We’ve all heard the expression, a “red letter day.” It dates to the 1300s, when important dates on the calendars assembled in monasteries and convents were marked in red. May 31, 1928 was one of those days in Sarnia. With horns blaring and flags flying, as many as 200 automobiles threaded their way through the… Read more »
Online shopping easy but fraught with many hidden problems Sir: Online shopping is great – until something goes wrong. The steps involved in the transaction can easily trick you into thinking, ‘This is great.’ Great product (look at the reviews!) great price and delivery. But then, a month later the product they said would be… Read more »
It was exactly 100 years ago, in 1920, that Sarnia held its first art exhibition. Among the works on display at the old Carnegie library, in what was then Victoria Park, were paintings by Tom Thomson and other artists who went on to fame as Canada’s “Group of Seven.” Art-lovers attending that exhibition may have… Read more »
This photograph shows what is believed to be members of the Sarnia Collegiate Literary Society, taken in 1919 or 1920. The school was located on London Road and soon after moved into the new SCITS building on Wellington Street, now empty and declared redundant. The photo is from the collection of Ann Manore Middleton. Unfortunately,… Read more »
Marg Johnson This summer, like many Sarnians, we had a flood at our house. And while it turned out to be merely inconvenient it had the potential for disaster. My husband, you see, is a collector of books and he has myriad boxes filled with paperbacks. I admit I used to begrudge him this… Read more »
Only God can determine when we die Sir: Regarding the Oct. 22 article, “More residents opting for medically assisted death.” Wow. Another huge example of misdirected compassion when a family physician can actually come forward and say, upon euthanizing her first patient, it was “an amazing and beautiful experience.” Attributing her ability to perform medically… Read more »
When Reg Clarke died in 1998, the father of seven left his family a tremendous gift. Towards the end of his life, Clarke sat down and typed out a 200-plus page memoir of his years growing up in Sarnia during the Great Depression, his war service (some of that story is told in The Journal’s… Read more »
Bob Boulton This year we celebrated Thanksgiving and Halloween as best we could, given the circumstances. As usual, it’s been a season of sugar overload, carbohydrates, and the full pumpkin experience. But now that it’s over I wonder how my feelings about something so ubiquitous, so cheerful and so orange could change so quickly…. Read more »
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the skies on Halloween night this year will feature a rare blue moon – so called because it’s the second in a single calendar month. Full moons, especially at Halloween, always remind me of one memorable autumn night spent in a place called Little Valley, New York. Little Valley is… Read more »
Irked by speeders, dangerous sidewalks Sir: In moving to Corunna I have found two major problems. Number one is the drag strip known as Hill Street. Residents have put up signs that say, “slow down,” but they’ve been worthless. Number two, the sidewalks from the Park to the St. Clair Parkway. They are a complete… Read more »
