Randy Evans & Gary Shrumm Maybe you’ve noticed it, an old-style cottage still standing at the corner of Lakeshore and Blackwell Side Road, abandoned and fighting a losing battle against the elements and surrounding housing development. It has a story to tell. The tale begins with Joanna and Joseph Smith, the first settlers of Blackwell,… Read more »
James R. Wallen A few years back, I worked on a film about Cookie Gilchrist who played one season with the Sarnia Imperials in 1954 before achieving fame – some might say “notoriety” – in the CFL and the American Football League (now part of the NFL.) Although Cookie doesn’t figure in my film Gridiron… Read more »
Phil Egan Over the past 81 years the Blue Water Bridge has seen tens of thousands of vessels pass beneath it. Each has a story; from passenger cruise ships like the Noronic and North America, to fishing boats, industrial lakers, ocean-going cargo vessels and Canadian warships. But one of the strangest stories of any ship… Read more »
Loss of after-hours veterinary service heartbreaking Sir: I read with great interest and equally great disappointment the last veterinary hospital discontinued after-hours veterinarian services locally “due to a full work load and the need for appropriate work-life balance.” EMS, police services, fire services, doctors, and health-care workers all carry a full workload and yet must… Read more »
Bob Boulton “My mom said I should bring these back to you.” I was standing at the curved oak desk of Sarnia’s old Carnegie Library with a thumping heart, fidgety feet, and a bag full of historical romances. Behind the desk sat Jean, herself. She looked at me, sighed, nodded. A distant memory of Jean… Read more »
Orange shirts honoured school children Sir: How touching it was to see the support of Canadians who care and supported the Orange Shirt Day ceremony at Bluewater Health on Sept. 30. The day was about honouring children who survived the Indian Residential School system, and those who didn’t make it out. Elder Cecil Isaac from… Read more »
Esther Tolooei “You can never go home again.” It’s what people often say to those who long to return to their hometown. I understand you can’t go back in time to what you remember about your home, that things change and it might not be what you expected. But what if you never idealized your… Read more »
Preacher scaring the hell out of motorists Sir: Regarding the Sept. 18 story, Council rejects attempt to restrict street preachers. City council got it so wrong! Obviously none of them has ever stopped for a red light at the intersection of Murphy and London roads and had someone with a bullhorn holler into the car…. Read more »
A small town in Ohio owes most of its hockey culture to a group of guys from Sarnia. And this month one of them will officially be recognized for his sporting prowess. Mike L’Heureux was born in Chatham in 1941 and moved to Sarnia at the age of four. His Dad, Morris (Moe) L’Heureux had… Read more »
The official name of CGIT was Canadian Girls in Training. But its members, aged 12 to 17, unofficially called themselves the “Cutest Girls in Town.” I know the nickname was deadly accurate for at least one of them. Laurie, my bride of 47 years, joined CGIT during the organization’s busy years in the early 1960s,… Read more »
