Jim is the former publisher of the Fort Frances Times Ltd. He writes a weekly column and can be contacted at jcumming@fortfrances.com
Riverside Foundation for Health Care director Samantha Manty had approached our table one afternoon prior to the Canada Day Cash Lottery early-bird draw.
By the time she was finished, all eight of us had purchased tickets for the draw.
In the past, the Fort Frances Times and Rainy River Record have been actively involved in raising funds for the “Care Close to Home” campaign.
Trees are in full bloom in front and back yards across Fort Frances.
The flowering crabs in front of the courthouse are full of brilliant pink flowers.
As you drive through town, the variety of pinks is amazing. Everything from soft baby pinks to robust deep reds are in their glory.
The colours and flowers are present for only a brief time each year. And just as you might drive around the community to see the lights of Christmas, a trip around town this week would be enjoyable.
It is 6 a.m. and I’m the only person in the emergency ward.
It is eerily quiet compared to Monday afternoon. Cathy, the nurse in charge, has just started the IV drip and I will lie on my back for the next two hours.
I will be back again in 12 hours and the procedure will be repeated for several days to come.
I must commend the emergency staff at La Verendrye Hospital, who have been very attentive to my plight. I’ve lost the use of my upper left arm and shoulder, and that has left me frustrated and sore.
I’ll admit I’m both a news junkie and a political junkie. Give me an election contest and I will follow every blog and political columnist in the area where the election is taking place.
For me, watching the start as the candidates break out of the gate—until they gallop across the finish line—is like watching a horse race.
We have our favourites just like in horse racing. We have our sentimental favourites that we cheer on because they are in the race with no hope of winning. And we have our put-downs for the candidates or parties we don’t want to win.
We spent the weekend at the cabin and the water in Rainy Lake has not risen.
Alas, our boat that we went to the cabin the previous weekend refused to start. Even the trolling motor batteries, which we thought we had charged, couldn’t get the motor to turn over.
The batteries probably didn’t take the charge.
Thankfully, my brother-in-law provided taxi service to the cabin.
Burgers cooked on the charcoal grill, fresh corn on the cob, and a 15-year-old bottle of red wine on the deck made the evening perfect.
The flyers that will be distributed later this week are filled with outdoor living items.
Flowers, plants, and shrubbery, along with gardening, and yard maintenance tools, all are being advertised. If you are into boating or improving the look of your yard, the ideas are all laid out.
Spring is here.
My wife and I made our way to our cabin on Saturday. We were the first to have our boat in at the marina.
When I think about what are truly Canadian foods, I usually find myself at a loss.
“Tourtiere,” a dish we often associate with Quebec, comes to mind. It is common to both Quebec and the bordering New England states, and often is associated with Christmas.
It is made with finely-diced pork, veal, or beef. Wild game often was added, as was fish and seafood in communities found along the coast. It is a meat pie cooked with cubed potatoes and often shredded onion and carrots.
Within the province of Quebec, regions often have their own special recipes.
The 48th edition of “Spring Fever Days” will unfold in Emo this Thursday to Saturday (April 16-18).
Back in 1968, the businesses had their own door prizes. Later, with the assistance of a former resident, the Emo merchants had a draw for accommodations, tickets, and spending money to the Calgary Stampede.
Copy from 1968 reads, “The Emo Chamber of Commerce has launched a full-fledged campaign to show district residents that a small community can offer a variety of services and products at competitive prices.”
Marie Antoinette, prior to the French Revolution, may have chided the crowd by saying “Let them eat cake” when told her French subjects had no bread.
She became the most hated symbol of the French aristocracy. The end for Marie Antoinette was that she lost her head.
I couldn’t help but think of the remark when Conservative senator Nancy Ruth complained that she did not like eating cold Camembert with broken crackers for breakfast on an airline flight.
Former premier Dalton McGuinty wanted to turn Ontario into a “green” energy province.
He chose to close down coal-fired power plants and replace those electrical energy-producing operations with solar- and wind-powered energy. He turned the development of wind and solar energy to private enterprise.
We know where that has taken us. Today, every Ontario household is subsidizing those plants—and energy bills have soared.
