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Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Sarnia Observer

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Gilberts: Christmas should always be time for thoughtful reflection

20.12.2024 8

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Mistletoe has long and somewhat sordid history

06.12.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Fred Collins was a master horticultural creator

Hamlet reflects on how quickly all the good deeds his deceased father had performed throughout his life were so quickly forgotten. In Shakespeare’s...

29.11.2024 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Visits to Detroit and visit from Lieutenant-Governor

Taking a boat ride from downtown Chatham to downtown Detroit was a popular thing to do 100 years ago. Although taking a boat ride from downtown...

22.11.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Century of stately beauty, history resides at 500 King St.

When we lived in Chatham, we lived next door to 500 King St. W. owned by Bill and Bernadette Craven. When we lived in Chatham, we lived next door to...

15.11.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Remembrance Day time to remember victims of war

Each Remembrance Day we honour all those military men and women who gave their lives to keep Canada free. Each Remembrance Day we honour all those...

08.11.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Jimmy Wealch and his 1913 Ford Model T

I came across a charming story about a man named Jimmy Wealch from R.R. 5 Thamesville and his prized 1913 Ford Model T. While looking through an old...

01.11.2024 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Spooktacular Soiree promises to be pre-Halloween highlight

As Halloween approaches, it’s unfortunate that we can’t magically whisk all interested parties to area places where supernatural, spirit-related...

18.10.2024 5

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: White Bronze firm offered unique grave markers

Once you know about their colour and ornate ornamentation, you'll spot them in many Victorian-era cemeteries in our area and across North America....

11.10.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Cemetery strolls designed to enlighten, not frighten

Our all new Cemetery Strolls for 2024 feature new characters, some new actors and some very interesting scenarios. Our all new Cemetery Strolls for...

04.10.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: 2024 Cemetery Strolls characters bring great stories to life

Experience what the streets of Chatham-Kent have to silently whisper in our ears this year. The wind strangely whistles around ominous-looking...

27.09.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Chrysler family, devastating floods part of Chatham history

I'm exploring two other aspects of Chatham-Kent’s fascinating history that a lot of people may not know about. Continuing with a theme, I’m...

13.09.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Chatham's economic woes are not new ones

Chatham with all its great natural advantages as an industrial location, had not within itself the resources to build anew. “Chatham with all its...

06.09.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Early schools in Chatham-Kent had rough start

This week marks the beginning of the school year so, let's travel back in time to the early days of schools in Chatham-Kent. This week marks the...

30.08.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Grand opera house, fire disaster marked King Street's early days

It was the most palatial building of its kind west of London, Ont., and remnants of it still exist today if you are sharp enough to recognize them. It...

23.08.2024 8

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Some 1920s concerns mirrored in today's world

Sometimes, we foolishly think that, living in today's modern world, we have little in common with Chatham-Kent residents of the 1920s. Last week, I...

16.08.2024 8

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Concerns of 80 years ago have resonance today

Bird infestations, farmer groups, bad luck individuals and global warming all may have modern connotations, but also had attention in the early 1920s....

09.08.2024 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: William Lees Judson was painter, teacher extraordinaire

Earlier this month, we told you about a delightful little book describing a tour of the Thames River in 1880, by Professor Blot. Earlier this month,...

26.07.2024 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Third summer ghost walk takes on added dimension

We are exploring our downtown and telling you all about the strange paranormal happenings over the years, but we're adding an historical component. On...

19.07.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Touring the Thames River with Professor Blot

It might not surprise you to know that Jim and I (mainly me) are book collectors. Our house is full of bookshelves. It might not surprise you to know...

05.07.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Boblo Island Amusement Park . . . those were the days!

If you are of a certain age, the mere mention of Boblo Island Amusement Park will bring back fond memories of summer afternoons spent in the middle of...

29.06.2024 10

Windsor Star

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Boblo Island Amusement Park . . . those were the days!

If you are of a certain age, the mere mention of Boblo Island Amusement Park will bring back fond memories of summer afternoons spent in the middle of...

28.06.2024 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Highgate farm boy becomes Second World War hero – Part 2

Robert Spence from Highgate and one of his crew members (John Wood), set out from their crashed Wellington bomber in the desert of Libya and Egypt....

21.06.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Highgate’s Robert Spence went from farm boy to war hero

I cannot believe I've never heard of this bona fide Highgate hero before. I cannot believe I’ve never heard of this bona fide Highgate hero before. ...

14.06.2024 4

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: 'Horseless carriage' had rough start in early 1900s

Local farmers tried to ban them on weekends, horse breeders and sellers opposed their growing popularity, carriage makers were upset by their careless...

24.05.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: New book brings Isaac Gardiner’s Rondeau Park to life

Do you sometimes get the feeling the government does not really want people to visit Rondeau Provincial Park, preferring this virtual Garden of Eden...

19.05.2024 40

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Thinking about my mother as Mother’s Day draws near

10.05.2024 40

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Found circus poster tells a story

I know a lot of people, if they found a beat-up, bedraggled circus poster from the 1900s, would toss it in a dumpster without hesitation. I know a lot...

03.05.2024 30

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Troubled citizens roamed Chatham’s downtown in past

In the last year or so, there has been consternation, fear and helplessness with regards to Chatham's downtown, amid reports of young people and the...

26.04.2024 40

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Local mastodon bones discovered in late 1880s

I first heard about mastodons in our area when reading a small volume entitled The Recollections of Edwin Bassett Jones. Imagine looking out of your...

12.04.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Concerns of 100 years ago have resonance today

In a December 1922 issue of the old Chatham Daily Planet, there were a number of articles I found interesting. In a December 1922 issue of the old...

05.04.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Century-old concerns have resonance today

In a late 1922 issue of the Chatham Planet, I found a number of rather interesting articles. In a late 1922 issue of the Chatham Planet, I found a...

22.03.2024 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Good old days were not always so good

The year is 1838 and the once-prosperous, fertile farms of early French Canadian settlers near the mouth of the Thames River are in deep water. Any...

15.03.2024 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: 1854 Jeannettes Creek train wreck one of Canada’s great disasters

In early days of rail travel, delays were the rule rather than the exception. “The scene presented after the collision was a horrible one....

08.03.2024 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Chrysler clan, devastating floods all part of Chatham history

Continuing my recent theme, I'm exploring two other aspects of Chatham-Kent’s fascinating history that I suspect many people don't know about....

01.03.2024 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Horseless carriage had rough start in early 1900s

Local farmers tried to ban them on weekends, while horse breeders and sellers opposed their growing popularity at every turn. Local farmers tried to...

23.02.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: From water wheels to iron horses, Park Brothers did it all

I've decided to ease the winter blues by providing some short, but very interesting historical facts about Chatham-Kent history. I’ve decided to...

16.02.2024 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Local elopement in 1870s read like a romance novel

Years ago, I was skimming through the Chatham Tri-Weekly Planet editions from the late 1870s and an odd headline caught my eye. Years ago, I was...

08.02.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: I bet a lot happened in Chatham-Kent you didn’t know

I’m launching Did You Know?, a new series of columns over the next few weeks that will make you a hit at all the events you’ll surely want to...

02.02.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Martin helped advance Henry Ford's life, legacy

In the past I have talked about James Couzens who was born in Chatham but made a real name for himself working for Henry Ford in the very earliest...

26.01.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Christmas history, myths, legends full of meaning, wonder

A month or so ago, I was musing that the origins of Halloween were “a delicious blend of pagan and Christian traditions.”

21.12.2023 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Christmas traditions in earlier times were much simpler

The very earliest Europeans to our area celebrated Christmas, if they celebrated it at all, in very simple ways. The earliest Europeans to our area...

15.12.2023 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Greenery figured prominently in early Christmases

The first thing most Canadians think of when they think of holiday greenery is the Christmas tree. The first thing most Canadians think of when they...

08.12.2023 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

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