THE BEGINNING OF CHAOS...
I was born in Victoria
Hospital, London, Ontario on Sept.11 (never mind what year) :), the
2nd of 5 children. My first best friend was Ellen McDonald. We lived in a subdivision in
NW London and had a terrier named "Skippy"
At a young age my family moved to the small village in (Haldimand-)Norfolk County,
called Port Rowan (not sure to this day HOW they ever found it but glad they did
now). The move was a big adjustment, but being as well-adjusted as us kids were (yeah
right) we settled in just fine. My parents owned the Drug/Gift Store. Being a summer
resort .. right on the doorstep of Long
Point, we all worked in the store (so my parents knew where we were, I think)
during the summer months ... in our younger years for a handful of peanuts ... really! :)
Once in my teenage years, I spent many a weekend camping at Turkey Point Provincial Park ,
and Long Point Provincial
Park.
READING, 'RITING AND 'RITHMATIC:
I attended Port Rowan Public School and then went on to attend Delhi District Secondary School until
the brand new Valley Heights High opened.
(Okay, I've given out my age range to those familiar with VH) :)
After completing Secondary School, I went on to attend Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ont. for 2 years (Child Care Worker Program).
EMPLOYMENT STUFF:
Other than working in my parents' store and a year or so in tobacco (hey, when you
live in that part of the country, you work in it!) other employment/training I enjoyed was
with the Junior Conservationists where myself and 9 other teens spent a summer
living in a century-old house near Neustadt, Ontario studying the Saugeen River Valley. We lived with no
hydro or running water ... and even though we weren't too thrilled by it at the first
(being young teens), none of us wanted to leave at the end of the program. (I'd love to
hear from anyone else who has been involved with the Junior Conservationists)
While attending Mohawk College, my placement (non-paying co-op) was at Thistletown
Regional Children's Centre, (residence for emotionally disturbed kids). Getting used
to city life in Hamilton was hard enough, but Toronto had me lost most of the first month
or so! A rude awakening to a small town girl who wasn't even used to city buses, let alone
subways and all! :) (Thank goodness my friend & classmate, who
was on the same placement as I, "Miki", was able to get use of a car
during the 2nd 1/2 of our time in Toronto.)
After my training and schooling I enjoyed employment as a Correctional Officer in
Simcoe's Glendale Adult Training Centre, for 4 1/2 years, until it's closure, and
then went on to work as a Police Dispatcher with the Haldimand-Norfolk Regional Police Dept.
After living in various apartments in Simcoe
with my good friend Laur we moved to a farmhouse with 4 others (ended up more like 10
others on weekends). This finally began to get the better of me and I decided I needed a
new chapter in my life of chaos.
Some of my good friends included:
Laurie Stenclik (nee Squires)
Ellen MacDonald
Nancy Gillis
Karen VanStiphout (nee Baldassi) [AKA 'Peanut']
Marg Baldassi (AKA Mayim) ["Peanut's" cousin]
Debbie Ferguson (nee Smith)
Vicky Purcer (nee Kochany)
Theresa Hardy-Frail (nee Jensen)
Lynn Thurlow & Bruce Hodges
Theresa Hardy-Frail (nee Jansen)
Sue Vandekeere
Kathy Hasilo
Vern Woodward
(Plus many more I don't have room to mention. If anyone reading this knows me
from the past, PLEASE email me ... I'd love to hear from you again. I've lost track
of many people over the years.)
Other Friends who are no longer with us but who remain dear to me include:
Russell Ansley (killed by a drunk driver in a car accident in 1972)
Laura Cronk (who was murdered in 1972)
Bill Rankin (also lost his life in a car accident in 1972)
BACK TO THE CITY:
In 1979 I made a big move in my life ... moving back to London ... just me and my
Samoyed dog (Rocky). The best thing I ever did, I believe now. After picking up some
additional courses and working 4 yr in a local pet store (Living Things), my aunt Verna
was thinking of giving up her Rural mail route. Being I was off with an injury, and
driving myself nuts with not going to work, I decided to do it for a month that summer and
ended up taking it over for the next ... I'll just say well-over 10 yrs, sadly having to
give up the Pet Store job, as I couldn't keep doing them both.
MARRIED BLISS:
I met my husband after a few years on my own. We had so much in common so got
alot really well and before we knew it we had fallen in love. We married and started our
life together (with his young son and our newly acquired puppy - ThunderBolt). We had some
trials of our love in those early years. Just weeks after the wedding our home was
hit by a tornado which sent a wooden shed through our living room window and left us without
a bed to sleep in for close to 2 weeks. Thank goodness no one was hurt, although Thunder
weathered it under the kitchen table and ever since he was timid when a summer storm is
blowing in. After getting back our lives, we bought our present home and were
blessed after 18 months of wedded bliss with a beautiful bouncing baby girl (born at 12:24
a.m. Wed.January 8, 1986).
INTERESTS:
Both my better half and myself are interested in computers (having owned them since
1982 - back when they ran from cassettes with all of 4 K memory and a British Acorn 'Atom'
... now I really feel old!)
I developed an interest in local history and genealogy in about 1993, and am currently
digging up my family's roots (although it's slow going much of the time, the internet has
really made it MUCH easier & quicker!)
I acquired a scroll saw from a past neighbor and good friend and started dabbling in the
craft of woodworking and woodburning. My daughter has since joined my interest and between
the 2 of us, we have made a few Christmas gifts and made abit of money
here and there selling our wares. Someday I will have my own little workshop where I can
do all the little project ideas I have plans on doing ... someday. :)
We also developed our own little 'zoo' on and off over the last few years. Some of
the animals we have owned include Sarabi - a hooded rat who we bred a couple of times
(hey, they make excellent pets), a large turtle, Ninja (we saved from being
squashed on the road some 9 years ago), Sonic & Knuckles (2 Green Anole lizards), and
our beloved german shepherd cross 'puppy' Thunder - all of whom have
passed onto 'pet heavens'. For more info. on our zoo members, check out the pages I've
devoted to each of them.
Presently we own a Siberian Husky (born Jan 18, 1998) named 'Shalun', and a Siberian
Husky-Alaskan Malamute cross (born Jan. 18, 1999) named Shenuk.
We bought a park trailer in 1992 and spent many of our summer weekends at a trailer park
outside Aylmer. |