Contrary to popular belief, St. Valentine was never the patron saint of chocolate.
Columns
Prominent homes: Listowel’s lawyer
Continuing on with my series on homes in Listowel and the people who lived in them, the first home in this month’s article is the home built by William Champley Kidd in 1901.
This is the time to start the work of Christmas
“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” -Jesus -John 12:46
History isn’t just the big events: everything is within the author’s scope
Journalists, reporters, editors – whatever the title is, these are the people that are responsible, as a previous boss of mine said, for crafting The First Draft of History (my apologies to my coworkers for the near-flippant use of capitalized characters, I promise, it will only happen once).
Memories of Wingham: John Congram remembers the Maitland River and the trombone
By most standards the Maitland River is just a small river but to me as a kid it was greater than the greatest rivers of the world.
Take it for the team Canada! Turns out we need the snow and cold
Love your maple syrup? Well, no cold, no syrup!
Women’s wages in 1850s at Windsor Hotel
Photographs and records relating to working women from over a hundred years ago are somewhat rare and it can be difficult to have a detailed understanding of what their lives were like.
Winter preparedness: Small choices that make a big difference
Winter in North Perth is nothing new, but each season brings its own reminders about how quickly conditions can change.
Pens: the small joy in our lives
There are times while parenting small kids that you are abruptly reminded of the simple joys of life. I say abruptly, but also somehow the reminders are always perfectly timed in some divine, mythological way that we don’t understand in the moment.
Bank move rational displays ‘arrogance’: Wood
To the Editor: The Bank of Montreal has announced it is abandoning branch service in Mildmay and Walkerton. No counter service. No ATM. No human beings. Just a locked door, a press release, and a suggestion that we all “go online.”
Investing in wetlands is an investment in shared prosperity for Canadians
Canada’s wetlands are not scenery. They are working infrastructure, and one of the country’s most underused economic assets.
The plague of AI operators
There’s nothing more disheartening than calling a company for help and being met with the flat, emotionless voice of an artificial intelligence (AI) operator, programmed with a narrow list of options it insists will “assist” you.
Beat the ‘Blue Monday’ blues
We have just passed – hopefully unscathed – the dreaded Blue Monday. The third Monday of January is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year, for many reasons.
Numbers on homelessness speak for themselves – trying to solve 2026 crisis, 1970s funding not working
Recent data released by Wellington County and Guelph shows 85,000 people in Ontario were homeless in 2025, up eight per cent from the previous year.
Snowmobile safety week highlighted the need for respect and awareness on Ontario’s trails
International Snowmobile Safety Week, celebrated earlier this month, provided a timely reminder for farmers, landowners and snowmobile riders that winter recreation and farm safety are closely connected.
