wilson’s Palgrave-area property, was once a place where he went to relax and play with his horses. But after the Vanner bug hit, he soon realized that he wouldn’t have just one new horse, and that adding a “little” to his stable would mean adding a lot.

The farm would require a new stable, paddocks and arena. Even as Wilson was contemplating these upgrades, his urban friends were expressing a fondness for country life and bemoaning their lack of opportunity to partake. That sparked an idea. Why not share the passion? Why not a country club where people could come and enjoy the scenery in style, with the added dimension of working with horses?

On DeerFields’ nearly 100 acres of woods and rolling hills and on adjoining lands, there is access to 40 kilometres of hacking trails and the property is perfectly situated along Caledon’s portion of the Trans-Canada Trail. Now DeerFields would also need a clubhouse and a place to snuggle in for the night.

In just over two and a half years, Wilson’s entrepreneurial spirit and drive have created that and more.

While it all sounds terribly ambitious, the Duffy’s Lane hideaway is soothing and tranquil. At the end of the pine-lined driveway sits a top-notch horse facility, a casually sophisticated clubhouse, a French country-inspired inn, and a spa and restaurant sited to take advantage of the gorgeous views. The site includes a pond stocked with bass and koi, and a “pheasant run,” home to pheasants, chickens, peacocks and rabbits.

But that’s not all. Along the paddocks, there is also an oh-so-sweet garagiste-sized vineyard planted up with Foch, Vidal and Concord grapes.

And then there are the horses.

Originally developed by Europe’s Roma and other “travelling” peoples to be reliable cart and family horses, Gypsy Vanners were historically a rougher grade mixed breed or utilitarian cobs, and the Gypsies’ stock-in-trade. That was until Wilson’s eventual partner Dennis Thompson, another visionary horseperson, and his late wife Cindy, spotted a Vanner while on a U.K. business trip. continued on next page

The Gypsy Vanners of DeerFields: The versatile, friendly and compact Vanners are often compared to golden retrievers for their companion-animal qualities. The handsome six-year-old stallion, Banner (left), is the foundation of DeerFields’ breeding program.

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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PHOTO BOB L ANGRISH

Manes and feathers flying, DeerFields’ Esmerelda and Panda go for a carefree run.

gypsy vanner continued from page 73

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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As Wilson would be later, the Thompsons were totally taken with the horse. They were invited to the owner’s caravan and, as they came to know him over time, were slowly educated into the warp and weft of Gypsy horse-breeding philosophy.

After several years of research, the pair imported their first horses and, with almost missionary zeal, decided to found a breed. In 1996, they named and described breed standards, organizing a registry that actively promotes the Gypsy Vanner and its enthusiasts.

Now, in co-operation with Wilson’s DeerFields, both are growing in ways as unique as the breed itself.

The gregarious but calm Vanners and foals – many mature Vanners would properly be charac terized as large ponies – populate DeerFields, along with Wilson’s first equines, a Tennessee Walker, mini, quarter horse and paint. But here is another

surprise: The mares standing guard over the Vanner foals are mules.

Thompson discovered early on that there was a dearth of mares of dependable quality, and the ones he had could not meet demand. His veterinarian mentioned the possibility of using mules as surrogates. So, as a natural problem solver, Thompson did his research and discovered something he calls “hybrid vigour,” the tendency of the mule, a sterile hybrid of horse and donkey, to combine the best in conformation and personality of both, including a remarkable skill at mothering. Following on Thompson’s innovation and in partnership with the Florida program, DeerFields has taken up the experiment with embryonic implantation. It’s a way to produce foals and control lineage, as well as safeguard valuable Vanner mares.

Currently the Gypsy Vanner registry lists about 1,200 approved stallions and mares. Hoping to add to that

Vanner Fair september 24 In keeping with James Wilson’s keen interest in educating horse enthusiasts about the horses he loves, DeerFields is hosting North America’s first ever Vanner Fair.

To coincide with the first weekend of Headwaters’ equine festival, Destination Equitation, Vanner Fair will feature demonstrations, competitive classes, and opportunities to tour the site, shop and nosh. The fair is modelled after England’s Appleby Horse Fair, the longstanding annual “gathering of Gypsies and Travellers” in Cumbria.

DeerFields is located at 17084 Duffy’s Lane, Caledon, just west of the hamlet of Palgrave. For more information, see vannerfair.com.

P H O T O B EN R A D VA N Y I

A caravan hand-built by David Bryan.

number, DeerFields recently acquired its fi rst stallion, Thompson’s Gypsy Gold-bred “Banner.” In addition to being “studly,” Banner comes complete with a show business reputation. He was a performing stallion in Arabian Nights, Orlando, Florida’s theatrical horse extravaganza, where he proudly pulled the princess’s carriage.

DeerFields is a fascinating and singular culture dish, both for equine and human affinities. Here is the stock horse of Europe’s once marginalized peoples being brought along at an exclusive Caledon country club.

This irony is not lost on Wilson. “You have to have tremendous respect for what the Gypsies have created,” he says, namely a safe, sturdy family horse. Indeed, the horses are friendly, not imposing in size, and have often been compared to golden retrievers for their companion-animal value.

Dennis Thompson also discovered that his desire for a more refined version of the Vanner was where the Gypsy horse-breeding aesthetic itself was headed. Known for their decorative caravans, they were also working on a more pleasing looking horse to dignify their transport. The philosophy at DeerFields is that bringing these horses along honours their Gypsy developers.

— Driving trainer David Bryan speaks quietly to the young Gypsy Vanner in harness as I look on. After only a few weeks, the gelding responds easily to his lilting voice commands, pulling

like an athlete while working down the arena’s fresh track. A Gypsy of Irish and Welsh descent, 78-year-old Bryan was born in a caravan and travelled the Welsh countryside with his family until his father gave it up in 1955.

A farrier and horse-trainer by trade, Bryan carried on, raising horses, blacksmithing and, to the delight of a younger generation, building caravans. As fortune would have it, he now resides in nearby Stayner and is able to work with DeerFields’ driving prospects as they reach maturity.

This current trainee, a gelding, is rock steady. Earlier in the month and only shortly after breaking, the horse was shipped to his first demonstration, a distressingly busy environment. There was a hunt, jumpers, all kinds of activity, and Bryan thought, “This is the day we go into the stands.”

But the horse didn’t put a foot wrong.

Impressed with the Vanner’s development, I ask the soft-spoken trainer if all his projects are so tractable. He ruefully answers, “If you get a bad’un, you know’t.”

“The Vanner was bred to work,” says Bryan, reminiscing on his own long career with horses and his current vocation of caravan building.

His hand-built, one-off, horse-drawn vehicles carefully replicate the wagon Bryan was raised in: solid, comfortable and lushly upholstered. While “caravanning” might seem unusual in this part of the world, Bryan says there is a resurgence of interest in this Old-World RV in the British Isles and parts of Europe, where summer

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PHOTO MARTIN JULIAN

Making a move?

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A local and trusted professional with proven results for 19 years

Kathy Ellis

Sales Representative

905-874-3040 / 519-833-9714 kellis@xplornet.com www.kathyellis.ca

HOME & COTTAGE ALL IN ONE! Super charmer on quiet street near Forks of the Credit River and Provincial Park. Home has large eat-in kitchen with fireplace and bright sunroom. 16’ x 24’ detached garage all set on a gorgeous 66’ x 165’ lot. $385,000

THE HISTORIC “LOFT HOUSE” Rare opportunity to own this unique converted barn located on 3 very private acres close to Georgetown, surrounded by peace and tranquility. Spacious rooms with cathedral ceiling, hrdwd flrs, stone fireplace, skylights, walkouts & walkout lower level. $969,000

MARKET GARDEN Lovely 60 acres near Victoria, Caledon for sale with updated and charming home, in-law apt, legal 3-bdrm trailer with its own septic, pond, stream, 10 acres of hardwood bush, arable lands set up with irrigation, great investment property. $1,830,000

SPECTACULAR EXECUTIVE NORTH HALTON Overflowing with luxurious finishes; plaster trim, coffered ceilings, hrdwd, granite, cabinetry. Approx 4,300 sq ft + 4,000 fin bsmt.

Beautifully landscaped prop, pool, hot tub, pool house, privacy. Exceptional! $1,649,000

CLASSIC CANADIANA IN CALEDON Superb 57 acres, fantastic pre 1900’s home, totally renovated with addition and stunning updates. Gorgeous kitchen, family room and main floor master, 6-piece ensuite. Loft, barn with 11 stalls, paddocks and pond.

Close to TO. Just reduced. $2,495,000

NATURE AT ITS FINEST! 2+ acres building lot. Outstanding property nicely wooded, somewhat rolling, private, superb area to build your dream home on.

Located close to Walters Falls, Meaford and skiing. $89,000

BEAUTIFUL FAMILY HOME Hidden gem in the heart of Erin backing onto forest. Huge kitchen with large centre island and breakfast area. Open concept family room and walkout to the private yard.

Large basement with rec room and garage access. $399,000

DELIGHTFUL POST AND BEAM Beautiful home, decorated with style, superb layout. Lovely 5 acres on quiet road near Bruce Trail in south Caledon. Bungaloft with 3 bedrooms plus loft and full walkout basement with two workshops, family room, 2-piece. $829,000

The kindly Flo is the surrogate mule mum for the Vanner foal, Princess.

gypsy vanner continued from page 75

caravanning is a national pastime.

His current commission is for a Vanner fancier in Kingston, Ontario, who plans to travel and demonstrate the age-old working relationship of man and beast.

I tell Bryan that my father’s parents met and courted, dancing and singing around the fire to Gypsy violins.

It was outside their respective villages, somewhere on the borders of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, where young people would gather at caravan circles to socialize. My grandfather always thought that my generation was so sad: “You do not sing and dance.”

DeerFields now employs fou r trainers, who school this calm and versatile horse for both competitive and recreational riders, as well as for driving. The horses are taught to cue to voice commands, making them safe and suitable for beginner to mature riders.

— Rumour has it that DeerFields’ logo, featuring a crown that curiously resembles that of Crown Royal whisky, derives from a familial tie to the Seagram distilling fortune. Wilson laughs at the notion, a twinkle in his eye. His business background is third generation in his family’s trucking business and any resemblance to the whisky logo is purely coincidental.

He emphatically describes the development of the crown logo as an association with kings and queens.

“We want everyone who comes here to feel like royalty,” he says. “You will not be treated better.”

For more information on DeerFields, including various forms of club membership, see deerfieldsstables.ca

Monica Duncan is a freelance writer who lives in Adjala.

Destination Equitation september 24 to october 2 This equestrian extravaganza, sponsored by the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association, includes a huge range of events throughout the hills.

From the opening parade of horses and family barbecue in Erin Village, to the annual stable tour, featuring eight local horse farms, to the high-stakes Canadian Show Jumping Tournament at the Palgrave Equestrian Park, the nine-day festival has something to appeal to everyone, from kids and families who are new to the local equestrian scene to long-time enthusiasts. There are even an equestrian fashion show and a cowboy poetry reading.

For the full program, see thehillsofheadwaters.com (under Experience – Horses in the Hills).

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classic canadiana in caledon

PINE RIVER RETREAT Incredible water features combined with forest on 16.5 ares offering river, streams, waterfalls and shady wooded nooks where you can sit and enjoy the natural beauty this property offers.

13 bridges link one scenic spot to another. Cozy bungalow overlooking main pond, home to grand daddy rainbow trout. $549,000

SOUTH MULMUR CENTURY GEM A storybook setting for this delightful 122-yr-old retreat. Wrap-around deck o/l saltwater pool & cabana. Totally reno’d barn w/ huge upper lvl play/entertaining space for kids of all ages. Trails through forest & over meadows. $769,900

MUSICIAN’S HIDEAWAY Recording studio with rehearsal space in 4-bedroom custom Viceroy, open kitchen, screened porch, fireplace, 9 secluded acres, Mulmur. Birder’s paradise and gardener’s delight. Golf, ski, or ride. $649,000

Ginny MacEachern BA B R O K E R

THE BOYNE MILL...MULMUR Built in 1865 as a flour mill beside the Boyne River and enjoyed now as a wonderful country retreat.

3 levels of unique living space with dramatic staircase and exposed beams.

325 acres with large pond, island and log cabin, 1900 Miller’s house, pool, tennis court.

Spectacular fishing and hunting. Sensational gardens. A once in a lifetime opportunity. $3,800,000

ER T D UN TRAC N CO

CATCH THE MULMUR SUNSETS 14 acs overlooking spring-fed pond & distant hills. 3 level contemp totally reno’d. Great rm w/ o/c kit/dining & sitting area w/ 2 w/o’s & gas fp. Light-filled living rm w/ cathed ceil, fp & w/o to deck. 1.15 to Toronto Int’l. $749,000

AMARANTH COMMUTER 1 mile from Shelburne. 4-yr-old Quality bungalow on 2.5 acs. Nice blend of open & mixed forest.

Open concept great rm. Mstr w/ spacious ens.

Lower lvl fam rm & workshop for the hobby minded. Oversized att dbl garage. $769,000

1-800-360-5821 gmmulmur@bconnex.net www.ginnymaceachern.com

RCR Realty, Brokerage Independently Owned & Operated

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MOFFAT DUNLAP REAL ESTATE LIMITED, BROKERAGE

905-841-7430 www.moffatdunlap.com Moffat Dunlap*, John Dunlap**, Peter Boyd, Murray Snider, George Webster, Peter Bowers*** *Broker, **Broker of Record, ***Sales Representative

PARKMOOR, CALEDON A spectacular property for people who enjoy the active country lifestyle and privacy of 99 acres.

Designed w/ country pursuits in mind! Swimming in the deep clean pond, hiking, skiing, biking or snowshoeing along groomed trails. $3,499,000

GEORGIAN MANOR, CALEDON 3 finished levels with 5 bedrooms. Newly renovated kitchen. Huge dining room with fireplace. Elegant master suite. Distant views.

Stream. Tennis. Pool. 27 acres. $2,050,000

GRAND CALEDON ESTATE A superb country estate of unmatched scenery with outstanding buildings.

In the same family for almost 100 years, this land in the heart of Caledonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Forks of the Credit Valley offers mature woodlands, dramatic ravines, ponds, streams, orchard, stunning views and rolling farmlands. Main house + 3 other houses. Tennis. Pool. Sporting clays. $19,000,000

DISCOVER TRANQUILITY Peaceful 25-ac property w/ immaculate bungalow. Combined kit/din/fam rm w/ massive stone fp. Huge home office/library/rec rm in lower lvl.

Enjoy the view of the lawns, woodlands & pond.

Cut trails throughout the property. $675,000

EAST FARM, CALEDON Perfect site to build country estate. Distant views over countryside. 89 rolling acres. Huge paddocks. Maple sugar bush. Orig bank barn & workshop. Attractive 2-bdrm res for guest quarters. Multiple building sites. $1,150,000

QUIET STREAM FARM, CALEDON Prime location. A tributary of the Humber River meanders through the 84-acre farm. Miles of trails with mix of woods, rolling hills and farm fields. Solid farmhouse + separate office + workshop + storage buildings. $1,429,000

THE RANKIN HOUSE, CALEDON Exceptional Bill Grierson designed bungalow on a cul-de-sac in the Terra Cotta countryside.

Balconies that wrap around the south and west sides were created to take full advantage of the views all the way to the CN Tower. $1,398,000

GARDINER FARM, CALEDON Renowned thoroughbred farm now a stallion station, thoroughbred nursery & training centre. 111 rolling acres with distant vistas.

Indoor exercise track, outdoor galloping track.

100 box stalls & run-in facilities. $2,500,000

TORY GLEN FARM, CALEDON Lovely Caledon horse property. Renovated home with 3 finished levels. Stable with indoor arena, sand ring, 20 stalls, board paddocks.

5 minutes to Palgrave. 35 private acres. $1,995,000

RON THOM HOME, CALEDON Set on high land, renowned architect Ron Thom & owners created the most natural home to blend into the surroundings with its impressive vistas of the Escarpment ridgeline or distant views towards downtown Toronto. $2,800,000

GRANDE FARMS, MONO 100-acre horse farm owned in 2 separate lots.

Fully renovated main house with luxury kitchen and master suite. 24-stall barn, massive indoor arena, staff house. Immaculate paddocks and miles of trails. $3,350,000

NAPIER SIMPSON, CALEDON Century log home w/ board & batten addition.

50 acres of total privacy w/ small pond, open rolling fields & mature trees. Det garages w/ heated workshop. 6-stall stable w/ immaculate board paddocks. A hidden Caledon gem!

BRIARDALE, CALEDON Updated farmhouse on 25 acres. Studio building plus century barn and pond. Long trails which leads into Glen Haffy Park. $799,000

POND VIEW, HOCKLEY 3-bedroom, 3-bath home on almost 15 acres.

Ponds plus woods ensure total privacy.

Almost new home. $574,000

MANSFIELD SKI CLUB, MULMUR 2-bedroom cottage in Pine River Valley.

Minutes to Mansfield Ski Club. Pristine river frontage which offers wild trout fishing in season. Distant views over the Mulmur Hills. $449,000

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**Broker of Record *Sales Representative 122 Main Street, Erin

CAIRNCROFT! Fabulous limestone house, 20 years old, 5 bedrooms, 4,500 sq ft with a stunning view of Toronto’s skyline from the Escarpment’s edge. Smack dab in the heart of Caledon’s premier horse country on 21 acres and yet totally private. Unmatched location, 45 minutes to Bay and Gardiner.

Seldom does one get a chance to view such a property. $3,500,000 Jamie Gairdner**

NEW GRANGE ESTATE! A fabulous 4-bedroom stone country house + 2-bedroom apartment on 82 acres of rolling land overlooking countryside. Built to the highest standards. Solid oak floors, plaster crown mouldings, 10’ & 12’ ceilings. $2,980,500 Jamie Gairdner**

FOXCREST! Fine craftsmanship, impeccable finishes. Many features included in this private oasis; exceptional reclaimed beechwood flooring, gourmet kitchen, incredible office/library with fireplace.

Windows overlook stunning landscaping and fabulous pond. Delightful apartment/loft with wood-burning stove. An absolute must see!!! $1,450,000 Gord Purdy*

DALCASSIAN FARM! Lovely ranch style raised bungalow on 50 rolling acres. 3+2 bdrms just refurbished, 6 fireplaces, 14 ft concrete pool and 3-car garage. 7 paddocks, 9 box stalls, hay barn and run-in shed.

Zoned for indoor arena. Tributary of Humber runs through property. $1,395,000 Jamie Gairdner**

BRIGHTWATER FARMS! Fully operational hunter/jumper horse farm on 30 fenced acs close to Erin. 3-bdrm house w/ mstr on main flr. 1-bdrm apt 2nd flr. 70’ x 185’ arena, 100’ x 200’ sand ring, 7 paddocks, 32 stalls, pond. $1,285,000 Jamie Gairdner**

HOCKLEY VALLEY LOG HOUSE! Just across from Hockley Valley Ski & Golf Resort, sits this adorable 4,200 sq ft log house on 1/2 acre. B&B addition, 4+1 bdrms. Close to the river w/ a pretty 20’ x 35’ inground saltwater pool. “Wow” $885,000 Jamie Gairdner**

1868 STONE HOUSE! Marvelous stone house w/ 4 bdrms on 2 acs in Halton Hills. 7 mins to Georgetown Go station.

Everything has been modernized without compromising the architecture or construction of the 1800’s. $875,000 Jamie Gairdner**

BEAUTIFUL ISLAND LAKE ESTATE Comfortable, inviting, perfect for entertaining, central patio, upgrades galore. Gourmet kitchen overlooks great rm, 5 bdrms, 5 baths, cathedral ceilings in fam rm. Stunning landscaping on lrg lot overlooking lake. $830,000 Gord Purdy*

1860s STONE HOUSE on Heart Lake Rd. Move-in condition. House has lots of room for upgrades. 29 rolling acres.

The bones are great. 2 large outbuildings, one formerly held six insulated box stalls. $799,000 Jamie Gairdner**

GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY! Plan of subdivision to be approved plus levy and development charges for buyers account.

Once approval for servicing is complete, it’s estimated that 6 lots would be max number allowed. $497,000 Jamie Gairdner**

DELIGHTFUL ERIN MAIN ST! Perfectly positioned office building. Recently renovated, main flr & 700 sq ft loft w/ separate entrance. Looking to own in this quaint town?

Return at asking price 10.25%. Tenant will sign a new lease. $395,000 Jamie Gairdner**

8-ACRE LOT IN MONO Has a building envelope with a new driveway already in place. It’s nestled amongst red pines on a hill overlooking a valley with a private river.

It’s located near the Bruce Trail and a walk to Mono Cliffs Park. $275,000 Jamie Gairdner**

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GreatCanadianCountryEstates.com One of the Largest Portfolios of Unique Country Homes • Something for Everyone • Powered by: Richard K.C. Ling, Broker, Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd.* Brokerage 416.441.2888 x 522 direct: 416.809.0909 mail@RichardKCLing.com *recently awarded the prestigious Bloomberg Television Award for Best Real Estate Agency in Canada in association with the New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, iProperty.com

THE MOORS OF CALEDON Gated. Private respite from the hustle and bustle – just minutes from the core of TO/Mississauga/Oakville/Burlington. Flowing streams, rolling pastures, landscaped gardens – highlighted by varied stone accented hedges and other arrangements (including the best restyling of historical ruins), vanishing pool overlooking large pond, expansive stone terraces and domed gazebo, majestic stone exterior/richly wooded interiors (including the barn/stalls). Grounds keeper with separate loft compound. Guest cottage for visitor’s privacy. Oversize garage with dividing rooms for your collection. Winding trails under canopied skies of rich forestry for hiking, cross-country skiing. Different pockets of open spaces. Private tent studio with wood-burning stove over beaver bog for the weekend catered escapes.

Well appointed interiors with richly paneled library, soaring ceiling, paneled hallway, locked wine cellar with tasting room, personal spas +++. $12 Million

HALTON HILLS EQUESTRIAN AND GOLF COMPOUND Minutes (~ 2 kilometres) north of Hwy 401, a magical compound opens up – discreetly from the road inside a double wide electronic gate, flanked by two sculpted equine pillars. Approximately 200 acres, with a main residence – renovated century brick house with a bold modern glass atrium extension, tree house gazebo over spring-fed pond, terraced overlooking a private 9-hole golf course on velvet green rolling hills with ponds, sand traps and a sweeping vista of Halton Hills; 4-bedroom guest house; detached 4-car garage with grounds keeper studio; riding stables (30 stalls) with arena and race track, paddocks, kennel, barns; a total of 5 ponds plus 2 creeks. $9.2 Million

THE POINT AT STONEY LAKE Aphrodite went shopping and dropped her Cartier box on the Point at Stoney Lake. Blink and you may miss the access from the fire route. Look up and you will be impressed by the two towering stone pillared electronic gates. The property is just at the start of the Cambrian Shield – and we have the rocks to prove it! Approx 3 acres with 770’ of water frontage. The main residence rises up from the Shield like a fortress of stone and log. Ultra luxuriously appointed with 2 master bedrooms and adjoining ensuite spas and sitting rooms. Splendorous water view from all principal rooms. Total self-contained 2-level loft suite with spiral staircase. Soaring ceilings. Majestic fireplaces. Tin ceiling, kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances, spacious break nook, sitting alcove with fireplace and walkout to wrap-around stone terrace, BBQ, inground pool overlooking sweeping vistas of turquoise blue water. Stone pathways to access boat house with expansive deck and loft plus studio. A turn-key gem. $5.9 Million

TALISMAN RESORT VILLAGE AND DEVELOPMENT LANDS Collingwood/Grey County. Approx 417 + acres.

Ski hill, golf course, chalets. Zoning residential and commercial. Zoned to build 1,900 homes.

May be sold in 3 separate parcels.

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BIG WHITE CALF ISLAND Exceptional Provenance since 1882 (have book in pdf). Main res, 3x stone cottages, 1 boat house loft/play rm. Sold turn-key complete ...may assume prime slips & parking leases in Ganaque Marina (3 min ride). $1.88 Million

MANITOULIN FAMILY LOG CMPD 663’ sandy white beach in 6 acres, xtrme priv, mature trees srrd – 3-bdrm main res + 3x 3-bdrm chalets, tennis court, fenced veg grdn, workshop, det grg... veneer grade log interiors, heated flrs, vaulted ceilings. $995,000

STORIED PROVENANCE The White Oaks of Jaina, the essence of a country estate distilled in a quiet corner of a prestigious neighbourhood. Private fairy tale exteriors cocooned luxury interiors, 4 + 1 bdrm, 9 baths, 3-car attached. $4.19 Million

CALEDON EAST DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY 3 lots available at 2.1 acres, buy now develop later with the master planned community. $999,000 each Diana Cooper, Sales Rep

COUNTRY EXCELLENCE, CEDAR DR 3,000 sq ft on almost 3 acs located close to Hwy 10 & Forks of the Credit. 4 bdrms, swimming pool, hot tub, outdoor bar, gourmet kit, 3-car garage, 800 sq ft heated loft above garage w/ 2pc powder rm. $899,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

MONO CENTRE ROAD AND HURONTARIO STREET 4.84 acs w/ stream running through it, 3,500 sq ft custom-built kit, home theatre & mstr suite, 3car det plus utility shed, 3 bdrms, 3 newly ren’d washrooms. $699,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

MONO CENTRE ROAD AT FIRST LINE 2,000+ sq ft on 7 acres, at 15 years old, every room has been renovated & updated. Finished basement with walkout, den or 4th bedroom, 4 bathrooms, 3-car garage & endless perennial gardens. $699,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

WINSTON CHURCHILL AND HIGHPOINT, CALEDON 5,000 sq ft living space on 1 ac, 2-car garage, 4 bdrm, walkout to deck & pool, 2-bdrm in-law suite, 2 full kitchens, wrap-around porch. $699,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

COUNTRY CHARM ON HWY 10 3,000 sq ft of impecable history. Pine flooring, 3 bedrooms, upgraded bathrooms, private on 1/2 acre, perfect for home occupation, large sitting area on 2nd floor. $549,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

BUILDING LOT IN BELFOUNTAIN Build your dream home, 12 private acres, hardwood bush, which is accessed through the gates of the Caledon Ski Club. NEC approval, CVC approved building envelope. $449,000 Monique Mantella, Sales Rep

GEM IN MELANCTHON .75 acres off Hwy 10 in Corbetton. House has been completely renovated from bsmt to roof top. Open concept living room, dining room & gourmet kit w/ breakfast area. Really only years old! $350,000 Monique Mantella, Sales Rep

BUILDING LOT 10TH LINE ERIN This 2-acre lot is currently being subdivided on the east side of 10th Line between the 5th and 10th Sideroads. $250,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

OFFICE/RETAIL LEASE, ALTON 5 units for lease - office rental 900 -1,600 sq ft.

Masterfully renovated, fully equipped for today’s entrepreneur.

Historic village of Alton, Caledon. $16 Net Lease $5 TMI

HOME ON THE GRANGE Built in 2010, this 4,000+ sq ft custom home situated on 2+ acres is stunning. Large principle rooms, 6 fireplaces, entertainer’s dream, gourmet kitchen. $999,000

TOMBS STONE TERRITORY 48 acres with cottage, stream runs through the property to a large pond. Sold as tear down, build your dream home. $699,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

CALEDON VILLAGE 1.5+ acre property, 4 bedrooms, inground pool, master on main floor, new appliances, 30’ x 50’ workshop/garage. $499,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

WELCOME TO STANDING STONE POND 25 acres on the Caledon/Erin border. Build your dream home on this approved building lot. Driveway and culvert are in. $275,000

BELFOUNTAIN INN Award-winning opportunity. Available lease/buy. 54 seat, casual fine dining restaurant on the Credit River.

Inquire, Jim Wallace, Broker

OFFICE/RETAIL LEASE, ALTON 5 units for lease - office rental 900 -1,600 sq ft.

Masterfully renovated, fully equipped for today’s entrepreneur.

Historic village of Alton, Caledon. $16 Net Lease $5 TMI

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PRIVACY IN BELFOUNTAIN 4-bedroom stone home on 3.59 acres, indoor pool, large workshop, 2-level fish pond.

Close to Caledon Ski Club. $1,499,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

FRENCH COUNTRY ON THE CREDIT 15 acres on the Credit River in Inglewood, long escarpment views, home office opportunity for health care. $1,599,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

CITY VIEWS ON ST ANDREWS Approximately 7 acres, 5,000 sq ft of living space, in-law suite, resort like property, fish pond, rooftop deck. $1,500,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

ESCARPMENT VIEWS ON 9.8 ACRES A commuters dream with close access to Hwy 10. 5,000 sq ft, 4-bedrooms ensuite, multiple walkouts to balconies. $1,499,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

STUNNING PROPERTY IN MONO Located on the quiet Hurontario St, custom-built home, guest house, pool, tennis, endless trails and long views. $1,350,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

EXECUTIVE STYLE ON HUMBER TRAIL Approx 3 acres, 5,000 sq ft, in-law suite, pool, home theatre, 5 bedrooms, custom kitchen, private lot. $1,100,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

CALEDON HORSE FARM North of Alton, indoor pool, in-law suite, 48 acres with paddocks, 4-stall barn, open concept great room, trails, open pasture. $1,079,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

HWY 89 AND 1ST LINE MONO 3,850 sq ft bungalow on 9.5 acres with stream running, large great room, sunroom, walkout from finished basement, workshop. $1,069,000 Jim Wallace, Broker

Jim Wallace, Broker of Record, Sutton - Headwaters Realty Inc., Brokerage in partnership with Richard K.C. Ling, Broker, Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd. Brokerage Present JimWallace.ca TheLingAdvantage.com

755557 2ND LINE MONO - A RARE AND MAGNIFICENT FIND Spectacular grounds, majestic trees on approx 70 acs, spring-fed pond eco system, artesian well, 2 waterfalls, priced gardens, expansive terraces w/ indoor & outdoor hot tubs. Solid construction & the highest quality of materials used throughout. Main residence w/ approx 11,000 sq ft of living space, carriage house + workshop. Sweeping vistas of lush greens & water features from all principal rooms. Home theatre, billiard room, wine cellar, spa (sauna), Muskoka room & so much more. Photo 1 - back view of house & 2 large ponds, waterfalls connecting ponds & wading pool, sandy beach. Photo 2 - backyard patio, hot tub & wading pool, $1M spent on terraced perennial gardens, escarpment rock. Photo 3 - 2nd dining room overlooking waterfall & ponds, open to gourmet kitchen & great room w/ step down bar.

Photo 4 - 3-season Muskoka room, 20 ft circular, ceiling to floor stone wood-burning fp, forced air heat available. Photo 5 - Sony home theatre & entertainment room, 3 level, custom engineered, wet bar, Sony Qualia projector 1080p, 12’ x 7’ screen. Photo 6 - 25’ x 15’ billiards room, custom oak wainscotting, 10 ft ceiling, granite wood-burning/propane fireplace, prewired for TV & internet service. Photo 7 - master ensuite, overlooking ponds & waterfall, heated floors, Hunter Douglas blinds, his/hers bdrms. Photo 8 - 40’ x 72’ drive shed/2nd workshop incl 14 x 10 ft bay door, propane heated, floor drains, 200 amp service. $5,875,000 Jim Wallace, Broker of Record 416-671-8797/1-855-297-8797 and Richard K.C. Ling, Broker 416-441-2888/416-809-0909 (direct)

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

Sales Representative

Susan Brown

Royal LePage Top 1% in Canada, 2009

519-925-1776 1-800-483-7740 Serving Mono, Mulmur, Caledon and Orangeville

View Full Details On All Our Listings At:

www.susanbrown.com

RCR REALTY Brokerage

STUNNING CENTURY VICTORIAN on 47 acres. Completely renovated with superb quality of work. Large newer addition.

Approx 4,200 sq ft of finished space. Pond, patio, pool, landscaped gardens. 4,400 sq ft insulated steel workshop. MONO $1,499,000

STATELY COUNTRY PARCEL on 35+ acres. Completely refurbished with sunroom addition. Sweeping views, perennial gardens, gazebo, mature trees, fabulous spring fed pond, privacy. Century bank barn, 4 car garage. MULMUR $1,200,000

SUPERB CRAFTSMANSHIP With old world charm on 3 delightful acres.

This spectacular home has been transformed throughout with quality upscale elements amid landscaped gardens, woods and privacy.

Separate coach house. CALEDON $939,900

MAJESTIC CENTURY HOME on 10 acres. Upscale interior, spacious principal rooms, fireplace, large windows, covered porch and flagstone patio. 3 paddocks, horse jumps, spring fed pond with swimming dock, tennis court. ADJALA $929,000

GORGEOUS UPPER CANADA POST AND BEAM HOME on 20 mature and private acres. Impeccable interior with quality and beauty. Great room, high ceilings, huge windows, sunrm, 2 wood burning fireplaces. Walking trails. MULMUR $879,900

OUTSTANDING STONE BUNGALOW on 19 acres. Over 5,000 sq ft with cathedral ceilings, spacious chef’s kitchen with granite, separate in-law suite, indoor pool, landscaped gardens, 3 patios, hot tub, mixed bush, views. MULMUR $849,900

SUPERIOR QUALITY AND BEAUTY on 5 highly scenic acres. Striking bungalow 2,113 sq ft on main floor plus walkout lower level. Great room with solid maple floors, soaring ceilings and massive picture windows.

Chef’s kitchen, gardens. MULMUR $614,900

VICTORIAN REPRODUCTION Beautifully crafted reproduction century farmhouse on 5 private acres. Built 2006, this home has the charm of the past w/ all today’s amenities. Basement w/ 2 walkouts. Rolling land, mature trees, trails. MULMUR $599,000

EXCEPTIONAL COUNTRY PROPERTY on 2.2 acres. Fabulous swimming pond, creek, separate studio. Open concept, high ceilings, fireplace, 5 bedrooms, chef’s kitchen with breakfast bar, walkout basement.

Less than 1 hour to GTA. MONO $574,900

NATURE LOVERS’ DELIGHT Enchanting country home on 6 acres with fast flowing stream, ravine, woods and gardens.

A haven for wildlife. Approx 3,500 sq ft home including walkout basement (in-law suite).

Quiet road, very private. MULMUR $542,000

ELEGANT COUNTRY HOME ON 2.8 AC Spectacular great room, 17 ft to peak, walks out to spacious deck. Palladian windows, Barzotti kitchen with granite. Perennial gardens, lawns, wooded area, inground saltwater pool. MULMUR $529,000

CLASSIC COUNTRY PACKAGE on 46 acres. Spacious solid brick bungalow, huge principal rooms, finished basement.

Mostly open land with mature trees. 4 stall barn with room for more. Could be hobby horse farm.

Great value. NEAR ALLISTON $529,000

CAPTIVATING CAPE COD STYLE home on premium treed lot in sought after subdivision on a golf course. Open concept, stunning oak floors, chef’s kitchen, sunroom, recreation and games room. Natural lot with mature trees. NEAR ALLISTON $509,900

AFFORDABLE BUNGALOW on 11 park like acres. Solid cedar 2 bedroom bungalow approx 1,500 sq ft on a beautiful piece of land. Eat-in kitchen with walkout to deck. Mature trees, long views, 2 ponds, private. MULMUR $449,900

COUNTRY CLASSIC ON 9.7 ACRES Attractive 2 storey home with views to the south and west, covered wrap-around porch, huge deck, gazebo, large open backyard, mature trees, perennial gardens and a heated greenhouse. MULMUR $409,900

DELIGHTFUL 3 BEDROOM RETREAT On 1 acre lot with country views.

Reproduction century home, open concept, bright space, fabulous family sunroom, perennial gardens, studio loft above garage.

NEAR SHELBURNE $359,000

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Roger Irwin, Broker

Barbara Rolph, Sales Representative

RCR Realty, Brokerage Independently Owned & Operated

It’s About Lifestyle...

905-857-0651 rirwin@trebnet.com www.rolphirwin.com

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50 ACRES + PRIVATE LAKE Elegant Victorian style stone residence circa 2002. Exceptional craftsmanship + detail throughout. Extremely private setting, mature woods with trails, ponds, streams.

A truly extraordinary home and setting. $2,195,000

UNIQUE BUNGALOW, 1.5 ACRES A 10-yr-old 4-bedroom home that surprises everyone. It unfolds from 2,500 sq ft main level into 3,500 sq ft lower w/ gorgeous glass atrium, theatre, wine room & rec room. The back is stunning w/ large rock walls, pool, hot tub, patios & gardens. $1,850,000

A MODERN MASTERPIECE Unmatchable, Irreplaceable, Unprecedented. All words that describe this work of art by well known architect, Gren Weis and builder, Roland Reidman. A modern masterpiece w/ open concept layout, high-end finishings on 65 pristine acs w/ 2-road frontages. Soaring walls of windows make you feel like you are part of the forest. Travertine, maple, granite, it’s all here as well as stone. Steel construction. Luxury ensuite baths. Fin w/o basement w/ wine rm. Ext landscaping. Across from Devil’s Paintbrush golf course in beautiful Caledon. $2,800,000

SPECTACULAR TREED 2.5 ACRES ON CUL-DE-SAC An impressive open concept home w/ 3,500 sq ft 3-car grg & fin bsmt. An add’l 54 acs & lake is owned jointly by the others on the court & is there for your swimming, hiking & biking enjoyment. High speed available! $795,000

CALEDON EAST BUNGALOW, 5 GORGEOUS HIDDEN ACRES Tasteful renovated home w/ 2 kitchens, w/o fin lower lvl, geothermal heat & air, all appliances, landscaped & irrigated gardens & upgrades too numerous to list. It’s quiet, peaceful and relaxing – great to come home to. $789,000

A HOBBYISTS’ DREAM! Perhaps one of the prettiest roads in this part of Caledon. This hidden haven can be found down a long winding paved drive, across a stream and past a 25 x 40 ft storage building.

Striking 2-storey home built of Blue Max construction w/ a 3-car att garage plus a huge 1,675 sq ft shop tall enough for large motor homes. The home features large rms, soaring ceilings, main flr office, multiple lofts, fin bsmt w/ theatre rm, and more. Sparkling inground saline pool and a heated gazebo high on the hill offering views for miles! Approx 25 acres. $1,495,000

HOCKLEY VALLEY, DELIGHTFUL 4 ACRES, POND Bungalow hidden in treed setting with 2,200 sq ft on the main lvl & fin w/o lower lvl. Vaulted ceilings, two fam rms, both w/ fireplaces, huge windows with views out into the forest. This is a nature-lover’s setting. Just listed $589,000

OVERLOOKING HOCKLEY VALLEY Sunlight and shadows dance on this high, glorious, rolling 5 acres. House has views of sunrises and sunsets. Key features include pool, large screened porch, wonderful landscaping, dead-end road, paddocks and peace and quiet. $895,000

LUXURY CONDOMINIUM This 2-storey condo has over $130K in upgrades. For the discriminating buyer who would like to enjoy the magnificent Caledon hills. Golf on your own course and meet friends and neighbours for tennis or bridge at the clubhouse. Palgrave. $649,900

TERRIFIC HIDDEN GEM Tucked well into the forest on this 10-acre paradise. Sought after upgrades incl large kitchen w/ centre island, granite tops & built-in appliances. Walk out to manicured grounds around the inviting inground pool.

Baths w/ travertine flrs. Caledon. $949,000

AN ACRE NEAR CALEDON VILLAGE Large 3-car garage w/ loft, 4 bdrms, newer windows, roof, solid pine doors, skylight in foyer, formal living rm w/ fp, airtight wood stove in bsmt, sunken fam rm, decks, eat-in kit w/ oak cabinets & all appliances. $595,000

CALEDON EAST, 89.5 ACRES, CLOSE TO EVERYTHING Tree covered w/ beautiful wide trails & some ponds. If you love being outdoors then you will love this property. The 1952 house would make good guest quarters or workshop.

Several building sites for new home. $995,000

HANDSOME GEORGIAN STYLED ESTATE Breathtaking 360˚ views from this 2-storey home w/ fin w/o bsmt. Situated on approx 10 acs just mins to Caledon East & Bolton.

Gracious kitchen w/ marble flrs & counters.

4 gas fireplaces in total. $1,199,000

OUTSTANDING HOBBY FARM Beautiful rolling property with approx 34.26 acres. The home, large 8-9 stall barn plus workshop are nestled in the valley and postcard perfect! Totally renovated 2-storey home w/ granite tops, quality baths, hrdwd floors, the list goes on. Caledon. $995,000

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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1-866-901-0888 • 519-833-0888 www.BogertandBall.com info@BogertandBall.com sue@ChestnutPark.com

ERIN, CALEDON, MONO AND SURROUNDING AREAS Patrick Bogert**, Sandy Ball*, Sue Collis*

** Broker *Sales Representative

CALEDON UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW Matchless setting overlooking the Credit Valley.

View from every room, all season splendour.

Designer quality throughout. Terraced pool over Cataract falls, rooftop deck, trails to river & Caledon Ski Club. See anytime. $1,895,000

A GATED PARK ON PRIVATE 122 ACS This property has it all. Main house reminiscent of a country lodge. Blazed trails thru acres of natural bush, 2 ponds, separate guest house.

Spectacular terraced pool, gardens. Your own private resort (25 mins to Go Train). $2,195,000

HILLTOP ESTATE IN UXBRIDGE Understated charm and quality. Napier Simpson design. Now 3-level family residence.

Spectacular private setting, surrounded by 800 acres protected forest, pool, run-in stable, paddocks, trails. $1,200,000

SPECIAL MONO ESTATE ON 47 ACS All season country retreat. House tour style with guest tower. Large open living space, cathedral ceiling, magical views over rolling lawns & gardens. Double garage, separate workshop + utility garage...in for Christmas! $1,200,000

CONTEMPORARY LOG...STUNNING Not your usual log house. Soaring ceilings, huge walls of windows, open lofts, several large living spaces on three levels. Great wooded private setting, spectacular pond/wildlife. Huge workshop/kennels. $890,000

CHARM, PEACE, STYLE, PRIVACY Century log house front, large contemporary addition behind. Superior kitchen/dining room/sunroom overlook pool, gardens & pond.

Immaculate large bank barn with loft, great space. 5 mins west of Orangeville. $699,000

THE JEWEL OF MONO Charm galore, no detail forgotten. Restored spotless century log house, cooks kit/fam rm addition.

Enchanting private setting. Guest cabin + 3 bears playhouse. All season stream, surrounded with aged trees. Don’t miss seeing this one! $669,000

NEW PRICE IN CALEDON SKI CLUB Built like a castle, looks like a castle. Loaded with colourful charm. Bright open living spaces.

Perched on a hill. Turn-key all season country delight. Low maintenance, high lifestyle.

See for yourself. $599,000

THE GRANGE EQUESTRIAN NEIGHBOURHOOD Caledon’s prized location. Corner property w/ gated driveway, overlooks rolling lawns, aged trees, i/g pool & grazing thoroughbreds. Needs your creative touch. Great opportunity! $995,000

BUILD YOUR OWN IN ERIN Walking distance to quaint town of Erin.

Shopping, schools, restaurants. 12-acre lot (7 acres of conservation). On Hwy 24, close to Go Train plus commuter roads. Nice residential area. $240,000

SUPERIOR ESTATE THE GRANGE Reminiscent of Provence. An exceptional property with sophisticated understated quality.

Large open living spaces, barn, stables, guest apartment. Rolling land, wooded trails. Such opportunity seldom available. $3,195,000

AMAZING AMBIANCE Private 95-acre paradise. Woods, trails, gardens pond, views. Handcrafted log house w/ soaring ceilings, bright spaces, authentic detail. Must be seen to appreciate. Sep coach house + apt.

Oh so private, oh so convenient. $1,079,000

YOUR OWN COUNTRY RESORT Enjoy the charm of century stone. Country estate completely restored/updated in move-in condition. Dine by stunning pool after family tennis match. Pick organic veggies/fruit for picnic by creek. Privacy is yours. $895,000

IDEAL HOBBY FARM, 50 ACRES Gently rolling organically cared for land. Comfy open concept home. Perfect market store/studio at gate house + guest apartment. Backdrop of ponds, nature, gardens. Choose your hobby or business. Make this your own. $689,000

THE IDEAL CALEDON CHALET Turn-key charm. Open kitchen to sun-filled dining room, cozy living room, stone fireplace, family/party room, floor heated mud room, dbl garage + workshop. On superb 11+ acres, trails, pond, open green, yes!!!! $669,000

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MARC RONAN

For All Your Real Estate Needs

www.marcronan.com

Sales Representative/Owner

1-888-936-4216

© 2011. An independently owned and operated broker member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company.

Prudential and Prudential are service marks of The Prudential Insurance Company of America and are used herein under license.

Ronan Realty Brokerage

Dedicated to children with cancer

Not intended to solicit clients under contract or contravene the privacy act.

25-ACRE EQUESTRIAN ESTATE With views of the Hockley Hills, nestled 50 mins from Bay/Bloor, 5 mins from Palgrave, completely renovated with country charm & city sophistication. Located amidst some of Canada’s top equine facilities. $995,000

LUXURY LIVING! Fully finished executive home in prestigious Pine Forest Estates on manicured 2-acre lot.

State-of-the-art features, custom indoor pool/ spa, heated drive, guest suite, 4-car garage + 6-car underground parking. $2,295,000

SPECTACULAR 56-ACRE COUNTRY ESTATE With state-of-the-art craftsmanship. Personal 5-hole golf course, mature gardens, gazebo overlooking waterfalls, 2 ponds. Many vistas to enjoy this tranquil setting. $1,900,000

GORGEOUS CUSTOM-BUILT 4,200 sq ft country estate on 29-acre ravine lot.

Extensive landscaping. 36' x 18' inground, solar heated, saltwater pool, sauna, fire pit. Hardwood floors and unique open concept design with main floor master bedroom. $999,900

CUSTOM COUNTRY ESTATE Scenic Mono Twp, 30 mins to Pearson Airport.

All brick 2 storey, quality throughout, slate, hrdwd flrs, views, lofts, stone firplace, vaulted ceilings.

44' x 30' shop w/ concrete flrs. 25 rolling acres ready for horses or hobby. Must see! $947,000

FAIRYTALE SETTING! Caledon log home on private wooded estate lot at Piper’s Hill near Hwy’s 9 & 50. Inground pool, perennial gardens, large front covered porch, garden pond. Quality finishings. Multiple w/o’s to tiered decks, granite, hardwood. $669,900

CUSTOM DESIGNED Built in estate setting on 1 acre backing onto ravine w/ beautiful perennial gardens & mature trees, dramatic 7-sided centre hall plan w/ oak staircase to upper & lower levels, 9’ ceilings, 2 woodstoves, multiple w/o’s, 4 bdrms. $749,900

CUSTOM ESTATE SET IN THE HILLS of the escarpment, amazing views from every window, custom trim, cabinetry, hrdwd, ceramics, cath clgs, multiple w/o’s to outdoor living spaces, insulated/heated grg. Just mins from Hockley, Orangeville & Hwy 9/Airport Rd. $749,900

Top 5% in Canada

jacquelineguagliardi.com

for Royal LePage 2008/10

519-833-0569 • 519-941-5151

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Judy G. Andrews, B.Sc. Sales Representative

In-Town Homes, Condos & Country Estates Award Winning Service since 1984

519-941-5151 RCR Realty, Brokerage Independently Owned & Operated

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A Proud Sponsor of

BROKER

www.judyandrews.ca andrewsjudy@rogers.com

RCR Realty, Brokerage Independently Owned & Operated

HEATHER HILL IN ERIN Warm, inviting 5-bedroom, 4-bath luxury country home on 5 acres with 4-car garage near Belfountain. Professionally renovated recently; move-in ready. Inground pool and river frontage. $889,000

BETTER THAN NEW BUNGALOFT Comfortable 4-bedroom country home recently rebuilt outside in. 17’ cathedral ceilings and private upper level master suite on 1.75 acres on Erin/Caledon border. Park your tractor-trailer here. $600,000

30 ACRE MONO RETREAT ~ CONVENIENT TO AIRPORT ROAD This sprawling ranch bungalow is built in the centre of a gorgeous park-like setting affording you supreme privacy from the road. The stunning combination of hardwood ravine, rolling meadows & mature reforested trails makes this property one of the most special in Mono. Spacious with 2,323 sq ft on each level, 3+1 bedrooms, 3 baths & a delightful screened porch. Both levels are finished & w/o to the spectacular inground pool. 2-car garage & 2-stall barn. $724,900

HOBBY FARM EXTRAORDINAIRE Pristine, move-in ready Erin bungalow with newer addition, finished walkout lower level, inground pool, barn and paddock on 23+ acres backing onto river. Superb location; low property taxes! $750,000

BRING YOUR COMPASS Gently rolling land; 20 acres clear + 80 acres of Pine, Oak, Ash, Spruce, Larch and Walnut trees. 1910 classic, contemporary 2,500 sq ft 4-bedroom updated home. New 3-car garage; long views. $1,095,000

SUPERB BUNGALOW ~ PREFERRED STREET A gorgeous setting for this gracious home on a quiet & prestigious Mono/Orangeville cul-de-sac.

The stunning new kitchen w/ 12 high end appliances & large centre isle is combined with the great rm featuring walnut floors, 9’ ceilings, crown moulding & wonderfully large windows.

2,678 sq ft each level, 5 bdrm (3+2), 3-1/2 baths, formal living & dining + the great rm! The fin w/o lower level has 2 family rms, 2 bdrms & a 3-pc bath. .8 acre backing on bush. $850,000

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

905-584-2727 1-866-251-3232 www.ReMaxSpecialists.ca Career Opportunities Available Independently Owned and Operated

SIGRID DOHERTY BROKER

BRUCE LIVINGSTON SALES REPRESENTATIVE

CALEDON EAST EXECUTIVE HOME Privately situated on 2.5 acres in Caledon East, this home boasts gourmet kitchen with huge granite island, gas fireplace and w/o to yard. 4 plus 1 bedrooms, 5 baths over 5,000 sq ft finished living space.

Located right at the Caledon trailway leading to all the towns’ amenities. $999,000 416-274-1592

2 BEAUTIFUL LOTS LOOKING FOR HOMES 50 plus acres located on Highpoint Road with woods, long views both north and south. $574,000 34 acres located in the Hills of Mono with year-round stream and great views. $399,000 Call for a booking when you wish to be one with nature. 416-795-4454

SUSAN HUNTLEY

LORIS ORTOLAN

JAMES KAVANAGH & VERONICA FOURNIER

‘ALTAVISTA’ WITH VIEWS! Unique energy-efficient 3-bedroom/ 3-washroom bungalow on 10.6 very private acres by architect Charles Simon has finished lower level and walkout to pool. 2 fireplaces, large picture windows, 3 solaria, barn/paddocks, solar panels. $850,000 647-232-8419 www.LorisOrtolan.com

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

VICTORIA PHILLIPS SALES REPRESENTATIVE

43 ACRES! House with 43 acres of cultured forest and grassland in Caledon. Great location close to Devil’s Pulpit and bordering Bruce Trail for extra recreational use. $499,900 416-949-1298 www.caledonhomefinder.com

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SUPERB OPPORTUNITY! Minutes To Brampton, over 1/2 an acre.

4-bedroom country property featuring a warm and inviting living room and dining room combo. With hardwood floors, new kitchen and bathrooms, elegant cabinetry.

Shows well! View more pictures online. $539,000 416-887-7242 www.JamesandVeronica.com

SALES REPRESENTATIVES

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

A RARE FIND! 3+1 bedroom bungalow in peaceful village south of Hwy 9. Only 9-yrs-old, large lot, high ceilings, large windows, finished walkout basement, 2-level deck. Move-in condition. $419,900 647-231-1298 www.caledonhomes.com

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COUNTRY BUNGALOW, CALEDON Enjoy the tranquility! 25 acres with trails, woods and gardens. Huge kitchen, great room with gas fireplace, walkout to deck.

Close to golf, skiing, and quaint local shops and restaurants. $750,000 905-584-2727 www.susanhuntley.ca

contact Heather Stimpson hstimpton@trebnet.com

ROBERT SACHS

PAUL & CHRISTEL SACHS

HEATHER STIMPSON

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

SALES REPRESENTATIVES

SALES REP/MANAGER

WELCOME TO MAPLE LANE STABLE located in Caledon, this excellent equestrian facility features 12 lrg stalls, att indoor arena, outdoor sand ring, hay room, tack area & 6 paddocks - 2 w/ run-in sheds. Lrg brick bung sep into 2 self-contained lvg quarters each w/ kits, mstr bdrms w/ ens, huge lvg rms w/ gas fp’s & sep furnaces. Fabulous! $949,900 416-953-4724 www.CountrySpecialist.ca

BEAUTIFUL VICTORIAN REPLICA Situated on over 43 acres in the Hills of Mono. Excellent property features over 2,800 sq ft of luxurious living, 9 ft ceilings, family room with fireplace, gourmet kitchen, generous sized bedrooms, self-contained granny suite. Terrific barn and workshop. $995,000 519-940-5050 www.CountryHomesForSale.ca

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I L L U S T R AT I O N S J I M S T E WA R T

What’s on in the Hills A

C A L E N D A R

arts+crafts B

Indicates a Headwaters Arts Festival event. For additional Festival events, see headwatersartsfestival.com NOW – NOV 13 : IDIOSYNCHRONICITY

Drawings, multi-media work by Glenn Godfrey. Museum hours & admission.

Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

DUFFERIN TOWN & COUNTRY FARM TOUR Saturday, October 1 9am to 4pm rain or shine

NOW – NOV 13 : LANDSCAPES AND MEMORIES Artwork, cards and handmade

1-800-332- 9744 thehillsofheadwaters.com/farmtour

GROW LOCAL • BUY LOCAL EAT LOCAL 88

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

contest, workshops for all. 519-943-1149; headwatersartsfestival.com

B SEP 22 – 25, 30, OCT 1 & 2 : HEADWATERS ARTS SHOW AND SALE Our acclaimed jury has made its

selections. 11am-5pm. Free. Sep 22: Art Show Gala – Art, chefs’ challenge, free wine and beer, cool jazz and more.

6:30pm. $50 online. SGI Canada, Caledon Centre, 20490 Porterfield Rd, Alton.

519-943-1149; headwatersartsfestival.com

B SEP 24 – OCT 2 : CALEDON HILLS STUDIO TOUR Self-guided tour of six

NOW – NOV 13 : HALL OF MIRRORS

B SEP 24 & 25, OCT 1 & 2, 8 & 9 :

Unusual mirrors from museum collection. Museum hours & admission.

Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 17 & 18 : THE HILLSIDE GALLERY OPEN HOUSE Oils, watercolours,

Admission: food bank donation

H A P P E N I N G S

studios: paintings, photography, glass, wood, jewellery. Map on website. Sat & Sun 10am-5pm. Weekdays by appt.

519-927-5894; caledonhillsstudiotour.com

ERIN STUDIO TOUR Self-guided tour of 10 studios featuring 20 artists. 10am-5pm.

519-855-9639; hillsoferinstudiotour.com

Tour beef, dairy, horse, sheep and alpaca farms in East Luther and Amaranth Townships, and visit Luther Marsh.

Food booths and local produce available en route.

Pick up your passport at HILLS OF HEADWATERS TOURISM CENTRE Hwy 10 & Buena Vista Dr, Orangeville

A U T U M N

booklets by Arnold De Graaff. Museum hours & admission. Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

B SEP 17 & 18, 24 & 25 : THE HILLS OF

SEE FARMING AS IT HAPPENS!

O F

landscapes, florals by Kathleen Davies.

10am-4:30pm. 15849 Airport Rd, Caledon East. 905-584-0633; Kathleen-davies@ hotmail.com SEP 20 – OCT 1 : WATERCOLOUR EXHIBIT

Brampton Watercolour Society presents works by 14 artists inspired by local landscapes. Tues-Fri noon-6pm; Sat 9am3pm. 70 Main St N. Beaux-Arts Brampton, 905-454-5677; beaux-artsbrampton.com SEP 20 – DEC 15 : TEXTILES: MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY Each of 20 quilts tell

stories of our community’s past. Museum hours & admission. Dufferin Country Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

B SEP 22 – OCT 10 : THE HEADWATERS ARTS FESTIVAL Juried art show and sale,

45 local artists, open studios, literary readings, studio tours, concerts, talent

SILVER CREEK ARTS OPEN STUDIO

Diana Hillman, Gail Prussky, Sue Powell: paintings. Rosemary Molesworth: pottery.

Ian Sinclair: furniture. Hugh Russel: sculpture. 10am-5pm. Silver Creek Farm, 16849 Kennedy Rd, Caledon.

519-927-5639; silvercreekcaledon.com

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SEP 24 & 25, OCT 1 & 2, 8 & 9 : BUCKETS OF COLOUR Open artist

studios, youth equestrian art competition, workshops, demonstrations, Kids’ Fest activities, live music. 10am-5pm.

Free. Oct 1: Music at the Mill, 8pm, $12.

The Alton Mill, 1402 Queen St, Alton.

519-941-9300; altonmill.ca

B SEP 24 & 25, OCT 1 & 2, 8 & 9 : LUCILLE

WEBER – OPEN STUDIO Lyrical abstracts,

florals and collages. Sat 10am-4pm; Sun noon-4pm. 15707 McLaughlin Rd, Inglewood. 905-838-0922; lucilleweber.com

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SEP 24 & 25, OCT 1 & 2 : MERLE HARSTONE – OPEN STUDIO Abstract

assemblages and poetic musings, with paintings by Kim McCarthy.

10am-5pm. Silvercreek Studios, 16797 Kennedy Rd, Caledon. 519-927-5894; silvercreekstudios.ca

SEP 24 & 25 : PURPLE HILLS STUDIO TOUR Purple Hills Arts and Heritage

Society scenic drive and tour of artists’ studios in Creemore and area. 10am-5pm.

705-466-6317; purplehillstour.ca

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SEP 30, OCT 1 & 2 : ORANGEVILLE ART GROUP SHOW & SALE Paintings,

sculpture and other art. Sep 30: opening gala, tickets 519-940-1086. Oct 1, 2: 10am-5pm, free, food bank donation appreciated. Orangeville Fairgrounds, 5 Sdrd Mono, off Hockley Rd. 519942-9597; orangevillefairgrounds.ca

OCT (WEEKENDS) : WALLHANGINGS – SHOW & SALE Highly textured weavings,

using natural materials. 9am-5pm. Peachie Hill’s Home and Studio, 875122 5th Line Mono. 519-941-4234; peachiehill.com OCT 1 – 24 : A DANCE OF LIGHT Realistic

paintings by Katherine Ernst; sculptures

by David Bruce Johnson. Mon, Thur & Fri 11am-5pm. Oct 1: reception, 2-5pm.

Sat 10am-5pm. Sun noon-4pm. Mad and Noisy Gallery, 154 Mill St, Creemore.

705-466-5555; madandnoisy.com

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OCT 1 & 2 : OPEN STUDIO – KATHRYN THOMSON Colourful

blown-glass bowls, vases, sculptures and jewellery. 10am-5pm. 23 Grandview Rd, Grand Valley. 519-928-3155; headwatersartsfestival.com

B

OCT 1 & 2 : NORTH OF 89 STUDIO TOUR Self-guided tour of 12 studios.

Map on website. 10am-5pm. 519-925-1323; northof89.ca OCT 2 : A CONVERSATION WITH GEORGE Wildlife painter George McLean

discusses his artistic journey. 2-3:30pm. $25. The Alton Mill, 1402 Queen St, Alton.

519-943-1149; headwatersartsfestival.com OCT 7 – NOV 8 : DOWN TO EARTH

Freda Wrench’s paintings depict human connections to the environment. Oct 15: reception, 1-4pm; Wed-Sun: 10am-5pm.

Alton Mill, 1402 Queen St, Alton.

519-943-1149; headwatersarts.com OCT 16 : PLEIN AIR PAINTING WORKSHOP Learn to paint fall colours

with George Perdue. 10am-4pm. $50, register. Belfountain Conservation Area.

519-307-0210; orangevilleartgroup.ca OCT 21 – 23 : POTTERY & WEAVING OPEN HOUSE Functional decorative pottery

by Rosemary Molesworth; handwoven

dyed garments by Pat Burns-Wendland.

Oct 21: reception, 4-9pm. 10am-5pm.

435552 4th Line Amaranth. 519-925-3056; rosemoles@rocketmail.com OCT 22 : ART ATTACK! Experiment

with drawing, crafts, painting. Supplies provided. 2pm. Free, drop in. Caledon Public Library, 20 Snelcrest Drive, Caledon.

905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

OCT 22 : VICTORIAN LACE Join Her

Majesty for a Victorian tea, puzzlements and resolutions. Victorian dress encouraged. 1:30pm. $20, register. Honeywood United Church, 2nd Line W Mulmur.

Dufferin County Museum & Archives, 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com OCT 29 – NOV 21 : TO EMBARK Sculpture

by Juliet Jansco. Mon, Thurs, Fri 11am5pm; Sat 10am-5pm; Sun noon-4pm. Mad and Noisy Gallery 154 Mill St, Creemore.

705-466-5555; madandnoisy.com OCT 29 & 30 : BRUSHFIRE ARTISTS SHOW & SALE With guest artists and painting

demonstrations. Sat 11am–4pm; Sun 11am-5pm. Monora Park Pavilion, Hwy 10, just N of Orangeville. 519-307-0814; randi1958@gmail.com

NOV 4 & 5 : SEASONAL WRAPSODY SHOW AND SALE Stained glass, wood, jewellery,

painted items and fibre arts. Fri 6-9pm; Sat 10am-5pm. Gibson Centre, 63 Tupper St W, Alliston. Nottawasaga Handweavers and Spinners Guild and friends.

NOV 9 – DEC 25 : BIG SHOW SMALL WORKS 35 Mill artists working in wood,

glass, fabric, oils, watercolours, silver, stone, ceramic and more. Wed-Sun noon-5pm. Williams Mill Gallery, 515 Main St, Glen Williams. 905-873-8203; williamsmill.com

NOV 12 : CHRISTMAS CRAFT SHOPPE

Caledon East United Church and Community Women’s Circle present crafts, baking, preserves, nearly-new table. 9am2pm. 6046 Old Church Rd. 905-584-9974; caledoneastunitedchurch.ca NOV 12 : PAINTING WITH A THREE-FOOT BRUSH Painting exercises with John David

NOV 18 – DEC 4 : HOLIDAY TREASURES ARTS & CRAFTS SALE One-of-a-kind

NOV 19 : CALEDON EAST CHRISTMAS CRAFT SALE Pathfinder Café, penny draw,

bake table and more. 9am-3pm. Caledon East Public School, 15738 Airport Rd. Community School Association. 905-5842701; caledoneast.peelschools.org

community

MARKET ON BROADWAY : Saturdays,

8am-1pm, to Oct 22. Second St & Broadway. Orangeville BIA, 519-942-0087; marketonbroadway.ca

10 am to 5 pm

8:30am-12:30pm, to Oct 6. Station on the Green parking lot. 705-466-3591; creemorefarmersmarket.ca INGLEWOOD FARMERS’ MARKET : Wednesdays, 3:30-7pm. Inglewood General Store, McLaughlin Rd. 3:30-7pm.

905-584-6221; eatlocalcaledon.org AMARANTH FARMERS’ MARKET : Wednesdays, 5-8pm. Township Municipal Building, 6th Line Amaranth & 10 Siderd, across from Laurelwoods School. 519-9411007; amaranth.ca

www.caledonhillsstudiotour.com

GRAND VALLEY COMMUNITY HARVEST FARMERS’ MARKET : First & third

Thursdays, 3-7pm. Grand Valley Fairgrounds, 90 Main St N. 519-928-2949; communityharvest@hotmail.com CALEDON FARMERS’ MARKET : Thursdays,

3-7pm. Albion-Bolton Community Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-584-2272; caledon.ca/farmersmarket

NOV 12 : INNOVATIVE SURFACES FOR WATERCOLOUR PAINTINGS Learn and

ROSEMONT FARMERS’ MARKET : Fridays,

Buck, Lesley McInally, Jill Sadleir present stained glass, pottery, paintings, porcelain and glass. Sat 10am-5pm. Sun noon-3pm.

Meadowside, 995725 Mono-Adjala Townline.

Sept 24-25 & Oct 1-2, 2011

CREEMORE FARMERS’ MARKET : Saturdays,

COUNTRYSIDE FARMERS’ MARKET : Fridays,

NOV 12 & 13 : A TRIO OF ARTISTS Joyce

TOUR OF ARTISTS' STUDIOS IN THE CALEDON HILLS

NOW – OCT : FARMERS’ MARKETS

It’s market season in the hills as local producers pitch their tents and present their wares, everything from meat and produce to baked goods, preserves and crafts. Check websites for details of special events at each venue.

Anderson. 9am-4pm. $105. Station on the Green, Creemore. Mad and Noisy Gallery, 705-466-5555; madandnoisy.com

paint with feedback. $60, register. Victoria Parks Community Centre, Mono Mills.

519-307-0210; orangevilleartgroup.ca

ST YEAR WEEKENDS

items from over 45 artists. $3. Nov 18: Launch party, 7-10pm, RSVP 1-877-9417787. Museum hours. Dufferin Country Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

2:30-7:30pm. Cty Rd 109 & 24, Grand Valley/East Garafraxa. 519-928-2453 2:30-7pm. Hwy 89, Rosemont, next to The Globe Restaurant.

HOCKLEY VALLEY FARMERS’ MARKET : Sundays 10am-3pm. Hockley Valley Resort, Third Line Mono and Hockley Rd. 519-942-0754; hockley.com

YEAR-ROUND (THURSDAYS) : ADJUSTMENTS AFTER BIRTH A support

group for mothers affected by postpartum mood disorders. 1:30-3:30pm. Caledon Parent-Child Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-0090; cp-cc.org YEAR-ROUND : MS SUPPORT GROUP

Brampton & Caledon Chapter 6:308:30pm, second Tues of month. Christ Church Anglican, 22 Nancy St, Bolton.

905-458-0267; mssociety.ca

SEP 20 : HOSPICE CALEDON CELEBRATION 20th anniversary and

name change to Bethell Hospice, AGM. 7pm. Caledon Community Complex & Arena, 6215 Old Church Rd, Caledon East.

905-951-3534; hospicecaledon.ca continued on next page

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Delight in a stunning outdoor experience at the gallery with the McMichael’s recently

enhanced grounds featuring our new outdoor Sculpture Garden. Canadian artist Ivan ThisEyre fall,has catch a glimpse of the leaves as theynine change colours when you visit the created and generously donated monumental bronze works for the McMichael’s redesigned grounds new open-air gallery that will blend featuring seamlesslyour into theoutdoor forestedSculpture landscape.Garden.

Eyre is the Canadian artist Ivan Eyre has created and and generously donated ninewhose twice-life-size recipient of many distinguished awards is a respected artist works appear in numerous collections throughout Canada and the world.into the forested bronze works for the open-air gallery that blend seamlessly landscape. Once you are here, step inside the gallery and enjoy our Group of Seven, First Nations and Inuit works, along with our special exhibitions. Take a tour or hike on our trails. It’s all included with admission. Come see.

Installation of the Ivan Eyre sculptures is generously funded by: McMICHAEL CANADIAN ART FOUNDATION RICHARDSON FOUNDATION FRIENDS OF R.T.E. GILLESPIE Ivan Eyre (b. 1935), Dream South, 2010, bronze, 114.3 x 304.8 x 142.2 cm

Media Partner

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continued from page 89 SEP 21 – DEC 1 : PARENTING WORKSHOPS Best Dads, Effective

Communication, Effective Discipline for a Happy Family, How To Talk So Kids Will Listen, and other topics. Full schedule on website. Free, register. Various locations.

Dufferin Parent Support Network.

519-940-8678; dpsn.ca

SEP 21 : EMPLOYEE REGULATIONS SEMINAR Specialists from Revenue

Canada discuss payroll reporting. 6:309pm. Free, register. Alder St Recreation Centre, 275 Alder St, Orangeville. 519-9410440; orangevillebusiness.ca

SEP 22 : SWEET SEATS Frivolity, fashion,

food. Reserve a table with 7 friends, decorate by theme. 7pm. Table of 8, $120, reserve. Proceeds to construction of Gore’s Corners Amphitheatre.

Community Living Dufferin, 065371 Cty Rd 3, Orangeville. 519-941-8971 x 165; communitylivingdufferin.ca

SEP 22 – 25 : BOLTON FALL FAIR Livestock

competitions, midway, demolition derby, 4-H, homecraft, battle of the bands. Thurs 6pm-midnight, midway; Fri 6:45pm, opening ceremonies; Sat opens 10am; Sun 8am-4:30pm. Albion Bolton Fairgrounds, 150 Queen St S. boltonfair.ca

SEP 23 – 25 : GRAND VALLEY FALL FAIR Family entertainment, livestock

shows, demo derby, parade, truck & tractor pull, Sat night dance. Fri: 7:3010pm. Sat: 9am-5pm. Sun: 9:30am-5pm.

Fairgrounds, 90 Main St N. 519-928-5754; gvasdblackwell@execulink.com

Create Lasting Memories

SEP 24 : GARAGE SALE FOR BETHELL HOUSE Fun and shopping to benefit

a great community cause. 10am2pm. Hosted by Chic à BOOM, 18371 Hurontario St, Caledon Village.

519-972-9300; chicaboominc.com

SEP 24 : ADJALA PUBLIC SCHOOL FALL FESTIVAL Vendors, silent auction, kids’

activities, BBQ and more. 9am-3pm.

Adjala Central PS, Hockley Rd. 905-7290899; shirleyinhockley@yahoo.ca

SEP 25 : DCMA LIVE AUCTION Antiques, collectibles and other household items donated by friends of DCMA. Proceeds to the museum. Preview 9am; auction 10am.

Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89. 705-435-1881; dufferinmuseum.com SEP 29 : STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS Seminar on advantages

and disadvantages of owning your own business. 6:30-9:30pm. $10, register.

Alder St Recreation Centre, 275 Alder St, Orangeville. 519-941-0440 x 2286; orangevillebusiness.ca SEP 30 – OCT 2 : HOME & LIFESTYLE SHOW Over 150 local vendors, lifestyle and

Free On-Site Consultations TABLES, CHAIRS, LINENS, DINNERWARE, BBQ’S, CASINO EQUIPMENT, WEDDING ACCESSORIES, TENTS & MORE! IN BRAMPTON 93 Heart Lake Road South (south of Clark) 905-459-5781 IN ORANGEVILLE 400 Townline, Unit 11 (beside Wimpy’s) 519-307-5781

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

home improvement ideas. Sat am: boot sale. Sun am: farmers’ market. Fri: 5-9pm.

Sat: 10-5pm. Sun: 10-4pm. Orangeville Fairgrounds, 5 Sdrd Mono, off Hockley Rd. Greater Dufferin Chamber of Commerce, 519-941-0490; radeana@gdacc.ca

SEP 30 – OCT 2 : ASK THE DESIGN EXPERT Bring swatches, photos,

dimensions for 30-minute consultation at Home & Lifestyle Show. $30. Proceeds to Orangeville SPCA. Orangeville

H A P P E N I N G S

Fairgrounds, 5 Sdrd Mono, off Hockley Rd. Marg Anquetil, 519-942-0602; decdens. com/anquetil SEP 30 – OCT 2 : GRAND VALLEY CULTURE DAYS Events include

storytelling, belly dancing and a teen art contest. Schedule on website. Grand Valley Public Library, 4 Amaranth St E. 519-928-5622; grandvalley.org OCT – CALEDON LOVE YOUR LIBRARY MONTH New hours, card and website.

Children’s activities, entertainment, refreshments and a look back. Caledon Public Library, 905-857-1400; caledon. library.on.ca OCT 1: Albion Bolton Branch, 10:15am.

OCT 4 : Inglewood Branch, 7pm.

OCT 11: Caledon Village Branch, 7pm.

OCT 18 : Alton Branch, 7pm.

OCT 22 : Margaret Dunn Valleywood Branch, 1pm.

OCT 27 : Belfountain Branch, 3pm.

OCT 29 : Caledon East Branch, 1pm.

OCT 1 : BELFOUNTAIN SALAMANDER FESTIVAL Fundraiser salutes the

endangered Jefferson salamander. Music, breakfast, BBQ lunch, vendors, baked goods, silent auction, falconry. 10am3pm. Free. Conservation Area, Forks of the Credit Road. belfountain.ca OCT 1 : HEADWATERS HUMAN LIBRARY

Have a half-hour conversation with one of 20 “Books” – people who share stories from varied cultural or lifestyle backgrounds. 10:30am-noon, 1-2:30pm.

Free, reserve time at 10am. Orangeville Public Library, 1 Mill St. Dufferin Diversity Network, 519-941-0610; diversitydufferin.ca

OCT 1 : THE MAPLES ANNUAL FALL FESTIVAL Pumpkin decorating, carnival

games, hay rides and more. Portion proceeds to Orangeville Food Bank. 9am4pm. The Maples Independent School, 513047 2nd Line Amaranth. 519-942-3310; themaplesschool.com OCT 4 : PALGRAVE PIE BEE Make, bake

(and eat) a perfect pie made from scratch, filled with local ingredients. 9am-12:30pm.

Free, reserve. Palgrave United Church and Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave. 905880-0303; palgravekitchen.org

OCT 5 : GST/HST NEW REGISTRANT SEMINAR Canada Revenue specialist

explains tax obligations, forms, etc. 9amnoon. Free, register. Tony Rose Sports Centre, 6 Northmen Way, Orangeville.

Small Business Enterprise Centre, 519941-0440 x 2286; orangevillebusiness.ca

OCT 6 : PALGRAVE THANKSGIVING DINNER Local turkey, vegetables and

famous Palgrave pies. Eat in, take out. $50,reserve ($40 tax receipt). At door, from 3:30pm: $20; take out $17; seniors $15. Palgrave United Church and Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave. 905880-0303; palgravekitchen.org OCT 7 – 10 : ERIN FALL FAIR Truck &

tractor pulls, demolition derby, craft and agricultural exhibits, livestock competitions, amusements, horse tent, entertainment, children’s activities, antique machinery, etc. Fri: gates open 6:30pm. Sat: 9am-11pm. Sun: 9am-11pm.

Mon: 9am-5pm. $9; kids 5-12, $3. Erin Fairgrounds, 190 Main St. 519-833-2808; erinfair.ca

OCT 8 : DCMA’S AMAZING “TECHNICOLOUR” FALL BUS TOUR

Curator Wayne Townsend leads tour of Dufferin cemeteries, historic sites and more. Lunch included. 10am. $25, reserve.

Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 705-435-1881; dufferinmuseum.com

OCT 11 – NOV 19 : BOOK, BAKE & SILENT AUCTION Proceeds to book collection.

Silent auction starts Oct 11. Final bids Nov 19, 4pm. Book Sale Nov 14-19. Bake Sale Nov 19. Grand Valley Public Library, 4 Amaranth St E. grandvalley.org

OCT 14 : WESTMINSTER UNITED CHURCH ROAST BEEF DINNER With

homemade pies. 5-7pm. $15 advance; $17 at door; under 12, $6; 5 and under, free. 247 Broadway, Orangeville.

Westminsterorangeville.ca

OCT 15 & NOV 19 : PANCAKE BREAKFAST

Third Saturday of every month, Oct-June.

9-11am. $5; kids, seniors $3. Caledon Bolton United Church, 8 Nancy St, Bolton.

Caledon Navy League, 647-233-7182

OCT 15 : FASHION SHOW SUPPORTING FAMILY TRANSITION PLACE Shoe Kat

Shoo, Mimosa Boutique, Genesis Interiors present seasonal footwear, fashions, accessories. 2pm. $5. 85 Broadway, Orangeville.

519-942-1176; shoekatshoo.com

OCT 16 : FOODSTOCK – SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMER Join 20,000

people & 70 Canadian chefs to taste the bounty threatened by the mega quarry in Melancthon. On four farms at the proposed site. 11am-6pm. Pay what you can. Proceeds to quarry fight.

Honeywood. canadianchefscongress.com OCT 19 : SOCIAL MEDIA BOOT CAMP: PART 1 Use social media to promote

your business. 9am-noon. $15, register.

Tony Rose Sports Centre, 6 Northmen Way, Orangeville. Small Business Enterprise Centre, 519-941-0440; orangevillebusiness.ca OCT 20 : ECONOMIC OUTLOOK BREAKFAST Updates on activities

and economy in Orangeville. 7:459:30am. $15, register. Best Western Orangeville, 7 Buena Vista Dr. Orangeville Economic Development, 519-941-0440; orangevillebusiness.ca

OCT 25 & NOV 22 : Q&A: UNIVERSITY LIFE Bring your concerns and doubts

about life after high school. 7-8pm. Free.

Caledon Public Library, 18313 Hurontario St, Caledon Village. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

OCT 26 : BUSINESS & THE LAW SEMINAR – LEGAL DUTIES OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS 6:30-8:30pm. Free,

register. Alder St Recreation Centre, 275 Alder St, Orangeville. Small Business Enterprise Centre, 519-941-0440; orangevillebusiness.ca

OCT 28 : HAVE A LAUGH WITH JESSICA HOLMES Kids and Horses Foundation

plans an evening of fun, food and fashion.

6pm. $125, at Acheson’s in Orangeville.

Royal Ambassador, 15430 Innis Lake Rd, Caledon E. 519-940-4719; kidsandhorses.ca OCT 29 & 30 : A WEEKEND IN THE WOODS Techniques and resources

for healing. Speakers, workshops, marketplace, spa treatments, organic lunch. 8am-5pm. Tickets online. Hockley Valley Resort, 793522 3rd Line Mono. 519943-1490; aweekendinthewoods.com NOV 3 : HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TESTIMONY Alexander Eisen tells about

his life during WWII. 10 am. Ages 12 & older. Register, free. 150 Queen St S, Bolton. Caledon Public Library, 905-8571400; caledon.library.on.ca

NOV 4 : AN EVENING IN PARIS Black-

tie gala supporting surgical program at Brampton Civic Hospital. Parisian meal, entertainment, dancing, auctions.

6:30pm. $500, contact mary.watson@ williamoslerhs.ca. The Garden Banquet & Convention Centre, 8 Clipper Crt, Brampton. William Osler Health System Foundation, 905-494-6556

NOV 5 : MANSFIELD TURKEY SUPPER

100-year-old village tradition, with homemade pies. Eat in or take out. 4:30-8pm. $15; children $5. Mansfield Community Hall, Airport Rd. 705-435-6409 NOV 10 : CHURCH & CHARITY LAW SEMINAR Reduce unnecessary exposure

to legal liability. Sandwich lunch, $8.

8:30am-3:30pm. $25; after Oct 31. Portico Community Church, 1814 Barbertown Rd, Mississauga. Carters Professional Corporation, 519-942-0001; carters.ca

NOV 11 : BRIDGES TO BETTER BUSINESS – FOCUS ON MARKETING Build afford-

able, creative and practical marketing solutions. 9am-3pm. Register, $25. Best Western Orangeville, 7 Buena Vista Dr. Small Business Enterprise Centre, 519-941-0440; orangevillebusiness.ca

NOV 12 : TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH BAZAAR Knitting, sewing, baking, candy,

crafts, twoonie table, lunch counter, door prizes. 9am-2pm. 3515 King St, Caledon.

905-838-1623 NOV 13 : HOSPICE DUFFERIN CHRISTMAS SHOWCASE Vendors, Santa

photos, silent auction, bake sale. 10am3:30pm. Orangeville Fairgrounds, 5 Sdrd Mono, off Hockley Rd. Hospice Dufferin.

519-942-3313; hospicedufferin.com

NOV 13 : DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER

Keith Hunter shares stories of five WWI Veterans whose homes were within an hour of the museum. 2pm. Museum admission. Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 705-4351881; dufferinmuseum.com NOV 17 : WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS Nomination deadline Oct 1,

forms on website. 6pm. $90. Pearson Convention Centre, 2638 Steeles Ave E, Brampton. Zonta Club of Brampton-Caledon. 416-254-8602; zontabramptoncaledon.com

NOV 18 : MOONLIGHT MAGIC Official lighting of Town Christmas tree, 7pm; tractor parade of lights along Broadway, 7:30pm. Santa, horse-drawn wagon rides, marshmallow toasting at fire pits along Broadway, entertainment, sales.

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continued from page 91 NOV 21 : TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Silent auction of $50 and up gift baskets from local businesses. Proceeds to “Read for Life.” During library hours, 12 days.

Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St. IODE Yellow Briar Chapter, 519-941-0610; orangeville. library.on.ca

outdoors Red Fife Renaissance

The harvest issue of Food In The Hills is now available!

Pick up your copy at local restaurants, specialty food stores and markets throughout the hills.

SEP 17 : TASTE THE LANDSCAPE WORKSHOP Growing food sustainably on

your rural property, including wild plants and small fruit. Guided hike, seminars.

9am-3pm, $25. Half day 9am-12:45pm or 11:45am-3pm, $20, all times include lunch. Millcroft Inn, 55 John St, Alton. creditvalleyca.ca SEP 18 : HORSE TRIALS Dressage, show

jumping and cross-country. Food booth.

Equus 3D Equestrian Centre, 434136 4th Line Amaranth, RR7, Orangeville. 519940-0048; equus3dfarm.com SEPT 18 & 29 & OCT 16 : EVERDALE WORKSHOPS Sep 18: Seed saving. 10am-

4pm. $75. Sep 29: Natural soap-making.

6-9pm. $53. Oct 16: Winterizing your organic vegetable garden. 1-4pm. $40.

Everdale, 5812 6th Line Hillsburgh. 519855-4859; workshops.everdale.org

food in the hills is an exciting new magazine celebrating all the best about food in the Headwaters region: who grows it, who serves it, where to find it & how to cook it.

food in the hills will be back next May to celebrate the new sowing season.

But you don’t have to wait for the spring issue! For more news about local food, just visit us any time at foodinthehills.ca At our online home, you’ll find recipes and more recipes, details about local food happenings, and plenty of tips from our foodie bloggers on cooking, growing and eating local.

For print and web advertising information, contact 519-940-3299 or info@inthehills.ca.

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SEP 24 : TREE PLANTING AT UPPER CREDIT CONSERVATION AREA All

supplies provided. Wear close-toed shoes, bring drinking water. Meet at 10:30am.

Ends 12:30pm. 20073 Porterfield Rd (40m S of railroad tracks), Alton. 905-670-1615; akrupp@creditvalleyca.ca SEP 24 – OCT 2 : DESTINATION EQUITATION Stable, farm and house

tours, breeders’ parade, equestrian fair, tournament, art clinic and contest, fashion show, family evening, workshops, clinics, BBQ, drive-in movie, demonstrations, competitions, poetry and a tribute to Patsy Cline. thehillsofheadwaters.com SEP 24 : VANNER FAIR Festive demonstrations, competition, sales of Gypsy Vanner horses. Equine crafts and wares. 10am-4pm. Free. DeerFields Stables Country Inn, 17084 Duffy’s Ln, Caledon. 905-880-5585; vannerfair.com SEP 24 : ONTARIO QUARTER HORSE SALE View and purchase some of the

best Canadian quarter horses. Viewing from 8am; auction noon. Orangeville Fairgrounds, 5 Sdrd Mono, off Hockley Rd. 905-426-7050; QROOI.com

SEP 25 : CARROT FEST Harvest games, local food feast, artisan marketplace, silent auction, tours, farm animals, workshops.

Culinary Carrot Contest. 11am-5pm. $5; kids free. Everdale Environmental Learning Centre, 5812 Sixth Line Hillsburgh. 519-855-4859; everdale.org SEP 27 : CHIMNEY SWIFTS Biologist

explains the decline in Chimney Swifts and SwiftWatch recovery strategy. 7:30pm.

Orangeville Seniors’ Centre, 26 Bythia St. Upper Credit Field Naturalists Club, 519-925-3968 SEP 29 : THE SUSTAINABLE FOOD MOVEMENT Local experts representing

community, farmers, science and

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government discuss challenges and opportunities. 7-9:30pm. SGI Centre for Culture and Education, 20490 Porterfield Rd, Caledon. $5. Credit Valley Conservation and Green T, 905-670-1615; creditvalleyca.ca OCT 1 : DUFFERIN TOWN & COUNTRY FARM TOUR Self-guided tour of

working farms in East Luther and Amaranth. Local produce available en route. 9am-4pm. Passports, 9am2pm, on day at Hills of Headwater Tourism Centre, Hwy 10, Orangeville.

1-800-332-9744;thehillsofheadwaters. com/farmtour OCT 15 : FORESTS: ROOTED IN OUR COMMUNITY Stewardship forum

Hands-on learning with artist/author Franke James. frankejames.com. 9am3pm. University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus, 3359 Mississauga Rd N. 905670-1615; creditvalleyca.ca

OCT 19 : AUTUMN OPPORTUNITY HOLSTEIN SHOW Competitors

from Ontario, Quebec and the US, in advance of Royal Winter Fair. 9am.

Free. Orangeville Fairgrounds, 5 Sdrd Mono, off Hockley Rd. 519-855-4238; orangevillefairgrounds.ca OCT 25 : BLACK BEARS IN ONTARIO

With Brent Shirley, MNR fish and wildlife technician. 7:30pm. Orangeville Seniors’ Centre, 26 Bythia St. Upper Credit Field Naturalists Club, 519-925-3968

OCT 28, 29 & 30 : CANADIAN NATIONAL ALPACA SALE & FUTURITY Products

and judging Alpaca breeding stock. Oct 29: showcase of Alpaca classes. Oct 30: futurity. Orangeville Fairgrounds, 5 Sdrd Mono, off Hockley Rd. 905-873-3213; orangevillefairgrounds.ca OCT 30 : ECO-DOORS OPEN Caledon

properties using renewable energy, water-saving technologies and gardening sustainably. Various properties in Caledon.

Toronto and Region Conservation, 416661-6600x5639; trcastewardshipevents.ca NOV 4 – 13 : ROYAL AGRICULTURAL WINTER FAIR The Royal Horse Show,

agricultural exhibitions, butter sculpture, giant vegetable contest, Super Dogs, Family Fun Zone, and more. Ricoh Coliseum, Exhibition Place, Toronto. royalfair.org NOV 29 : ONTARIO’S BATS: WHITE NOSE SYNDROME With Lesley Hale, science

and information branch, MNR. 7:30pm.

Free. Orangeville Seniors’ Centre, 26 Bythia St. Upper Credit Field Naturalists Club. 519-925-3968

kids NOW – OCT 12 : ELIZABETH SCAVETTA MEMORIAL SHORT STORY WRITING COMPETITION For young adults 12-18.

Cash prizes. Entries 1200 words max, original work. Contest closes Oct 12. Free.

Caledon Public Library. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

NOW TO JUNE : LET’S GET TOGETHER

Connect with other families to explore parenting a child with special needs, birth-6. Light dinner. Siblings welcome.

5:30-7pm. Free, register. Caledon ParentChild Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton.

905-857-0090; cp-cc.org SEP 24 – ONGOING (SATURDAYS) : CREATIVE SATURDAYS IN INGLEWOOD

Family time drop-in and structured playbased learning programs. 9:15-11:30am, 2nd & 4th Saturdays of month. Ages birth – 6. Free, register. Inglewood United Church, 15672 McLaughlin Rd, Inglewood.

Caledon Parent-Child Centre, 905857-0090; cp-cc.org

B

SEP 24 & 25, OCT 1 & 2 : KIDS’ FEST Dress for a mess. From pottery to

bookmaking, stained glass to making masks, there is a host of events that let kids loose to express creativity in their own way during the Headwaters Art Festival. Full schedule on website. 519943-1149; headwatersartsfestival.com

SEP 24 : ADJALA PUBLIC SCHOOL FALL FESTIVAL Vendors, silent auction,

activities, BBQ, firefighter displays. 9am3pm. Hockley Rd, E of Hockley Village.

905-729-0899; shirleyinhockley@yahoo.ca SEP 29 : TEDDY BEAR PICNIC Bring

dinner, the family and teddy for picnic and storytime, during Peel literacy month.

5-8pm. Free, register. Caledon Public Library, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

SEP 30 : CALEDON CRUNCH Schools across Caledon crunch at once on apples from Caledon orchards. Live on Radio Caledon, 11am. 905-584-6221; eatlocalcaledon.org OCT 2 : MONO CLIFFS OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTRE OPEN HOUSE 25th

anniversary with wagon rides, children’s events, tours, birds of prey. 11am-4pm.

Free. Food for sale. 11:30am-1:30pm.

755046 2nd Line EHS Mono, N of Mono Centre. 519-942-0330; toes.tdsb.on.ca

OCT 3 – NOV 30 (WEEKLY) : PAWS TO READ Pair children with a child-certified

therapy dog and handler for reading practice. Free. Caledon Public Library, 17247 Shaw’s Creek Rd, Belfountain. 905857-1400 ext 224; caledon.library.on.ca

OCT 3 – NOV 30 (WEEKLY): STORY TIME AT THE LIBRARY Half hour of stories,

rhymes and songs. Baby Time: 0-18 months. Tot Time: 18-48 months. Family Time: all ages. Pre-school Time: 45-minute on-your-own program, ages 3-6. Free, with parent/caregiver. Register Sept 17, 10am.

Caledon Public Library, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca OCT 4 – NOV 8 (TUESDAYS) : PRIMARY FRENCH STORY TIME Fun French

stories. Wear PJs! Ages 6-10, with adult.

7–7:30pm. Free, drop-in. Caledon Public Library, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. Canadian Parents for French. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca OCT 4 : THANKS FOR THANKSGIVING

Story time, songs and activities focus on being thankful. Family drop-in. 7-8pm.

Caledon Public Library, 15825 McLaughlin Rd, Inglewood. 905-857-1400; caledon. library.on.ca OCT 6 – NOV 24 (THURSDAYS): ALTON AFTER-SCHOOL CREW Activities, games

and great company. Ages 9-12. 3-4pm.

Caledon Public Library, 35 Station St, Alton. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

OCT 11 : LANGUAGE AND PLAY: PUPPET MAKING Make a puppet and support

adults in their understanding of play. Birth to 6 with caregiver. 7–8pm. Free, register.

Caledon Public Library, 18313 Hurontario St, Caledon Village. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

NOV 18 – 20, 25 – 27 : MOTHER GOOSE,

BY MARGARET EGGLETON KAYE

Traditional English pantomime with audience participation. Nov 18, 19, 25, 26, 7pm. Nov 19, 20, 26, 27, 2pm. $12.

Century Church Theatre, Trafalgar Rd & Station St, Hillsburgh. 519-855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com NOV 19 – DEC 3 : LETTERS TO SANTA

Write your letter to Santa. All branches provide seasonal stationery and post them for you. Free. 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

NOV 26 : HEADWATERS AUXILIARY CANDY CANE FAIR Photo with Santa,

$3. Face painting, entertainment, kids’ dollar store, bake & craft sale. Proceeds to hospital equipment. 9-11:30am, noon-2:30pm. Headwaters Health Care Centre, Orangeville. 519-941-2410; headwatershealth.ca

HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO • a pierced youth about his pain threshold?

• a lesbian about the dyke march?

• an Imam about 9/11?

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!

OCT 16 – 22 : TEEN READ WEEK Enjoy

young-adult graphic novels to celebrate “Picture It @ Your Library.” All branches, Caledon Public Library. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

These perspectives and many more at the third annual

OCT 18 : HAUNTED HOUSE Believe in ghosts, vampires or wizards? They’re all in our haunted house. All ages. Free, drop in. 6-8pm. Caledon Public Library, 35 Station Rd, Alton. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca OCT 22 : HARVEST CELEBRATION Pony

rides, petting zoo, tiny tots trick or treating (come in costume, with adult), ghost hunt on Mill St. 11am-2pm. Free.

Broadway, Downtown Orangeville BIA. 519-942-0087; discoverbroadway.ca OCT 22 : ART ATTACK! Experiment

with drawing, crafts, painting. Supplies provided. 2pm. Free, drop in. Caledon Public Library, 20 Snelcrest Drive, Caledon. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

OCT 27 : SPOOKY (BUT NOT TOO SPOOKY) STORY TIME Come in costume.

3:30–4:30pm. Free, drop in. Caledon Public Library, 17247 Shaw’s Creek Rd, Belfountain. 905-857-1400; caledon. library.on.ca

OCT 27 : HALLOWEEN FAMILY FUN NIGHT Crafts, playroom and stories for

young children. Face painting, small fee.

No scary costumes please. 5-7pm. Free.

Caledon Parent-Child Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-0090; cp-cc.org OCT 29 : SPOOKY SPAGHETTI DINNER

Music, crafts, prizes, best costume award. Raise funds to beautify the village.

6pm. $15; $55 family (max 6). Caledon East Community Complex. Caledon East Revitalization Committee. 416-919-5400 OCT 30 : CHILDREN’S HALLOWEEN PARTY Prizes, entertainment, treat bags.

Wear costume. 12:30-3pm. $5, child & adult; under 2 free. Register by 3pm, Oct 28. Mono Community Centre, 754483 Mono Centre Rd. 519-941-3599x24; townofmono.com NOV 14 – 19 : CHILDREN’S EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM REGISTRATION

Baby playtime, Mother Goose, Sign with Your Baby, Fun with Math and more.

Register Nov 14-19. Free. Caledon ParentChild Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton.

905-857-0090; cp-cc.org

HEADWATERS HUMAN LIBRARY music OCT – NOV : LIVE MUSIC AT ROSE THEATRE All performances at 8pm,

Saturday, October 1 10.30-Noon and 1-2.30 ORANGEVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1 MILL ST

unless noted. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca OCT 14: THE POINTER SISTERS Grammy award-winning trio’s records dominated the charts through the 70s and 80s.

OCT 20: RON SEXSMITH Singer-songwriter acclaimed by artists from Bob Dylan to Michael Bublé.

OCT 27: CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: AC/DC’S BACK IN BLACK Recreated live on stage,

note for note, cut for cut.

OCT 28: ASHLEY MACISAAC delves into his Cape Breton roots, with traditional East Coast fiddle tunes.

NOV 3: BJ THOMAS Nostalgic evening with this distinctive voice of American pop.

NOV 4: WINDJAMMERS: IN REMEMBRANCE

Canada’s finest “pops” wind ensemble of 38 musicians.

NOV 25: GEORGE EVAN Multiple awardwinner for his work in jazz and cabaret.

NOV 25: GEORGE CANYON Entertainer, Male Artist, Country Recording of the Year.

NOV 28: YAMATO: THE DRUMMERS OF JAPAN Heart-pounding spectacle of athleti-

cism, grace and musical expertise. 7:30pm.

SEP 14, 21 & 28 : SWEET ADELINES OPEN HOUSE For women who love singing

harmony. Drop-in rehearsals 7-9pm.

Horizons Event Centre, 633419 Hurontario St, behind Mono Plaza. 905-584-2538; orangevillechorus.com

SEP 25 : ANNE LINDSAY IN CONCERT

One of Canada’s best-known fiddle players premiers new works. Fundraiser for Relessey Church. 2pm. $15. Relessey Church, Mono Centre Rd at 5th Line Mono. continued on next page IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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continued from page 93 SEP 30 : BRAVURA – THREE BARITONES

Three of Canada’s most dashing baritones perform opera, musical theatre and pop standards. 8pm. Orangeville Town Hall, 87 Broadway. Orangeville Concert Association, 519-942-3423; orangevilleconcerts.ca

To submit your community, arts or non-profit event, go to inthehills.ca and click what’s on on the menu bar. That takes you to the listings page.

Click submit your event and complete the easy form.

For the winter (mid-November) issue, submit by October 14.

We reserve the right to edit submissions for print and web publication.

For up-to-date listings between issues, go to inthehills.ca and click what’s on on the menu bar.

B OCT 1 : ACOUSTIC TRADITIONS PRESENTS MUSIC AT THE MILL Part

of the Headwaters Arts Festival. Live music, acts t.b.a. 8pm. $12. The Alton Mill, 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-942-8258; acoustictraditions.com

OCT 2 : CARL TAFEL IN CONCERT Guitar

and voice performer known for his band Terraced Garden. Proceeds to museum.

2pm. $10. Historic Corbetton Church, Dufferin Country Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 705-435-1881; dufferinmuseum.com OCT 15 : BOB MILNE’S RAGTIME The

world’s greatest ragtime pianist returns.

One-hour matinée and gourmet tea, 2:30pm. Two-hour concert, 8pm. $29.

Century Church Theatre, Trafalgar Rd & Station St, Hillsburgh. 519-855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com OCT 22 – 24: ORANGEVILLE FIDDLE AND STEP-DANCE CAMP Weekend workshops

with champion instructors. Fri 7pm, Sun 4pm. $165. The Maples Private School, 2nd Line Amaranth, Orangeville. 519941-5683; fiddle.on.ca

OCT 23 : HOMETOWN BLUEGRASS

Traditional, original and gospel music.

2pm. $15; $20 at door. Historic Corbetton Church, Dufferin Country Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. 705435-1881; dufferinmuseum.com OCT 29 : CALEDON CHAMBER CONCERTS Reiner Piano Trio opens

season. 8pm. $30; students 16 & under, $15. Season tickets $120; students, $60. St. James Anglican Church, 6025 Old Church Rd, Caledon East. Caledon Chamber Concerts, 905-880-2445; caledonchamberconcerts.com

NOV 4 : MARK HAINES & TOM LEIGHTON

Original and traditional repertoire influenced by duo’s Celtic and North American folk roots. 8pm. Orangeville Town Hall, 87 Broadway. Orangeville Concert Association, 519-942-3423; orangevilleconcerts.ca

NOV 5 : THE FURTHER ROUTES OF COUNTRY The Muir Family Singers and

guests explore the history of country music. 8pm. $25. Century Church Theatre, Trafalgar Rd & Station St, Hillsburgh.

519-855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com

NOV 5 : SOURCE OF THE SONG 19

Acoustic performances of great Canadian songwriters. Lineup t.b.a. 2-5 pm. $15 advance, $20 at door. Glen Williams Town Hall, 1 Prince St, Glen Williams. 905459-9753; brucemadole@sympatico.ca NOV 5 : A 30TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

Concert by Orangeville Chorus, Sweet Adelines International. 3pm & 7pm.

Reception in the atrium 4:45-6:45pm. $30, reserve. Orangeville Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway. 519-942-3423; orangevillechorus.com 94

IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

NOV 6 : “A TIME TO REMEMBER” CONCERT Music and remembrance

in honour of our veterans and service members. 7:30pm. Free. New Hope Community Church, 690 Riddell Rd, Orangeville. orangevillecommunityband.ca NOV 13 : MARK DUBOIS & HIS STUDIO SINGERS Acclaimed tenor and his choir

perform. 2:30pm. $15, at BookLore, 121 First St, Orangeville or 519-941-1472.

Tweedsmuir Presbyterian Church, 6 John St, Orangeville NOV 20 : CALEDON CHAMBER CONCERTS Handel’s Messiah

performed by the Georgetown Bach Chorale and Chamber Ensemble. 3pm. $30; students 16 and under, $15. St. James Anglican Church, 6025 Old Church Rd, Caledon East. 905-880-2445; caledonchamberconcerts.com NOV 26 & 27 : ACHILL CHORAL SOCIETY

Concerts of Christmas music to welcome the season. Nov 26: 8pm, Holy Family RC Church, 60 Allan Dr, Bolton. Nov 27: 3pm, St. Timothy RC Church, 42 Dawson Rd, Orangeville. 519-941-9966; achill.ca

theatre+film SEP 14 – 18 : SHIRLEY VALENTINE

A middle-class housewife reflects humorously on her life, husband and children on her transformative trip to Greece. Sep 16, 17, 8pm. Sep 14, 15, 17, 18, 2:30pm. Century Church Theatre, Trafalgar Rd & Station St, Hillsburgh.

519-855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com

B

SEP 22 – 25 : HANK WILLIAMS LIVE, 1952 Joe Matheson pays tribute

to the country music legend, featuring many of his hits in this funny and bittersweet re-imagining of his final recording session. Sep 22, 23 & 24, 8pm.

Sep 25, 2pm. Theatre Orangeville, 87 Broadway. 519-942-3423, 800-424-1295; theatreorangeville.ca SEP 26 : MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – IN A BETTER WORLD From

Africa to Denmark, essential questions about our interpretation of right and wrong. 4:30, 7 & 9:20pm. $8. Galaxy Theatres, 85 Fifth Ave, Orangeville.

519-942-1949; mondaynightmovies.ca

B SEP 30 : ARMCHAIRS, AUTHORS

AND ART Join moderator Nicola Ross

and authors Linwood Barclay, Trevor Cole and Camilla Gibb for an exciting literary exchange. 7pm. $25. SGI Canada, Caledon Centre, 20490 Porterfield Rd, Alton.

Headwaters Arts and BookLore, 519943-1149; headwatersartsfestival.com

SEP 30, OCT 1 & 2, 7 & 8 : DEATHTRAP

A suspense thriller that shocks, enthralls,

twists and turns until the final startling moment. 8pm. Oct 2, 2pm only. $15. Grace Tipling Hall, 203 Main St, Shelburne.

519-925-2600; tiplingstagecompany.com

B OCT 3 : MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (USA) Sealed for 20,000 years

until discovered in 1994, the Chauvet Cave in France contains some of the oldest known prehistoric art. 6:30pm. $12.

Galaxy Cinemas, 85 Fifth Ave, Orangeville.

519-942-1949; mondaynightmovies.ca

OCT 13 – 30 : THE MELVILLE BOYS Two

brothers arrive at a cabin to relax, but plans suddenly change. A funny look at lives in transition dealing with reality.

See website for times, admission. Theatre Orangeville, 87 Broadway. 1-800-424-1295; theatreorangeville.ca OCT 13 : COLIN MOCHRIE & BRAD SHERWOOD The stars of “Whose Line Is

It Anyway?” present an evening of improv comedy. 8pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca OCT 19 : THE RAT PACK IS BACK! Spirited recreation of the nightclub acts by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin and Joey Bishop. 8pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca OCT 20 & 21 : LUCIEN’S LABOUR LOST The sequel to Lucien. In his unique

Acadian blend of English and French, Lucien offers his humorous perspective on life. 8pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca OCT 21 : STORYTELLING IN HISTORIC CORBETTON CHURCH Dufferin

Circle of Storytellers, with live music.

Refreshments. 7pm. $10, at BookLore, Jelly Craft Café, Curiosity House and museum. Dufferin Country Museum & Archives, Hwy 89 & Airport Rd. Dufferin Arts Council, 705-435-1881; dufferinmuseum.com OCT 24 : MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – MIDNIGHT IN PARIS A

frustrated American writer is magically whisked away for encounters with great artists and thinkers of the 20th century.

4:30, 7 & 9:20pm. $8. Galaxy Theatres, 85 Fifth Ave, Orangeville. 519-942-1949; mondaynightmovies.ca

OCT 27 : THE COMEDY LOUNGE: THE DOO WOPS Award-winning musical

comedy duo with headlining stand-up comedians in a cabaret environment.

8pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca OCT 28 & 29 : THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Remember the “Time Warp”? If

so, see this Orangeville Music Theatre production. 19 & up. Cash bar. 8pm. $25, at Acoustic Traditions, 510 Riddell Rd, Orangeville or online. Horizons Event Centre, 633419 Hwy 10, behind Mono Plaza. orangevillemusictheatre.com OCT 29 : ANDREA MARTIN: FINAL DAYS! EVERYTHING MUST GO! Straight from

New York, this is a one-woman, highoctane show of comedy and music. 8pm.

Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; www.rosetheatre.ca

NOV 1 & 2 : I, CLAUDIA One-woman show

maps the raw, but beautiful, sad and funny interior life of a misfit adolescent. 8pm.

Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

NOV 12 : CANADIAN IMPROV SHOWCASE Canada’s premiere

touring company, showcasing hilarious improvisation. 8pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca NOV 16 – 20 : THE LAST RESORT Norm

Foster’s madcap murder mystery, musical and comedy. Nov 16-19, 8pm. Nov 19 & 20, 2pm. Nov 20, 7pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

NOV 17 : THE COMEDY LOUNGE: ALAN PARK Royal Canadian Air Farce comic.

The Comedy Lounge provides top standup comedians in a cabaret environment.

8pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca NOV 17 – 20, 25 – 27 : BACK TO THE ’80s – THE TOTALLY AWESOME MUSICAL Remember when Atari, bubble

skirts and blue eye shadow were cool? Join the graduating class, all set to the biggest hits of the 80s. November 17-19, 25, 26, 8pm. Nov 20, 27, 2pm. $18; children and seniors, $15. Grace Tipling Hall, 203 Main St E, Shelburne. LP Stage Productions Inc, 519-939-9038; lpstageproductionsinc.com NOV 18 – 20, 25 – 27 : MOTHER GOOSE BY MARGARET EGGLETON KAYE Traditional English pantomime

for the whole family. Music, dance, laughter and audience participation.

Nov 18, 19, 25, 26, 7pm. Nov 19, 20, 26, 27, 2pm. $12. Century Church Theatre, Trafalgar Rd & Station St, Hillsburgh.

Century Theatre Guild. 519-855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com ≈

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PET Portraits in watercolour

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R&M Stucco Superior quality & service • Interior/exterior plaster/stucco finishing

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B. A. WOOD MASONRY

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FOOD

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Design, Build, Install Wall Units, Bars, Home Offices Call Gary for a Free Estimate 519-323-1121/1-877-454-9522 www.forrestcustomcarpentry.com

MARKETPLACE: CLASSIFIEDS DON’T GET ANY CLASSIER For Winter Issue Call by October 14, 2011

FURNITURE

ZOLTAN POTOVSZKY

Custom design, manufacture & repair of quality furniture for home & office

BRICK • BLOCK • CONCRETE • FIREPLACES • STONE Serving Dufferin County & Creemore Area

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TO PLACE AN AD, CALL 519-942-8401 OR EMAIL INFO@INTHEHILLS.CA IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

95

MARKETPLACE FURNITURE

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LANDSCAPING

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PET SUPPLIES & SERVICES

H E A LT H & W E L L - B E I N G I DIDN’T CARE IF I EVER HAD SEX AGAIN

These are signs that your pet’s current food needs to be looked at:

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905-455-0488 5A Conestoga Drive, Ste. 300 Brampton www.avitaintegrativehealth.ca

CPR TRAINING For Healthcare Providers, Business, Personal Daniel Fracassi, BCLS Instructor

47 Broadway, Orangeville 519-942-8187 113 Victoria St W, Alliston 705-434-3311 226 First Ave E, Shelburne 519-925-3471

Victorian Sand Cast Aluminum Reproductions • Estate Lighting • Table & Chair Sets • Fountains & Garden Ornaments Open: Wed-Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5 936577 Airport Road, Mansfield

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INTERIOR DESIGN

Interior Decorating and Design 519-939-7193 or 519-925-1322

LAND SURVEYING P.J. Williams Ontario Land Surveyor

413 First Ave. East, Shelburne Open: 8am-4pm weekdays Free Consultation on Weekends by Appointment Phone: 519-925-0057 or 519-941-6231 Fax: 519-925-6789 www.pjwilliams.ca

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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Quality Care, Professional Service for both Residential and Commercial needs.

Variety of seed mixes available including: Kentucky Bluegrass, Ornamental Wildflowers, Environmentally Friendly ‘Ecograss’ Call for quote 905 880 8909 / 416 577 8909 Greg Frangakis caledonhydroseeding.com

Pottery Parties in the Hills Studio & Boutique New birthday party location Drop in & paint your own pottery 28 Mill Street, Unit 101 Downtown Orangeville

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

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SEPTIC SERVICES

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P U Z Z L I N G

S O L U T I O N S

Parrots in Purple Hill If #1 is truthful, then so is #2 but there’s only one truthful parrot, so both must be liars. If #1 is lying then so is #2, so #3 is the truthful parrot and must therefore be Purple Hill Polly.

Help Haley Spot a Flaw The time is June and the weather is hot. The lane that leads to the house goes through a swamp. Under those conditions, in Mulmur Township or anywhere else in these hills, no one is likely to sit outside at sunset for “a good half hour.” The mosquitoes would see to that!

Tom Swifty Visits the Hills These are our solutions. The fun in Swifties is arguing for alternatives so you may have better ones. If so, please share them on our website at www.inthehills. ca/departments/puzzles.

from page 98

poison ivy – rashly run the town some day – aspiringly not written down – listlessly prayer before dinner – graciously without an arm bone – humourlessly Circular Arithmetic at the Inglewood Fair A=9 B=4 C=2 D=6 E=5 F=7 G=1 H=3 J=8 Vowels and Consonants from Around the Country 1) Orangeville (5 vowels) ∞ Prince Edward Island (12 consonants) = 60 2) 60 ÷ 2 (Ontario and Alberta) = 30 3) 30 ÷ 6 (Campbell) = 5 4) 5 ∞ 4 (Ontario) = 20 5) 20 ∞ 5 (Yukon) = 100 6) 100 ÷ 2 (Winnipeg and Charlottetown) = 50 7) 50 ÷ 5 (Mulroney) = 10 (value of a Canadian dime)

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.ca IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011

97

a Puzzling Conclusion A N

I N

T H E

H I L L S

M I N I

by Ken Weber

M Y S T E R Y

Help Haley Spot a Flaw Parrots in Purple Hill At a carnival in Purple Hill, a sign on a booth reads:

ONLY PURPLE HILL POLLY TELLS THE TRUTH! CAN YOU FIGURE OUT WHICH PARROT IS PURPLE HILL POLLY? Purple Hill Polly is on perch #2

1

I am Purple Hill Polly

Purple Hill Polly is not on perch #1

2

3

Tom Swifty Visits the Hills A “Tom Swifty” is a sentence with an adverb that tells how or when Tom spoke and is related to the meaning of the sentence. Two examples: “Nobody has ever struck oil in Amaranth,” said Tom boringly.

Or, “Speeding on Highway 9 cost me $120 and three points,” said Tom finally.

Complete each of these five “Swifties” with the best choice from the ten possibilities offered.

“Can you believe I got poison ivy on the Trailway!” said Tom _ .

“One of these days I’ll run the Town of Caledon!” said Tom _ .

“If only I’d written down what I need before I went to the store in Shelburne,” said Tom _ .

At Christmas dinner in Orton, Tom _ said, “for what we are about to receive, let us be thankful.”

Because the June heat wave was already into its ninth day, Haley was in no hurry to get out of the airconditioned patrol car when she reached the farm. With the motor idling, she sat in the car and took a minute to stare down the lane at a frame house that had seen better days. There was no one to be seen but she’d telephoned before leaving the station and knew the elderly couple was inside waiting for her.

Finally, with a sigh, she eased the car forward. The lane was narrow and the swamp grass on both sides was so tall and thick it scraped against the doors, but before she had time to think about how difficult it might be to back out again, an old man appeared at the side of the house.

“You’re the Constable Barry who phoned,” he said the instant Haley got out of the car. “You want to know about my nephew, Arbie, my sister’s boy. Don’t know why you came here.

I told you all this on the phone. Young Arbie, he was here last night. A good half hour. There’s no way he coulda been up here in Mulmur Township and rob that gas station way down in Bolton like they say.”

“He’s right!” A woman’s voice came from the side of the house.

Seconds later she was standing by the old man. She pointed to a pair of battered Muskoka chairs in the grass.

“We was settin’ there watchin’ for sunset when Arbie drove in. I gave him a cup of tea and he stayed with us out here till it was pretty well dark.”

Arbie was “known to police” and evidence suggested strongly that he was guilty of a robbery in Bolton just after sunset the day before. But he insisted he was far from the scene at the time and had witnesses – and his aunt and uncle – to prove it.

Haley has at least one good reason to p y What is it? doubt the couple’s story.

Circular Arithmetic at the Inglewood Fair To win a prize at Inglewood’s street fair, contestants had to figure out the numerical value of nine different circles in a design painted on an old barn door. The circles overlapped and were labelled A, B, C, and so on. Each had a different numerical value from 1 to 9. Circle B, contestants were told, had a value of 4. In some of the overlaps, numbers gave the sum of the values of two overlapping circles. That’s why everyone figured out right away that the numerical value of Circle A had to be 9. Figuring out the value of the remaining seven circles, however, was the point of Inglewood’s street fair challenge.

Would you have won a prize at the fair?

A

13

B

6

G H

C

8

F

12

E

4 D

11 J

Vowels and Consonants from Around the Country 1) Multiply the number of vowels in the name of the county 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

seat of Dufferin County by the number of consonants in the name of Canada’s smallest province.

Divide the result of #1 by the number of Canadian provinces whose name begins and ends with a vowel.

Now divide the result of #2 by the number of consonants in the surname of the only woman prime minister of Canada.

Multiply the result of #3 by the number of vowels in the smallest Great Lake.

Multiply the result of #4 by the number of letters in the Canadian territory whose capital is Whitehorse.

Divide the result of #5 by the number of provincial capitals in Canada with double letters in their names.

Divide the result of #6 by the number of consonants in the surname of the person who was Canada’s prime minister in 1990.

“After the accident, the surgeons at the Headwaters hospital had to remove a bone from my arm,” Tom said, _ .

7)

graciously — carelessly — aspiringly listlessly — angrily — absently — forgetfully humourlessly — rashly — uncomfortably

The number you get in #7 should be the same as the value of the Canadian coin which has the Blue Nose on its reverse (tails) side. Is that what you got? solutions on page 97

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IN THE HILL S AUTUMN 2011