In The Hills Winter 2010

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Our annual salute to Local Heroes A musical season

The year in books A Canadian hero

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

It will be cold, it will be dark, it will be miserable. No, no, no!

Well, okay, cold. And dark more than half the time. But not miserable. As this issue resolutely sets out to prove.

The approaching holidays are a time of tradition and rejoicing. And over the years the contents of our winter issue have come to offer a bit of a dependable tradition – and rejoicing – in their own right.

Most gloriously, the issue includes our annual salute to Local Heroes. Writer Jeff Rollings, with the help of a few friends, has once again travelled the hills to bring you profi les of some of the truly amazing people who inspire us and who draw our community together.

This year, in a photo essay called Hands of Labour and Time, Dawna VanSoelen also pays tribute to some unsung heroes, the men and women whose lifetime of hard work and quiet dedication built the farm community where she grew up in East Garafraxa.

For well over a decade, another tradition of the winter issue has been our year-end reviews of new books by local authors and illustrators. Back in 1997, reviewer Tracey Fockler’s job was easy; her reviews of six books fi lled half a page. This year, she has read more than two dozen books to bring you several pages of reviews. They make for entertaining reading themselves – and, we hope, motivate you to sharpen your pencil to start your Christmas gift list.

As you do, you’ll also want to take a look at yet another of our annual highlights, reviews of new CDs by local musicians, courtesy of Lisa Watson. Lisa, a singer/songwriter herself, brings her distinctive style and insider’s perspective to sussing out the best of the local music scene. Need more information? You can visit our website and check out sample tracks from some of the CDs for yourself.

And the music doesn’t stop there. Lisa has also visited several house concerts and reports back on that particularly intimate way of enjoying live music. Julie Pollock takes a twirl around the floor at the Rosemont Fiddle and Square Dance Club. And Michele Green visits the Achill Choral Society as they rehearse for their performances of that most triumphant of all the season’s traditional music, Handel’s Messiah.

So, this winter, don’t huddle against the cold and dark.

As Lisa Watson puts it, “get off your heiniekins” – and rejoice!

EDITORIAL

Tracey Fockler | Roberto Fracchioni Michele Green | Bethany Lee Douglas G. Pearce | Julie Suzanne Pollock Jeff Rollings | Nicola Ross Lisa Watson | Ken Weber PHOTOGRAPHY

Bryan Davies | Pete Paterson Dawna VanSoelen I L L U S T R AT I O N

Shelagh Armstrong Linda McLaren | 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

Tony Maxwell, Headwaters Media Inc. Bethany Lee, Focus on Media COVER

Canadian hero Neirin

by Pete Paterson — 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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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

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D E P A R T M E N T S

LOCAL HEROES

Our annual salute to extraordinary people

by Jeff Rollings

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Our favourite picks for winter 45

Christopher Goodhand

46 HEADWATERS NEST

Making friends with winter

by Bethany Lee

AN OLD-TIME JAMBOREE

48 HISTORIC HILLS

An old-fashioned Christmas?

by Ken Weber

New CDs by local musicians

by Lisa Watson COME ON-A MY HOUSE

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Intimate house concerts

by Lisa Watson A photo essay

by Dawna VanSoelen 52

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HOMEGROWN IN THE HILLS

Goodness Me! pies

by Nicola Ross

ABBEYFIELD HOUSE

70 WHAT’S ON IN THE HILLS

A home and hearth for seniors

by Michele Green 58

EDIBLE HILLS

Rudiments of roots

by Roberto Fracchioni

50 HANDS OF LABOUR AND TIME 37

HEADWATERS SKETCHBOOK

Winter visitors

by Linda McLaren

40 THE YEAR IN MUSIC

43

MUST DO

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

The rafters ring in Rosemont

by Julie Suzanne Pollock

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THE DIGEST

Countryside news

by Douglas G. Pearce

34 HALLELUJAH!

Handel’s Messiah comes to the hills

by Michele Green

LETTERS

Our readers write

THE YEAR IN BOOKS

A calendar of winter happenings 78 A PUZZLING CONCLUSION

New books by local authors and illustrators

by Tracey Fockler

by Ken Weber

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

I come from an area of southwestern Alberta with a healthy population of both cougars and elk and I have to say that the opening two paragraphs Don Scallen’s story (Has the Cat Come Back? fall ’10) reflect poorly on the author.

The implication is that a cougar’s prime prey is/was elk. This is simply not true. Perhaps it was literary licence to make the cougar seem bigger, badder and generally more dangerous?

For the most part, deer are the only member of the ungulate family that cougars regularly stalk. Even the ranchers surrounding us rarely have cattle or horses taken down by a cougar, though they may well scavenge carcasses.

Most cattle and horse losses can be attributed to coyotes, wolves or bears. Ms. Hubert’s mares were most likely not attacked by cougars, as they tend not to leave punctures on the hind quarters.

As a person who was very active in hiking and hunting, I have spent an awful lot of time on friends’ ranches. I only witnessed two actual sightings, though tracks were more common.

One of my best friends is a game warden and conducts investigations with regard to the livestock compensation program in Alberta. He directed me to this excellent publication on identifying the source predator: http://www.srd.alberta.ca/ManagingPrograms/FishWildlifeOfficers/ documents/RanchersGuideToPredatorAttacks-May2010.pdf Edward, website comment Don Scallen replies: Cougars do, in fact, regularly prey on elk.

One of the publications I read as part of my research was Cougar Ecology and Conservation, edited by Maurice Hornocker and Sharon Negri (The University of Chicago Press, 2010).

This book is a compilation of articles about the habits and behaviour of cougars. A featured article is “Diet and Prey Selection of a Perfect Predator,” by Kerry Murphy and Toni K. Ruth. It includes a chart entitled “Percent occurrence of prey animals in cougar diets in western Canada and the northern United States.”

According to this chart, elk were consumed more frequently than any other prey species in studies in British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Looking at all of the seventeen studies reported in this document, mule deer are the number-one prey animals, but elk are a close second.

The suggestion that I took “literary licence to make the cougar seem bigger, badder and generally more dangerous” also merits a response.

That was not my intent at all. I chose to open the article by imagining a wary elk sniffing the air for indications of predators, to encourage readers to think about how profoundly different their hills were in the not so distant past.

I wanted, as well, to establish the theme of loss and recovery – the loss of so many of our animals since the advent of European settlement, and the new and hopeful reality of some of them returning. The elk never will return, but the cougar?

Finally I thank the correspondent for his interest, and envy his outdoor pursuits in such a lovely part of Canada.

Thanks for Giving this Thanksgiving!

I arrived at my door last week to fi nd two brand-new cast-iron frying pans. No note. Just another example of the Caledon community coming together to help.

The Palgrave Community Kitchen was featured in “Homegrown in the Hills” in the summer issue: “Anyone have old cast-iron frying pans they’d like to donate?”

Thank you! The frying pans arrived just in time to use them to make stuffing for 450 lbs of turkey.

On Thursday, October 7 another example of community commitment continued in Caledon.

Thank you to the 55 volunteers who made this community Thanksgiving dinner happen. They put in a total of 500 hours to shell peas, blanch corn, peel potatoes and rutabaga, grate cabbages, make stuffing, cook turkeys, bake pies and wash dishes!

Thank you to the seven local farmers who grew the food for our amazing menu: Van Dyken Brothers, Steve Smith, Betty and Ron French, Gerald and Trish Reid, Albion Orchards, Spirit Tree Estate Cidery and Broadway Farms Market – all within ten miles of our event.

Thank you to the 500 folks who came to eat, chat with their neighbours, share a meal (maybe even take one home) and celebrate the harvest.

Barb Imrie, Palgrave United Church

Bryan’s Fuel PROPANE

Political frustration A striking common factor among the former councillors you interviewed (Home after Supper fall ’10) is that frustration arises as the restrictions imposed by the Ontario government on local government are realized.

It does not make sense to centralize rural planning in a Toronto highrise when the workers there have never walked a pasture or woodlot.

Charles Hooker, Orangeville

Arts award

At the opening gala of the Headwaters Arts Festival in September, Headwaters Arts presented In The Hills publisher/editor Signe Ball (left) with the Award of Excellence for outstanding contribution to promoting local arts. The award included the presentation of a plate created by Orangeville-area potter Ann Randeraad (right). On the same evening, artist Richard Nevitt was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

This was wonderful news about the award from Headwaters Arts. In the Hills is consistently thoughtful, relevant, beautiful, informative and ahead of its time. Fantastic leadership and vision and a commitment to our global community.

Clare Booker, Erin Signe Ball replies: Many thanks to Ann Randeraad for her lovely plate, to Clare Booker for her lovely words, and to the many other friends and arts supporters who offered their congratulations. And, of course, deep gratitude to the board and members Headwaters Arts, not only for the recognition, but most important, for the exhilarating creative spirit they continue to bring to the hills.

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 HILLS WINTER 2010

“Before Wilson Bentley discovered the joys of taking photographs down a microscope, few people considered the snowflake a thing of beauty. Last week, the Carl Hammer Gallery in Chicago, Illinois, was selling 20 Bentley prints for $4,800 apiece.”

“Bentley was a Vermont farmer and self-taught scientist who in 1880 received a microscope for his fifteenth birthday. After focusing on snowflakes, he was staggered by what he saw.

‘Every crystal was a masterpiece of design,’ he said later. He first tried sketching them, then turned to a primitive camera. It took four years to find a way of making snowflakes hang around long enough – up to ninety seconds – to get a successful shot.”

“Ultimately, Bentley became a pioneer in photomicrography, recording 5,318 different snowf lake images...

Unfortunately, Bentley’s love of snow was not reciprocated: He died of pneumonia in 1931 after walking home in a blizzard.” From Science, Feb 5/10.

Snow Job “Historians a thousand years from now may wonder what went wrong: How, after scholars had so thoroughly nailed down the reality of anthropogenic climate change, did so many Americans get fooled into thinking it was all a left-wing hoax?

“Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway give us some very good – if disturbing – answers in their fascinating, detailed and artfully written new book, Merchants of Doubt. In it they show how a small band of right-wing scholars steeped in Cold War myopia, with substantial financing from powerful corporate polluters, managed to mislead large sections of the American public into thinking that the evidence for human-caused warming was uncertain, unsound, politically tainted and unfit to serve as the basis for any kind of political action.

“Oreskes and Conway show that climate change was really a surrogate for larger fears of a regulatory state – a state seen as increasingly willing to curtail free-market liberties in the name of environmental protection.

When the Soviet empire collapsed in 1989, these Cold Warrior physicists moved on to attack a new enemy, environmentalism, which they saw as furthering the same anti-American

agenda. Environmentalism (and in particular climate science) was conjured up as the latest in a long line of threats to liberty – ‘a green tree with red roots,’ as conservative journalist George Will once put it.” From Robert N. Proctor’s review of Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway (Bloomsbury Press, 2010), in American Scientist, Sept-Oct/10.

Job Done “I have been reading Mother Earth News for as long as I have been able to read. I like the content and have enjoyed your magazine. However, since ‘green’ has become a political movement, and those who I would term communists or die-hard socialists have taken the non-existent, scientifically disproved global warming crisis and used it to control us, I have started to skip articles and at times the whole magazine. Please hear my plea. The political nonsense should be left out of my Mother Earth News.” Letter to the editor from Dennis Douglas of Consort, Alberta [k.d. lang’s hometown], in Mother Earth News, June-July/09.

Edible Forest “In his visionary book, Forest Gardening: Cultivating an Edible Landscape, Hart notes that Kerala boasts an estimated half million small-scaleforest gardens managed for subsistence and income by the millions of people that live within them. Hart’s research revealed that these tropical gardens, typically half an acre in scale, had up to ‘23 young coconut palms, 12 cloves, 56 bananas, 49 pineapples, 30 pepper vines and numerous other herbaceous perennial plant species and small livestock.’ With little or no outside inputs, such intense production could supply most of a family’s food needs plus medicine, animal fodder, building materials, feedstock for microbiogas digesters and fibre for crafts.

Similarly, Hart discovered that forest gardens on the island of Java of just over an acre in size routinely supported families of ten or more persons.

“Over the next thirty years, Robert Hart and his brother began to transform their own property [in Shropshire] into perhaps the first known temperate

forest garden in the west. Although Hart passed away in 2001, his garden remains an inspiration to would-be forest gardeners around the temperate world as he has demonstrated that the agro-forestry principles practised for hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the tropics can be successfully adapted to colder climates.” From Edible Forest Gardens, by Ron Berezan, in Canadian Organic Grower, Fall/10.

Ancient Acoustics “Trevor Cox’s discussion of the acoustics of ancient theatres [New Scientist, Aug 21/10] reminded me of a trip to Greece with my medical student colleagues.

“We tested the acoustics of the amphitheatre at Delphi by going to the top tier of seats and sending one of our number down to the stage. Not having memorized a speech from Aristophanes, but being in the throes of learning anatomy, he intoned the longest Latin name for a muscle in the body, the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi – a facial muscle that lifts the upper lip and dilates the nostril.

“The theatre acoustics were so impressive that all the other visitors stopped in their tracks and crossed themselves.” Letter to the Editor, from John Davies of Lancaster, UK, in New Scientist, Sept 4/10.

Creative Flame “Without basic research, there can be no applications... After all, electricity and the light bulb were not invented by incremental improvements to the candle.” President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, announcing France’s plan to increase spending on higher education and basic and applied research by 35 billion Euros for the next four years as part of the country’s bailout strategy. Cited in Science, Aug 6/10.

Syrup Cure “A recent study discovered 13 compounds linked with human health in samples of maple syrup. Among the previously unidentified chemicals were phenolics believed to have anticancer properties. When it is tapped for its sap, the wounded sugar maple may be secreting these phenolics as a defence mechanism.” From “News of Diversity,” by Hugh Daubeny, in Seeds of Diversity, Summer/10. ≈

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

A R T I S T

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counter-clockwise from top left : spalted box elder 16" x 15"; pierced natural edged maple bowl 17" x 6.5"; maple hollow form with walnut lip 9" x 9"; box elder and apple wood fruit; box elder burl 22" x 8"; various wood cork stoppers

Christopher Goodhand “Thinking of myself as an artist has always seemed strange, even uncomfortable,” says Caledon woodturner Christopher Goodhand.

“Unlike a painter, for example, most of the work I produce has a functional purpose, although on every piece I take great care to ensure it is tactile and pleasing to the eye. Without a pleasing shape, the effects of mastered technique, fine finish and even the beauty of the wood itself are diminished or lost altogether. Where possible I try to incorporate ‘nature’s imperfections’ (knots, bark inclusion, decay, etc) into my work. Above all else, my goal is always the perfect shape.” goodwoodhandturning.com IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

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must do must

A highly selective guide to the picks of the season.

rejoice must

For those who want to listen to the sounds of the season or maybe raise their own voices in song, there are plenty of opportunities at carol services and holiday concerts in churches and community halls throughout the hills. You’ll find a lot of them listed under the Community and Music headings in our events calendar starting on page 72.

Among the many offerings is the afternoon Christmas Concert in Historic Corbetton Church on the grounds of Dufferin County Museum & Archives. The performers include the Here Comes Treble trio, a barbershop quartet, a flute trio, and the Bells of Westminster, Orangeville’s very charming bell choir. The $15 ticket includes hot cider and Christmas goodies afterward in the museum, where you can also do a little gift shopping at Holiday Treasures, the annual show and sale of art and crafts by local artists.

The concert takes place at 2 pm on Sunday, December 5.

Dufferin County Museum & Archives is located at Airport Road and Hwy 89.

To reserve concert tickets, call 1-877-941-7787.

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frolic

For the second year in a row, the Alton Mill in Caledon is planning to help banish the January blues with Fire and Ice – A Family Festival of Flames, Food and Fine Art! The weekend-long celebration of winter includes a snow sculpture competition, fire-themed artwork, and ice skating and shinny on the millpond.

The magnificently restored heritage mill on the banks of Shaw’s Creek is also home to some thirty artists’ studios and galleries, as well as a friendly café, so if toes grow numb and noses turn red, there’s lots to see and do during indoor warm-up breaks.

This free festival takes place from 10 am to 7 pm on Saturday, January 22, and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday, January 23. For more information, see altonmill.ca.

For many years now the Orangeville Optimists have been transforming Kay Cee Gardens into a winter wonderland of light throughout the month of December. This year, more than 50,000 lights will twinkle on the trees, poles and buildings in the park, and storybook characters will peek from beneath them to delight your youngsters.

must

wonder

It’s a magical experience, and a great way to get the whole family into the holiday spirit. The show runs every evening from 6 to 9 pm, starting December through New Year’s Eve. Hot drinks are available on the weekends.

There’s no charge, but donations are welcomed.

Kay Cee Gardens is located between Bythia and John Streets in Orangeville. There is free parking at the Seniors’ Centre on Bythia, across from the park. orangevilleoptimists.ca

must

ring in the new year

... and ring out the old with a bang!

A whole generation of kids has been born since Y2K, and many of them are already old enough to celebrate the end of the first decade of the new millennium.

And along with their older brothers and sisters, they can do just that as Orangeville celebrates First Night.

The annual evening of family entertainment moves to a new location this year, the renovated Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre on Fead St. The indoor and outdoor festivities include a MuchMusic video dance in the arena parking lot, rock wall climbing, free indoor skating and swimming, wagon and sleigh rides, as well as a caricaturist, face painting and live entertainment.

The activities get underway at 6 pm on December 31 and wrap up with a fireworks display at 10 pm. Watch for more details at orangeville.ca.

must

feed the birds

As the brilliant hues of autumn fade, hurray for the birds who bring welcome splashes of life and colour to the greys and whites of the winter hills. The blues of the jays, the roses and yellows of the grosbeaks, the startling scarlet of the cardinals are just some of the colours that brighten the chill landscape. And there is perhaps no cheerier sight than a flock of cheeky chickadees darting to and from the feeder.

Here are two stores where you can find a variety of feeders and stock up on bulk seeds, including special blends for particular species, to entice the birds to the view from your window.

Caledon Mountain Wildlife Supplies 18371 Hurontario St, Caledon Village (behind Village Bistro) 519-927-9186

must get home

DIAMOND KEY PENDANTS

For The Birds Nature Store 114 Broadway, Orangeville 519-942-8795

safely

According to various surveys, the main reason people leave the holiday party and drive home intoxicated is that they don’t want to leave their car behind.

For the second year in a row, a group of Caledon service clubs is offering drivers a guilt-free alternative.

Called Operation Red Nose, the volunteer shuttle service provides motorists who feel unfit to drive – because they’ve been drinking or are just too tired – with a free, safe, confidential ride home in their own vehicle – along with their spouses, kids or guests.

The driver just calls the dispatch number and a volunteer will chauffeur the client to his or her choice of location. The service is free, but donations are welcome and go to support local youth programs.

Private party hosts, restaurants and corporate event organizers are all encouraged to use the service. Participating service clubs are the Rotary Clubs of Bolton and Palgrave and the Bolton Lions, with the support of the Bolton Kinsmen and the Knights of Columbus.

Operation Red Nose runs from November 25 to New Year’s Eve, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, 9 pm to 2:30 am So, before you put on your party shoes this holiday season, key this number into your cell phone:

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

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making the world more

beautiful one room at a time

Marg Anquetil, DDCD

519-942-0602 16

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

decdens.com/anquetil

LOC A L H E RO E S Our third annual salute to the people who make our community, and our world, a better place to live.

B Y J E F F R O L L I N G S ě?˝ P H O T O G R A P H S B Y P E T E P AT E R S O N

In the following pages, we are pleased once again to introduce you to some of the extraordinary people who live among us. They are people who demonstrate the very best of the human spirit, whose stories inspire our collective soul and warm a wintery world. They include people who teach us about bravery and dedication, others who encourage the hopes that reside in our youth, and still others who have found a way to laugh in spite of it all.

All that, plus the horse that brung us.

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

17

PAUL

Agar

Fire in the blood

D

eputy Chief Paul Agar has been a member of Grand Valley’s volunteer fire department for an astonishing forty-three years.

In that time – longer than most professional fire-fighting careers – Paul has given roughly 10,000 hours of his life to training and operation of the fire station.

Beyond that, based on his own loose estimate of three hours a month at actual calls, he has spent more than 1,500 hours dealing with burning buildings, car crash victims, floods, medical distress and all the other mishaps and mayhem we find ourselves in.

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

He’s just the sort of guy you want around in an emergency, too. Calm, analytical, unflappable.

Able to find a moment’s humour in the midst of catastrophe.

Paul has witnessed a lot in all that time, and most individual incidents have merged in his memory. In general though, he says, “Car crashes are the worst at first. You’re often the first one there and you don’t know what you’ll have to deal with. People may be trapped, or dead. Although the same thing can be true with fires. For that matter, we’ve had fatalities on medical assistance calls, too.”

The hardest part of the job comes not from the cause of the emergency, but rather from whom it involves. “Grand Valley is a small community. I’ve lived here a long time and I know people. So getting a call to a car accident or a fire and finding family or friends...” His voice trails off. Reflectively, he adds, “You don’t like to see that.”

Paul has served as acting chief three times, stepping in as needed when chiefs move on. Clearly a team player, he says “Acting chief, deputy chief, whatever. Doesn’t matter to me.”

The Grand Valley department has a roster of thirty volunteers, currently including one woman, though Paul says, “There were three or four at one point.” It also includes Paul’s son Michael, a captain

with sixteen years experience.

There’s been a turnover on the force of about four people a year recently, but Paul says, “We’ve been fortunate. When we have openings and run a recruitment, people have always answered.” Of those who come forward, “Some decide ‘it’s not for me,’ either because it takes too much time or it’s too much physically. There’s a lot of training involved.”

From January through mid-October, 2010, the Grand Valley department responded to seventyeight calls. Paul says, “There’s been a cut-back on medical calls since the ambulance station opened here,” though he points out that the overall number of calls grows along with the population.

The social aspect is what drew Paul to the fi re department in the first place, and it’s what has kept him coming back all these years. “The camaraderie is the big thing. All the friendships you make. A lot of people have come and gone, but you stay friends with them forever.”

At 63, Paul acknowledges that some day he’ll have to stop playing with fire trucks, though it’s likely a long way off. Even when his active service days are over, he plans to volunteer at the station.

“It would be hard to leave it now,” he says. “It gets in your blood.”

ROSA

Alvarez

The full-support model

‘‘I

started studying belly dance and Argentinian tango at forty,” says Rosa Alvarez. “The instructor offered me my money back and told me I was the worst student she ever had.”

But Rosa is an “I’ll show them” kind of woman. One year later she joined her teacher’s dance troupe.

Now a dance teacher herself, the owner of Mille Notte Lingerie boutique in Bolton, founder and chief executive officer of the Caledon Breast Cancer Foundation, and originator of the Pink Tie Gala – the foundation’s annual fundraiser – Rosa exudes a quiet but diamond bright resilience. It’s the kind of energy that gets her through the whirlwind season of organizing each year’s gala. It’s a choreography of planning that resulted in this fall’s third annual gala raising about $30,000 towards serving the foundation’s objectives.

Now 56, Rosa became involved with the breast cancer cause years ago when she was employed as a financial advisor and actively promoted an awareness campaign for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in her workplace.

Later on, as a lingerie store proprietor, she was drawn in on a more personal level. Women were coming to Rosa and complaining that fitting for breast prostheses was a depressing process often relegated to a store’s closet or washroom and, although “certified,” too many fitters lacked the sensitivity to protect patient privacy. Even more distressing, some of her customers who needed prostheses couldn’t afford them.

Rosa naturally considered acquiring fitter’s credentials, but a required 200 hour apprenticeship wasn’t available. Then Rosa lost a young customer to breast cancer, and her resolve to help grew even stronger.

Ultimately, regulations governing fitter certification were changed. As well as completing the training, Rosa created a discreet fitting area at Mille Notte, highlighted her fitting specialty and, to tie it all together, three years ago founded the Caledon Breast Cancer Foundation.

The foundation’s objectives are several, but all speak to Rosa’s driving belief that women dealing with breast cancer should be treated with dignity

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

and respect. Counselling, support groups with trained leaders, fi nancial help with wigs, specialized undergarments and prostheses are among the foundation’s undertakings. This year breast health workshops are being added to the calendar.

In reference to her achievements, Rosa demurs, “I’m fortunate in so many ways.” The “wow” factor of the annual gala comes as a result of the performers she is able to line up from her many contacts in the entertainment industry. But it is her wonderful aesthetic sense combined with brass-tacks logistical talent that naturally weave people and causes together.

In fact, it’s hard to imagine Rosa Alvarez not getting everything she sets her sights on. It’s a fire she passes on to her dance students: “When my students want to give up, I remind them that I was the worst student in class.”

Her next goal for the Caledon Breast Cancer Foundation is the acquisition of a building for workshops, support groups and wellness classes.

With irrepressible optimism, she conjures aloud: “I know the exact building. It’s not for sale right now. But when we are ready with the resources, the house will be ready for us.”

For more information, go to caledonbcf.org and pinktiegala.com.

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

19

SHARON

Gaskell Heartquake

T

here are those who feel parenting one teenager is a task of Herculean proportion. Try 120.

As a senior citizen with limited income. In Haiti.

Sharon Gaskell is the founder and unpaid, hands-on director of the non-profit Starthrower Foundation. It provides educational opportunities for teens and young adults in the abject poverty of Cap-Haitien and the nearby mountain village of St. Raphael, on Haiti’s north coast.

On her first visit in 1998, as a student chaperone, Sharon knew within two days that her life had changed forever.

She was taken to a “home” that was a six-by-six foot tent housing eleven people. There, a young mother pleaded with her: “Please take my baby to Canada. I want her to live.”

On the same trip, she bore witness as a five-month-old boy, dead of dehydration, was buried in a cardboard box in the back yard of the hospital. And she was appointed godmother at the baptism of a fourteen-year-old girl dying of AIDS, whom Sharon next saw in the morgue. In the midst of that misery, she asked herself, “Why did this girl die when she never lived? ” And so it went. By the end of the second day, she was overwhelmed: “I screamed at the universe. Somebody do something!”

“Well, Sharon,” came back a little voice in her head, “how about you?”

She made a few more trips, with no particular plan at fi rst, but says she decided “to let Haiti tell me what it needed,” and eventually it did just that.

In 2004 she sold her house in Waldemar, along with her car, took early retirement from her job, and launched the foundation.

She has spent nine months a year in Haiti ever since. For six weeks each spring and fall, she lives in a small apartment on Broadway in Orangeville.

Starthrower Foundation provides sponsorships to secondary and post-secondary students and operates food and potable water distribution programs. Though Sharon had a twenty-year career as a teacher, the organization does not operate its own school. Instead, Starthrower sponsors students to attend existing, accredited schools.

Along with tuition, sponsorship includes paying for uniforms,

textbooks, backpacks, hygiene products, even intown rent for rural students (which some of the students pay off by working for the organization).

Sharon specifically chose the teen and young adult age group because “they were the ones falling through the cracks. The cute babies and little kids were already getting attention from the larger NGOs.” Despite Starthrower’s status as a registered charity, it is “social justice” rather than “charity” that is the organization’s driving force. As Sharon writes on its web site: “‘Charity’ maintains a distance; ‘Justice’ smells the stench, suffers the heat, cries over each death, and cheers each small success.”

Crowds in the hundreds gather outside Starthrower’s tiny office seeking assistance. As a result, Sharon says, the small organization is obliged “to vet people carefully.” Candidates must have some basic education, supply school report cards, attend two meetings and write a letter explaining what they hope to achieve with their education. Then they have to sign a contract with Starthrower. “We call it a relationship of equals,” Sharon says. The contract spells out the long-term commitments on both sides.

Candidates must also agree to a home visit.

Though living conditions are far from acceptable

by Canadian standards, Sharon says, “We check to make sure things aren’t so bad that a child will be unable to learn.”

Sometimes Starthrower also funds supplies for simple home repairs, such as concrete for a mud floor, or tin for a roof. But Sharon points out even that can be complicated. “You have to be careful about improving people’s housing. We’ve had landlords who jack up the rent, or throw the tenants out to move his own family in. So now we only work with landlords we know we can trust.”

Those of us here may only have taken notice of Haiti because of the earthquake last January. For Sharon, though, that horrific event was in many ways just another day at the office. Although the recent hurricane was particularly bad, hurricanes have killed thousands of people over the past few years. Violent crime is also rampant. And, as the worst killers, Sharon fingers AIDS, diabetes and a lack of primary medical care.

“It’s like a whole stratum of the population between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five is just not there,” she says. The average age in Haiti is just seventeen. “It’s a country of kids,” she adds, and only two per cent make it to the end of high school.

A survey Sharon conducted last year revealed that of her 102 students, 90 had no living parent. And that was before the earthquake.

“I’m not the hero, these kids are the heroes,” she says. “They get up every day and face life head on. They may not have eaten or they might be sick, but they understand that education is their only way out.” Later, she adds, “I learn so much from them. Patience and humour have been the biggest blessings.”

When the earthquake hit, four of Sharon’s firstyear nursing students were trapped at the epicentre.

It was a week before they were rescued, but rather than waiting around, the students leapt into action, treating 5,000 patients. “They were delivering babies, treating wounds, and burying bodies,” Sharon says.

As inconceivable as it seems, Sharon has found one silver lining in the earthquake: “The quake served to throw the courage of the Haitian people into relief. When you’ve dealt with absolute poverty, you’re used to losing people all the time.” However, she says, “since the quake, finally young people are realizing they are grieving. They always had unresolved grief. Now, more kids are acknowledging problems.”

By way of example, she cites the story of a young man who had borne the loss of both his parents.

When his brother also died, of apparent malnutrition, he came to her to ask, “Was it my fault my brother died?”

Sharon has not been deterred by risks to her own well-being either. She has survived malaria and typhoid, and most recently an even more serious illness. “Spending three days in a Haitian hospital with no drugs and no pain killers while E. coli eats your colon – and undergoing surgery without an effective anesthetic – is truly the closest thing to hell on earth that I know,” she says. Officials con-

These illustrations of the starthrower story are excerpted from Starthrower in Haiti, a “fundraising comic” by Daniel Lafrance that documents stories about the work of Sharon Gaskell’s foundation in Haiti.

Sharon returned to Haiti mid-November. A fundraiser for the foundation will be held on Thursday, December 2 at Acheson’s, 78 First Street, Orangeville. Illustrator Daniel Lafrance will be on hand to sign books ($20 each) and owner Dianne Acheson will donate 10 per cent of store sales on that day to the foundation.

The book can also be ordered through the foundation’s website.

For more information, and to read Sharon’s blogs from Haiti, go to starthrowerfoundation.org

tacted her family and told them she had only an hour to live. She has since undergone two surgeries back in Canada to repair the damage. Still in recovery from the last operation, she rushed back to Haiti five days after the quake.

Among the many amazing details about Sharon’s foundation is its tiny budget, which this year is between $80,000 and $90,000. With that amount, up from $50,000 last year, the foundation has provided 120 young people with an education, and hope – come, quite literally, hell or high water. Still, there is a waiting list of 300 to 400, and Sharon says, “We could serve a thousand. We have the knowhow, but no money.”

Sharon reads from a letter written by a girl seeking entry to the Starthrower program. In Haitian Creole, the words for “earth” and “heart” are very similar, and the girl has swapped the two. She refers repeatedly to the “heartquake.”

“Couldn’t be more apt,” Sharon says.

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

21

MARILYN

Field

Fill my hollow bones

M

arilyn Field wells up with tears really easily when she talks about DAREarts, the organization she founded to bring art to children, especially those in need.

As an elementary teacher and music specialist in Scarborough, Marilyn had witnessed the impact of the arts on children’s lives.

“The arts have an extra special power,” she says. “They take kids outside themselves.” Unlike math or science, where answers may be absolute, with the arts, “nothing is ‘wrong.’ Once you allow them that voice and child ren find a passion, they begin to find out who they are. The arts are the only tool that allows that.”

Marilyn felt so committed to her belief that in the mid-1990s she left her teaching job, mortgaged her home in Toronto, and used the proceeds as seed money to launch DAREarts. Since then, the charitable foundation has brought arts programs to more than 130,000 children.

DARE stands for Discipline, Action, Responsibility and Education. A core program, called All-The-Arts, involves more than eighty schools across Canada. Select 22

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

students come together weekly for an out-of-school immersion in architecture, culinary arts, dance, drama, fashion, literature, music and visual arts, taught by local professional artists. Each of the students then has to go back to school and teach their classmates what they’ve learned.

In 2005, General Rick Hillier invited DAREarts to participate in Junior Ranger camps the Canadian Armed Forces were sponsoring to develop life skills among northern Aboriginal youth. Marilyn says, “You don’t say ‘no’ to General Hillier.”

That work led to an invitation from the elders of Webequie, an isolated northern fly-in community dealing with suicide, depression and substance abuse. Together with the elders, they developed a program blending traditional and modern arts that is intended as a template for First Nations communities everywhere.

Now in its fourth year, the Webequie pilot project has been deemed a resounding success, and a similar program is underway in the community of Marten Falls in Kenora.

Still other DAREarts programs include hip-hop dance, a jazz choir, a glee club, and a trust fund for music students.

Marilyn lives in Hockley Valley, and in this region, many students have participated in the DAREarts Children for Peace project. It is part of a global children’s movement called Centipede Children for Peace, involving a million children. Over a period of three weeks, 3,000 local students make holiday

greeting cards. Illustrated with their original artwork, the cards are sold to raise money to help kids in need around the world, through NATO peace-keeping forces.

In an era of cutbacks to arts education, DAREarts annual budget of $650,000 is funded primarily through corporate sponsorships and donations.

“I’m a good little ankle-biter,” Marilyn says of her success in raising money.

However, with waiting lists for all their programs, the organization has plans to increase the budget to a million dollars, and more. It has also attracted the support of an impressive list of big names, such as Ed Asner, Morgan Freeman and Eugene Levy. “They were little people at one time too,” Marilyn says, “and they know what it’s like to find themselves. They get it.

So they’re happy to help others find who they are.”

From memory, Marilyn recites poetry written by a Webequie girl in the DAREarts program.

Her eyes mist over again when she gets to the line “Fill my hollow bones …”

The Children for Peace cards, created by local students, are for sale at Theatre Orangeville’s box office on Broadway (suggested donation, $5 each).

They can also be purchased at the annual festive fundraiser to be held at Marilyn Field’s Hockley Valley home at 7 p.m., December 3, featuring seasonal music, dance, drama and food. Tickets are $75, available by calling 905- 729-0097. For more information, see DAREarts.com.

LOUISE

Kindree

Administration angel

L

ouise Kindree has a fridge magnet that admonishes, “Shoot me before I volunteer again” – a message she consistently ignores.

A decade ago she began volunteering once weekly in ambulatory care at Headwaters Health Care Centre.

Since then, her desire to participate in the hospital’s future has only grown – and so have her responsibilities.

She is currently chair of the board of directors, a volunteer position she will hold for a year.

Louise says her primary goal in that time will be to create a long-term vision statement, in consultation with a team of community people and hospital employees, that will guide the hospital’s focus over the next twenty years.

“It’s going to take some ‘pie in the sky’ thinking,” she says, “but if we want to start a substantial fi nancial campaign, we should be able to hand people clear information about what we aim to achieve.”

Also high on her agenda is dealing with the impact of the controversial bed closures in Shelburne.

“I have never seen a more difficult decision taken by the board,” she says. However, she firmly believes that the action has spurred the Central-West LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) to reassess Shelburne’s health care needs.

A Caledon East resident, Louise retired ten years ago from a career in human resources with Environment Canada, specializing in values and ethics.

Her plan to relax for six months was scuttled when she joined the hospital auxiliary two months later.

“There are a lot of ‘medical-type’ people in our family and, coupled with having been in a scientific organization, the workings of a hospital were not foreign to me,” Louise says. Her once-weekly volunteer commitment doubled and tripled as she became emergency department convenor and soon took over the reins as volunteer co-ordinator. Next came the role as auxiliary representative on the hospital’s privacy committee and involvement in developing a pandemic plan for volunteers, which she wrote.

She has also served on Dufferin’s physician recruitment team since its inception, a natural fit influenced by her brother, Gord. He is a doctor who designed a benchmark recruitment program for Marathon, Ontario.

When Louise was approached five years ago to sit on the hospital board, she jumped at the opportunity.

BY MI C HEL E GR EEN

“I was seeing the hospital as a volunteer – which was in a way like an employee,” Louise says, “and also as a hospital partner with the physician search committee, which is not a hospital-affi liated organization. So I saw the opportunity as a board member to see the management side.”

On the board, Louise has served as chair of the governance committee (responsible for recruitment and evaluating how well the board works) and the quality committee (responsible for ongoing improvement projects throughout the hospital).

Louise will remove her board-chair hat and don her hat as chair of the recruitment committee to prepare for a second clinic on the hospital property.

The new clinic will house specialists, creating space for more family doctors in the existing Highlands Health Network.

“We’ll probably fi ll the quota of new family doctors from day one,” she says, undeniably proud of the committee’s success.

Even with all that, Louise continues to volunteer weekly at the hospital inquiry desk. “I love it. It gives me a chance to keep in touch with the community and the staff.”

Quick to say that volunteering is not 100 per cent of her life, Louise makes sure she fi nds time for her husband, Roger, and frequent visits to her daughter and grandson in Calgary. Still, she adds with a laugh, “I’m probably just a person who can’t say no.”

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

23

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Eat, drink and be merry

O

ld friends chatter, lovers meet, families celebrate, neighbours hail each other. It’s just another sunny

weekend afternoon at Mono Cliffs Inn.

520 Riddell Road, Unit B, Orangeville 519-941-2873 24

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

Add several hundred people to that scene, and you have Mono’s Big Day Out – a celebration of local food, music, heritage and art that on a September day for the past two years has attracted more than a thousand people to the grounds of Mono Cliffs.

Presiding over it all is restaurateur Carol Hall.

Some restaurants succeed on the quality of their food, some on their distinctive ambience. Mono Cliffs Inn has both those bases covered, but what has really transformed this rural restaurant into a convivial community hub is Carol’s pure joie de vivre.

Carol was born in Cooma, a town known as the gateway to Australia’s Snowy Mountains. After high school, like many young Australians, she set off to travel the world – although it was on a pit stop back home that she met the equally peripatetic Scotsman Michael Hall, and a union of souls was formed.

The couple’s continuing travels eventually brought them to Canada.

Michael had work and Carol wanted to ski the Rockies. It was all just meant to be a stop along the way. However, their sons, Jason and Mitchell, were born here, and in the spirit of the seventies, Michael quit his job and the young family moved “back to the land” to a farm in Markdale where Michael pursued craft-making while Carol home-schooled the boys.

As their sons approached high-school age, the old wanderlust took hold.

They sold everything and set off for another year of travel. It was on their return, in 1984, that they bought the former general store in Mono Centre and soon enough decided to try their hand at reopening it.

They quickly discovered that it was not the milk-and-eggs staples, but Carol’s deli sandwiches and baked goods that brought in the customers.

So at Christmas in 1987, they made the leap and opened Mono Cliffs Inn, a fine dining restaurant with a downstairs pub.

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Business in the sleepy village “started very, very slowly,” Carol recalls.

So, to attract customers, they began hosting special events. The first one was The World’s Worst Art Show. Many others followed, though not all them as quirky. Among their customers was a young couple who had just formed a classical quartet called Quartetto Gelato. Michael and Carol invited them to play at the restaurant. Now internationally acclaimed, Quartetto still returns to perform at the inn once or twice a year.

In time, the business did begin to grow, the restaurant fi lled. Life was good.

And so it should have remained, but in 1996, Michael died of cancer and Carol’s world crumbled. “I didn’t think I could carry on,” she says.

Still, with the help of her sons and her own irrepressible verve, carry on she did.

Over the past fourteen years, she has created a place where locals, young and old, casually gather; where couples who met there come back to be married; where most of the neighbourhood kids have done a turn waiting tables. A place where, as the song has it, “everybody knows your name.”

At 67, Carol no longer works the floor. She has a new granddaughter to coddle and more globetrotting to do. But she remains the presiding spirit of the place. She has continued the special events, including – in a nod to her Australian roots – a night inspired by Priscilla Queen of The Desert, when cross-dressing is de rigeur. Most often the proceeds of those events go to a local charity. Many of the dozens of volunteers and donors who contribute to Mono’s Big Day Out are recruited by her.

Day-to-day operations are now carried out by her two talented lieutenants: chef Jason Reiner and pub-keeper Wayne Biegel, who has an effervescence in Carol’s mould. Jason and Mitchell still help out in the background, and the long-time staff also feel like family (they tend to call her “Mum”).

“Some people call Mono Centre the centre of nowhere,” she says. “I like to tell them it’s the centre of everything.” And for most of her guests, during a few genial hours wrapped in the Carol’s world, that’s exactly how it feels.

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25

KAREN

Campbell

Not exactly the make-up type

K

aren Campbell is fresh from spending the day with a bus-load of kids from Burlington.

As education co-ordinator at Everdale Organic Farm and Environmental Learning Centre near Hillsburgh, she spends a lot of days like this, out in the vegetable field watching third-graders, or highschool students sporting piercings and leather, light up with wonder as they pull their first carrot from the ground.

Karen’s efforts to teach people a new way to think about food earned her international recognition last year, when she was one of three Canadians presented with a Woman of the Earth award by the Yves Rocher Foundation of France. Better known for cosmetics, the firm’s founder is also a long-time environmental activist. Since 2001, his foundation has presented the Women of the Earth award to more than 165 women in eleven countries “who are working to protect nature and the wellbeing of mankind.”

26

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

Everdale itself has long been a forward-thinking kind of place. From 1966 to 1974, the fifty-acre property was home to Canada’s first “free school.”

However, while Everdale’s board continued to meet and the educational charter was maintained, the property itself eventually fell into disrepair.

In the late 1990s, Karen, her husband Gavin Dandy, Lynn Bishop and Wally Seccombe set their sights on bringing Everdale back to life. They obtained organic certification, developed a new business model, incorporated as a not-for-profit, negotiated a long-term lease with the original board, and set about restoring the buildings.

Today, Everdale is a happening place. With over 10,000 visitors a year it has become a leading light in the world of sustainability, and has been supported by numerous foundations and grants. The organic operation now spills over onto rented space on several neighbouring farms. Produce is sold at two major farmers’ markets in Toronto, and through Everdale’s Community Shared Agriculture program, which currently has about 200 local members and 200 more in Toronto. The CSA features not only Everdale produce, but also those of other local organic growers.

In 2004, Home Alive ! was completed. It is a straw-bale-constructed demonstration home that incorporates a variety of environmentally friendly

technologies, and is open for tours.

Remaining true to the original Everdale educational charter, Karen runs a busy teaching calendar, including visits from 600 to 700 school children every spring and fall. During the winter, she operates a program called Farmers in the Schools. All the programs are matched to provincial curricula.

Everdale also offers courses and workshops for farmers and other people interested in sustainable practices.

Karen’s vision of the future stretches far beyond Everdale’s fenceline. She would like to see food become a bigger priority in education, and can imagine a day when all schools have a relationship with local farms.

“Sometimes we get too Everdale-centric,” she says, bouncing across a field behind the wheel of an old van. “Kids should be able to go to local farms everywhere.”

Yves Rocher’s cosmetics business has a major facility in Montreal, and the charitable foundation has supported Everdale in the past. Karen says, “The awards gala was much more of an event than I expected. It was kind of embarrassing, actually.

I’m not exactly the make-up type.”

For more information about Everdale’s CSA and educational programs, see everdale.org.

JOY

Bell

Keep singing!

J

oy Bell wants it known that she hates electronic musical keyboards.

Recently retired after sixteen years

as a director and pianist for the Theatre Orangeville Youth Singers – or T.O.Y.S. – choir, Joy says the worst disaster of her career came about because of just such an instrument.

Joy’s talents as a musician and her love of children have given her both a career and a life passion. When she started working as an eighteen-year-old elementary-school teacher in 1960, her principal discovered Joy could play piano. He immediately appointed her director of the school’s music program.

She has been bringing together people and music ever since.

Joy moved to Orangeville in 1969, taking a break from teaching to raise her own three children. She came back to it in 1980, first in Orangeville and later in East Garafraxa. “No matter what school I was in, I always did all the music,” she says.

In 1994, Jim Betts, artistic director of the newly formed Theatre Orangeville, happened to be in the audience when Joy directed and played for a school production of The Sound of Music. Impressed with Joy’s work, he invited her to start a choir. T.O.Y.S. – Joy came up with the name – was born.

“It evolved,” Joy says, “By the second year we had a decent group.” The choir did a demo tape and submitted it to a competition to perform in Toronto’s 1995 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond. Out of 300 entries, T.O.Y.S. was selected as one of four choirs to perform in the show. T.O.Y.S. spent six weeks training for Joseph, and then three months doing four shows a week. “Sometimes we wouldn’t get home until 2 a.m.,” Joy recalls of the exhilarating and exhausting adventure.

The highlights kept coming. There have been television appearances and a performance for the Queen. More recently, T.O.Y.S. performed at Orangeville’s Olympic Torch Relay ceremonies.

“We’ve had some good breaks,” Joy says modestly.

Her own talent has been recognized too, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003, and the Paul Harris Rotary Club Award in 2010.

Still, after all those years, Joy felt it was time for a change. When fellow directors Joan Borden and Susan Cooper decided to retire this past spring, Joy joined them. “My daughter had a baby out in B.C. and the work didn’t allow me the freedom to visit,” she explains. But she won’t be giving up music. She still teaches private lessons and otherwise says she’s “waiting for another door to open.”

Oh, and the disaster? The choir was in midperformance, Joy and her electronic keyboard up front. “I’m playing piano, and in the middle of the song I accidentally hit the ‘organ’ button,” she says.

“The choir all looked at me, so I motioned to keep singing, keep singing. I’m still playing, desperately looking for the button to switch it back. I think I’ve spotted it, and push it. Instead, all by itself, the keyboard starts playing some piece of classical music. Beethoven or something. It had nothing to do with the performance.”

Panicked, still motioning for the choir to keep singing, Joy says, “I finally shut the thing off, turned it back on and caught up. They were still singing, though.”

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

27

MICHAEL

McCreary

Does this make my

S

o goes the title of fourteen-year-old stand-up comedian Michael McCreary’s satirical take on living with Asperger’s syndrome.

Michael also puts his own spin on the official defi nition: “The New England Journal of Medicine defi nes Asperger’s as an impairment in social interaction. Rigid or socially naive. A lack of emotional reciprocity and ... Oh my god! I’m Stephen Harper!”

Harper aside, Michael does share the traits of this autism spectrum disorder with an illustrious crowd.

It has been speculated that Thomas Jefferson was an Aspie. Same with Einstein, Mozart, Shakespeare and a long list of other historic figures. These days, the experts cast a curious eye toward Bill Gates. Indeed, Dr. Hans Asperger, for whom the syndrome is named, believed that “for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential.”

The jokes keep coming during Michael’s fifteenminute set – a frank, edgy, and decidedly mature skewering of life as he sees it. At home in Hockley Valley, with his older sister Megan (“my biggest fan”) and younger brother Matthew, who has a more severe form of autism, Michael turns down the wattage a little, but he’s every bit as sharp and observant as his on-stage persona suggests.

“I write the jokes,” he says, “Mom edits them, Dad censors them, and Megan decides if they’re funny.”

This family is a well-oiled machine. They all pitch in for each other, along with Matthew’s service dog, a yellow lab named Riley, who provides professionalgrade love and support in all directions.

Michael began developing his interest in performing at age eight, when he became a member of Theatre Orangeville’s Young Company. However, a different route brought him to comedy: “I saw a lot of funny things happening and I had all these strange ideas and I wanted to tell everyone.”

Of course, there wasn’t an audience available every time Michael thought of something funny, so, he says, “I started to keep a comedy journal.” Two years on, he’s still writing daily. “Usually five to ten paragraphs a day.

One time I wrote twenty-three. They’re just ideas that I might be able to work into something. A resource point.”

A facility with language is often a characteristic of people with Asperger’s, as is an ability to simultaneously comprehend multiple levels of meaning from words.

“When told they had to eat and run,” goes the pun, “one Aspie said, ‘That makes us carnivorous pantyhose.’ ” Last year, Michael’s mother, Susan, learned about Spark of Brilliance. The Guelph-based organization was founded by Judith Rosenberg to promote mentalhealth healing and recovery through the arts. Its offerings include a course called Stand Up For Mental Health, a program created by Vancouver’s David Granirer, a comedian who suffers from depression.

Granirer teaches stand-up comedy to people with mental health disorders as a means of building confidence and fighting public stigma and prejudice.

28

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

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The organization performs in a wide range of settings, everywhere from psychiatric wards to university and college campuses, prisons and military bases, and for the general public across North America.

A typical lineup might include comedians with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or any number of other mental health diagnoses.

After a phone interview, Granirer took Michael on as the youngest comic to ever perform in the organization’s roster. According to Michael, “The classes really helped. Now I can write jokes faster, and more at a time. It also helped with the delivery. Now I can tell if the set-up is too long.”

At fifteen shows and counting, Michael is now usually slotted in the premier spot of closing act. With characters such as “Socially Awkward Man,” and ruminations on the life of a teenage Jesus, he takes on the fears, misconceptions and realities of living with mental illness.

Everything is fair game. As Michael warns in the opening moments of his act, “It was recommended that we try and draw the humour from our personal tragedies and shortcomings. So if any one of you has to go to the bathroom, you better go now, because I have eight hours worth of material.”

Michael’s father, Doug, recalls a moment when his son demonstrated his stand-up chops: “I’m sitting in the audience. David Granirer was hosting the show and standing off to the side.” In a rare flub, Michael got off-track with one of his jokes. “I know that he’s blown the set-up,” Doug says. “I look over at David, and I can tell that he knows too.”

The two held their breath as Michael closed in on the punch line.

However, Michael had it well in hand, creating a new ending on the fly by turning a joke that was supposed to riff on Barbra Streisand into a punchline about – of all people – Margaret Thatcher. The switch worked, and the audience erupted in laughter.

Realizing they were in the hands of a natural, Granirer could only look at Doug and shrug.

Fresh from shooting for the upcoming television series Splatalot (“I can’t tell you about it or they’ll send people to kill me,” he says), Michael has been riding a wave of success. It hasn’t always been that way, though. “Last year I didn’t hang out with people at school much,” he says, “though I did have quite a few friends outside school.”

Ironically, his humour doesn’t always help much with his peers.

The very quality that makes it so sharp to adults means that it can sail right over the heads of early teens, who, for example, don’t even know who Margaret Thatcher is, let alone why she might get a laugh.

And there’s another downside to funny. As with any professional, Michael’s effortless-seeming performances take hours of preparation and rehearsal. By contrast, in social settings there is sometimes pressure to be funny-on-the-spot – sort of, “go ahead, make me laugh” – an unfair demand on anyone, never mind a fourteen-year-old.

While Michael admits he is considering making a career out of comedy, more practical concerns are taking centre stage at the moment. He’s in his fi rst year of high school and he’s also an aspiring jazz musician, pondering the possibilities for incorporating the saxophone into his comedy routine.

Just now, success is measured in terms universal to all teenagers.

Surviving high school without too many incidents. Keeping up his grades. Making some friends. The female of the species.

So it should be.

For Michael McCreary, banishing the darkness is an after-school gig.

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

29

NEIRIN

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

Neirin’s life’s work is to help rescue his own family, the Canadian horse, from extinction. It’s an enviable set-up: he’s a national hero thanks to his dating activity.

His ancestors first came to Canada in 1665, when King Louis XIV selected stock from his own stables and sent them to the New World.

The breed became well established here, but life was just as difficult for livestock as it was for settlers. Often horses were left to fend for themselves in the bush, only being brought in for work.

Over the next 150 years, hard work, poor care and harsh winters meant only the toughest animals survived. Canadian horses became more compact and muscular. Standing an average of fourteen to sixteen hands, they resemble a small draft horse. Most are black, though shades of brown also occur.

Their use was widespread in eastern Canada and Ontario, and they were noted for their versatility, serving as an all-round family horse.

Moreover, they were renowned for their stamina. There are accounts of Canadian horses, when teamed with other breeds, literally working their harness-mates to death, sometimes outliving several in succession.

As a result, they became known as The Little Iron Horse, or in some places, The Horse of Steel.

Eventually the Americans figured out that we were on to a good

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thing. Many animals were shipped south to serve in the Civil War, for use on stage coach lines and as work horses. Others were shipped to the West Indies to work on sugar plantations.

U.S. demand for pure Canadians, combined with cross-breeding in this country, meant that as early as the mid-1800s their numbers had dwindled to a handful in Canada. It was not until 1886 that proper breeding records were first kept, and in 1913 the federal government opened a breeding centre in Quebec. That was taken over

by Quebecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department of Agriculture in 1940.

Still, the breed teetered on the brink, with only 383 animals registered in 1976. Things got even worse in 1979, when Quebec announced it was shutting down the breeding operation.

A small group of private breeders took up the cause of keeping the Canadian horse alive, and ever so slowly, numbers began to climb.

There are about 6,000 Canadian horses today, though that is still a tiny percentage of the roughly one million horses in Canada.

In 2002, the federal government officially declared the Canadian as this countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national horse.

Neirin is owned by Brenda Pantling at Hidden Meadow Farms in Erin. Brenda has been breeding Canadians since 1988. Her operation is small, producing only two horses a year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We decided to focus on quality over quantity,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At this point itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important for the breed.â&#x20AC;? All thirteen Canadians on her farm exhibit the calm, friendly, curious and intelligent traits of their heritage.

So hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to you, Neirin. Your clan were among the first immigrants.

They built this place we call home as surely as any of the other pioneers. They fought for survival, and they learned to live with the cold.

Pretty much what being a Canadian is all about. â&#x2030;&#x2C6; IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

31

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Theatre Orangeville Presents Anne by Paul Ledoux November 25th to December 19th, 2010 First Night New Year’s Eve Celebration at Tony Rose Memorial Arena December 31st, 2010 Orangeville Concert Association Presents Henderson-Kolk Duo January 30th, 2011 Theatre Orangeville Presents In A World Created by a Drunken God by Drew Hayden Taylor February 17th to March 6th, 2011

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Handel’s Messiah comes to the hills he hills of Headwaters are alive with the sound of music – and so are the valleys.

Hockley Valley, to be precise. Every Wednesday evening since September, the glorious strains of Handel’s Messiah have echoed from Hockley Seniors’ Hall as Achill Choral Society prepares for its Christmas concerts.

The chatter that fi lls the hall on the first evening that the group reconvenes for its twenty-eighth season is cut short at precisely 7:30 as conductor A. Dale Wood strikes the first chords on the piano.

Men and women hustle to their seats, open their scores, and break into song.

Dale is the founding director of the chorus and his likeability is immediately evident. He fires off puns and quips that keep the singers smiling and chuckling, all the while playing piano with one hand and conducting with the other.

“We’ve got to get a Handel on this,” he says as they struggle through a section. Groans and laughter break the tension. They sample various parts of the score as they reconnect with the music. The choir performed Messiah at two sold-out venues in 2003, so the majority are familiar with the work. But Dale will not let them rest on their laurels, he challenges them with a section they had not sung in their previous concert.

34

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

“You’ve sort of got the idea,” he says after the first note-bashing attempt. “Let’s go through it again and I’ll see you at the end … maybe.” More laughter.

With each repetition, the long trills – like a million notes cascading over a waterfall – become cleaner and more precise.

A registered Canadian charity, Achill Choral Society began as a community choir in 1982. Over the years its ranks have swelled to eighty-five members who hail from a wide area north-west of Toronto and range in age from late twenties to well into their eighties. They regularly perform in communities across the Headwaters and South Simcoe regions, fi lling churches and halls with the joy of music. Constantly evolving and improving, the choir has also performed throughout Ontario and toured England, Ireland and Holland.

The choir was founded in the tiny hamlet of Achill, near Hockley. The hamlet was settled in the early 1800s by Irish immigrants from Achill Island off the west coast of Ireland. Pronounced Ak-ill, the word is Gaelic for “eagle,” and ACS uses a combination eagle feather and keyboard as its logo.

During their twentieth anniversary tour to Ireland, the choir performed on Achill Island, where, says Dale, they were received like family.

A resident of Georgetown, Dale is also director of

the Georgetown Choral Society and the Georgetown Children’s Chorus. His own compositions and arrangements have been performed by his choirs and are included on one of Achill’s two CDs. “I sometimes have more fun than the choirs,” Dale admits, although the return rate indicates that he’s not the only one having a good time.

According to Anne Luttrell, one of eight founding members still with the choir, there is a great deal of camaraderie in the group. “Dale is a cementing factor,” Anne says. “He knows what we can do and we know what he expects.”

But Dale doesn’t keep this well-oiled machine “humming” on his own. Last season, for example, he took a leave of absence and Susan Verduin, who has sung with ACS for fifteen years, left the secure confines of the choir to pick up the conductor’s baton for the spring concert. And a large executive committee toils vigorously behind the scenes.

“We love singing and we love communicating the joy of singing to our audiences,” says choir president Mark Whitcombe. But he acknowledges to make that happen, “there’s a tremendous amount of work required.” He and his wife Cathy, a past president, have been choir members since 1992.

Along with financial management and promotion, the executive committee’s duties include such

A. Dale Wood conducts the Achill Choral Society. The choir will present three performances of Messiah in the coming weeks.

BY MI C HEL E GREEN

tasks as locating venues, organizing chairs or riser set-up and tear-down, and maintaining the music library.

Anne Luttrell, 73, fi lled the librarian’s role for fourteen years before stepping down this fall. The librarian’s job begins when the music committee and director have finalized the musical choices for the next season.

Locating music for a single work that fi lls an evening is relatively straightforward, Anne says.

“Because Messiah is well known, many choirs have done it and you can easily find a choir to rent music from.” Also, the majority of choir members purchased their own copies when they performed it in 2003.

But, for some concerts, such as last spring’s medley of twenty songs from the world of film, Anne had to search all over the country for choral versions of songs usually sung as solos.

Music is rented, bought or borrowed and then handed out to choir members at the end of the season so they have the music and practice tapes to work on over the summer.

ACS’s library currently stores some 500 works, with eighty or so copies of each. Once performed many of the songs are not repeated and the librarian is responsible for renting or lending them to other

choirs – and making sure they are returned.

Along with concerts each Christmas and spring, ACS presents benefit concerts and provides entertainment in seniors’ residences. They have helped raise money for Canadian Red Cross, The Rotary Club of Orangeville, Headwaters Health Care Centre, Canadian Cancer Society and The McMichael Gallery.

As much as ACS continually strives to elevate its amateur status, the members also value their roots the community. The latter is aided no doubt by their tradition of providing desserts to the audience following each performance. For the last two springs they have also put on a fundraising evening of cabaret-style music, followed by all-you-can-eat desserts. This is a group that loves to sing and bake!

Their determination to maintain modest ticket prices means expenses are not always covered and “We constantly need to fundraise,” says Cathy Whitcombe. Expenses include paying the director and accompanist, she explains, and, in the case of Messiah, hiring four professional soloists and a twelve-piece orchestra.

The licence fee paid for the use of every musical score also takes a percentage out of the budget. And then there’s the cost of wardrobe, which has a lifespan of about five years. A Trillium grant covered the cost of a new wardrobe five years ago, but it is

nearing that time again.

Dale continually challenges the choir in the months leading up to their three performances of Messiah, working on phrasing and dynamics as they prepare for the final rehearsals with soloists and orchestra. Parts of some sections – soprano, alto, tenor and bass – rehearse informally on their own, and extra rehearsals en masse are called if required.

When they finally come together with soloists Stephanie Kramer, Jennifer Enns Modolo, Mark DuBois and Daniel Lichti, along with organist Shawn Grenke and The Valen Ensemble orchestra, the choir must be in peak form.

Tenor Mark DuBois has been guest soloist with the Achill choir on many occasions over the past eight years. “I fi nd them to be one of the most enthusiastic and competent community choirs that I have ever sung with,” he says. “Making the music is always fun, professional and gratifying.” Whether he’s conducting Handel, Mozart or Mendelssohn, Mark adds, Dale Wood is “a consummate professional and musician of great talent.”

“Messiah is a major work, but this choir has done some marvellously difficult major works in the past,” Dale says. “I’m very proud of them. They continued on next page IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

35

achill continued from page 35

work so hard and turn out the best product possible. They sense their achievement more than a professional would and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth a thousand bucks right there, just to watch them and see the audience respond.â&#x20AC;?

With its haunting and transcendent beauty, Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Messiah is perhaps the most performed work in musical history. This season it will be sung by thousands and heard by millions throughout the world. Thanks to Achill Choral Society, the hills of Headwaters wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss out. â&#x2030;&#x2C6; Michele Green is a freelance writer who lives near Belfountain.

Where to hear Achill Choral Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Messiah Performances â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Saturday, November 27, 8pm Holy Family Roman Catholic Church 60 Allan Drive, Bolton Saturday, December 4, 8pm St. Timothyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Roman Catholic Church 42 Dawson Road, Orangeville Sunday, December 5, 7.30pm St. Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Roman Catholic Church 2118 Adjala-Tecumseth Tline, Colgan Tickets $25; $15 for children under 13 905-584-6710 www.achill.ca

The Origins of Messiah

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36

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

Of all the proclaimed works of music tied to the Christmas season, perhaps none is more revered than George Frideric Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Messiah.

The German-British Baroque composer was born in 1685 and hid his early musical talent from his barber-surgeon father, who hated music and wanted Handel to become a successful lawyer. However, the young Handel honed his skills on a spinet harpsichord concealed in the attic of his home â&#x20AC;&#x201C; each string wrapped with thin strips of cloth so he could play undetected.

When Handel was eight or nine years old, the Duke of Weissenfels heard the youngster play the postlude to a church service and told his father he should encourage his sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talent.

Handel moved to Italy where he achieved success in every musical genre, and then to England in 1712 where he enjoyed continued popularity, composing about forty operas and twenty-six oratorios over the next thirty years.

However, after two failed operas, he fell on hard ďŹ nancial times. He considered returning to Germany, but instead of giving up, he turned more strongly to God. In the late summer of 1741 he began to compose music to Biblical texts compiled by his friend Charles Jennens. By all accounts Handel worked feverishly on the score, often going without food and not leaving his house during the twenty-four days it took to compose Messiah. While writing the Hallelujah Chorus, he was indeed inspired, saying â&#x20AC;&#x153;I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself.â&#x20AC;?

Messiah was ďŹ rst performed around the Easter season in Dublin, Ireland in 1742, not in a church but in a music hall on Fishamble Street. It immediately won huge popular acclaim and, anticipating large crowds, newspaper ads requested ladies to refrain from wearing hoops under their skirts and asked the men to come without their swords so that seating could be efďŹ ciently accomplished. Handel designated all concert proceeds to three prominent Dublin charities.

Unfortunately, when Handel took Messiah to Covent Garden Theatre in London in March 1743, critics were unimpressed and reviews critical. Messiah was cast aside and nearly forgotten until charitable performances in 1750 brought it back to life and restored its popularity.

One lasting tradition from those early performances was the act of standing for the Hallelujah Chorus, initiated when King George II rose from his seat at the beginning of the chorus. Whether the king stood because he was moved by the music or merely wanted to stretch his legs is unclear, but etiquette of the era demanded that if the king stood so should everyone â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a tradition was born.

Two days before Palm Sunday in 1779, Handel collapsed after conducting a performance of Messiah. He died on Good Friday, seventeen years after the Dublin debut.

Messiahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lasting popularity has been linked to the spaciousness in Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music, the dramatic silences and stirring contrasts. The music is a blend of styles: English church music, German passion-music and Italian melodic style. Three of the choruses were arranged from Italian love-duets that Handel had written thirty years earlier. Although based on Biblical verses, Messiah does not tell a story in the conventional terms of most Baroque oratorios and demonstrates Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abilities as an operatic composer.

Franz Joseph Haydn, after hearing Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Messiah for the ďŹ rst time, declared him â&#x20AC;&#x153;master of us all.â&#x20AC;?

F IDDL E R S A ND DA NC E R S R A I S E T HE R A F T E R S IN RO S E MON T

welcome to an old-time

Jamboree

BY J U L IE S U Z A NNE P O L LO C K

David Aspenlieder, founder of the Rosemont Fiddle and Square Dance Club, greets square-dance neophyte Julie Pollock as they swing around the square.

P H O T O S B R YA N D AV I E S

T

he village of Rosemont is a quiet place – the kind of place where you don’t expect surprises. So, on a certain evening each month, your curiosity might be piqued by the steady trickle of nicely-dressed folks stepping up the stairs of the old Orange Hall. Especially since every time the door opens, you hear snippets of lively music and the sound of feet sliding merrily over a maple floor.

If you dare to peek inside, you see dancers whirl ing and winding in patterns. Onstage, someone calls the steps, as the tune spills brightly from a piano, fiddles and guitars. Then the configuration pulls apart. Some of the dancers take up instruments, a new caller steps forward, new dancers take the floor, and the whole thing starts again.

The scene feels like a window back through time, but this is the Rosemont Fiddle and Square Dance Club, and it’s just six years old.

Artist and musician David Aspenlieder started the club with Beth Hunt, owner of Rosemont’s Globe Restaurant. They knew each other from church in Everett. She told him she had bought the old hall across the road from the restaurant, envisioning a place for art shows, kids’ lessons, community suppers, yoga classes and the like. To

get started, they decided, “Let’s fi ll it with music.”

The Rosemont Hall has a handsome room for dancing. The dark wood ceiling and well-scuffed floor are framed on each side by six tall windows.

There is a large stage at one end and a cloakroom at the other. “People used to come in from the farms on cutters for dances in the winter,” says Beth. “The kids would sleep on coats in the cloakroom. So not much has changed, really.”

“We started the dances in an effort to provide the community with traditional family entertainment,” recalls David. “We do occasionally get children and young people but, unfortunately, the tradition of square dance – or family nights out – is gradually declining.”

Still, as many as a eighty people, including up to two dozen musicians, gather on the third Tuesday of the month. The night I joined them, there was a contingent of kids bouncing through the steps at the back of the hall. The evening started with a free-form jam as the musicians warmed up. Along with fiddles and guitars, their instruments included dobro, mandolin, banjo, spoons and harmonica.

On that evening, the musicians included Melissa Mouck, an Orangeville high-school student who plays fiddle, step dances and sings with

a panache beyond her years. And Carole Bayley, who comes with five to six friends every month.

She’s been playing guitar for only four years and values the opportunity to learn from the other musicians.

The format of a jamboree is to have each musician play two traditional dance songs – such as Chrystal Chandelier, Faded Love or the Black Velvet Waltz – solo or with others, as they choose.

Two-step and square dances are mixed in through the evening. Closing time in Rosemont is signalled by the announcement of door prizes and a draw.

“The evening usually concludes around ten o’clock,” says David. “However, some musicians hang about and continue jamming until I chase them out.”

Hosting a monthly jamboree takes a lot of work. But David has help from Beth and the club’s core members. And music is in his family.

His grandmother played her own Stradivarius violin and his mother was an amateur, but accomplished operatic and jazz singer. David, a painter and semi-retired graphic artist, plays guitar and piano and took up the fiddle seven years ago. continued on next page IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

37

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

I M AG I N E A B E T T E R WAY o f L I V I N G

The club is kept vibrant by the musicians and dancers who show up every month, members such as Ginny Pletts, Peter and Marge Goymour, and Ron and Mary Yorke, all from Alliston, and Ed Elliotson from Bolton.

Like David, Ed took up the fiddle later in life. He was fifty-seven when his brother, a music teacher, gave him a violin and he first tried to play.

“This music we’re playing is oldtime Ontario-style,” he tells me. “There are other styles in Canada. There’s Ottawa Valley, Métis, East Coast…”

An enthusiastic dancer, Ed also helps organize a jamboree series in Bondhead. He learned how to call square dances from Murray and Dorothy Morrison. The Orangeville couple are an integral part of the Rosemont club. Murray is the first person you meet because he takes the tickets at the door.

During sixty years of marriage, Murray and Dorothy have travelled all over Canada, the United States, Scotland and England to enter – and often win – square dance competitions. “I’ve called wherever there’s calling,” claims Murray. In fact, he has been calling dances since he was a boy of eleven.

Square dancing has its roots in French and English ballroom dancing.

The form morphed as it moved across the globe to North America, and today it has a distinctly country feel. The Americans developed the tradition of calling out the steps for the dancers.

Canadian square dance, step dance

and fiddle playing fanned out from Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.

The traditional dance form experienced a heyday during the 1950s and ’60s as a result of the immensely popular country variety television shows hosted by John Allen Cameron and Don Messer.

A few years back, my neighbour offered to take me to an “old time jamboree” in Dundalk. Garnet McMillen, a former potato farmer of advanced years, is a fi xture of our village scene.

It was a cold Sunday afternoon when we headed up the walk at the Legion hall in the company of an older crowd.

The atmosphere was convivial, familiar and warm. It reminded me of joining my parents at their church.

Soon, the hall was fi lled with couples stepping around the floor. Many of the dancers were not young, but they floated past with sure feet and serene faces. Everyone knew my escort and asked kindly after his wife, who was not well. As we drove home, I felt wrapped in the warm shawl of simple community pleasure.

At the time, I thought it was a unique event. But monthly jamborees happen across the hills and across the province. Locally, there are regular dances in Shelburne, Hornings Mills, Erin, Bolton and Dundalk.

In Rosemont, it was time for the main event. Siggy Dombrowloski, a teacher who lives in Shelburne, kicked off the dance. Siggy makes the violin look easy. He has been playing for nearly three decades, many years in community orchestras such as the

Rosemont musicians, clockwise from left: Melissa Mouck, Gloria Dalston, Alex Aldcorn, Siggy Dombrowloski and callers Dorothy and Murray Morrison.

University of Guelph orchestra. But he enjoys the free-wheeling jamboree style. “You could get out some Jack Daniels and play all night,” he laughs.

“An orchestra is very beautiful,” he explains, “because you are playing surrounded by forty instruments.

But it is also very structured. This is just fun.”

Since I don’t know a Gay Gordon from a two-step, I wasn’t planning to dance. But as Murray and Dorothy stepped up to the microphone, Siggy took my elbow and off we went with three other pairs. It was an easy set, perhaps in my honour, and I tried to keep tuned to the caller’s instructions.

Even so, at times I found myself dashing off in the wrong direction.

No one seemed to mind, though.

There was laughter, a touch on my shoulder, or a tip of the head to straighten me out. As we rounded the circle in a promenade, I was glad I was wearing a swingy skirt.

Afterward, Cliff Woolner reassures me: “Everyone has a good time dancing. That’s what it’s all about.” A Rosemont-area farmer, Cliff learned to dance seventy-five years ago in a schoolhouse on Highway 10, north of Orangeville. (He also plays fiddle, guitar and banjo, but just for fun at home.) These days he often attends dances with his neighbour, Dorothy Caldwell, who, like him, has lost her spouse. Cliff and Dorothy remember attending many dances in the Rosemont Hall during their youth. When Dorothy was married fifty-three years ago, the young couple were “present-

ed” at the hall after the wedding.

“Everyone brought a dollar,” she says with a smile. “That’s how old time it was!”

Another couple, Dennis and Lois Leitch, were celebrating their sixtieth wedding anniversary. They farmed strawberries south of Honeywood and now live in Shelburne. Dennis makes fun of their age: “I can still get her up and haul her around the floor.”

As I left the Rosemont Fiddle and Square Dance Club, the dancers were still turning round and round on the floor. Hands clasped hands through the steps – men with women, women with women, parents with children – and the stage held a mix of players, new and well-seasoned. I pulled my jacket close against the cold, and thought of David’s words about the old days: “Fiddlers were the lucky guys during those long winter nights. They got to stand near the woodstove and enjoy liberal amounts of spirits.” ≈ The Rosemont Fiddle and Square Dance Club meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month, except August and December. The $4 admission includes sandwiches and snacks. Coffee or tea is 50 cents, juice or pop is $1. Everyone is welcome. There is no membership fee. For information, contact David Aspenlieder at 705-435-9753, imageryinc@hotmail.com.

Julie Suzanne Pollock is awhirl in Honeywood.

Complete Alteration Service Available Klementine Boutique 19 Queen St, Bolton 905 857 7380

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

39

BLUE RODEO THE THINGS WE LEFT BEHIND

THEYEARINMUSIC

BY L IS A WAT S O N

Success grows. I love that sentiment because it reminds us that it’s the journey not the destination that counts. With everything evolving so quickly, it seems that one day an idea is innovative and the next it’s obsolete, so you really do have to live and work in the moment. Perhaps we artists are better suited for this economic climate than we think.

At the opening of the Alton Mill last year, Martha Durdin, chair for the Ontario Arts Council, recited the astounding statistic that the Ontario arts and

Recorded at the Woodshed, Toronto – 2009

I’m not the only one that’s trying to act casual when I’m standing beside Jim Cuddy in the health food store in Orangeville. He looked smaller at the concert.

He’s definitely way cuter, but there’s no question that he and his band rock the world my ladies and I live in. Recently transplanted to the area, engineer Darryl Neudorf is obviously on their creative wavelength with some innovative new instrumentation and world beat rhythms. But don’t worry, their sound on this double cd is still dynamically their own. Local fiddler Anne Lindsay burns up the strings on several tracks. What hasn’t been said about Blue Rodeo? Lose the tables and chairs. Favourite tracks: One More Night and Waiting for the World.

STUART GUNN LOOSE ENDS E.P.

culture sector accounts for 6.6 per cent ($19.1 billion) of Ontario’s GDP. The number is no doubt primped to look its best, but I was still very impressed, considering most of the musicians I know have a hard time finding two coins to rub together. Still, it’s nice to know they like us – they really like us.

Technology now allows us to do our own recording, but it has long been my opinion that we should do one thing at a time and do it well. And if we’re not particularly good at something, we should pass it on to an expert. And we’re in luck in that department, a few new sound technologists have parked their wagons in the neighbourhood.

And there’s more good news: LPs are making a comeback. Didn’t we always

Recorded by Tim McIntosh – 2010

totally dig the cover artwork for our favourite bands. CDs shrank that space to

Clever Tim McIntosh did most everything on this cd himself, recording and all, with a couple of talented guest musicians to add further texture to this sweet-sounding offering. Tim is another hardworking local musician who totally surprised me, but also reminded me what musicians can do when they have the opportunity (and cash) to produce the masterpieces they’ve had floating around in their heads – quite likely for some time.

This would be a great stocking stuffer.

Tim has a real knack for harmonies and arrangements. Each of the original tunes has a warm and appealing EastCoast feel. Favourite tracks: Without a doubt the first track, Just Let It Go, and Residents.

barely visible, and the Internet completely negated it. Of course, we do have on-

40

II N N TT H H EE H H II LL LL SS W W II N N TT EE RR 22 00 01 90

Christmas approaches and it’s a great time buy local by dropping into your neighbourhood music stores to pick up CDs, instruments, or sign up for lessons.

And don’t complain to me if you’ve got nothing to do on a Saturday night. Get off your heiniekins, go out and hear some fabulous live music.

Recorded at Stewart Gunn Music Studio – Orangeville 2010

Oblio is at it again. Stewart Gunn is now “radiating” from his new studio on Broadway here in O’ville and he hasn’t skipped a beat producing some of the most creative and whimsical music I’ve heard. This beautifully layered cd is no exception. Stewart is joined by a troupe of Harmony Rainbow Group favourites: Cory McCallum, Cory Bruyea, Justin McDonald, Lyndsay Wright, Gordon Shawcross, Stephanie McDonald and Chris Mullen. It’s all about music and friendship for these guys. Stewart’s lyrics reflect a wide spectrum of emotions. I laughed, I cried. It’s sweet stuff. A rocking good meditation. Favourite track: Hands down this year’s favourite song is Boxing Day.

PORK ROYALTY ALL IS FAIR

TIM MCINTOSH LESS IS MORE

line videos now – art will find a way to present itself.

A Harmony Rainbow Group Production – 2010

Christopher Mullen’s five-song cd is just a taste of what this guy can do, I’m sure.

Crossing over the Alan Parsons Project and Dire Straits, the imagery evoked by his lyrics is both romantic and eclectic. His sexy cowboy voice and warm melody lines are supported by HRG players Justin Castator on keyboards, Mr. and Mrs. Justin McDonald vox and electric guitar, and David Joseph on sax – oh, yes, I hear you Stew Gunn – and mastered masterfully by Martin Davis Kinack of Broken Social Scene fame. The fun never ends. Favourite tracks: Marinara and You Are Princess.

BY DIVINE RIGHT MUTANT MESSAGE Hand Drawn Dracula, Toronto – 2009

Check YouTube for Divine Right and you’ll see some really fun videos. Their music is upbeat and life affirming with a definitively English pop feel. José Contreras has been front man for By Divine Right since its high-school conception. How wonderful that he and his wife Lily Frost have dropped their musical net over these hills. Hand Drawn Dracula is another artists’ support model from Toronto.

Similar in character to the Harmony Rainbow Group I refer to often, the mandate of the label is to help each other achieve quality artistic goals. Favourite tracks: I Loved a Girl and I Will Hook You Up. I adore great music you can dance to.

Four Feet Under Records, Orangeville

Further proof that there is some delicious music right under our noses. This is so fabulously Moody Blues. Takes me back to the days when we… well, never mind. But I always dug them. Patrick is director of operations for this new recording company and he is in good musical company with co-writer and guitarist Kelly Klein and other talented friends. They seem to be managing a healthy virtual career in a time when business is conducted so iniquitously.

That’s what I love about musicians – they’re incredibly brave. Great original tunes all. Simple, elegant instrumentation and recording plus a tidy video (Stand) you’ll love that will air at all the major music stations. The cd is available everywhere on-line. Favourite tracks: Stand and Looking For an End – Simon and Garfunkel do Comfortably Numb.

PATRICK NIND STAND

THE BREAKING LAKES SLEEPING GIANTS

Recorded at Blue Box Studios – Barrie 2010

I was thrilled to hear these guys, completely out of left field, at a recent triple-header in the Wellington Room at Rebekha Sushi. I thought – omigod, I’ve discovered something here. I must tell everyone. So here I am telling you these young men are smooth and spoton with their playing. An epic rock sound. Big and full and powerful. Great poetry, effects… I can’t say enough.

Excellent show, excellent cd. Someone else might be able to do it, but I can’t pin a label on them. Okay, best guess is Supertramp. Favourite tracks: Sleeping Giants and Last Fight. I love intricate rhythms. Oh, and maybe Dented Fingers. I dunno – fabulous.

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

41

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Aporia Records – 2010

Here come the Shanks! Yes indeedee. Once again I find myself somewhat at a loss for words. Ian Starkey has a wonderful flair for theatrics and a great sense of humour. Last year’s offering from The Shanks sounded like Alice Cooper. This one sounds more like Electric Light Orchestra and Jim Morrison, with a dash of Kevin Ayers over a bed of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Only in Mono you say.

Putting somewhat cryptic lyrics to catchy rhythms is an interesting twist that translates into what I consider some very good music. Give it a spin. Favourite tracks: Bastion of Sebastian and Killing Tune, a love song.

A cottage is special. If you have one in your bones, you have an incredible bond with the sights, smells and experience of it. Inspired by childhood memories on Georgian Bay, Lily Frost has an incredibly romantic heart and a talent for turning every one of her authentic and original pieces into a soundtrack for a movie. This Casa Blanca throwback performs with passionate, musical abandon. Here is the flavour of today’s independent music. Layers of this musical mélange include glockenspiel, harpsichord, wine glasses and theremin. Believe me – you do not want to miss seeing Lily perform. Favourite tracks: Thompson Pines, a symphony indeed, and Lullaby, for the wee-uns… best lullaby ever.

SWEET ADELINES/THE ORANGEVILLE CHORUS ALL FIRED UP

.studio III dance.

Dance and Music Lessons For All Ages dance . vocals . piano guitar . glee club Recorded by Stewart Gunn – 2007

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

LILY FROST VIRIDIAN TORCH

THE SHANKS THE DARK RICHARD SHOW Check out the Music Theatre program at St. Lawrence College.

This outstanding program will develop your talents in singing, acting, and dance and prepare you for the wide range of careers in the entertainment industry.

Produced by Kirk Starkey – 2010

Fresh from the benefit concert for Matthew Fleming, I am once again aware of how complex a task it is to co-ordinate a choir. The Orangeville Sweet Adelines are a household name hereabouts and most everyone knows at least one of the eighty or so singers who belong to the local chorus of this international organization. We innately know what’s good for us, and that’s why this a cappella choir is so chock full of songbirds. Never mind the sometimes unwieldy arrangements, imagine recording and doing justice to this massive angel chorus. Well done, Stew Gunn. Smooth as silk deliveries, with nary a stray voice, All Fired Up is most certainly an appropriate title. If you like ABBA, there’s a tidy collection, as well as some popular Canadiana.

Favourite tracks: Land of the Silver Birch and I Never Meant to Fall in Love, a taste of Hollywood gone by. How on earth did they manage to hold that last note for so long?

2010

Sara May has an honest, fairy-like style of writing. What do I mean by that?

Sara is a stream-of-consciousness poet/ songstress with a no-rules attitude.

These two cds have a similar feel to the sound track of the movie Juno.

Hope you get the idea. Oh, to be young and Bohemian again. Reckless phrasing overlaps sweet melodies with imagery inspired at bus stops and in bedrooms. Sara May is currently at Ryerson studying film arts. She is the creative force personified and I look forward to seeing some of her portfolio. Favourite tracks: Mary, Mary, Mary – you’ve got to hear this one, it’s a classic! – and Lucy’s Kitchen.

HANNAH CHAPPLAIN GRACE

SARA MAY UPCOMING INCLEMENT WEATHER & KEEP IN TOUCH BUT LET GO

Produced by Ben Riddell – 2010

web extra You can hear sample tracks from several of the reviewed CDs at inthehills.ca.

This charming young lady writes a sweet song. All of the tunes on this lovely bit of Grace are enchanting. I’ve seen Hannah perform on several occasions and she is quickly developing a distinctive sound. Hannah’s sister sings with her from time to time and they make a virtuous duet with Hannah playing a tidy acoustic guitar.

Don’t miss an opportunity to catch her act. For the record, she is also a talented photographer and her dad, Bud, was also in the music business at one time. Favourite tracks: The Lullaby and 10,000 Years.

COMEON-A MYHOUSE! Great live music and an intimate setting — What could be better than a house concert?

BY L IS A WAT S O N

I

have a new friend in the person of Don Howard.

Late last spring, he and his gracious wife Jan invited me and about two dozen of their other friends and family into their Caledon home to see a Sunday afternoon performance by the impeccable singer/songwriter Lynn Miles.

I must have been a very good girl somewhere along the line because this is the ultimate gift for this songstress. In fact, Pete Paterson, our photographer, and I may be two of Lynn’s biggest fans.

Thank goodness Pete was along and asked questions because I was pretty much stupefied in her presence. Seriously – what on earth was she doing here? Who is this Don Howard guy and what did he have to do to talk her into his rec room? Not only that, he had already hosted Valdy as well – Valdy, for cryin’ out loud!

Well, Don is the retired president and chief operating officer of Penguin Books Canada. But that doesn’t explain it. What’s really behind the concerts is that he and Jan are music lovers. Simple as that.

They’ve hosted about six to eight house concerts a year for the past two years. Along with Lynn Miles and Valdy, this year’s line-up included Steve Elliott and Lucie Walker, The Laws, Annie and Rod Capps, and Michael Pickett. The cost to attend? About $25 (which all goes to pay the musician) plus something for the snack table.

Okay, but what do musicians used to packed clubs and theatres get out of the living-room venue?

When I asked Lynn that question, she admitted it can be hard to get psyched for a one-night stand, before an audience who may not know her work, and where the acoustics and setting may not be optimal. But she says the audience reception is inevitably a warm one, and, frankly, the extra cash comes in handy.

It might come as a surprise, but the truth is that the average annual income for a musician is $15,000.

Venues such as restaurants can feel hard-pressed in these cautious times to give up space and money for live music when they can tap into satellite stations that feature often mediocre music, mixed with a smattering of Neil Young for credibility. Music by Muzak revisited. Good enough, because people “really don’t give a durn”?

Not true. And here’s how I know. There’s an underground of incredible support for outstanding music bubbling up everywhere. Ordinary folks like

Don and Jan – and you and me – are opening their homes and hearts to friends and family, offering a warm and fuzzy place for musicians to proffer their talents. Musicians whose self-esteem would otherwise be chiselled to a nub in a noisy bar or eatery are being wined and dined and generally showered with love and respect in this new version of parlour concerts – and we’re loving it.

Why, I’ve seen By Divine Right, Lily Frost, Kevin Kane of Grapes of Wrath, and Michael Pickett (remember Whiskey Howl?) in homes right here in the hills.

In response to our appetite for great live music in intimate settings, organizations such as Home Routes here in Canada and the American-based Concerts In Your Home have surfaced to create individualized tours for artists travelling cross-country. Musicians are matched up with home venues as they wind their way through small communities en route to larger gigs. Over a two-week tour, performance fees and CD sales at the whistle-stops could net a musician another $4,000 or so. Especially when the small venues provide food and lodging. Sounds a lot like the wandering minstrels of old, doesn’t it?

Meanwhile, back here in Headwaters, we have become increasingly aware that there is great talent living in the hills and dales, along with some very hospitable music lovers. Bands with such curious names as Pork Royalty, The Darlings Oiseaux, Bull In The Woods, El Camino and The Warped 45s have positively rocked my socks off at “by invitation only” affairs.

And the food at these shindigs is often a matter of

Laura Bird and Terry Yarker perform at a recent house concert. The contemporary version of parlour concerts offers a new frontier for home-grown music.

one dish outdoing the next when patrons are asked to help fi ll a groaning board of grub – sometimes enough to last a whole weekend.

However, yes, you read right. These affairs are by invite only. The reason for that? Insurance. If these were commercial events, it might be a challenge to make a claim, but in my experience, no profits are made by the house. Some house concerts might break even, but as often as not the events are operated at a loss – minimal, one hopes, and entirely up to the host to figure. It’s just like having a party of any kind.

How much do you want to spend? And with a guest list of your usual playmates, what’s the difference?

The fi rst house concert I ever attended was at Marilyn Shatford’s place here in Orangeville some fifteen years ago. A caterer, she went all out on the food at the event which featured a lovely, gentle musical friend. It was a wonderful evening.

The next I heard of any such event was when Heather Katz and her husband Michael Griffin spontaneously relocated a concert by Norland Wind to their home. The concert, presented by Headwaters Acoustic Music Society, was supposed to have taken place at the Orangeville Opera House, but on that blustery winter’s eve, the building’s hydro had gone out.

After that, Heather and Michael hosted several happy events in their home. Among others, they featured Scarlett, Washington & Whiteley; The Pomelos, continued on next page IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

43

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find us in better homes everywhere!

concerts continued from page 43

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44

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

who include our exquisitely harmonizing local sirens, Heather and Laura Bird; Marianne Girard, whose work I adore; and Jory Nash, a favourite folk troubadour. More recently, Heather and Michael took over Broadway Music and continue to present great live entertainment there.

Music lover Carole Lindros has the perfect home in Orangeville for house concerts. It has fantastic acoustics and a balcony providing ample seating overlooking the living room. Last year Carole hosted the party for the release of local songbird Laura Birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fabulous CD, The Water In Between.

Tannis Slimmon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a darling of folk music â&#x20AC;&#x201C; has also fi lled Caroleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home with her delightful music and essence.

And both David Celia and Darren Arsenault played there to full houses, enchanting family and friends with warm humour and lively and lovely tunes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You will love the community you create through the beauty and joy of sharing music. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not for profit, but to support grassroots Canadian talent in a very personal way â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you change your life and your community and have fun in the process,â&#x20AC;? Carole relayed to me in a recent e-mail.

Couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have said it better myself.

I understand the pleasure we feel in singing along with the familiar lyrics of old favourites, but I also think we have become lazy listeners, content to settle for hearing the same songs over and over. So I am thrilled that a new frontier for home-grown music is opening up here, across the country, and beyond.

This past summer, my friends Steve

Singer/songwriter Lynn Miles performed to an audience of about two dozen at the home of Don and Jan Howard this past spring.

Vipond and his wife Jennifer went over the top with a Cajun feast of gumbo, fried chicken and other delectable dishes. While they renovated a grand old Victorian house, they invited their homies to jump and jive to some of the most amazing live entertainment. Host musician Romney Getty would wind us up with her sexy rock/country style of music before a feature band. Smokers, dancers, lovers poured out the front door during the break, hanging off of the porch like it was some kind of gin joint.

Each event is so pleasantly different.

Some are inside. Some are out. Some are simple crackers and cheese on a Sunday afternoon, and some are a whole weekend long. And I tell you they are popping up everywhere from the Musiciansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Corn Roast in Yelverton to the Concert for Peace in Crystal Beach.

The live music experience is like taking the kids to a farm to discover that milk and eggs donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just magically appear on the shelves of the grocery store. It leaves us wide-eyed and fi lls us with a wondrous sense of possibility and a most uncommonly light heart.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a house concert just a stoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s throw from you, and if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re lucky enough to be invited â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just say YES! â&#x2030;&#x2C6; Orangeville writer and musician Lisa Watson will be performing at CafĂŠ Bella on Broadway on Thursday evenings until Christmas, fine-tuning lesser-known heartbreakers for her next CD.

H E A D W A T E R S

N E S T

by Bethany Lee

friends with winter 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

Making

Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa Claus is coming to town In fact, he has already made an appearance in Orangeville, but there’s still time to catch a glimpse of the jolly old gent in other local communities. In fact, Santa and his reindeer will be hopscotching over the hills on Saturday, December 4, as they make appearances at parades in Bolton, Creemore and Shelburne. Santa arrives one week earlier, on November 27, in Erin and Grand Valley. Check your town website for specific parade times and related festivities.

Snow Bunnies For your little bunnies this winter, consider the Optimist Jack Rabbit Cross-Country Ski Program, facilitated by the local Optimist Club of Orangeville out of Monora Park. The club has provided cross-country ski instruction to children aged five to twelve for the past 26 years, with an emphasis on fun and enjoyment.

The program runs for two hours every Sunday afternoon starting in January 2011.

For information, contact Todd Taylor, 519-942-8681, tlmtaylor@sympatico.ca; or visit mononordic.com 46

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

I

t’s true that winter and I were once friends, a long time ago. But then, somehow, we drifted apart.

I’m not sure exactly when it happened. When I was growing up, winter was a wonderland just waiting to be discovered. I eagerly anticipated the day the snow would make its first appearance. Some years, it happened during the school day, and I had to walk up the driveway in my slippery, impractical shoes after the bus dropped me off. Other years, a most magical snowfall happened overnight. I would awake to a different light cast on my bedroom wall, and I would know it had come.

The first steps out into the snow were always exciting and invigorating. The horses on our farm would act as if they had never seen the white stuff before. They would snort and snuffle, and go for an extra gallop, tails high in the air. The barn cats seemed to have doubled in size overnight, their winter coats puffing out and filling up the hay nests where they snuggled together for warmth.

Once winter settled in, there was always skating, even for those who didn’t have ponds or outdoor rinks. I remember skating on our flooded front field in East Garafraxa, a giant natural outdoor rink. I had to be careful to remember where the cut hay or straw was sticking out, or my skates would stop dead and send me flying. Later, in search of teenage fun, I made a good number of trips to Gage Park in Brampton to race around the outdoor rink under the twinkle lights, pink cheeks warmed by handsome boys and watery, scalding hot chocolate.

My misery about winter in the hills probably started in late high school. I had a night job at a gas station, working in a tiny, uninsulated booth. No matter how low the mercury dropped, the nightly shutdown meant going out into the howling wind,

carrying a long stick to measure the litres of gas remaining in the underground tanks. I would drive home shivering from head to toe. In the quiet of the kitchen, I’d throw open the woodstove doors and thrust my feet over the coals until I thought for sure they were on fire. Oh, just to feel warm again.

Of course, I had many adventures with cars that broke down, cars that wouldn’t start, cars that wouldn’t defrost, cars that didn’t have good tires and cars that couldn’t make it up the hill. Friends visiting the farm slid their parents’ cars off of the driveway.

Instead of a soft place to explore and frolic, snow had become something I just wished would get out of my way. Following fashion seemed impossible in winter gear. As for hair – well, might as well forget it.

Then came the first few years of parenthood, when the winter wind, sleet, snow, ice, layers of mittens, hats and blankets made getting outside seem close to impossible.

Darting out to the store, or running a random errand, was not an option. The car must be warmed. The baby must be insulated. The baby must not suffocate. The windows must be scraped. Extra bottles and blankies must be packed in case the roads got worse. Easier to stay in.

And that’s when winter and I drifted apart. I thought the split was permanent. “I’m done,” I thought. “I will stay inside, find a grocery delivery service, and go out only to the airport to head to a warmer climate.”

However, “shack-wacky,” as a friend calls it, soon took over. I desperately needed to get into the community, to see real people, the kind that don boots and toques and don’t let winter bother them. Adults who know how accept, enjoy and make the most of winter. I wanted to be one of them.

I started walking to work. I bought some decent snow pants – something I hadn’t owned since I had lived on the farm. I bought real boots, with real treads, that came up to my knees (I told myself they were “outdoor chic”). I also decided that I would not be the mother who sat in the chalet, warming the bench while the family skied the day away (though, I must admit, there are merits to an afternoon in the chalet).

I swallowed my pride and fi nally took some long-overdue ski lessons.

I added skis, poles, boots and bindings to my winter collection.

For my efforts, I have been rewarded. Winter’s warm arms have finally wrapped around me once again.

The delight in my son’s eyes when he made his first snowman was something I couldn’t resist. I bundled up and ventured outside to help him roll the snow (fi lled with leaves the rake had missed). It wasn’t bad!

I taught him how to make a snow angel, and I didn’t even feel cold.

We played outside for hours and hours last winter. We made a bobsled track in the valley in our yard.

We stood outside for more hours to welcome the Olympic Torch to Orangeville on a late-December morning so cold that our nostrils instantly froze.

My son howls when I make him come inside, but eventually I lure him in with some watery, scalding hot chocolate. ≈ Bethany Lee is the online editor of kidsinthehills.ca, a sister site to inthehills.ca, where she also has a regular blog.

Introduce your kids to your old friends So, parents and grandparents, you can’t really relate to Dora the Explorer? Take heart, ’tis the season to introduce the youngsters to your old friends Anne Shirley, Scrooge and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Theatre Orangeville presents Anne, the musical adapted from L.M. Montgomery’s beloved classic Anne of Green Gables, from November 25 to December 19, when the irrepressible, red-headed heroine will, no doubt, once again win over dour Marilla and kindly Matthew.

Times and ticket information at theatreorangeville.ca, 519-942-3423.

The ghosts that led cantankerous Scrooge to redemption in Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol, are too scary for most youngsters, but they’re easier to take in the kinder, gentler version, Scrooge! A Christmas Musical. It’s on stage at Rose Theatre Brampton from December 16 to 19.

And speaking of kind and gentle, the Sugar Plum Fairy will again dance her way into the hearts of siblings Misha and Marie when the State Ballet Theatre of Russia presents Tchaikovsky’s cherished holiday ballet, The Nutcracker, on December 8 and 9, also at Rose Theatre Brampton.

Times and ticket information for Scrooge! and The Nutcracker at rosetheatre.ca, 905-874-2800.

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Kids in the Hills Chilly winter months have you staying indoors and feeling a little “shackwacky” yourself? Visit us online at kidsinthehills.ca, where we always have event listings to motivate you to get out the door with the little ones.

We will be looking to you, our community of readers, for information and support throughout the winter months and to help us build a strong online community here in the hills.

Have a road report on best tobogganing hill or outdoor skating rink? Share it with us! Don’t forget that we are on Facebook and Twitter as well – we publish great tips every week for maintaining a healthy, active family.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

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IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

47

H I S T O R I C

H I L L S

by Ken Weber

Was Christmas Ever “Old-Fashioned”?

Christmas was once a simple season of I M A G E S CO U R T E S Y D U F F E R I N CO U N T Y M U S E U M & A R C H I V E S

carolling and school concerts, of neighbourly greetings and family visits, of tinkling bells and sleigh rides in gently falling snow, all blessedly free of commercial pressure.

Well, maybe.

An advertisement in the Orangeville Sun, December, 1910

A

hundred years ago, readers of every local newspaper here in the hills could rely on two themes in the week after Hallowe’en. One was editorials and letters to the editor denouncing trick-or-treat pranksters, especially those who dumped outhouses; the other was the appearance of the season’s first Christmas ads.

In early November 1910, these first ads were modest pitches, often from mail-order companies like Ryrie Bros. in Toronto. It offered readers the privilege of “Choosing Christmas Gifts without Worry.” H.A. Rutherford’s in Bolton (“The Handy Store”) offered “cold snap bargains,” but made no mention of Christmas. And the red and green crêpe-paper decorations that appeared on McClary stoves for sale at Smith and Schaefer’s Hardware in Bolton were quite unobtrusive.

Piling on the pressure But in the first week of December the soft hints disappeared. “The Greatest Rush of the Year is Now On!” proclaimed Rutherford’s. Berwick’s store in Shelburne chose the biggest type available in the Economist to announce it could “meet every need for Christmas with Practical Presents at Popular Prices,” adding that “Santa is delighted at the prices!”

In Bolton, Clarke’s store announced “He is Coming!” The “He” was Santa, 48

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

an allusion that could not have pleased local clergy. (Those same worthies surely raised eyebrows even higher when the ad went on to ask, “Are You Prepared to Receive Him?”) Bolton’s F.A. Jaffary, knowing that housewives sensitive to their reputations would be thinking about Christmas cake, offered ingredients that will “make your cake as good as your neighbour’s for she buys at Jaffary’s”.

And in Grand Valley, Keith & Co jumped right into a pre-Christmas sale. Keith had been telling readers of the Star and Vidette since November that Christmas was “Just Five Weeks Away!” Lest the citizens of East Luther miss the point, the store kept running the five-week warning until a few days before Christmas.

With six days left before the big day, Hill & Co of Orangeville took a half page in The Banner to offer sympathy to harried Christmas shoppers.

It may well have summed up for today’s readers what the season was

really like a hundred years ago: “This is a perplexing time of year and every nerve is strung to the highest tension to secure the most suitable gifts for your friends.”

Of course, Hill & Co had just the merchandise necessary to relieve that stress, and offered its staff as gift consultants to any shoppers who needed professional advice to make their everso-crucial selections.

Think generous but useful Hill & Co’s suggestions were almost all practical items, most often clothing. The same is true for almost every store in the hills. Although it is clear from the ads that gift-giving was a fully hyped feature of the season, any guilt about commercialism was at least partly assuaged by the emphasis on presents that were useful.

On Broadway in Orangeville, J.D. Torrie pushed overcoats (and Stanfield’s underwear “from $1 up”).

Berwick’s of Shelburne listed fabrics

for home dressmaking. In addition to McClary stoves, Smith and Schaeffer featured a gasoline iron – “the latest thing in ironing” – and in the same ad reminded readers that the store sold furniture, horse blankets, knee rugs and the best selection of mitts in town.

By comparison with today, it’s interesting to note what was not on offer.

There were no absolutely-must-have toys for children. Although Adamson Hardware in Orangeville advertised skates from 50 cents to $5 a pair, reference to toys was kept low key in favour of what Hill & Co called “the most acceptable gifts that children can receive: wearing apparel.”

Only the ladies, it seems, merited gifts that approached “frill.” In the bigger stores that meant furs and ruffs and double-ribbed umbrellas, but most of the time, frills were in the packaging. At Rutherford’s store, for example, practical items such as gloves, scarves, arm bands, ties and handkerchiefs were “in fancy boxes.”

Know your market

Bundling is not new Contemporary telecom companies call it bundling but they were not first off the mark with this idea. A hundred years ago the Orangeville Banner bundled a Christmas/New Year offer and called it “Clubbing.” For $1 readers could renew a year’s subscription to the Banner, but for $2.50 could “club” it with the Toronto Daily Star. The same price would get you the Banner and The Busy Man’s Magazine. And for just $1.50 you could combine the Banner with either The Poultry Review or The Presbyterian.

The emphasis on “useful” may have presented a challenge for merchants specializing in non-essentials, such as jewellery. However, Bolton’s R.I. Russell was more than up to the task.

Mr. Russell was not only a jeweller but an optician, a purveyor of musical instruments, a wedding outfitter and – here was the key – an issuer of

Postcard Frenzy The popularity of postcards zoomed in the first decade of the twentieth century, for a while even replacing traditional Christmas cards during the holiday season. In December 1910, the owner of Shoemaker’s Drug Store in Bolton, who advertised himself as The Postcard King, told customers he’d sold over 1ooo Christmas postcards the year before and this year had brought in 2ooo for sale.

marriage licences.

The combination was a clever one because the Christmas to New Year period a century ago was on par with June as the most popular time to get married. By offering a free eight-day kitchen clock to any couple buying rings, a wedding outfit and licence before January 1, Russell turned 1910 into a banner year.

In fact, as the holidays approached, newspapers in the hills were fi lled with wedding announcements, such as “Double Wedding at Palgrave” (Dec.28); “Pretty Home Wedding in Caledon East” (Dec.26); and “Nuptial Bliss in Mono” (Christmas Day).

In its first issue of 1911, the Orangeville Sun led off its wedding column with a “tie-the-knot” in Orton, and went on to describe seven local weddings on New Year’s Day. Among the reasons for the popularity of weddings at Christmas was that it was an ideal time for families to get together, especially rural families who had more time for celebrating when there was snow on the ground. In this sense, the Christmas of a century ago was “old-fashioned” or at least different. But in almost every other way, the season was more like than unlike the Christmas we know today.

revolution in Albania and Portugal; Premier Ghali of Egypt was assassinated, and a terrorist created havoc in Russia. Marconi won a Nobel for physics, Peary reached the North Pole, and the Montreal Wanderers won the Stanley Cup. For another, clergymen and columnists continued to wonder whether Christmas had lost its meaning.

Reverend Craw at Caven Presbyterian weighed in on the subject. C.W. Mack, the rubber-stamp king from Belfountain, wrote a lengthy essay about it for the Shelburne Economist. And the Orangeville Sun carried a lament about car horns replacing the sound of sleigh bells.

The weather that Christmas also behaved as it always has. In Tullamore there was ample snow for winter fun, but in Caledon East, the St. James Sunday school class had to cut short a sleigh ride because it was just too cold. At Mount Wolfe there was no snow at all.

And surely in 1910, somewhere in these hills, probably everywhere in these hills, there was an aging grandfather at a Christmas family gathering telling anyone who would listen that Christmas was really different when he was a lad. ≈

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For one thing, the world in 1910 carried on as it always had. There was

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49

Lorne Brown | Husband of Vera, father of three, grandfather and great-grandfather of 24. Farmer who served as a navy gunner and merchant marine volunteer. 33rd Degree Mason and member of St. John’s United Church. Former reeve of East Garafraxa and warden of Dufferin County.

Isabelle Lightle | Wife of the late Edward, mother of three, grandmother and great grandmother of 33, including photographer Dawna VanSoelen. Born and raised on Robin Hill Farm, East Garafraxa. Member of The Maples Women's Institute, the Marsville Church UCW, the Orangeville Curling Club, and Just Friends choir.

Long-time member of the Orangeville Fair Board. Baker, preserver, gardener, quilter, painter and poet.

50

Bill Hostrawser |

John Burnett | Husband

Husband of the late Alice, father of six, grandfather and great-grandfather of 16.

Retired dairy farmer and member of the Holstein Association. Multiple championship winner at the International Plowing Match, 1960–1963. Active curler.

of Beth, father of three, grandfather and great-grandfather of 20. Cash crop farmer. Former school trustee, member of planning board for East Garafraxa, and land division committee for Dufferin County.

Elder at St. John’s United Church, Belwood. Musician.

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

Ewald Lammerding | Husband of Emma, father of five, grandfather of eight.

Former dairy farmer and member of Dufferin Holstein Club. Dufferin County Weed Inspector and past president of Grand Valley Agricultural Society.

Hands of Labour and Time

T

he p photographs on these pages are selections from a series called Han Hands of Labour and Time, created by artist and photographer Daw Dawna VanSoelen.

S was inspired to undertake the personal project as she She contemplated the community service her son and daughter were required to perform to graduate from high school.

“I was thinking about how to get these kids involved in some hard work,” she admits.

It was around the time of the Grand Valley Fall Fair two years ago, and her reflections turned to her hard-working neighbours in the farm community of East Garafraxa where she grew up.

“I realized they were getting older and passing on,” she says.

“And that is what triggered me to pay tribute to the special people who had so greatly inspired me when I was a kid. I felt these kind, dedicated, generous, hard-working people should be recognized.”

When she approached her elderly neighbours with the idea, Dawna says, “they were all quite surprised, but they also seemed honoured.” She made greeting cards using the photos of each of her subjects to thank them for their participation.

One of her first subjects was her own grandmother, Isabelle Lightle. She “got right into it,” Dawna says. “In no time at all she wrote a story to help with this bright idea of mine.”

Following is an excerpt from the story Isabelle wrote to go with her granddaughter’s photographs:

Grace Greenaway | Registered Nurse (St. Joseph’s, Guelph), wife and business partner of the late Herbert.

Mother of five (including Dawna), grandmother of seven.

Church and school volunteer, 4-H homemaking club leader.

Cook, quilter, canner, knitter, dressmaker, artist, gardener.

These hands could well represent the pioneers who came and settled in East Garafraxa in the 1800s. They sailed across the ocean from other lands to take up land along the Grand River and farther inward. They plowed the land with oxen, and grew wheat to make bread for the family.

Everything was done by hand, including felling trees and chopping wood. Some families were lucky to have a cow, so Mother would churn the cream into butter. Many came with only an axe and, if lucky, a box of matches. Mother would keep the fire going in the fireplace to make a new neighbour a cup of tea.

One of the first settlers helped build a log house and it was used for both school and church. The church was the hub of the farming community.

The Grand River flows merrily through most of Garafraxa. One of its sources is in East Garafraxa between the 17th and 18th lines, at Mud Lake. This lake is fed from many strong springs on the hillsides. Without the Grand River it would have been impossible to settle here, for without water there is no life…

Times were hard, but with faith, fortitude and strong arms, they built good homes and barns…

Each and every one in East Garafraxa has had a hand in creating a beautiful township. Let’s hope that their children can pass this on.

The hands of labour and time don’t stand still. ≈

web extra To view more of Dawna VanSoelen’s Hands of

Labour and Time photographs, go to inthehills.ca, or contact her at astepintonature@gmail.com.

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

51

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

Hearth Home

BY MI C HEL E GR EEN

ab be yfield provides companionable loc al living to solitary senior s

52

IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

The only certainty in life is that time marches on. The young become the old. One day the garden seems too large, the snow too heavy, the staircase too steep, driving is confusing and preparing dinner too much effort. What happens then?

O

ne spanking-new answer is Abbeyfield House in Caledon East, a family-style home for twelve seniors that offers a mix of privacy, companionship, security and independence.

Abbeyfield’s first resident, Ken Gane, moved in October 1. Ken used to live just outside Caledon East in the house where his daughter and her family now reside and his son lives in the village.

Since his retirement from management at Litton Industries in Rexdale, Ken and his wife, Diane, had lived out of the area in two successive “adult lifestyle” communities, most recently at Tottenham’s Tecumseth Pines. But that ended when health problems necessitated Diane’s move into a long-term care facility. Now on his own, Ken, 79, has returned to Caledon East, closer to his children and back to the community he still called home.

“I was in the hardware store the other day,” Ken says, “and met some people I’d known years ago. They just about fell over to see me again!”

Abbeyfield is an international society dedicated to providing healthy, active seniors with affordable housing within their local community. Gail Grant, vice-president of the volunteer board of directors, has been involved with the Caledon project since its inception.

“People who have spent their entire lives here were being forced to move away,” Gail says. “It didn’t seem right.

They help to build this community and then they get to this stage in their lives and have nowhere to go.”

During the building design process, the board was continually telling the

top : Gail Grant outside Abbeyfield House: “We want light, we want air, we want high ceilings.” centre : Ken Gane relaxes in his bed-sitting room, where a large window looks over the garden and floods his room with natural light. bottom : The large kitchen provides a cheerful gathering place where house manager Gillian Depass (right) serves up delicious and nutritious meals.

architect, “Please, please, please don’t give us long dark corridors,” Gail recalls. “We want light, we want air, we want high ceilings.”

And indeed that is what they received. The 10,000-square-foot building is anything but institutional. Its glistening dark hardwood f loors, cream walls and lots and lots of windows give a sense of spaciousness without being overwhelming.

The residents’ bed-sitting rooms are in two pods, with each six-room pod circling one of many cozy sitting areas throughout the building. Washrooms are all “aging-in-place” size, large enough to accommodate a wheelchair or walker. With heated floors, individually controlled heating and air conditioning, large energy-efficient windows that open onto gardens and courtyard, and a covered verandah, the building exudes state-of-the-art comfort.

“Each resident has a private room, but they eat and do other things communally,” Gail says. “What we are trying to recreate here is the feeling of a family where residents support each other, know each other, and can become buddies.”

Although the Abbeyfield model is for singles, Gail says couples could be accommodated. The important factor is that residents must be able to live independently – able to clean their own rooms and do their own laundry, for example. “We don’t dispense meds or offer help with bathing, but there are agencies that can come in to do that if the family thinks it is becoming necessary.”

Combatting loneliness and isolation is one of Abbeyfield’s main goals.

Even in a seniors’ development where people live in single-family homes or self-contained apartments, they can become isolated. In rural communities such as Headwaters, there are many elderly people living alone on the family farm in the middle of 100 acres. Abbeyfield provides the missing option for independent, but solitary seniors who seek companionship but do not require long-term care.

Serendipitously, Gail attended the opening of Hospice Caledon’s Bethell House in Inglewood when Abbeyfield was about two-thirds completed. On continued on next page IN THE HILLS WINTER 2010

53

abbeyfield continued from page 53

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54

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

seeing the hospice’s warm and inviting interiors, she asked interior designer Rafe Bethell, donor Lorna Bethell’s son, to furnish Abbeyfield as well. “He did a fantastic job and knew exactly what we needed.”

Many local businesses and individuals also stepped up to help Abbeyfield get on its feet. Palgrave Rotary, for example, installed lockers for the residents to store overflow or seasonal belongings. And the library/common room will soon boast a wide-screen TV thanks to a donation from a local resident.

The Abbeyfield concept came about in 1956 in the London Borough of Bermondsey, England when Major Richard Carr-Gomm resigned his commission with the British Army’s Coldstream Guards and bought a run-down, six-room property with an outdoor lavatory and two cold taps.

He renovated the house to provide housing for four people – the only required qualification was loneliness.

Major Carr-Gomm was the housekeeper and became known as “The Scrubbing Major.”

Today there are 1,100 houses worldwide, serving over 9,000 residents.

Abbeyfield Houses Society of Canada was established in 1984; its first house opened in Sidney, BC in 1987. There are now forty member societies in Canada with thirty houses in operation or under construction.

Each Abbeyfield house is unique with no standard building plan. Gail was surprised to find one when she was holidaying near Ajijic, Mexico.

“Someone had bequeathed a pretty house right on Lake Chapala to Abbeyfield,” Gail says.

That house was renovated with room for four private units and four more casitas (little houses) were built on the spacious grounds. According to its website, several residents in their nineties are happily living there.

Abbeyfield Houses are set up on a not-for-profit basis with a volunteer board of directors and a salaried livein house manager who provides meals, looks after the house and generally cares for the residents.

“The Abbeyfield concept totals up what it costs to run this place and to pay down the mortgage, pay the house manager, food, insurance, heat, the whole package – and then divides it by the number of residents,” Gail says.

The monthly occupancy cost works out to $1,800 per resident, considerably less than private residences of the same quality.

Abbeyfield Caledon’s house manager is Gillian Depass, a 60-year-old ball of fire who has been in the food industry for years. Most recently she cooked for 160 seniors at a large long-term

care facility in Richmond Hill. Now, with a maximum of twelve residents at Abbeyfield, she is looking forward to being able to personalize meals.

Residents help themselves to breakfast in the kitchen, but Gillian prepares their nutritious lunch and dinner.

“Gillian has great versatility with the menus,” Ken Gane says. “I’ve never known anything like that in my life.”

Small and wiry, Ken laughingly says he’s already put on a couple pounds since moving in and will soon need to buy a new wardrobe. If the chicken Caesar salad and cheesecake with fresh berries we had for lunch the day I visited is any example of Gillian’s skills, Ken might be closer to the truth than he knows.

Nutritious meals are integral to maintaining the health and strength of the residents. Board member Carol Kidd runs Caledon Meals on Wheels and is very familiar with the “tea and toast” crowd – seniors who, for various reasons, no longer eat properly, leaving them susceptible to the downhill spiral of illness. It is no secret that the enjoyment of good food and good company creates lasting social and emotional benefits.

Gillian also has plans to bring in volunteers from the community to do crafts with the residents, or play the piano for a sing-along, or host a wine and cheese party. And on this warm fall day, she has her eye on the small gardens and raised flowerbeds dotting the property.

“I can’t imagine spring without tulips and daffodils,” Gillian says.

She and Ken talk over the gardening plan during lunch, both eager to move ahead with the project. They plan a trip for the following day to Caledon’s Glen Echo Nurseries for bulbs, soil and supplies.

Ken also volunteers to help mow the lawns and says he wouldn’t mind shovelling a little snow. “I’m one of those guys who can’t sit still,” he says.

After only a week he is already at home in the new building. “The style of the place makes you feel very relaxed. The first time I walked in I thought, Wow! This is mine!”

Now, as a few more residents move in, Ken will soon have the companionship that will make Abbeyfield House a home. ≈ Abbeyfield House Caledon is located at 22 Walker Road East in Caledon East. It is accepting resident applications.

For information, see www.abbeyfieldcaledon.org, or contact at 905-860-0181, info@abbeyfieldcaledon.org Michele Green is a freelance writer who lives near Belfountain.

E D I B L E

by Rober to Fracchioni

H I L L S

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

the

Rudiments Ah, winter. Farewell to the feel of black earth sifting through your fingers, the smell of fresh pea shoots bursting on the vine, and the sweet taste of the sun in your homegrown tomatoes and strawberries. Hopefully you have filled your pantries and coldstorage rooms with sparkling jars of fruit jams, jellies and preserves to keep hearts warmed and spirits lifted during the long cold months to come.

We enjoyed a spectacular summer harvest in Ontario this year. And the fall harvest of root vegetables that will see us through the winter has been equally bountiful.

Root vegetables – so called because the edible portion of the plant is the underground root – are harvested in late fall and cellared with the dirt still clinging to their flesh.

Squash, celery root, carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, potatoes and sweet potatoes will remain fresh for many months when stored in a cool, dark place. The carbohydrates and high vitamin content of these vegetables make them a nourishing and hearty choice for winter stews, pies and side dishes.

Many people are quick to turn up their noses at root vegetables, probably because they’ve encountered unfortunate versions of mushy turnips and bland carrots. But

there is great beauty and flavour to be found in the deep, rich colours and earthy taste of root vegetables. And the best way to bring out those characteristics is to keep them far, far away from that pot of boiling water.

Although boiling is a quick and easy way to prepare vegetables, it is a cooking method better suited to more delicate, leafy ones.

Rather than boiling them, roasting root vegetables yields a sweet flavor as the natural sugars within the vegetables caramelize.

Roasting also retains the water-soluble minerals that get lost in the turbulence of boiling water, so you get a more nutritious bang for your bite.

The method for roasting root vegetables is even simpler than boiling. Coat them in a little oil, dust with fresh herbs such as thyme, chives, rosemary, sage or oregano, and pop them into a 300°F oven. Give the pan a little shake to toss them every now and then until they are evenly cooked and tender when poked with a fork.

My personal favourite way to cook root vegetables is to use the confit method. In other words, submerge the vegetables in fat. Yum, right?

of roots While it may not sound healthy, in fact confit cooking is much healthier than other modes of cooking. For example, deep frying vegetables in very hot oil forces the food to absorb the cooking fat, while nutrients leak out, as in boiling. The confit method is quite the opposite. When vegetables are cooked slowly in oil at a very low temperature, very little oil is absorbed and flavour and nutrients are retained. Grapeseed oil is a great choice for confit, as it has no trans fat and no cholesterol.

Confit vegetables are like super vegetables. The colour and natural sweetness of root vegetables become more concentrated and powerful than they do with any other cooking method.

Those who know chefs know we don’t like to waste anything, so I recycle the used confit oil as a base for salad dressings or stir-fries.

The leftover oil is delicately flavoured with whatever vegetables and herbs I used in the confit, adding a nice complexity to any dish.

It might be asking too much to get your kids to eat their turnips, but I’m sure a carrot confit or a roasted sweet potato flan would be just the thing to get your family excited about winter vegetables. Go on, give it a try.

I’ll be rooting for you. ≈

confit of root vegetables 1 ½ ½ 2 1 1 1

carrot turnip celery root parsnips yellow beet red beet sweet potato

7 7 14 2

garlic gloves, peeled rosemary sprigs thyme sprigs shallots, cut into four pieces 2 l oil, grapeseed or canola or vegetable

Peel and dice all vegetables into ¼-inch pieces. Place diced vegetables into individual metal containers. Add garlic clove, shallot piece, 1 sprig of rosemary and 2 sprigs of thyme to each container. Add oil until the vegetables are just covered. Wrap in tin foil.

The vegetables must be cooked in separate containers because they cook at different rates. You can cook them one at a time, transferring the oil from vegetable to vegetable, but this will take a long time.

Place the wrapped containers in the oven pre-heated to 300°F. Check and remove each type of vegetable when it is barely cooked. Strain and cool in fridge. Combine the vegetables and reheat to serve.

At the end of the cooking process, reserve the oil and use it as you normally would, it now has extra flavour, but will cook the same as it did before. Serves 6.

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

55

H O M E G R O W N

Cider Mill • Farm Market Wood-Fired Oven Bakery

I N

T H E

H I L L S

by Nicola Ross

Goodness Me! what

Fresh pressed sweet cider Handcrafted hard ciders Ontario cheeses & preserves Artisan breads & pies Light meals served in our tied house.

Holiday gifts & entertaining options.

yummy pies you make

1137 Boston Mills Rd. Caledon 905-838-2530 • www.SpiritTreeCider.com Thurs, Sat & Sun 9am-6pm, Fri 9am-8pm

Five cups of fruit go into each nine-inch, deep-dish pie. One of Jean Newell’s bakers, Sharon Flood (left), and her grandson Matthew visit Jean at the sampling table at Foodland in Caledon East.

MARGARET M

F Hwy 10, Caledon Village (South of lights) 519-927-3600 Closed Mondays

Farm-gate market offering drug-free black angus beef, bison, wild boar, lamb, chicken and pork.

Also carrying an assortment of culinary delights from local producers.

Taste You Can Trust Tues & Wed 10-6; Thurs & Fri 10-7; Sat 9-5; Sun 12-4

17049 Winston Churchill Blvd, Caledon 519.927.5902 www.heatherleafarmmarket.ca 56

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

ancy decorations on pies? That’s not me,” says Jean Newell. Now entering her fourteenth year selling Goodness Me! unbaked frozen fruit pies and crisps, Jean has no doubts about how to make her business succeed.

With an energy level that belies her years, Jean manages her shop with a firm and confident hand. And although her “Goodness Me!” brand name is borrowed from her grandmother – who exclaimed “goodness me!” whenever she liked something – Jean is no stereotypical pie-baking granny.

A teacher by training, Jean soon exchanged the classroom for a sales career. She cut her teeth f logging Tupperware and quickly rose up the ranks until she was the director of sales for Ontario and the Maritimes.

By the mid-1990s, however, the plastic-container company was in diffiulty and Jean was let go, though not without compensation.

Jean had every intention of retiring gracefully, but fate, or more likely a natural propensity for new challenges, stepped in. She recalls visiting a shop near her Caledon East home and spying the commercial pies they offered

for sale. When she asked the store owner why he sold such pitiful pies, he complained that no one was making homemade ones anymore. Before she knew it, Jean had offered to make some for him.

When her apple pies sold immediately, she received a second order and then a third. So she took some business courses that complemented her considerable sales expertise and found a location for a commercial kitchen. She now employs several local women to bake the pies and sells them through fourteen retailers in the Headwaters region, as well as farther afield.

Jean is very particular about who she lets carry her beloved pies. “Before I sell to a store, I walk around it and listen to how the staff deals with customers.” Only if she is satisfied that they care about the food they sell, will she approach them about stocking her sixteen varieties of regular and premium pies and six varieties of fruit crisps. (She also has a line of pies and crisps made especially for health food stores.)

The stores that sign up receive the customer service of a pro. Jean not only

delivers the pies, she carries them into the store, and sometimes even stocks its freezers.

The Inglewood General Store is one of her long-time customers. Laura Banks, the store manager, explains that although Goodness Me! apple pies are the most popular staple with her customers, Jean makes peach pies in season especially for her store. And these, Laura says, fly off the shelves.

Sheepishly, people often tell Jean that they have passed off her pies as their own, which is easy to do since they look and taste like the best homemade. She packs five cups of fruit into a nine-inch deep-dish shell and uses less than half the sugar called for by traditional recipes, so “you can really taste the fruit.”

The first pies she baked for that local store were apple, and apple pies continue to be her biggest seller, followed by blueberry, strawberry/ rhubarb, and then apple crisp. Last year, she used an incredible four and a half tonnes of apples, as well as two tonnes of rhubarb.

Apples are one of the fruits that she can source locally. Mayfield Farms on Dixie Road not only grows most of

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

Another holiday season in the KITCHEN?...Lucky you!

GOODNESS ME! PIES PROPRIETOR

JEAN NEWELL 16 KINDS OF REGULAR AND PREMIUM PIES AND 6 KINDS OF FRUIT CRISPS PRICES RANGE FROM $13.50 – $17.99 AVAIL ABLE AT 14 LOCATIONS IN CALEDON EAST, CHELTENHAM, BOLTON, INGLEWOOD, ORANGEVILLE, ERIN AND HILLSBURGH. FOR THE RETAILER NEAREST YOU, CALL JEAN, 905-584-1933.

PIES AND CRISPS ARE AVAIL ABLE WHOLESALE FOR FUNDRAISING PIES SOLD IN HEALTH FOOD STORES ARE MADE WITH ORGANIC PASTRY INGREDIENTS

the Northern Spies Jean prefers, but has them peeled, chopped and frozen when she picks them up. There was a time when she prepared the fruit herself, but those days are long gone.

She readily shared the ingredients in the pastry recipe she was given by the secretary at a school where she taught forty-four years ago. Lardbased, it contains sea salt, baking powder, vinegar, eggs, icing sugar and pastry flour that, she says, results in a soft flaky crust. She also uses a borrowed recipe for her crisp. It comes from Loretta Perry who owns Caledon

East’s Town Fryer fish and chip shop.

Jean says, “She gave it to me and then I multiplied the recipe by a bazillion.”

Next up for Jean is her Christmas specialty: mincemeat pie. “My mincemeat is very different,” she says. “My grandmother taught me how to ‘doctor’ it by adding way more apple, extra spice, rum and brandy.”

While her goal each year is to sell at least as many pies as she did the previous year, she also tries not to work all the time. Now 67, she takes five weeks of holidays each year, and keeps her working life flexible enough that she can spend time with her eight grandchildren.

So, will she ever revisit that longago retirement plan? Jean says she has been approached about selling the business, but she hasn’t found the right buyer yet. “They have to be passionate about my pies and know how to care for my customers. They have to have the right production facilities too.”

It would be hard to imagine Jean, clad in her starched white chef’s jacket, black slacks and sensible shoes, not heading out on deliveries each week, and not showing up for sampling events at her local retailers on weekends.

Jennifer Grant owns Harmony Whole Foods Market in Orangeville and is delighted to have a local supplier of pies that feature organic pastry ingredients. “Jean’s success,” Jennifer says, “is that she really listens to her customers.” ≈ Nicola Ross is the executive editor of Alternatives Journal. She lives in Belfountain.

Purveyor of quality kitchen & tableware Emile Henry • Global • Denby • Riedel • Cuisinart Sophie Conran • Saeco • Krups and more!

Sign up for our monthly newsletter for recipes, culinary advice, seminars & more.

125 Broadway, in historic downtown Orangeville 519-942-5908 www.kitchentotable.com

Served at Better Cafés, Restaurants and Fine Food Retailers Tel: (519) 940-7081

Fax: (519) 938-5407 IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

57

The Ways I Will Love You illustrated by Mary Jane Gerber

The Fossil Hunters

by Marilyn Helmer Shelley’s plans for a summer of fun at the cottage with her cousin Kyle come to a screeching halt when she discovers Kyle’s friend, Marcus, is staying with them as well. Snooty Marcus doesn’t like any of Shelley’s game ideas and sulks when she finds the best fossil rock. When her special rock goes missing, Shelley and Marcus must find a way to trust each other, maybe even become friends, before they ruin the visit for everyone.

Marilyn Helmer combines a lively story with a gentle lesson about jealousy in this chapter book for early readers. The author lives just west of Headwaters. Her previous book, Sharing Snowy, published in 2008, featured illustrations by Alton’s Kasia Charko. (Orca Book Publishers, $6.95)

58

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

Promises from mother to baby warm the heart in this tender board book for both moms and young ones alike. From picnics and crayons to giggles and tears, the simple rhymes are a pledge to a childhood full of love. Orangeville’s Mary Jane Gerber brings the words alive with colourful images of seaside jaunts and playtime with the family’s loyal Sheltie dog. Lively details surrounding Rachel Boehm’s text create pretty frames of starfish, puzzles, pancakes and lettered blocks.

The Ways I Will Love You is the perfect book for quiet time on mom’s lap where pudgy little fingers can point to the pictures and help turn the pages. (Orca Book Publishers, $9.95)

the year in books our annual review of new books by local authors and illustrators

BY T R AC E Y FO C K L ER

With more than two dozen titles by local authors on the bookshelf this holiday season, it’s a banner year for shopping – and reading – local. That’s especially true if you have young readers in the household.

Authors and illustrators have been hard at work in the hills turning out mysteries, picture books, and early-readers that will keep your youngsters snuggled against you to turn the pages, and older kids up with a flashlight under the covers.

For grown-ups there’s also a treasure trove of good reading of both fiction and non-fiction – with the latter leaning heavily to explorations of Ontario, past and present.

Light the fire, put up your feet – and enjoy!

Mystery at Saddle Creek

Blood Feud

by Shelley Peterson

Volume Two of The Drake Chronicles

Fourteen-year old Bird Simms is thrilled to be reunited with her beloved horse, Sundancer, on her aunt’s Belfountain farm.

Envisioning a summer filled with trail rides and equestrian shows, she’s shocked when a neighbour is attacked and the community falls into chaos. Secrets – some involving her own family – are exposed, and Bird finds herself drawn into danger.

Can she summon the courage to help? Or will the fears that rendered her mute for most of her young life resurface and drive her back into her shell of silence?

Mystery at Saddle Creek is a winning addition to the Saddle Creek Book series.

Bird’s story (begun in Sundancer) is sure to please young adult readers, especially those with a passion for all things equine.

Shelley Peterson lives and operates a stable in Caledon. (Key Porter Books, $12.95)

by Alyxandra Harvey The rules of etiquette and wardrobe have changed dramatically in the last two centuries. As a survivor of the French Revolution, and now a member of the Hounds (a shamanic sect of vampires), Isabeau St. Croix knows this for a fact. She also knows the struggle for power remains the same bloody ordeal. While heading an envoy to meet with the royal House of Drake, Isabeau is distracted by the charming Logan Drake.

Together they must fight through violent vampire politics – and their growing attraction to one another – if they ever want to see daylight – make that moonlight – again.

Blood Feud is a page-turning follow-up to the first book in The Drake Chronicles, Hearts at Stake. Third in the series, Out for Blood, will be released early 2011. Alyxandra Harvey lives in Mono. (Walker & Company, $12.50)

Prisoner of Dieppe

by Hugh Brewster Hugh Brewster describes his experience at the 65th anniversary commemoration of the raid in Dieppe, France, as the most moving experience heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ever had as a Canadian. The French town has not forgotten the terrible sacriďŹ ce made by so many of our soldiers, and neither have the veterans, who came to remember their fallen comrades. The veteransâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; stories appeared in his previous non-ďŹ ction book, Dieppe: Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Darkest Day in World War II, and also heavily inďŹ&#x201A;uenced this gripping account of two young men sent into a battle they could not win.

Mackie and Allie may be ďŹ ctional characters, but the details of the raid, capture and attempted escape of the soldiers from Stalag VIIIB are historically accurate. Readers aged 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;14 are sure to be enthralled by this fast-paced tale of courage and betrayal.

Award-winning author Hugh Brewsterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next book in the I AM CANADA series, Deadly Voyage: H.M.S. Titanic, is due in the fall of 2011. He lives in Mulmur. (Scholastic Canada Ltd, $14.99)

(ÄŁÄ&#x2019;Ä&#x2122;Ä&#x2019;Ä&#x17E; ' "Ä&#x;Ä&#x2DC;ČĤ

Lonico

by Graham Angus

Lonico

#Ä&#x2013; ÄŞÄ Ä&#x;Ä&#x2022; ÄĽÄ&#x2122;Ä&#x2013; %Ä&#x2019;ÄŁÄ&#x153; .Ä ÄŚÄ&#x;ÄĽÄ&#x2019;Ä&#x161;Ä&#x;

The Valley is a simple farming society based on the communal sharing of resources. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hardscrabble life that favours ďŹ rst-born sons (second sons are sold off as hands to other farmers), yet it has kept peace and relative happiness in its citizenry for hundreds of years. Beyond the mountains, far from the Valley, lies the vast city of Lonico. Peasants live in fear of the Magi, who use cruel magic to keep their people in submission. When the two cultures clash, blood is shed, loyalties are tested, mythologies are destroyed and the heroes and villains show their true faces.

Greed, power and class structure are explored in this ďŹ rst, fast-paced fantasy novel by Graham Angus. He grew up in Caledon, a town with the apparently intriguing postal code of L0N 1C0. (Harper Collins, $14.95)

Thanks to My Hockey Coach and Advice for a Young Hockey Player

by The Orangeville Flyers Novice AE Team Following the success of I Love My Hockey Mom and Thanks to My Hockey Dad, coach Jason Howell (under the direction of local teacher Jennifer Sutoski) asked his team to re-tap their endless bounty of nineyear-old wisdom and create two more books: one for the selďŹ&#x201A;ess volunteers who become coaches, and one for new players to the game.

A great coach doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just teach kids to stickhandle and score goals; he yells at the refs when they miss a penalty and squirts water in your mouth when you come off a shift. He organizes pizza parties and lets you drink â&#x20AC;&#x153;strawberry stuffâ&#x20AC;? out of the cup you won. Young players are advised to not be afraid of bigger players, and to look up at their parents in the stands (especially if they made a bad play). Most of all, Jasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team reminds us that hockey is about having fun.

These delightful books are the perfect gift for coaches, players, parents and anyone else involved in world of hockey.

(Key Porter Kids, $9.99 each)

continued on next page IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

59

Your Best Body Now

books continued from page 59

by Tosca Reno Tosca Reno’s newest Eat-Clean book is more than a guide to help middle-aged women lose weight; it’s a lifestyle manual to better body, beauty and mental health.

Life gets better after forty, Reno says and urges women to transform their lives, no matter what their age. Along with the nutritional philosophy of eating only nonprocessed foods, the book sets out easyto-follow recipes, disease prevention, exercise schedules, a section for journalling and tips for younger-looking hair and skin.

Caledon’s Tosca Reno is a regular contributor to Oxygen magazine. She recently celebrated her fiftieth birthday by posing in a bikini (and looking fabulous) for the magazine’s cover. (Harlequin, $22.95)

Runley Read-Along Series

by Steve Runcimen and Bruce Ley Steve Runcimen (creator of French readalong books for Disney) and Bruce Ley (Theatre Orangeville’s musical director) joined forces to produce this unique series aimed at helping children read and expand their vocabularies. The eight books of fairytales, original and bible stories include a CD, questions for teachers or parents to help guide understanding, search-and-find exercises and a colouring page. Illustrator Gary Wren provides the books’ bright, eye-catching scenes and various Headwaters residents put their vocal skills to work on the CDs. A group of local teachers vetted each title and highly recommends them for elementaryschool children.

Orangeville’s Steve Runcimen and Mulmur’s Bruce Ley are hard at work on the next eight books in the series, due for release next year. (Runley Productions Inc., $6.99 each)

The Plate 150 Years of Royal Tradition from Don Juan to Eye of the Leopard

by Louis E. Cauz

KAZAAK

by Sean Cassidy Spike loves being a porcupine and, even more, demonstrating his skills to his friend Rupert. Hungry? Spike KAZAAKs wild grapes with his quills. Can’t get a carrot out of the ground?

Spike KAZAAKs the offending root into pulp. Spike is so busy KAZAAKing, he doesn’t realize he’s lost all his quills and that danger, in the form of a hungry bear, is approaching.

Luckily, clever Rupert has enough quills and brains to save them both from becoming a prickly lunch.

Award-winning Orangeville writer and illustrator Sean Cassidy delivers another superb children’s picture book with its engaging story and expressive illustrations. His previous titles include The Chicken Cat and Wake Up, Henry Rooster! (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, $18.95)

freshalicious

by Stacey Fokas When Stacey Fokas’s child was diagnosed with an anaphylactic allergy to dairy, she imagined a future of constant mealtime struggles. The prepared foods and artificially pretty produce sold in the grocery store sometimes hide dairy products, as well as an abundance of chemicals not meant for human consumption. To Stacey’s surprise, the forced restrictions opened her eyes to a better way to live and eat. Eating fresh is not only good for you, she says, it’s good for the environment.

Cooking with in-season fruits, vegetables and organic meats means sourcing out local farms. Buying local supports the local economy and, ultimately, the planet. Stacey’s 125 simple recipes (paired with mouthwatering photography) are grouped according to season and include Hockley chipotle on chive mash and a stunning Caledon cherry pie with candied maple syrup and toasted almonds. Hungry yet?

Stacey Fokas lives in Caledon. (Infokas Productions, $29.95) 60

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

In 1860, Queen Victoria offered fifty guineas to the winner of a Toronto-based horse race held in her honour. One hundred and fifty years later, The Queen’s Plate Stakes (or simply “The Plate,” as it is better known) is still the most coveted of Canadian racing trophies. Tales of politics, intrigue, shady betting and even murder – along with reproductions of pedigrees, racing charts, archival photos and countless other bits of memorabilia – are revealed in the extensive biography of each winning team. Fully updated from its original release in 1985, this gorgeous coffee-table book exposes a fascinating slice of Canadian history.

Caledon’s Louis Cauz is a journalist and a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. He is also the archivist and historian for Woodbine Entertainment and managing director for the Hall of Fame at Woodbine. (Ecw Press, $39.95)

They don’t have to be superheroes all the time!

Abandoned Ontario

by Bruce R. Brigham “Houses are unique in that they hold tightly in their walls memories of the souls that were born, lived, and sometimes passed over within,” says photographer Bruce Brigham.

In seeking out homes left abandoned, he strives to “capture them in their state today and their somewhat ghostly existence in our so-called modern society.” Architectural flourishes, stamped-tin ceiling panels, discarded toys and furniture are presented in stark black and white, along with a short description of the different energies Brigham felt in each house. Many of the properties are found in Headwaters, including “Haunted Elba” in the township of Mono, where heavy footsteps followed by a metallic crash from the floor above seemed determined to drive him out. (Abandoned Ontario, $45)

below : An abandoned house near Tullamore.

Your Turn to Judge

by Retired Deputy Judge, H. Clark Adams Q.C. After fi fteen years as a judge in Orangeville’s small claims court, Clark Adams has heard some spectacular arguments.

In Your Turn to Judge, Adams puts forward forty of his more complex cases – including opening statements and evidence given (or not given) – and invites the reader to bang the gavel and bring down a ruling.

Test your knowledge of the law while sorting through the testimony of irate brothers fighting over wandering cows.

Or how about the tricky purchase of a quarter horse with a hidden case of the wobbles?

The second half of the book reveals how Adams ruled and why. Don’t agree with his decision? Out of the thousands of cases he’s heard, not a single appeal has ever been successful. How’s that for hard evidence.

Clark Adams lives in Orangeville. (Pandora Press, $20)

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TREES OF VANAHEIM SPECIALIZING IN SPRUCES

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Baby Blue Spruce

Planting a tree is a commitment. So obtain a tree, pick up a shovel, dig a hole and plant a tree and watch it grow. continued on next page IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

61

The Age of Persuasion

books continued from page 61

How Marketing Ate our Culture

by Terry O’Reilly

Manitoulin and Region Voices from the Past

By Margaret E. Derry While researching the history of Manitoulin Island and the North Channel, Margaret Derry found herself fascinated by the array of written materials she found from each time period. She says, “Documents are generated within a certain cultural milieu and therefore vary in flavour and bias… they are often loaded with a hidden richness of information.”

And so she began to form this “living history,” an assemblage of voices speaking directly from the past. Included are published articles detailing the fi erce debate over the age of the first indigenous settlement found at Sheguiandah, a travelogue written in 1865 for The Globe (now The Globe and Mail) describing beautiful scenery despite the blackflies, interviews and archival photos illustrating images of a time not forgotten.

Caledon’s Margaret Derry is an historian and artist affiliated with the University of Guelph. Her previous books include Georgian Bay Jewel and Killarney Memoir.

(Poplar Lane Press, $34.95)

Great Lakes & Rugged Ground

Stars of Dufferin County

Imagining Ontario

by Mary Lazier illustrated by Mary Lazier and Ursula N. Crosbie

Illustrated by Kasia Charko Kasia Charko’s pencil and watercolour illustrations perfectly capture the wild beauty of Ontario’s past and present in this gorgeous children’s picture book, written by Sarah N. Harvey and Leslie Buffam. Evocative haikus accompany scenes of early French explorers filling the hull of their ship with furs at a Native settlement of domed huts. Posters urging Canadians to buy Victory Bonds hang on the walls of a factory where women in kerchiefs grind metal and weld with torches. Children play hockey on a frozen pond under the watchful eyes of snow geese flying overhead. At the back of the book, detailed information of each time period expands on the images, as well as a list of the various items Kasia has cleverly hidden in each of the illustrations.

Kasia Charko’s previous book illustrations include The Summer of Marco Polo and Camels Always Do. She lives in Alton. (Orca Book Publishers, $19.95)

62

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

Love it or hate it, advertising is a multibillion dollar business that’s never, ever going away. From flyers, billboards, radio and TV to the wild world of the Internet, the industry of influencing consumption morphs with every new mode of communication.

Long-time ad-man and Mulmur resident Terry O’Reilly expands on his popular CBC radio show, The Age of Persuasion, to entertain and educate his readers with anecdotes, myths, war stories and insider info about those who’ve made an art of studying human nature in the hopes of selling us a Coke. (Vintage Canada, $22)

When asked if all the stories in Stars of Dufferin Country are true, Mary Lazier replies, “Well sure, but any story becomes fiction after you tell it a few times.”

Historical fact and rural legend rub shoulders in this wonderfully peculiar picture book highlighting some of the county’s weirder happenings and colourful characters. Points of interest range from the story of Jesse James and his brother Frank hiding out on 10 Sideroad of Mulmur during the winter of 1875 to ghosts inhabiting Greystones Inn, visiting rock stars, UFO sightings, a broken mastodon tusk and the politics of wind farming.

Mulmur’s Mary Lazier and Shelburne’s Ursula Crosbie are also spreading a rumour that Santa owns a summer home in Melancthon. Do the jolly guy a favour and keep it to yourself. (Little Red Hen Press, $35)

SELF-PUBLISHED A Walk in Fields of Gold Anthology of Poems and Prose

by Headwaters Writers’ Guild From the creative wordsmiths of the Headwaters Writers’ Guild comes this fine volume of short fiction, essays and poetry. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be used to purchase reading material for the children’s wing of Headwaters Health Care Centre. (Spiral Press, $14.95)

Death in the Forsythia A Garden Plot Mystery

by A.W. Zanetti Marilee Bright’s mid-career change from the demanding corporate world to ownership of a bustling garden centre is a dream come true… well, it was a dream come true until a dead man was found in the shrubbery section with a three-pronged gardening implement stuck in his chest.

When the police investigation reaches a dead end, Marilee decides to do some snooping of her own. Who knew digging up a little dirt could be so dangerous?

A.W. Zanetti lives in Caledon. (iUniverse, $19.95)

Chief /Constable

by Mervyn Parker Retired police officer and security specialist Merv Parker details the history of law enforcement from medieval times to his days as a constable in his home town of Middleton, Nova Scotia. Included are biographies of Middleton’s police chiefs and a complete list of constables from 1910 to 2000.

Merv Parker lives in Shelburne. (MP Publishing, price not yet set)

A Trail That Twines Reflections on Life and Nature

by Lisa Timpf Lisa Timpf weaves together musings on beloved dogs, lost sheep, the sharp pain of grief and the stunning beauty of deer in the moonlight to create a thoroughly enjoyable collection of creative non-fiction and poetry.

Mansfi eld writer Lisa Timpf writes a monthly column for the Creemore Echo and is widely published in journals and magazines. (Page Graphics, $16) continued on next page

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IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

63

books continued from page 63

Fruits of Passion

by Kim Teeuwissen Marissa is devastated when her fiancé leaves her standing at the altar. Unknown to her, her heartbreak is due to a cruel bet between the man she thought she loved and his older brother. Unexpected gifts come from surviving the experience and unexpected love as well.

Kim Teeuwissen lives in Orangeville.

(Publish America, $19.95)

“The Richie Group”

SEAN ANDERSON Broker

CHRIS P. RICHIE Broker of Record/Owner

DALE POREMBA Sales Representative

Conveniently located in downtown Caledon East

905-584-0234 1-888-667-8299 www.remax-inthehills-on.com

Amber and the Fallen Bridge

by Kelli Curtis When Amber and her friends head outside to play, Amber’s mother reminds her to, “always stay calm, think, be brave, and never talk to strangers.” Good thing Amber listened to her mother’s advice.

When the old bridge falls and traps the girls on the wrong side of the river, only Amber knows how to save the day.

This children’s picture book by Orangeville’s Kelli Curtis encourages self-confi dence and problem-solving skills in her young readers. (Strategic Book Publishing, $10)

The Diary of Mary Reynolds

by Laurie Morgan

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TORONTO SKYLINE! An idyllic setting atop the Niagara Escarpment! This exceptional home has been extensively upgraded, floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, renovated kitchen, saline pool with cabana and huge patio! $1,150,000

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VICTORIAN REPRODUCTION! Bask in the character of yesteryear with the amenities of today! 16 acres with trails and pastures, 3-car detached dream garage, great 5-stall barn, south Mono near the Bruce Trail. $899,000

A BUNGALOW WITH A HUGE SHOP! A private 35 acres with a landing strip, charming open concept bungalow, fully furnished walkout basement, and secluded from the home a 60’ x 40’ plus steel clad shop! $879,000

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S

D L O

Caledon East’s Laurie Morgan is sure to delight young readers aged 9 – 12 in this fi ctionalized account of her great-aunt Mary Reynolds. Told in journal form, we follow ten-year-old Mary from her home in Stratford to the struggles her family endure as homesteaders in New Liskeard.

(Laurie Morgan, $9.99)

Pigmented Spectacles Conversations with Ian Ayrton Earle Kirby

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by David Chesterton Caledon’s David Chesterton tells the life story of Dr. Earle Kirby (ovc certified veterinarian, inventor, archeologist and museum curator) who challenged European theories of human migration and was heralded as a national treasure on his native island, St. Vincent of the Grenadines in the West Indies. (David Chesterton, $10) ≈

Tracey Fockler works at BookLore, an independent bookstore in Orangeville, where she also facilitates a book club.

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Top 5% in Canada

jacquelineguagliardi.com

for Royal LePage 2009/10

519-833-0569 • 519-941-5151

RCR Realty, Brokerage Independently Owned & Operated

MOFFAT DUNLAP REAL ESTATE LIMITED, BROKERAGE

BROKER

OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING! Now is the time to take this established turnkey business and expand it or just make it your own. Updated Century home operating as seniors’ rest home on spectacular property with peaceful pond view. $500,000

CHECK LIST READY! See how this nearly new 4-bedroom home matches your check list! Cook’s kitchen with granite and hardwood, huge master suite with luxury 6-piece ensuite bath and large walk-in closet on a beautiful country lot. $650,000

BACKS ONTO CREDIT RIVER! 5-bedroom home on 5 acres with inground pool and 4-car garage offers privacy and an excellent commuter location. With some cosmetic updating, this squeaky clean home will be well worth your effort. $575,000

OVERLOOKS THE GRAND RIVER! Eclectic 4-bedroom bungalow w/ walkout lower level offers privacy & unique features.

Spacious sun-drenched rooms, indoor pool, sauna, gym, games room and wet bar on 3+ acres. Many recent updates! $800,000

905-841-7430 www.moffatdunlap.com

Moffat Dunlap*, John Dunlap**, Peter Boyd, Murray Snider, George Webster, Peter Bowers*** *Broker, **Broker of Record, ***Sales Representative

WEEKEND GETAWAY, CALEDON Updated Napier Simpson bungalow.

Great room with fireplace. Separate guest quarters. 5-stall stable, paddocks. 3-car garage + workshop. 18 acres.

Bruce Trail.

EQUESTRIAN CENTRE, DUNDALK Highly successful Hunter/Jumper equestrian facility. Indoor arena, 36 box stalls, 9 paddocks with water, 3 round pens, grass ring, 2 sand rings, full size Dressage ring.

Approximately 90 acres. $995,000

55 ACRES, HOCKLEY VALLEY Lovely rolling land and long views. Many bedrooms with private decks. Passive solar design. 5-bedroom home with 2-storey great room. 2-bedroom apartment. $799,000

RENOVATED CENTURY HOME, HOCKLEY VALLEY Down a long lane is this fully renovated 4-bedroom Century home. Huge kitchen and dining spaces. Bank barn. Picturesque countryside views.

BANKS OF THE CREDIT, ERIN Prestigious Pine Ridge Road. 3-bedroom Cape home overlooks ravine and river. Cedar shake roof, wonderful kitchen with granite counters and lovely views. $749,000

“HUMBERVIEW STABLE” Turn-key horse farm 15 minutes to Palgrave.

20 stalls. New board paddocks, arena, outdoor ring. Original farmhouse, staff apartment. River cottage alongside the Humber. 49.79 acres. Strong income!

159 ACRES! THE HOCKLEY VALLEY Room to roam! Distant views across meadows plus miles of woodland trails. Custom bungalow. Stream and stunning valleys. $1,495,000

TORY GLEN FARM, CALEDON Lovely horse property. Renovated home overlooks Caledon Hills. Stable with indoor arena, sand ring, 20 stalls, board paddocks & picturesque surroundings. Pool + your own soccer field off the back patio. $1,995,000

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1-866-901-0888 519-833-0888 www.BogertandBall.com info@BogertandBall.com sue@ChestnutPark.com Patrick Bogert**, Sandy Ball*, Sue Collis* ** Broker *Sales Representative

THE PRIZED CALEDON VIEW View 100’s of acres down the Credit River Valley. Nature & sky is yours to enjoy. All season panorama at your doorstep.

Stunning architecturally designed home, i/g pool above the falls, rooftop dining + more.

Don’t miss this opportunity. $2,195,000

ACS OF TRAILED PARKLAND, KING! Wonderful large family home. Contemporary open concept design, for family + entertaining. Barn, guest house, study - very versatile usage. Miles of blazed trails to explore surrounding countryside. 20 mins to GTA! Easy to see! $1,650,000

THE UNDISCOVERED MONO HILLS Splendid country home in most desirable secluded setting. Trailed woods, open green valley, extravagant gardens & landscaping.

5 outbuildings, on 47 acres. Admired by many, in immaculate move-in condition.

Christmas in the country! $1,395,000

YOUR PRIVATE ‘COUNTRY’ WORLD Be amazed by the brightness of this spacious square timbered home. On open rolling lawns down to natural pond. Separate coach house, sleeping cabin, no need for Muskoka. You have your own 95 acres! 40 mins to GTA. Bring the family! $1,079,000

Janna Imrie

Sales Representative

1-866-506-1116 www.ownontario.com jimrie@trebnet.com

Serving Dufferin, Peel, Wellington & Simcoe

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EVERYBODY’S WISH - ORGANIC HOBBY FARM Immaculate open concept family home on est 94 acs. Organic fields, gardens since ‘89.

Horse barn, paddocks, rolling lawns, i/g pool, set well back from road. Beautiful pastoral setting. 7 mins to Orangeville. $1,100,000

PRIVATE ‘ESCAPE’ ON 30 ACRES SOPHISTICATED FUN Great fam country home, Halton. Full of charm & appeal. Sep garage/wkshop w/ upper offices.

Horse barn, free ‘roaming’ thru trails & meadows, sugar shack. Guest house, fire pit, hot tub. Live! Work! Play! Love! See now! $975,000

DESIGNER’S TOUCH, DREAMER’S VIEW Exploding charm & sophisticated design, w/o compromising comfort. Stunning setting o’looking Hockley Valley. Perfect country getaway.

Easy to reach, hard to leave. Four horse barn w/ paddocks completes the picture. $929,000

JUST LISTED - SPECIAL CALEDON Easy, accessible charming, ideal family country dream home in top Caledon location.

11 private rolling acres with separate 4-car garage/workshop. Your own wooded trails to be explored. Great family getaway in move-in condition. $729,000

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

iProRealty Ltd., Brokerage

DON’T MISS THIS ONE! Amazing location just minutes from Caledon East. Move right in and enjoy this cute hobby farm with loads of upgrades. This property is great for entertaining with spacious rooms, fully finished walkout basement with games room and huge family room, all just steps from the hot tub and inground pool. For the horse enthusiasts there is a cute 4-stall board and batten barn with sand riding ring, several grass paddocks, and run-in shed. $899,900

SEE THE CITY, BUT ENJOY THE AIR! Come and take a look at this Georgian beauty that awaits your vision.

Located in an area of fine country estates close to The Devil’s Pulpit, this property would be great for a full-time residence or weekend getaway. This property boasts long escarpment views, yet still offers a lot of privacy. A rare find. $599,900

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

TERRICE ESTATE! Fabulous rolling, private 74 acres in Mono overlooking 2 ponds/waterfalls. House features black walnut floors, marble counters, 9 fireplaces, 2 large outbuildings. $6.5 Million Jamie Gairdner**

WELCOME TO SOUTH DOWN FARM 488 acres, 13,000 sq ft house with spectacular views. 6,000 sq ft finished basement, 5-ensuite bedrooms. 2nd house with 4+3 bedrooms, 16-stall barn, greenhouse, pond with great gardens and large sugar shack. $18.5 Million Jamie Gairdner**

PRIVACY IN BELFOUNTAIN! 4-bedroom stone house on 3.59 acres with long escarpment views. Small indoor pool/whirlpool, walkout to patio with hot tub, 2-level pond. Close to Caledon Ski Club, Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pulpit. $1,799,000 Jim Wallace*

RARE OPPORTUNITY! This 15-acre property is on approximately 1,500 sq ft of Credit River frontage and boasts some of the most incredible views of the Niagara Escarpment. Lovely 3+2 bedroom home with wrap-around porch. $1,599,000 Jim Wallace*

WELCOME TO 1ST LINE MONO! 6+ acres, 5 bedrooms, large principle rooms, gourmet kitchen, hardwood throughout.

3-car garage, inground saltwater pool and tennis court. $1,599,000 Jim Wallace*

CLASSIC CALEDON CONTEMPORARY Featured in House & Home, this elegant house combines classic farm style w/ urban ambiance.

12 ft ceilings, Italian kitchen, open plan ideal for entertaining. Private 1-acre lot on one of the best streets in Caledon. $1,175,000 Jamie Gairdner**

COUNTRY ELEGANCE IN THE HILLS! 4,000 sq ft home on 3 acres. Located at Hwy 10 and Forks of the Credit in Caledon. 4 bdrms, theatre rm, wine cellar, pool, gourmet kit, 3-car garage. 2,000 sq ft fin loft above garage w/ 2-pc washroom. $1,100,000 Jim Wallace*

WELCOME TO CEDAR DRIVE Raised bungalow with almost 4,000 sq ft of living space. 3.22 acres with 2,000 sq ft pool house/office. Lots of upgrades, kitchen with new granite, new cabinetry and built-in appliances. $759,000 Jim Wallace*

YOU CAN SEE FOR MILES! This 50+ acre property at the top end of Caledon has great building sites with privacy and south and north long views of surrounding countryside. $574,900 Bruce Livingston*

CALEDON VILLAGE! 1.8 acre property, 3 garages with workshop and wood-burning stove. Hardwood floors and gas fireplace, main floor master bedroom and ensuite bath. $549,000 Jim Wallace*

WELCOME TO THE CALEDON SKI CLUB! Enjoy the privacy of living at one of Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most prestigious ski clubs. With 2,000 sq ft of living space, loft ceilings, dbl-sided fireplace and windows galore. $550,000 Jim Wallace*

HILLS OF MULMUR! Custom-built Viceroy home on 6-acre lot with year-round stream. Lots of living space with multiple walkouts. Cedar-lined sauna with water supply. $545,900 Bruce Livingston*

LOVELY 18 ACRES One of those great opportunities everyone is looking for. Partly farmed, great building lot.

Barn could be repaired or raised. No warranty on house, well, septic or hydro. $525,000 Jamie Gairdner**

WELCOME TO SOUTH 48!

48 well-manicured acres of paradise. Private drive past the outdoor jumping arena to cleared land suitable and approved for future paddocks, barn, drive shed, garage and house. $449,000 Jim Wallace*

GORGEOUS 50 ACRES! Located in the prestigious Hills of Mulmur, this gorgeous 50-acre area has great southwest views. A great pond site, ample attractive building site with mature trees at the back of property. $439,900 Bruce Livingston*

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MARY KLEIN Sales Representative

Making a move?

I offer peace of mind!

A local and trusted professional with proven results for 19 years

Kathy Ellis

Sales Representative

905-454-1100 Direct: 1-866-999-5250

www.maryklein.com OVERALL TOP SALESPERSON - 2001, 2003 through 2009* Sutton Group - Brampton, Orangeville, Caledon, Erin

PROFESSIONAL REALTY INC BROKERAGE Independently Owned and Operated *Based on yearly gross sales

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

18.6 ACRES - SECLUDED SETTING Forested lot with spectacular pond views.

Upgraded custom 3,725 sq ft bungalow, 3+2 bedrooms, walkout basement, huge rec room, hardwood floors, stone fireplace, new kitchen, geothermal heating. $948,900

MONO RENO + NEW WORKSHOP On 7.66 private acres, forested laneway.

3+2 bedroom 2,600 sq ft bungalow, finished basement and 2nd kitchen. 1,450 sq ft decking with gazebo, hot tub. 1,600 sq ft detached workshop. Quality! $789,900

MONO HOBBY FARM, 39 ACRES Century home with 3 bedrooms plus open concept upstairs loft apartment. Fishing pond, restored barn and detached sports bar “party room”. Small hangar, 2,000 ft grass airstrip, new fencing. $898,900

CALEDON CUL-DE-SAC BUNGALOFT Custom quality, all brick bungalow on an acre with loft above garage. Many upgrades.

Extensive decking, landscaping, hardwood, crown mouldings & California shutters throughout. Shows like model. $798,900

COUNTRY AT ITS BEST, CLOSE TO AMENITIES Superb property with fantastic pre 1900’s home totally renovated with addition retaining charm + stunning updates. Beautiful kitchen, family room with cathedral ceilings and stone fireplace.

Main floor master with fantastic 6-piece ensuite. 57+ acres with additional separate 14+ acres, terrific location south of Devil’s Pulpit on quiet road, gorgeous property, large separate garage with finished loft + refurbished bank barn with 11 stalls. $3,195,000 for two properties; $2,745,000 for main farm only

STUNNING HOME IN SPECTACULAR SETTING Welcome to Vista Ridge. View & privacy on 9.8 acres in the Forks of the Credit!

Gorgeous home, architect designed with lofty ceilings, picture windows, wrap-around deck and incredible views. $1,595,000

BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURALLY DESIGNED HOME Featuring towering ceilings, gorgeous & unique custom kit, open flr plan, hrdwd flrs, priv views of lovingly landscaped ravine lot, 4+1 bdrms, fab sunrm w/ hot tub, stunning mstr w/ 6-pc ens.

Top quality construction & finishings. $975,000

GREAT HOME, FABULOUS PROPERTY Fantastic location! Close to 410 on quiet exclusive road in Caledon. Superb home w/ separate 2nd floor apartment. Walnut floors, granite, great kitchens, superb mstr bdrm w/ ens w/ huge w/i shower. 10 acres. $749,000

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TIRED OF YOUR JOB? Want to be your own boss? Fed up with commuting to work? Here is your chance to make a change in your life. This fabulous 25-acre property has lovely updated home with views of ponds. Two updated poultry barns and guaranteed income. $1,145,000

SUPER BUNGALOW IN CALEDON VILLAGE Situated on an amazing lrg fence pie-shaped lot. Updated kit w/ granite countertops, many newer Pella windows, new ceramic floors in foyer & office, fresh decor, 3-pc ens, laminate floors new broadloom in family rm. $450,000

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5 PRIVATE & LOVELY ACRES Pretty bungalow, updated with style and charm with fabulous addition. Master bdrm has stunning ensuite. Fresh and spacious kitchen. Lots of hardwood floors, fabulous bathrooms and spacious bdrms. Barn with hydro. 15 mins to Orangeville. $395,000

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VICTORIA PHILLIPS

HEATHER STIMPSON

Sales Representative cell 416-953-4724

Independently Owned and Operated

905-584-2727 • 1-866-251-3232 www.CountryHomesForSale.ca

Sales Rep/ Manager cell 519-940-5050

15 GLORIOUS ACRES One of the areas finest hobby farms w/ barn, indoor arena, paddocks & access to trails.

Lovely 2,500 sq ft house w/ designer decor throughout. Fin bsmt w/ w/o to exciting patio & i/g pool area. Sep garage/workshop. $869,900

EQUESTRIAN FACILITY This state-of-the-art facility features over 40 stalls in 3 barns. Situated on nearly 50 acs w/ numerous paddocks, 80’ x 200’ indoor arena & access to hundreds of acs of riding trails.

Victorian homestead & staff apt. $889,000

CHARMING CENTURY HOME FULLY RESTORED Gourmet kitchen, walk-in pantry, wrap-around deck, 9 ft ceilings, 4 bedrooms, huge lot. It won’t last at $565,000.

QUIET WINTER FARM This turn-key boarding facility features 19+4 stalls, indoor arena, grooming & wash stalls, paddocks, sand ring, laundry, feed, blanket & viewing rms, 2-bdrm staff apt & an excellent brick bungalow on nearly 50 acres. $775,000

SCENIC VIEWS ON 5 ACRES Custom bungalow w/ walkout basement, eat-in kitchen, separate dining room & large living room w/ maple floors. Mstr bdrm w/ walkout to private deck, 3 piece ensuite & walk-in closet. Walkout bsmt, w/ family room w/ woodstove. $695,000

THE NATURAL LOOK ON 45 ACRES Stately 2 storey home w/ multiple outbuildings, large principal rms, country kit open to family rm w/ flr to ceiling fp. Mstr bdrm w/ 4 pc ens, walk-in closet + w/o to balcony. Access to garage w/ sep heated tack rm, bank barn & paddocks. $689,967

CUSTOM BUNGALOW ON 19 ACRES! Well maintained & spacious bungalow set well back on paved road. Huge kitchen w/ breakfast counter & solarium overlooking pool. Sunken living room with woodburning fireplace, fin walkout basement & triple car garage. $699,900

GREAT LOCATION ON 10 ACRES Immaculate bungalow, fin bsmt w/ sep entrance.

Country kitchen, family rm w/ propane fireplace & 2 w/o’s to rear deck. Main flr laundry w/ 3 pc bath & w/o to deck, mstr bdrm w/ 3 pc ens, large closet, detached 20’ x 20’ workshop. $519,900

SPRAWLING LOG HOME 20 acs, walk to Mono Centre & Mono Cliffs Park.

Set well back from road, spacious kit w/ antique cookstove, wood flrs, multiple w/o’s, 6 bdrms on upper floor w/ central games rm & 2 staircases, bank barn, inground pool and pond. $650,000

ALTON UNITED CHURCH Beautiful & well maintained Church in Alton.

Features cathedral ceiling on main floor, full finished basement with separate side entrance, kitchen, large recreation room and 2-2 piece bathroom. Side parking lot is paved. $234,900

EXTENDED FAMILY OR NANNY Spacious bungalow on 38 acres with multiple walkouts, gourmet kitchen, finished walkout basement, saltwater pool, pond + detached garage. Plus 2 bedroom home attached to the main house by sunroom. $895,000

LOCATION IS THE KEY WORD Awaiting your future investment dreams with an opportunity in Shelburne, 2.84 acres of prime residential land. This property offers a chance to develop Shelburne and move it into the future with new homes. $399,900

LOTS FOR SALE 29 Acres - Private parcel of land on paved road in Mono Township, well treed with high elevation and great views. Lots of privacy, great location for commuters. $320,000

BEAUTIFUL 1.6 ACRE LOT Tucked away on quiet cul-de-sac, this property features 4 bdrms, eat-in kitchen w/ gas stove and side entrance to yard. Basement partially finished w/ large rec room, family rm w/ walkup to mudroom & double car garage. $279,900

FAMILY FARMHOUSE Great opportunity. 166 acres of land with 145 workable acres. Features a 4 bedroom bungalow home, large barn has water and hydro, separate drive shed and silo. $689,900

91 ACRES OF COUNTRY LIVING 3 bedroom farmhouse on paved road. High and rolling land with approximately 70 acres workable, 5 acres of hardwood bush. Original bank barn and large detached steel drive shed. $634,999

BUNGALOW PLUS SHOP ON 2 ACRES Brick bungalow, double car garage plus a detached 30’ x 40’ workshop. Home features open concept kitchen w/ walkout to rear deck & family room w/ Napoleon fp. Great views, main floor laundry w/ access to garage. $499,900

5 ACRE PROPERTY ON PAVED ROAD Private 5 acre property with 2 ponds, detached, insulated 30’ x 30’ workshop. Home has 3 bdrms, main flr laundry w/ 2 piece powder rm, master bdrm has 3 piece ensuite. Fin basement, separate 24’ x 40’ storage building. $429,900

BUILD THAT DREAM HOME - 49.7 ACRES Great opportunity and location in Mono with lots of space for play and beautiful views. Land is well suited for horses, close to Bruce Trail. $299,900

49 Acres - Look no farther for your country property, large pond with sand beach area, small cabin 12’ x 16’, and dirt bike track and approximately 27 acres workable. $189,000

SMALL BUT MIGHTY Well maintained two bedroom bungalow on 1/2 acre lot on outskirts of Orangeville. Basement has third bedroom, recreation room and exercise room/office. This immaculate home is great for commuters. $259,900

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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

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arts+crafts CHRISTMAS RELATED EVENTS

NOW – DEC 23 : A WOMAN’S TOUCH

Exhibition of works by more than 30 Canadian women artists, 1890-2000.

Museum hours & admission. Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

NOW – DEC 5 : HOLIDAY TREASURES ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW & SALE One-of-a-kind items from over

40 artists and artisans, incl clothing, jewellery, baskets, hooked rugs, seasonal decorations. Museum hours. $2. Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89. 1-877-941-7787, dufferinmuseum.com

NOW – JAN 2 : ’TWAS THE ART BEFORE CHRISTMAS A seasonal

celebration of artistic talent for the holiday season! One-of-a-kind art, fine crafts, jewellery and fair trade products.

Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-941-9300; altonmill.ca NOW – JAN 3 : BEING Outdoor sculpture

by Ted Fullerton, inspired by myth and nature. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-941-9300; altonmill.ca

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DECEMBER 1 – 31 : ORIGINAL HANDPULLED PRINTS Show and sale by

Imprint Printmakers Collective. Dec 9: Meet the artists, 6-9pm. Tues-Fri noon6pm; Sat 10am-3pm. Free. Beaux Arts Brampton, 74 Main St N, Brampton. beaux-artsbrampton.com

DEC 4 : HOLIDAY CRAFTERS’ MARKET & ART SALE 3-7pm. Town

Hall Gallery, Main St, Shelburne. townofshelburne.on.ca

JAN 12 – FEB 27 : LIFE DRAWING EXHIBITION Works completed by artists

and students of life drawing classes.

Wed-Sun, noon-5pm. Williams Mill Gallery, 515 Main St, Glen Williams.

905-873-8203; williamsmill.com JAN 15 : KNIFE-PAINTING WORKSHOP

Carol Gregg presents introduction to painting with a palette knife. Knowledge of painting required. 10am-4pm. $50, register. Victoria Parks Community Centre, Mono Mills. Orangeville Art Group, 519-307-0210; orangevilleartgroup.ca JANUARY 22 & 23 : FIRE AND ICE – A FAMILY FESTIVAL OF FLAMES, FOOD AND FINE ART! Snow sculpture compe-

tition, fire-themed artwork, ice skating and shinny on the millpond, art & yoga/ pilates workshops. Sat 10am-7pm; Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-941-9300: altonmill.ca FEB 6 – MAR 5 : WORK IN PROGRESS

NOW – JAN 11 : BIG SHOW, SMALL WORKS One-of-a-kind crafts. Wed-Sun,

noon-5pm. Free. Williams Mill Gallery, 515 Main St, Glen Williams. 905-873-8203; williamsmill.com 70

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

Landscape photography of Dufferin and Wellington by Cliff Smith. Museum hours & admission. Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89.

1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

MAR 5 : PORTRAITURE WORKSHOP

David Chesterton instructs workshop with live model. Any paint medium.

10am-4pm. $50, register. Victoria Parks Community Centre, Mono Mills.

Orangeville Art Group, 519-307-0210; orangevilleartgroup.ca MAR 13 – MAY 1 : KAME AND KETTLE 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW Ten artists,

variety of paint media and subjects.

Museum hours & admission. Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

community ONGOING (TUESDAYS) : MS SUPPORT GROUP Brampton and Caledon Chapter

of MS Society of Canada meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. 6:30-8:30pm.

Christ Church Anglican, 22 Nancy St, Bolton. 905-458-0267; info.brampton@ mssociety.ca NOW – DEC 23 : A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DUFFERIN Artifacts from daily life of

soldiers, housewives, farmers and other citizens of Dufferin. Museum hours & admission. Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89.

1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com NOW – DEC 23 : CANADA COLLECTS

Canadian-made glass and ceramics.

1850-1890. Museum hours & admission.

Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

NOV – FEB : FESTIVALS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Family

programs celebrate winter festivals around the world. Nov 4: Diwali at Margaret Dunn Valleywood. Nov 25: Hanukkah at Caledon Village. Dec 9: Kwanzaa at Belfountain. Dec 16: Christmas at Caledon East. Dec 21: Winter Solstice at Alton. Jan 6: Epiphany at Albion Bolton.

Feb 3: Chinese New Year at Inglewood.

6:45pm. Free drop-in. Everyone welcome.

905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca

NOW – MAR 6 : HMCS FERGUS – LIFE ABOARD A WWII CORVETTE Exhibit

explores life aboard HMCS Fergus to honour 100th anniversary of Canadian Navy. Museum hours & admission.

Wellington County Museum & Archives, 0536 Wellington Cty Rd 18, btw Fergus & Elora. 519-846-0916; wcm.on.ca NOW – MAR 20 : TAKE ME BACK TO THE 1950S Exhibit explores changes

amid continuities of small-town life.

9:30am-4:40pm; Sat & Sun 1-4pm.

Voluntary donation. Wellington County Museum & Archives, 0536 Wellington Cty Rd 18, btw Fergus & Elora. 519-846-0916; wcm.on.ca NOW – JUNE: PANCAKE BREAKFAST

Caledon Navy League cooks hearty breakfast. Proceeds to Bolton Sea Cadets.

Third Saturday, monthly. $5; kids, seniors, $3. Bolton United Church, 8 Nancy St. 905-951-7182.

NOV 24 : GATEWAY TO CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY STREET Caledon

Chamber of Commerce presents Holiday Street business show and networking event. 5pm, dinner 7pm. $50, reserve. Glen Eagle Golf Club, 15731 Hwy 50, Caledon. 905-857-7393; caledonchamber.com

NOV 27 : ERIN’S SANTA CLAUS PARADE Presented by Erin Lions’

Club. Children can visit with Santa at Erin fire hall following parade. 1:30pm.

Main St, Erin. 519-833-0154; erin.ca

NOV 27 : HOLIDAY HOME TOUR

Self-guided tour of various homes elegantly decorated for the holiday season in Shelburne and area. $25, incl lunch, silent auction to benefit library. Preview a week in advance at library, 210 Owen Sound St. Tickets, auction donations, 519-925-2168; townofshelburne.on.ca

NOV 27 : HOLIDAY BAKING BEE

Holiday baking done in a fun group setting. Wholesome, local ingredients provided. Go home with 100 baked items.

11am-3pm. $50, Palgrave Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave. Eat Local Caledon, 905-584-6221; eatlocalcaledon.org

NOV 27 : SANTA CLAUS PARADE, GRAND VALLEY “Canadian Christmas

Parade.” Free hot chocolate, apple cider, skating. Food donations. Buy a Christmas tree from Grand Valley Lions Club. 7pm. Main St, Grand Valley.

NOV 27 : CHRISTMAS BAZAAR & SILENT AUCTION Handmade items,

bake sale, cookie corner, attic treasures, incl jewellery. Silent auction.

9am-1pm. Tweedsmuir Presbyterian. 6 John St, Orangeville.

NOV 27 & 28 : HOLIDAY GIFT SHOW

Products and services from local businesses and artisans for gift giving. Presented by The Small Business Place’s Shop Local, Shop Dufferin campaign. Orangeville Mall, First St. shopdufferin.com

NOV 27 – DEC 12 : SANTA & PET PHOTOS Have your furry friend

or the whole family sit with Santa, for Christmas cards, gift giving. $30, three photos. Proceeds to Orangeville SPCA. MacMaster Pontiac Buick GMC Showroom, Hwy 9, E of Hwy 10, Orangeville. By appointment. 519925-3471; orangeville.ontariospca.ca

DEC 1 – 12 : 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Silent auction at Orangeville Library.

Bid on gift baskets donated by local businesses. Proceeds to purchase library books. Presented by IODE Yellow Briar.

Broadway & Mill St, Orangeville. orangevilleiode.ca

DEC 3 – 31 : OPTIMIST CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK Enjoy the colours,

sights and 50,000 lights. Hot drinks on weekend evenings. Free parking at Seniors Centre. Opening night 7pm.

6pm-9pm nightly. Free. KayCee Gardens, Orangeville. 519-307-1418; orangevilleoptimists.ca

DEC 4 : SANTA CLAUS PARADE CREEMORE Holiday farmers’ market,

8:30am. Breakfast with santa, Nottawasaga/Creemore Public School, 9am. Santa Claus parade, Mill St, 2pm.

Visit with Santa, Station on the Green, 2pm. creemore.ca

DEC 4 : SANTA CLAUS PARADE SHELBURNE “Christmas Carols,”

includes Innisfil Pipe & Drum Band and the Mount Forest Harmonaires. 5pm. Main St. 519-925-2600; townofshelburne.on.ca

DEC 7 : ALTON HOLIDAY TREE LIGHTING Lighting ceremony, holiday

refreshments, carol-singing, performance by The Bells of Westminster. Local crafts. 7pm. Free. Alton Branch, Caledon Library. 905-857-1400; caledon.library.on.ca continued on next page

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Christmas Gifts for RVers in our Accessory Store

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NOV 27 : CANDY CANE FAIR

Photos with Santa, kids’ dollar store, entertainers. Craft and bake tables.

9:30am-3:30pm. Free parking. Presented

by Headwaters Auxiliary. Headwaters Health Care Centre, 100 Rolling Hills Dr, Orangeville. 519-941-2410; headwatershealth.ca

DEC 9 : SENIORS & STUDENTS – A HOLIDAY CELEBRATION Grade 5

www.hughesrv.com

students from Ellwood Memorial Public School sing in the season, part of regular seniors’ drop-in at Albion Bolton Branch. 1:30pm. All welcome.

150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-1400; caledonlibrary.on.ca

FEB 26 : ORANGEVILLE BRIDAL SHOW

Features local bridal businesses. Fashion show, chefs’ cook-off, wine tastings. Free, register for free goodie bag. Presented by The Small Business Place and Events.

Orangeville Fairgrounds, 5 Siderd Mono, off Hockley Rd. orangevillebridalshow.com

JAN 30 : CAILLOU’S GREATEST SKATE OF ALL Join everyone’s favourite

DEC 16 – 19 : SCROOGE! A CHRISTMAS MUSICAL Heart-

DEC 11 & 18 : ECO-STORE AUCTIONS

YOUR ONE STOP RV SHOP Specializing in Reliable Service and Repairs for All Models from Pop-Up Trailers to Rear Engine Diesels and Horse Trailers Fully Approved Centre for Insurance Repairs / Structural Repairs / Towing Systems / Generators / RV Appliance / Roof Airs / Awnings / Pre-Owned RV Sales / RV Storage Inside or Outside

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www.hughesrv.com

Dec 11: auction at The ReUstore, 109 Industrial Rd, Bolton. Dec 18: auction at Chez Thrift, 301 Queen St, Bolton.

Proceeds from Caledon Community Services’ eco-stores support programs to help Caledon residents. 8:30am-4pm.

905-584-2300; http://ccs4u.org/

DEC 12 : RELESSEY OLDE FASHIONED CAROL SERVICE Enjoy

carols and fellowship. Hot cider and goodies follow. 2:30pm. Relessey Church, Mono Centre Rd. 519-941-1100.

DEC 12 : CAROL SERVICE Lessons

and carol service. 9:15am. Trinity Anglican Church, 3515 King St, Caledon.

DEC 12 : CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

Music, family activities, displays, refreshments and a visit from Santa Claus! Noon-4pm. $2. Wellington County Museum & Archives, 0536 Wellington Cty Rd 18, btw Fergus & Elora. 519-846-0916; wcm.on.ca DEC 19 : CAROL SING Candlelight

service and carols in old-fashioned setting. All welcome. Light refreshments follow. 7pm. Primrose United Church, 30 Siderd Mono & Hwy 10.

DEC 31 : FIRST NIGHT CELEBRATION Orangeville rings out the old

kids YEAR-ROUND (TUESDAYS) : LET’S GET TOGETHER Connect with other families

parenting a child with special needs, birth to six years. Light dinner. Siblings welcome. 5:30-7pm. Free, register.

Caledon Parent-Child Centre, AlbionBolton Community Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-0090; cp-cc.org YEAR-ROUND (THURSDAYS) : ADJUSTMENTS AFTER BIRTH SUPPORT GROUP Share your experiences, learn

coping strategies in supportive environment. 1:30-3:30pm. Child care provided. Free, register. Caledon Parent-Child Centre, Albion-Bolton Community Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-0090; cp-cc.org

JAN 1 : GRAND VALLEY LIONS’ POLAR BEAR DIP Held in the Grand River at

NOW – JUNE : DPSN PARENTING WORKSHOPS Topics for parents of

JAN 16 : MONO TREE CHIPPING WINTERFEST Recycle your Christmas

tree. Horse-drawn sleigh rides, skating, tobogganing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing. Noon-4pm. Free.

Mono Community Centre, Mono Centre.

519-941-5399; townofmono.com JAN 30 : MANULIFE WALK FOR MEMORIES Walk to support programs

of Alzheimer Society of Dufferin County.

Start Orangeville Mall. 9am-noon. Register, 519-941-1221; alzheimerdufferin.org FEB 12 : VALENTINE MASQUERADE BALL Caledon East Revitalization

Committee hosts fundraiser for projects in Caledon East. Silent auction, band, dinner. 5:30pm. $100, by Dec 31; $115 after.

Royal Ambassador, 15430 Innis Lake Rd, Caledon. 416-705-8970; cerc@rogers.com IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

Ann Hieter. Orangeville & District Horticultural Society. 7-9pm. Free. Orangeville Seniors Centre, 26 Bythia St, Orangeville.

519-941-8242; orangevillehort.org

year with MuchMusic video dance, rock wall climbing, indoor skating, wagon/sleigh rides, fireworks and more.

6-10:30pm. Free. Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre, 40 Fead St, Orangeville.

519-941-0440; orangeville.ca

the old Fire Hall. Pledge sheets on website. 1pm. Mill St E, Grand Valley. grandvalleylions.com

72

MAR 8 : TEN SIGNS THAT YOU ARE A PLANT ADDICT Presentation by John and

school-aged children incl discipline, communication, stress management and more. 7-9pm. Free, register. Various venues. 519-940-8678; dpsn.ca NOV 23 : ROBERT PAUL WESTON Author reads Zorgamazoo and his new book Dust City (for kids over 11), answers questions, signs books. Presented by Forster’s Book Garden and Caledon Library. 7pm.

Albion-Bolton Branch, Caledon Public Library, 150 Queen St S, Bolton.

905-857-1400; forstersbookgarden.ca

NOV 26 : CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY Musical fun with Lenny Graf

from Treehouse TV with visit from Santa. Light snack, children’s crafts and prizes. 9:30-11am. $8 each, children & adults. Presented by the Caledon Parent-Child Centre & Silcotech North America. Albion-Bolton Community Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton.

905-857-0090; cp-cc.org

warming family story based on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Stunning sets, costumes. 2pm & 7pm. $25-$45.

Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

adventurer for a musical romp through a winter wonderland. Audience participation. 3:30-6:30pm. $30-$40; children 12 & under, $18. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca FEB 10 : VALENTINE’S FAMILY FUN NIGHT Free crafts, playroom activities,

bedtime stories. 5-7pm. Free, small fee for snacks and face painting. Caledon Parent-Child Centre, Albion-Bolton Community Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-0090; cp-cc.org FEB 26 : SPLASH ’N’ BOOTS Kids, bring

your parents and jump, twirl and sing along with the 2007 Canadian Children’s Group of the Year. 1 & 3pm. $20; children $15. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

music NOV – JAN : LIVE MUSIC AT ROSE THEATRE BRAMPTON Nov 22: Vienna

Boys’ Choir, $38-$58. Nov 24: Mark Masri, $36-$56. Nov 26 & 27: 1964: The Tribute, Beatles music with orchestra, $41-$61. Nov 30: JIGU! Thunder Drums of China, 12:30 & 7:30pm, $27-$47. Nov 26: Adi Braun, jazz vocalist, $25. Dec 2: Gord Bamford, $44-$64. Dec 3: Richard Marx & Matt Scannell, $47-$67. Dec 7: James Cotton & Matt “Guitar” Murphy, $42-62.

Dec 10: Elvis, Wonderful World of Christmas, $43-$60. Jan 21: Nikki Yanofsky, $48-$68. Jan 22: Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Classic Albums Live, $38-$48. Feb 18: The Pointer Sisters, $95-$115. Feb 20: Jesse Cook, $47-$67.

Feb 23: Lighthouse, $39-$59. Feb 25: Humber College Vocal Jazz Combo, $25.

Mar 3: Aion Clarke & Kellylee Evans, $28-$48. Mar 9: Kevin Fox & Barney Bentall, $28-$48. Mar 10: Led Zeppelin’s House of the Holy, Classic Albums Live, $33-$53. Discounts on multi-show orders.

All shows at 8pm, unless noted.

Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

NOW – DEC 23 (THURSDAYS): QUEEN LISA’S CAFE Lisa Watson

fine-tunes heartbreakers by Leonard Cohen, Lynn Miles and Joni Mitchell for her new CD. 6-8pm. Café Bella, 85 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-941-0300; lisa.watsongs@gmail.com

NOV 27, DEC 4 & 5 : HANDEL’S MESSIAH Achill Choral Society

presents the Messiah, conducted by A. Dale Wood, featuring choir, soloists, orchestra and organ. $25; 13 & under, $15.

Nov 27: Holy Family RC Church, 60 Allan Dr, Bolton, 8pm. Dec 4: St. Timothy’s RC Church, 42 Dawson Rd, Orangeville, 8pm. Dec 5: St. James RC Church, 2118 Adjala-Tecumseth Townline, Colgan, 7:30pm. 905-584-6710; achill.ca

DEC 4 : CHRISTMAS CONCERT

Seasonal music by Orangeville Community Band. Free. Orangeville Mall. orangevillecommunityband.ca

Theatre Orangeville, 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca JAN 30 : HENDERSON-KOLK DUO

Familiar classical music on two guitars, incl Mozart, Chopin, Bach. Presented by Orangeville Concert Association. 2pm. $30, students $15. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville.

1-800-424-1295; orangevilleconcerts.ca FEB 5 : BLUES BASH ORANGEVILLE Live music, silent auction at fundraiser for Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival. 7pm. $35 at door; $30 advance from BookLore or Festival Office, 519-941-9041. Best Western Inn & Suites, Orangeville. objf.org FEB 19 : TRIO VOCE Caledon Chamber Concerts present piano trio from Edmonton. 8pm. $30; 16 and under, $15 at BookLore, Howard the Butcher, Forster’s Book Garden. St. James’ Church, Caledon East. 905-880-2445; caledonchamberconcerts.com FEB 27 : A SILVER SEASON – A CELEBRATION COLLECTION Brampton

Festival Singers present favourite songs.

7:30pm. $25. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; bramptonfestivalsingersinc.org MAR 18 : THE BLAZING FIDDLES

Hits on two violins, piano, stand-up bass, presented by Orangeville Concert Association. 8pm. $30, students $15.

Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. 1-800-424-1295; orangevilleconcerts.ca MAR 26 : VINCA STRING QUARTET

DEC 5 : A SILVER SEASON – A CELTIC CHRISTMAS Brampton

Festival Singers present songs and dances in the Celtic tradition. 7:30pm. $25. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; bramptonfestivalsingersinc.org

DEC 5 : CHRISTMAS CONCERT IN THE CHURCH Live seasonal music,

featuring Here Comes Treble, U4IA – barbershop, Bells of Westminster, and flute trio. 2pm. $15, incl Holiday Treasures admission, hot cider & goodies.

Corbetton Church at Dufferin County Museum & Archives, Airport Rd & Hwy 89.

1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

DEC 11 : CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSE

Brampton Concert Band and The Mayfield Singers. 8pm. $25; seniors & students $20; 12 and under $15.

Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

DEC 19 : CELTIC CHRISTMAS CONCERT Headwaters Concert Choir

presents Celtic holiday favourites.

2pm. $15. Claude Presbyterian Church, Hwy 10, Caledon. 905-459-6752; bach4550@rogers.com

DEC 22 & 23 : T.O.Y.S. CHRISTMAS CONCERT Theatre Orangeville Youth

Singers celebrate the spirit of the season in song. 2 & 7:30pm. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville.

Caledon Chamber Concerts present quartet from New York. 8pm. $30; 16 & under, $15 at BookLore, Howard the Butcher, Forster’s Book Garden. St. James Church, Caledon East. 905-8802445; caledonchamberconcerts.com

theatre+film

NOV 25 – 28 : THE SLEEPING BEAUTY British-style pantomime,

presented by Peel Panto Players.

Various performance times. $11.75.

Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca; peelplayers.com

NOV 26 – DEC 5 : BABES IN THE WOOD Traditional English panto-

mime, with music, humour, audience participation as Robin Hood outwits the Sheriff of Nottingham. Nov 27 & 28, Dec 4: 2pm. Nov 26 & 27, Dec 3: 7pm. $12. Century Church Theatre, Hillsburgh.

519-855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com NOV 26 – DEC 19 : ANNE Instead of an orphan boy, Matthew and Marilla get the irrepressible Anne Shirley. Avonlea would never be the same again. By Paul Ledoux, adapted from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. A family holiday show.

Theatre Orangeville. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville.

519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca continued on next page

Woodland Paths trails cut through your wild places customized for the hiker or rider brush cleared, suitable firewood cut and stacked

Philip Pearce 519 939 9534 IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

73

A

Bed&Breakfast

O F

W I N T E R

H A P P E N I N G S

For the past ten years, our event listings have been prepared in partnership with Alison Hird through her website WhatsOn.ca.

But Alison is winding down her site, and that means there are changes to the way you submit and find events online at In The Hills.

D•I•R•E•C•T•O•R•Y

To submit an event: Please go directly to inthehills.ca and click EVENTS on the menu bar. That takes you to the listings page.

A second click on SUBMIT YOUR EVENT (below the calendar) takes you to our easy-to-complete form.

JENNY’S PLACE B&B Enjoy our beautiful Victorian home, walking distance to downtown Orangeville, theatre, dining and shopping. Each room has a TV and DVD, and a selection of books and movies. We also have a separate bed sitting room with a cozy wood stove, ensuite bath and kitchenette. Great for skiers, hikers, romantic getaways, and even for commuters. In the summer we have a beautiful huge deck, overlooking a half-acre of lawn and trees.

Besides our hot or continental breakfasts, coffee and teas are always available in our guest kitchen. Open year round.

Rates from $70 to $120. Chris Leith 519-938-8866 www.thehillsofheadwaters.com/jennysplacebedandbreakfast jennysplace@gmail.com

C A L E N D A R

To find an event at inthehills.ca, click EVENTS on the menu bar.

continued from page 73 DEC 1 – 3, 8 – 10 : MYSTIC HOLIDAY

Dinner theatre features mysterious comedy by Susanna Lamy, directed by Kathryn Delory. Presented by Erin Community Theatre. 7pm. $39.95. David’s Restaurant, 20 Shamrock Rd, Erin.

519-855-6748; erincommunitytheatre.ca DEC 8 & 9 : THE NUTCRACKER The

FAIRFIELD HOUSE Welcome to our historic house in Belfountain, set in the stunning Niagara Escarpment. Gaze from any of three charming rooms over fields, ponds, the village church spire, and cavorting horses. Step out to great shops, the village pub or hike and cycle our famous trails. At night, cozy up in front of a wood-burning fire in the guest lounge and in the morning, savour a hearty breakfast. Ideal for small groups. Seasonal rates available.

Rates from $75 to $120. Introductory price on 2 nights.

Amy Phelan and Michael Durkin 519-927-5899 www.bbcanada.com/12937 fairfieldhouse1@gmail.com

BLACKSMITH HOUSE This c1895 Victorian home in picturesque Creemore (“one of the 10 prettiest towns in Canada,” Harrowsmith Country Life) in the valley of the Mad and Noisy Rivers is ideally situated for visiting many places of local interest and taking scenic drives with breathtaking views of Georgian Bay and the Niagara Escarpment. We offer quiet relaxation, individual attention, warm hospitality, delightfully furnished guest rooms, and delicious Canadian cooked breakfasts.

Member of the Federation of Ontario Bed & Breakfast Accommodation.

Single $90; Double $135. John and Jean Smart 705-466-2885 www.blacksmithhouse.ca enquiries@blacksmithhouse.ca

THE STREAM A tranquil base in the Hockley Valley offers queen-size sleigh beds and the sound of the stream to lull you to sleep.

A cedar deck and hot tub overlook the forest, winding trails and foot ridges.

Open-plan in cedar, glass and slate features indoor 30-foot tree and fireplace that burns five-foot logs.

Minutes to hiking, biking, golfing, skiing, and dining. Seeing is believing - drop in and say “hi”.

Singles from $85; Doubles, private and shared baths, $125-$150.

Discounts for stays over 2 nights. Kersty and John Franklin 519-941-3392 www.streambb.com www.bbcanada.com/thestream john@streambb.com

State Ballet Theatre of Russia presents the beloved classic, featuring traditional choreography and sparkling imagery. Dec 8, 7pm; Dec 9, 11am & 7pm. $58-$78. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

DEC 19 : A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Professional actors perform Dickens’ timeless tale of greed, ghosts, and salvation. Presented by Humber River Shakespeare Company. 2pm. $15, reserve.

Alton Mill, 1402 Queen St, Alton. Humber River Shakespeare Company, 519-9419300; humberrivershakespeare.ca

JAN 10 : NOWHERE BOY – MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES Riveting portrait

of John Lennon’s late teen years in Liverpool, just before the Beatles.

(Rated 14A.) 4:30, 7 & 9pm. $8 from BookLore & cinema box office. Galaxy Cinemas, Orangeville. 519-941-5146; mondaynightmovies.ca JAN 25 & 26 : SWAN LAKE The State

Ballet Theatre of Russia presents beauty and romance of Tchaikovsky’s first ballet.

8pm. $61-$81. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca JAN 29 & FEB 5 : LATE NITE CATECHISM

Part catechism class, part stand-up routine. The Sister takes you back to Latin Masses, meatless Fridays, and the sudden ruler across the knuckles. 8pm.

Feb 5, 2 & 8pm. $29-$49. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca FEB 9 – 12 : I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE Musical

comedy about dating, mating and romance, featuring Marisa McIntyre.

2 & 8pm. $27-$47. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca FEB 17 – MAR 5 : WHERE THERE’S A WILL... Caledon Townhall Players present

comic whodunit by Alan Tibbles, in the 74

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

style of Agatha Christie. 8:15pm. Feb 26: 2:15pm; dinner theatre, 6:30pm. Old Township Hall, 18365 Hurontario St, Caledon Village. 519-927-5460; caledontownhallplayers.com FEB 17 – MAR 6 : IN A WORLD CREATED

BY A DRUNKEN GOD Powerful drama

reflects the moral divide between two brothers, two cultures and two nations.

Directed by and starring Kurt Spenrath.

Old Town Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. Theatre Orangeville, 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca FEB 25 : THE SECOND CITY’S STEPHEN HARPER Whether you think he’s hero or

(pro)rogue, this look at our most musical of prime ministers will sing, dance and laugh its way into your heart. 8pm. $28-$48.

Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca MAR 2 : PACO PENA FLAMENCO

Dancers, sensational band and virtuoso singers present work of legendary flamenco guitarist Paco Pena. 8pm. $48-$68. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca MAR 4 : BITTERGIRL Smash hit comedy about three women dumped by their lovers. 8pm. $29-$30. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca MAR 15 : THE PEKING ACROBATS

Amazing displays of contortion and control in gravity-defying performances, juggling and balancing acts. 7pm. $46-$66. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca MAR 19 : NRITYAGRAM DANCE ENSEMBLE A premier dance company

of India. Exceptional synchronicity, compelling physicality and emotional honesty. 7:30pm. $48-$68. Rose Theatre Brampton, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton.

905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

MAR 25 – APR 3 : THE FARNDALE AVENUE HOUSING ESTATE TOWNSWOMEN’S GUILD DRAMATIC SOCIETY Zany mystery-comedy by David

McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jr. Directed

by Dale Jones. The ladies attempt amateur dramatics, with hilarious and unpredictable results. 2:30pm. $18.

Century Church Theatre, Hillsburgh.

519-855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com

outdoors+ envlronment NOW – MAR 15 (TUESDAYS) : BRUCE TRAIL HIKES Hike various locations on

the Bruce Trail. 9:30am-2pm. Details on website. Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club. caledonbrucetrail.org NOV 24 : A GREEN T CHRISTMAS

Environmental speakers, eco-conscious gift sale and dramatic reading by actor Andrew Welch. 7pm. $5. Albion-Bolton Branch, Caledon Library, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-857-1198; greentcaledon.ca; caledonlibrary.on.ca

JAN 12 : PHOTOGRAPHING WILDFLOWERS Tips from Dr. John

Reaume. Orangeville & District Horticultural Society. 7pm. Free, all welcome. Orangeville Seniors Centre, 26 Bythia St. j-cutter@sympatico.ca JAN 15 : MONO CLIFFS HIKE Medium-

pace, 3 hr. Bring ice footwear/snowshoes as nec. Leashed dogs. Depart 10am from parking lot of Mono Community Centre, Mono Centre. Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, 519-883-1840; caledonbrucetrail.org JAN 25 : HONEY BEES – DECLINE AND IMPACT Paul Kelly, manager of honey bee

research at U of Guelph describes efforts to reverse honey bee decline. Upper Credit Field Naturalists Club. 7:30pm. Free, all welcome. Orangeville Seniors Centre, 26 Bythia St. uppercreditfieldnaturalists.org JAN 29 : HOCKLEY HIKE Medium pace,

3hr. Bring ice footwear/snowshoes as nec.

Leashed dogs. Depart: 10am. Bruce Trail

parking lot, N side Hockley Road, E of 2nd Line Mono. Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, 519-883-1840; caledonbrucetrail.org FEB 8 : PIONEER GARDENS OF DUFFERIN COUNTY Presentation by

Dufferin Museum curator Wayne Townsend. Orangeville & District Horticultural Society. 7pm. Free, all welcome. Orangeville Seniors Centre, 26 Bythia St. j-cutter@sympatico.ca FEB 21 : FAMILY NORDIC SKI DAY

Mono Nordic & Town of Mono host ski day with free ski rentals and trail use.

All ages. 9am-4pm. Monora Park, Hwy 10, just N of Orangeville. 519-941-0797; mononordic.com FEB 22 : WILDLIFE REHABILITATION Dr.

Cynthia Post of Procyon Wildlife Centre discusses caring for hundreds of sick, injured or abandoned animals and birds.

Upper Credit Field Naturalists Club.

7:30pm. Free, all welcome. Orangeville Seniors Centre, 26 Bythia St, Orangeville. uppercreditfieldnaturalists.org ≈

NOV 27 : FROM FIELD TO FOREST, PASTURE TO PERENNIALS Workshop on

enhancing meadow habitats on your property, incl financial assistance programs. 9am-12:30pm. $15, register by Nov 23. Inglewood Community Centre, 15825 McLaughlin Rd, Caledon. Credit Valley Conservation, 1-800-668-5557x221; creditvalleyca.ca NOV 30 : RETURN OF THE BALD EAGLE

Biologist Jody Allair describes the comeback of bald eagles. Upper Credit Field Naturalists Club. 7:30pm. Free, all welcome. 7:30pm. Orangeville Seniors Centre, 26 Bythia St, Orangeville. uppercreditfieldnaturalists.org DEC 1 – MAR 2 (WEDNESDAYS): HEADWATERS FLY FISHING CLUB

Regular club meetings held the first and third Wednesdays of month. Free introductory fly-tying lesson. 7:30-9pm.

All welcome. Mono Mills Community Centre, 33 Victoria Cr. 519-940-9499; murakamgca@yahoo.ca

P U Z Z L I N G What Day Is It? Today is Sunday.

Outdoor Learning

DEC 17 : DICK’S DAM HIKE Moderate to strenuous, 18km, 5hr, return. No dropouts. Bring ice footwear or snowshoes as nec. No dogs. Depart: 9:30am Dick’s Dam Park, Glasgow Rd, Bolton. Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club.

CAhikes@bell.net

S O L U T I O N S

from page 78

Brooke’s Scary Ride If Armando has never “been this far south on Mount Hope,” how would he have known to slow suddenly and pull to one side at a bumpy railway crossing?

Measuring from ‘A’ to ‘M’ 36 millimetres.

JAN 1 & 2, JAN 9 : CROSS-COUNTRY SKI LESSONS All equipment provided.

Beginner, novice, skills brush-up. All ages. $15 trail fee. Albion Hills Conservation Area, Hwy 50, 8km N of Bolton. 519-842-4652; www.skiforlife.net

Custom Homes in Caledon East

JAN 7 : HOCKLEY VALLEY HIKE

Moderate to strenuous, 15km, 4.75hr, fast pace, loop. No dogs. Ice footwear/ snowshoes as nec. Depart 9:30am, Hockley Rd parking area (near km 60).

Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, 519-8831840; caledonbrucetrail.org

correction In “Chuck’s Bus Breaks Down Again,” a puzzle in the fall issue, the teaser supposed to mean “mixed company” was missing an “o” and had an extra “a” instead. Thanks to sharp-eyed readers for catching the mistake. Sorry!

• quiet cul-de-sac • escarpment views • Energy Star homes ONLY 4 LEFT Sales Office located at 15891 Airport Rd, Caledon East Sat/Sun & holidays, noon - 4:30

519-938-8417 • www.dalerosehomes.ca

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

75

MARKETPLACE ART & CRAFT

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

(cont’d)

ALL-MONT LTD. Garage Doors & Electric Operators Residential • Commercial Industrial Sales • Installation • Service Visit our showroom 48 Centennial Rd, #20 Orangeville

519-942-1956

Photo credit: Pete Paterson

B. A. WOOD MASONRY

Kai-Liis Art Studio & Heed Farm Alpacas

E C O - F R I E N D LY P R O D U C T S Eco-Friendly Products & Gift Ideas!

Specializing in Stone & Restoration Work Brick • Block

4th Line Mulmur 519-925-0421 mcinneskailiis@gmail.com WINTER = ALPACA SOCKS & INSOLES = WARM COSY FEET

Brian Wood

519-941-5396

834263 4th Line EHS 2.5km N of Hockley Rd

519-943-1490 Open by Appointment

www.VisionsInTheWoods.com

Forrest Custom Carpentry

EQUESTRIAN SERVICES

Established 1986

• Artwork in various media • Specializing in animals and rural scenes

100% Bamboo Bedding • Klean Kanteens Pure Cappings Beeswax Candles Recycled Glassware • Eco Gift Wrap Bird, Bat & Butterfly Houses Sacred Stones Jewelry • Singing Bowls & Much More!

See Our Website for Upcoming Events

Design, Build, Install Wall Units, Bars, Home Offices Call Gary for a Free Estimate

“The Original Ones” Linda McLaren, Orangeville 519-925-6040

519-323-1121/1-877-454-9522 www.forrestcustomcarpentry.com

BIRD FEEDING Caledon Mountain Wildlife Supplies • Wild Birdseed / Feeders / Nesting Boxes • Pet Food & Supplies / Wildlife Feeds • Crafts / Books / Nature Accessories

ENTRANCE DESIGN

“We’re here to help you help nature.”

18371 Hurontario Caledon Village Tel 519-927-3212 Fax 519-927-9186 Brian Thayer

C AT E R I N G

R&M Stucco Superior quality & service Interior/exterior plaster/stucco finishing

SEASONAL & ENTRANCE DECOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS & THEMED EVENTS 647.409.9323 doris@grandentrancedesign.com www.GrandEntranceDesign.com

FOOD

Marco or Rose Mary Andreozzi

705-434-0248 CONCIERGE SERVICES

8

8

ZOLTAN POTOVSZKY

MASONRY

BRICK • BLOCK • CONCRETE • FIREPLACES • STONE Serving Dufferin County & Creemore Area

(705) 434-3285

countrymanormanagement@bell.net

Alder Street Mews, 75 Alder St, Unit 4, Orangeville www.davesbutchershop.ca 519-415-MEAT (6328)

FURNITURE

Insured and Licensed

Weekenders & Travellers Feel confident about routine maintenance, repairs and security when you’re away from home.

Pietro Fanzo 519-938-5199

DAVE’S BUTCHER SHOP Beef, pork, veal, lamb, chicken, fish - Sauces, rubs, marinades

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MARKETPLACE H E A LT H & W E L L - B E I N G THE TROUBLE IS IN YOUR HORMONES, NOT IN YOUR HEAD

LAND SURVEYING P.J. Williams Ontario Land Surveyor

PET SUPPLIES & SERVICES

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(cont’d)

DOG BOARDING ~ A HAPPY DOG HOLIDAY BEST SERVICE, BEST PRICE FOR YOUR BEST FRIEND In a loving home with personal attention by an experienced professional including three vigorous walks daily, with playtime in fenced outdoor areas.

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PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES

PARTIES

Pottery Parties in the Hills Art parties for Birthdays, Schools, Corporate Events, Ladies’ Nights, Showers and Fundraisers.

Paint Ceramics & Play with Clay.

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Cakes & loot bags available.

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519.942.9022 ...from hedgehogs to snakes, lizards to spiders and turtles to birds... there’s something for everyone at

since 1925

Call & Compare

Home Auto Commercial Farm Financial Services Life

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School of Miracles workshops & classes

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LANDSCAPING PET SUPPLIES & SERVICES

TUTORING

These are signs that your pet’s current food needs to be looked at:

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action Satisf ANTEED GUAR

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of Toronto

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Tutor in the Hills

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WELL DRILLING

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McCauley WELL DRILLING

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For Spring Issue Call by February 4, 2011

Licenced Technicians Free Estimates

a Puzzling Conclusion

by Ken Weber

Indoor Learning at the Sandhill School Outdoor Learning at Mono Mills School

At the Sandhill Union School (S.S. #4 Albion and S.S. #20 Chinguacousy), it was raining on the first day of school in 1890 so the teacher, Mr. Sherman, decided to pose an entertaining problem to make his students forget the weather. Shortly before lunchtime he lifted a large map from the blackboard to reveal these pictures.

The first day of school in September, 1887 was marked by sunny weather, so at S.S. #16 in Mono Mills, Mr. Potter took his students outside to solve this problem.

“See these four squares?” he said, pointing to sticks he had laid out on the grass. “The squares are all the same size, but I’m sure you noticed that right away. And I’m also sure you noticed that I used twelve sticks to make them.”

What Day Is It? On a rainy morning in mid-July, many years ago, Alfie woke up in the Shelburne town jail with a very queasy stomach, feeling entirely confused. “What day is it today?” he asked the guard.

The guard, who was in no mood to be helpful replied this way: “When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, today will be as far from Sunday as today was from Sunday when the day before yesterday was tomorrow!”

Help out Alfie.

What day is it today?

Measuring from A to M

Mr. Sherman allowed the students to look at the pictures for two minutes and then hung the map over them again. He then gave them the questions that follow below.

“Now, here’s your challenge. Use all of these twelve sticks to make just three squares, all the same size. But,” he smiled, “you can only move four sticks, and one of your three squares must touch the other two.”

If you had just two minutes to look at these pictures, how many of these questions would you answer correctly?

What is the only living thing pictured?

Which way is the living thing facing, left or right?

Name the thing that flies.

Can you use any of the things to write a note?

Can you wear any of the things?

In which row is the thing that you can eat for lunch?

Is there a thing that starts with the letter N? the letter D? the letter T? What number is missing on the pocket watch?

In which column is the thing that holds water?

Do any of the things have windows?

A N

I N

T H E

H I L L S

M I N I

At the Town of Erin Public Library on Trafalgar Street in Hillsburgh, a four volume set of dictionaries sits upright on a shelf near the front door.

The spines of the four books are identif ied A–E, F–L, M–Q and R–Z respectively. Naturally, they are shelved in proper alphabetical order.

Each volume is 30 millimetres thick in total. The front and back covers of the books are each 3 millimetres thick.

What is the distance in millimetres between the first word in Volume A–E and the last word in Volume M–Q?

M Y S T E R Y

Brooke’s Scary Ride Brooke wasn’t sure what bothered her most: Armando’s non-stop talking or his bad driving. He had begun prattling away as soon as she got into his car on Bolton’s main street and frightened her immediately by making a sudden U-turn, barely missing several parked cars.

They headed north then on Peel Road 50, travelling well over the speed limit. Things didn’t improve in the next few minutes as Armando cruised through two orange lights and turned right on Old Church Road against a red light without signaling or stopping.

At the next intersection, Armando surprised her by remembering to signal his left turn north onto Mount Hope Road, but then he made up for that by revving

up to a dangerous 100-plus km/h. All the while, the chatter was constant.

“Took me forever to get through Orangeville. Great looking main street that Broadway, but people gawk, you know. And all kinds of pokeys this morning on Highway 9. Decent weather at least. I wasn’t sure I’d find you in Bolton.”

Brooke held her breath as Armando slowed suddenly and veered completely into the southbound lane as they bumped over a railway crossing. And she held it held it again seconds later as he revisited the southbound lane to go around a tractor and wagon.

By now, all Brooke cared about was getting safely to the site on Mount Hope where Armando and his

wife had totalled their car a few days before. His wife was still in hospital and not likely to recover. Armando was planning to sue the Town of Caledon.

“The spot’s up here somewhere,” he said, mostly to himself. “Close to Highway 9… let’s see, look for a white house… I’ve never been this far south on Mount Hope… that sun’s so bright. Ah! There’s the spot!”

Brooke Barry said “Ah,” too as Armando slowed to a stop. At least they’d arrived safely. More important, she’d learned something. Brooke was an insurance investigator and when Armando lied to her, she realized his side of the accident story might be phony too.

Why does Brooke realize that Armando has lied to her? solutions on page 75

78

IN T HE HILLS WINTER 2010

THE ALDERLEA T4 An effective wood stove with old world charm The radiant heat of cast iron combined with the convective warmth of steel. The T4 is designed for spaces up to 1500 sq ft.

Outstanding Features: Large glass for viewing, cooktop for peace of mind during power outages, high efficiency rating and powerful heat output.

Available in two larger sizes also.

To book your installation call us at 519.925.5551 | 1.888.211.8295 Hwy 89 at Hwy 10 (near Primrose) www.hearthandleisure.com

CONTEMPOR ARY HOME DECOR

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