|
John RhodesSarnia Observer |
When John and Isobel Garner built the Garner Hotel (in stages) they allowed for prime retail rental space at the King Street front. This was a...
One hundred or so years ago neighborhood grocery stores were common. Chatham, in fact, had 55 of them circa 1900. They were easy to...
I have been, of late, exchanging emails with a woman named Heidi Lanford of San Marcos, Texas. She has a connection to our Chatham-Kent’s...
The best asparagus? Kerr Farms of Chatham! I have a strong bias but I think a lot of people would readily agree with me on that issue....
The Belgian and Dutch population of Chatham Kent is a substantial one and has had a presence since the earliest days. One of the more...
There is a short street “over the creek” which is known as Sparks Drive. I have always referred to it as Sparks Court, my title for it...
Recently my friend Francis Peter Vink sent me a copy of a photo that recently emerged from a storage period of more than one hundred years; it was a...
Recently I was asked on the Chatham History Facebook group what caused the demise of Chatham’s Gray Dort automobile manufacturing concern. To...
In his Gazetteer of May 1885, historian James Soutar devotes considerable space to recording, not only who had business concerns within the town, but...
I operate a Facebook site known as Chatham History; we have close to 9,000 members. Participants often submit historic photos and information for...
My friend Pete Dyer recently sent me a photo of the ancient Park Theatre and it has an excellent story to tell. Date of the photo? That...
I host a Facebook site known as Chatham History where members submit photos and offer opinions as to content, dates, etc. I never know quite...
I am currently completing my twelfth book. It will be titled Boards & Bricks and will detail the history of significant Chatham buildings,...
In the July 19, 2022 issue of Chatham This Week I told you about Charlie Edelstein and his rescue of the ancient Grand Opera House. In this...
Darcy McKeough passed away recently.
Recently, my friend and colleague Kyle Reid sent me two perfect photographs of Dugald McNaughton and his wife Margaret McKerrall McNaughton and I...
When I first started to write about local history in the 1980s, I was fortunate in that there were still people alive with vivid memories pre-dating...
A short time ago my friend, Murray Jinks, sent me a copy of a black and white drawing done by his mother-in-law several years ago. I looked at...
I am always amazed at how a great story can be told by a simple photograph.
The recent observation of Halloween brought back some ancient memories. I recall my first venture into the event where small kids get to...
One hundred and twenty-three years ago boarding houses were still common. They, generally, offered rooms by the day, week and month. ...
In the Oct. 13, 2022 issue of Chatham This Week I told you about the life of Chatham businessperson and public sector employee Peter Paul Lacroix. ...
Recently, I was able to obtain a head and shoulders photo of Lt. Col Philip John Bainbrigge, Royal Engineers, which I have, for several years,...
Sometimes things happen quickly. Sometimes they don’t. In 1992, I released a book titled “The Jack Ketch” in which there was a...
The included photo, though faded, is an interesting one with a unique story to tell. The photo dates from the summer of 1865 when Chatham was...
A short time ago I showed you the included photo and I have decided to take another look at the picture to examine what else in the depiction might be...
In desire of a stroll down a pleasant street, I can’t think of a better venue than Victoria Avenue, particularly in the section between Forest...
I have always been intrigued by the ability of retailors to adjust to changes in the marketplace, but sometimes those alterations are so profound that...
There is an ancient building at 147 King St. W. (117 in the old numbering system). It is located to the immediate west of the present-day Satellite...